- Joined
- Jun 8, 2005
- Messages
- 4,761
Only a week ago I first noticed this knife in my local store, but suddenly, I had to have it.
Here are the basics
~3 inch blade
G10 scales
liner lock
AO
S30V
plain edge
TiNi blade
The first thing you notice about this knife is the G10. This stuff is great. I like it even more than Spyderco and Strider's G10. It's very rough and grippy and looks great too. I'm afraid it might be too abrasive for jeans though.
The clip is definitely too tight. I like my clips a little extra tight, but this one actually inhibits you from pulling it out. I'll do a little correction tomorrow, no big deal.
Fit and Finish: Overall very good. Blade and grind were centered perfectly. The G10 was nice and uniform. Actually, virtually everything about this knife's fit and finish was perfect--except the coating. The clip came with all sorts of curving lines in it that made it look as if it had been keyed in weird ways somehow, but not so deep that it was shiny through it, only lighter. The blade also has areas that look slightly scratched. None are obvious, but noticeable under examination.
Overall impressions: This knife feels very substantial and very sturdy. It has dual full length liners and thick g10. Despite this, the knife remains fairly thin due to tight tolerances when the blade is closed. The knife is NOT classic onion...it's got smooth curving lines all throughout--but not crazy sin waves that are so typical of KO's recurves. I really enjoy the looks of this knife. As noted before, it's complete black, ala the old blackout. I really think this blade shape will be practical for EDC stuff.
Ergonomics: As noted earlier, I really love the G10 texture. That said, the curvature at the bottom of the handle tends to scrunch my last two fingers together uncomfortably. Furthermore, there's no real thumb ramp with which to apply pressure. Lastly, I'm a big fan of finger choils and flippers, the latter of which is very common on KO's offerings, but this has neither. But this is merely my preference. The clip is tip up/down reversable, but lefties are out of luck. Furthermore, the thumbstud isn't bilateral either.
The lockup is perfect, with the entirety of the liner on the absolute first part of the tang. However, due to its intense AO (significantly more powerful than my Blue Bump or Mini Mojo), I was concerned for lock wear. I thus tightened up the action quite a bit so it didn't open hard. Unfortunately, this lead to the blade being slightly off centered, but this isn't the natural state of the knife. Under normal conditions, it would be just fine. It passed a basic medium strength spine whack fine and I don't have any worries about it.
The knife is fairly sharp, just barely shaving sharp. It isn't comparable to the Spydercos I've had in OTB sharpness. This is a reocurring theme with my Kershaw's--three in a row have been acceptably sharp, but not especially impressive.
Overall, I love it, but I'll add more as I think of it.
__________________________________________________________________________
New: I find the thumbstud somewhat difficult to use. It requires a very specific angle in order for you not to have to really force it out. It's kind of annoying, but I feel like this VERY well assures that it won't open in my pocket. Good, because this knife has no safety. I'm not a big fan of AO safeties anyway (good for throwing in your bag and traveling, but if you reach for your knife and have to turn off a safety, kind of defeats AO's purpose), but it's too bad it has to be a compromise. Nothing serious though.
I tested the Avalanche under one real spine whack on my oak desk, at request, and it passed. I've got confidence in it, but the Avalanche apparently has a so/so track record lock wise on bladeforums. I may have just gotten lucky, so double check the lockup before you buy.
___________________________________________________________________________
New: I'm finding that the size of this knife is almost exactly right for me. It's slightly bigger than I'd like, for my all around EDC, but it gets very close. The para got very close too, but was noticeably too far on the big side. I suppose the minigrip was about the perfect size. In any case, this doesn't take up too much pocket real estate, but still allows me to get my whole hand on the handle and weighs enough that I know it's still in my pocket.
A slight lock concern: in public places, with my Bump and (formerly AO) Mini Mojo, I usually pretend to open them with both hands so that the blade doesn't fly open and scare people--makes it look almost like a slipjoint. I did that with the Avalanche tonight and, without the AO, the lockup is not comforting. It's only a hair width on the tang. Basically, unless your Avalanche is well worn, always flick it or allow the AO to do its thing to ensure good lockup. This might be slightly problematic in sheeple-rich areas, however.
