Knives By Purpose

Gerber Ayako Review

I’m a sucker for cool-looking knives. Not impractical fantasy knives, but practical knives that have a cool look to them. That’s why knives like the Gerber Flatiron and now the Ayako. I’m a sucker for budget-friendly knives that have a unique style and grace to them. The Ayako, as the name implies, has a Japanese styling to it. Not to sound like a weeb, but the katana like inspiration makes this an eye-catching knife.

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The swept-back blade with a forward-positioned belly makes this look like some form of mini katana. Call it the influence of Ghosts of Tsushima, but I really dig the vibe of the Ayako, and that’s what caught my eye at my local Academy Sports and Outdoors. I’ve been carrying the 30ish dollar knife for about two weeks now, and while it won’t be my main go-to for an EDC knife, I appreciate a budget-friendly option.

It’s easy to get lost in the snobbery when you carry a Hoback or a Micro-Tech. Budget-friendly blades have a rightful place and are the most bought blades, so they deserve some love when they can deliver performance above their price tag.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Ayako has a 3.5-inch long blade with a 3.625-inch cutting edge. That rounded edge near the tip of the blade gives you a little more cutting edge than the blade’s length offers. The handle is 4.625 inches long, and the blade has an overall length of 8.1 inches. The Ayako weighs 3.8 ounces, so it’s relatively light and comfortable for daily carry.

The blade seems to be half tanto half sheep’s foot tip. It’s not exceptionally pointy like a tanto, but it’s not as tip reduced as a sheep‘s foot. The belly like area near the tip of the blade gives good traction if you want to go deep on your initial cut. For a sword, that’s probably a great trait when you have to fight a Khan invader. On a knife, it allows me to cut through tomatoes quite quickly and dig into thick materials efficiently.

The slightly swept-back blade is only slightly curved and seems to follow the tip into deep cuts rather well. The blade is made from the pain in the butt to type 7Cr17MoV stainless steel. 7Cr is a Chinese made stainless steel that is relatively cheap.

The corrosion resistance is high, which is excellent, and as stainless steel, this is one of the more defining features of 7Cr. 7Cr is also an easy to sharpen steel, and that’s important because you’ll be sharpening it a fair bit as the edge dulls quickly. In my two weeks or so of use, it hasn’t be pressed into hard service by any means. I’ve cut up a lot of cardboard as I disposed of a ton of Amazon boxes during the Christmas rush and put it towards most of my daily knife tasks.

Gerber barely seems to sharpen it before it heads out the door, and it seems to dull rather quickly. It’s low-end steel, but I’ve had low-end steels hold a better edge than this. The edge itself can get decently sharp with a whetstone. Sharp enough to slice and dice cardboard, zip ties, chicken, tomatoes, and even an onion or two with relative ease. It hangs up a bit with cardboard but will still make it through when pressed.

I wish it had more to the tip, especially when cutting the zip ties that held the portions of a bike in a box. It worked, eventually, but more of a point would help with basic tasks.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Carry

One side of the handle is an aluminum scale, and the other is a stainless steel scale. Both are checkered and marked, but it’s not overt checkering. It’s subdued and likely wouldn’t cling tight to your hand under stress. The knife has never slipped in my grip, but the checkering is nowhere near what something like G10 offers. You can grip it tight and still pull it out of your hand with little resistance.

The handle is plenty comfortable, and it does allow you to cling to it without much discomfort. The grip is nice and long and seems to fit my big hands well. It’s thin but functional and comfortable. The shape is well done and allows for intuitive blade manipulation.

The grip is thin, and my main complaint about it would be the pocket clip location. It’s a big clip on a svelte design. I almost wish the knife didn’t have a pocket clip; it feels like it ruins the smooth lines of the grip.

You can remove the pocket clip, but you can’t move its location. You are stuck with the blade in a tip-down carry position with the clip on the right-hand side of the knife. It clings tightly to your pocket though and doesn’t budge when you move.

Deployment and Lockup

The Ayako has two means to deploy the blade. The first is via a flipper that extends past the body of the blade and is part of the blade. The second is a thumb hole in the blade. Neither is a means to quickly deploy the blade. The flipper allows for one-handed manipulations, but it’s not going to fly out in a hurry and takes a deliberate motion to deploy the blade.

The thumb hole is nearly useless and very small when the blade is closed. It’s such a small little slot that my monkey fingers have a hard time reaching into it and using it. If my nails are trimmed, it’s useless.

Once deployed, the stainless steel liner lock seems to do a good job of pinning the blade open. The liner lock is part of the rear grip scale, so your own grip keeps the blade pinned open. Once the liner lock is engaged, the Ayako’s blade is locked in place and seemingly won’t move or budge even a bit. A cut in the front grip scale makes it easy to depress the liner lock and close the blade with ease.

Gerber Ayako Review – Final Thoughts

The Ayako is a little bit more than a pretty face. It’s a decent little EDC knife. The solid lockup and decent blade design make it well suited for EDC tasks. If the knife was more expensive, I’d be more critical of the 7Cr steel and how fast it dulls. Knives like the Flatiron are about the same price but featured a much worse grind than the Ayako.

The Ayako is a solid little knife for the money. It won’t win any awards, and it’s not exceptional in any way. The most redeeming qualities are its price and attractive appearance. Behind the pretty face is a knife that cuts and claws as it should, but it doesn’t do much else. I don’t regret my purchase, but I’m betting the Ayako is a knife I put in my knife box for a long stay or eventually give away. Speaking of, with Christmas around the corner, its a great budget based gift, especially for a young man or woman in need of a knife they can abuse, break or lose.

Gerber Gear Ayako Folding Pocket Knife with Clip, EDC Knife, Silver, Stainless Steel

The Ayako pocket knife is modern take on a classic Japanese designed friction folder EDC
The EDC knife features dual deployment options: a nail nick hole, as well as an extended tang front flip
Featuring a fully fine edge 3.5 Inch, Japanese style tanto blade of 7Cr17MoV
Frame Lock for easy one-hand closing for EDC
Handle scales of coined aluminum, and stainless steel with Frame Lock for easy one-hand closing

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

CRKT Provoke Review

by Dan Jackson Leave a Comment

Where to begin with the CRKT Provoke? This is a knife that defies convention, and it hardly relates to any other knife that has crossed my desk.

