Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material
Cons: Lock Ease of Use
First EDC in 10+ years. Very happy
This is my first EDC since buying a "scout camp knife" about 10 years ago. First impressions: Nice heft. Don't have the same issues others are reporting with overly difficult detent. Flicks nice with a little wrist movement to get the blade all the way to the stop. Knife was reasonably sharp from the box. I like the pocket clip. It requires enough force to pocket that I know that it is secure, but doesn't give you a wedgie when removing. Nice and low profile to keep me from snagging my leather steering wheel when getting in and out of the car. Some people report that the blade wasn't centered or had defects. I do not have that issue. Opening and Closing: Opens like any knife with a frame or liner lock. Needs a little wrist movement to get it fully open, but you don't have to swing your arm wildly. The closing mechanism is pretty difficult. I am a little worried about how much force is required to force the frame lock when I am rock climbing and my thumb is sore from climbing. A slightly larger thumb nub would make the closing action much easier. I don't think of my hands as overly powerful, but I rock climb, and can close this knife with one hand, although its easier with two. Sharpening: This may be my first EDC in a long time, but I have some pretty decent experience with sharpening. I used a Naniwa Chosera 800# with edge leading strop strokes to finish, and a leather strop loaded with green polish compound to achieve the finished edge. I usually don't feel the need to bridge between an 800# and a strop, but ymmv. I use this similar technique on my Mercer Genesis Paring knife (X50CrMoV15) and have had great success. This was no different. I have a much keener edge than the factory edge. Not quite the mirror polish that I usually see, but I just need something to do the day to day backpacking tasks, not julienne carrots. The factory edge is ground with circular stones and requires a small bit of work to fully flatten, but is relatively easy to sharpen. Some users report KME stones and other EDC sharpening solutions give somewhat worse results than what I had seen with the D2 steel. Edge retention has yet to be seen, but this did require a little more effort than most kitchen knives and should hold up well. About 10 minutes to fully sharpen. Cleaning: The micarta scales were easy to clean up after the sharpening session. Some sluff (swarf?) got onto the scale and was easily wiped with a damp paper towel. Micarta has more friction when wet than dry, so I hope to see good performance when cutting on hot days. TLDR: Feels nice, Sharpens nice when using good stones, cuts well, opens without fuss. The frame lock is pretty rough on the thumb in an attempt to keep the grip from having hot spots. I have a camp knife for big jobs and poking holes in things, so a cleaver is perfect for me.
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