Frame Lock

Olamic Wayfarer 247 Review

Years ago, when I was in law school and just starting this web site, Olamic came onto the scene with their damascus fixed blade knives. They actually reached out to me, to see if I would write an article on their knives for the site. I agreed, as I thought it was pretty cool that a knife manufacturer actually cared about what I was doing, and they ended up sending 3 knives over for examination.

Buy the Wayfarer 247 at BladeHQ

Due to some intellectual property complications on their end I was asked not to proceed with the article, but I still had the chance to check out the knives. They were cool, but never something I would have bought for myself. In fact, not even Olamic knows who buys those things. Ultimately I boxed them up and sent them back at their request.

Since then Olamic has continued to make damascus fixed blades in Russia, but they are best known are their high end folders. Olamic means “everlasting” and their motto is “Never the Same”. That’s because they offer the knives in a near infinite number of configurations. Even their logo is the infinity symbol. Pretty cool.

Originally their folders were true custom pieces, and they still make custom knives, but the Wayfarer 247 is more of a mid tech knife. What I mean by that is the basic parts are pre-machined in Italy, and then the folders are completed by hand in California.

This is a high end folder with the basic model starting at $375, but most of them are priced at $500+ with various hand worked finishes. At that price, it’s no wonder it has taken me this long to buy one of these knives. But plenty of people buy them. In fact they appear to fly off the shelves. The high praise intrigued me, so I ponied up and acquired a 247 for review.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Wayfarer 247 has an overall length of 8.125″, a 3.5″ blade, and it weighs 5 ounces. The knives are made in America. This is a larger EDC knife. Olamic recently came out with the Busker, which is more of an urban EDC knife with its 2.5″ blade. I’m sure the Busker is more practical as a daily carry, but the Wayfarer caught my eye with its sleek lines.

The 247 comes in your choice of blade shapes. I went with what Olamic refers to as their “original drop point”. It has a high flat grind, a long swedge, and a fine clipped point. My blade has been given an excellent satin finish, but you can also get the blade stonewashed, coated, or two tone. The grinds are pretty crisp, and the edge is neat and even. There is a sharpening choil so you can easily sharpen the knife all the way to the heel. It’s a nice functional blade shape.

For blade steel we have M390. I think that’s all they are offering the knife in currently, as I don’t see an option for blade steel on their website. That’s fine by me as M390 is good stuff. Relatively easy to maintain, excellent edge retention, good toughness, stainless, it has a proven track record as a high end knife steel.

I bought this knife used off the forums, and it came with what appears to be the used factory edge. The prior owner had nicked it in a couple spots and it was quite dull. So to bring the edge back I started out with my DMT Diafold to work out the nicks. I then switched to the ceramic rods from my Sharpmaker.

At that point it was pretty sharp, certainly a workable edge for my basic purposes, but I decided to hone it on my new Spyderco Golden Stone. This is an ultra fine ceramic stone with an interesting ducks foot shape. I thought it would be good for my kitchen knife given the stone’s size and unique configuration, but at this point I’m using it on all my blades. I was able to get an extremely fine hair popping edge with this stone. It is truly an excellent stone and I look forward to reviewing it in the future.

The moral of the story is despite it’s high hardness, M390 is an easy steel to maintain. If I can get it sharp most people will be able to. The knife has held a good edge and has worked just fine for my usual EDC tasks, which these days is mostly opening up cardboard boxes containing cigars and more knives. It makes great carrot sticks as well.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The handle is where things start getting interesting. This is a full titanium framelock. Just like all their other knives. You have a wide choice of finishes. My particular knife features holes in the show side slab, a bronze anodization, and their “kinetic earth” finish. The hardware has been anodized as well. The end result is a unique knife.

Everything has been beautifully put together. The titanium slabs are thick, and everything has been nicely finished. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the floating backspacer. It’s a cool detail, and has been given the same finish of the rest of the handle. Another detail is the custom pivot. I’m happy to say Olamic includes a pivot tool with each knife. The pivot looks good, but it’s a little more fiddly to adjust than a regular torx or allen pivot, as the tool has a tendency to slip out of the pivot. At least when I’m using it.

Another cool detail is that you can order replacement sets of hardware for your knife. My guess is that this is mostly for those that want to change up the look of their knife, not so much replacing missing hardware, but either way you are covered.

Let’s turn to ergonomics. This is a comfortable knife. First off, it’s quite thick, clocking in at .46″. The thickness combined with the sweeping full size handle gives you plenty to grab onto. The knife fills your hand, and Olamic has done a great job knocking down any sharp edges. The Wayfarer almost feels like a cold stick of butter in your hand. It’s not slippery, but it is extremely smooth and comfortable. It feels unique when compared with everything else in my collection.

The simple handle design provides one groove for your index finger to nestle into place. Plenty of room even for larger hands. I suppose if you run out of real estate you can always graduate to the full size custom Wayfarer, but that may require a second mortgage. Rounding things out is a short run of jimping on the spine of the blade. The jimping captures your thumb nicely, and strikes a balance between providing traction without blistering your thumb.

