So, it's about time I confront you guys with the result of your influence on me. I bought this knife a while back as a result of this thread: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/knives-vs-the-sea.1745269/
I was looking for a good allround knife to take to La Palma, a sunny Spanish island in the sea. However, due to Corona, my government imposed travel restrictions and I ended up going to Germany, instead.
I tested the knife by making a walking stick, which saved my poor Dutch legs (we don't have mountains).
Anyway, here is some more pictures of the knife:
Size comparison with Buck 110:
So, onto the review.
The design catches my eye. The knife is short (and thus, legal in many places, which was one of my criteria). It isn't very heavy, finding the right balance between heft and light-weight. The handle is nice an grippy.
The tall blade helps the geometry, and the sharpening angle in conjunction with the edge geometry finds a sweet spot with a great balance between sharpness/slicyness and rough (wood)work. I wouldn't call this knife very slicy, but it's good enough for fine work and food prep, while at the same time being sturdy enough for harder work. I don't like batoning (I always take a small axe and folding saw if I can help it), but if you're in a pinch I would trust this knife to do it without destroying the edge or blade.
The tall blade makes this knife versatile and it should also work well in the kitchen. The jimping does not get in the way, but neither is it useful (unless you wear gloves). After I put my own edge on it, the knife performed quite well in a variety of tasks and it is easy to wield and easy to switch grips on.
Ergonomically, the knife is mostly good. However the area with the fingerchoil is an exception. The finger choil is too deep and the handle is too thin in that spot (it tapers a bit, see the picture below). This means that you miss a bit of purchase or grip there, and with more prolonged work, I noticed my hand/index finger getting tired quite quickly there. I wish they would have done that a bit differently. You also notice it in a regular hammer grip, so it's always present.
The overal fit and finish of the knife was good. There were no gaps or other imperfections. However, the exception was the factory edge. The factory edge was barely adequate out of the box. It cut paper, but it was having a bit of trouble. So I immediately put my own edge on it, using a guided sharpening system. While doing that, I noticed that the factory edge had been asymmetrical. It was a sloppy sharpening job, but not one that took a lot of effort to correct (I did not need to reset the angle/edge, just give it a thorough once over starting from a coarse grit). After sharpening, the knife performed quite well.
The sheath deserves special mention, for reasons both good and bad. I'll start with the good. THE SHEATH IS REVERSIBLE FOR LEFT HAND CARRY!!!!111!!1111one and that is AWESOME! (Please note, if you do this, you wont be able to use the bow drill divot.) The sheath is also sturdy, and the firesteel holder is well placed. It also has a drainage hole.
However, as much as I'd like to gush over the reversible sheath, it has some flaws. Most notably, the edge touches the sheath. If you have a freshly polished edge, you will be able to tell. (It's just a tiny spot where it curves, though. I wasn't able to get it on a picture). I also sometimes see small bits of black plastic on the blade when I take it out, so it's cutting into it somewhere. Another is ergonomics: for some reason they removed the plastic right at the spot where you would put your thumb to pop out the blade, making it more difficult. The dangler sheath means you have to reach pretty low already, and I really miss those 2 centimeters of plastic. It just feels awkward every time I want to draw it.
There is something special about this knife. The letters FC stand for FireCraft. Let me tell you, it lives up to its' name. The firesteel that comes with the knife is by far the best I've ever had. The spine of the knife is nice and sharp and it is very very good at throwing sparks. This knife and firesteel combo is simply the best at throwing sparks I've ever seen. Don't use the little cutout, though. I mean, you can, but I prefer the straight bit of the spine. If firemaking is a very important consideration for you, this is the knife for you. Period.
The knife was a bit on the expensive side, setting me back about € 275. This version is S35VN which suits the knife and its' uses. If you're in a scenario where you won't be able to do a lot of maintenance, the steel and geometry will keep you going for a while. I wish I had this knife when I was still doing summer camps for scouts. I also like the way the knife looks with it's micarta handles and stonewash blade finish. Even though it's a bit on the expensive side, I do think you're getting a lot of value with it and the knife should last a long time.
On the whole, this knife is a very good allround knife. It can do a lot of things even though it is pretty small. It is a true 'jack of all trades'. However, there are a few issues that could use some tweaking, especially considering the price. All in all, though, it's still a pretty good knife and I suspect it will be coming with me on a lot of vacations as a great allround option. I also will be looking at it's bigger brothers in the future.
