- Joined
- May 13, 2015
- Messages
- 841
Hi there! I recently got myself this new folder and it has been my EDC for the last month or so now. As usual, I am just sharing my own impressions, thoughts, personal experience with it and few pics, always as a non-expert knives hobbyist and week-end hiker 
.
I came across G. Sakai knives some years ago, while doing some research about H1 steel knives. I ended up in getting the Spyderco Pacific Salt, more suitable for my needs :thumbup:, but found out what seemed to be some great diving/fishing knives from G. Sakai. It was a really unknown brand to me until then. After spending some times researching on the web, I understood G. Sakai mainly works as OEM for major knives brands and only keeps a relatively small own branded knives production. I found some of their knives very interesting at that time, but not to the point of pulling the trigger. Recently I found myself more leaning towards some classic stuff, wood handles, some brass, thick leather... you know, and started searching something of the kind. Im getting old. I was about getting one from the Benchmade Hunt series, when I stumbled into this one instead and, this time, I pulled the trigger. So here we are.
There was (and there is) really not so much in terms of Customers reviews about this G. Sakai model in the web, in spite of the fact advertisements claim the popularity of this folder is long and steady. So I try with one. Be aware I am not really testing anything here, I just walk my knives a bit, use them as an average Joe user, play with them a bit and share some of my own thoughts and experiences. I never misuse or abuse my knives, therefore I only can say something about their intended use. So, dont be disappointed and bear with me!
Anyway, this knife is the new edition of the G. Sakai Folding Hunter which, it seems, was first introduced back in the late 90ies. The knife was purposely developed for outdoor activities such as hunting and camping. Its basically a rather classic, sizeable back-lock hunting/camping folder, featuring a clean drop-point blade shape, made of ATS-34 stainless steel. The thick handle scales are made with what looks to me a top quality Rosewood, which I find aesthetically really appealing, warm to touch and with a soul, so to say. It has stainless steel bolsters and it sports real brass liners which I find extremely elegant and a single finger groove. The knife comes with a dark brown, high quality leather belt sheath, with the traditional brass pin flap-closure :thumbup:. Size-wise its a bit too big for me to define it really a pocket gentleman folder, but otherwise it has all the characteristics to be a king in this category. Fit and finish are superb. It came shaving sharp from the factory and the blade bit my index fingertip already the first day! Two smaller versions were also available at the time of my purchase, one with a blade 73 mm long (medium), another with a blade 60 mm long (small). More gentleman sizes, but less usable for my needs. I really started more and more to carry folders on our hikes, rather than fixed blades. We go rather travelled tracks in the Alps or seaside here (not into the real wilderness) and, for my needs, they are good enough.
During these weeks, I put the knife through my usual EDC tasks at work, like cutting packaging materials (mainly plastic and cardboards) and preparing some breakfasts. At home, I put it at work in the kitchen doing some real food preparation (I ventured myself in sushi prep as well cmon the knife is from Japan with decent results ). I also had it on the trails for a medium range one day hike, light up a small camp fire, minor food prep and did some pegs to set up the tarp. This knife performs very well in all these tasks. The handle is very smooth and comfortable, I have carved and whittled on woods for extended periods of time with good comfort, the handle hasnt any hot-spots, even without gloves :thumbup:. The only real downside is it doesnt offer a super grip when wet. Its actually rather slippery. In that case, a pair of gloves comes in handy. The blade cuts very well and keeps the edge well. I just touched it up with the ceramic sharpener after use. I find the blade shape, with its classic drop point, very versatile for all my EDC tasks. It does great on food and its good in carving and whittling on woods. It makes good kindling and nice feather-sticks for the fire. The knife its heavy given its size but, here also, like for the Benchmade Mini-Rukus, in the good way. Its a sturdy, well built, solid knife which reassuring presence I am constantly conscious of. I find the sheath carry option its very appropriate in this case, rather than a pocket carry. Great feature on the trails. The pocket carry its possible but the knife its heavy then and a little portion of the tang of the blade is exposed, and, having a quite sharp 90° edge, creates some annoyances in the deployment and, rubbing against it, can damage the inner pockets. The lock is rock-solid, no blade play whatsoever, the blade snaps open with a loud, reassuring thwack. This is a two hands opening folder, a nail-nick is present. Its fine with me on this folder, given its intended use.
