Knives By Purpose

Reate T4000 Review

Whenever there’s the thinnest excuse to use a pocket knife, I do so. Over the last month of carrying the Reate T4000 nearly every day, I’ve noticed that when I open it up in public to do any of the small innocuous things I use a knife for, I’ve seen people’s eyes light up with…not terror, but a distinct “What the hell is that?” look mixed with a tingle of atavistic fear.

Buy the Reate T4000 at BladeHQ or GPKnives

It looks like a large double edged dagger- which, to the subconscious mind of most people, looks like what the ruling classes have been using to kill people with for the last four thousand years, and/or what everybody gets stabbed with in Game Of Thrones. I have two friends who are into knives on almost the same nerdy level that I am, and even their first responses were “Whoa!”

The instant I saw the T4000, I knew I wanted it simply for the fear/thrill reaction it gave me. But when writing a knife review, I always try to determine the knife’s intended purpose. In this case, it’s easy: when Reate Knives began teasing the T4000 in July 2018, BladeReviews.com’s own Ben Schwartz wrote an article about it for KnifeNews.com. Here’s what the designer of the knife, Tashi Bharucha, had to say about it:

[It] does not pretend to be anything other than a stabbing pocket sword.

It’s intended purpose is to be a stabbing pocket sword? Sign me the fuck up!

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Reate Knives T4000 is part of a four-knife series, all designed by French knife auteur Tashi Bharucha. At the time of writing, only the smallest of the four, the T2500 and the T4000 have been released. The naming convention reflects the length of the blades in inches- the T2500 is 2.5” long, the T4000 is 4”, etc. The T3000 and T3500 have yet to be released.

I find it curious that a French designer and a Chinese knife manufacturer are using the antiquated Imperial measurement system for the names of these knives- I’m going to assume their target market is ‘Merica. I don’t know if the pricing scheme is also related to the blade length, but the T4000 cost me $400 USD. I suppose that’s a bargain compared to Tashi Bharucha’s custom, handmade knives, which cost at least $1,000. Even though I’m a big fan of his work, I’m not going to spend over a thousand bucks on something I can’t drive, ride, or shoot.

It comes with a bunch of nice, unnecessary stuff like a Reate Knives Zipper pouch, a cleaning cloth, a microfiber knife bag, a velcro embroidered “Reate” patch, and extra handle screws, which are actually a really nice touch.

There are three handle choices: Titanium with inlaid carbon fiber, inlaid brown canvas Micarta, or inlaid green canvas Micarta, which is what I bought. It’s an unusually large and heavy folder, even bigger in every respect than my collection’s previous champion of unnecessary size and weight, the Microtech Sigil MK6.

The T4000 weighs 5.3 oz (150 g), is 8.86” (225 mm) long when open, 4.92” long (125 mm) closed, and 1.75” (44 mm) tall when open or closed. Some knives disappear into your pocket- this definitely doesn’t. It’s not particularly thick though, at .68” (17.2 mm) at it’s widest point, pocket clip included.

The blade steel is Bohler M390, which is considered a “super steel” due to it’s extreme hardness and corrosion resistance. I’ve been reading up on blade steel, and want to give a shout out to knifesteelnerds.com for a lot of in-depth articles that a non-scientist like myself can understand. What I’ve learned about M390 is that it’s high hardness resists edge deformation, which keeps it sharp. The trade-off for high hardness is a reduction in toughness, which is basically resistance to chipping. A lot of these hardness/toughness qualities seem to be imparted into the blade during the manufacturing process known as heat treating. My limited understanding of heat treating boils down to this: you heat up the unfinished steel blade to get the individual molecules to bond together in a very specific way, then remove the blade from the heat to lock in the molecular structure.

Most knife manufacturers guard their heat treating methods as proprietary secrets, but Reate Knives has made this little nugget known: after the heat treating is complete, they use a technique called “freeze edging skill.” This process cools the blade while the cutting edge is being ground, so that the friction-induced heat of grinding doesn’t undo the specific molecular structure from it’s heat treating. It may just be marketing hype, but it makes sense to me.

I was recently talking to a guy who is several orders of magnitude higher than me on the Blade Steel Nerdiness spectrum, and he gave me an earful about how modern super steels like M390 are too brittle, and he prefers softer, “tougher” steel like VG10 or 154CM which are easier to sharpen. I totally get it because he’s way into sharpness- he sharpens his daily carry Sebenza with a leather strop every day whether he’s used it or not. Personally, I have a bunch of nice pocket knives that I carry and use, and I wait until they’re good and dull before I sharpen them. I would rather have a knife with a crazy hard edge that I can use longer between sharpenings. In a month of light duty cutting, I’ve barely dulled the edge of my T4000, so Reate’s M390 is working great for me.

The blade is surprisingly slim for such a big knife. It has a thin hollow grind with a decorative fuller, which briefly flares the blade’s maximum width to 3.8 mm in the center. I looked up a ton of information about blade fullers for this review, but it’s far too boring to include here.

Suffice it to say that fullers are basically for structural reinforcement on long blades and are not “blood grooves.” The T4000’s standout feature is it’s aggressive symmetrical dagger shape, but the top of the blade, which is exposed when the knife is closed, has a 1.1 mm thick unsharpened edge.

