The is a near perfect licensed copy of the original custom knife by, an extremely talented knife maker & designer from Denmark.
it features that beautiful Warncliff style of blade which seems to blend seamlessly within the handles to provide a really striking and perfectly usable organic design.
I view it as a really perfect edc folder and although its not designed to be opened with one hand I cant stop liking it for what it is- a great harduse folder for the outdoors and the kitchen!
The blade is great 5mm slab of N690BO steel which in my experience has a similar level of toughness and edge holding capabilities of the fantastic Japanese steel, VG10.
The first production run was marred by reports of bad grinds and finish but hopefully those problems will be fixed and the Boker warranty is more than acceptable so I am not worried and those reports wont stop me from purchasing this knife with a smile on my face!
Basically;
Designed by Jens Anso!
Ti Framelock!
Good warranty!
Great organic design!
Sheeple Friendly!
If it wasn’t for the nail nick and the reports of bad grind job it would have been far higher on my list, sort it out Boker!
Knife number 7 from my “Top production knives of 2009″ list is the , I had seriously mixed feelings about putting a knife on the list because I dont really like the company anymore.
I feel SOG has strayed from its roots as a military/combat knife manufacturer and turned into a gimmicky joke of a company (my opinion only, no bitching people!) with customer service issues, that being said…the agency is a sexy sexy sexy knife.
I have not bought it yet but it has been on my to buy list on and off all year round, and for that reason alone it deserves to be on my best of ’09 list.
Things I love
Stacked leather handles.
Classic look.
Super quick and curvy blade.
Vicious fighter.
Nice guard.
Lanyard hole is a nice detail.
Just goddamn beautiful.
Things I hate
AUS-8 blade steel which is just pathetic for a knife that costs 200$ MSRP, I would want VG-10.
The sheath felt badly made.
Made by SOG.
With this knife I feel one of two things will happen, I will either repress my instincts and not buy it or I will get it once everything else on the list (its a very long list!) has been bought.
Regardless of my feelings towards SOG this knife is a stunning stunning fighter and I have a love/hate relationship with it.
Go handle it, if you like it just buy it so you dont end up a twisted, confused shell of a man like me!
The company has a well deserved fanatical following (rivaling ) and the is the perfect representation of said RAT’s relentless commitment to function over form.
The Izula is really a no strings attached neck knife featuring a blade manufactured from1095 carbon steel by Rowen manufacturing which makes this knife not only tough but able to keep a wicked edge for extended periods of use.
It comes in a variety of colors including desert tan (the sexiest one) and tactical pink (really sheeple friendly) which makes this blade really sync with your own tastes and personality.
Its just a great EDC that is tougher than 99.9% of hard use folders that are commercially available & it will no doubt slice better too helped along with that gorgeous flat ground blade.
Specifications
Overall Length: 6.25″ Blade Length (end of handle to tip): 2.88″ Thickness: .156″ Steel: 1095 Carbon Weight: 2 ounces without sheath Finish: Textured powder coat (Black, Desert Tan, OD Green, Tactical Pink) Blade Width: 1.0″ Grind: Flat Handles: None Sheathing: Injection Molded, Black (Photo right) Pommel: Hole to accommodate carabiner Spine: Thumb grippers, .5″ long Each knife engraved with name, logo and unique serial number
The is another winner from the “ethnic” series that Spyderco is famous for.
Its is largely a modern interpretation of the classic every day knife of the common man in africa however unlike the basic carbon steel and wood handled originals the Spyderco Chokwe features the traditional shape with a nice choil, a really beautiful S30V blade, black G-10 scales on one side with a titanium framelock on the other.
A perfectly executed modern reinterpretation of a classical tool.
What I love about the Chokwe is the blade, its just pure utility! A wicked slicer with a really great tip for detail work, add to that the robust framelock and it just becomes a great edc/backup tactical folder!
Basic stats!
S30V steel.
Ti Framelock.
G-10 Scales.
3 3/4 in. (95 mm) Blade length.
Interesting history.
Sexy sexy blade!
Knife number 6 tomorow will not be a Spyderco (gasp!).
I dont think any has received as much discussion as the (Except perhaps the), the reception it has recieved has been largely positive even though some criticism was leveled at its rather thin frame lock (I have yet to hear of one failing).
So lets break it down;
2 1/2 inch blade (2 7/16 in. (62 mm) ) , S30V Steel, natural G-10 scales on one side and a titanium frame lock on the other.
Breathe in…breathe out.
This model is on paper the ideal small edc for many knife aficionados and it really does deserve this attention because it is simply a beautiful, very usable tough small folder with awesome, people friendly looks.
And thats why its on my list, I however… do not own one.
Why? No choil and it bit me one time too many! Unfortunately Spyderco has spoilt me with a never ending supply for folding knives featuring really ergonomic handles which tend to include very nice deep choils for me to hold on to. With the Leaf Storm I always found my fingers slipping far too high and resting against the blade.
So I got rid of it.
But that decision was based on my own habits- I doubt many people have this problem!
As a side note; the natural G-10 is in the flesh a somewhat different color than what is represented through the prototype photographs but apart from that its identical.
The (Full size model) is my third favorite production knife of 2009 and I am sure you will agree that it firmly deserves its place, if it had a hole perhaps it would have gone even higher!
The fit and finish on this model is truly fantastic and rivals the custom base of this knife which is the designed by Mike Skellern.
