Smaug
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2003
- Messages
- 1,797
FIT & FINISH: 9/10. There's a small seam noticeable where the blade meets the back lock, when the blade is open. Everything else is flawless, but I couldn't give it a perfect 10.
BLADE: 9/10 again. 9Cr13CoMoV: a mid-high-end Chinese steel. Tempering seems about perfect. I put it through one hard use day slicing up double-wall cardboard, other cardboard, whittling, cutting through plastic packaging. At the end of the day, it was still sharp, but not shaving sharp. Can't complain in an $80 knife with good quality.
GRIP: 10/10. It will be tight for those of you with large hands. For you, go for the full size version of this knife. For those of us with medium or small hands, it's a pure joy.
ACTION: 10/10. I've never felt such a smooth and light back lock action. It makes a new Victorinox SAK seem heavy by comparison. It's about the same as on a Victorinox Classic, as far as weight and smoothness. One caveat: don't elevate the pivot end of the knife while pushing the lock bar; it will guillotine down on your fingers. (I did it once) Hold it pointing slightly down.
POCKET CLIP: 10/10. After just a bit of break-in, it's the perfect tension. Since the scales aren't rough, it doesn't tear up the pants either. Speaking of scales, it's also available in green G10 or carbon fiber for a few more bucks.
DESIGN: 10/10. A.G. had the benefit of decades' worth of previous experience in lockbacks when he designed this knife. I'm glad to see he learned his lessons. It's pure elegance. It has full length stainless steel liners, but they're skeletonized for weight savings. This knife is surprisingly light, at 2.0 oz. (59 g) the "cocobolo" wood scales don't add much weight, as they are scalloped out . (see video for detail) He covered the back corner of the blade with that nice swell, which double as a forward grip stop. The whole package just screams "Classy!", which is what I was after.
OVERALL: 9/10. A great effort and a knife that has quickly become my favorite. (office worker) I've used it for food, and its wide, flat ground blade was great for small slicing tasks. It's beefy enough to take on real work without flinching, but without looking like a SWAT knife. I would buy this again in a second, and in fact, it has made me go back to their site and consider some other possible purchases.
I just finished my video review of the knife here.
BLADE: 9/10 again. 9Cr13CoMoV: a mid-high-end Chinese steel. Tempering seems about perfect. I put it through one hard use day slicing up double-wall cardboard, other cardboard, whittling, cutting through plastic packaging. At the end of the day, it was still sharp, but not shaving sharp. Can't complain in an $80 knife with good quality.
GRIP: 10/10. It will be tight for those of you with large hands. For you, go for the full size version of this knife. For those of us with medium or small hands, it's a pure joy.
ACTION: 10/10. I've never felt such a smooth and light back lock action. It makes a new Victorinox SAK seem heavy by comparison. It's about the same as on a Victorinox Classic, as far as weight and smoothness. One caveat: don't elevate the pivot end of the knife while pushing the lock bar; it will guillotine down on your fingers. (I did it once) Hold it pointing slightly down.
POCKET CLIP: 10/10. After just a bit of break-in, it's the perfect tension. Since the scales aren't rough, it doesn't tear up the pants either. Speaking of scales, it's also available in green G10 or carbon fiber for a few more bucks.
DESIGN: 10/10. A.G. had the benefit of decades' worth of previous experience in lockbacks when he designed this knife. I'm glad to see he learned his lessons. It's pure elegance. It has full length stainless steel liners, but they're skeletonized for weight savings. This knife is surprisingly light, at 2.0 oz. (59 g) the "cocobolo" wood scales don't add much weight, as they are scalloped out . (see video for detail) He covered the back corner of the blade with that nice swell, which double as a forward grip stop. The whole package just screams "Classy!", which is what I was after.
OVERALL: 9/10. A great effort and a knife that has quickly become my favorite. (office worker) I've used it for food, and its wide, flat ground blade was great for small slicing tasks. It's beefy enough to take on real work without flinching, but without looking like a SWAT knife. I would buy this again in a second, and in fact, it has made me go back to their site and consider some other possible purchases.
I just finished my video review of the knife here.
