EDC Knives

Kershaw Chill Review

If there’s a gripe I have with Kershaw as a whole, it’s that there are simply a lot of products in the company’s lineup to keep track of. Over the last decade or so I’ve paid attention to their catalog, I’d argue half of Kershaw’s offerings are similar to the point of being completely undifferentiated.

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A few examples: is there some particular feature on the Camshaft that sets it apart from the extremely-similar Airlock? Does the Concierge do something that the Atmos doesn’t? Do we need eleven different Emerson CQC models? Why not name the Bareknuckle the Natrix XL and avoid confusion? I could go on.

Beyond simply fatiguing would-be customers, Kershaw’s ceaseless glut of new products seems to require that older models be culled to make room for the new—apparently, even immensely popular designs aren’t safe from getting the ax. To point fingers, I know more than a few people who loved the Kershaw Skyline only to watch it vanish from the company’s catalog. (Seriously, what gives?)

At first blush, the Chill seems to be another knife that sticks to the Kershaw playbook: stainless blade, black G10 scales, 8Cr steel, and a sub-$30 price. I mean, the company definitely has a “type.” One would be forgiven for taking a sidelong glance at the Chill and electing not to give a hoot one way or another. However, after giving this one its day in court, I’m finding it a capable companion to my beloved Skyline.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Kershaw Chill mates a 3 and 1/8” blade to a sub 4” handle. Not counting the pocket clip, the width is a scant 3/8” at its widest point, and it clocks in at only 2.3 ounces on my scale. That’s far from cumbersome. Here it is nestled between two of the most ubiquitous EDC knives on the planet: the Spyderco PM2 and the Ontario Rat II.

I’ve read it in more than one place that the Chill feels like a glorified steak knife. That did get a giggle out of me. It is certainly a slender blade, and in deference to the design’s haters, this would be a very poor choice for splitting cords of wood, hacking through dense brush, or trying to process an entire Elk. It is decidedly a small knife and therefore should be relegated to doing small knife things.

What causes me to tip my cap to the Chill, first and foremost, is a supremely excellent ratio of weight to blade length. I have a lot of knives in the drawer, but the Chill seems to stand alone when it comes to giving me what feels like the longest usable blade in the smallest overall package.

Additionally, I really like the blade design. The drop point comes to a sharp tip that easily pokes through a variety of material, there’s adequate belly for cutting, and the 3”+ length allows for some good penetration depth. Also, the Chill is hollow-ground, making it a little more slicey than your average flat-ground EDC.

Granted, with the 8Cr13MoV steel and choice of grind, the Chill becomes something of a glass cannon in that it can be a very high-performance cutter, but it’s going to have a relatively fragile edge that requires touching up. The silver lining to the lack of edge retention on 8Cr steels is that they’re pretty easy to sharpen. About four minutes on a Work Sharp Angle Set system gets this back to hair-shaving levels of sharpness, even for a novice like myself.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

As I mentioned before, the Kershaw Chill is in many ways prototypical of the company’s black G10 + stainless aesthetic. However, the fit and finish of this knife as a whole bats well above a sub-$25 price point.

First, the G10 is grippy without being too abrasive on the hands or pockets, and the scales are very nicely centered to the frame. The pocket clip in both tip-up and tip-down carry configurations nicely settles into the hand, and every possible sharp corner on the knife has been dehorned. Even when I really bear down on the Chill, there’s not a hotspot to be found.

I also appreciate the very generous relief for the index finger. This detail, in combination with the finger guard formed by the deployed flipper tab, really allows me to lock in when using the knife forcefully.

I’d mentioned how pokey the blade was before. I feel a lot more comfortable about using the Chill to punch through hard plastics (or even as a last-ditch defensive tool) knowing that it’s that much harder for my fingers to jump the relief and get out in front of the edge. Suffice it to say that the ergos are great for a small knife.

The only real knock in this department is the pocket clip, pictured below with the Chill in its natural habitat.

I appreciate that it stays out of the way during use, but like a lot of clips it’s monstrously oversprung. You’ll also note that it’s far from deep carry, leaving at least 3/4” of knife peeking out of the pocket. Thankfully, the design is pretty non-threatening, so it’s unlikely to draw stares and most may simply mistake the matte stainless and black G10 for a pen if they’re not looking carefully.

Deployment and Lockup

A mixed bag here. I suppose we’ll start with the worst first: the detent is weak. While the blade definitely has a bias towards closure, even a light amount of pressure on the flipper tab will kick the blade out into a 70-degree, “not even close” level of deployment.

I’ll state for the record that I absolutely hate overly-stiff detents (Kizer: I’m looking at you). However, the Chill comes to it from the other extreme. If you want 100% reliable deployment, it’s going to require a decisive push on the flipper tab and/or a wrist flick. There’s a learning curve here for sure, but not one that’s insurmountable.

Additionally, there’s a little bit of side-to-side blade play. I’d estimate there’s maybe a couple degrees worth of wiggle if you’re applying a little bit of force to the deployed spine, but to me it’s not a dealbreaker, and especially not at the price point.

Now for the good: first, the blade is nicely centered, and the liner lock easily finds the midpoint of the blade’s bearing surface. Despite the thinness of the liner and the overall weight of the knife, the engagement of the lock is extremely positive.

Additionally, the action is extremely smooth. This is a little unexpected given that my knife is running on phosphor-bronze washers rather than any kind of ball bearing system, but from opening all the way through full deployment there is no grit or roughness in the travel. With a little bit of knife oil, the blade locks up with an authoritative and very satisfying click.