This knife has excelled at my usual mundane tasks of box and bag opening and loose thread cutting, but I like trying new things, and I’ve never used a dagger for food prep before. I stabbed and slashed and hacked my way through tomatoes, onions, artichokes, sausages, etc. My experience using the T4000 in the kitchen was pretty much like with every other pocket knife I’ve used in this capacity- I couldn’t dice anything like with a chef’s knife because my knuckles would hit the cutting board before the blade would. It’s thin blade slices well, and the fuller seemed to keep food from sticking to the side of the blade. The false edge on the top of the blade is wide enough to push down on for some extra leverage.

Other uses for the T4000’s false edge are:

Opening mail- the false edge opens envelopes perfectly without dulling the sharpened side.
Removing staples- slip the tip of the blade under the staple and twist towards the unsharpened side.
Pretending to slash my wrist- I’ve absolutely horrified several people.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

On the T4000, designer Tashi Bharucha used a variation of his signature handle shape. From an aesthetic standpoint I love it, but I find it’s ergonomics often make the knife difficult to use. The problem, in my opinion, is how far back my hand is from the blade’s tip. There’s no place on the handle to choke up and gain the mechanical advantage of having my hand closer to the tip of the blade.

That being said, I don’t really care, because I don’t buy his knives for the ergonomics. I would never classify myself as a “fanboy” because first of all I’m not a boy, I’m a goddamn man, but Tashi’s design style really speaks to me, and I now own five of his production knives.

The handle ergonomics on three of the others are similar to the T4000, with the exception being the Massdrop-produced Prism (far left in photo), which cleverly exchanges some sharpened blade length for the ability to choke up on the handle. The Tashi B./Reate Knives Baby Machine (not pictured) knife has a similar ergonomically friendly shape.

The T4000’s handle is made of two pieces of titanium and one piece of green canvas Micarta. This is my first knife utilizing Micarta, and I was dismayed that after a month of sweat and cooking oil and dirty hands, the Micarta’s color has permanently changed from light green to a darker olive drab. It’s somewhat grippy texture is unchanged. The mating of the Micarta into the handle is so precise I can see where the inlaid Micarta meets the titanium, but I can’t feel the seam.

Reate’s fit and finish on this knife are superb. Every angle machined into the handle looks sharp but feels smooth. The T4000’s shape is just so weirdly aggressive that I can’t stop looking at it- it’s the knife equivalent of an Italian sports car. Specifically, the Lamborghini Urus: a 641 horsepower all wheel drive SUV that, to my eye, shares many design cues with the T4000. Please forgive my crude Photoshop skills:

Both the car and the knife are fascinating combinations of severe lines and curves, and both come off as being large, lumpy and aggressive. I periodically see one of these big stealth tank-looking SUV’s rolling by, and my response is always “Whoa!” By the way, for an excellent review of the Lamborghini Urus, I suggest checking out the Amazon Prime TV show “The Grand Tour” season 3, episode 5 “An Itchy Urus.” Anyway, back to the knife…

The forward tip of the pocket clip is very sharp. Not cut yourself sharp, but certainly scratch the paint off your car door sharp.

Nonetheless, the clip looks great, and I think it’s pointy design is entirely appropriate for a stabbing pocket sword. The T4000’s titanium clip is milled into Bharucha’s signature stylish shape, and the clip’s shape and position mirror the titanium inlay inside the Micarta inlay on the show side. The amount of flex is great, it’s amount of offset from the body of the knife is great for thick denim jeans pockets, and it’s shape melts into the fold of my hand when I’m using it.

When carrying the T4000 while wearing reasonably tight pants (as I often do), the knife, though heavy, stays put due to it’s robust clip. But when wearing loose shorts, I feel that big hunk of titanium and steel rhythmically slapping my thigh as I walk.

Deployment and Lockup

The blade is heavy and the flipper detent is strong, so it takes a bit of finger muscle to open it. It swings smoothly on ceramic bearings, and has a nice strong magnet-like feel that snaps the blade closed when it’s open less than 6 mm. It’s a framelock, and locks up securely with about half of it’s 3 mm steel lock face in contact with the blade. It’s not a hard use knife like my DPX HEST F1, which has a 75% lockup on it’s 4 mm wide lockbar, but the T4000’s lock doesn’t seem to be likely to fail under reasonable use.

There is one weird thing about it though- it’s sound. When flipping it open, instead of the normal, satisfying “click” that I’ve come to expect from titanium knives, there’s a two-part sound like a metal soap bubble popping, followed by an unusually high-pitched snap. One of the nice things about having a lot pocket knives is that I have them on hand to compare and contrast with each other. At the moment, I have 16 reasonably good folding knives, and I sat down in a quiet room and flicked or thumbed open every single one. Through this highly scientific investigation I have determined that the sound the Reate T4000 makes when opening is utterly unique. The sound has nothing to do with it’s functionality at all, but it’s odd enough that I feel compelled to mention it.