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If I were to draw a comparison to a knife in my collection, the Provoke most reminds me of the HALO VI. Not so much from a nuts and bolts standpoint, but from the standpoint of how this knife makes you feel. It’s an entirely unreasonable pocket knife, and that’s why I’m drawn to it.

Of course all things have their origin, and the Provoke is no different. The Provoke is a production version of Joe Caswell’s Morphing Karambit. Joe is well known for his innovative and robust designs. His EDX is a good example of his over engineered design philosophy distilled into a more traditional folding knife pattern. The Morphing Karambit takes the idea to an entirely different level, linking the traditional Karambit pattern with a novel design that allows you to deploy the blade with the forward push of your finger.

Like the HALO VI I can only describe it as a “serious piece of hardware”. It is satisfies in a way that something like a Spyderco Delica or Benchmade Griptilian could never dream of.

CRKT’s decision to work with Joe to bring this knife to the mass market was bold and admirable. But CRKT is known for its more budget oriented offerings, and the original Morphing Karambit retails for $650. CRKT’s version comes retails in the $200 range. Much more palatable, but not a cheap knife by any stretch of the imagination. Does it make the grade? I’ll attempt to answer that question as I explore this highly unique offering.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Provoke has an overall length of 7.37″, a 2.41″ blade, weighs 6.1 ounces, and is made in Taiwan. As I mentioned in the intro, this is a hefty piece of hardware. Few knives have the substance, the gravitas, of the Provoke. This is a heavy hitter. It is thic with 3 c’s, as the youths are saying. Purportedly saying, as I am no longer a youth. I am reminded of that as I watch the youths walk the window of my office as the shadows lengthen and the earth goes cold. Regardless, it’s a thick knife. 1.25 inches thick according to BladeHQ.

And at 6.1 ounces you feel it in the hand. It’s not an EDC. At least not for me. But not all knives should be a featherweight EDC. That would be boring. And the Provoke is definitely not boring. Here is a size comparison with a Delica and Endura:

The blade is a chisel ground hawkbill shape. Hawkbills are common on karambits. Chisel grinds may be less common, but here we are working with over 5mm of D2 steel. It tapers out as you reach the tip, and it gives the knife a little symmetry. I will note that the actual edge is V ground. I think that was a good idea as in practice it helps this thick chisel ground blade track through material when cutting.

Speaking of cutting, I have had the chance to do a fair amount of work with this knife. The curve of the blade accelerates materials into the cut. It makes quick work of cardboard. From a utility standpoint, I think cardboard is where this knife excels. The thick blade makes it less effective for food prep. It can cut rope and fabric, and the fine tip works well for the modern equivalent of cutting coupons, but the curved handle and blade allow you to rake long cuts through cardboard. The entire knife has been given a titanium nitride coating, and so far it is held up well. I haven’t tested the knife in any martial capacity, but assume it would perform alright in the hands of a skilled martial artist.

I think D2 was a decent choice for blade steel. It’s a tough semi-stainless steel. It’s less expensive but still gets the job done. Certainly there are better steels on the market, but I am not convinced a knife like this really “needs” to come in a super steel. Since the blade has been coated you don’t need to worry about rust, and in practice the heat treat on this is pretty good. It holds a nice, durable edge, and I am able to keep it touched up on my Sharpmaker, Golden Stone, or any other rod style sharpener.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The handle is made from 3 pieces of aluminum. You have the main part of the handle, and then 2 smaller aluminum links that connect the handle to the blade. All the pieces are bolted together and given the same black coating as the handle. In practice the handle construction is impressive. It’s solid and heavy. All the parts are nicely finished and everything lines up as it should. Excellent fit and finish on this piece.

For such an unconventional design, this Provoke feels surprisingly good in hand. I suppose this is due in part to the karambit design. Karambits provide plenty of room for your hand thanks to the short blade relative to the handle and the ring. I am able to stretch out and get a good grip. And although there are a few moving parts, none of them are sharp where your fingers go in both a forwards and reverse grip. So while it doesn’t look comfortable, it is. This is a testament to Joe Caswell’s remarkable design.

Let’s talk about the pocket clip. This is another highly unusual element of the knife. It is the only park that isn’t black, offering some contrast to the design. The clip curves all the way around the ring of the karambit and sits flush with the handle. You have to press the textured area on the pommel to push the pocket clip up and provide room to slide it into the pocket.

It’s an usual design but it works well, holding the Provoke securely in place, and providing you with a decently deep and discreet method of carry. Given the unusual shape of the clip it doesn’t really read like a pocket clip to me. Here’s your pocket shot:

Of course at 6+ ounces, you will feel this knife if you decide to carry it daily. But for what it is, I think the Provoke carries well.

Deployment and Lockup

This is another point in the review where the Provoke colors outside the lines of conventional folding knife design. Rather than a thumb stud, or flipper tab, or blade hole, you nudge the blade open with your thumb. CRKT calls this their “Kinematic” system but it doesn’t really matter. If you are reading this review you likely are already aware of how the knife works. It’s difficult to describe so I’ll provide some pictures.

Knife junkies will need a cigarette after deploying this blade. There is a ballistic quality to this knife, and you don’t so much open the blade as you launch it. It’s a singularly satisfying experience let down only by the comparatively clunky method of unlocking the blade and bringing it back to closed position.

To unlock the blade you have to push a small tab near the ring. That frees the links to retreat to their closed position. It works well, but like most folders, it isn’t as fun as kicking the blade open.

I’ve been playing around with this knife for months. It lived at my office for a while, and I took it home to test it around the house and put the review together. I’ve opened and closed it hundreds if not thousands of times. It has worked flawlessly for me. Granted, I didn’t skin a hog with this knife, or take it out to the desert for a week, but I’ve used it and it has held up well.

Here is a parting size comparison with the Zero Tolerance 0350:

CRKT Provoke Review – Final Thoughts

I recall when Joe Caswell first introduced the Morphing Karambit as a Kickstarter Project. I was instantly intrigued, and know a lot of folks were. I believe our own Grayson Parker owns one of the Morphing Karambits and may eventually review it. It’s a design that is too unique to ignore. But at $450 it might be a little too expensive for most people to buy. I know the price was a hurdle for me personally.

So the idea of CRKT making a more approachable version of the knife appealed to me, and CRKT has a good track record of executing custom designs. At $200 CRKT’s version is still not cheap, but people are buying it. I see that it has over 500 reviews on Amazon, which is impressive for a niche product like this.