Kershaw Chill Review – Final Thoughts

I mean, I get it: you might be the kind of guy who carries M390 steel or nothing. You might only own Sebenzas and Striders. I’ll grant that the Kershaw Chill is going to be unlikely to impress if compared to knives that are more than fifteen times its cost.

But let’s really simmer in this fact alone: the Chill gives you a whole lot of functionality for the cost of a large pizza and a six pack. It’s a nice “first” knife that doesn’t break the bank and can fulfill a wide variety of “regular folk” type uses, it’s slicey, and the R.J. Martin design is well considered. “Glass half full” types will find a lot to dig and will be more able to contextualize the Chill’s faults as concessions made to keep costs reasonable.

As such, the name of the knife is fitting. Guys who can chill a little in terms of their expectations will find this to be a valid addition to their small-knife EDC rotation, and I’m totally that guy. I own better, but I just couldn’t give this design the cold shoulder.

Kershaw Chill (3410), Folding Everyday Carry Pocket Knife with 3.1 In. High-Performance 8Cr13MoV Stainless Steel Blade with Bead-Blasted Finish and Black G-10 Handle Scales, 2 oz

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Kershaw Chill at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.

Ruike P801 Review

by Clayton Walker Leave a Comment

The vice president under Woodrow Wilson, a man named Thomas Marshall, once said that “What this country really needs is a good five-cent cigar.” Even when the world is going to hell in a handbasket, there’s reassurance to be had in getting a great bargain.

Admittedly, today’s consumers are spoiled for choice when it comes to budget knives—the world is yours for under fifty bucks. Spending more may get you better steel, higher build quality, and more thoughtful design, but I would reason that 98% of people will have their EDC needs met by something as ubiquitous as a CRKT M-16.

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Fortunately, the knife world has been anything but a race to the bottom over the last fifteen years where build quality and value are concerned. If anything, the eye-popping amount of competition within the “budget” category over this stretch of time has continually put better and better products in front of consumers without exceeding that $30 to $50 threshold.

Enter the Ruike P801. Does the world need another budget-category knife? Well, when it punches above its weight to this degree and coming in at the low end of what we’re calling “budget” these days, I’d argue we do.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Ruike P801 is a good “medium” knife. With a closed length of about 4 and a half inches and a blade length of 3.4 inches, the P801 gives you approximately the same cutting length as something like Spyderco’s famous Paramilitary 2 with what feels like an inch less of handle. The P801 is also deceptively thin, allowing it to disappear into a pocket or sit flat against the palm of the hand quite easily. I love how svelte this knife is without sacrificing length or usability.

The primary drawback is weight. The Ruike P801 is all stainless steel and clocks in at 4.23 ounces. So despite being about 30% thinner than the Paramilitary 2 and less bulky, it weighs about a half-ounce more. You will be aware that you have it on you.

Ruike P801 Paramiliary 2 Thickness Comparison

Onto the blade, which I think is outstanding. The P801 is a fairly conventional flat-ground, drop point style, but there are two major pluses. The first is that it’s made from 14C28N steel. I wish this were a more common option among knives. In my experience, it takes an edge just as easy as 8Cr13MoV or AUS-8, but tends to hold that edge for longer. I’d say it’s about as good as D2, but a little more user-friendly.

Ruike P801 Frame Lock

Impressively sharp from the factory, and aided by a spine that’s a little thicker than you typically get in a medium EDC type knife, the Ruike P801 is an excellent slicer. It will make confetti of whatever paper you have lying around on your desk and has a nice amount of belly that allows it to easily bite into most material on light pull cuts. It outperforms knives in my collection costing more than three times what Ruike is asking.

Ruike P801 Size Comparison with Ontario RAT and Para 2

It might also be a small thing, but the blade doesn’t announce that it’s made in China. I mean, the knife is Chinese made (what isn’t these days at this price point?) but I’m glad that it’s not being shouted from the proverbial rooftops. Instead, we get some goofy, overly long “serial numbers” that identify this particular knife as WBVEZU00237—as if P801 wasn’t nondescript or specific enough—but it’s a relatively benign design element.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

As mentioned before, the Ruike P801 is a flat knife at only about a third of an inch thick, not counting the clip. However, it is a thoughtful, well-considered kind of flat that hugs the contours of the hand without ever being uncomfortable or overly aggressive.

The knife has to be felt to be appreciated. I particularly liked how the rear of the handle angles away and appreciated the jimping on the rear spine. Together with the generous index finger relief (and assisted by the flipper shape), you get a knife that settles really well into the hand for serious work, whether that’s for forceful cutting or for possible self-defense use.

These features are all the more appreciated given the flat, untextured stainless steel of the handle. One might think that a knife like this would be unduly slippery in the hand. Quite honestly, the ergos allow a remarkably stable grip with only the thumb rested on the jimping and the index finger curled beneath the flipper tab. This thing isn’t going anywhere.

One design element done absolutely right is that all of the sharp edges have been knocked down (“Dehorned,” as those of us from the gun world might describe). Every corner on the frame of the knife is subtly radiused so it won’t chew up your hands or the liners of your pockets. This also creates a really cool “edge worn” look where the flats are a solid color, but the stainless pokes through just a little on every edge to outline the contours of the knife.

As for the pocket clip itself, Ruike has done a good job of designing a clip that isn’t horrifically oversprung (a perennial pet peeve of mine), but is grippy enough to stay put. The clip is also deep carry and matte black, which further reduces visibility. Or at least it is on my blackwashed version; the other P801 has bright blue anodization. Which is cool, but uh, will draw the eye and eliminate the benefit a deep carry clip is intended to provide. The clip can’t be repositioned, but the right hand, tip up orientation should work well for most.