The pocket clip is another interesting detail. The clip borrows heavily from the designs found on the Todd Begg Steelcraft Bodega. Olamic licensed it, so no worries there. The clip is a slab of titanium secured by 3 stand offs and then for retention you have an oversize ceramic ball bearing pressed into the titanium.

The end result is a highly robust pocket clip. Spring tension is excellent, so strong I sometimes have trouble getting this knife into my pocket. No worries about it falling out accidentally I suppose. It’s a good stiff pocket clip, and another high end detail.

In practice the 247 carries well for it it is. This is a big chunky titanium frame lock folder. The chunkiness makes it feel great in hand, but the Wayfarer 247 will never carry like my Spyderco Dragonfly, or even my Native for that matter. But the strong clip keeps the knife securely in place. It’s not a deep carry clip, but must of the knife buries discreetly in the pocket. That’s about all I can ask for.

Deployment and Lockup

This is a titanium framelock flipper. There is a lot of competition in this space, but Olamic spent the time to distinguish their knife from the rest. They utilize caged bearings, a ceramic ball detent, an internal stop pin, and a detent ramp. A detent ramp is a small groove or chamfer milled into the tang of blade. What it does is make the action a little smoother when you close the knife. Rather than the ball detent hitting the tang jarringly, this groove makes rentry smoother and easier. Its details like this that help set the knife apart.

And the knife does have a different action than anything else I own. The detent ramp and other details give the action of the 247 an almost hydraulic feel. The blade practically “whooshes” open as if there were a pneumatic piston inside. The blade fires hard no matter what, and the action is smooth and glassy. The detent is strong, but the detent ramp and thick handle smooth it out whether you are opening or closing the knife. Opening and closing the blade of the 247 is a uniquely satisfying experience.

Here is a shot of the detent ramp:

Moving towards lockup, we have a titanium framelock with a stainless steel lock bar insert and an internal stop pin. The internal stop pin is another interesting feature. It makes for a simpler design (no visible stop pin), and it works well. There is zero blade play in this knife. No lock rock, no lock stick, no side to side, no nothing. It’s a perfectly executed framelock. You would expect that at this price point, and Olamic delivers.

Here is a size comparison with the ZT 0609:

A final point is the blade centering. My blade is perfectly centered. I noticed that the pivot came loose during testing causing the blade to wander. and I was able to tighten it back up to true without a problem.

After publishing the review I decided to disassemble the knife. The 247 was straight forward to disassemble. You can see that in addition to caged bearings, there are stainless steel washers to prevent the bearings from wearing into the titanium handles. Reassembly was easy and the knife came back together perfectly.

Olamic Wayfarer 247 Review – Final Thoughts

Olamic’s goal for the 247 was to build a top shelf titanium framelock flipper that can be customized to the end user, yet still sold at a reasonable price. By and large I think they have accomplished that. I detect very little in the way of compromise here, and that is reflected in the build quality and price tag. Every aspect of the knife has been lavished with attention, from materials selection to engineering to finish work, it has all be carefully considered and expertly executed.

Where the 247 really stands apart is in its ability to be factory customized. A handful of years ago “modding” knives was all the rage. You see less of that these days, but the success of knives like the 247 show that people still care enough to want to have a customized knife. The standard 247 is really a blank canvas, and Olamic will do whatever you want with it. Of course it quickly gets expensive, but that doesn’t seem to deter people.

So that begs the question, a knife like the one shown here retails for approximately $500. For that amount of money, would you rather have the 247 or 2 high end Spyderco’s or ZTs? When I plunked my 0609 down next to the Olamic, I could see where the extra money went. Olamic has succeeded in creating a unique feel for their factory custom framelock flipper. The ergonomics and action are unlike anything else I own. The ZT is an excellent knife for the money, but there is no comparison. Especially if you get a base model 247 for around $350. At that price you get the exceptional flipper action and ergonomics without the additional cost of the extra finish work.

And Olamic doesn’t seem to be competing with these major brands anyways. They are essentially building the Chris Reeve Knives of flippers. Actually, I’m not sure if that is still a fair comparison. While CRK may have shown us what was possible with a high end production folder in the early 2000s, Olamic shows us what’s possible today.

Some will scoff at the robust price tag, but this is a high end knife. It simply isn’t aimed at the price conscious. If you want a titanium flipper framelock with uncompromising quality and the ability to “make it your own”, then the 247 is an excellent choice.

Olamic Wayfarer 247 – From $375.00
From: BladeHQ

I recommend purchasing the Olamic Wayfarer at BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website (including Amazon) helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Maxpedition Excelsa Review

by Andrew Gene 3 Comments

Maxpedition is a company best known for their military inspired backpacks. They offer a wide range of fabric goods, including packs, pouches, slings, and related accessories. This is a niche brand that has developed a loyal following over the years in the outdoor recreation and daily carry communities.

Buy the Maxpedition Excelsa at BladeHQ

So it was a little surprising to hear in 2013 that Maxpedition was going to start selling knives. On some levels it makes sense, as knives definitely compliment outdoor and “tactical” backpacks, but on the other hand they are completely different products. I’d say it’s akin to Apple deciding to sell office furniture.

