I ordered this product and it came promptly but with slight defects on the blade. When I mentioned this to the seller, they promptly fixed this. This is a highly reliable seller.
As an amateur knife collector and also a poor college student, I really know my cheap knives, and this is easily one of the best nonbrand knives I have ever come across. I am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for" but at the same time the same 20 dollars could get you a knife worth 5 dollars or a knife worth 50 dollars. In this case I rate this knife with the cost in mind, so keep in mind that I am not suggesting this knife to be of comparable to a CRKT or a Kershaw. I will separately review the components of this knife.
blade (5/5) : drop point blade (even though it looks like a spear point, the grind starts above the middle of the blade) with a partial swage on the back side. It has a combo edge, with a good serrated:smooth ratio, many knives have over half the blade serrated, which is silly in my opinion. Riccasso present for increased strength, choil also present. The blade appears to be made out of 440A stainless steel, or steel of similar hardness, which is pretty much low grade carbon steel with mediocre edge retention. But any knife made out of 440C steel is at minimum 40 dollars. Overall for the price the blade is as good is it can get.
Handle (5/5): Scales present for better grip, comfortable to hold. I am a big fan of the quillions on the blade, acting as a finger guard and a thumb rise. Overall rivet construction, with star screws, I was able to tighten it with a hex wrench, which reduced the blade play.
Action (4.5/5): The fingerguard on the blade acts as a speed tab, and flipping that allows the blade to spring open. Fast deployment, and easy to use. The thumb stud, however, is difficult to use, and located too close to the handle to be able to open with, so just use the speed tab instead.
Lock-up (3/5): Only part of this knife I would suggest improvement on. It locks up fine, and I test all my knives as soon as I get them by stabbing a 1/4" wood panel of red oak to make sure the lock will not fail. At first it would fail, but upon applying some lubricant to the pivot and also loosening and then tightening the pivot, the lock would be fine. However the grooves on the lock stick out too far and I discovered that if you torque your knife in a specific way, your fingers can catch on the group and cause the lock to fail. But you do have to try hard to do that, it should not fail under normal circumstances. Also, I have found that whenever the lock has failed, the finger guards catch on your finger, preventing the blade from striking your fingers.
Clip (4/5): clip and lock-up are two of the most important things to me, one being availability and the other being reliability after deployment. That being said, I spent a lot of time examining this clip. The clip on this knife is secured by a single star screw, and an indent into the handle holds the knife into place. I have had bad experiences with clips coming loose and eventually falling off, even with big name companies like Gerber, but this clip seems extremely secure and so far has not even wobbled in the slightest. The clip is mounted on the butt-end of the knife as opposed to the pivot end, which I am a huge fan of. This allows for quick deployment from the carry position, as when it is stuck in your pocket, reaching your hand in to retrieve the knife allows your hand to be in the right position automatically.
Overall: 5/5 considering the price, I have no problems at all recommending the knife. It is worth at least 40 dollars, and for 13 dollars it is a steal. In the two weeks I have owned it, I have subjected it to at least 2 months of abuse. As an EMT, I carry a CRKT as my main knife, but also carry this knife for use on things that I would not subject my CRKT to. It has been covered in blood, urine, diesel fuel, and I have used it to pry stuff, open cans, cut IV tubing, reshape splints, and other abusive stuff, and none of it has permanently damaged it at all. After getting it, I spent 20 minutes sharpening it and reshaping the bevel, but from then on 30 seconds with an arkansas stone every few days keeps it at shaving-ability sharpness.
Bottom line: I highly recommend this knife. It is reliable as long as you keep in mind to be careful about the lock. Everything else is exceptional considering the 13 dollars you pay. I know I would pay willing to pay 30 for it.
I have a thing for knives. It borders on obsession. So it was odd for me to buy a $13 knife (shipping included). I like nice ones.
But this one leapt out at me for some reason, and recently I've been abusing my $125 Benchmade knife more than I wanted to. So I figured I'd give it a try.
It's no Benchmade, but honestly... it's a great knife for the price. I will carry this thing and use it like knives aren't supposed to be used - I'll pry with it, open cans, beat on stuff.
I've had other impulse purchase cheap knives I've gotten from the welding supply store, and they felt like crap at the time, and proved themselves very quickly to be such. This knife is much tighter, and just feels better.
I may revise this review in a week or two (if I break the knife), but for now: bang for the buck! - Tactical - Knife - Folding Knife - Folding Knives'
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