Ruike P801 in the Pocket

One definite knock on the subject of clips: given how flat the knife is, the pocket clip expands the width of the knife by a good 40% at its highest point. To me, this creates an inevitable hot spot at the bottom palm of my hand if gripped naturally and tightly. I can appreciate the design of the clip, but I backed out two T6 screws and didn’t have to worry about the hot spot any more. And hey, if I lose it, I’m out thirty bucks.

Deployment and Lockup

Another home run here for the Ruike P801. The pivot is ball bearing-based, which again is unexpectedly pleasant for the price point, and the detent is dead on. It’s nearly impossible to mis-deploy this knife, and any degree of purposeful downward force put on the flipper tab will cause the blade to kick out into full deployment. This is once again the kind of action that makes one wonder why assisted-opening flippers are even a thing. You can hold your wrist as stiff as a board and deploy the Ruike P801 from any angle. It’s idiot proof.

And kudos again to Ruike for the design of the P801 flipper tab. Overly rounded tabs or those with shallow engagement angles always get my goat, since they usually work against the goal of aggressively building up enough force with the index finger to kick out the blade. Maybe it’s to protect our sensitive digits?

Here on the P801, we get to have our cake and eat it, too. The flipper has a right angle shelf that gives good purchase, but again those rounded edges aren’t going to abrade your index finger when it engages the flipper or hits the top of the frame. A-plus work here.

Ruike P801 Flipper Tab

Lock-wise, the P801 is solid. About 75% of the frame lock mates with about 60% of the bottom of the blade, giving an engagement surface that’s significantly thicker and hardier than what you’d find in a liner lock system. And once again, consider you’re also getting a frame lock design at a $30 price point.

Ruike P801 Lock Up

Some have commented that the P801 has a clear Achilles heel: blade centering. Admittedly, mine is not perfect, but unless you go looking for it this is hard to notice. On deployment, my blade might be about two to three degrees off the center line of the frame. This may bug you to no end, but if I have to close one eye and squint to notice it, it’s a non-issue, and all the more so given the lack of blade play.

Ruike P801 Review – Final thoughts

Onto the elephant in the room: some will see the $30 price and note this is a Chinese knife and be instantly deterred. I mean, the Spyderco Tenacious is Chinese made, as is just about every Kershaw and CRKT, but some might feel some sense of loyalty in that at least Spyderco, CRKT, or Kershaw are American companies that vouch for their production processes and product.

So here comes this company called Ruike that nobody’s ever heard of, and you’re supposed to call it “Rake” (and damned if I will; to me this sounds out as “ryke” if we’re being generous), and it certainly sounds like some kind of fly-by-night operation that will take your money and never be heard from again if something goes wrong. I absolutely get that.

As it turns out, Ruike is the knifemaking wing of the same company that makes the generally well-regarded Fenix brand of flashlights. They’re basically taking the same blend of quality and ruggedness that made them a trusted name among gear junkies and translating that into blades. That’s a fairly decent pedigree from a knife company I’d never heard of before.

Consider this: for literally double the cost of a typical “gas station” knife, you’re getting not just an entry-level steel, but a step up to 14C28N, all stainless steel construction, a frame lock, a ball bearing pivot, a deep carry clip, and a stupid-proof flipper action with great ergos and well-considered dimensions. This is basically a knife nerd’s wish list for a sub-$70 knife, but at half that price. It’s screaming good value.

At $30 to $35, I expected to say “yeah, it’s decent, I guess,” but instead found the Ruike P801 making its way into my pocket more and more alongside a rotation of Benchmades and Spydercos. There’s a chance you might not love this, but if internet buzz is to believed (along with my own thoughts here), this is a low-risk, high-reward proposition if there ever was one.

Ruike Pocket Knife for men Tactical Folding Knives Small Frame Lock 14C28N Stainless Cool Steel Camping Knives with Pocket Clip Hunting Hiking Word EDC Knife Outdoor Gear Tool Women Gifts P801

Well made and a good edge and all blade be Stoned Wash Sanding: Versatile 4.49 In; 420 stainless steel ; blade made with 14C28N Sandwich Steel (58~60HRC), one of the highest performing knife steels in the world, for increased hardness, corrosion resistance and edge retention, so please kindly careful
Safe, Durable and Reliable: Frame lock gives the knife a slim sleek style while holding the blade open during use, and the locking mechanism is very secure. It has little to no play in the blade when locked.
Simple pocket Clip carry and tactical engagement with strong or weak hand: The portable belt clip is very substantial enough and it is long enough, and you don’t need worry about the knife has fallen out yet
Light weight for the size: Open: 200mm/7.87”; closed: 114mm/4.49”; Blade: Length:88mm/3.46”, thickness: 3.1mm / 0.12”; weight: 120g/4.23oz
100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE and THE EDC Utility Pocket knife with clip, lanyard compatibility, are PERFECT for Men women daily carry , This is a perfect gift to be as a folding tactical pocket knifes for men women girls child kids.

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Ruike P801 at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.

Gerber Jukebox Review

by Clayton Walker Leave a Comment

If you hadn’t heard: the war between form and function continues to rage. Sure, in a perfect world we’d end up with tools that look fantastic and work great. That said, the reality of the knife world is that most of us end up with pug-ugly blades we don’t mind hammering on, and a lot of drawer queens that we feel wrong about putting to hard use.