Two last things: first, the T4000 has a party trick- it can stand on it’s head. Second, I was driving on US Interstate 5 on the East side of Los Angeles and noticed a 125 foot (38 meter) tall Tashi Bharucha pocket clip rising above the LA River. It’s the central spire of the North Atwater Bridge which is due to be completed in 2020. Say what you will about the evils of social media, but thanks to Facebook I was able to send the picture below to T4000 designer Tashi Bharucha. He responded that he hadn’t seen it before and, no, he did not design the bridge.

Reate T4000 Review – Final Thoughts

The T4000 is definitely a niche item. It’s not for everyone, it’s not perfect, and it’s relatively expensive at $400. But I dig the Reate T4000 stabbing pocket sword on a deep, visceral level – I don’t know if it’s an ancient, hardwired feeling of security or a Roman-Legionnaire-in-a-past-life kind of thing, but I sure do like it.

Reate T2500 – From $419.95
From: BladeHQ

I recommend purchasing the Reate T4000 at BladeHQ or GPKnives. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website (including Amazon) helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. Thank you very much.

Emerson La Griffe Review

by Travis Pike 3 Comments

The La Griffe, which apparently means ‘the claw’ in French, is designed by Fred Perrin and produced by Emerson. Fred Perrin is a French SpecOps veteran and martial arts practitioner who also designs knives on the side. Most of his designs are more or less designed to be weapons and his designs come from a martial arts background.

Buy the Emerson La Griffe at BladeHQ

Buy on Amazon

The La Griffe is really no different. It’s a short blade, with a short handle not necessarily designed for EDC tasks. Of course, a knife is a tool and is adaptable. Emerson makes a La Griffe called the White Water with an all serrated edge. As a kayaker, I can certainly see why one would want the finger hole for a good grip while on the water. I use the Gerber Remix as my kayak knife and it has a similar finger hole.

While it can be pressed into other tasks the La Griffe is a small, easily concealed weapon that most of us could find a way to carry with ease.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The La Griffe sports a short 1.75-inch blade that blends into a 3.125-inch handle for a total length of 4.875 inches. It weighs only 1.5 ounces and is .125 inches thick. The knife is made from 154 CM steel that seems to be a favorite of Emerson and a good all-around knife steel.

It can get quite sharp, isn’t terribly difficult to sharpen, holds a decent edge and is very strong. Additionally, it’s corrosion-resistant which is an important feature if you are wearing it concealed against the body where it can be exposed to sweat.

Another Emerson calling card is the use of a chisel grind blade. That makes this a rough cutter for fine work but does make it easy to sharpen and supposedly it’s a stronger edge. As a knife designed to be a weapon, the chisel grind makes sense. It doesn’t need to be an edge designed for super fine and controllable cuts. It does need to be strong though, and being easy to sharpen is another excellent benefit.

The blade also comes in a stonewashed or black cerakoted finish. Mine, as you can see, is the stonewashed variant. The black cerakote adds a layer of additional protection and would likely be less eye-catching if accidentally exposed while being concealed.

The short blade and handle, as well as the relativeness thinness of the entire package, limits the scope of use for the knife. When a knife is purpose-built to be a small weapon it’s difficult to put it in play for other tasks.

Handle and Ergonomics

The handle is very thin and is designed to be easy to conceal. The downside to this is that it’s not extremely comfortable for heavy use or work. It’s very short as well and offers little leverage. It seems to be best suited for quick stabs and slashes.

The finger hole ensures the knife stays put. This is a must-have because the handle is so short and smooth. Without it gaining a grip on this knife would be near impossible. The handle does conform to the hands though. The curve in the middle goes around the middle finger and leverages out over the ring finger.

Overall it’s comfortable to hold, but it’s not going to be a heavy-duty worker. Splitting cardboard boxes quickly makes your hands tired. Fatigue and pain set in around the finger ring as well. I attempted to use the knife to help cut USPSA targets from sheets of cardboard and found the knife difficult to control.

The short and thin handle does make the knife easy and comfortable to conceal. It can be worn as a neck knife, or you can purchase an IWB loop as I did. The knife disappears and is invisible under a t-shirt.

Sheath

The included sheath is very simple and made from kydex. It covers the blade perfectly and locks in on the front portion of the finger ring. A distinct snap is heard as the knife locks in and its held in very tight. The majority of the finger ring is left exposed and you can easily fit your finger in and draw the knife.

The sheath also offers plenty of places to add accessories through the six holes that run from the top to the bottom. Plenty of places to add an IWB loop or necklace for carrying. The sheath is naturally ambidextrous and also very lightweight and thin. It won’t add much bulk if concealment is your goal.

Emerson La Griffe Review – Final Thoughts

The La Griffe by Fred Perrin and Emerson certainly succeeds as an easy to carry knife. It’s a vicious little tool that’s sharp enough to cut deeply. In a pinch, it would appear to be an excellent defensive weapon. Something you can use to cause injury, make space, and escape from an attacker. The simple design makes it impossible to drop and very difficult to have it taken from you.

My advice would be to purchase the knife if you want something easy and lightweight to carry as a defensive weapon. If you are looking for a standard EDC knife I’d look elsewhere. That’s not an insult to the La Griffe, just a reality-based observation. The La Griffe is easier to carry than most knives, especially for women who may not have actual pockets on their clothing. The La Griffe is well built and fearsome, and that’s what a defensive weapon should be.

