Knives

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Vosteed ANKYLO

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Written by: Casey Kienzle

  I received Vosteed’s new knife, the Ankylo, and it’s truly a fine knife! This knife features an all new lock system called the V-anchor lock. Which is an incredible new locking system. So let’s dive in and see what makes this knife so great.

The handle

  The Ankylo’s handle is made from 6061 Aerospace Grade Aluminum. I personally really like this handle because of the grenade pattern texture and because of the handle shape. It makes it really easy to get a good grasp on the knife and hold it comfortably. Plus, it makes me feel like I have really good control over the knife. There is amazing jimping on the back of the blade and runs along some of the spine of the handle, which definitely helps with that control as well. On the inside of the handle are machined weight relief pockets. These pockets are there to reduce user fatigue. This gives the knife a good balanced feel. For carrying the Ankylo around all day, Vosteed added a deep carry pocket clip.

The lock 

  The Ankylo features Vosteeds new V-anchor button lock. It is a pretty fascinating design. There is an anchor plate and a magnetic connector that will attract, and push, the button from different directions. The pivot button will become recessed even if the lock is not engaged, that way the button will not be accidentally pushed. What that does is give the lock an integrated fail safe system. The anchor plate for the lock is also spring loaded, which allows it to quickly move into place. The anchor plate is milled from a 5mm thick piece of steel, giving it lots of strength. I really like this lock, it feels incredibly secure when the blade is opened and the lock is engaged. 

Opening

  There are 4 different ways to open the Vosteed Ankylo. Thumbhole, front flipper, back flipper and an easy to use button. I personally really like that because sometimes your hand may be in a position where you need to open the blade differently and you can’t use the flipper on the back. So it’s really handy to have the 3 other ways to open it. When I first started using this knife, I noticed that it has a really smooth opening. And that is due to the larger sized bearing Vosteed uses in this knife. Other folding knives use a smaller sized bearing. Since the Ankylo uses that larger bearing, I notice that it has a much smoother opening. 

The blade

  One of my favorite parts of the Ankylo is the Elmax reverse tanto style blade. The blade material is Bohler Elmax, which is one of the toughest high end stainless steel you can get. It compares to S30V. Elmax also has better wear resistance than S30V, meaning that this blade is really durable and stays sharp for a long time! I can definitely see that with all the boxes, tape and other various things I have been cutting with the knife. They designed the blade belly to be really great for multitasking. Because of that, it can easily cut and pierce through lots of things. That’s what you want in a knife, right!!

Summary

  This is my very first Vosteed knife, and I absolutely love the Ankylo! It feels very solid, it’s incredibly sharp and I absolutely love the button lock. The design of the new Vanchor lock is really great and feels very secure when it’s engaged. This is truly one of the best knives I’ve ever used. If you are looking for a great everyday carry knife that is tough and stands out from other knives, then the Vosteed Ankylo is the knife for you!

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Rugged EDC folder with a robust new locking system

Target Market:

Anyone wanting a high quality, sturdy, folding EDC knife

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

  •  Blade Length: 3.18" | 80.90 mm

  •  Overall Length: 7.75" | 196.90 mm

  •  Blade Width: 1.22" | 31.00 mm

  •  Blade Thickness: 0.134" | 3.40 mm

  •  Blade Material: Elmax

  •  Blade Grind: Flat

  •  Blade Style: Reverse Tanto

  •  Blade Finish: Black Stonewash / Satin / Stonewash

  •  Hardness: HRC 60±2

  •  Handle Length: 4.57" | 116.00 mm

  •  Handle Width: 1.06" | 27.00 mm

  •  Handle Thickness: 0.563" | 14.30 mm

  •  Handle Material: Aluminum

  •  Color: Black / Green / Gray / Orange / Blue

  •  Weight: 4.76 oz | 135.00 g

  •  Opener: Front Flipper | Back Flipper | Thumb Hole

  •  Lock Type: V-anchor Lock

  •  Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing

  •  Pocket Clip:  Non-reversible | Stainless Steel

  •  Carry Position: Tip-up

  •  Knife Type: Manual Folding

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

There are two options for the handle: Machine textured aluminum that comes in grey, black, orange and green. Or smooth, hard-coated matte finish that comes in blue or black.

What others are saying?:

Product has just been released, so nothing found as of publishing

Link to other reviews:

Gear Junkie

Price point:

MSRP = $169.00

Retail = $159.00 on early Kickstarter

I need it now! Availability:

Kickstarter or Vosteed

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Great Size

  • New V-anchor lock system

  • Handle Texture

  • Blade jimping

  • Elmax blade steel

Cons:

  • Slightly stiff operation out of box - needs break-in period to operate easier

Score: 9.00 Amazing

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Vosteed Corgi

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  How the hell do you open it? This was the first comment I received when showing the Vosteed Corgi to friends. Unlike the other knives I own, this knife uses a front/standard flipper to open the blade. It took me a minute to figure out how the mechanism works, but once I did, it opened easily. 

  The Corgi’s blade is 2.99 inches 14C28N modified drop point with a flat grind. I have been using it for the past two months. I have experienced no issues using the knife and the blade has maintained its edge.

  The patented Trek Lock mechanism with ceramic ball bearings makes the blade open and close smoothly. The blade can be closed by using a simple push of the button. When closed, the blade fits entirely in the handle. I was concerned that the button could be accidentally pressed causing the blade to move while I was using it, but that did not happen.

  The Vosteed Corgi is all about symmetry with both sides of the handle being identical. The brass plates were a nice aesthetic touch. According to Vosteed, they also provide structural stability. Keeping with the symmetrical design the blade has a front and symmetrical standard flipper, both with jimping, although I did not use the front flipper. The backspacer has a pin which serves as a lanyard passthrough.

  When Vosteed sent the Corgi for review, it was sent with a sticker, cleaning cloth, Vosteed patch, and a zipper storage pouch. This is how all the Corgi’s are sent from Vosteed.

  The first change I made to the knife was to reverse the pocket clip and set it up for left pocket carry. The primary reason I do this is that I do not like to have anything that could interfere with the drawing of my firearm. The clip was a little hard to get in my 5.11s so I bent it a little out to make it fit easier. The screw which secures the plates backed out causing the plates to loosen. Proper application of a Torx T8 screwdriver resolved the issue. Other than this I did not encounter any issues with the Corgi. From daily use, the micarta handle wore down a little and the brass plates developed a patina.

  I showed the Vosteed Corgi to several friends. Once they learned how to use the flipper, they liked the functionality of it. They went to buy one for themselves, but the knife was listed as sold out on their website. If you happen to be in the market for a smooth gentleman's knife, check out the Corgi at Vosteed’s website.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Reasonably priced flipper pocket knife.

Target Market:

Anyone who wants a flipper knife at a reasonable price.

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

  • Overall Length: 7.17" | 182.12 mm

  • Blade Length: 2.99" | 75.98 mm

  • Blade Width: 0.84" | 21.31 mm

  • Blade Thickness: 0.118" | 3.00 mm

  • Blade Material: 14C28N

  • Grind: Flat

  • Blade Style: Drop Point

  • Finish: Black Stonewash

  • Hardness: HRC 60±2

  • Handle Length: 4.18" | 106.14 mm

  • Handle Width: 0.92" | 23.32 mm

  • Handle Thickness: 0.49" | 12.33 mm

  • Handle Material: Micarta

  • Color: Green

  • Weight: 3.32 oz or 94.00 g

  • Opener: Front Flipper | Back Flipper

  • Lock Type: Trek Lock

  • Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing

  • Pocket Clip: Reversible | Stainless Steel

  • Carry Position: Tip-up

  • Backspacer Material: Micarta

  • Backspacer Color: Green

  • Insert Material: Brass

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Vosteed lists 15 different styles with various handle colors and insert materials.

What others are saying?:

4.6 of 5 stars on Amazon 

My Favorite Knife

This Vosteed Corgi is a little beauty. The action is smooth and quiet, the lines are somehow both streamlined and soft, the blade is classic, not wild or aggressive—this is definitely a gentleman's pocket knife. It looks good, it feels simply good in the hand, the materials are top-notch (14C28N is my #3 steel behind 20CV and Magnacut- I do love my stainless steels), the attention to detail is evident on every section of the knife, both blade and handle. I'm a newbie knife collector, but this is definitely my favorite knife.

Link to other reviews:

Knife Informer 

Price point:

MSRP = $59.00

Retail = $59.00 at Amazon

I need it now! Availability:

Vosteed or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Good value for the price.

  • Trek Lock mechanism is smooth.

  • Good construction.

  • Blade maintained its edge during daily use.

Cons:

  • Screw backed out

  • Limited availability on the Vosteed web site

Score: 8.00 Great

Favorite Link:  2A4E Diversity Shoot

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Cobratec Rath

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  When it comes to pocket knives, I always try to recommend ones that will not kill the wallet. Cobratec Knives happens to be one of those companies. Yes, they make higher priced items also, but they have plenty in the under $100 range. The Cobratec Rath is one of those. 

  Cobratec’s Rath is a nice everyday folder. It uses a flipper on the top of the handle to open up the knife. And a liner lock to hold the blade in place. Nothing fancy for the Rath as this style of every day carry (EDC) knife has been around for ages. The Rath is a simple knife that works well.

  The specifications on the Rath are what make it shine. It starts with a coated D2 steel blade. If you happen to listen to the podcast, you know that we like D2 steel as a great inexpensive knife blade material. It holds an edge decent enough and is easy to sharpen. I have not needed to sharpen the Rath. Granted, I did not abuse it like the Black Mamba that Cobratec sent for review. The coating on the blade also helps protect it from the elements. A nice touch since D2 is not a stainless steel. The blade's thickness is 0.12 inches and Cobratec hardens it to 55-62 HRC, which is pretty standard for D2.

  Cobratec chose to use G10 for the Rath’s handle. G10 is a composite material that gives the handle good strength. It also is impervious to a bunch of chemicals. The G10 handles will probably outlast the Rath’s blade. Another advantage to G10 is its texture. Even when not texturized, it still has great grip. Exactly what you need and want in a knife handle. The Rath has smooth handles, but they still allowed me to get a good grip on the Rath, partly because of that G10 material.

  The Rath uses a flipper style opening. I like flipper opening knives, and the Rath’s flipper works extremely well. The blade just flips right out. One of my complaints with the Rath is that it only uses a flipper to open it. There is no other way to open it. I’d like to see a little slot or something in the blade so that there is at least another option to open it. However, this does not keep me from liking the smooth operation of the Rath’s flipper. The Rath also uses a liner lock to keep the blade out once it has been opened. The liner lock also performed as expected. To close the knife, just push sideways on the liner to unlock the blade, and then pivot the blade in.

  Now that I have gone over the general stuff, let us get into the numbers. The Rath uses a 3.5 inch long drop point blade. I really like EDC knives in the 3-3.5 inch blade length range. So the Rath checks that box for me. I also am a fan of good drop point blades, and the Rath’s blade shape is very useful. The blade hides in a 4.5 inch long handle that also carries the pocket clip and lanyard hole. I do not use lanyards, but the hole is there if you do. I did like the deep carry pocket clip. It puts the knife pretty far down in your pocket. When the knife is open, it is 8 inches long. Imagine that, a 3.5 inch blade plus a 4.5 inch handle makes 8 inches. For a knife this size, the Rath is fairly lightweight, tipping the scales at 4 ounces. I was really happy with the lightness of the Rath. It is easy to carry in the pocket. 

  I have used the Cobratec Rath for a bit and it has treated me well. The drop point blade cuts nicely for me. It has cut lots of boxes, a few steaks, and some other stuff, all the time doing what a knife should do, cut. One aspect I really liked about the Rath is the jimping on the top of the blade. There is not a lot of it, but it is cut deep enough to get a good non-slip grip with your thumb. The handle’s shape is also very comfortable in my hand and is pretty slim, which I like. I also think the Rath is a good looking knife, especially with the red accent around the pivot.

   Cobratec’s Rath is a good EDC knife. It uses a good coated blade. It has a nice G10 handle. It uses a tried and true flipper opening and liner lock. Plus it looks good. And you get all this for under $60. What more could you ask for in a simple EDC knife? So head over to Cobratec and check out the Rath.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Quality Everyday Carry Flipper knife

Target Market:

Every Day Carry or anyone wanting a decent, well priced pocket knife

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

  • D2 Black Blade

  • G10 Handles

  • 3.5 Inch Drop Point Blade

  • 4.5 Inch Handle

  • 8 Inches Overall

  • Blade Thickness: 0.12”

  • Blade Hardness): 55-62 HRC

  • Liner Lock

  • Weight: 4 Ounces

  • Deep pocket carry clip

  • Flipper

  • Lanyard hole

  • Lifetime Warranty 

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Brown, Grey, OD Green, & Red

What others are saying?:

Nothing found as of publishing

Link to other reviews:

Nothing found as of publishing

Price point:

MSRP = $59.99

Retail = Same but use code “GGR10” FOR 10% OFF

I need it now! Availability:

Cobratec Knives

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • G10 Handles

  • Flipper works nice

  • Price

  • D2 blade

  • Deep pocket clip

Cons:

  • Flipper is only way to open

  • No serrated option

Score: 8.00 Great

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Cobratec Large Black Mamba

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  Out the Front (OTF) knives have become pretty popular in the last decade. Because of this, I decided to try one out. Cobratec Knives offered me one of their Large Black Mamba’s to review. This is one of their cost effective automatic OTF knives. As it uses D2 for the blade steel. Also, do not let the name fool you, large does not mean huge. The Large Black Mamba is a good size Every Day Carry (EDC) knife.