I don’t typically comment on Amazon reviews, but I found it interesting that some people on Amazon are disappointed with the Provoke stating “there are better options out there” for an EDC knife. No shit? This is a highly unusual design. It’s not going to replace a Delica or Griptilian. If you are buying this as your primary EDC knife be prepared to make many compromises. This should not be your first knife. It probably shouldn’t be your 10th if you are building a collection of users. It’s heavy and impractical as an EDC tool, but it’s an amazing design that has been well executed.

I think if you like the design you will like the knife. In my mind it’s more of a collectible or a design object than an every day carry piece, but it is 100% functional. CRKT did a great job bringing Caswell’s vision to the masses. I really dig the Provoke, and it will have a special place in my collection.

CRKT Provoke Folding Knife with Kinematic: Morphing Karambit, D2 Plain Edge Blade, Aluminum Handle, Pocket Clip, 4040

Unique Innovation: Kinematic deploys the blade with push of the thumb
Superior Performance: D2 blade steel for excellent edge retention
Strong And Lightweight: Aluminum handle combines strength with minimal weight
Unique Function: Flush mounted clip for secure carry
Designed by Joe Caswell in Newbury Park, California

Editor: I recommend purchasing the CRKT Provoke at BladeHQ or Amazon Thank you very much.

We Knife Co. Mini Buster Review

by John Burridge Leave a Comment

Snecx! If you haven’t heard of him yet, Snecx Tan is a Malaysian knife and tool maker who is, in my opinion, currently the most mechanically innovative knife designer in the world. His Instagram profile says “Just a hobbyist working on knives. Not a knifemaker.” That’s a bit of an understatement for someone who recently held an auction on Instagram for the one-of-a-kind prototype of his upcoming “Vision S” knife. It sold for $18,900.00 USD. That’s a pretty well-funded hobby.

Buy the Mini Buster at BladeHQ or GP Knives

There are a lot of knife enthusiasts like myself who have been eager to get our hands on a reasonably priced Snecx knife, and WE Knife Co. has delivered with the Mini Buster, which goes for $289. I’ve been using it every day for the last month, and here’s what I’ve learned: it’s a nearly perfect large-ish EDC knife with one major design flaw.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Mini Buster is 4.5” (115 mm) closed, 7.8” (198 mm) open, and has a 3.4” (86 mm) blade made of CPM-20CV steel. The blade stock is 4 mm thick at its widest point, and the handle is about half an inch thick (13 mm) not counting the clip, which adds another 4.5 mm. So it’s no slim little Brad Zinker disappear-in-your-pocket folder, but it’s also no Cold Steel supersized monster knife either.

The blade is a very slightly curved sheepsfoot style, which I consider to be the ideal do-everything EDC blade shape. Its tip is pointy enough to pierce tough materials, and the blade is wide enough to use as a butter knife. I prefer the ergonomics of a
sheepsfoot (or wharncliffe) blade over a traditional drop point blade because, when holding the knife with my index finger on the spine of the blade to open a box, the low tip of the sheepsfoot blade keeps my wrist and arm at a more comfortable angle than when using a drop point blade.

The picture above illustrates how the Mini Buster’s sheepsfoot blade tip can cut while nearly parallel to a surface, while the drop point blade on the RealSteel Rokot needs to be at a much higher angle to utilize the tip of the blade.

The WE Mini Buster’s blade stock is Crucible CPM-20CV steel, which is a premium American-made blade steel with extremely high hardness and above-average toughness. To avoid taking an unnecessarily deep dive into metallurgy, I will just say the Mini Buster’s blade has excellent edge retention, but is more likely to chip than bend.

CPM-20CV is nearly identical to the European-made Bohler M390 steel, and these powdered-metallurgy “super steels” are THE go-to blade steels for high-end knives lately. In fact, of the 14 folding knife reviews BladeReviews.com has published so far in 2020, 35% of them had CPM-20CV or M390 blades. They’re great knife steels, and I’ve noticed that I need to sharpen my D2, CPM-154, and RWL34 knives more often than my harder steel M390 or 20CV knives.

Over the past month, I’ve been hacking away at everything in my vicinity that can be hacked at, including thick plastic packing straps, cardboard, annoying clamshell packaging, stray tangerine tree branches, and, when trying to cut a piece of baklava in half, I sliced up a metal catering pan. Despite all that, I have yet to scratch the blade’s black DLC coating or the handle’s anodizing. That’s quite impressive considering that I normally scratch my DLC coated steel blades and anodized titanium handles almost immediately.

The blade’s primary grind angle is known as a “flat” grind, which looks like a narrow symmetrical “V”.

In the kitchen, the blade’s uninterrupted “V” shape had no contours or additional angles to disrupt its slicing path through a bunch of tomatoes and cucumbers. As with nearly every folding knife, the Buster’s blade/handle configuration doesn’t allow food dicing without rapping my knuckles on the cutting board with every downstroke. Snecx tested the durability of his original Buster knife by slashing the tops off of green coconuts- I think the Mini Buster could handle that task, but it would definitely be easier with a non-Mini Buster…

I’m a pretty frugal guy, but I’m impulsive when it comes to my steel and/or gunpowder-related hobbies. It also usually takes me making the same mistake two or three times before I learn my lesson. For example, I’ve watched myself compulsively click the “buy” button on some limited-edition knives that I thought looked cool: a Dervish Knives Alchemy midtech ($395) and a Prometheus Design Werx/Strider Knives SMF “Frogskin” ($635). But my biggest impulse buy of all was in 2018 when I bought a Snecx/Jake Hoback Knives collaboration Buster ($775), which is the most I have ever spent (or ever will spend) on a knife.

Like my first marriage, I always knew I was making a mistake but went ahead with it anyway. I immediately regretted my decision- I didn’t really like them, I wanted to sell them (the marriage analogy definitely no longer applies from this point on), and so I never carried or even enjoyed them. I managed to sell the Dervish and the Strider at a loss, and I’ve tried to sell the Snecx/Hoback Buster twice with no takers. In early 2020 I saw one in the BladeHQ closeout section for $499. Maddening! I’m done with buying expensive knives.

A brief history of the Snecx/Jake Hoback Knives Buster: Snecx is indeed a knifemaker (despite his claims to the contrary) but is not a knife manufacturer, so in 2018 he launched two collaboration projects. The first was the Custom Knife Factory Terra, and the second was the Hoback Buster. According to what I’ve read on Snecx’s Instagram and Hoback’s website, Snecx’s core visual design was minimally modified, but a lot of details were changed, most notably the addition of a honeycomb pattern in the handle.