At any rate, the Maxpedition Excelsa is the second knife from the Maxpedition, the first being the Ferox. The design closely resembles their previous offering, but sees a significant upgrade in materials and construction.

While considerably more expensive, the Excelsa is still aggressively competitive for a titanium frame-lock. Coming in below $130, it has features found on knives over double the price, including an over-travel stop and tool-steel blade.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Excelsa comes in two sizes. The small version is 6.7” in total length with a 2.9” blade and weighing 2.9 oz while the large version is 8.3” in with a 3.6” blade and weight of 5.1 oz. Both sizes are good for Every Day Carry (EDC) depending on your needs and preferences in an EDC knife. The knives are made in Taiwan.

The pattern is a straight forward drop point. This is commonly used on sport and utility knives for its well rounded performance in both slicing and penetrating cuts. It is also easy to maintain with a bellied profile which lacks any kind of re-curve or otherwise unusual geometry. A full flat grind with a secondary bevel produces a keen working edge. A choil will make sharpening to the end of the edge possible. The spine is capped adding nice detailing and there is a jimped thumb ramp for added control.

The blade steel used is D2. In this case it has been hardened between 58-60 Rockwell.

Unusually, there are no markings on the blade denoting the materials or manufacturer. While I like this clean aesthetic, it would be helpful to have the steel type embossed on the ricasso to let the user know how to care for the blade. This is especially true since D2 is a semi-stainless tool steel that will require some maintenance to keep it free of corrosion. If you were the second owner of the knife and didn’t have or read the documentation, then you might be surprised to see the blade behave differently from a true stainless steel folder.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The handle of the Excelsa has a simple two slab open build with a minimal amount of fasteners: three including the pivot. The inner edge has a first finger groove and another convex sweep that helps to lock the hand in place. The back edge is primarily straight with a slight turn down at the pommel that nests in the hand or serves as a thumb rest in a reverse grip. The titanium and hardware have been given a matching matte, bead blast finish.

The ergonomics are simple but comfortable. This relatively handle design will accommodate most people. You won’t be surprised to hear that the large version is larger and more comfortable for big hands. There is wide toothy jimping on the spine of the blade that captures the thumb without irritating it.

For carry there is a lanyard hole and right handed, tip up or down deep carry pocket clip. When you consider that there is only a single thumb-stud and frame-lock, this adds up to the knife being for right handed people only.

At under 3 ounces, the smaller version of this knife is imminently pocketable. It carries easily and something you will quickly forget thanks to it’s light weight, and the strong spring retention in the pocket clip. The large version is more noticeable in the pocket, but still carries well for what it is thanks to the discreet deep carry clip and thin design.

Deployment and Lockup

For deployment there is a tiered thumb-stud with an angled face. Set a good distance away from the scale’s inner edge, producing the blade is easy with one hand. This is helped along by good tolerances and phosphor bronze washers. These thumb studs remind me of those found on the Kershaw Blur.

On opening the tang meets a solid, titanium frame-lock. On the review samples provided, both were play free in any direction and easily disengaged. In order to protect the spring integrity Maxpedition has added a small tab on the inner surface to prevent over-travel when unlocking. While there are several variations of this type of mechanism, Maxpedition is in the process of patenting theirs, asserting differences in the implementation.

Unlike the blade without any markings, the locking leaf has “Maxpedition” laser etched on the surface. The branding here is a little too bold for my taste and I feel the logo could definitely be dialed back a bit to uphold the sober aesthetic.

Maxpedition Excelsa Review – Final Thoughts

Over all the Excelsa is an interesting design. While I understand and very much appreciate minimal design, this may border on sterile for some. It could have been nice to add a little something to make it more personable. Something that wasn’t a large Maxpedition logo. Maybe some added texture or subtle anodized details? Possibly a greater departure from the Ferox design could have expanded the design vocabulary of the line-up? Outside of design taste my only real issue with this knife is the lack of marking for the steel type.

Criticisms aside Maxpedition has done an excellent job with the utility as well as the pricing. You would be hard pressed to find another folder that can boast the features, materials, fit and finish at this price point.

Maxpedition FRMLCKL Excelsa Large Framelock Folding Knife with D2 Blade and Titanium Handle

List Price: $149.59

Price: $142.08

You Save: $7.51

Price Disclaimer

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Maxpedition Excelsa at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Additional Specifications:

Small Version

Overall Length: 6.7″
Weight: 2.7 oz

Blade:

Length: 2.9″
Thickness: 0.11″
Steel : D2
Hardness : 58-60 HRC

Handle:

Slab and lock thickness: 0.12″
Length: 3.9″

Large Version

Overall Length: 8.3″
Weight: 5.1 oz

Blade:

Length: 3.6″
Thickness: 0.14″
Steel : D2
Hardness : 58-60 HRC

Handle:

Slab and lock thickness: 0.15″
Length: 4.7″

Made In Taiwan

ESEE Avispa Review

by Dan Jackson 4 Comments

I reviewed the ESEE Zancudo back in 2014. I gave it high marks, and since then it has gone on to be my pick for the best budget EDC knife. I stand by that recommendation, and still own and use the Zancudo to this day. It’s a great affordable every day carry knife and I’m hard pressed to name a better sub $35 folder.