I was looking for a good allround knife to take to La Palma, a sunny Spanish island in the sea. However, due to Corona, my government imposed travel restrictions and I ended up going to Germany, instead.
I tested the knife by making a walking stick, which saved my poor Dutch legs (we don't have mountains).
Anyway, here is some more pictures of the knife:
Size comparison with Buck 110:
So, onto the review.
The design catches my eye. The knife is short (and thus, legal in many places, which was one of my criteria). It isn't very heavy, finding the right balance between heft and light-weight. The handle is nice an grippy.
The tall blade helps the geometry, and the sharpening angle in conjunction with the edge geometry finds a sweet spot with a great balance between sharpness/slicyness and rough (wood)work. I wouldn't call this knife very slicy, but it's good enough for fine work and food prep, while at the same time being sturdy enough for harder work. I don't like batoning (I always take a small axe and folding saw if I can help it), but if you're in a pinch I would trust this knife to do it without destroying the edge or blade.
The tall blade makes this knife versatile and it should also work well in the kitchen. The jimping does not get in the way, but neither is it useful (unless you wear gloves). After I put my own edge on it, the knife performed quite well in a variety of tasks and it is easy to wield and easy to switch grips on.
Ergonomically, the knife is mostly good. However the area with the fingerchoil is an exception. The finger choil is too deep and the handle is too thin in that spot (it tapers a bit, see the picture below). This means that you miss a bit of purchase or grip there, and with more prolonged work, I noticed my hand/index finger getting tired quite quickly there. I wish they would have done that a bit differently. You also notice it in a regular hammer grip, so it's always present.
The overal fit and finish of the knife was good. There were no gaps or other imperfections. However, the exception was the factory edge. The factory edge was barely adequate out of the box. It cut paper, but it was having a bit of trouble. So I immediately put my own edge on it, using a guided sharpening system. While doing that, I noticed that the factory edge had been asymmetrical. It was a sloppy sharpening job, but not one that took a lot of effort to correct (I did not need to reset the angle/edge, just give it a thorough once over starting from a coarse grit). After sharpening, the knife performed quite well.
The sheath deserves special mention, for reasons both good and bad. I'll start with the good. THE SHEATH IS REVERSIBLE FOR LEFT HAND CARRY!!!!111!!1111one and that is AWESOME! (Please note, if you do this, you wont be able to use the bow drill divot.) The sheath is also sturdy, and the firesteel holder is well placed. It also has a drainage hole.
However, as much as I'd like to gush over the reversible sheath, it has some flaws. Most notably, the edge touches the sheath. If you have a freshly polished edge, you will be able to tell. (It's just a tiny spot where it curves, though. I wasn't able to get it on a picture). I also sometimes see small bits of black plastic on the blade when I take it out, so it's cutting into it somewhere. Another is ergonomics: for some reason they removed the plastic right at the spot where you would put your thumb to pop out the blade, making it more difficult. The dangler sheath means you have to reach pretty low already, and I really miss those 2 centimeters of plastic. It just feels awkward every time I want to draw it.
There is something special about this knife. The letters FC stand for FireCraft. Let me tell you, it lives up to its' name. The firesteel that comes with the knife is by far the best I've ever had. The spine of the knife is nice and sharp and it is very very good at throwing sparks. This knife and firesteel combo is simply the best at throwing sparks I've ever seen. Don't use the little cutout, though. I mean, you can, but I prefer the straight bit of the spine. If firemaking is a very important consideration for you, this is the knife for you. Period.
The knife was a bit on the expensive side, setting me back about € 275. This version is S35VN which suits the knife and its' uses. If you're in a scenario where you won't be able to do a lot of maintenance, the steel and geometry will keep you going for a while. I wish I had this knife when I was still doing summer camps for scouts. I also like the way the knife looks with it's micarta handles and stonewash blade finish. Even though it's a bit on the expensive side, I do think you're getting a lot of value with it and the knife should last a long time.
On the whole, this knife is a very good allround knife. It can do a lot of things even though it is pretty small. It is a true 'jack of all trades'. However, there are a few issues that could use some tweaking, especially considering the price. All in all, though, it's still a pretty good knife and I suspect it will be coming with me on a lot of vacations as a great allround option. I also will be looking at it's bigger brothers in the future.