Emerson La Griffe Neck Knife with Satin Blade

I recommend purchasing the Emerson La Griffe at Amazon or BladeHQ. Thanks for checking out the review.

Spyderco Centofante 3 Review

by Seth Vietti 1 Comment

The Centofante 3 is one of Spyderco’s most long-lived designs. Introduced in 2004 and unchanged to this day, it’s been around long enough to witness most of the rest of Spyderco’s lineup either evolve or go extinct. I think the reason why is simple: the Centofante still looks good.

Buy the Spyderco Centofante 3 at BladeHQ

Buy on Amazon

Even a diehard Spyderco fan will admit that the company’s design language can be… polarizing. The Centofante achieves broader appeal by standing apart from the typical Spyderco style: no bulging blade, no forward finger choil, no full-flat grind. It’s slim, simple, yet dramatic. If not for the round hole and the silver bug in the handle, it could easily pass as a knife from another brand.

I’ve long been tempted to pick one up for myself, but skepticism of its old-fashioned pinned construction always held me back. Until now. So, is the Spyderco Centofante 3 really as timeless as it looks?

General Dimensions & Blade Details

The blade on the Centofante is just shy of three and a quarter inches long. Thanks to a tiny ricasso and the absence of a finger choil, it has almost the same amount of usable edge as the significantly larger Paramilitary 2.

Despite all the edge, the blade still feels petite – no doubt due to its exceptionally thin blade stock. It’s the Centofante’s most noteworthy spec: at 1.95mm thick (according to my calipers), it’s easily the longest, thinnest folding blade in Spyderco’s entire catalog, if not the knife market at large. The only knives I own with thinner blades are either keychain-sized novelties or flexible kitchen knives. The Centofante makes the Delica’s blade stock look generous in comparison, and the Para 3’s, outrageous.

A hollow grind was definitely the right choice here. As much as I appreciate Spyderco’s full-flat grinds, they necessarily get quite thin towards the tip. The steady hollow grind on the Centofante has no such distal taper, preventing this sliver of a blade from being drawn too thin. There’s no flex, and the tip is narrow but not delicate. While I would never recommend prying with it, the blade seems better equipped for the task than, say, a full-flat ground Delica, since it’s supported by full thickness blade stock almost all the way to the tip.

My Centofante didn’t arrive as sticky sharp as I have come to expect from Seki City, Japan Spydercos. Thankfully, the neatly applied factory edge and sharpening choil made it easy enough to touch up. As you might expect with a knife this thin, it cuts quite well. It doesn’t have the shearing power of a broad, flat ground blade, but it’s much more agile – able to twist quickly mid-cut without much resistance. Whether it’s a drop point or a spearpoint, the blade shape just works: a stretch of flat edge, a gentle belly, and a focused tip.

The blade steel is VG-10, a time-tested alloy with excellent corrosion resistance and decent edge retention. While today’s best powder metallurgy concoctions outclass it in one way or another, I don’t really miss them here. The more knives I use, the more I appreciate well-balanced steels; especially ones that deliver good value like VG-10. Also, on a knife that can’t be taken apart for cleaning, VG-10’s stainlessness is a major asset.

Handle, Ergonomics, & Pocket Clip

At a glance, the handle of the Centofante looks like anodized aluminum. If it was cool to the touch, it would feel like it, too. It’s actually plastic (fiberglass reinforced nylon, to be specific) with a similarly smooth, light texture. The silver bug and “speed lines” molded into the handle seemed a bit odd at first, but they grew on me: they give an otherwise plain knife some personality without being ostentatious.

The Centofante is exceedingly comfortable in hand. The four and a half inch handle is lightweight, nimble, and well-sized for the blade. Its ergonomic features are subtle. No finger grooves or jutting guards, just gentle curves that suggest – not demand – how to hold it. I especially like how it bows down into the palm: it helps the skinny handle feel more substantial, and keeps the angle of the blade better aligned with the arm. If you’ve ever used a Spyderco Military, the Centofante will feel weirdly similar. Despite the size difference, the knives share the same sloping ergonomic geometry.

The pocket clip is highly functional, doubly so because the handles are smooth. It comes from the factory configured for tip-down carry. I’m no tip-up evangelist, but after carrying it tip-down for a few days it was obvious the factory got it wrong. The exposed tang, pointy thumb ramp, and aggressive jimping on the blade snag everything in their path. Front pocket, back pocket; didn’t matter – retrieving a tip-down Centofante from any pocket was awkward and unpleasant, as was reaching past it. Luckily, flipping the clip to tip-up instantly and entirely solved the problem.

The real snag with the Centofante – well, the one you can’t fix with a screwdriver – is the handle’s pinned construction. I understand why it’s a deal-breaker for some people, especially the tinkerers who like to modify their knives and those who need something 100% rust proof. Given the choice, I’d take threaded fasteners over pins myself.

