Review Modern slip joint knife: Lionsteel Bolus Otnat (REK regrind)

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Hi all,


I received a new modern slip joint knife from Collector Knives via Josh @ REK!
What a knife!

 

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I recently reviewed Krein regrind Benchmade Proper 319.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/two-modern-slip-joint-knives-wasp-and-proper.1694348/

The original Proper seemed too thick behind the edge and repelled me despite my interest.
The regrind version changed that.
It is now a nice modern slip joint knife with a good stainless steel that cuts.

Another modern slip joint, which I consider attractive but thick behind the edge, was Lionsteel Bolus Otnat.
With the triumph of the reground Proper, I decided to buy Otnat (from CK) and have it reground by Josh @razor-edge-knives.

So now I have two modern slip joint knives with nice thin edges like traditional knives.
Here I want to do a quick review of Otnat.

The specs

                              Otnat                         Proper
  Overall length:             168 mm (6.61”)                170 mm (6.69")
  Closed length:              97 mm (3.82”)                 97.8 mm (3.85")
  Blade Length:               73 mm (2.87”)                 72 mm (2.83")
  Blade thickness:            2.54 mm (0.1”)                2.04 mm (0.08")
  BTE at 15 DPS:              0.13 mm (0.005”)              0.23~0.34 mm (0.009~0.0135")
  Edge angle:                 15 DPS                        20 DPS
  Blade material:             M390                          S30V
  Blade grind:                Flat                          Flat
  Handle thickness:           13.14 mm (0.52”)              11 mm (0.43")
  Handle material:            Red linen Micarta             Canvas Micarta
  Weight:                     67 g (2.36 oz)                57 g (2 oz)
  Nail nick:                  Double                        Single
  Stops:                      One                           One
  Pull (5 for SAK):           6                             5~6
  Pinchable:                  Yes                           Yes
  Pocket clip:                No                            No
  Internal stop pin:          Yes                           Yes

To be fair, the regrind fees are different.
The base prices of the knives are quite similar.
The custom regrind on Otnat costed about 50% more than the estimated regrind fee on Proper.
Also, Proper regrind was not custom but for a distributor as a bulk order.

 

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Fit and finish:
It is a well constructed knife and feels like a high-end piece like custom.
(There are gaps between liners and the spring, which seems to be common in modern slip joints I have. GECs don't have gaps.)
Compared to this, Proper feels a bit rugged.

The fit and finish are superb, although you should not expect the traditional flushness.
The Spring is round and recessed between the liners.
Also the liners do not align with the covers.
But they are all done right.

The blade centering of mine is about perfect.
Because there are pivot screws I guess it can be adjusted.



Action
It was very smooth out of the box and has nice walk and talk.
Solid half stop.
Because of the stop pin, the sound of blade closing is different from that of a traditional traditional knife.
With the help of the ambidextrous nail nicks, I can easily pinch open the blade, which is quite nice.

The pull is a little bit stronger than GEC 15 and noticeably weaker than GEC 71.
So I would say 5.5~6.

 

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Blade
They call it Spear Jack.
I thought that it has more curvature starting from the base to the tip.
But the edge line is quite similar to drop point with a significant amount of straight area.
Reverse tanto?
I don't know.
Anyway, with the pointy tip, the blade is very useful.

If Lionsteel grinds this blade like Boker Techtool, I would just take it as is.
Unfortunately, the original grind seems too shallow to leave a lot of meat at the edge bevel.



Regrind
So, I asked Josh to regrind the blade.
This is the result.
Just wow!

I have Kizer Feist reground by Josh.
The grind was consistent and perfect.
I have his custom knife, which also has a perfect edge.
This is the third time straight he nailed it.

I was quite happy with the regrinding on Proper.
But after seeing this knife, I feel like I should send it to Josh for re-regrinding.
Again, Otnat is custom regrind, and Proper is not.
Left Otnat, right Proper from above (the brackets indicate the thickness of the edge bevel).

The thickness behind edge is about 0.004" at 15 DPS.
It is super thin and thinner than Opinel #8.
You can imagine how good slicer it would be.

 

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Conclusion
I knew for sure that Josh's regrind job would be superb.
But I did not have high expectations for the knife itself.
The knife was shipped to Josh in November last year and ready in March.
Josh thoughtfully postponed shipping, due to the corona outbreak and resultant uncertainty, until May.
I was fine waiting because I had the Proper (and a few other new knives).
When I received the knife, I realized I was wrong.

Excellent design, materials, fit&finish, and the action.
Lionsteel Otnat feels a lot more worth than the price.

With Josh's regrind, it became a knife infinitely close to my grail.

 

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I would like to add some comparisons to Proper.


Steel: M390 vs S30V
They are both good steels. I don't find Otnat M390 bad, at least on my sample. With diamond stones, I do not see much of a difference in sharpnability. They both take good toothy edges. Edge retention seems quite similar.

Blade design
Apparently different. I prefer the modified Wharncliffe on Proper. Otnat blade works great, too. The pointy tip is particularly great when opening packages. It is just my preference.

Handle
I love the look and feel of Proper's canvas Micarta when dry. It becomes somewhat gooey and slippery when wet. Otnat linen Micarta looks like natural wood and feels grippier when wet, which I like very much. It would be nicer if Otnat handle is a bit thinner for synthetic covers.

Construction
They both have stop pins like other modern slip joint knives. Proper is completely disassemblable, while you can only remove the cover materials for Otnat. The pivot screw is adjustable, though. I wonder if I can take out the blade.

Fit and finish
I think the fit and finish is quite similar. But all the roundings make Otnat feel higher in quality. To me, Otnat is like Northfield, and Proper is Farm and Field.

Action
It is about flat vs rounded blade tang. I love the action of Otnat. Very snappy. I am Ok with Proper's rounded tang, but I think Benchmade could have and should have opted out the halfstop and gone for a regular cam-style tang like Case Sod Buster. Then, it would be much nicer.


They are very different and well crafted modern slip joint knives, and I love both (with the regrind). I will rotate among them and a custom Zulu slip joint for a while.