Buy the ESEE Avispa at BladeHQ

So what about its big brother, the Avispa? It came out a couple years after the Zancudo, and while it has been something I wanted to review, I never got around to it. Until now. Will it live up to the legacy of the Zancudo? Let’s see.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Avispa has an overall length of 8.5″, a 3.5″ blade, weighs 4.51 ounces, and is made in Taiwan. It’s a big knife. Much bigger than the Zancudo. I think that’s pretty clear in the comparison photos. Personally, this is not a daily carry piece for me. It’s more of a weekend knife. I think it could make for a great folding camp knife. For opening mail and cutting apples I’ll stick with the Zancudo, but those wanting a bigger knife will get what they want with the Avispa.

The Avispa has a large drop point blade with a high full flat grind. While the blade design is unlikely to win any beauty contests, it’s extremely functional. The tip is dropped down towards the pivot, lending an almost spear point profile. There is a nice sharpening choil, and the edge has been evenly ground. Topping things off is an attractive stonewashed blade finish.

Here is a shot of the Avispa next to the Zancudo:

For blade steel we have tried and true AUS-8. AUS-8 is a Japanese stainless steel. It’s on the soft side, meaning it will dull faster than premium knife steels, but it’s tough, stain resistant, and easy to sharpen. Given the ~$40.00 price tag, I’d say it’s an appropriate blade steel. The Zancudo came in AUS-8 and frankly I never cared. It sharpens in minutes.

I have been using my Avispa around the house. We have tile floors, and recently had the grout professionally cleaned. This meant we had to move most of our worldly possessions into the garage. While I was moving all my crap out of the office I came across a cache of cardboard boxes. It was a great opportunity for my Avispa. The big blade and full flat grind make it a work horse of a knife. I had no problem breaking down the boxes. I also uncovered a little manilla rope from my YouTube days. The Avispa was able to make some crunching cuts, but it tested the ergonomic limits of this thin handle.

Where a knife like this shines is in basic food prep. I eat a lot of fruit and the Avispa’s thin blade is great for slicing apples. But that’s an EDC chore. I decided push the knife further and make a meal with it. We cook a good deal of chicken and vegetables at my house, so that’s the task I put it to. It works well for slicing and dicing, allowing me to make controlled even cuts. It’s not replacing my chef’s knife, but in a pinch I could see this thing cutting onions, carrots, and potatoes at a camp site. It certainly worked in my kitchen.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The Avispa’s handle is a textured FRN scale over a nested stainless steel liner on the show side, and a stainless steel lock bar on the lock side. Holding things together is a series of 4 stand offs and a stop pin. This is an inexpensive knife, but it is well made and has some nice details, including a skeletonized liner and black hardware on the show side, with silver hardware on the lock side. Fit and finish is good with all the parts lining up. You can get this knife in a variety of handle colors. This time I chose a nice olive drab.

The Avispa benefits from a simple handle design. Neither the blade nor the handle look particularly impressive, but they function great. There is plenty of room for a full grip, and the knife offers plenty of traction. The handle scale is textured with a faux peel-ply G-10 look, and there is a good run of jimping on the thumb ramp. The jimping strikes that balance between providing traction and being too aggressive.

That said, this is a thin knife, so you do feel it in your hand. If you intend to use the Avispa for an extended period of time you will probably want to wear gloves. It’s fine for basic work, but if you are going to “hard use” this one, then have some leather gloves on stand by.

The pocket clip is where things get interesting. The Avispa is drilled and tapped for ambidextrous tip up / tip down carry. We call this a “4 corners” pocket clip. Out of the box the knife is configured for right side tip down. I’m more of a tip up guy, like most knife enthusiasts I know, so I swapped it to right side tip up. Doing that places the pocket clip directly onto the lock bar. I believe when this knife was originally released, that interfered with the lock bar.

My clip doesn’t interfere with the lock bar, but it also doesn’t touch the lock bar. There is a substantial gap. Take a look:

Obviously this isn’t ideal for a pocket clip. You aren’t going to get the kind of pocket retention most people seek out when using a pocket clip. For this reason I recommend right side tip down, or put the clip on the show side. This isn’t a deal breaker for me, but is worth pointing out.

Pocket clip issues aside, the Avispa more or less carries the way you think it would. It’s a big somewhat heavy knife. It’s thin so it won’t take up your entire pocket, but it’s definitely noticeable.

Deployment and Lockup

The Avispa makes use of ambidextrous thumb studs to get the blade open. The thumb studs are easy to access from the right and left side. The blade itself rides on phosphor bronze washers. The action is smooth and fluid. The detent is nice and strong, keeping the blade securely in place until you need it.