The Boker Exskelibur 1 features the same sleek style as the original, infact the only difference in terms of materials as far as we know is the blade steel which is 440C instead of the N690 in the original custom model.
I view the Exskelibur as a near perfect large dress knife featuring a no nonsense utility blade that while plain in build manages to be perceived as elegant and refined.
The titanium walker liner lock provides you with a solid lock that can withstand all the abuse you could throw at it in the normal course of the role it is designed for, coupled with those sleek G-10 scales & the discreet red lining in between the scales and you have a winner in terms of style and utility.
My second favourite production knife of 2009 is the(Model: FB14P), I used to hate the idea of neck knives and used to think of them as a gimmick.
Then I bought a LaGriffe and everything changed!
I will eventually write a post on the Fred Perrin LaGriffe but this current article is about the Swick, The Swick is based on the LaGriffe but features a really sexy warncliff blade & a really useful pistol/slanted kinda grip which makes it really intuitive for tactical uses such as a back up knife in a combative enviroment.
The Swick was released for an extremely low price point (40$) and did not come with a sheath which really helped keep the cost down- I view this as a positive since the Swick really deserves a friction fit custom kydex sheath to bring out its full potential!
Basic stats
Blade length: 2 1/8″ (54 mm)
Overall length: 5 9/16″ (141 mm)
Blade steel: CPM-S30V
Weight: 1.4 oz (40g)
The true brilliance of this design comes through when utilized in a utility role, its light so you can carry it everywhere without any discomfort, its made of a stainless steel so contact against your skin should not corrode it and the unique way of holding which guarantees a safe grip makes it very easy to cut something while conserving your dexterity (think of unpacking boxes or even in a combat situation like grappling!).
I think of this neck knife as pretty much the perfect backup and everyday light utility, I would prefer to have it made of H1 since the close contact with your skin would really suit H1 far more than S30V and even though I love plain edge knives normally I feel that in the Swick’s role I would pick (if I had the choice) a fully serrated spyder edge in H1.
So that’s knife number 2! Tomorrow I will write about knife number 3 and amazingly enough its not a Spydie!
Musing over all the great knives released over 2009 inspired me to make this entry, 1 week late but still its here at last!
Full disclosure: I am a fanatic and as such this is my pick for the top 10 production knives of ’09 although you will notice that they are not all produced by (Atleast I attempted to be unbiased!).
I know tradition dictates that I should start the countdown with 10 and progressively get to the best but I really really wanted to write about the Barong so deal with it!
Specifications
Overall Length: 8 7/8″ (225 mm)
Blade Length: 3 15/16″ (100 mm)
Weight: 4.2 oz (120 g)
Blade steel: VG-10
Handle Material: G-10
Lock: Walker Liner Lock.
I will just say it straight out;
I love this knife! It is perfect for so many tasks that I am just in awe of its capabilities!
I will admit that ts size can be a bit intimidating (specially to sheeple) but since I like big blades I cant bring myself to view this as a negative.
The blade is unique in that the cutting edge is 3 inches but you have nearly 4 inches of reach which makes this knife extremely versatile.
It can fit both a utility & tactical role based on how unique the blade shape truly is. A great slicer with that beautiful full flat grind, vicious tip and a great oversized spydie hole not to mention an open construction frame which is what I prefer (Ease of cleaning + lightweight)!
What more could you want?
Unfortunately it was discontinued but perhaps we will see some sprint runs in the future with new sexy handle colors and maybe different materials (micarta like some of the others from the “ethnic” series?)!
Knife number 2 is the Spyderco Swick which will have some suggestions for improvements, see you tomorrow!
Breaking news on the Spyderco Bradley M4 Folder to be released!
So this is what it will look like! Very unusual but before you prematurely judge it remember that the stretch was equally weird and received with a certain degree of speculation. I firmly believe this will be the case as well.
The Bradley will feature an M4 steel blade that is a high carbon, high performance steel at roughly 62HRC and carbon fiber scales so judging from past models we can assume this will be a quiet, enduring success!
I have to admit that I am not really feeling the blade style or the subtle choil. I have always prefered the aggressive styling of the series- well defined choils and really crisp leaf blades but I am sure that the Bradley will have its fair share of both fans and detractors.
People are defined by the choice they make.
So if you like it buy it, if you dont like it then buy a . If you dont like the your an idiot.
Posted: December 6th, 2009 | Author:Thomas | Filed under:Tactical steel & outdoors magic | 2 Comments »
Some really quick news on some Spyderco folders that are pending release:
FRN UKPK
First of all, an exciting variant to the Slip it line of non locking folders- FRN (Soft tactile poly plastic) handled variants of the slipjoint knives.
I really cant wait for these and the specifics that we do know are as follows;
USA Made
GIN-1 Steel
.100 Blade thickness (Slightly thinner than the original S30V ones).
First run will include, Maroon, Grey and dark blue colored scales and blaze orange for the “rescue” serrated lambsfoot blade model.
According to Sal; “the future is open” so we may have lots of variants and sprint runs !
$50-60 MSRP so around the same price as the tenacious when it hits the stores, awesome!.
Gayle Bradley Folder
This is a super mysterious folder, I cant get any idea of what it will really look like so if anyone has any details please let me know!
CPM-M4 Blade steel.
Carbon Fiber Scales.
“Heavy Duty”.
Skeletonized liners- Stainless steel not titanium.
!