I definitely appreciate innovation and unique aesthetics, but (sorry Mr. Hoback!) I think it ended up looking like a mashup of two contrasting, not complimentary, design styles. Plus it’s huge. I give zero fucks about what the general public considers an “office-friendly” or non-scary looking knife, but the Hoback Buster is so big and heavy that it’s unwieldy.

I was surprised to see that the Hoback Buster isn’t much bigger or heavier than my Chris Reeve Knives Large Sebenza 21 (an expensive knife that I’ve never regretted buying) but in the hand, the Hoback Buster is a big manly beast knife. OK- out of the shame spiral and back to the review.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The Mini Buster feels great in use, even though I can’t quite get a full four-finger grip with my medium-large hands. The handle is long enough overall, but the upswept end of the bottom of the handle (see arrow in picture above) removes some finger gripping space. The pad of my pinky finger ends up on the handle screw near the lanyard loop, and that’s enough for me to achieve a secure grip with all four fingers.

When held in a regular grip with my thumb on the spine, my thumb naturally rests in a little indentation where the backspacer ends above the pivot, but I can also comfortably shift my thumb forward onto a section of jimping on the blade spine if I want more precise control of the blade.

The jimping ends in a stylish little dip for the tip of my thumb, which is one of four places (see arrows in picture above) on the Mini Buster where Snecx used this dip-in-a-straight(ish)-line design cue.

The Mini Buster also has a number of subtle angular details, which are definitely accentuated by the artificial edge wear of the “antique bronze” finish version I bought. There are almost no straight lines on this knife. There’s an almost subliminal curve to every part of the Mini Buster, including the blade, which has a very slight belly. Another interesting design choice on the WE Mini Buster is how the angular front tip of the handle crosses the plunge line of the blade. This is a carryover from the original Snecx Buster design.

According to Snecx, he allowed Jake Hoback to “fix” the handle angle and plunge line so they’re parallel. You can see this difference between the two knives in the picture above. But when WE Knife Co. did the same “fix” to an early Mini Buster prototype, Snecx made them retain his original Buster handle/plunge line design.

Deployment and Lockup

The Mini Buster is a framelock with a unique Snecx twist: the H.D.P.S. system. That stands for Hybrid Detent Pin System, and my admittedly limited understanding of it boils down to this: the shiny round steel pin on the lockbar (see picture below) acts as both the stop pin, which keeps the blade locked into its open position, and as the detent ball, which keeps the blade in place in its closed position.

I can’t be sure if this is a function of the HDPS system, but the Mini Buster does a far better job than most other knives of easily opening while there’s pressure on the detent. I can squeeze the lockbar section of the handle (the part attached to the aforementioned shiny round steel pin) pretty hard without hampering my ability to flip open the knife. Snecx, however, isn’t the only recent innovator on this front. Zero Tolerance Knives recently released the 0707 framelock, featuring their new Tuned Detent System, which is designed to address the same problem, but using a different mechanical approach. I watched a video review of the 0707, and although it does an admirable job of opening irregardless of pressure on the lockbar, it does not smoothly swing shut like the Mini Buster.

I only have one criticism of this knife, and this is the major design flaw I alluded to at the beginning of this review: the little tiny nubby flipper tab becomes completely inoperable if your finger is even slightly wet or slippery.

Why? The face of the flipper tab is completely smooth, without any machined texturing like most flipper-actuated knives have. That in itself isn’t necessarily a problem, but it’s also so small there’s barely any surface area for your fingertip, so a single drop of water will defeat any attempt to flip open this knife. In my wet and slippery kitchen and gardening adventures with this knife, I found that the only way to open the Mini Buster was to pinch the spine of the conveniently “V” shaped blade and manually pull it open.

Snecx is known to be an absolute perfectionist, so I don’t understand how there could be such an obvious problem like this. According to what I saw in Snecx’s Instagram posts about the WE Mini Buster, he seemed quite pleased with it, so my theory is this: the lack of flipper leverage (a conscious design choice) was deliberately compensated for by using a somewhat weak detent. The detent, which in this context is the wall of force that my index finger on the flipper tab must overcome to deploy the blade, isn’t quite strong enough to guarantee the knife completely opening every time. I suspect that the detent was made as strong as was possible given the limited leverage on the flipper tab. That’s not a huge deal, but it does require more concentration and effort to deploy the blade than is required for most knives in this price range. I’m probably overthinking all of this, but I have seen several other people mention their knives have a weak detent, so it’s possible I’m right.

Nonetheless, once the blade gets going, the ceramic ball bearings surrounding the pivot give it a smooth and easy action. It locks open with a confidence-inspiring snap, and in use it feels as solid as a fixed blade knife.

We Knife Co. Mini Buster Review – Final Thoughts

Even with it’s flipper design issues, I stand by my initial claim that this is a nearly perfect large-ish EDC knife. According to Snecx, it’s also his final framelock design. He’s moved on to his “Vision” knife, for which he has invented two new technologies: the Superlock locking system, and the Zero Flex Pivot. It became very obvious to me that Snecx was onto something special when heavy-hitter designers like Ostap Hel, Rotten Design, and Tashi Bharucha all publicly commented on the same Instagram post about Snecx’s Zero Flex Pivot. Tashi B’s comment just said “Perfection”. The Vision looks amazing, but that doesn’t matter to me at all, because as I said, I’m absolutely done with buying expensive knives.

UPDATE: I bought a $160 titanium COVID tool.

It’s a very limited edition (only 15 pieces) handmade by one of my favorite knife designers, Tashi Bharucha, in partnership with his frequent collaborator Thierry Savidan. It’s part of a series called “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”. I bought “The Good” (pictured above), but did not get “The Bad”, which is the same design but with three knuckle spikes. Both versions came with a little COVID-19 shaped lanyard bead engraved with the words “THE UGLY”.

Like my Hoback Buster, it’s huge and expensive, especially compared to my $17 Civivi copper COVID tool also pictured. Unlike my Hoback Buster, however, I have NO regrets about buying this thing- it’s awesome and I smile every time I whip it out to open a door or punch in my PIN number.