Nevertheless, my experience with the Centofante was completely undiminished by the way it was put together. Honestly, I was fishing for a problem and still couldn’t find one. We knife nerds can get swept up in hypotheticals. What if the pivot comes loose? What happens if the knife gets filled with sand? In reality, most of the projected problems with pinned construction have simple solutions – just not the same ones as a knife held together with screws. The pivot came perfectly set from the factory, and, being incapable of twisting itself loose, it has stayed that way. When I got sharpening stone slurry all over the knife, I cleaned it with soap and hot water, followed by a squirt of penetrating oil. Basically, I used the Centofante with impunity and it’s only gotten better. So, why worry?

Deployment & Lockup

A back lock secures the Centofante open. Like many old-school back locks, there’s a touch of vertical flex in the lockup – not enough to hear or see, just enough to feel when bearing down into a cut. Spyderco’s newer back locks have stamped out this endemic blade play with tight manufacturing tolerances and refinements to lock geometry. It would be nice to see those improvements carried over to older designs like the Centofante, but since it doesn’t affect the lock’s strength or security, I didn’t let it bother me.

The blade has a springy self-close, and once broken in it was easy to thumb or spydie-flick open. There’s enough ricasso to allow for one-handed closing, so long as you’re mindful of where your fingers are on the handle.

Spyderco Centofante 3 Review – Final Thoughts

This is a chimera of a knife. It’s almost as if it was built to satisfy a bunch of contradictory design objectives all at the same time. A strong grind on a delicate blade. An upper class look for a middle class price. Traditional construction on a modern folder. Somehow, the Centofante manages to hit those opposing targets simultaneously instead of splitting the difference and missing them altogether – if the late Frank Centofante was a bowler instead of a knifemaker, the Spyderco Centofante would be a 7-10 split conversion.

Ironically, the contradictions that make the Centofante unappealing to knife enthusiasts are probably the exact reasons for the Centofante’s long-term success. It’s not a niche knife. It’s a classy, charming, low-maintenance workhorse of a blade that belies its price point. For me, that makes the Spyderco Centofante 3 the consummate gift knife: handsome enough to appeal to anyone, and uncomplicated enough to work for someone who’s never even heard of a “torx bit.” No instructions necessary, no setup required (well, maybe you should go ahead and flip the pocket clip before wrapping it up). Give one to someone who appreciates nice things but knows nothing about knives, or someone who appreciates knives but knows nothing about nice things.

Spyderco CENTOFANTE 3 Prestige Folding Utility Pocket Knife with 3.14" VG-10 Stainless Steel Hollow Ground Blade and Lightweight FRN Handle - PlainEdge - C66PBK3

One of a Kind: Designed in collaboration with Frank Centofante, longtime custom knifemaker and past President of the Knifemaker's Guild, the Centofante 3 captures the spirit of his custom designs.
Ultra-Lightweight: The Centofante 3 has a thin-profiled, lightweight FRN Handle. Two channels are furrowed out of the handle for better grip and a Palladium silver Spyderco bug is inlayed into its surface.
Easy-to-Use Lock: For added security and convenience the back-lock is positioned midway on the spine and David Boye Dent is cut from the locking lever.
Pocket-Friendly: To ensure discreet carry the Centrofante 3 has a black steel pocket clip positions for tip-up/down, right-hand carry.
Versatile: The VG-10 blade has both a hollow-grind and swedge-grind with non-sharpened spine serrations (jimping) to hold the thumb steady when cutting.

I recommend purchasing the Spyderco Centofante 3 at Amazon or BladeHQ. Thanks for checking out my review.

Bark River PSK Review

by Josh Wussow 6 Comments

In the world of fixed blades, few names carry as much clout as Bark River. They’re a mainstay in the outdoor community, with a reputation for high-quality, American-made blades. But, how far down can one distill their legacy? I aim to find out with a review of the Bark River PSK.

Buy the Bark River PSK at KnivesShipFree | BladeHQ

Short for “Personal Survival Knife,” this diminutive entry bills itself as a perfect backup to your full-sized outdoor companion. The makers have used their knowledge and top-notch materials to pack as much utility as possible into the smallest practical space. I’ve cooked, hiked, and tooled around with the PSK for a few months now, and my thoughts are, well, complicated.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

Look – I’m going to try to keep this review from being one continuous short joke. But, let’s discuss the elephant in the room – Despite owning, carrying, and using an ESEE Candiru on a regular basis, the PSK immediately struck me as undersized. This is especially true when you factor in its $150-ish price tag.

That being said, there’s still a lot to like throughout the PSK’s 5.25-inch span. Bark River has fitted this full tang blade with burgundy Micarta scales, leaving 2.25-inches of satin Elmax up front. Two of these inches are sharpened, with a drop point design sloping down from its .08-inch thickness. This results in a convex edge, a grind well known for its versatile nature and outstanding durability.

But, while convex edges may be Bark River’s stock and trade, this is my first knife with this particular grind. I found it to be eminently capable, from wood carving to food prep and everyday chores. The sharpening anxiety is real, however. Elmax is definitely a long-wearing steel, but I’m concerned about my ability to sharpen this knife with my current equipment. The blade’s converging slopes require an abrasive surface with a little give in it, allowing you to gently roll the knife while honing the edge.

I know you can use sandpaper and a mousepad to preserve the curve but… Come on. This is a $150 knife, and I feel weird about sharpening it with products from Ace Hardware and Staples. That’s my hangup, though, not the knife’s.