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The Gerber Jukebox has oddly fallen right into the middle of that continuum for me. Like most of the knife’s buyers, I originally saw the retro-cool looks and unique operation and found I couldn’t say no. However, after getting the piece in hand, I encountered a few clear drawbacks that prevented me from absolutely falling in love with the design.

Now here’s the ironic part of it all: the fact that I didn’t initially love it caused me to beat on the thing and push it a little harder than I would have ordinarily. As a result, it’s one of the few knives I own that’s both a neat showpiece and gets a frequent nod when there’s a job to be done.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Gerber Jukebox mates a 2.75” blade into a 3 7/8” long handle. Much of the retro appeal comes from a 7/8” broad sheepsfoot blade with a very steep descent between spine and tip. So much so it really resembles a straight razor more than a sheepsfoot. I find this blade shape to be well-suited to most blue collar cutting tasks.

Compared to the usual suspects of the Spyderco PM2 and the Ontario Rat II, the Jukebox is small, but squat. Closed, the knife is a hair under a half-inch thick (not counting the clip) and sits about an inch and a quarter at its widest point. Overall, the knife is weighty without feeling cumbersome at 3.8 ounces on my digital scale.

Now for the negative: the Gerber Jukebox uses a 7Cr17MoV steel. This was a new one on me, and required some Googling: apparently it’s even more budget than the Chinese standard bearer of 8Cr13MoV. Roughly equivalent to 440a, expect it to have slightly less edge retention than 8Cr but be even easier to sharpen. Considering that just about every knife these days from a quality manufacturer has landed on 8Cr as the bare minimum in steel quality, and given the $35 to $40 price point of the Jukebox, this seems an odd choice from Gerber.

What I can forgive less than the steel was the absolutely atrocious factory grind, which was not only dull but completely asymmetrical. One side looks like a flat grind, the other a hollow grind, and there’s a visible difference in terms of where the grinds start from the spine of the blade. At one point I might have accepted this as what one could expect from a “budget” knife, but competition is stiff these days. The sloppiness becomes even less excusable for a company trying to woo the enthusiast market segment.

You’ll notice my knife doesn’t have a perfectly straight edge and has a slightly rounded tip. That’s on me, not Gerber. In putting an edge on the knife, I turned to the Work Sharp company’s WSKTS-W model. Yeah: the electric-powered one. Maybe I was a little too aggressive in my first outing with the device and was a little heavy-handed with the coarse grit belt. Maybe my lack of finesse was an especially bad fit with the softer 7Cr steel. Live and learn. In my defense, it gave the Jukebox a razor-sharp edge for the first time in its life, and as the kids say, you only YOLO once.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

Undoubtedly the biggest draw of the Gerber Jukebox past the straight-razor aesthetic is the tortoiseshell treatment on the acrylic handles. These are just awesome, and I hope this catches on. A lot of us gravitate to a single cool feature of a knife as reason enough to buy it for a collection, and this was the golden ticket that allowed the Jukebox entry to my shopping cart.

The ergos aren’t too bad when it comes to the Jukebox. It’s very nicely rounded and dehorned, making it virtually hotspot free. The stainless hardware is nicely polished, and the acrylic panels are nicely fitted to the frame. The knife has a satisfying weight in the hand, and the handle is right-sized to permit a four-finger grip without feeling bulky.

One issue made itself known in a way I’m glad didn’t amount to much. I realized that while the Jukebox feels good in the hand, its symmetric nature makes it harder to tell the orientation of the knife if you pick it up in the dark. I was breaking down some boxes at about 10pm when I realized I’d picked the knife up ass-backwards. One would think the flipper tab and pocket clip would’ve served as significant tactile clues as to which way the sharp end is pointing, but somehow I found a way to misorient the knife, so be careful.

The Jukebox’s pocket clip is deep carry in a non-ambidextrous, tip down orientation. Neither should be a dealbreaker: the knife is easily opened and deployed with the left hand, and I don’t think this is built to be opened at speed (more on this in the next section) or designed around a self-defense role. That said, we’d be remiss not to talk about the flipper. Some of the benefits of deep carry are slightly negated by a half-inch metallic protuberance. I didn’t get prodded by the flipper as some other online reviewers have mentioned, but it does make the knife a little conspicuous in the pocket.

Deployment and Lockup

I’m going to upgrade my original assessment of the Jukebox’s deployment from “awkward” to a new verdict of “unexpectedly gratifying.”

First, you might see the upward extension on the blade in the closed position and assume that this is a fidget-friendly front flipper. It is not. The blade is under stiff enough tension that you can’t easily flick this into deployment. Even if you did try to build up momentum with a wrist snap, the way you’d be gripping the knife would mean that you’d probably just end up pinning your index finger between the handle and the extension before the liner had a chance to engage.

If you make peace with the fact that your deployment won’t be instantaneous, you can still have some fun here. The Jukebox does indeed open one-handed quite easily. The thumb can roll the blade out to a ninety degree position, at which point the index finger can hook over the back of the tab and click the blade into lockup. It might not be as fast as most EDC deployment methods, but after a small learning curve the process becomes very smooth. While the action is a little heavy for my liking, it’s free of grit or any hitches.

Lockup is decent if unexceptional. My Jukebox has a little lateral wiggle if I apply a bit of force, but it’s nothing that bugs me. The liner is a little thin, but it consistently finds the middle of the blade even with light pressure. I wouldn’t hammer on it, but this would be fine for light to moderate use.