  As stated, the Cobratec Large Black Mamba is an OTF knife. If you are new to knives, that means the blade actually extends out the front of the knife, through a slot in the end of the handle, automatically. It does this by either a button or switch located somewhere on the handle. The Black Mamba uses a slider switch on the top edge of the handle. It is a dual action switch. Slide it forward to extend the knife’s blade out, and rearward to retract the blade. I do like the switch on the Black Mamba. It has some serrations on it to let your thumb get a good grip on it. The switch is also ramped up and down to position your thumb at the perfect location to use said switch. 

  The specifications of the Black Mamba are what make it a good OTF knife. Even though Cobratec calls it the “Large” Black Mamba, it’s only called large because it is the biggest in the Mamba line. The blade’s length is 3.25 inches long. Making it the same size as a ton of folding EDC knives on the market. Moving to the handle, it has a length of 4.75 inches. This makes sense to me, since the handle houses the mechanism to open the knife, as well as the blade itself. That makes the total length, opened, to be 8.25 inches. The handle's thickness comes in at 0.49 inches and 0.60 with the pocket clip. The height of the handle measures 0.925 inches wide or 1.09 inches if you include the slider switch. I thought the Black Mamba would be larger, but once I received it, I realized it’s basically the same size as most of my EDC knives.

  Cobratec uses D2 steel for the Large Black Mamba’s blade. I like D2 as I believe it is one of the best lesser expensive steels used in knife blades. This also helps keep the cost of this OTF knife down. D2 is not a stainless steel, so to help keep it from the elements, Cobratec gave it a black titanium coating. The coating does two things: It helps protect the blade and it gives it a really nice look. The blade on the Black Mamba is a drop point shape. It is also not serrated. I’m okay with this as I find straight drop point blades very functional. This particular blade is 0.100 inch thick and 0.650 wide. I would have possibly liked a wider blade, but I am not a OTF designer. So there are probably design limitations due to the handle’s width. But the Black Mamba’s blade shape worked well. Being that the Black Mamba is an OTF automatic knife, it does have a blade safety mechanism. If you try to open the knife with something significant blocking the blade from pushing out, the blade will release from the opening mechanism and become loose inside the handle. It will also disengage if you hold the blade tight while trying to retract the blade back into the knife. To get the Black Mamba back into action, just pull the blade all the way out and it will re-engage the opening/closing mechanism. You can also flick the knife and use gravity to do the same thing. This is a common safety feature on OTF knives. 

  I mentioned the handle’s dimensions, but let’s go a little deeper into the handle. The Black Mamba’s handle has little squares machined into it for grip texture. Actually, the lines are machined in it to make the squares. On the top and bottom, Cobratec machined some lines in to give rectangles. All of these squares and rectangles give the Black Mamba a really good grip. Especially since the handle is made from 6061 aluminum, and aluminum can be slick. On the rear of the handle is a built-in glass breaker, should you ever need one. Also on the handle is the pocket clip. It is tip down, right hand only. Tip down is because it is an auto knife. When you grab the knife out of your pocket, your hand is already positioned with the pokey end pointed away from you. So when you push the opener switch, you don’t get hurt. My only real complaint about the Black Mamba is its pocket clip, it is not a deep carry clip. However, the pocket clip works extremely well and is very strong.

  As with almost all of my knife reviews, I like to actually use the knife. I carried the Large Black Mamba for a while. It carries really well. Or at least as good as most of my flipper style knives. The D2 blade came extremely sharp from the factory. I have had to touch it up twice. D2 sharpens pretty easily, so it wasn’t a big deal. One of those times I dulled it up by scraping some stuff off of a metal surface. Probably something that no knife maker recommends. The opening mechanism has also never let me down. Plus it is super easy and fast to use. I’m not a big OTF guy, but the Black Mamba performed great for everything I threw its way. 

  If you like OTF knives, or maybe want to get into OTF knives, the Large Black Mamba might be just what you are looking for. It is priced right at $170. Has a good blade steel. It functions fantastic and has a good blade shape. What more could you want from an OTF knife? Go check out the Cobratec Large Black Mamba and see for yourself. Or at least take a look into all the other OTF knives Cobratec makes. 

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Everyday Carry Out the Front knife

Target Market:

Anyone wanting a quality OTF knife

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

  • Weight: 3.5 oz

  • Blade Length: 3.25"

  • Handle Length: 4.75"

  • Total Length: 8.25"

  • Titanium coated Drop point D2 blade

  • 6061-T6 aluminum handle - textured

  • Side opening slider switch

  • Glass breaker

  • Lifetime Warranty 

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

None

What others are saying?:

Nothing found as of publishing

Link to other reviews:

Nothing found as of publishing

Price point:

MSRP = $169.99

Retail = Same but use code “GGR10” FOR 10% OFF

I need it now! Availability:

Cobratec Knives

Our Rating: 

Pros:

  • Lightweight

  • Price

  • Good grip texture

  • Good blade design

  • Glass breaker

  • Fast

Cons:

  • Pocket clip isn’t deep carry

  • Blade is a little narrow

Score: 8.00 Great

Favorite Link:  Gideon Optics Judge review

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Vosteed Raccoon

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  Vosteed has come on the market with a bunch of quality knives at affordable prices. The Raccoon is one of those. These knives give you good, useful features that won’t break the bank. If you are looking for an everyday carry knife, one that can handle a multitude of tasks, the Vosteed Raccoon might fit the bill. Let’s find out what this knife has to offer.

  The Vosteed Raccoon starts off with a crossbar style lock. The crossbar lock essentially locks the blade in place once open. I found it to hold the blade in place for everything I used the knife for, from normal cutting to scraping off tape. The crossbar lock on the Raccoon is spring loaded and located toward the top of the handle, near the pivot. Once the blade is locked in place and you wish to close it, just slide the crossbar back toward the rear of the knife to release the blade. You can use either side of the crossbar, or both, it’s really just personal preference. Amazingly, this is my first crossbar lock and I really like how it works.

  More important than the lock style, is the Raccoon’s blade style or shape. The Raccoon uses a flat ground 3.25” drop point blade made from 14C28N steel. Vosteed used a 3 to 1, length to width, ratio on the blade. I really liked what they did with the blade shape, it just works. If you are worried about the blade steel, it has held up extremely well. The blade came razor sharp. So sharp that I cut myself within the first few minutes of receiving it. I have had to sharpen the blade since then, but that is mainly because I was scraping off tile grout with it. I have two complaints about the blade. One is the choil. Yes, it allows one to choke up on the knife, but sometimes it can get caught on the edge of something, like a box flap. The next has to do with the jimping on the spine of the blade. It is too close together and not deep enough. It really doesn’t help much. Besides those two items, I really do like the Raccoon’s blade shape and style.

  I probably should mention how the Raccoon opens. Vosteed gave the Raccoon your everyday thumb stud opener. It has a thumb stud on both sides of the blade, so no matter what hand you use to open it, it will work. This thumb stud is in a good location and makes for opening the Raccoon very easy. One can also use the crossbar lock to open the knife. Just pull the crossbar back and the blade will fall open due to gravity. Or you can flick it out after sliding the crossbar back. Part of the reason the Raccoon opens so easily is its caged ceramic ball bearings. I always like a knife that has more than one way of opening it and one that opens smoothly. The Raccoon does both of those with ease.

  Moving back from the blade, we get into the handle. The handle on the Raccoon is made from micarta. The micarta gives the handle a nice feel. Being micarta, it naturally has a little bit of texture to it. Because of this, the micarta handle never felt slick to me and always gave a decent grip. The Raccoon also has a deep pocket carry clip. It’s only tip up, but can be moved to the other side. The clip is inlet where it screws to the handle so it slides smoothly in and out of your pocket. If you like lanyards, Vosteed put a hole in there for one. I was also pleased with the handles shape, it allowed me to really hold onto the knife. If you are not into micarta, Vosteed also offers the Raccoon with G10 handles.

  The Raccoon came in a nice little metal tin. Inside the tin was a little zippered case with the Raccoon inside. Vosteed also included a patch, sticker, and cleaning cloth. But probably more important, they included replacement springs for the crossbar lock. Not because they break, but because they like to go flying if you completely dismantle the knife. 

  I was pleasantly surprised with the Vosteed Raccoon. For a $50 knife it has some great features. But besides that, it cuts really well. I attribute its cutting ability to the blade shape. This makes the Raccoon a great EDC knife. It just does everything well. The Raccoon is now in my rotation of EDC knives. If you are looking for something sharp to carry around, I would look into what Vosteed has to offer. The Raccoon really fits the spirit of the animal it was named after.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Crossbar lock EDC knife

Target Market:

Anyone wanting a decent pocket knife that doesn’t cost a fortune

Features & Benefits of this product:

  • Overall Length: 7.60" | 193.12 mm

  • Blade Length: 3.25" | 82.55 mm

  • Blade Width: 1.07" | 27.27 mm 

  • Blade Thickness: 0.125" | 3.20 mm

  • Blade Material: 14C28N

  • Flat ground

  • Drop Point Blade

  • Blade Finish: Black Stonewash

  • Hardness: HRC 60±2

  • Handle Length: 4.36" | 110.75 mm

  • Handle Width: 1.10" | 27.95 mm

  • Handle Thickness: 0.49" | 12.4 mm

  • Handle Material: Micarta

  • Weight: 3.04 oz

  • Pivot Construction: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearings

  • Pocket Clip: Stainless Steel (Tip-Up, Right/Left Carry)

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Too many to list, check them out at Vosteed.com

What others are saying?:

Jacob J. - 5/5 stars @ Vosteed.com

My favorite knife, hands down.

I have three Raccoons in varying colors. They're all butter smooth, razor sharp and have great ergonomics. For the price point, it's absolutely my favorite pocket knife and I plan to buy more for family members. The fit and finish is phenomenal for a $60 knife, and the presentation with aluminum box, polishing cloth, and zipper case is great at this price point.

Link to other reviews:

TechWriter Review    

Price point:

MSRP = $59.00

Retail = $49.00 at Knifecenter      

I need it now! Availability:

Vosteed or KnifeCenter

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Blade profile

  • Sharp

  • Micarta Handle

  • Crossbar lock

  • Price

Cons:

  • Jimping is not great

  • Blade Choil

Score: 7.50 Good

Favorite Link:  SwampFox Liberty review   

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COBRATEC BLACK RAPTOR DAGGER

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  Here we have, for review, The Black Raptor Dagger from CobraTec. A knife company that I have just absolutely fallen in love with. The company, as you can see, is CobraTec. On the Gun & Gear Review podcast we discussed one of their knives, and before the show even started I bought the knife and had it on the way to me. That particular knife is the Trapper model with the hidden open switch. Since then I have ordered and paid for 3 more of their knives, plus I have given a few away as door prizes and gifts to friends. Some went to Tony Simon over at his Diversity Shoot. So needless to say, I have been digging these knives pretty well. The knife review today was sent to me by CobraTec, after I reached out to them. They were more than happy to send me this Black Raptor dagger. 

  So what we have here is a knife that is an OTF (out the front) knife, it has a side fire switch made out of aluminum with nice knurling on it to get a good thumb purchase. The handles or case of the knife is CNC machined 6061-T6 aluminum. This is what a lot of firearms and lower receivers are made out of. The blade of the knife is D2 tool steel and is a dagger point that is sharpened on both sides and is very sharp from the factory. The action of this knife is smooth and the lock up is nice and tight. I have used more expensive OTF knives that have rattled once the blades were deployed, but not this one. 

  Here are the factory specs on the knife and then I will get into some more details of what I like and maybe what I don't.  

Specifications:

  • Weight: 3 oz

  • Overall Length: 7.63"

  • Blade Length: 3.13"

  • Handle Length: 4.5"

  • Blade Material: D2 Steel Blade

  • Aluminum Switch

  Most everyone knows that I love D2 tool steel, it is an amazing steel for blades. It is not the sharpest steel out, the most expensive, but in my opinion it is one of the best all around steels for durability, ease of taking care of, sharpening and longevity of a blade. I think they did a fantastic job of picking this steel for their knives.

  CobraTec Is an American company based in Meridian, Texas, they have their blades manufactured overseas to meet their specifications. Then once they are imported back to Texas, a group of technicians assemble the knives and do a quality control on them. This ensures that the end user is getting a quality built, reliable knife with a lifetime warranty. All of the blades are sent out to a metallurgical research laboratory for testing. Now that is quality control right there people. 

  The Raptor came packaged in a great hard plastic case with a foam insert that held the knife in place. It also had a card with the person who assembled and inspected the knife. There was also a warranty card in the box as well. All you have to do is follow the directions and go to the website and put the code in. Your knife will be warrantied to you for a lifetime. 