Handle and Ergonomics

Ergo’s can be trick when it comes to small knives. Compact frames and tight tolerances leave less room for error. Thankfully, Bark River knows their craft. While the 3-inch handle is smaller than the blade on my Kizer Begleiter, the PSK manages to fit snuggly in my medium/large hand. This is due in part to its 0.38-inch thick handle and 1.45-ounce heft, which gives it a feeling of solidity lacking in the stock Candiru.

Here’s another advantage of the PSK: Thanks to its squared-off spine, this knife can be used to strike a ferro rod. It’s a nice touch on a blade with “Survival” in its acronym. I was able to get a small fire going in just a few moments, despite some fairly damp conditions.

The lanyard hole is nicely finished, as well. I’m not a lanyard person in general, but these small knives definitely benefit from a little cordage out back. But, while basic paracord looks natural on the bare frame of the ESEE, the fine handles on the PSK would probably benefit from a strip of nice leather.

Sheath

Bark River’s material quality carries over to the sheath. This is one of the best made leather items I own, size be damned. It’s thick, solidly stitched, and well finished. There was a definite break in period at the outset, however. I had to force the knife in the first time, after which it took quite a while to work its way out. But, as with all leather sheaths, it’s loosened over time.

The bigger issue here is, “Where do you carry it?” While I was (barely) able to fit my belt through the loop, this isn’t a comfortable carry outside the pocket. Wait – That’s not entirely accurate. A better way to put it is that, given the size of the knife and the depth to which it sits in the sheath, it’s very difficult to draw and return the PSK when it’s riding on my belt. The angle of reentry can be tricky, and I was always concerned that I’d slip and stab myself in the thigh.

Honestly, I think a pocket clip stitched into the leather would have been a better call here.

Bark River PSK Review – Final Thoughts

Here’s what it boils down to: The PSK is a well-crafted, aesthetically pleasing, and surprisingly capable small fixed blade. It handled everything I threw at it without issue. The design is on-point, even down to the blade etching and colorful liners.

But, no matter how much capability you pack into these two inches of blade, it’s still a very small knife. It’s also tricky to carry, odd to sharpen, and more than twice the price of the similarly-sized Candiru.

We should also mention the warranty. Bark River offers a lifetime guarantee against manufacturer defects, which should put you at ease when it comes to actually using the PSK. But again, this isn’t as comprehensive as the “No questions asked” coverage you get from ESEE.

In the end, I’ve struggled to find the target audience for this blade. Outdoorsy folks will probably want something larger, unless they’re comfortable keeping $150-worth of backup knife in their packs. Kids and collectors, maybe?

The PSK reminds me of a small plate of food prepared by a world-class chef. No matter how finely crafted, perfectly presented, and delicious it may be, there’s just not enough there to quell the hunger. If you’re looking for an entry point into the world of Bark River, the PSK is an interesting piece. But for now, I’ll be swimming up a different stream.

Bark River PSK – From $134.95
From: BladeHQ

I recommend purchasing the Bark River PSK at BladeHQ, KnivesShipFree, or Amazon. Thank you for reading.

Cold Steel Hide Out Review

by Travis Pike 3 Comments

You can’t not love Cold Steel. They make some odd, but often innovative knives, as well as super fun and cheesy videos. I never needed a Gladius machete but damn do I want one. Today we are going small, super small, and looking at Cold Steel’s Hide Out. The Hide Out is an ultra small neck knife designed as a last ditch weapon.

Buy the Cold Steel Hide Out at BladeHQ

Buy on Amazon

The Cold Steel Hide Out is designed for discreet carry. It’s easily worn and carried around the neck, or with an added loop it can be carried in an IWB position. The knife is inexpensive, and super lightweight. It’s also a formidable knife should you find yourself in a last ditch scenario. The Hide Out is my go to knife when I go for a run because it’s easy to carry and easy to use.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Hide Out has a 3 inch blade and a 3.5 inch handle for a knife that’s 6.5 inches long total. The Hide Out weighs a mere 1.9 ounces. The knife is made from Japanese AUS 8A stainless steel, and has a Kray Ex handle.

AUS 8A steel is an affordable steel that is certainly well suited for the Hide Out. AUS 8A is a heat treated steel, and it has excellent corrosion resistance. This is a must have since the knife sits against my sweating chest as I run. The steel itself is also very quick and easy to sharpen, but the downside is it will dull somewhat quickly. The steel itself is reported to be very strong and I have no reasons to think it isn’t.

The blade is a dagger design that ends with a sharp spear point. The blade is a V-grind and is quite attractive and evenly ground. The blade is extremely sharp from the factory and keeping the edge sharp is easy to do. Integrated right below the blade is a very small handguard. In a traditional fencing grip it’s not very useful, but it’s incredibly handy in an ice pick style grip.

The Hide Out is not designed as a working man’s knife and not exactly a tool designed for EDC. It’s a weapon designed for concealed carry. A dagger style blade also means its designed more for stabbing that slicing or cutting. That being said the handguard also acts as a point of leverage for your thumb and you can slice through most common materials if necessary.