Gerber Jukebox Review – Final Thoughts

As you might have gathered, the blade steel, action, and ergonomics all add up to a knife that I like, but don’t love. In considering what Gerber’s trying to do these days, the Fastball (and Gerber’s custom knife program) is more representative of the company’s potential, and something that moves my personal needle a little more than the Jukebox.

But indulge me in a baseball analogy. If I look at my knives the same way a manager does with pitchers, my Benchmade Bugout is one of my starting “aces.” It will give me a lot of output, look good doing it, and is a good choice for most situations. Oppositely, something like the ESEE Junglas works as a “closer.” It won’t be an everyday sight—much to the contrary, it’s a specialized tool that gets brought in when a specific problem needs to be solved decisively.

The Gerber Jukebox, then, is that relief pitcher who’s brought into the middle of the game when your team has a commanding lead. Granted, it might not be as flashy or as effective as another option, but often the job that needs to be done won’t be meaningfully impacted by the limitations of the tool. Additionally, by relying on that tool, you save aces and closers alike from unnecessary wear and tear.

My point is that there’s a place in every bullpen for a pitcher of this sort, and there’s a place in a lot of knife drawers for the Gerber Jukebox. It’s not a perfect knife, but it is striking, and it can certainly put in work.

Sale

GERBER Jukebox, EDC Pocket Knife with Straight Edge Blade Flipper, Tortoise Shell [31-003761]

The Jukebox is reminiscent of a knife that could be found in an old school barber shop, a polished gentleman's knife that can be easily carried in pocket.
An extended tang finger flipper is uniquely designed for easy deployment without sacrificing design.
A fully fine edge, modern sheep foot blade is not only on trend, but offers practical utility for everyday tasks.
The Liner Lock safety feature provides confidence during use and easy one-handed closing, and pocket clip to keep it secure when stored.
The Jukebox features a 2.7 inch satin finished fine edge blade, with acrylic handle scales available in two unique colorways.

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Gerber Jukebox at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.

QSP Penguin Review

by Clayton Walker Leave a Comment

As most of you know, the Ontario Knife Company threw down the gauntlet a little over a decade ago with the Rat Model I. At the sub-$30 price point, the EDC knifebuying public received a well-constructed product with a slick action, great ergos, good-enough steel, and simple-but-effective blade geometry.

Since then, OKC followed up with the Rat II, which has become maybe the most ubiquitous EDC knife on the planet earth. And, uh, they didn’t have to do much else. Except maybe assume a comfortable posture on the throne they built and watch the money roll in. From the moment the Rat II developed a buzz, it’s been arguably the budget knife to beat in terms of features-to-cost.

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In truth, we consumers have been the real winners in this knock-down, drag-out fight among manufacturers to give us more for less. I monitor the value category quite a bit, if only because it gives me a great way to reward my impulsiveness while adding knives to the drawer that I actually like carrying and using. Within the last year especially it seems like the QSP Penguin grew into something of a dark horse entry into the value EDC category, and eventually my curiosity shouted down any other reservations.

Cutting to the chase: the QSP Penguin feels in my hands like a sixty dollar knife. The build quality is easily on par with what brands like Kizer, Civivi, or even Spyderco are offering at their budget price tier. If someone put the Penguin in my hands and asked me to guess what it cost, I’d guess much higher than $30.

So don’t kill me when I address the elephant in the room, but I suppose the QSP Penguin represents the platonic ideal of a Chinese-made knife: getting more for less. Too often, we end up with a copycat of a known design from a reputable company that disappoints as soon as we get it out of the box. And that suspicion is certainly warranted given the frequency of how often it seems to happen to us.

QSP, though? They seem legitimate and eager to contend. Just on paper I was excited to get a combination of D2 and micarta in a thirty dollar package, or at least intrigued enough to throw the knife in the cart. I figured something along the way would fall flat, but I only grew more impressed with the design the more I got to know it.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The QSP clocks in at 3.2 ounces of weight, with a 3” blade and a closed length of 4.” The knife is about 1.25” across its widest point laterally, and just less than half an inch thick, not counting the clip. It’s sits little taller than a Rat II and is infinitesimally thicker, but in all other dimensions it’s nearly identical. It’s also significantly smaller than that next step up into that category of full-sized knives like the Rat I or Spyderco PM2.

Onto the main event: D2 steel and a full, absolutely traditional wharncliffe. While I previously wrote about the benefits of the blade shape’s self-defensive utility in my CJRB Talla review, I’d be remiss not to note here that the QSP could be pressed into a similar role and gives you just about the same amount of cutting edge as the Spyderco Yojimbo.

For me though, the Penguin excels at far more genteel purposes. If there’s something you’d use a utility knife for, the Penguin can sub in easily. The tip is extremely easy to control, but the design of the knife ensures that you won’t over-penetrate what you’re trying to work on, so it’s good for scoring or precision cuts. Additionally, that blade shape can generate enough power to go through denser material with downward push cuts. And, being perfectly straight, it’s easy to sharpen. Or at least as easy as D2 is capable of getting.

Thankfully, my QSP came from the factory hair-shaving sharp. This is a nice box to check if you want to give a non-knife person a gift that will have a good edge right out of the gate—and will likely stay that way for some time if it endures only the kind of light office use the layperson will throw at it.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

Another “I really get this for less than thirty bucks?” feature: micarta. The QSP Penguin is available in a few fun colorways, but I opted for a nice shade of bluish green. Combined with the polished stainless, the Penguin is a real attention getter and especially pops when set alongside more tactical blades. It can do serious work, but the green + stainless option seems especially anodyne and office friendly.