  With the Raptor being a dagger style blade I did not get to do my usual type of skinning or typical EDC fingernail cleaning with it. What I can tell you is that it is sharp. It will puncture through just about any normal thing you want to stab with it, within reason. I did sharpen the D2 blades on both sides, I didn't have to but I did, it was already sharp enough.

  One good thing about their OTF knives is that you can order different style blades for them at a reasonable price. They have tanto, drop point, and the dagger style. This blade style is not one I myself like, because I like a blade that I can use to work with everyday. My opinion on this doesn't take away from what the knife was intended for. This is a defensive knife and a damn good one at that. So if you're looking for a EDC OTF knife for self defense look at the CobraTec Raptor, it will not disappoint at all. CobraTec also has many options, styles and price points for everyone. 

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Quality Out the Front knife at a decent price. American owned company, assembled and quality inspected by a single person.

Target Market:

Someone looking for quality without breaking the bank

Self defense

Knife collectors

Average Joe 

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product): 

  • Weight: 3 oz

  • Overall Length: 7.63"

  • Blade Length: 3.13"

  • Handle Length: 4.5"

  • Blade Material: D2 Steel

  • Aluminum Switch

  • American Owned company

  • Sharp out of the box

  • Great packaging

  • Locks up tight

  • Lifetime warranty

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available

Different blade styles, other models available, different price points for everyone, different finishes, etc. 

Link to other reviews:

Great American Survival on YouTube   

Price point:

MSRP = $159.99

Retail = Same but use code “GGR10” at CobraTec and get 10% off

I need it now! Availability:

CobraTec

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Sharp

  • Great lock up

  • Quality machining

  • Quality materials

Cons:

  • I am not a fan of the dagger blade

Score: 7.5 Good 

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Sencut Serene

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  When looking at an EDC knife, your average person tends to want quality at an affordable price point. Sencut knives just might be what these people are looking for. They sent out the Serene model for me to use and review. I opted for the blue handled version with the satin finished blade, but they have other color options available. 

  The Sencut Serene is a button lock, flipper style knife. It also has thumb studs on it for opening, not just the flipper or button. This means that there are 3 ways of opening the knife up. Either flip it out using the flipper hump on the back side of the handle, or by using the thumb stud. Being a button lock knife, one can also push and hold the button in, then flip the knife out. I am a person that really likes having multiple ways to open an EDC knife. You never know when your normal way of opening it just won't work. Being a button lock knife, and a flipper, the button is spring loaded so that it catches the blade at full extension, and locks it in place. I found the Serene’s button lock to work well. The blade also locks up tight. The other great aspect of the Serene is how smooth it functions. Those ceramic ball bearings make it feel like you are getting a much higher price range knife.

   The heart of any knife is its blade steel. The Serene uses D2 steel at a hardness of 59-61. D2 is an excellent choice for anyone wanting an everyday use knife. D2 is not considered stainless steel, so you will need to clean it and oil it every so often. But, D2 will give you good edge retention and toughness. Not as much as high end steels, but the Serene is a budget knife that performs above its pay grade. Because the D2 blade is fairly tough, it takes a little more to sharpen it, but that also means that it will stay sharp longer. I am a fan of D2 steel in knives, and Sencut made a good choice using it in the Serene.

  Since we are on blade steel, let’s get into the blade itself. The Serene uses a 3.48” drop point style blade. So it’s not tiny. Basically it is curved up from the blade's belly to become a point. The Serene uses a shallower curve than what I would call your typical drop point blade. It doesn’t really have a flat spot in the cutting edge, it just gradually curves upward to the point. I found the blade shape to be very useful for most of my cutting needs. Sencut also put some decent jimping on the top of the blade. This gives your thumb some grip on the top of the knife. The Serene’s blade is also very thin, making it easily slice through stuff. The flat grind on it also probably helps with that too. I am also a fan of the blade's thinness.

Worn Anodizing

Easily dinged up handle

  As with any knife, it usually needs some sort of handle or frame. The handles on the Serene are made from aluminum and anodized in different colors. Sencut did not put any texture on the knife's handles. They aren’t necessarily smooth, as there is, what looks like, a bead blasted finish. But they feel smooth to me. There is a finger curve cut out for your index finger. This does give some grip so your hand won't slip off the knife. The shape and smoothness of the handles does make for a comfortable feeling knife in the hand. One drawback, I found with the Serene, is that the anodizing wears off pretty easy. Especially around the edges. Dings show up pretty easily in the anodizing too  The Serene also has a tip up reversible carry clip. The clip is designed for fairly deep carry, and is decently strong to hold the knife in place.

  The Sencut Serene fits my style of EDC nicely. Its blade length fits in where I like them, somewhere between 3 and 3.5 inches. The thin D2 blade stays sharp and cuts nicely. The handle may be smoother than I like, but some people prefer a smoother handle. It’s also pretty lightweight. I really don’t think a person can go wrong with the Sencut Serene. The knife has a lot of good attributes, especially in the $50 price range. You can check the Serene out at Sencut.com.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Lightweight EDC knife

Target Market:

Those wanting a quality flipper knife that won’t break the bank

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Overall Length: 8.17" / 207.5mm

  • Width: 1.43" / 36.4mm

  • Overall Height (Include Clip): 0.68" / 17.2mm

  • Blade Length: 3.48" / 88.4mm

  • Closed Length: 4.69" / 119.1mm

  • Blade Thickness: 0.12" / 3mm

  • Handle Thickness: 0.47" / 12mm

  • Knife Weight: 3.43oz / 97.3g

  • Blade Material: D2

  • Blade Hardness: 59-61HRC

  • Blade Grind: Flat

  • Blade Finish: Satin

  • Blade Type: Drop Point

  • Handle Material: Bright Blue anodized Aluminum

  • Hidden Lanyard bar

  • Pocket Clip: Tip-Up, L/R

  • Clip Material: Stainless Steel

  • Screws/Thumb Stud Material: Stainless Steel

  • Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing

  • Locking Mechanism: Button Lock

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Blak, Red, or Grey

What others are saying?:

5 out of 5 stars on Amazon   

Very nice and extremely sharp!

This is my first Sencut knife. I purchased it because I have always enjoyed my Civivi knives, and I know they are from the same OEM. This knife came extremely sharp from the factory. It performed the paper cut test with almost no resistance and absolutely a razor clean cut. The thumb stud is a good size, but not too big as to be distracting or in the way. The flipper tab on the back is also very modest but quite functional. My wife who has zero experience with flippers was able to work both methods of opening first try. The button lock depresses easily, but not so easily that I would worry about accidentally unlocking the blade while working. The action is buttery smooth, and the detent is very nice. The knife is exactly the same blue color as the depiction. The blade is perfectly centered, and has no play left to right or up and down. I am very impressed with this Sencut knife and will be purchasing more from this brand in the future.

Link to other reviews:

Neeves Knives on YouTube   

Price point:

MSRP = $55.00

Retail = $46.75 on Amazon     

I need it now! Availability:

Sencut or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Sharp

  • Thin D2 blade

  • Button Lock

  • Flipper

  • Ceramic bearings

  • Deep carry pocket clip

Cons:

  • Anodizing wear

  • Smooth handle

Score: 7.50 Good

Favorite Link:  Angry Bear Arms sight review 

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Vosteed Corsair

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  Up for review is a Vosteed Corsair knife which was provided by the manufacturer. When I opened the box, In addition to the knife, it contained a Backspacer with a lanyard loop, cover plate, sticker, and a patch.  

  My first impression of the Vosteed Corsair is that it is well constructed and feels solid. The Micarta grip is nice and allows me to securely hold the knife with a convenient thumb ramp on the back of the blade.  The blade opens smoothly and is easily manipulated.  There is a reversible deep cover pocket clip for minimal visibility which is rounded to prevent pinching and snagging.  A plate is also included, along with two screws, to cover the open pocket clip slot.  All screws on the knife are countersunk which prevents snagging when removing the knife from your pocket.  

  The drop point blade of the Corsair is made from Nitro-V and is extremely sharp out of the box.  The blade design works fine for daily use allowing me to cut everything from paper to vegetables with minimal effort.   The blade lockup is solid with minor play in the blade pivot assembly, even when the blade is between the open and closed positions.  

  This is the first knife I have ever used with a crossbar lock, but it only took a few minutes to get used to the mechanism.  I found that holding the blade down and using my thumb and index finger would easily disengage the lock.  Make sure to keep your other fingers out of the way or break out the first aid kit (did I mention that the blade is very sharp?).  I have been using this knife for the past three weeks and it has made me a fan of crossbar locks.  

  Vosteed also includes a backspacer, which has a built in lanyard loop.  Installing this item increases the size of the knife by 0.25 inches.  I looked at this and, in the end, decided not to install it as I wanted less of the knife exposed when carrying it.  

  Vosteed offers a lifetime limited warranty to the original purchaser, the limitations are on their website. 

  I will give Vosteed credit as when I was looking at the reviews on their website, two of the reviews were negative (2-Star, 1-Star).  They could have easily removed the reviews but chose to leave them in place.  

  If you are looking for an EDC knife, the Corsair is a deal at $69 and is now part of my every day carry.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Reasonably priced EDC knife

Target Market:

Anyone who is looking for an EDC knife

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Overall Length: 7.58" | 192.48 mm

  • Blade Length: 3.25" | 82.55 mm

  • Blade Width: 1.04" | 26.49 mm

  • Blade Thickness: 0.118" | 3.00 mm

  • Blade Material: Nitro-V

  • Grind: Flat 

  • Blade Style: Modified Drop Point

  • Finish: Stonewash

  • Hardness: HRC 60±2

  • Handle Length: 4.33" | 109.93 mm

  • Handle Width: 0.94" | 23.91 mm

  • Handle Thickness: 0.49" | 12.4 mm

  • Handle Material: Micarta

  • Handle Color: Black, Blue, Brown, Green

  • Weight: 2.91 oz | 82.5 g

  • Opener: Thumb Stud

  • Lock Type: Crossbar Lock

  • Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing

  • Pocket Clip: Stainless Steel | Reversible

  • Carry Position: Tip-up 

  • Knife Type: Manual Folding

  • Pivot Collar Material: Copper

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Black, Blue, Brown, Green

What others are saying?:

From the manufacturer’s website:

Great action, super sharp

Love the new knife from an appearance and (super sharp) blade perspective. The pivot is very smooth out of the box, too. The scales have some rougher/lighter colored bits on them, though, but that seems like something I can take care of myself.

I'm not sold on the bolt lock, if I'm honest. It works just as it is supposed to, though, from what I can tell. Liner locks just feel a bit safer to me.

I'm no pro, but this still seems like a lot of knife for $69. It fits in a pocket well enough. I'm happy.

Nice knife, but the handle?

Honestly it’s a nice knife, everything but the handle. Which the handle seems like plastic. Not over enthused not worth $70

Link to other reviews:

Metal Complex

Maxlvledc

Knife Know it All

Price point:

MSRP = $69.00

Retail = $69.00

I need it now! Availability:

Vosteed

Knife Center

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Great value for the price

  • Action opens easily and smoothly

  • Blade is incredibly sharp from the factory.

  • Crossbar lock keeps the blade securely in place. 

Cons:

  • Some reviewers said the plastic handle felt a little cheap.  

  • Some reviewers did not like the crossbar lockup. 

Score:  8.50 Great

Favorite Link:  https://diversityshoot.com 

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Case Trapper: Jigged Buffalo Horn S35VN

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THE ORIGINAL MULTI TOOL

WHAT’S IN YOUR POCKET?

So for this review I have gone a little old school and traveled back in time. I went back to a place and time in my past when times were simpler, we ate bologna sandwiches because we had to, where fried potatoes were considered a food group, you drank out of a water hose when you were thirsty, and most of all you had that one special knife that could do it all. My grandfather had one, my dad had one, all my uncles had one, and I had one too. What am I talking about? The good Ole’ Case Trapper. 

  The Case Trapper 65090 Jigged Buffalo Horn S35V, this is not the same trapper I carried as a kid, but it is an updated version of it. It has a great textured Buffalo Horn material that is gripping enough to hang onto when your hands are wet and covered in whatever animal you are processing. Yet it is stylish enough to ride in the front pocket of your slacks, overalls, bibs, or in a Case leather sheath. The blade steel is a version of stainless S35VN which is about 20% stronger than S30, has better corrosion resistance than 440 stainless, has better edge retention and chipping than D2. If you click on the link you can geek out on all the properties that are in the steel. All I know is that it came from the factory with a stone washed finish and was razor sharp. I was really surprised at how sharp it was. I usually hit all my new blades lightly on a fine stone to see the grind marks from the factory. This one had some but they were really close together and not that deep. 

I got this knife during trapping season because I was wanting to go back to the old ways of skinning and trapping animals around the farm. I was using an older Case Trapper I had, but it was one of the smaller ones, and I wanted one a little larger to use while wearing gloves. 

