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Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Well designed, functional, handsome, small crossbar lock folder
This is a great knife. I provide some comments here because I saw some off reviews of the knife before making the purchase, and I wanted to weigh in. I was looking for a small lock bar folder that is ‘gentlemanly’/un-intimidating but nevertheless quite sturdy and functional. There aren’t so many options in this category, but the Carter fits the bill. uTubers complain about the cost of the Carter, it’s flick-ability, and make comparisons to the Bugout and Deka. On the comparison: it is a false one. The Bugout and Deka are very similar to each other - with a ‘functional’ beauty (and great steel), and everyone should have one or the other; but they are quite different from the Carter. You probably don’t need both a Bugout and a Deka, but it makes perfect sense to have both a Bugout and a Carter. I was swayed by the earnestness of Andersen’s review on KC and bought the Carter. I ditto everything he says there. This is an esthetically appealing knife with ultra smooth action, well thought out design, and a sturdy blade by virtue of the grind. You can flick it open, but you won’t want to - it is that satisfying to rotate the blade; and of course it drops back closed with the bar held back. Mine came with the micarta fibers still soft, and it is pleasingly more tan than the KC picture. Fit and finish perfect. It’s a truly beautiful knife. On the action: To be crude, I get the zit-popping satisfaction of a strong-detent squeeze and ceramic-ball-bearing release; but I don’t need or want that all or even most of the time. On the cost: The comparison knife for the Carter is I think the Chaparral - same size, same price, sort of the same function - though the Carter is much better suited to tough tasks, while the Chaparral is significantly thinner and has better steel. With that said, VG10 is a fine steel. I think the price is about right. I like everything about this knife and haven’t found anything annoying (though it would have been annoying if I had to rotate the pocket clip), so it gets 5 stars from me.