The Hide Out is super simple and from a last ditch self-defense perspective that is all it needs to be. The blade is short enough to make it easy to handle and to make repeated stabs easy. The blade is pointy and sharp and needs no special techniques to use. Just point the stabby end at the bad guy and thrust it. It will most certainly get the point across.

Handle and Ergonomics

The handle is very thin, but long enough to fill your hand. The handle flares outward near the bottom and the Kray Ex coating makes it easy to grip and allows the user to easily draw the knife from a neck worn sheath. The long handle gives you an outstanding grip on the knife.

The handle is merely coated with Kray Ex, and the knife does have a full tang. Kray Ex rubber is a Cold Steel material they use for their grips. It’s soft and comfortable, but also heavily textured to provide a solid grip on the knife.

As I mentioned before the grip is exceptionally thin, but it’s easy to hold onto. It’s a valuable thing to have for a knife designed for self-protection. The handle’s Kray Ex coating makes it easy to grip, especially when it comes to wet and sweaty hands.

I’ve never needed to use it for actual self-defense, but I’ve practiced with it during runs and I’ve always been able to draw it without issue. The knife’s design means regardless of which side you grab it’s positioned for use and for an easy grab. Perfect for a defensive situation where there is no time to think about which way you are grabbing the knife.

Manipulating the Hide Out and cutting through cardboard was surprisingly easy to do. The handle gives you a lot of leverage and you can control the blade with very little effort. The handle is also very thin and it will wear on your hand while you work with the knife.

Sheath

The Hide Out sheath is molded kydex and is called Secure-Ex. The Secure-Ex sheath offers excellent retention for the Hide Out. It has four points of retention. Two on the front and two on the back. The blade is absolutely not coming out of the sheath without a sure tug.

The sheath is made from two polymer molded halves that are held together with 8 eyelets. These eyelets allow you to position your chain higher or lower for an easier reach depending on your size. I like to position it low enough for easy and quick access.

There are also four wider slots to weave webbing through if you so decide. Overall the sheath is top notch and it’s perfect for low profile carry. It seals the knife in and ensures it going nowhere even when being worn from the neck upside down.

Cold Steel Hide Out Review – Final Thoughts

The Hide Out is a super small, and affordable neck knife designed for concealed carry. It’s extremely convenient for daily carry and comfortable as well. As a design it’s simplicity makes it effective to employ and very easy to carry. The Cold Steel Hide Out retails for under 40 bucks and serves a niche purpose.

The Hide Out isn’t a good EDC knife and basically any mid-tier folder would be a better choice. The Hide Out is perfect for situations where your dress or activity doesn’t allow you to carry a traditional knife. It’s a neat design and as a weapon it serves its purpose. If you need a do it all knife choose something else, if you need a light and easy to carry weapon then the Hide Out is for you.

Sale

Cold Steel 49NDEZ Hide Out Blade Knife, Black/Silver

Product Type: Knife
Unit Count : 1.0
No batteries required
Made in China

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Cold Steel Hide Out from Amazon or BladeHQ. Thanks for reading.

Benchmade Bailout Review

by Aaron Shapiro 3 Comments

There has been something interesting going on at Benchmade Knife Co. I’ve said it a few times in recent reviews, but it’s worth highlighting here. They used to be the dusty old gun-shop knife brand. That’s not to say the old mini Griptillians were terrible, but just that I don’t think many people would have called them, “exciting.” Some of their newer designs from the last 2-3 years have been on a different level, and the Bailout is no exception.

Buy the Benchmade Bailout at BladeHQ
Buy on Amazon

The Benchmade Bailout is the companion to their also newish released Bugout. Both knives share almost every trait apart from steel, blade shape, and their vaguely prepper-ish names. I like these knives, but I’ve always had an affinity for tantos, so I opted for the Bailout.

Before we get too far into the review, let’s touch on some general specs…

(All Measurements are my personal measurements and may differ from manufacturers specs)

Blade: 3”
OAL: 8”
Thickness: .402” not counting clip .614” with clip
Blade Thickness: .93”
Steel: 3V
Weight: 2.1oz
Lock: Axis Lock

Blade and Steel

Before I get into the review too much, I want to address a potential elephant in the room. At the time of this review, there has just been a little scandal on Instagram regarding the Bailout.

Apparently, an Instagram account had one of these blades Rockwell tested by a friend. The knife came back with a mid 50’s Rockwell when it is advertised at 60 HRC. I have no real perspective on this apart from saying this: A single independent source is not something to base an entire opinion on. If ten knives had been randomly and all found to be lower in HRC than advertised, when tested by a reliable source, I would take a little more heed.

/rantoff let’s get on with it.

The Benchmade Bailout is a tanto shaped blade made out of 3V steel. The blade is then finished with a slick grey Cerakote to protect from corrosion and give it that “high-speed-low-drag,” appeal.

I’ve carried this knife in a lot of scenarios since first purchasing it. It was in my pocket when I built a fence around my house. It’s been in my pocket on river raft days. It’s also been with me whenever I’m doing something that I wouldn’t want to subject a custom knife to. In these contexts, it’s done a lot. I’ve split open Quik-crete bags with it, sharpened pencils, popped ties holding lumber together etc etc… It’s done all of these very well.