The stainless steel frame lock is sturdy and secure. No blade play on this knife, even when wiggling the blade from the very tip. The lock bar isn’t sticky, and it’s easy to disengage when you are done cutting. No complaints in the lockup department.

Heres a shot of the Avispa next to my Strider SnG. A $40 knife next to a $400 knife. There is a probably a viral video in there somewhere…

Finally I have to mention that my blade is perfectly centered. A great detail on a budget blade. I’m sure there are some slightly off center Avispa blades out there, but generally speaking you will be pleased with the QC on this knife.

ESEE Avispa Review – Final Thoughts

I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to review the Avispa. Maybe it was the pocket clip issue originally reported when the knife was released. Or maybe because I was so happy with my Zancudo I saw no need for the Avispa. Who knows.

Regardless, I’m glad I eventually added an Avispa to my collection. Unsurprisingly, I like this knife for many of the reasons why I like the Zancudo. I prefer it over the Rat II because it’s thinner. I love the little details they managed to shoe horn into this budget blade. And you can’t argue with the utility.

In a perfect world the pocket clip would work better in right side tip up, but that’s a minor complaint. I’ll swap mine back to right side tip down after this review and call it a day.

At the end of the day I recommend the Avispa if you are looking for a large inexpensive daily carry knife, or want a good folding camp knife. I can’t think of anything I prefer in this size at this price point. Like the Zancudo, on a dollar for dollar basis it’s a tough knife to beat. Recommended.

ESEE Knives 1301OD Avispa Stonewash 5" Closed Framelock

List Price: $34.58

Price: $34.58

Price Disclaimer

I recommend purchasing the ESEE Avispa at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Rockstead Higo Review

by Dan Jackson 8 Comments

Today I’ll be reviewing an expensive knife. There is no way around it. The Rockstead Higo retails for the better part of $1000. It’s insanely expensive, and it’s taken me the better part of 10 years of writing about knives to work my way up to purchasing one. I’ve considered it before, but always had something else I’d rather spend $800 on. Like food, rent, and child support. But recently I got my priorities straightened out and purchased a Rockstead for review.

Buy the Rockstead Higo at BladeHQ

So it may come as a surprise to hear that the Higo is actually one of Rockstead’s least expensive offerings. You can easily spend $1,500 to $3,000 on one of their knives.

The Higo is one of their simpler, more utilitarian models. Relatively simple duraluminum handles and a single stand off house a beautiful, smoky black DLC coated blade. And it’s not just any blade, it’s Rockstead’s beautiful “HONZUKURI” double convex blade shape brought to a flawless mirror polish. Yes, it’s high time we reviewed a Rockstead, and examined this knife in all of it’s expensive glory. By the way, I am writing this review from a cardboard box.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Higo has an overall length of 8.5″, a 3.5″ blade, weighs 3.6 ounces and is made in Japan. It’s a larger knife but could be EDCd if you like the idea of daily carrying an ultra high end pocket knife. I think it is one of Rockstead’s more staid models, but personally, I wouldn’t EDC this thing. Not only is it too expensive for me to use without feeling guilty, I have major reservations regarding how I would sharpen the knife. I’ll comment on that further below.

The Higo comes with a long drop point blade. The tip on the knife is fairly high, and it provides a rather abrupt belly. The blade is saber ground, and there is a hole in the flat of the blade with a short milled fuller. I am not sure if that’s for decoration, or is part of the manufacturing process. I never think too hard about that because my eye is inevitably drawn to the beautiful mirror polished primary bevel.

As an aside, this polished blade is a bear to photograph. My photography has never been great, but I apologize for the especially schlocky photos accompanying this review. I did my best to keep my mug out of the photographs, but there are still all sorts of reflections in the shots showing the blade.

Rockstead’s process for finishing the blades this way is time consuming, and labor intensive. This is part of the reason why Rockstead knives are so expensive. Rockstead does a reasonable job explaining the process on their website. Apparently someone hand sands these blades starting at 400 grit going all the way up to 2000 grit. Then additional finishing work is done on the knife through some proprietary processes that are well beyond my pay grade as a lay person.

The net result is the most beautiful blade I have ever laid my eyes on. The grinds are beautifully crisp. The machining is outstanding. And the mirror polish is flawless. The net result is stunning. There is nothing else like a Rockstead blade.

Rockstead offers the Higo in two blade steels: a DLC Coated YXR7 version (shown here) or an uncoated ZDP-189 version. YXR7 is a high speed tool steel manufactured by Hitachi. YXR7 has the enviable combination of being tough, but also being able to be heat treated to a high hardness. Here is a link to the zKnives data sheet on YXR7.

Rockstead states that it’s the durability of the YXR7 that allows them to put an ultra thin 3 micron thick coat of DLC over the blade. Paired with a less shock resistant steel, the DLC coating would crack like an egg shell. But when paired with YXR7 the shock is dissipated and you are left with an otherworldly blade.

Each knife is individually checked for hardness, and Rockstead reports that on the information card that comes with the knife. My particular knife was heat treated to 65.2 HRc. Impressive.