Finally, the Hoback Buster that I’ve been whining about for the entire review is still for sale! Hit me up in the comments or on Instagram if you want to make this “As seen on BladeReviews.com” Hoback Buster all yours…

Thank you to Sara O’Neil for the use of her painting.

We Knives Mini Buster – From $272.00
From: BladeHQ

Editor: I recommend purchasing the We Knives Mini Buster at BladeHQ or GP Knives. Thank you very much.

Spyderco Rhino Review

by Grayson Parker 1 Comment

Expectations are a terrible thing to shake. As gear geeks, hopping onto the hype train is all too easy, especially because most of us are passionate about our hobbies. We see something cool – either the newest catalog or the latest teaser on Instagram – and start forming our own idea of what the end product will be like. All too often, those expectations proceed to get in the way of enjoying the product for it is.

Buy the Spyderco Rhino at BladeHQ
Buy on Amazon

Enter the Spyderco Rhino. When it was first teased (long enough ago that I can’t remember the date), it was slated to be a refreshing new entry to Spyderco’s line-up, sporting G10 scales, BD1 steel, and a compression lock in a reasonably sized package. What’s more, its original street price was going to fall right around $50.00. That was a hell of a steal at the time, and honestly would still be a great buy today, even with the recent price drops in premium steels.

Unfortunately, that version of the Rhino never made it beyond the trade show demonstration booth. Apparently that package was too much of an ask for the factory, and the project was put on hiatus. The next time we caught a glimpse of the Rhino, it was a radically different product: the steel was upgraded to CTS-XHP, the handle scales were upgraded to carbon fiber, and the street price was upgraded all the way up to $140.00.

That’s the point I lost interest in the Rhino. It had morphed from a product that would challenge the market to yet another overpriced and oddly designed Spyderco, destined to hang out in the inventories of cutlery purveyors across the world.

In the months that followed its debut, I started to see it pop up online. Folks that I follow on Instagram (whose taste I respect) started including the Rhino in their daily updates. After seeing it a few more times, my curiosity was once again piqued. That’s when I started to realize that on paper, it was still a good product: high-end steel, carbon fiber*, a great lock, and the perfect size for everyday chores. It didn’t take too much speculation along those lines before I picked one up. I’m glad I did, but you’ll need to read on to learn why.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Spyderco Rhino is considered part of the “little-big-knife” family, a design ethos that seeks to pack the maximum amount of cutting power into a compact package. Other standouts include the much-acclaimed Techno as well as the Dragonfly 2. Like its cousins, the dimensions of the Rhino aren’t great on paper. Its 2.37” blade is housed in a 3.57” handle, and the overall package weighs in at 2.27 oz. Taken together, neither the blade to handle or blade to weight ratio is very compelling. Much like its cousins, however, these numbers don’t speak to the whole truth.

My tastes are depressingly pedestrian when it comes to blade shapes. Give me a nice drop point or modified wharncliffe and I’ll be happy; give me more than one angle to worry about when resharpening and I won’t. The Rhino’s trailing point walks a very thin line between being interesting and being a hassle, and – in my case at least – the jury is still out. When grappling with a clamshell package, it’s great: the refined tip and thin grind make short work of that modern headache. When it comes to spreading peanut butter or condiments (essential picnic tasks, in my view), the trailing point is uniquely unqualified. If that isn’t a concern for you, there are few downsides to this blade shape. The exaggerated belly also means that the cutting edge is longer than the listed blade length.

As expected, the grind that the fine folks at Taichung put on the Rhino is impeccable. The stock starts at .118” thick and is brought down to a very keen edge by a full flat grind. Between the stock and grind, the Rhino makes for a very mean cutter, passing the apple test with ease. If there’s a complaint to be made, it’s that the satin finish is slightly tacky and seems to attract gunk. Regular cleaning and a bit of extra vigilance is probably required.

This is actually my first experience with Carpenter’s CTS-XHP steel. If rumors hold true, it was designed to have the upsides of D2 (great edge retention and toughness) while mitigating D2’s chief drawback (poor rust resistance). My experiences with the Rhino generally reflect that: the edge rarely needs touching up, and it’s warded off rust handily, ever after I inadvertently stored it with fruit juice on the blade. Unfortunately, most users report that it can be a pain to sharpen, so I’ve been proactive with my strop, and actual resharpening hasn’t been necessary.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Carry

Unfortunately, the handle breaks two of my cardinal rules when it comes to knives: avoid finger scallops and Spyderco’s carbon fiber/G10 composite scales. The former rule is rooted in ergonomics; the latter in priggish snobbery. My experience with the Rhino has made me reevaluate both – to an extent. The composite scales are reinforced by a skeletonized and recessed steel liner, and have endured everyday wear and tear without showing it. Moreover, they don’t have the glossy, too-light quality I’ve felt in other knives with carbon fiber scales.

The composite scales are well-suited to the role. There is enough texture that your fingers don’t slide around, but not the rough kind of texture you’d expect from Spyderco’s normal G10 treatment. Additionally, the edges and corners of the scales have been chamfered to the point that they are very nearly contoured. I’m very glad they went the extra mile in the finishing process; otherwise the Rhino would be an ergonomic flop, and that’s entirely due to the finger scallops. Apart from those problematic little curves, the Rhino is really quite good in the hand. The dip in the spine of the blade is a perfect place to put your thumb when you need more control, and the organic curve of the handle means that the Rhino can be gripped in a number of ways.

To be frank: finger scallops should be avoided as a rule. They force the user to hold the knife in a set grip, despite the fact that all of our muscular and skeletal structure varies wildly person to person. They do not actually improve our grip on a knife’s handle, according to hand surgeon and knifemaker Kyle Ver Steeg; in fact, by forcing our fingers farther apart, it weakens our grip instead. Finally, why on earth were finger scallops “necessary” on a knife this size? The Rhino isn’t going to be someone’s last ditch boot knife, or stowed in a bugout bag. It’s going to be toted around in some gear geek’s chinos, broken out to to open packages and trim loose threads. The Rhino’s saving grace is that the finger scallops have been chamfered to the point that I hardly notice them.

The Rhino is equipped with Spyderco’s classic spoon-shaped clip. It’s a classic design for a reason: it doesn’t cause ergonomic issues, it keeps the knife in the pocket without shredding your pants, and it’s only a little bit of a paint scraper.