I only had another knife in ATS-34, several years ago. It was a Linder Champ with stag scales which I donated to a young cousin of mine, the stag was not my cup of tea in terms of grip. Great blade anyway. For the few here who are not familiar with this steel, the ATS-34 is a Japanese steel (developed by Hitachi), very similar to 154CM, a high chromium, high molybdenum stainless tool steel. Knives urban legends claim that ATS-34 was developed for jet engine turbine blades. A nice story, but I never found a verifiable source for this. For my use, I found ATS-34 is a very good steel. Its been around since a while and surely its not a new, exciting, or proprietary steel; it's not a gimmick, not a flash in the pan. Probably it's been around for a while exactly because it is a very good steel. It has a great toughness. Toughness is resistance to breakage or fracture, and this is important to consider in thin blades - like this one - and on blades that will be under lateral stress, impact, or simply are long, where toughness is key to reduce the possibility of fracture. In my opinion, its a good steel choice for this specific folder. It has high toughness, good corrosion resistance, relatively moderate pricing and beautiful and flaw-free uniformity. ATS-34, although stainless, is not as corrosion resistant as some other alloys, so it needs a basic care. In this respect, I consider this rather similar to D2. The blade showed a very minor browning when I folded the knife without drying it properly or properly cleaning after food prep on the trails. It was a very superficial staining, super easy to remove with a cloth and a spray of kitchen stainless steel cleaning agent, the one we use to clean the hob and the sink. The blade also scratches rather easily. I made a stupid thing removing the tar caused by the use of fire steel with a Scotch-Brite sponge (the one I use for dishes) and this caused some major scratching. It was the protective lacquering which melted on the blade spine, a pretty tough thing to remove. Purely aesthetical issue, but still I get crossed when I look at the blade in the light under some angles .
The Rosewood scales are beautiful in my eyes. Wood is a living material, warm to the touch, comfortable to hold, and can be long lasting with minimum proper cares. Rosewood its a very nice wood choice. Ranging from deep, rosy brown to blonde strips, each scale is unique. Since many years I didnt have a knife with wooden scales and I am enjoining this a lot.
Overall I have to say this is a very good folder for my EDC and basic level camping/hiking uses. And its just beautiful to my eyes. The look, the feel and smell of the thick leather, the wood, the brass really got me. Also, a more and more important issue here where I live, the impact on public is very good. This is a knife that doesnt scare anyone. Exactly the opposite, to be fair! I took it out at work and in a couple of barbeques with other families and no one reacted badly. This knife, for my own experience, has a very neutral impact on public, very much like handling a SAK. The only thing I really dont like about this knife is... I cannot disassemble it! Maybe its just me being a bit a knife rookie still ; its not that I disassembly all my knives all the time but still... I really cant figure out how to open it up for proper cleaning and maintenance. I dont find any accessible screw here! Only pins. Maybe some of you can help me?
Overall length : 212 mm
Closed length: 122 m
Blade length : 90 mm
Blade thickness: 2.9 mm
Blade Material : ATS-34 (satin finish)
Hardness : 59-60 HRC
Handle Material : Rosewood
Weight : 165 g
Locking type : Lock-back
Opening: Nail-nick
Sheath material : Leather
Country of origin: Japan
.I came across G. Sakai knives some years ago, while doing some research about H1 steel knives. I ended up in getting the Spyderco Pacific Salt, more suitable for my needs :thumbup:, but found out what seemed to be some great diving/fishing knives from G. Sakai. It was a really unknown brand to me until then. After spending some times researching on the web, I understood G. Sakai mainly works as OEM for major knives brands and only keeps a relatively small own branded knives production. I found some of their knives very interesting at that time, but not to the point of pulling the trigger. Recently I found myself more leaning towards some classic stuff, wood handles, some brass, thick leather... you know, and started searching something of the kind. Im getting old
. I was about getting one from the Benchmade Hunt series, when I stumbled into this one instead and, this time, I pulled the trigger. So here we are. There was (and there is) really not so much in terms of Customers reviews about this G. Sakai model in the web, in spite of the fact advertisements claim the popularity of this folder is long and steady. So I try with one. Be aware I am not really testing anything here
, I just walk my knives a bit, use them as an average Joe user, play with them a bit and share some of my own thoughts and experiences. I never misuse or abuse my knives, therefore I only can say something about their intended use. So, dont be disappointed and bear with me! Anyway, this knife is the new edition of the G. Sakai Folding Hunter which, it seems, was first introduced back in the late 90ies. The knife was purposely developed for outdoor activities such as hunting and camping
. Its basically a rather classic, sizeable back-lock hunting/camping folder, featuring a clean drop-point blade shape, made of ATS-34 stainless steel. The thick handle scales are made with what looks to me a top quality Rosewood, which I find aesthetically really appealing, warm to touch and with a soul, so to say. It has stainless steel bolsters and it sports real brass liners which I find extremely elegant and a single finger groove. The knife comes with a dark brown, high quality leather belt sheath, with the traditional brass pin flap-closure :thumbup:. Size-wise its a bit too big for me to define it really a pocket gentleman folder, but otherwise it has all the characteristics to be a king in this category. Fit and finish are superb. It came shaving sharp from the factory and the blade bit my index fingertip already the first day! Two smaller versions were also available at the time of my purchase, one with a blade 73 mm long (medium), another with a blade 60 mm long (small). More gentleman sizes, but less usable for my needs. I really started more and more to carry folders on our hikes, rather than fixed blades. We go rather travelled tracks in the Alps or seaside here (not into the real wilderness) and, for my needs, they are good enough.During these weeks, I put the knife through my usual EDC tasks at work, like cutting packaging materials (mainly plastic and cardboards) and preparing some breakfasts