OK, this is normally the part of the review where I comment on the real world performance of the knife after extensive carry and use. That never happened with the Higo. It’s just too nice of a knife for me to get down and dirty with.

Furthermore, I’m concerned that if I used the knife I’d be unable to sharpen it. Especially this DLC coated variant. With the ZDP-189 version you can probably maintain the edge with careful stropping. But here, only a teeny tiny bit of the edge is exposed. The rested is coated in DLC. How the hell do you sharpen this thing? Rockstead offers a “free sharpening service” but you need to ship the knife back to Japan for that. Sorry guys, but I didn’t want to go down that path with this knife.

I will say I’ve been to the Rockstead booth at Blade Show a few times and they had many samples available, and they would cut phone books and rope with the knives at the show. They can certainly cut, and from what I understand they hold an edge unlike anything else thanks in part to the insane hardness and unique blade geometry.

But I can’t speak from personal experience. Instead, I’ll embed a video from Rockstead showing some of their performance testing:

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

Compared with the magnificent blade, the handle is a little less interesting. It’s still beautifully machined, but lets face it, few things can stand up to the blade of a Rockstead. Here we have black anodized duraluminum handles. A pleasant wave pattern has been milled into the handles. Execution of the handles themselves is great, but one area leaving me wanting a little more is with the hardware. The hardware almost appears like cheap pot metal compared to the blade. I’d love to see some decorative hardware or polished hardware to match the blade. As it stands, it appears more like an after thought. At this price everything needs to be special.

I have no complaints in the ergonomics department. This simple and straight forward handle design. There is plenty of room, and an absence of excessive curves and ‘ergonomic features’ means that the handle will be comfortable for most people. That said, you do get light jimping on both the top and bottom of the blade, toothier jimping on the handle, and a finger choil. All of this stuff has been exercised with a degree of restraint to the point where it all plays in the background. It’s the ergonomic equivalent of muzak. Present, but hard to register unless you pay close attention.

The pocket clip is downright primitive compared to the rest of the knife. It’s a DLC blackened spring style clip, mounted high on the handle for deep carry with a single torx screw. There is nothing wrong with any of this, but it is crudely stamped “MADE IN JAPAN”. Not the end of the world, but not the most elegant solution either. Given the attention of detail lavished on this blade I would have expected a little more.

The good news is that the pocket clip works great, and the knife carries well. It’s a long knife, but thin and lightweight, so you don’t notice it much. The pocket clip has good spring retention, so it keeps the knife planted in place, and it all but buries completely in your pocket. Not bad, but not amazing either.

The clip is also a fingerprint magnet. Much like the blade.

Deployment and Lockup

The Higo primarily makes use of dual thumb studs to get the blade open. The thumb studs are prominent, and the blade is easy enough to open with either hand. Additionally, the exposed tang when closed gives you the option of a “front flipper” of sorts. You can’t actually flip the blade open, but you can get the blade mostly open with this faux flipper.

The blade rotates fluidly on generous phosphor bronze washers. It isn’t a fast deploying knife, but it feels purposeful.

The frame lock of the Higo engages with a soft click. It’s an aluminum framelock with a stainless steel lockbar insert. I think it is interesting to note that the lockbar insert has also been given the DLC treatment. Little details like that are good to see. Frankly I expect them on a knife this expensive. Lockup is a solid 50% and there is zero blade play of any kind.

I struggled to find a good knife to use for the size comparison section. The blade of the Higo is so tough to photograph, that I ended up choosing the Zero Tolerance 0450CF. The matte DLC blade on the 0450CF made it possible to get a workable photo.

Blade centering is absolutely perfect on my knife. Once again at this price point I would expect nothing less.

Rockstead Higo Review – Final Thoughts

On one hand the Higo is a stunning knife. The blade is unlike anything else I have reviewed. It’s an otherworldly work of art. You simply won’t find anything else like it on the production market. That beautiful blade is combined with an elegant handle. It is a juxtoposition of Japanese elegance and their fanatical pride in what they do. Rockstead has taken the production pocket knife to extremes few of us would consider. In these ways the Higo is a truly special knife.

On the flip side I don’t think this is a particularly practical knife. It’s so expensive I’m hesitant to use it. And if I were to use the knife, it would be damn near impossible for me to sharpen it. Perhaps if I selected the non-DLC coated variant I could strop this thing, but I don’t know how I would sharpen this DLC coated blade with its impossibly small microbevel edge. The only answer is to send it off to Rockstead. They will sharpen it for free provided I can prove I’m the original owner, but I would need to ship the knife to Japan at a considerable expense and risk.

For these reasons I cannot recommend this knife as a daily carry, unless you are a talented sharpener and willing to use a near $1,000 folding knife. Most people won’t do that, and of the few that will actually purchase a Rockstead Higo, I suspect they will treat the knife like I have: gingerly. With so many great $50-200 folding knives in my collection, the Higo has been relegated to a safe queen and curiosity. It’s a beautiful safe queen, but a safe queen none the less.