Deployment and Lock-Up

At this point, there’s not a whole lot that can be said about Spyderco’s trademark thumb hole. Even as flippers reign supreme, the thumb hole stands out: it’s simple, versatile, and only there when you need it. The Rhino has at least as much fidget factor as any of my flippers, in part due to the phosphor bronze washers the blade rides on and the excellent detente. Absolutely no complaints in this regard.

In keeping with the “quintessentially Spyderco” theme, the Rhino utilizes the compression lock, an in-house design that’s strong, simple, and lightweight. By using a locking leaf that wedges between the blade tang and the stop pin, the compression lock blends the convenience and strength of an axis-style lock with the snappy action and simplicity of a liner lock. Unfortunately, compression locks do tend to have a bit of vertical blade play, and the Rhino is no exception. It doesn’t register visually or audibly, but you can feel it if you wiggle the blade around.

Spyderco Rhino Review – Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the Rhino is a fine addition to both Spyderco’s catalog and my collection. Part of me still wishes that the original version would have made it to market, but to be honest, the extra finishing on the handle scales probably wouldn’t be feasible at a sub-$50 price point, and the finger scallops would go from a theoretical pet peeve to a very literal pain to deal with. That aside, there’s a lot to recommend here. The blade uses some of the best steel on the market and is ground to be a lean cutter; the handle is remarkably comfortable, in and out of the pocket; and the deployment method and lock are some of the most reliable and convenient available.

As mentioned above, the street price for the Rhino falls around $140. That’s nothing to sneeze at; most of the major production knife companies have strong entries at this price point, from Benchmade’s upgraded Griptilian line to a veritable dragon’s hoard of Kizer offerings. While the competition is fierce, I think the Rhino holds its own. The blade – from the steel to the grind – makes the Rhino stand out in its own way, especially if you like the funky design aesthetic.

There are some people who should pay special attention to the Rhino, and a few who should actively avoid it. The Rhino is especially well-suited to modern office workers: opening packages, breaking down cardboard boxes, and maybe peeling an orange at lunch. If you have more specific needs (like frequent food prep or a knife suited to harder use), look elsewhere, as the Rhino was clearly not designed with those tasks in mind.

Spyderco Reinhold Rhino Folding Knife - Black Carbon Fiber Handle with PlainEdge, Full-Flat Grind, CTS XHP Steel Blade and Compression Lock - C210CFP

plainedge blade - this knife has a sharpened blade with no serrations or teeth sometimes referred to as a smooth blade.
carbon fiber handle - graphic fibers (the size of a human hair) woven together then fused with epoxy resin. lightweight with a high level of tensile strength it is three dimensional in appearance.
full-flat grind - this knife features a blade ground with flat bevels that extend from the spine all the way to the cutting edge. this grind reduces drag during cutting and decreases overall weight.
compression lock - developed and patented by spyderco, the compression lock mechanism uses a leaf-like spring from a split liner in the handle to wedge laterally between a ramp on the blade tang and the stop pin (or anvil pin).
specifications - closed length (inches): 3.6, overall length (inches): 5.95, blade length (inches):2.35, blade steel: cts xhp, grind: full-flat

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Spyderco Rhino at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.

Gerber Tri-Tip Review

by Travis Pike 1 Comment

I like weird stuff in general, and that extends to my knife collection. The good news is knives can get really weird. I now have three cleavers that have been produced by companies who don’t specialize in kitchen utensils. My ESEE cleaver, my Gerber Flat Iron, and now a second Gerber, the Gerber Tri-Tip mini cleaver knife, make up my collection.

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Gerber is a broad brand when it comes to knives. They can range from quite lovely and rather expensive, to remarkably affordable. The Tri-Tip leans more to the affordable side. It includes a molded polymer sheath and admittedly has a very fresh look. The Tri-Tip is a pretty blade, and I can’t lie when I say its looks drew me to it more than any specific need for a mini cleaver. I’m a real sucker for a pretty blade, and the Tri-Tip is a rather attractive and stout little knife.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Gerber Tri-Tip has a 2.875-inch cleaver blade is divided into a chisel edge and a cutting edge. The chisel edge is about an inch long, not very sharp, and it is finger safe. The bottom cutting edge is the near 3-inch blade. The handle is 2.75 inches long, and the whole thing weighs a mere 3 ounces. It is a full tang knife with a set of grips attached.

The blade is made from 7Cr17MoV. This cheap stainless steel that’s very popular for budget based knives. It’s quite common in affordable hunting and camping knives and even kitchen knives. The Tri-Tip fits that description nearly perfectly. It’s a budget based blade optimized for camping kitchen chores. This steel does offer excellent corrosion resistance, is easy to sharpen, and for low-end steel tends to hold an edge okay.

Edge retention is somewhat questionable, and it’s not one that lasts long. The good news is that as a cleaver, the blade isn’t always tasked with tradition cutting tasks, so the edge lasts longer than I thought. This steel isn’t known for being tough, but I’m not batoning wood or striking a fire rod for cleaver tasks.

Its edge is good enough to cut through meat and veggies easily, and even thin bones with a little strike to the rear of the blade. It’s not as sharp as any ZT or Emerson, but it’ll do its job as a 30 dollar cleaver. The small blade length offers a solid cutting edge due to the knife’s aggressive belly. You can cut through thick meat and chop vegetables rather well.

Admittedly the use of such a small cleaver is somewhat niche. I can see it as a functional camping cooking utensil that takes up very little room and weighs very little. With sustenance camping becoming more popular, I see the Tri-Tip being a handy tool for cleaning up squirrel, rabbits, and deer. The small blade won’t chop through the thicker bones of medium-sized game, but it quickly eats through chicken bones.

The chisel edge acts as a useful bench scraper to collect ingredients with ease after slicing and dicing them. The edge could also serve as a pry tool or even a stripping tool to remove bark from branches.

Handle and Ergonomics

The little 2.75-inch handle doesn’t necessarily fill the hand and won’t give you the real cleaver’s wacking ability. The grip angle has a slight incline that allows for a rocking motion to cleave through meat. The handles are made from aluminum and textured.

The downside is that there are some immediate hotspots in the area where the handles meet the palm. Using the cleaver to strip meat from bones creates hot spots throughout the hand. Using the Tri-Tip in traditional kitchen tasks was comfortable enough. Giving the black a wack, rocking it back and forth, and using the chisel edge was all plenty comfortable.