. At home, I put it at work in the kitchen doing some real food preparation (I ventured myself in sushi prep as well cmon the knife is from Japan with decent results ). I also had it on the trails for a medium range one day hike, light up a small camp fire, minor food prep and did some pegs to set up the tarp. This knife performs very well in all these tasks. The handle is very smooth and comfortable, I have carved and whittled on woods for extended periods of time with good comfort, the handle hasnt any hot-spots, even without gloves :thumbup:. The only real downside is it doesnt offer a super grip when wet. Its actually rather slippery. In that case, a pair of gloves comes in handy. The blade cuts very well and keeps the edge well. I just touched it up with the ceramic sharpener after use. I find the blade shape, with its classic drop point, very versatile for all my EDC tasks. It does great on food and its good in carving and whittling on woods. It makes good kindling and nice feather-sticks for the fire. The knife its heavy given its size but, here also, like for the Benchmade Mini-Rukus, in the good way. Its a sturdy, well built, solid knife which reassuring presence I am constantly conscious of. I find the sheath carry option its very appropriate in this case, rather than a pocket carry. Great feature on the trails. The pocket carry its possible but the knife its heavy then and a little portion of the tang of the blade is exposed, and, having a quite sharp 90° edge, creates some annoyances in the deployment and, rubbing against it, can damage the inner pockets. The lock is rock-solid, no blade play whatsoever, the blade snaps open with a loud, reassuring thwack. This is a two hands opening folder, a nail-nick is present. Its fine with me on this folder, given its intended use. I only had another knife in ATS-34, several years ago. It was a Linder Champ with stag scales which I donated to a young cousin of mine, the stag was not my cup of tea in terms of grip. Great blade anyway. For the few here who are not familiar with this steel, the ATS-34 is a Japanese steel (developed by Hitachi), very similar to 154CM, a high chromium, high molybdenum stainless tool steel. Knives urban legends claim that ATS-34 was developed for jet engine turbine blades. A nice story, but I never found a verifiable source for this
. For my use, I found ATS-34 is a very good steel. Its been around since a while and surely its not a new, exciting, or proprietary steel; it's not a gimmick, not a flash in the pan. Probably it's been around for a while exactly because it is a very good steel. It has a great toughness. Toughness is resistance to breakage or fracture, and this is important to consider in thin blades - like this one - and on blades that will be under lateral stress, impact, or simply are long, where toughness is key to reduce the possibility of fracture. In my opinion, its a good steel choice for this specific folder. It has high toughness, good corrosion resistance, relatively moderate pricing and beautiful and flaw-free uniformity. ATS-34, although stainless, is not as corrosion resistant as some other alloys, so it needs a basic care. In this respect, I consider this rather similar to D2. The blade showed a very minor browning when I folded the knife without drying it properly or properly cleaning after food prep on the trails. It was a very superficial staining, super easy to remove with a cloth and a spray of kitchen stainless steel cleaning agent, the one we use to clean the hob and the sink. The blade also scratches rather easily. I made a stupid thing removing the tar caused by the use of fire steel with a Scotch-Brite sponge (the one I use for dishes) and this caused some major scratching. It was the protective lacquering which melted on the blade spine, a pretty tough thing to remove. Purely aesthetical issue, but still I get crossed when I look at the blade in the light under some angles .The Rosewood scales are beautiful in my eyes. Wood is a living material, warm to the touch, comfortable to hold, and can be long lasting with minimum proper cares. Rosewood its a very nice wood choice. Ranging from deep, rosy brown to blonde strips, each scale is unique. Since many years I didnt have a knife with wooden scales and I am enjoining this a lot.
Overall I have to say this is a very good folder for my EDC and basic level camping/hiking uses. And its just beautiful to my eyes. The look, the feel and smell of the thick leather, the wood, the brass really got me. Also, a more and more important issue here where I live, the impact on public is very good
. This is a knife that doesnt scare anyone. Exactly the opposite, to be fair! I took it out at work and in a couple of barbeques with other families and no one reacted badly. This knife, for my own experience, has a very neutral impact on public, very much like handling a SAK. The only thing I really dont like about this knife is... I cannot disassemble it! Maybe its just me being a bit a knife rookie still ; its not that I disassembly all my knives all the time but still... I really cant figure out how to open it up for proper cleaning and maintenance. I dont find any accessible screw here! Only pins. Maybe some of you can help me?Overall length : 212 mm
Closed length: 122 m
Blade length : 90 mm
Blade thickness: 2.9 mm
Blade Material : ATS-34 (satin finish)
Hardness : 59-60 HRC
Handle Material : Rosewood
Weight : 165 g
Locking type : Lock-back
Opening: Nail-nick
Sheath material : Leather
Country of origin: Japan
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