Rockstead Higo
From: BladeHQ

I recommend purchasing the Rockstead Higo at BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website, including Amazon.com, helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Looking to Buy a Rockstead Higo? Buy mine!

Looking for a Rockstead Higo, but don’t want to pay $800.00+ for one? Buy my review sample for only $650 shipped within the U.S.

I wish I could keep this knife, but I can’t keep them all, and I must make room in my collection and budget to buy more knives to review. It is in LNIB condition and the knife has not been registered with Rockstead yet. Contact me if you are interested or leave a comment below with your email address and I’ll reach out to you. Thanks!

Benchmade Proxy Review

by Dan Jackson Leave a Comment

Warren Osborne is one of the most recognized names in knife making. While he was an extremely talented custom maker, a large part of his renown is due to a series of high profile collaborations with Benchmade. The 940 is one of the most notable collabs, but Warren Osborne is also known for designing the Rift and Barrage, among others.

Buy the Benchmade Proxy at BladeHQ

Warren Osborn passed away in 2016, after a long a long struggle with a cancer. The Benchmade Proxy was his final collaboration with Benchmade. I happen to think it was an interesting design. Benchmade has only recently gotten into flippers, and this Proxy is one of their takes on a titanium framelock flipper. As Warren’s last collaboration with Benchmade I knew it was something I needed to get my hands on.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Benchmade Proxy has an overall length of 8.85″, a 3.87″ blade, weighs 4.86 ounces, and is made in the USA. This is a substantial knife. A bit too much for me to carry on a daily basis, but I’m sure it will make a fine EDC for those that like larger knives. At under 5 ounces, it’s plenty light and pocketable for a near 4″ bladed folder.

The Proxy features a long sloping drop point blade. It kind of reminds me of the head of a shark. For whatever that is worth. It’s a strong blade cut from near 4mm thick stock. The knife has a high flat grind and has been left thin behind the edge. It’s fine for cutting boxes or fruit, and I suspect it would hold up under tougher chores as well. The tip is placed low on the knife. That shortens the belly but makes it good at stabbing things. Benchmade went with what appears to be a matte satin finish. It’s a utilitarian finish that hides wear well.

The most prominent feature on the blade is the oversized sharpening choil. That makes it easy to sharpen, but you lose some edge, and if you aren’t careful material you are wanting to cut can get caught up in the large choil.

Benchmade selected CPM-20CV for the Proxy’s blade steel. This is the same steel my G-10 Griptilian came in, and now that I’ve owned that knife for almost 2 years, I have a little experience with it. Manufactured by Crucible Industries, CPM-20CV is advertised as a steel with high corrosion resistance and wear resistance, and good toughness. Chemically it is similar to M390, which is an excellent steel. CPM-20CV has an extremely high chromium content, which results in its corrosion resistant qualities.

In practice I have found that CPM-20CV performs admirably. It exhibits a nice balance of edge retention and sharpenability, while exhibiting excellent rust and corrosion resistance. To be compared with M390 places it in excellent company, and I consider CPM-20CV to be top tier blade steel. A great choice for a high end folding knife.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The Benchmade Proxy features a titanium frame lock mated to a one piece G-10 backspacer and handle scale. Everything is held together with torx fasteners. It’s kind of an odd combination between the light brown G-10, the sandblasted titanium, the satin hardware and the mirror polished clip. The varying textures and angular design almost make the Proxy feel like a small piece of modern art. The build quality is excellent. Tolerances are tight, the parts line up, and the 3-D machining on the handles is excellent.

I also like the omission of the lanyard hole. I’m not a big lanyard guy, but you see them on pretty much every knife. It’s refreshing to get something without a lanyard hole. While that is bound to piss some people off, personally I don’t miss it.

The Proxy is a large and comfortable knife. It’s got a big simple handle, so it will conform to most hand sizes. There is little in the way of texture on the knife, but still my fingers fall naturally in place. Warren did design a forward finger choil, and that feature allows you to choke up on the blade and get close to what you are cutting. You can also choke back on this handle, providing you a couple inches of additional reach. Potentially useful if you have to do some light chopping or use the Proxy in a “tactical” application.

The pocket clip is Benchmade’s split arrow clip, buffed up to a high shine. While I generally like the split arrow clip, I’m not a huge fan of the shiny version shown here. It’s kind of loud and it doesn’t match the rest of the knife. It feels out of place, although I’m not sure what I would have put instead of this clip. I probably would have reconsidered the entire hardware selection, finishes, and color choice.

The Proxy carries well considering it’s almost a 9″ folding knife. The sturdy split arrow clip, and bead blasted titanium handle work together to provide good traction without tearing up your pocket. At .5″ thick the Proxy is not the thinnest knife, but it’s not the thickest either. Benchmade milled out some large grooves to make it a little slimmer and more pocketable. All said, I think the Proxy is not a bad knife to carry.

Deployment and Lockup

This is a bearing equipped titanium framelock flipper. I haven’t reviewed a Benchmade framelock flipper before, so this is new territory for me. In practice it flips great. I’d say it scores a solid “7” on my 0-10 scale. Maybe a little behind the action you would find on a Zero Tolerance flipper, but not by much. It’s snappy and responsive action and the bearings are smooth. So smooth you can shake the blade closed. Nice.

