Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Pocket Clip, Weight
Cons: Handle Feel, Handle Material
Decent-ish
What a a super lightweight sheepsfoot slicer! The combo of a black blade with the blue/black handles has a pleasant aesthetic. The pocket clip is deep enough that it sits in the pocket well and remains out of sight. While it has thumb-studs only for deployment, the handle cutouts provide plenty of room so you can thumb flick, thumb roll, or reverse flick it open. The top liner lock is a nice touch for a strong feeling lockup with no noticeable blade play. By having jimping down the entire length of the spine, getting a good grip is no problem. Additionally, the front choil is large enough allowing for a comfortable chocked up grip. On the downside, the Richlite is kind of slick and makes the knife feel 'cheap'. Not as bad as non-liner FRN scales, but somehow hollow sounding. The more I am using it the more I wish it was something like Micarta instead. While they step up nicely, the top most part of the thumb-studs are a bit rough and can dig into your thumb. The pivot feels a bit gritty—so much so, I swear I can hear it scrape along as it opens and closes. I am hoping that will go away after some break in, but will dismantle the knife and take a look if it doesn't. At first, there was a bit of button stick with the lock. But, that seems to be going away on its own. While it checks off a ton of boxes for me—weight, price, lock type—I am hard pressed to say it is better than some of Civivi's or Vosteed's offerings.