The ergos are good; maybe not fantastic, but certainly beyond what I would have expected for the price. (Sensing a theme yet?) All of the stainless hardware on the knife is well-polished and adequately rounded, so there aren’t too many hot spots to be found, even though the knife is generally squarish.

For power-type cutting, the knife feels good with the thumb resting on the functional-but-nonagressive jimping, and for precision cuts the index finger easily settles onto the spine of the blade. The micarta has a subtle, natural texture that provides friction, and the Penguin never feels like it’s going to squirt out of your hand under use. The micarta’s not as toothy as a good G10, but it’s certainly grippier than molded plastic.

The clip is an excellent deep carry variety that puts all visible handle well below the seam of the pocket. Here, the bright stainless finish gives this additional “gentleman knife” points: most will assume you have a pen in your pocket; not a medium-sized blade. If we’re picking nits, flush-sitting screws would be a nice thing to have, but they’re rounded and the clip is tensioned well enough that the Penguin will slide into a pocket with ease.

Carry is tip-up only, but reversible for the right or left side.

Deployment and Lockup

The final perk: the action is really, really good.

I normally didn’t care for thumbstuds until I (like everyone else on the planet) bought a Rat II and realized, “Oh, okay: this is how it’s supposed to work.” Flick a good design with the thumb and the blade is supposed to fly out and into lock-up. There’s a small learning curve (as evidenced by my father, who still can’t figure it out on his Rat II), but once you get it it’s second nature.

The QSP Penguin is similarly excellent. The detent seems just right, and the stepped thumb studs are actually the one part of the knife that’s left a little more squared-off, so it’ll easily grab the meat of the thumb pad. I can foresee how that could, in theory, be a little hard on one’s pocket lining over time, but the design decision really lets you feel like you’ve got good control to flick the blade out regardless of your digit’s angle of approach.

Blade centering is immaculate both closed and open with no perceptible play. Liner engagement is adequate: a good 90% of the surface makes contact with the blade and finds its mark consistently. There’s only really a twentieth of an inch-thick piece of metal here, so I wouldn’t put the QSP into “hard use” category, but I feel like you’d need to be trying to induce a failure to get it to happen.

QSP Penguin Review – Final Thoughts

If you were wondering, the QSP stands for Quality, Service, Price. It’s hard not to read the Penguin as working proof of that ethos. But given how neatly the Penguin fits into that box of maxing out the feature set at the $30 price point, where does QSP go from there?

A browse through their product lineup indicates they’re answering that question pretty well. For ten dollars less, the QSP Parrot would make for a good first knife for a youth, though the lower price comes with the compromise of 440C steel and plastic handles. For ten or twenty dollars more than the Penguin, there’s a host of other “bird” knives that will give you a multiplicity of deployment and blade choices. Really going up the ladder to the $200+ Woodpecker will get you a titanium frame lock and M390 steel.

QSP Penguin Pocket Knife,D2 blade,Various Handle Option,Carbon Fiber Overlay G10 Handle Version

Sharp D2 Blade with Jimping, Satin Finish/black stone wash finish, HRC58-60, different handle options
Left and Right Handed Thumb Stub Opening, Copper Washes for Smooth Opening
Left and Right Reversible Pocket Clip
Convenient for Everyday Carry, 4.0" Handle, comfortable when hold in hands.
100% MONEY BACK if the New Knife has Defects in Material and Workmanship. QSP KNIFE has US representative for customer service

Editor: I recommend purchasing the QSP Penguin at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.

CRKT CEO Review

by Clayton Walker 4 Comments

I knew I had to have the CRKT CEO as soon as I saw it. A miniature katana blade hiding inside of a package that resembles an elongated cigarette lighter? Sold!

Over the better part of a year and since that impulse buy, I’ve come to appreciate what CRKT’s knife represents, and I’ve additionally come to terms with what it is not. Despite the name and branding, I have my doubts as to whether this is the alpha and the omega of the “gentleman’s knife,” a point I’ll touch on later.

Buy the CRKT CEO at BladeHQ
Buy on Amazon

Suffice it to say that the CRKT CEO offers some good functionality in a small package, and it has the cool factor down in spades. And it’s an office knife par excellence—provided you work in a certain type of office.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

In truth, one of the first things that drew me to the CEO was that you seem to get a lot of blade length for the size of the knife. Here, a 3” cutting edge nestles into a package that’s only about a half inch deep and less than a half inch wide.

The blade itself is a straight-back style that comes to an adequately pokey tip. At only a half inch at its widest point and 0.09” thick on the dot, the blade of the CEO is great for getting into tight spaces and makes for an excellent slicer. However, do resist the temptation to use this for any prying tasks where you’d have to bear down on anything! The blade length and shape makes this tempting, but it’s easy to see how you’d end up bending the steel or snapping a tip.

Blade steel is 8Cr13MoV, which probably won’t blow anyone’s socks off but is expected for the price point. From the factory, the CEO came adequately (though perhaps not exceptionally) sharp, which is generally par for what I expect from CRKT. Likely yours may benefit from a few extra passes on a fine-grit ceramic stone to give it a little extra bite.

Size-wise, the CEO is definitely going to feel smaller in the pocket than most EDC stalwarts, and it’s also lighter than most popular options at 2.1oz. The CEO is actually a little longer than most knives at just under 4 and a half inches, but the slenderness along the body makes it hard to notice when carried.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The “ooooooh” factor is all over this knife. The handle has a very subtle and very cool fishscale texture, and the black nylon inserts are mated to polished stainless hardware that just pops. The handles are nicely rounded, and while the edges of the pocket clip and the butt of the knife have a few edges that are a little square for my liking, they don’t generate any hot spots.