This particular Case Trapper came with two blades, a Clip point and a Spey blade. The clip point 3.25” is for your everyday tasks like piercing, cutting and gives better control when cutting shaped patterns. The Spey point 3.27” blade is well better known in the country, on ranches and farms as a castration blade. The blade is mainly round on top with just a little point at the crown of it. A lot of hunters and trappers love this blade because you can skin an animal, field dress one without hitting the stomach or vital organs. The blade also helps not to pierce the skin when skinning an animal. The overall length is 4.13” closed. The knife weighs in at 4 ounces and one thing to remember is that these knives are slip joint non locking blades. You really need to be careful when using one and be aware of the pressure applied to the blade when cutting. 

I used this knife to skin about 6 raccoons and 2 deer this year. I couldn't tell you how many bales of hay I cut open with it and the numerous packages. After cleaning the knife and putting it back in my pocket or sheath I used it for other tasks like cutting potatoes, processing cuts of game meat and general tasks. The blades have only been sharpened a few times and then they were just touched up with a fine diamond stone and then a strop. The knife has not failed me at all. I really feel that if you like classic knives, maybe ones that bring back some memories, or something that you can pass down to a child, or one that is a general do all, non tactical, original multi tool knife, than this is the one for you. 

The price of this particular knife is a little high, coming in at $149.99 on the Case website. I did find this knife a little cheaper at Knife Works for $125.99. Yes I bought this knife with my own money because I know it is an investment and I can pass it down to my son or to one of my grandsons when the time is right. Case does have countless variations of trappers from $40 and up and in different blade materials, collections, from Ford, Harley Davidson, John Deere to Boy Scouts of America. So if this price is too high they will have something in your budget line. The best part is they are made in America. 

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

American made

Classic Style

Sharp

Corrosion Resistance

Rugged look

Been around since 1889

Target Market:

Dedicated knife people

Hunters

EDC

Those who like quality

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Blade thickness 0.120 (almost ⅛”)

  • Weight: 4 ounces

  • Blade material: S35VN

  • Buffalo Jigged handles

  • Brass bolsters in handle

  • Belt sheath sold separate $10.99

  • Lock Type: Non-Locking (Slip Joint)

  • Closed Length: 4.13 in

  • Blade Length(s): 3.25 in, 3.27 in

  • Blade Type: Clip, Spey

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Tons

What others are saying?:

Nothing found as of this review

Link to other reviews:

Same as above

Price point:

MSRP = $149.99

Retail = $125.99

I need it now! Availability:

Case, Amazon, or Knife Works

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • American made 

  • Sharp 

  • Great construction 

  • Good quality for the money.

Cons:

  • Slip joint, could fold up on your fingers

Score: 8.00 Great

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An Elegant and Lightweight EDC Choice: Civivi Elementum Button Lock Carbon Fiber

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Written by Lance Wallace

  The Civivi Elementum Damascus with a carbon fiber handle and a stunning 3.47-inch Damascus blade is a true testament to the craftsmanship, quality and attention to detail that Civivi brings to the table. As an everyday carry enthusiast, I had the pleasure of using this knife for a couple months, and I loved it.

  First and foremost, the knife's appearance is simply gorgeous. The Damascus blade, with its intricate patterns, exudes a sense of uniqueness I often don't find in other knives. The carbon fiber handle complements the blade perfectly, providing a modern and sleek aesthetic. I found myself proudly showing off this knife whenever the opportunity arose.

  One of the standout features of the Civivi Elementum is its lightweight carbon fiber handle. The knife feels incredibly nimble and light in hand, making it excellent to use for quick cuts or extended jobs. The handle's non-textured surface offers a secure and comfortable grip, enhancing overall control and maneuverability. Whether I was performing intricate tasks or simply using it for everyday cutting needs, the lightweight handle allowed for precise and effortless handling.

  While the Elementum impresses with its appearance and handle, I do have one minor complaint. After a month of daily use, I noticed a loss of sharpness in the blade. Admittedly, this is not uncommon for EDC knives. However, it would have been preferable if the blade retained its sharpness for a bit longer before requiring maintenance. Nonetheless, this issue can be easily remedied with routine sharpening.

  Overall, the Civivi Elementum Button Lock Knife with its Damascus blade and carbon fiber handle is a top-notch EDC option. The lightweight carbon fiber handle ensures a comfortable experience, making it a pleasure to use in various scenarios. While the blade's sharpness may require occasional maintenance, this minor drawback doesn't overshadow the knife's exceptional qualities. For those seeking a reliable and stylish EDC companion, the Civivi Elementum is undoubtedly worth considering.

  Overall, the Civivi Elementum is a stylish pick for anyone looking for a new EDC knife. With a price point of only $126, the Elementum is an excellent purchase and a testament to Civivi's quality.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Button lock, damascus blade, carbon fiber handles, folding knife

Target Market:

Those wanting a nice looking quality knife for a reasonable price

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Blade Length: 3.47" (88.1 mm)

  • Closed Length: 4.53" (115.0 mm)

  • Overall Length: 8.00" (213.1 mm)

  • Blade Material: Damascus

  • Blade Thickness: 0.118" (3.0 mm)

  • Blade Hardness: 58-60HRC

  • Blade Style: Drop Point

  • Blade Grind: Hollow

  • Blade Finish: Black Hand Rubbed

  • Handle Material: Marble Carbon Fiber

  • Handle Thickness: 0.43" (11.0 mm)

  • Liner Material: Stainless Steel

  • Locking Mechanism: Button Lock

  • Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Bearings

  • Pocket Clip: Deep Carry Stainless Steel (Tip-Up, Right/Left Carry)

  • Weight: 3.19 oz. (90.5 g)

  • Carbon Fiber Backspacer with Hidden Lanyard Post

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Tons

What others are saying?:

Ed @ Knifecenter.com  

fun flipper.

Was looking for carbon fiber handled knives, DCA on youtube convinced me to give this a try. Looks sweet, and the smooth flipping action was more fidget friendly than I expected. Blade shape is good for most cutting tasks. This knife convinced me that I need more Civivi Knives. The Elementum is a proven design, the pushbutton flipping action is slick, and the marbled carbon and damascus look really nice together. I appreciate the extra length over the original elementum flipper. Slickness of the carbon surface takes some getting used to, but as a result it is pants friendly.

Link to other reviews:

Nothing found on this particular model, plenty of regular Elementum reviews are out there.

Price point:

MSRP = $126.00

Retail = $107.00

I need it now! Availability:

Civivi, Knife Center, or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Lightweight Design

  • The knife is gorgeous

  • The button lock is extremely secure and I had no problems with it sticking

  • Extremely sharp out of the box

Cons:

  • The Elementum lost its edge quickly

  • This is more on me but I found the 3.5” blade to be a tad too long for my preference in an EDC knife but Civivi does offer a 3” model.

  • Another small gripe is the hinge got noticeably dirtier with lint than a lot of my other knives and I had to remove lint quite often.

Score: 8.50 Great

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Civivi Conspirator

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  As one may know, Civivi has a bunch of affordable knife options. The Conspirator is no different and possibly better. This knife uses a button lock instead of the more common liner lock, but still uses a common flipper to open it up. It is ever so slightly larger than some other knives from Civivi, but is light enough to make a very good every day carry (EDC) blade.

  The Conspirator comes in a variety of different options. Including damascus steel or wood handles. I chose a standard option with green micarta scales and a black stonewashed blade. I seriously thought about the wood handle ones because they look very nice, but decided on something more practical for everyday use. The Green micarta handles are nice. They are textured very little, but have a great grip. These particular micarta scales have a dullish, kind of papery, finish to them. It definitely gives them a unique look. The actual handle design is very simple also. It’s slightly curved where it needs to be and is large enough to actually grip. It has a deep pocket clip that can be swapped to the other side, if needed. The clip only allows for tip up carry. I like Civivi’s pocket clips. They are stout enough that I don’t bend them when they catch on stuff.

  What led me to the Conspirator was the button lock feature. Since I have other Civivi’s with liner locks, I really was curious how the button lock would compare. I have to say, it’s fantastic. The button locking mechanism locks the blade up tight. Then I just have to push the button to fold the blade back in. With a little practice, you don’t even have to touch the blade to close it completely. Some of this is a testament to Civivi’s super smooth ball bearing pivot system. 

  Civivi designed the Conspirator as a “flipper” style knife. So on the back of the handle, there’s a little nub that sticks up. Just run your finger over the nub quickly, and the knife blade flicks out and opens. The flipper has jimping on it for a better finger grip. Not surprisingly to me, the Conspirator opens extremely smooth with the flipper. One can also open the blade, by placing a thumb in one of the grooves on the blade, as if it had a thumb stud. Then there is the opening of the blade using the button lock. One can push the button lock down, then ever so lightly, flick their wrist, to open up the blade. I usually use the flipper, but all of the ways will work for one handed manipulation.

  One of the most important, and hardest to decipher, parts of the knife is the blade steel. Civivi uses Nitro-V steel for the Conspirator’s blade. Nitro-V is a higher grade knife steel, which is probably why the Conspirator costs a little bit more than other Civivi knives. Nitro-V is hard, tough, and can get very sharp. It is a stainless steel, so corrosion shouldn’t be a problem. The Conspirator didn’t hold an edge as well as I would have liked. But to be fair, I was pretty hard on this blade. I used it to pry out some wood staples and also mark lines on fence boards. So in the three months I’ve had it, I sharpened it for the first time recently. It sharpened fairly easily. Plus it does get super sharp!

  I am really impressed with the Conspirator’s blade design. It is a typical drop point style that has a taller profile than my Civivi Brazen. The taller profile gives the blade a little more strength and at 0.12” thick, it could be useful. The blade also has about an inch of jimping. This jimping gives a really good purchase for your thumb to rest on, especially if you need to put some downward force on the knife. Also on the blade itself, up toward the top, is a groove on each side. This allows different ways to open the knife, as mentioned earlier. With the chosen Conspirator option, the blade is coated black. The black coating is pretty durable. I have some light scratches in it, but nothing major. 

  Civivi knives come with a soft case. The case is a little zip up unit that has fake sheepskin stuff inside. Also included is a knife cleaning cloth. These cleaning clothes are great for wiping the knife down, or various other uses. These little additions aren’t needed, but they are appreciated.

  If you are looking for a very good EDC knife, the Civivi Conspirator is just that. It has a durable blade, doesn’t weigh a lot, has super smooth operation, and is sized to fit nicely in one's pocket. I am very pleased with the quality and function of the Conspirator. You can check it out at Civivi’s website or on Amazon.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Button lock, flipper style pocket knife

Target Market:

Anyone that carries a folding knife

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Overall Length: 8.11" / 206.0mm

  • Width: 1.44" / 36.5mm

  • Overall Height (Including Clip): 0.74" / 18.8mm

  • Blade Length: 3.48" / 88.3mm

  • Closed Length: 4.63" / 117.7mm

  • Blade Thickness: 0.12" / 3.0mm

  • Handle Thickness: 0.51" / 13.0mm

  • Weight: 3.82oz / 108.3g

  • Nitro-V blade steel

  • Grind: Flat

  • Blade Finish: Black Stonewashed

  • Micarta handles

  • Stainless Steel liners

  • Stainless steel Pocket Clip: Tip-Up,L/R

  • Ceramic Ball Bearing

  • Button Lock

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Black handle/gray blade, Damascus, Wood handle/gray blade

What others are saying?:

4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon 

I'm a little disappointed. I expected it to be extremely smooth. The look, the feel, the sound it makes is all top notch. But the button is a problem. It is clunky. I heard it's worse with the damscus but that's what I wanted. It is such a cool design with multiple deployment options which I absolutely love. But the button lock should have been improved. I have already taken apart and oiled. Didn't really help. I'm considering filing the blade down where it get a connection but I doubt it will graze it after being hardened. This knife should have been a 10/10. (I do wish the pocket clip was recessed but that's a nitpick)

All this being said, I like the design and deployment options so much I'm not returning. ( though I considering returning for the black micarta with Grey blade)

Link to other reviews:

Nothing but Knives 

Price point:

MSRP = $94.00

Retail = $79.90 on Amazon

I need it now! Availability:

Civivi or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Blade shape

  • Size

  • Deep pocket clip

  • Ceramic ball bearings

  • Button lock

Cons:

  • Edge retention

  • No option for partial serrations

Score: 8.50 Great

Favorite Link:  JSD Supply


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Civivi Hadros

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 If you have listened to the podcast, you understand that I am impressed with the Civivi knives. One of their newest knives, the Hadros, didn’t let me down. The Hadros is a very svelte knife with a wharncliffe blade, thumb stud opening, micarta scales, and a liner lock. The Hadros also has an elegant look to it.

  Civivi took the Hadros and added in some civility. This knife is pretty, if I can say that about a pocket knife. All of this starts with the nicely shaped micarta handles, these happen to be olive colored. The handles are smooth, which gives them a softer look. Of course the smooth handles are not my favorite for actual use, as they are slick. But the size and shape give the Hadros a good look. The handle shape is quite slender in both directions. At first I thought this might be a problem. Amazingly though, the knife feels good in the hand. Civivi’s logo on the pivot screw is a nice touch also. To round out the aesthetics is a smooth pocket clip. This clip is reversible for left or right, tip up carry. The clip is strong and slides smoothly over the pockets edge. 