I’m not one to compare how something passed through a material or how many consecutive cardboard cuts it can do before failing. I am, however, someone that grabs for their pocket knife frequently and takes notice if it preforms the “real-world task,” the way I needed it to. The Bailout did this well, then stropped back to sharp easily.

The 3V steel that Benchmade has selected is a favorite of mine. I often request it on my custom knife orders. It’s also one of the nicer steels to sharpen, in my experience. 3V will take a fine edge with minimal effort and retain it for a long, long time. That being said, it’s not stainless. 3V has 7.5% Chromium, so it’s “nearly” stainless much like D2.

From what I’ve seen if you keep your knives cleaned and maintained you’ll avoid any staining and pitting. In the specific case of the Bailout, Benchmade has coated the steel, so you’re only really going to see any stain issues on the edges.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The Bailout’s handle is made from textured Grivory, a polymer based material. The handle slabs are thin and skeletonized with a consistent matrix of pockets milled out to reduce weight but maintain strength. The slabs themselves are a svelte .12” thick. They feel good in the hand with enough grip that the knife feels secure but not so much that it begins to cause hot spots.

Benchmade has flared the handle out near the pivot to reduce the possibility that you’ll slip onto the blade if you use it for a piercing task. This flaring also acts as a bit of a thumb ramp for me.

Moving to the back, we have an aluminum pommel. I suppose the idea behind this is for some last-ditch striking application. I would love to have seen hardened steel used instead, but I imagine it came down to a weight/strength type scenario.

The clip is excellent. It’s a short (in length) deep carry clip. It tucks right into the palm of your hand when you’re holding the knife and carry nice and deep in the pocket. I would love to see more makers take up the shorter clips instead of making them half the length of the knife itself. That being said, it’s a tight clip, so if you have thicker pockets, you may run into an issue getting it clipped on.

And speaking of pockets, the Bailout carries easily. At just over 2 ounces, this is a knife you will quickly forget you are carrying until you need it. The Bailout isn’t quite as discreet as the Bugout, as it has a has that slotted protruding pommel, but everything is blacked out for a low profile. Here is a picture of it in the pocket:

No complaints in the carry department.

Deployment and Lockup

The Bailout utilizes dual thumb studs and phosphor bronze washers to get the blade open. This is standard fare for Benchmade, and much like their other knives, the blade deploys smoothly and easily.

Ahh, the axis lock. I’ve talked about it before in previous reviews, but suffice to say I’m a fan. I like it when watch companies incorporate mechanisms that are ambidextrous. It opens the doors for left-handed users as well as potentials users that want to carry weak side.

The Axis lock itself is pretty great. It operates by moving a hardened steel bar along the curved tang of the blade until it reaches the open position. Once it does two springs, snap it in place blocking the knife from closing. The bar itself extends across the length of the knife’s handle allowing you to open it from either side, thus ambidextrous. The Axis lock has been historically proven to be a reliable and robust locking method for a good portion of Benchmade’s catalog.

Competitive Offerings

For the sake of argument, let’s look at some competitive options:

We have the Spyderco Para 3 Lightweight, priced around $40 less than the Bailout. Same FRN style handles, somewhat ambidextrous compression lock, but the steel is where you’re making a compromise. The Para 3 uses CTS-BD1N, which is new to me, but it seems like it wouldn’t outperform 3V.

Or we could look at Zero Tolerance 0450. I like this knife, but it costs roughly $40 more than the Bailout, and due to the Titanium construction will weigh significantly more. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the Bailout is trying to fill a specific need in a folding knife. I doubt the 0450 would be a knife you’d literally throw in a Bailout (or Bugout) bag due primarily to weight and cost.

Benchmade Bailout Review – Final Thoughts

When I opened this review, I touched on the fact that Benchmade has been creating some incredibly fresh and cool designs that fit a little better into the landscape of 2019’s knife collecting. The Bailout (and it’s Bugout twin sibling) are perfect examples of this. Benchmade has taken tried and true materials and molded them into a configuration that the EDC community values greatly. It’s thin, light, and durable. Benchmade has selected top-tier steel that will take a beating and keep on cutting. On top of all of this, the knife looks cool! The Cerakoted blade with an aggressive tanto tip is primed and ready for some Instagram pocket-dump cred.

The best part, however, is the price: Currently, BladeHQ has the Bailout priced at $144.50. That’s a lot of value for your money in my opinion.

Sale

Benchmade - Bailout 537GY EDC Knife, Tanto Blade with Black Grivory Handle (537GY)

ULTRALIGHT DESIGN: A slim, sleek stealth knife that adds confidence to your kit; Lightweight design for optimal strength-to-weight ratio
CPM-3V STEEL: A powder-metal tool steel engineered for high stress and extreme force; Exceptionally tough with good edge retention; Requires a little extra care to keep the rust off. Factory in Oregon City, Oregon.
6061-T6 ALUMINUM HANDLE: Originally developed as a premium aircraft grade aluminum it offers a solid handle and form at nominal weight.
AXIS LOCKING MECHANISM: Ensures safety and a smooth open and easy close; Mini tip-up reversible deep-carry pocket clip for ultimate accessibility

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Benchmade Bailout from Amazon or BladeHQ. Thanks for reading.