The handle is textured comfortably, and you can get a sure grip, which was surprising due to how small the grip is. I like the rounded aluminum grips and the texture they add, but they were far from perfect.

Once you turn to more outdoorsy tasks, you’ll want a larger, more prominent handle. The lightweight design is appreciated, and at only 3 ounces, it won’t pull on you when belt-mounted.

The rear of the blade is wide enough to cover with a towel and give a wack to break through thick veggies and small animal bones. You can split a chicken breast, but anything more significant might prove to be a challenge.

Sheath

The included molded polymer sheath is a high point in the Tri-Tip design. It’s mostly a simple, rectangular shape that fits 1.5-inch belts. The sheath is quite sturdy and well designed. The Tri-Tip sheath is outfitted with an active retention device. To defeat the device, you merely press down a small spring-loaded toggle and pull the blade out.

Tri-Tip slides in and out of the sheath with ease and allows you to dismount and mount the knife quickly. It’s a neat design that seems like it would be more at home on a more expensive knife. The included sheath can be worn on the right or left side, or even in a scout position. Scout being the fancy name for wearing it upside down on a plate carrier or pack strap.

While I haven’t tried to modify the sheath, it seems possible to attach a variety of clip options and change how it’s mounted. With different belt clip options, it looks like a great candidate for horizontal carry should you wish for such a thing.

Gerber Tri-Tip Review – Final Thoughts

The Tri-Tip is a neat mini cleaver. It looks and feels cool. The aluminum grips are fantastic, as is the included sheath is quite nice. I like the Tri-Tip, and I say that because I can’t find a use for it. If you wanted to kill a squirrel and clean it in the woods, then here you go. The Tri-Tip is perfect for that role. I could do the same with a dozen other essential fixed blade knives and have a more useful tool overall.

With that said, I think the knife has a powerful cool factor that makes me a fan. For the low price, I don’t mind buying it for the giggle factor.

Sale

Gerber Gear TRI-Tip Mini Cleaver Fixed Blade Camping Knife with Molle Sheath for Survival and Bushcrafting, Green

DURABLE CAMPING GEAR: At home on the trail or in camp, the Gerber TRI-Tip mini cleaver camping knife's standout design rewrites what an outdoor cooking knife can do, perfect for outdoor enthusiasts
INNOVATIVE DESIGN: The cleaver blade is not only eye-catching with its black oxide coating but serves as both a scraper tool and a cutting tool, making it a versatile camping cooking utensil
QUALITY CRAFTED: The machined aluminum handle scales provide an excellent grip and a balanced contrast of color to the knife
COMPACT AND CONVENIENT: The multi-mount knife sheath can be carried in two positions: tip down or horizontal SCOUT carry and a lanyard hole is integrated into the handle as an additional place to secure the knife
VERSATILE APPLICATIONS: This fixed blade knife is ideal for various camping, hunting and outdoor activities, offering the functionality of multiple utility knives in one tool

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

Bestech Marukka Review

by John Burridge Leave a Comment

Kombou is on fire lately! In the last few years, Bestech Knives has released 8 knives that he’s designed, including the Marukka reviewed here. I bought the Marukka the day it was released, and as I write this review 60 days later, two more Bestech/Kombou knives are starting to hit stores: the Wibra and the Irida.

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Kombou is the nom de couteau of Grzegorz Grabarski of Siedlce, Poland. I’m the kind of guy that notices and appreciates the evolution of an artist’s work, and I’ve been keeping an eye on Kombou for a couple of years now. I reviewed his Bestech Knives Fanga knife (see pic below) here on Blade Reviews in August 2019, and I found it be be a great knife and a good value for the money.

I’ve been stalking the Marukka on Instagram since I first saw it teased by Kombou in June of 2019. When it was finally released in April 2020, it easily passed all my stringent knife buying requirements:

Is it made of quality materials? Yes, titanium and M390 steel.
Is it reasonably priced for what it is? Yes, $272.
Is it like a big bio-mechanical stabbing machine? Yes!

I’ve been carrying the Bestech Marukka for the last 60 days. Here’s what I’ve discovered:

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The handle is 5” (127 mm), and when opened, the blade adds another 3.75” (95 mm) for an impressive overall length of 8.75” (203 mm). It’s tough to tell from the pictures, but this is a pretty big knife.

The blade steel is Bohler M390, which is an excellent powder metallurgy “super steel” with above average toughness (basically the ability to bend instead of breaking) and extremely high hardness (basically the ability to hold an edge.) M390’s bias of hardness over toughness is great for people like me who don’t sharpen their knives regularly. M390 steel or its contemporaries (like Crucible 20CV, Carpenter 204P, or Uddeholm Elmax) are generally expected in a premium production knife like the Marukka, and I’ve yet to be disappointed with the edge-holding performance any of those steels.

The blade has a substantial spine, starting out at 3.85 mm thick, but tapering to a quite thin .45 mm near the blade’s tip. The design of the Marukka’s blade appears to be simple, but there are a lot of subtle details I really like. It’s a Persian style blade, and the spine has a slight downward recurve before rising to the tip.

There’s a decorative fuller that looks straight but actually shares the slight recurve of the spine. The ricasso (the unsharpened portion of the blade between the handle and the primary sharpening bevel) is stonewashed, but the rest of the blade has a shinier satin finish, which is a cool touch in my opinion. It’s also quite difficult to show in a photograph, since it’s mainly just a difference in reflectivity.

The titanium pocket clip, pivot collar, and backspacer are anodized a brass-y/champagne-y color, and they were also hard for me to due justice to in pictures because the color is pretty subtle. There are currently two other color variants of the Marukka available, both with black stonewashed blades, but they don’t have the dual-finish blade treatment.

I’m kookoo for stabby-looking knives, but I’m also well aware of their limited usefulness in my life. My favorite knife of all time is my Microtech Ultratech signature version with a copper handle.

I don’t know what specific use the Ultratech was originally designed for, but I’m guessing it was murder. Mine even happens to be serial number 187, which is police code for… murder! I mainly use mine to murder boxes and loose threads on my clothes. The Ultatech’s blade is so thin and pointy that I can’t use it to scrape or pry anything for fear of snapping off the tip. I’m sure If I ever tried to clean under my fingernails with it, I’d be typing this with only nine fingers. Furthermore, its copper handle is so heavy that grabbing the tip of the blade between thumb and fingers to do detail work is like trying to tap in a nail with the handle of a hammer- the heavy head is at the far end, throwing off your balance. So I obviously don’t care about logic (or California switchblade knife laws), and love my impractical, stabby Ultratech.