  The wharncliffe blade on the Hadros is super sharp. It’s made from 10Cr15CoMoV steel, which is a good intermediate steel for this knife. What really makes this wharncliffe blade shine is the hollow grind and flat cutting edge. The hollow grind makes it slice through stuff effortlessly, or at least that’s how it felt for me. The edge has held up well, but I have touched it up on my little sharpener a few times. It wasn’t dull by any means, I just wanted it a little sharper. One advantage, or disadvantage to this blade, is the super pointy tip. If you like that, it’s a nice sharp point. I worry that I might bend or break it off, but luckily, I haven’t. The spine of the blade also has some useful jimping. The jimping is exactly where my thumb rests when holding the Hadros and works well. For opening the Hadros, Civivi uses thumb studs. There’s one on each side of the blade, so being right or left handed doesn’t matter. The thumb stud is located in a good spot. It is easy to open the knife without catching your finger on anything but the thumb stud. Once the Hadros is open, the blade is held in place with a stainless steel liner lock. When locked, the liner lock doesn’t extend too far over the blade. It’s enough to hold the blade good and tight, but leaves enough room for future wear. 

  As with all the Civivi knives I’ve felt, the opening and closing of them is so smooth. The Hadros seems a little smoother than the Brazen model I have. The smoothness is due to their caged ceramic ball bearings. These bearings also help the Hadros to have little, if any, side to side play in the blade. With this knife, I just flick the thumb stud and the blade flips out effortlessly. 

  Some of the Hadros’ specifications are also noteworthy. First off, it weighs nothing at 2.57 ounces. For me, it is on the edge of whether I notice I’m even carrying a knife or not. It really is light. The blade is a useful 3.35” long. I like my pocket knives to have between a 2.75” and 3.5” length, so the Hadros is right where I like the blade length. It also has a 4.2” handle, so it won’t take up a bunch of real estate in your pocket. The micarta handles put the knife at 0.47” wide, and in spots, the depth is about the same. 

  I’ve been running around with the Hadros for about 3 months now. I carry it everyday, and probably use it every day. I’ve cut boxes and food with it, as well as other various things . It is a really good knife, don’t let the handle size fool you. It stays sharp. I haven’t broken the tip yet. It looks good in work pants, as well as Khaki’s. It even comes in a little soft case with a cleaning cloth. All in all, the Hadros has treated me well. 

  The Hadros has a nice look and feel to it. It does everything a pocket knife should, and some things even better. The smoothness, of opening the knife, is top notch. It’s sharp, and even holds an edge well. If you’re looking for something with a Wharncliffe style blade, go check out the Civivi Hadros. 


Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Slim, thumb stud folder with a Wharncliffe blade 

Target Market:

Those wanting a lightweight, elegant style pocket knife

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Wharncliffe style blade

  • Overall Length: 7.55" / 191.7mm

  • Blade Length: 3.35" / 85mm

  • Closed Length: 4.2" / 106.7mm

  • Blade Thickness: 0.12" / 3mm

  • Handle Thickness: 0.47" / 12mm

  • Weight: 2.57oz / 72.8g

  • Blade Material: 10Cr15CoMoV

  • Blade Hardness: 59-61HRC

  • Blade Grind: Hollow

  • Blade Finish: Satin

  • Olive Micarta Handle

  • Stainless Steel Liner

  • Tip-Up, L/R stainless steel pocket clip

  • Thumb Stud opening

  • Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing

  • Liner Lock

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Brown or Black scales

What others are saying?:

5/5 stars on Amazon

Great quality, smooth action, great lockup. Perfect gentleman’s carry.

The blade is perfect for opening packages or doing detail work. Long blade reach

Link to other reviews:

Wayne’s Sharp World 

Price point:

MSRP = $70.00

Retail = $59.50 on Amazon

I need it now! Availability:

Civivi or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Sharp

  • Super smooth action

  • Hollow ground Wharncliffe blade

  • Weight, or lack of it

  • Pocket clip

  • Thumb Jimping

Cons:

  • Super pointy blade, could break off easily if misused

  • Slick and small handle

Score: 8.50 Great

Favorite Link:  Gun Guys Garage

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ESEE Xancudo

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Written by: Rusty Odom

  With the last year being so hard on us firearms enthusiasts finding ammo, I went back to my roots and started getting back into knives. I have a background of being a machinist, for about 10 years, prior to becoming a paramedic. I worked a lot with tool steels in various states of hardness, stainless steel, Starrett stock, hot rolled, cold rolled and so on. I have hardened all kinds of steels, ground them into cutting dies for the smallest of tasks up to 200 ton presses. I am not a metallurgist, but I do have a good base knowledge enough to be dangerous. Here is a term I like to use, “J.E.D, just enough to be dangerous.”  So when I go to buy a knife I look for several things or a combination of 3 things, blade size, blade steel and carry method. With that being said, as of writing this, I have found my favorite fixed blade.

  The ESEE Xancudo, a fixed blade, light weight, easy handling knife with a 3 inch blade. I have numerous ESEE blades, most of them are in the Randall Adventure Training or R.A.T line. Most of these blades are a 1095 carbon steel blade that are easy to sharpen, keep a good edge, can be used like a plow mule, but also needs care of the edge so it doesn't rust. Then while surfing the internet I came across the Xancudo, I was smitten with this blade from the start. First it has a new blade steel for the Esee line, S35VN, which has a Rockwell hardness to 59-60 rc. It is small enough to work with one hand and is very well balanced. The blade is the right width at .125” or ⅛ of an inch. It weighs in at a whopping 3.8 ounces in the hand or 6 ounces total with the sheath. The blade comes with a stone washed finish, 3D G10 scale handles, and for the best part, it is made in the USA.

  The blade is a simple straight belly design with a flat back, small thumb texturing on the back, the finger choil is ground into the handle and gives a great one hand grip on it. The G10 scales are 3D cut, which means it is grippy and textured in all the right spots. The handles just seem to mold to your hand and making using it very nice. The handles are secured with allen screws and can be changed out. My particular knife is what some would call a high angle use blade because of the oval hole cut into the rear of it. You can wrap a piece of rope through it or attach a carabiner with a lanyard, so you wont drop it. They also have the option to have it without the hole. Both blades are a full tang construction through the handle. 

  First off I have to say I am not a fan of the ESEE sheaths, they serve their purpose and do their job well. But for me I am a sheath snob, I will call around and get a sheath made or try and find a company that already has them in stock. It is the generic style that most of their brand come with. It is a vertical carry, injected molded sheath with a spring clip on it. It also has holes so you can use some cordage and secure it to your pack. I went to RK Custom Kydex and ordered a new sheath and used some button style soft loops to carry it horizontally on my belt. This makes it easier for me to be able to grab it with either hand. 

  Let's get to the nitty gritty of how this knife performs. Right out of the box the Xancudo was sharp, I mean the hairs on my arms were jumping off before the blade got to them. I got this knife right at the end of summer and couldn't wait until hunting season to see how it performed. I was not disappointed at all. On two different occasions, while hunting, my 14 year old daughter harvested a couple of wild hogs. So this was the best time to put the knife to work. It cleanly field dressed the swine on the creek bank with little effort of pressure on the blade. During the skinning process it was like using a scalpel, matter of fact that is kind of how she held it. With just a little bit of motion and pressure the blade gilded through the hide, muscles, tenderloin, around the rib cage of both pigs. I examined the blade after each use and it was still razor sharp. I even put the blade back in the sheath and forgot to clean it, when I pulled it back out there was no rust to be found. I was very pleased with this. If it would have been a 1095 steel blade it would have been rusted and corroded from the blood. 

  So would I recommend this knife to anyone? Yes, I would! Knives are something that can last a lifetime unless you are Tony or Zane (Marines), the blade steel is forgiving, it is great for EDC, Bushcraft, hobby work, wearing around your neck, vertical, horizontally or sticking in your pocket, or securing the sheath with a  piece of cord around your belt so it stays and doesn't hit the ground when you pull it out. I have several ammo cans full of knives that have been given to me or I bought on a whim, they live in those cans because my needs have changed, blade steel has gotten better. I no longer needed a 10 inch Bowie knife or a 7 inch Ontario RAT on my belt. So for what I do, this blade hits the sweet spot. Now, not to scare you off, but here is the thick of it. The price might be more than some are willing to pay. Not me, it is always Christmas because I buy my own gifts year round. I think I made up a holiday when I bought this one though. The price on the ESEE website is $186.00. I bought mine at Knifeworks for $106.95. Now that is a deal for a knife that you can pass down to your kids. On a side note, Knifeworks offers a payment plan with a 3rd party company called Sezzle, they are interest free and break up the payments into 4 instalments. So the knife just started looking better, read on for more.

So let us recap this blade:

Overall Length: 7.12”

Cutting edge: 3’

Blade thickness 0.125”

Weight: with sheath 6 ounces/without 3 ounces

Sheath: Molded or injected plastic if some sort

Finish: stone washed

Handle: 3D G10

MADE IN THE USA

WARRANTY: 

ESEE knives are made with absolute attention to detail using the finest raw materials and care during the manufacturing process. We stand behind our knives with a 100% unconditional lifetime guarantee. If your ESEE knife should ever break, we will repair or replace it. This warranty follows the knife throughout its life, anywhere in the world. No sales receipt or warranty registration required.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Perfect for EDC, Bushcraft

Target Market:

Outdoor enthusiast, hikers, hunters or anyone wanting a good fixed blade knife

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • The warranty says it all. LIFETIME, NO MATTER WHAT! 

  • Great corrosion resistant new age stainless blade.

  • Easy to sharpen

  • Perfect for detail knife usage

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Two versions

XAN2-006 (no hole in handle)

XAN1-006 (hole in the handle)

Replacement G10 grips for $22.95

What others are saying?:

I did not find a lot of other reviews for this knife. There are some but not well detailed. 

Link to other reviews:

Prepper Del on YouTube

Knife News

Price point:

MSRP = $186.00

Retail = $106.95 at Knifeworks.com

I need it now! Availability:

ESEE, Knifeworks, Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Razor sharp 

  • Easy to sharpen 

  • Corrosion resistant 

  • Scales are interchangeable 

  • Lightweight but built like a tank 

Cons:

  • The sheath is not comfortable for those with love handle 

  • Could use a dedicated lanyard hole at the rear. 

  • Possibly too small of a grip for those with larger hands 

Score: 9.00 Amazing

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EDC Knife comparison

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  If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s a knife expert. Steel type, brands, grip material, I don’t know what I’m looking at or what is quality. So the only metric I have is in my personal use. 

  Recently I embarked on a journey to find a new EDC knife and it was time to upgrade from whatever caught my eye at the local Walmart. So I took a look at my life and decided on some basic features I “need” in an everyday knife. Remember, these are what I want in a knife, your preferences or needs can vary wildly. 

  One, the knife has to be a worker. I’m not that guy who carries several knives for different things, I want one knife, that will accomplish the tasks I find myself needing to do throughout my day. Anything with a point can be forced into a defensive role, that’s not the purpose of my edc knife. 

  Two, the knife has to have a partially serrated blade. I don’t know much about knife steel and what holds an edge, or what gets sharper better, but I do know, when the knife gets dull, serrations still cut. I do not, however, want a fully serrated blade as that makes it a saw. 

  Three, it needs to be a folder with a secure locking blade and decent guard. Fixed blades are cool but my edc knife needs to fold. It also doesn’t need to fold unless I want it to, and I don’t want my hand or fingers contacting the blade in any way, inadvertently. 

  Four, the knife needs to double as a rescue tool, with at bare minimum, a window breaker and stand alone strap cutter. Both need to be usable with the blade closed. 

  Wanting to keep the price in the $50-$100 range, I found four that interested me, all with slightly different designs and features. So I got them, and carried/used them, all for at least two weeks each. The four I settled on were: CRKT M16-14ZLEK, Gerber Hinderer CLS, Kershaw Funxion EMT, and the SOG Escape. So I’ll go over each one in no particular order and explain what I like and dislike about them all. 

  CRKT: The biggest of the four, coming in at 9.25” overall and a beefy 6.2 oz, is the M16-14ZLEK. The CRKT boasts it uses an “InterFrame construction, with tough, textured glass filled nylon scales over a 420J2 stainless steel liner, InterFrame and solid glass filled nylon back spacers.” This thing is a beast. With a 3.75” AUS8 high carbon stainless steel, titanium nitride finished, tanto blade, and is very capable of handling all the abuse I threw at it. The strap cutter is on the very generous blade guard, and the tungsten carbide glass breaker is sufficient. The pocket clip can be configured in left or right side tip up or tip down (CRKT says it’s not designed for pocket tip up carry, it’s for gear webbing only). While it’s not my favorite clip, it works well enough. I prefer tip up, left side, so that’s how I have it. The knife cuts, pries, stabs, etc., anything I need to do just fine. They do make this knife in smaller sizes but you lose the tanto blade or the four position clip.

Pros: 

Tanto point, hefty blade guard, four position clip, liner lock with a secondary lock

Cons: 

too large for some pockets, clip could be sturdier, no additional cool features like some of the others. 

