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Svord Peasant Knife Review

by Dan Jackson 7 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. We may get paid an affiliate commission if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of the links on this web page.

Last updated: September 20, 2018

Over the years I’ve had the fortune to be friends with several excellent chefs. What’s funny is that when I ask them what and where they like to eat, they don’t tell me about some 5 star restaurant or spout off some obscure or complex dish. I was surprised to learn that many professional chefs prefer simple honest meals made from a few quality ingredients at the end of the day.

Svord Peasant Knife
Buy the Peasant Knife at BladeHQ

Buy on Amazon

I often wonder if that same observation holds true with knifemakers. Whether they carry the high end knives they sell or reach for something simple, tried and true. Perhaps if they did subscribe to the less is more philosophy a Svord Peasant Knife might land on their work bench. After all, it doesn’t get more basic than this friction folder from New Zealand. Something about this simple knife has always intrigued me, so it’s high time to one out in the form of a full written review.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Peasant knife has an overall length of 8-1/4″, a 3-1/4″ blade, and weighs 2.53 ounces. There is also a mini version with a 2.5″ blade, and a giant version with an 8″ blade. The standard Peasant knife is on the larger side for my typical EDC, but it is carriable enough if that is what you want to do with it.

The blade is a classic drop point shape, best characterized by the dramatic contrast of the dark scale left over from the heat treat with the bright satin finish of this hand ground blade. This is a knife that practically begs to come with a convex edge, but the edge is a traditional “V” bevel. I’ve heard some reports of people being dissatisfied with the out of box edge, but both of my Svords came sharp, and the grind itself is nice and thin. This is a decent slicer, and fared well in a variety of daily tasks.

Svord Peasant Knife Blade

Svord went with L7 for the blade steel. L7 is a Swedish high carbon steel. It has all of the characteristics that I like about high carbon steels, mainly it exhibits good toughness and easily takes a very fine edge. Much like the rest of the knife, this is an honest hard working steel and it’s capable of getting a lot of work done. It does patina and will rust if you aren’t careful. Keep it oiled and there shouldn’t be any problems. If found it plenty tough for my purposes, and it held a nice edge under basic tasks like carving wood and breaking down boxes.

Handle and Ergonomics

The handle of the peasant knife is about as simple as can be. You have two generous slabs of plastic or wood, a single internal stop pin, and two oversize brass screws to hold it together. For what it is, it’s well finished but there isn’t a whole lot to write about.

Svord Peasant Knife Handle

The Peasant knife is comfortable to hold. The handle slabs are simple and nicely contoured, so they will accept all sizes of hand without any issue. There is a fine texture on the plastic handled version, which feels good and offers a little grip. Despite the absence of any kind of lock, this is still a knife that you can get some hard work done with, and the comfortable handle makes the work all the more enjoyable.

Svord Peasant Knife Closed

The peasant knife doesn’t have a pocket clip, so typically you will either carry it free-floating in your pocket, or perhaps on a belt sheath. It’s not impossible to EDC, but it’s a far cry from something like my Victorinox Cadet. The long protruding tang needs to be carefully negotiated, and it is not my go to pocket knife. However, it’s relatively light weight and the corners of the handle are all nicely chamfered; it is possible to daily carry this knife.

Deployment and Lockup

Once again, as I venture further into the world of traditional knives I find that my typical system of organizing a review is a little less on point. For “deployment” you have the stick tang poking out of the back of the handle, and you can open the knife up by pressing on the tang. There are no washers or bearings or anything; the blade presses directly against the plastic handles. Oddly enough the knife is still smooth and satisfying to open. True to its name, there is a good deal of friction this folder, and I found that opening the knife was deliberate and purposeful.

Svord Peasant Knife vs. Opinel No. 8

For “lock up” you have perhaps the worlds oldest folding knife design in place. While it isn’t the sexiest solution, as long as you have a firm grip on the handle the blade isn’t going anywhere. It’s actually very secure, even when doing some hard carving. No complaints with this non-locking folder.

Svord Peasant Knife Review – Final Thoughts

The Svord Peasant knife is about as simple as can be, and therein lies its charm. The low part count, slim and sturdy design, and quality materials make for a serviceable and robust folding knife. Staying true to it’s name this is a simple working man’s blade, and is about as comfortable outdoors as it is nestled next to my i-phone. If you haven’t checked one out, you really can’t go wrong. For $15 I can easily recommend it.

Svord SV145 Fixed Blade,Hunting Knife,Outdoor,Camping, One Size
Svord SV145 Fixed Blade,Hunting Knife,Outdoor,Camping, One Size
  • Crafted from the highest quality materials
  • Built for performance and durability
  • Made in New Zealand
$19.39
Buy on Amazon

I recommend purchasing the Svord Peasant Knife at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that purchasing anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and allows me to keep the site independent. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

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Filed Under: EDC Knives, Folding Knives, Traditional Knives Tagged With: carbon steel, friction folder

About Dan Jackson

Dan is the creator of BladeReviews.com. He founded the site in 2010, and for the first 5 years Dan wrote all of the reviews and recorded all of the video reviews. He grew up using pocket knives, and the decision to start the website stemmed from his fascination of all things sharp combined with a deep passion for writing. He has personally reviewed almost 300 knives of all shapes, sizes, and price points. He is recognized as an authority on daily carry knives and has consulted with knife companies on product design.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Edge Observer says

    February 16, 2014 at 9:55 am

    Great review Dan. I’ve always wanted to pick one of these up. I guess it’s time!

    Reply
    • Dan says

      February 16, 2014 at 2:07 pm

      Thanks, Andrew! Yes, the time has come!

      Dan

      Reply
  2. Adam says

    February 17, 2014 at 2:17 pm

    Hey Dan,

    Are you not doing video reviews anymore? They were my favorite part of the site and it’s a bummer you haven’t done any for the last few reviews.

    Reply
    • Dan says

      February 17, 2014 at 2:54 pm

      Hi Adam,

      Thanks for stopping by. I am glad you liked the videos. I had a lot of fun putting them together. Unfortunately, I don’t really see myself continuing to do them as they take so much time and effort to film and edit. I may dust off the camcorder at some point, but I’ve been so busy with work that I had to make the tough decision to either stop making the videos, or basically stop working on the site all together.

      This is all subject to change of course… and maybe I’ll figure out a way to do the videos that doesn’t take up so much time. I did enjoy putting them together.

      Thanks again,

      Dan

      Reply
  3. Sergio Valladares says

    September 13, 2017 at 10:51 am

    Even though there are lots of excellent Chinese made budget folders out on the market, and I own a few of them, there’s something about these primitive knives that I find fascinating. Like my Opinel, the Svord Peasant is a simple and very functional folder that I enjoy using. I do prefer using it with a sheath, which can be made of leather or cloth. Very light, and it’s so easy to put a screamin’ sharp edge on it.

    Reply
    • Dan says

      September 13, 2017 at 5:41 pm

      Sergio,

      I can’t help but agree with you. I love the simplicity of this knife. It’s a folder distilled to its purest form. And at this price even the Chinese folders have a tough time beating it.

      Dan

      Reply
  4. Andy Watts says

    August 8, 2022 at 2:38 pm

    Hi Dan, thanks for the great review on this beautifully simple knife. I intend to buy the mini version as we have strict laws on what knives we can carry in the UK.. Max 3 inch cutting edge and no locking… I do like the Opinel range from France but, again, they have a lock. I suppose it’s easily removed but then I wouldn’t want to open in my pocket.. Oh well, such are the UK knife laws 🙂
    KInd regards, Andy

    Reply

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