The Marukka is far more practical and well-balanced. Its thin blade slices fruit and vegetables really well for a folding knife, and the combination of the blade’s low belly and the handle’s high arch let me dice onions without rapping my knuckles on the cutting board with every chop. It’s no kitchen knife, but it’ll do nicely in a pinch. Speaking of alternate knife uses, I always open my mail with the unsharpened spine of whatever knife is in my pocket- unless it’s the Marukka. The tip of this thing is so thin and sharp that I just know I’m going to end up slicing open my hand along with my electric bill. For me it’s usually “Oh shit, did I cut myself? There’s no blood- oh there it comes, so much blood!!!”

Placing my irrational fear aside for a moment, I think if I were to use this knife as hard as I’ve used my DPX Gear HEST/F or my Chris Reeve Knives Sebenza, then I would be a little worried about snapping off the Marukka’s tip.

The HEST/F knife (above, left) has a tip that’s protected against snapping off due to its absurdly thick blade stock, and the Sebenza’s tip is thin but is protected by geometry. My Sebenza (above, right) has the Insingo blade option, which is a sheepsfoot style blade. One of the reasons I like sheepsfoot blades is that their spines abruptly plummet down to the tip, resulting in a little more thick steel near the tip compared to the Marukka’s Persian style blade.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

To test my weak tip assumption, I attacked a huge stack of industrial-sized extra thick cardboard boxes held together with large copper staples. After ten minutes of hacking them into recycling bin size (and running the blade right over the staples) I can say that the handle is comfortable and I didn’t worry once about breaking the Marukka’s tip. The balance point of this surprisingly light knife (4.02 oz / 114.4 g) is just behind the index finger groove in the handle, and it was easy to manipulate with and without gloves. The milled pocket clip added to my grip retention.

I’ve found that pocket clips often create hot spots and interfere with either a standard or overhanded grip. In fact, the DPX HEST/F (the green handled knife from a couple of pictures ago) has perhaps my least ergonomically-friendly clip of anything I own. But the Marukka’s clip is rounded and contoured, and pushed my ring and pinky fingers into an ideal grip when flipping it open. It’s obvious to me that Kombou didn’t just put the clip on as an afterthought, but thoroughly integrated it into the design.

In my months of everyday carry, the Marukka never accidentally slipped out of my pocket, but it would ride up to the tip of the clip if I’d been lying down with it clipped to my pocket. That also happens with almost every other single knife I own except my precious Microtech Ultratech, which has a “double dip” clip that keeps it snug in the bottom of my pocket.

The handle of the Marukka has 4” (102 mm) of usable gripping space, which allows me a full four finger grip with room to spare. Visually, it’s a mixture of organic curves and machine-like lines and angles. It’s like a dagger made from the Terminator’s wrist bone. The word that leaps out at me is bio-mechanical, probably because I just finished reading all five books in the “Murderbot Diaries” series of science fiction novels by Martha Wells. The main character (who calls itself Murderbot) is a human/robot hybrid, and I imagine Murderbot would appreciate the Marukka’s design aesthetic, even though it wouldn’t admit that to a human. The books are super fun, have great action interspersed with dry humor, and have won just about every sci-fi award available, including the Hugo, Nebula, Alex, and Locus Awards. Sorry- I know this is a knife review, not a book review, so back to the knife.

There are several mechanical-style details on the Marukka’s handle. The pivot screw, for example, has the look of a spinning turbine, and the machined line that travels from the pivot screw to the end of the handle looks to me like either a gear or a circuit board. The cut on the lock side that forms the framelock follows that crenelated line to some extent. That’s pretty unique, since the framelock cut is more or less a straight line on about 90% of framelock knives ever since Chris Reeve invented the framelock in the late 1980’s.

The “bio” part of the bio-mechanical theme is most evident in the shape and angles of the handle, particularly on the top of the spine.

There’s a little flat-ish area where the handle meets the blade, which is obviously designed as a comfortable thumb shelf when holding the knife in a regular grip. Behind that is another swoopy indentation, which, along with the thin milled stripes behind it, is purely decorative as far as I can tell. In matters of design, I’m a huge fan of unexpected lines and angles, and Kombou could have just kept the spine going in one long curving line like he did in the Bestech Fanga (2nd picture from the top of the article) but instead he gave us an organic, multi-angled flourish. It’s clear to me that his design style is evolving, and I enjoy noticing the steps he takes along the way.

Deployment and Lockup

The Marukka is a flipper-opening framelock, and the action is light and snappy. The blade pivots on ceramic ball bearings, and the titanium framelock has a steel insert where it meets the blade.

This theoretically replaceable insert prevents titanium on steel friction, which can sometimes result in the knife getting stuck open. This used to happen with my previously mentioned DPX Gear HEST/F, which did not have a steel lockbar insert. I realize that I’ve used it as a bad example twice now, but the HEST/F was quite technologically advanced in 2012 when I bought it- which goes to show how rapidly the knife world has advanced in the last decade.

The detent of a flipper knife controls how much force must be applied to the flipper tab to snap the blade out of its closed position. A weak detent may result in the blade not fully opening, and a detent that’s too strong just kinda sucks. The Marukka’s detent is perfect, as is the detent on the two other Bestech Knives I own. The lockup is solid and there’s no blade play either opened or closed. Actually, I can’t even think of a single modern framelock knife I’ve handled that has any blade play… well, except for my HEST/F (oh no- not again! Sorry DPX Gear!) but its blade wiggle is the direct result of it being my favorite beater knife for almost a decade.

Bestech Marukka Review – Final Thoughts

I pay a lot of attention to details, and I had to dig deep into the details to find anything negative to say about the Marukka. This is all I could come up with: the steel lockbar insert is pretty sharp, and can scratch my thumb if I hold it too far forward when closing the blade. That’s it- I have no other complaints. It’s not cheap, but neither is the the unique and precise machining that went into this big, futuristic-looking, bio-mechanical stabbing machine. Like Martha Wells’ Murderbot, the Marukka is fascinating and dangerous, but smooth around the edges. I recommend it.

Thank you to Sara O’Neil for the use of her painting.

Bestech Marukka – From $272.00
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Editor: I recommend purchasing the Bestech Marukka at BladeHQ and Amazon. Thank you very much.