MSRP - $99

Street price - $60-$70

CRKT Score: 8.00 Great

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Gerber: the Hinderer CLS is the sequel to the rescue model. Scrapping the blunt full serrated blade for a clip point, partially serrated blade, this knife comes in at 8.5” overall and 5.6 oz. The 3.5” 440a steel blade sports a black finish. The glass filled nylon handle has good texture and it is pretty comfortable, with and without gloves. The window breaker also has a lanyard hole (that I should have utilized but more on that later) and the strap cutter swings out from the butt end of the knife. Hope you like right side tip down carry, because that’s the only configuration for the pocket clip. It also sports an O2 wrench in the handle that can be used with the blade closed and it comes in quite handy if you have that need. The knife felt sturdy, and while it is a liner lock, the release mechanism is a pull stud on the handle that makes closing this knife with gloves much easier. The blade guard is ok, definitely could be a bit more pronounced but it works. I really appreciate this strap cutter on this knife and found it to be great at everything from clothing to zip ties. Probably my favorite design of the 4, however it was a bit stiff at first and the detent had to be worked in a bit. My biggest problem with this knife, is that I no longer have it, because a random tree branch or vine took it one afternoon in the woods, in other words, the pocket clip is lacking. 

Pros: 

Great size and weight, strap cutter, locking release, grip texture 

Cons:

Blade guard, pocket clip, thumb stud only 

MSRP - $76

Street price - $60-70

Gerber Score: 7.50 Good

  SOG: The only lockback style knife of the bunch, this one comes in at 8.2” OAL and 4.8oz. A lockback is not my favorite style,. I was willing to overlook that, as the knife was overall quality. While SOG says this is a clip point, it’s more of a spear point. The stand alone strap cutter has spare blades stored in the knife handle, which is super cool if you ask me. I do not like the glass breaker, as it very small and sharp, like needle sharp. This knife also sports several holes in the grip that, when the blade is closed, work as wire strippers. I can’t comment on how well it works because I don’t strip wire on a regular bases, but if that’s your thing, it’s a nice added bonus.  The satin blades finish on the 9cr18mov blade looks nice, and is a nice departure from the black on black that the other three have. Being the only one of this bunch with a 6061t6 aluminum handle, the grip isn’t bad, and the texture is ok. Again, hope you’re like right side tip down carry because the clip is fixed in that position. It’s a good solid clip, when it isn’t loosening up. The blade opens by thumb stud only and the hand guard leaves quite a bit to be desired. 

Pros:

Replaceable strap cutter. 

Cons:

Lockback, lack of blade guard

MSRP - $49

Street price - $40-$45

SOG Score: 6.50 Okay

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Kershaw: The only knife in this article sporting assisted opening, and a built in carabiner. The EMT comes in at 7.25” and 4.8 oz. It’s the thickest knife of the bunch at almost 3/4” wide, this one falls into the “meh” category for me. On paper it looks great, but I can’t say I was extremely impressed overall, but it’s still a decent blade if you want a budget knife, and assisted opening is important to you. The strap cutter feels flimsy, but I had no issues with it, and it cut anything I needed it to. It swings out from the back and has a 1/4” wrench and bottle opener on it. While the bottle opener works, my job frowns upon me using it at work and, at home, I have dedicated bottle openers. I found no use for the 1/4” wrench and feel this would be better served by an O2 wrench. The glass breaker is fine, but it’s on the blade end instead of the butt end, which I found strange. The carabiner, when deployed, locks the blade closed and will not allow you to open the knife until you have closed the carabiner. While I understand why I wish it would lock the blade open for my use case. It is a flipper style, so that’s nice, and the flipper doubles as a beefy hand guard. The grip is glass filled nylon and it is a tad slippery, and the Kershaw “K” grip pattern isn’t the best. The 3” 8cr13mov blade is listed by Kershaw as a drop point, but it looks and feels more like a clip point to me. This knife is thick. like too thick to be carried comfortably in my back pocket. The pocket clip allows for pretty deep carry, and is right side tip down only once again. Final thoughts on this knife: it feels cheap, it’s hard to explain. 

Pros:

Carabiner, hand guard, flipper assisted opening. 

Cons:

Thick, glass breaker isn’t intuitive, lock on the strap cutter feels weak 

MSRP - $58

Street price - $32-$50

Kershaw Score: 5.50 Mediocre 

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So what does all this mean? Well hopefully this can help you pick out an EDC knife, if rescue type knives are your thing. I would have no problem carrying any of these blades in different contexts, except maybe the Kershaw, but in all reality, it will probably find its way into my gear for something. 

My order from favorite to least favorite 

CRKT m16-14zlek

Gerber hinderer CLS

SOG escape 

Kershaw funxion EMT


I will be replacing the Gerber most likely, but I wish they’d update the clip. What I would really like (in case there is a knife maker reading) is the blade and the clip placement options from the CRKT, the glass breaker, size, weight, and O2 wrench from the Gerber, the assisted opening from the kershaw, the clip from the SOG. All these knives have attributes I like. 

FIREARMS INSIDER REVIEWS - 8 KEY POINTS

CLAIM TO FAME: 

Rescue style knives 

TARGET MARKET: 

First responders 

FNBS (FEATURES & BENEFITS OF THIS PRODUCT): 

See individual write ups above 

 

WHAT OTHER AESTHETIC OPTIONS OR FINISHES ARE AVAILABLE? 

See above 

What others are saying:

Not much 

Price point:

$ 35-100 listed above 

I need it now availability: 

Amazon, bladeHQ, or the manufacture websites 

Our Rating:

     Pros: see above 

     Cons: see above 

Score:

See above 



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Civivi Brazen

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  I had heard good things about Civivi knives, which brings us here. Civivi is We Knife’s “budget” friendly knife manufacturer. We Knife makes some beautiful knives, but we aren’t talking about those. We are talking about the Civivi Brazen. The Brazen is a flipper style EDC (everyday carry) knife.

  The Brazen has many of the features one might want in an everyday carry knife. The flipper stands out in this category. It makes the knife open with ease. Just slightly push down, or flip the little tab rearward, and the blade opens super smoothly. If a flipper isn’t your thing, the Brazen also has dual thumb studs for opening the blade. The thumb studs work just as well, but I prefer the flipper. Civivi uses a stainless steel liner lock in the Brazen. The liner lock holds the blade from closing. It’s a little thinner than I personally like, but it locks up well, so not a concern. Side to side blade movement is also virtually nothing. either with the blade open or closed.

  For an EDC knife, the Brazen’s specifications are pretty standard. The blade is a “drop point” style. Which is 3.46” long. Closed, the knife is 4.52” long. It’s pretty slim at 0.47” without measuring the pocket clip. It weighs in at 3.76 ounces which seems perfect, since it is not too light to forget you are carrying it. The Brazen uses finely textured G10 handles, which I found to give a good grip when dry and a little slick when soaking wet. There is also a lanyard slot at the rear of the handle, if a lanyard is your thing. The Brazen also has a deep pocket clip. The clip is reversible for left or right, but only for tip up carry. I liked the clip, it’s nothing fancy, but it clips well. I tend to catch cheap clips on stuff and bend them, the Brazen’s clip has not bent on me!

  Civivi has brought a lot of great extra features to the table with the Brazen as well. My favorite is the caged ceramic ball bearing on the blade pivot. These bearings make opening and closing the knife super smooth. They also aid in how well the flipper functions. The stonewashed blade is made from 14C28N steel. From the steel manufacturers website - “Sandvik 14C28N is the latest development in Sandvik's range of knife steels. Optimized chemistry provides a top grade knife steel with a unique combination of excellent edge performance, high hardness and good corrosion resistance.” I found the 14C28N to be a really good choice for this knife. The edge stayed sharp for a long time. Most of that was cutting up boxes. In fact I just sharpened it before this review. It wasn’t dull by any means, it just needed to be touched up a little. Civivi hardens the steel to 58-60 HRC, which seems to work out for me. I haven’t broken the tip off the blade, which says a lot. Speaking of the blade, Civivi also put some useful jimping in places. The first noticeable jimping is on the top and front of the flipper tab. Next is on the spine of the knife, just in front of the handle. All the jimping is very well thought out and actually gives the user a better grip and feel to the knife.

  Usually when you buy a “budget” knife, it comes in a box, and only a box. Civivi stepped it up once again, and supplied a soft case with the Brazen. I think most, if not all of the Civivi knives, come with this. In the case are the instruction, a sticker, and a fairly decent “Civivi” branded cleaning cloth. Not that the soft case and cleaning cloth are needed, but I did think it was a good bonus. 

  I’ve carried the Brazen since the day it arrived here. I am going to keep carrying the Brazen. Hopefully that tells you what kind of knife I think it is. For a $50 pocket knife, I feel you get more than what you pay for. From the super smooth opening to the sharp blade, I don’t think you can go wrong with the Brazen as an EDC knife. Definitely go check out the Brazen, or any of the other Civivi’s. I was not disappointed.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Quality EDC folding knife

Target Market:

Anyone wanting a quality folding knife under $50

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Overall Length: 7.98" / 202.7mm

  • Blade Length: 3.46" / 88mm

  • Closed Length: 4.52" / 114.7mm

  • Blade Thickness: 0.12" / 3mm

  • Handle Thickness: 0.47" / 12mm

  • Weight: 3.76oz / 106.7g

  • Blade Material: 14C28N

  • Blade Hardness: 58-60HRC

  • G10 Handles

  • Stainless Steel Liner

  • Tip up, Left or Right, deep pocket clip

  • Pivot: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing

  • Made in China

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Different blade steels, shapes, and handle colors

What others are saying?:

5/5 stars on Amazon

 Smooooth!

No blade play. Stupid sharp. Very fast. Love the tip up. A bit bigger IRL found it to be a bit overkill size but legal in MN. It's just as fast as assisted opening knives without a safety. I didn't buy it in black to seem less tactical and scary to women but honestly I got an odd look for using it on the packaging I carry it for. Only downside is I'm not a fan of CCP China. All things considered it's no Chinese knockoff and is in the realm of Benchmade or higher end SOG's I've carried. Overall really happy, no lie it's build quality rivals Benchmade Barrage, Griptilian, and Sog Trident all day long.

Link to other reviews:

Neeves Knives on YoutTube

Price point:

MSRP = $58.60

Retail = $49.80 on Amazon

I need it now! Availability:

Civivi or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Super smooth operation

  • Flipper works great

  • Sharp

  • Thumb studs

  • Deep carry clip

Cons:

  • Liner lock is a little thin

  • No semi-serrated option

Score: 8.50 Great

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Favorite Link:  LA Police Gear

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Buck 110 & Slim Pro

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By: Rusty Odom

THE BUCK 110 original and SLIM PRO

This review is about the Buck 110 Slim Pro folding lock back pocket knife. As a young kid growing up in Tennessee, carrying a pocket knife was second nature. I can remember at an early age, maybe 6 or 7, having a classic Buck 110 with the ebony handles, classic brass bolster, solid lockup and unlock of the thumb button. I don’t know what I ever did with that particular knife but I wish I had it now. I can remember the heft it had in the pocket of my husky corduroy jeans. Many children nowadays will not remember those jeans, the ones that built up static electricity when you walked and your thighs rubbed together. You know the ones, they had double layered knees that would never wear out, even if you were dragged behind your dad’s pickup truck. Now back to the knife, the Buck, the heavy weight, built like a tank, you could dig with it, hammer with it, pry with it, but it was made to cut. I wouldn't suggest doing any of the other things listed besides cutting, but man what a knife. I don't know where mine came from or even what it cost at the time, but it was worth a fortune in my eyes as a kid.

The 110 was designed in 1963 by Al Buck, for sportsmans looking for a sturdy folding knife, for those that did not want to carry a fixed blade. This model knife has been the number one selling knife in the world since it was first marketed, something has to be said about a design that has lasted almost 60 years.

The lockback mechanism is that works off of a rocking bar that locks against the blade when opened all the way. I have cut myself more than once with a folding knife that didn’t have a locking blade because i was not using it the right way.

The original 110:

Closed length 4 ⅞” long

Blade length 3 ¾” long

Blade thickness 0.120 (almost ⅛”)

Weight 7.2 oz

Blade material is 420 HC (high carbon stainless steel)

Ebony handles

Brass bolster

Black leather belt sheath

Price $55 to $79

Now to the new era of the Buck 110, the Slim Pro Series:

The 110 Slim Pro is an improvement on the original 110, in my opinion it is a EDC gentleman's knife. It has all the traditional features of the original but as the name states, it is slimmer, comes with a decent deep pocket clip and a thumb stud. The pocket clip is also reversible for the lefties out there. The blade is S30V stainless, which has better edge retention, hardness and corrosion resistance then the original 420. Now both are great blades, the 420 material has been and is still being used on all major brands of knives. (https://knifeinformer.com/discovering-the-best-knife-steel/) I inserted a link if anyone is interested in reading over the specs of the different knife blade materials. To the common person it might as well be Greek unless you have some kind of metal working or metallurgy background. I myself used to be a machinist in my younger days so I understand it somewhat.