With 4” of handle, the CEO gives you a lot of control. Deployed and in the hand, it feels like a paring knife and could certainly be used for impromptu food prep. Additionally, given the 3” blade length, you’d be able to cut through quite a bit without worrying about getting grease and sauce into the action of the knife.

The clip is non-reversible and tip-up carry only. This is not a lefty-friendly knife given the design of the thumbstud and detent. As a righty, I tried to open the knife with only my left hand as an experiment, and I just couldn’t figure out a good way of doing it without bracing it against my leg. If ambi-friendliness is a desired parameter, the standard version of the CEO is not going to give it to you.

All that said, this would not be my choice for any self-defense related tasks or hard use, and the ergos have much to do with that. While the blade shape might imply decent penetrating power, the lack of any finger guard, texturing, or finger grooves means that it’d be relatively easy for your hand to squirt out in front of the blade if you’re applying force and the tip comes to an abrupt stop. For anything requiring more power to poke through hard material, I’d probably take a reverse grip and put my thumb over the butt of the handle. Or, more likely, employ another knife.

The knife’s limitations might be implied by the name—what business executive is going to be using a knife for hard use or in defense of life and limb?—but suffice it to say I wouldn’t necessarily put the CEO in the category of my own personal EDC given these limitations.

Deployment and Lockup

Be warned: right out of the box, the CEO is going to have a stiff detent. This will eventually work itself out over time to permit a trouble-free deployment, but it’s going to take some time for it to get there. And even once you’re satisfied with it, it’s going to stymie non-knife people. I’d rule out gifting it as a “first” knife for those reasons.

As you can see through the photos, the thumb stud is recessed into the handle and the entirety of the blade is flush or below the liners. These are cool details that I think aid the aesthetic of the knife, but they really only permit one deployment method. Unlike other knives that have some degree of exposed blade spine, you can’t pinch this guy out and into battery. Additionally, the recess means that you can only actuate the thumb stud from one specific direction that’s a little more perpendicular than I’m used to.

Pair those qualities with the detent and it means that deploying this “gentleman’s knife” in mixed company will produce an audible “k-chik!” and draw a quiet room’s attention to the gleaming 3” spike you now hold in your hand. The design of the CEO means that your co-workers are unlikely to identify it as a knife while it sits in your pocket, but they sure as hell will know you have a knife once you deploy it. This is not a grandpa-style Case knife.

Is this something I care about or something that affects my life, personally? No. But if you’re in a big office in a liberal city, I can imagine a situation where your HR department calls you into the office because of a squeamish co-worker and has you explain why you brought your “switchblade” to work. As such, I’d really only recommend the CEO for offices where you’ve got cool co-workers, and even then you might find out a few of them aren’t as cool as you thought.

As for lockup: no complaints. The liner firmly and fully engages the well-centered blade with only the barest amount of lateral play, and even then you’ll only notice the wiggle with firm pressure.

CRKT CEO Review – Final Thoughts

I really like the CRKT CEO for what it is. Laying on a desk, people might confuse it for a cigarette lighter, a vape pen, or some kind of futuristic tool. Dimensionally, it’s extremely compact and gives you a nice, slender blade that makes for an excellent slicer. If you crest the learning curve of the thumbstud and work in the detent, deployment is great. I really like how lithe this knife is in the hand, and it’s absolutely the best of my collection for opening letters.

While we’ve looked at the thumbstud-driven version of the CEO today, I wouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater if some of the criticisms above seemed like dealbreakers. Those who would desire a quieter deployment method or a more lefty-friendly option might be interested in the tip-up and reversible clip, flipper-actuated version of the CEO.(https://www.bladehq.com/item–CRKT-CEO-Flipper-Liner-Lock-Knife–119358) This would shift a little more balance to functionality over form given the exposed tab, but would otherwise leave the inspired design of the knife mostly unchanged.

Since its introduction, the CEO has expanded into a number of neat colorways and steels, including D2 and S35VN, which indicates it’s been a robust seller and the design continues to turn heads. There’s a lot of value for the price, and it indeed can be an excellent gentleman’s knife in terms of functionality and one’s intended use. Just do keep in mind that the idea of who a gentleman is and what tools he carries may vary widely from one office to the next!

Sale

CRKT CEO EDC Folding Pocket Knife: Low Profile Gentleman's Knife, Everyday Carry, Satin Blade, IKBS Ball Bearing Pivot, Liner Lock, Glass Reinforced Fiber Handle, Deep Carry Pocket Clip 7096

Low Profile: Slim clip fits comfortably in pocket
Fast Opening: Thumbstud with IKBS ball bearing pivot deploys the blade fast
Strong And Lightweight: Glass-reinforced nylon handle is durable and lightweight
Designed by Richard Rogers in Magdalena, New Mexico
Limited Lifetime Warranty covers any defects in materials or workmanship, see company site for details

$38.93
Buy on Amazon

Editor: I recommend purchasing the CRKT CEO at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.

Lionsteel BestMan Slip Joint Review

by Josh Wussow 2 Comments

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but 2020 was a year of changes for me. One of those was career related, turning my collar from blue to a gray-ish shade of white. With this transition comes a change in scene. Where before I’d been free to carry tools like the Spyderco PM2, I’ve reached a point where I’m seeking out more discreet options for daily use. Enter the LionSteel BestMan, my first traveling companion on this strange new road.