Here are the basics
~3 inch blade
G10 scales
liner lock
AO
S30V
plain edge
TiNi blade
The first thing you notice about this knife is the G10. This stuff is great. I like it even more than Spyderco and Strider's G10. It's very rough and grippy and looks great too. I'm afraid it might be too abrasive for jeans though.
The clip is definitely too tight. I like my clips a little extra tight, but this one actually inhibits you from pulling it out. I'll do a little correction tomorrow, no big deal.
Fit and Finish: Overall very good. Blade and grind were centered perfectly. The G10 was nice and uniform. Actually, virtually everything about this knife's fit and finish was perfect--except the coating. The clip came with all sorts of curving lines in it that made it look as if it had been keyed in weird ways somehow, but not so deep that it was shiny through it, only lighter. The blade also has areas that look slightly scratched. None are obvious, but noticeable under examination.
Overall impressions: This knife feels very substantial and very sturdy. It has dual full length liners and thick g10. Despite this, the knife remains fairly thin due to tight tolerances when the blade is closed. The knife is NOT classic onion...it's got smooth curving lines all throughout--but not crazy sin waves that are so typical of KO's recurves. I really enjoy the looks of this knife. As noted before, it's complete black, ala the old blackout. I really think this blade shape will be practical for EDC stuff.
Ergonomics: As noted earlier, I really love the G10 texture. That said, the curvature at the bottom of the handle tends to scrunch my last two fingers together uncomfortably. Furthermore, there's no real thumb ramp with which to apply pressure. Lastly, I'm a big fan of finger choils and flippers, the latter of which is very common on KO's offerings, but this has neither. But this is merely my preference. The clip is tip up/down reversable, but lefties are out of luck. Furthermore, the thumbstud isn't bilateral either.
The lockup is perfect, with the entirety of the liner on the absolute first part of the tang. However, due to its intense AO (significantly more powerful than my Blue Bump or Mini Mojo), I was concerned for lock wear. I thus tightened up the action quite a bit so it didn't open hard. Unfortunately, this lead to the blade being slightly off centered, but this isn't the natural state of the knife. Under normal conditions, it would be just fine. It passed a basic medium strength spine whack fine and I don't have any worries about it.
The knife is fairly sharp, just barely shaving sharp. It isn't comparable to the Spydercos I've had in OTB sharpness. This is a reocurring theme with my Kershaw's--three in a row have been acceptably sharp, but not especially impressive.
Overall, I love it, but I'll add more as I think of it.
__________________________________________________________________________
New: I find the thumbstud somewhat difficult to use. It requires a very specific angle in order for you not to have to really force it out. It's kind of annoying, but I feel like this VERY well assures that it won't open in my pocket. Good, because this knife has no safety. I'm not a big fan of AO safeties anyway (good for throwing in your bag and traveling, but if you reach for your knife and have to turn off a safety, kind of defeats AO's purpose), but it's too bad it has to be a compromise. Nothing serious though.
I tested the Avalanche under one real spine whack on my oak desk, at request, and it passed. I've got confidence in it, but the Avalanche apparently has a so/so track record lock wise on bladeforums. I may have just gotten lucky, so double check the lockup before you buy.
___________________________________________________________________________
New: I'm finding that the size of this knife is almost exactly right for me. It's slightly bigger than I'd like, for my all around EDC, but it gets very close. The para got very close too, but was noticeably too far on the big side. I suppose the minigrip was about the perfect size. In any case, this doesn't take up too much pocket real estate, but still allows me to get my whole hand on the handle and weighs enough that I know it's still in my pocket.
A slight lock concern: in public places, with my Bump and (formerly AO) Mini Mojo, I usually pretend to open them with both hands so that the blade doesn't fly open and scare people--makes it look almost like a slipjoint. I did that with the Avalanche tonight and, without the AO, the lockup is not comforting. It's only a hair width on the tang. Basically, unless your Avalanche is well worn, always flick it or allow the AO to do its thing to ensure good lockup. This might be slightly problematic in sheeple-rich areas, however.