The 110 Slim Pro:

Overall length 8.625” (8 ⅝”)

Closed length 4.875 (4 ⅞”)

Blade thickness .0120”

Weight 3.4oz (almost 4 ounces lighter than the original 110)

Handles are Micarta or G10 material

Pocket Clip

One hand opening with thumb stud

Price $94.00

So to compare these two knives almost seems like comparing apples and oranges as the old saying goes. But I can tell you I have been carrying both knives on my person for several months. I have been cutting various items like cardboard, rope, myself, and then and I mean then I had the perfect time to test them out. A coworker of mine was running emergency traffic while driving an ambulance, when a nice buck stepped out in front of her. I received a phone call around 8:30 PM telling me she had just had an accident in the ambulance and hit a deer. So the first thing that came to my mind was, is the deer salvageable. I can see where everyone is going with that statement I just made. But deer meat to me is like caviar to a Russian. I knew she had to be okay because she was calling me. I wasn’t that uncaring, I knew where the conversion was going to go anyway so I just brought it up first. So after getting the general location of the accident, loading up my Plott hound to track it, my 7 year old son and my 13 year old daughter, we were off. As soon as we located the deer about 100 yards off the roadway, I realized the only knife I had on me was the 110 Slim. So after doing a pretty good trauma assessment and realizing it looked pretty good, it was time to go to work. The knife cut through the hide like butter, all the good stuff came out intact which made me feel good about the meat. After getting it hung up on the kids swing set I let it hang over night and gathered the tools of the trade for the next morning's work. I almost started out with my Cutco hunting knife that I have been using for over a decade but decided to use the Bucks. (How Ironic) I skinned the entire deer with the Slim Pro and it was still pretty dang sharp after that chore. I then swapped to the original 110 and went to town disassembling the various quarters of meat. I did notice that the handles on the original got pretty slick with bloody hands and I lost my grip on the handle a few times. I took the Slim pro and hit the blade on an Arkansas stone to straighten the edge up and went back to cutting meat. With the Slim being a good bit lighter and of course slimmer I had less hand fatigue. The micarta handles gave a more secure purchase with wet hands. After all of the processing was done I went to the cutting board and started cutting up jerky strips, round steak, tenderloins, backstrap etc with both blades. I really liked the weight of the original while making cuts through bigger pieces and the Slim Pro for the more delicate cuts. They both performed great and honestly I couldn't tell a difference in the material that the blades were made out of, I think it all comes down to personal preference to which knife you want to use.

Now as an EDC knife I have to take the Slim Pro, the pocket clip, the knife being lighter and thinner gives it a huge plus in my book. The original comes with a black leather belt sheath to tote it in or you can put it in your front pocket. I have carried it both ways and I am not a fan of having it jumping around in my pocket, it seems to bind up and just uncomfortable to me. I don't mind the belt sheath, but sometimes I have a lot of stuff already attached to my belt and the weight difference between the two and not having a pocket clip, it loses an advantage to me. So this all goes back to what you are going to do with the knives, how you are going to carry them and what your primary use is.

I have to say that I have really enjoyed carrying the 110 Slim Pro for months now, it was razor sharp out of the box, I love how it sets deep into my pocket and the clip is secure. It is a little stiff to open unlike some of the tactical folders I have and on the market, but it is not a tactical knife. This jewel is an EDC that you can open with one hand, it will cut as good or better than other knives on the market in its price range. It still holds that classic original clip point blade with a solid lockup that Al intended with the first model back in 1963. I consider this a blade of all occasions, a do most blade, a gentleman's knife that doesn't mind getting dirty and putting in a hard day's work. If you want to know the best part about both of these knives are? They both are 100% American made with a lifetime warranty. So you choose which one you want, you won’t go wrong either way.

Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame

  • Best selling knife since 1963

  • American made

  • Classic Style

  • Sharp

Target Market:

  • Dedicated knife people

  • Hunters

  • EDC

  • Those who like quality

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product): 

See above in review section

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

  • Different material for handles

  • Aftermarket sheaths for belt carry (cross draw)

  • Stainless Bolster for original 

What others are saying?:

One knife for a lifetime.

Beautiful classic, very sharp.

Great knife, all American made

Price point:

MSRP:

110 Hunter - $55.00 - $79.00

Slim Pro - $94.00

Retail:

110 Hunter - $44.99

Slim Pro - $89.99

I need it now! Availability:

Buck Knives

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • American made

  • Sharp

  • Great construction

  • Good quality for the money.

Cons:

  • Might be a little bulky

  • One blade style for both knives

  • Original handles are slippery to hold when wet

Score: 8.00 Great 

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Medford Proxima

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 Medford Knife & Tool is a semi-custom knife shop in Arizona. I say semi-custom because every knife leaving the factory is ground by hand. These knives are not what you find at the local sporting goods store. I talked with them at Blade Show West last year. A few weeks later they said they would send something to review. I was really happy when the “Proxima” showed up.

 Wow, what a knife the Proxima is. The first thing I noticed was the heft. It really isn’t too heavy at 8.2 ounces on my scale, but it is stout. Medford shipped this knife in a plastic, reusable, waterproof case also. Along with it came care, maintenance, and break in instructions.

 The Medford Proxima is a flipper style knife. So on the back of the handle sits the flipper. The flipper is attached (built on) the blade. By pulling it backwards, it “flips” the knife open. Medford designed the proxima to be smooth, but still have resistance. So I have to flick the flipper pretty noticeably to kick the knife open. They don’t want the blade so loose that it just falls open or closed. There is also a a recess cut into each side of the blade so you can open it with your thumb, or as one would with a regular folding knife. The flipper also has grooves on it to give your finger some traction while “flipping.” Once the knife is open, the flipper doubles as a guard to keep your hand from sliding forward during stabbing motions.

 Construction of the Proxima starts with the blade. Medford uses S35VN Stainless steel as blade material. The S35VN steel gives the Proxima excellent strength, edge retention, and wear resistance. This does make the blade a little harder to sharpen, but it is well worth it. I have not sharpened my blade, and it is still very sharp after 6 months of use. The blade is of the drop point style with a false tip. But even more important, is that the blade is 3/16” thick and almost 4” long! The false tip gives the blade a nice point. Every blade at Medford is ground by hand and the Proxima is no different. The hollow grind looks beautiful and allows years of sharpening before the blade edge gets really thick. I am also impressed with how the tumbled blade looks. It is not polished, but not dull either, just good looking.

 Now onto the Proxima’s frame. The frame is the other part in what makes a knife, a knife. Starting with titanium as material, this particular knife has some faded anodizing. The non-locking side has a purplish-blue fade to a bronzish color on the inside. On the locking side, which is a standard style frame lock, it has a solid purplish/bronze color. Both sides are also tumbled, and not polished. This makes for a really nice looking knife. The non-locking side also has some grooves and a finger cut-out for a good grip. The locking side also has some grooves on the lock, both for increased grip, and too help with unlocking the blade. There is also a hole for attaching a lanyard, if that’s your thing.

 This particular Proxima uses Stainless Steel hardware. Other options (colors, materials) are also available. The hardware is basically the spacers and screws that hold the knife together. It’s functional, and that is all that really matters. The pocket clip could also be included as hardware, but the standard clip is brushed titanium and held on with 2 screws. This clip is probably the stiffest clip I have ever used, and I love the amount of tension it has. This is where I have a slight flaw with the knife. The clip can not be moved, it comes in a tip-up position. I would have at least liked another option for if you carry it on your right side. The only problem I have had with the knife also includes the clip, it came loose on me after about a month. I put medium strength thread locker on the screws and have not had a problem since.

 When I go to use the Proxima, it just works. I just flip the blade out, it opens smoothly, and start cutting. The handle shape and size let me get an excellent grip if I need to do some real work. The spine of the blade also has some gimping that helps me get good downward force with my thumb. The flipper does stick out a bit, but that’s what makes it useful for me. I’ve cut everything from packing tape to pallet strapping (the plastic type) and the knife still cuts great. I expect the Proxima to last me around 5 life times, it is built that stout.

 So, if you are the type to use or buy $500 knives, definitely go check out Medford Knife & Tool. This Proxima is built like a tank. It is all US made and built by actual people, not just machines. I am not one to spend this kind of money on a knife, but after seeing and using the Proxima, I see why someone would. Go check MKT out, they have some really cool and functional knives.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Heavy use, semi custom knife

Target Market:

Knife collectors, Military, Law enforcement. Anyone wanting a tough knife

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Large Flipper

  • Overall Length - 8.75"

  • Blade Length - 3.875"

  • Cutting Edge - 3.625"

  • Blade Width - 1.25"

  • Blade Thickness - 0.19"

  • Blade Material - CPM-S35VN

  • Handle Length - 4.875"

  • Handle Width - 1.25"

  • Handle Thickness (total) - 0.62"

  • Handle Material - Titanium

  • Weight - 8.40 oz.

  • Thumb groove for optional opening

  • Gimping on top of blade and on Flipper

  • Titanium Pocket Clip

  • Individual serial number

  • Lanyard slot

  • Frame lock

  • False tip

  • 100% made in USA

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Many, go look for yourself

What others are saying?:

Nothing really found

Link to other reviews:

Texas Knives on YouTube

Price point:

MSRP = $575.00

Retail = $575 at BladeHQ

I need it now! Availability:

Medford Knife & Tool

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • 100% made in USA

  • Smooth function

  • Flipper

  • False tip

  • S35VN Stainless

  • Large useful blade

  • Good ergonomics

  • No blade movement when locked open

Cons:

  • Price (for some)

  • Pocket clip came loose

  • Pocket clip has only one location

Score: 8.50 Great

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Favorite Link:   Axelson Tactical






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KA-BAR TDI Law Enforcement Knife

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KABAR TDI Law Enforcement Knife

Every EDC kit - the gear you should be carrying with you every day, needs to include a edged blade. Whether its a folding pocket knife, a fixed blade knife, or a utility knife, everyone should have a sharp tool in their "toolbox." Early mankind invented the sharpened edge because of its utility and usefulness for defense, hunting, and utilitarian duties around the cave. There's no good reason to not continue the tradition of toting a blade with you each day. I've had days when I left a knife behind, and ended up needing to puncture or pry at something using the house keys. No excuse, especially with all the knives I've collected over the years.

 

KABAR TDI Law Enforcement Knife

 

Most conceal carriers will have a gun AND a knife on them to be better prepared for any situation. Using a gun should be a last resort because deadly force carries a heavy weight with it, while a knife used as a second line of defense (after trying to deescalate a situation) is a viable option. Many police officers and other law enforcement have a knife on their duty belt for the same reason. While folding pocket knifes are easier concealed and less intrusive, a fixed blade is more useful in a fight. Just like how you carry a gun, a knife should be easy to access without fumbling around. KA-BAR has made a line of knives that fit that role perfectly.

 

KABAR TDI Law Enforcement Knife

 

KA-BAR, the makers of the iconic military blade, have collaborated with the Tactical Defense Institute (TDI) to a line of quality fighting knife to the market for civilians and LEO alike. Simply called the Law Enforcement Knife, the KA-BAR TDI line features several different configurations of blades, varying in blade shape, length and grip color. All of the knives are designed under one concept: the theory that your primary weapon can become hindered or compromised. An attacker can grab for your holstered weapon, or your gun can jam or simply run out of bullets. Each TDI Law Enforcement knife is designed to be effective for up close and personal, close-quarters scenarios. Combined with a belt mounted sheath intended to be easy to draw and ambidextrous, this knife suits lefties or righties and is ideal when clipped to the opposite side of the belt that a pistol holster in on. If your drawing hand is hung up or out of the fight, the TDI's angled grip is easily and very quickly accessible by the other hand. While the shorter TDI blades may seem underwhelming, its smaller profile is easier to conceal under a shirt or jacket and is plenty sharp and dangerous when being attacked within grappling range. Using punching, slashing, or stabbing, the TDI will make quick work of an attacker who is too close to see it coming. Of course it's practical for cutting open packages or boxes too, but the grip angle will feel a bit different than traditional in-line knife designs and take some getting used to.

 

KABAR TDI Law Enforcement Knife

 

The sheath the TDI comes with is a simple polymer injected shell with a reversible belt clip. My TDI came with a Flat Dark Earth colored sheath. Out of the box it was setup for a right side carry, but I ended up swapping it to the left side for carrying with a holster on the right. The edge was pretty sharp, but could use some light honing. The AUS 8A Stainless Steel has a black finish that may wear over time, but it helps keep the blade concealed instead of a reflective polished steel.

 

KABAR TDI Law Enforcement Knife

 

The larger TDI LE knife comes with a MOLLE compatible sheath. While less ideal for belt carry than the steel belt clip of the smaller TDI, the MOLLE straps make this knife perfect for carrying on a tactical vest, plate carrier or other tactical items with the webbing system. The angle of the grip facilitates mounting the sheath more on the side panel for easy access without sacrificing room for magazine pouches. The straps also seem reversible to the other side of the sheath for customizing it to your gear and strong/weak hand. Note that the grip angle makes pulling the knife downward from the sheath if mounted inverted on the left or right chest requires more force, and the blade will not be pointing in a safe direction. Ask me how I know. Mounting with the grip handle pointing up makes it so drawing the knife leaves the edge and tip pointing away from yourself and towards your potential attacker.