Buy the LionSteel BestMan at BladeHQ or GP Knives

Buy on Amazon

Lionsteel’s thesis here is simple: Produce a traditional style blade with modern, high-end materials. A capital idea, for sure. But, speaking of capitals, how exactly am I supposed to spell this? Bestman? BestMan? bestMAN? I’ve seen it each way. For the purposes of this review, I’ll be using the middle option. Read on to see how it faired after nearly two months of testing.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

Hailing from Maniago, Italy, the BestMan is a thoughtfully crafted knife. The handle and bolsters are spun from lightweight titanium, measuring 3.75-inches. Nestled between the scales is a 2.875-inch blade, wearing a satin finish over its clean, flat grind. I opted for the clip point model, but Lionsteel also offers a drop point version under the moniker of BestMan 2.

Whichever you choose, you’ll be treated to 0.10-inch thick blade wrought in Bohler M390. Its overall length of 6.625-inches place it squarely in the medium-sized range, with a narrow profile of just under a half inch. At 2.32 ounces, its weight is on par with beefier folders such as the Spyderco Native 5.

Now, I’ve heard complaints about the fit and finish, specifically with the handle scales. I can’t speak for others, but my model from DLT Trading arrived with perfectly finished slabs of Santos wood, and a flawlessly centered blade. It’s still mostly centered, despite my efforts to the contrary. But we’ll get to that fiasco in a bit.

So, it’s beautiful. But how does it cut? Well, that depends on who you ask. Some reviewers have lauded the BestMan as an excellent slicer, while others believe it’s too thick behind the edge. After a few weeks of cardboard, paper, and packages, I’m definitely in the later camp. Don’t get me wrong – The blade is functional. But both my finger-calipers and in-hand experience tell me that its bevel isn’t quite steep enough.

This isn’t the end of the world, however. A high-end sharpening system or set of stones would allow you to refinish the M390. It was a little difficult to do with my Spyderco Sharpmaker, but I was able to thin it out a bit.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

I can sum up the BestMan’s ergos in two words: Deceptively comfortable. At first glance, the handle appears to be an elongated rectangle with some screws and matching scales. In practice, Lionsteel has created a knife that’s surprisingly easy to hold and use.

Take another look at the overall shape. See that gentle arc toward the spring side? It helps nestle the knife against your palm, while providing a nice concavity for your fingers. The blade spine is beautifully chamfered, creating a natural landing spot for the thumb. Even the Santos wood scales are well thought out, providing a nice bit of warmth and personality.

As far as pocket clips go, well, it doesn’t have one. This is a classically patterned tool, after all. Other than the thickness of its edge, this was the biggest sticking point for me. The BestMan would occasionally slide to the very bottom of my pocket, laying flat against the side of my leg. This isn’t ideal, which is why leather slips are so popular among traditional enthusiasts. Still, I consider this a relatively minor complaint.

Let’s move onto something a little more serious. Now, I know many gear reviewers are advocates of disassembling your new knife. Normally, I’m in the same boat. But not this time. Do not, and I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT take your BestMan apart. I made that mistake of completely taking down this knife, and it took me more than two hours to get back together. The process involved multiple screwdrivers, a pair of pliers, and a potato masher. I do not, under any circumstances, recommend that you follow in my footsteps.

Why so difficult? It has to do with the configuration of the back spring and the front and rear pivots. While this model of BestMan has only one blade, the internals are set up for two. This means that the spring is always applying pressure somewhere, making it very hard to snap pieces back into place. It’s a wonder I didn’t cut myself getting everything back together. So, skip it. If the action feels a little stiff, loosen the pivot or shoot some oil along the brass washers. You’ll be much happier, and less likely to ruin your handsome new knife.

Deployment and Lockup

As much as I complained about the disassembly process, LionSteel has done a good job with the backspring. Traditionals aren’t really meant to be taken apart, after all. When left to do its thing, the BestMan’s backspring produces satisfying pulls and zero blade play.

The process starts with the nail notch. It’s well positioned, subtly chamfered, and adequately sized. Personally, I prefer to pinch the blade between my thumb and index finger and, with the backspring facing up, draw the blade from the underside.

While there’s technically no “lock up” on a slipjoint, the knife feels secure under light to medium use. I could place my thumb on the spine without fear of the blade closing on my fingers. The half-stop is equally commendable, halting the edge far above the knuckles. This is by no means a knife I’d recommend closing one handed, but it can be done.

Overall, I find the walk and talk on BestMan to be satisfying. It doesn’t have the same fidget factor you’d find on a Benchmade 940 or Spyderco PM2, but the solidity of its pinch opening and snap of its closure provide a different kind of tactile thrill.

LionSteel BestMan Review – Final Thoughts

I like so many things about this knife. Its construction impressed me early on, but it took a while for me to warm up to the idea of using a non-locking blade. A few days of real-world use quickly turned me into a fan. LionSteel has succeeded in their quest to produce a “modern traditional”, taking the user-friendly mechanism and stamping it in cutting edge materials.

But, speaking of the edge, this is where I feel the BestMan is a little too modern. Many new-release blades tend to be thicker than necessary, trading effortless cutting for a perception of durability. This is mildly annoying, because I bought this knife specifically to fill the role of a lightweight, high-class slicer. Its premium material and quality build have exceeded expectations. Now, if only the edge was a bit finer, it’d be the Best-est Man.

Lionsteel BestMan – From $129.00
From: BladeHQ

Lion Steel Bestman BM1 Slipjoint Santos LSTBM1ST

3.88" closed.

$116.95
Buy on Amazon

Editor: I recommend purchasing the LionSteel BestMan at BladeHQ, GP Knives or Amazon. Thanks for reading!