 

KABAR TDI Law Enforcement Knife

 

For under $50 on the shelf, this is a great little self defense knife that I actively try carrying with me whenever I go out, with or without a carry gun. With a wide variety of blade shapes and styles its nice to be able to pick your preference. It's the popular choice for a lot of on-duty and off-duty cops, and its easy to see why it's popular with us average joes as well. If you are looking for a do-it-all knife I would probably choose a different tool, but for a heavier focus on self defense and easy of carrying on a standard belt, the TDI knives are on point.

Firearms Insider Reviews – 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame: KA-BAR TDI Law Enforcement knives are effective for close-quarters defense. Each one is designed to be easy to draw, sure when gripped and ambidextrous.

Target Market:  LEO or civilians, EDC

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • AUS 8A Stainless Steel
  • 0.20 lb
  • Fixed Blade
  • 2 5/16" Blade Length
  • 5 5/8" Overall Length
  • 15 Degree Edge Angle
  • Drop Point Shape
  • Hollow Grind
  • Zytel Handle
  • Hardess: 57-59CR
  • Made in Taiwan
  • 0.125 Blade Thickness

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?: Black non serrated, Tan Zytel serrated

What others are saying?: "This is an excellent knife. It takes and holds a keen edge easily. The grip is easy to hang onto even in wet conditions. The sheath mounts firmly to the belt in such a way that it is nearly impossible to remove accidentally. It holds the knife firmly, so that it will not fall out, but is easy to remove and replace when necessary. It also has a very attractive finish which protects the blade from corrosion." Brownells User Review

"Great knife, sheath and clip. Attaches securely on inner belt (under duty belt) and stays put. Easy draw and return to sheath. Grip is secure and blade comes very sharp. The grip-blade angle are very well thought out. I like this knife so much I wear it off duty as my EDC. Great product." Brownells User Review

Price point:

I need it now! Availability: Brownells, Amazon or many online stores

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Easy to reverse belt clip for left or right side carry, or inside the belt on opposite side
  • Grip angle is very fast to draw in either hand
  • TDI LE series features several different blade styles for your selection

Cons:

  • Grip angle reduces leverage for linear cutting
  • Zytel grip texture is too minimal for adequate grip
  • Larger TDI LE knife has MOLLE straps instead of a standard belt clip, with no factory way to achieve it.
  • Larger TDI LE knife is more difficult to unsheath

Score: 7.5 Good



Featured FFL:

For FFL services I choose Promised Land Firearms in Toulon, IL.

Ryan's Links:

Gun & Gear Review Podcast

Hunter of Design

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CRKT Triumph Folder

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crkt3Everyone should have a good folding knife.  And it seems I am always looking for something that fills that bill.  Well I came across the Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) Triumph non-assisted opening knife.  The Triumph is designed by knife maker Pat Crawford.  It seems that CRKT may be discontinuing the non-assisted version, because they are discounted on their website.  This particular knife may be on the large side for some people, weighing in at 6.3 ounces.  But with some of the features it has, I couldn't wait to try it out. crkt2The Triumph is a full featured knife.  Starting with the AUS 8 stainless steel blade.  It is a dual ground Tanto style with a false top edge.  The false top edge and tanto blade design give the knife good puncturing abilities.  You can get the Triumph with or without Veff serrations.  This one has no serrations.  The blade is held out with a single .100" locking liner and the knife also has CRKT's AutoLAWKS safety.  AutoLAWKS is a spring loaded lock that engages once the knife is fully opened.  This feature helps to keep the locking liner in place and supposedly makes it almost as strong as a fixed blade.  When closing the Triumph, one must first move the autolawk out of the way with a finger, and while holding the lock back, push the liner over, and then close the blade slightly.  Once the blade has moved, you can then release the lock and fold the knife in as normal.  It takes a little bit to get use to, but I don't even notice it anymore.

Another nice feature about the Triumph is its G-10 handles.  This handle offers one of the grippiest I have ever used.  Water, mud, and oil don't seem to make it any different either.  When inserting or removing the knife from your pants, it can be difficult because the texture of the grip makes it seem like you wrapped it in sandpaper.  The clip on the knife is removable, but it only has one position.  That position is tip down, so if you like tip up carry look elsewhere for your knife.  The clip is very strong and keeps the Triumph in place throughout the day.

Like I said previously, the knife is large.  Coming in at 5" closed and 8.5" open.  The Tanto style blade is 3.5" long and .14" thick at its spine.  The knife I have has a tiger stripe camo coating on the blade, with black handles.  Different blade designs and handle colors are offered.  CRKT also makes the Triumph in an assisted opening, or a fixed kneck knife.  I have cut many things with this knife and the edge seems to hold up very well and I am pleased with the quality.

crkt4Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame: Good tactical folder for everyday carry

Target Market: People looking for a good solid EDC knife

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product)

  • AutoLAWKS locking system
  • 3.5" Tanto blade
  • G-10 grips
  • locking liner
  • Serrations optional

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

  • Veff Serrated blade
  • Plain Black Blade
  • Assisted Opening

What others are saying?

CRKT Delivers

Reviewed by ApolloExx on Sierra Trading Post: 4/5 stars  - The triumph series means business, with its one side bevel, tanto point, and the serrations that are more like hooks then serrations, this knife is intimidating, aggressive, and very attractive. Crawford designs made this knife out of quality parts and materials, each knife is handmade and is all around a balanced, high quality knife. the grip on this knife is also very unique, feeling more like fine sandpaper this knife has a pleasing texture and you wont loose your grip even if you tried. downside of the blade is the effort it takes to sharpen it, with serrations like this it may be a challenge to sharpen but I believe that can easily be worked around,

Michael on CRKT.com  -  I have between 12-15 CRKT knives, and this being my most recent purchace has given me the chance to really get to use this thing quite a bit. In the past 3 weeks I've had my Triumph w/Veff serrations I've put the thing through absolute hell and have only had to sharpen it once completely and one quick time up This things a BEAST and I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT you grab one if you happen to be lucky enough to come across one

Price point 

MSRP = $149.99 ($44.99 discount)

Retail = $99.99 on Amazon for the assisted opening

I need it now! Availability: Readily available on CRKT

Our Rating:

Pros: + G-10 handles - excellent grip + 3.5" Stainless Steel blade + Stays sharp + Strong .14" thick blade + AutoLAWKS Feature

Cons: - G-10 handles can be too course - Overall size at 5" closed and 8.5" open - AutoLAWKS takes some getting use to - Heavy at 6.3 ounces - Non USA made

Score: 7.5 Good75

 

 

Chad's Favorite Link: Handgun Radio

 

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SOG Snarl Knife

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SOG Snarl Knife

The SOG Snarl knife found its way into my shopping cart pretty quickly, almost automatically. I had no intention of even browsing the knife section during the grand opening of Washington State's first Bass Pro Shop location. As I was making a B line to the firearms counter, this precocious little blade caught my eye, and I knew it would be a perfect stocking stuffer for Christmas... for myself! I own plenty of knives, but none designed for EDC, or everyday carry.

SOG Snarl Knife

Sure I have pocket knives, in fact it seems every other year I lose one and have to replace it. Folders end up getting left in pockets, or borrowed and never returned. With the frequent disappearance of my knives, I fell out of practice of carrying one each day. Upon seeing the Snarl by SOG, I had a feeling I was going to hold onto my next knife for awhile.

SOG Snarl Knife

The Snarl is a fixed, very small tactical claw. It is constructed from a single piece of 9CR18MoV Satin finish stainless steel thats been CNC machined into a "sheepsfoot" style blade with two round finger holes for versatility in grip. The design of the knife comes from a custom knife maker named Jason Brous, more famous for his "functional fantasy" knife designs. Right away you can tell the inspiration for the knife came from brass knuckles, however it's very difficult to use the petite Snarl in the same way, and you would probably break a finger or two if you tried to use it that way.

I picked the Snarl up for myself because I saw its potential as a multi-role knife. The sheepsfoot design makes the Snarl suitable as a skinning knife, box cutter, scraper, and concealed self-defense blade (in a very desperate, less than ideal situation due to its size.) You're not likely going to intimidate an assailant if you brandish the Snarl, because its not really a face-to-face fighting knife. The nature of the Snarl is to be concealed and deployed covertly and accurately, much like a pocket pistol in a small, relatively under-powered caliber. When close enough, the grip design of the Snarl facilitates punching, jabbing, stabbing, and slashing... a real nasty tool if you are trained / proficient in extremely close quarters, extremely aggressive tactics. If you are neither of the above and concerned about self defense use, you may be better off getting a larger knife thats more traditional like a Kabar or boot knife.

SOG Snarl Knife

Depending of the size of your hand, some positions for holding this knife will be more comfortable than others. If you have big monkey mitts, the Snarl may be entirely uncomfortable to hold and use. The two and a half finger holes suggest a three fingered grip for firmest hold, however this strains the hand. I found it best to put my index finger through the first finger hole and middle finger in the outer half circle hole. The spine of the Snarl has large line serrations for positive grip, which also aids in unsheathing from the belt line or included neck chain. Be warned, the outer half hole doesn't have enough of a bevel to keep your finger from sliding up and getting sliced.

SOG Snarl Knife

The Snarl comes paired with a hard nylon sheath thats able to be clipped to the belt in a horizontal position, or hung from the neck with a supplied ball necklace. The sheath's belt clip is also reversible for left or right handers alike. I found the clip to be less than confidence worthy as it doesn't clamp as securely to the belt as I'd like, and is easier to remove or slide around than it should be like an Uncle Mike's basic holster. Its best to position the clip behind a belt loop, so it stops the sheath from sliding forward when drawing the Snarl. A tighter clip or dual smaller clips would probably perform better.

The retention of the blade is very solid and hasn't yet loosened noticeably. Re-inserting the snarl into the sheath is still a bit hard to get used to do to its curved spine and size, but the mouth of the sheath has a round inlet that frees the front finger hole, so two to three fingers can be used to draw with a very firm grasp.

SOG Snarl Knife

This knife and sheath combo are small enough to be unnoticeable, yet the knife is just big enough to be useful. For some with bigger hands it may actually be too small to be comfortable in the hand, and impractical for self defense. However for me, it perfectly fits the role of an EDC blade. The edge has held up well after a light honing from day one. I've used it to open stubborn plastic packaging, sharpen sticks, and cut bailing twine.

I really do enjoy this knife, even though it is a mass-produced blade that is more at home stuffed in a Christmas stocking than a Bug-Out bag. While I don't see it as comparable to other "tactical" knives in utility, construction, or comfort in the hand its petite design will be on my side or under my shirt for the foreseeable future. For the price point, it makes a great functional and unique gift to mostly anyone who practices the EDC lifestyle.

Firearms Insider Reviews – 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:  Jason Brous designed a "functional fantasy" Snarl knife that features a 9CR18MoV stainless steal blade. It's like a brass knuckles/SOG mash-up.

Target Market:  Every Day Carry, Concealed Carry, Outdoorsman (Fishing, Hunting, Camping)

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • 9CR18MoV Stainless Steel, Satin finish
  • Sheepsfoot design
  • 14 horizontal serrations on spine for better grip
  • RC. 58-60 hardness
  • 4.3" overall length
  • 2.3" blade length
  • 1.90 oz

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?: None, satin stainless only

What others are saying?:

"I was pretty excited to receive this SOG/Brous collaboration. It's a solid little knife, thick piece of steel and feels like it could take a beating. The sheath has good retention and easily clips onto your belt. The included clip only supports horizontal carry -- maybe a small teklok would provide other options (although I'm not sure about that). Despite liking the knife, I just can't get used to it. I know this is a very popular Brous design, but I just can't figure out a way for me to hold the knife comfortably. I've tried various grips but I don't feel as if I have control of the blade with any of them. I have pretty regular sized hands but whatever I do it's just pretty awkward." Amazon User Review

"The blade comes a little dull, I intentionally dulled it even more along with wrapping/burning 550 cord around the rear finger hole. Reason being, this "knife" is more of a high stress weapon. This is meant to be used in conjunction with gross motors skills I.E. punching, jabbing (nasty up close inside fighting). Considering the draw and striking style used, I could see me cutting my middle finger so I dulled it down. I wouldn't dare do this to the silent soldier II but hey, this is only thirty dollars. Pros: Awesome sheath very secure, quality steel. Cons: Potential weak point at base of blade (should be beveled outward) and the sheath clip can only be mounted for a side draw, which I love but some wouldn't." Amazon User Review

Price point:

I need it now! Availability:  Readily available online at Amazon or other SOG dealers

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Versatility: designed be held in multiple ways and carried in two ways, praised as a neck knife
  • Blade edge has held up well
  • Thickness of blade spine adds to durability and controllability / helps make up for short overall length
  • Sheath has good retention and is reversible for lefties / righties

Cons:

  • No matte black finish option
  • Short grip area and medium finger holes may prevent use from larger handed users, or cause hand fatigue
  • Metal thins near bottom of blade/first finger hole (potential weak point if used to pry)
  • Edges of finger holes need cordage wrap or dehorning as edges are pronounced
  • Sheath's belt clip is limited to horizontal orientation
  • Belt clip doesn't secure to belt enough, prone to sliding or easily coming off belt

Score: 7.0 Good

 

 

Featured FFL:

For FFL services I choose Promised Land Firearms in Toulon, IL.

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