The titanium frame lock is reinforced with a stainless steel insert. The insert does not double as an over travel stop mechanism, a feature I’ve come to find standard on most flippers from ZT, Spyderco, and Kizer. That said, the lockup on this knife is early, and free of any sort of play. It’s rock solid.

Here is a shot of the Proxy next to my Strider SnG. I chose the SnG because the Proxy borrows the integral G-10 handle / backspacer.

Blade centering is pretty good on my knife. Not perfect. It favors the G-10 side by a mm or so, but is nowhere near rubbing.

Benchmade Proxy Review – Final Thoughts

The Proxy is a curious knife. Warren Osborne made a name for himself providing unique designs, and I think the Proxy continues that legacy. Individually, there are number of seemingly dissimilar components. Added up they all come together. Sorta. Part of me can’t help but feel that this blade was put together with leftovers from Benchmade’s parts bin, but other parts of me appreciate the simple design. The knife is nicely made and is both comfortable to use and a capable cutter. It’s a great work knife.

While it may not be to everyone’s taste, I think the Proxy is a good knife. I appreciate the Proxy and I appreciate Warren Osborne for his contributions to the knife world. I can safely recommend the Proxy for fans of Warren and fans of this design.

Benchmade - Proxy 928 Knife, Drop-Point Blade, Plain Edge, Satin Finish, Sand Handle

Price: $249.95

Price Disclaimer

I recommend purchasing the Benchmade Proxy at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Zero Tolerance 0450CF Review

by Dan Jackson 16 Comments

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I lust after knives for months, or even years, before pulling the trigger. That was the case with this Zero Tolerance 0450CF. The original 0450 was cool, but the carbon fiber version put me over the top. It’s a little lighter and sleeker, and the choice of green anodized accents isn’t something you see on a lot of knives. I decided I wanted one, but could never find a decent deal on it.

Buy the ZT 0450CF at BladeHQ

Fast forward a couple years later, and I received a trade offer that included this 0450CF. Right on. I immediately responded back that I was interested, and a few days later the knife was at my doorstep.

By way of a more formal introduction, the 0450 series is a riff on the original Dimitry Sinkevich designed 0454CF that I reviewed back in 2014. Chad McBroom reviewed the mass marketed 0452CF and Ben reviewed the shrunken down full titanium 0450. I’ve got the ultra light 0450CF for your consideration today.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The 0450CF has an over all length of 7.375″, a 3.25″ blade, and weighs a mere 2.45 ounces. Like all Zero Tolerance knives, the 0450CF is made in the USA.

The 0450 and the 0450CF are reactions to the knife market. Zero Tolerance is know for large overbuilt knives, but they received feedback that everyone didn’t want to carry around a big honking pocket knife. So the 0450 hit the scene, and then this 0450CF took that even further by replacing the titanium show side handle with carbon fiber. This shaved over almost half an ounce off the already lightweight 0450. This, my friends, makes for an ideal EDC knife in my book.

The 0450CF shares the same low slung blade that made us all fall in love with the 0454CF when it hit the scene. It’s a long, sleek, modified drop point blade, featuring a little belly and plenty of tip. The knife has a high flat grind and a decorative swedge. The blade has been given a semi-glossy black DLC coating. The edge has been uniformly applied, and there is a sharpening choil so you can easily sharpen this blade from tip to heel.

ZT opted for S35VN for the blade steel. Regulars to the site or high end knives need no introduction to S35VN. It’s a high performance stainless steel from Crucible designed specificaly for pocket knives with the help of Chris Reeve. It’s an excellent all round blade steel and a good choice for small pocket knives like this as it offers a good balance of edge retention, toughness, and ease of sharpening. I like S35VN generally, and they did a great job with the heat treat on this 0450CF. As always if you want to dive deeper into blade steel check out our steel section for all sorts of additional info.

Practically speaking this little 0450CF is a capable cutter. The blade shape is perfect for getting under envelopes, breaking down boxes, cutting fruit, and performing all the little odd ball chores I require of my EDC knives. That said, I must agree with Ben that this knife is not the best slicer. The partial flat grind binds up in material. While it cuts, it’s no Alox Cadet. This is probably my biggest gripe with the knife.

The S35VN blade has held up great, and so has the Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating. DLC coatings are among the best money can buy, and unless you scrape this knife on concrete or metal it will hold up well.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The handle of the 0450CF is a solid piece of carbon fiber on the show side, and a black DLC coated titantium framelock on the reverse. The knife is held together with two green aluminum standoffs and an oversized pivot. Construction is simple yet elegant. All the hardware is black save for the green anodized standoffs. The fit and finish is exceptional. The screws are all the right length, the parts line up perfectly, and the finish work is excellent. The carbon fiber is lightly textured, and shimmers slightly in the light. This handle has been beautifully done.

The 0450CF is a small knife, but it doesn’t compromise in the ergonomics department. Dimitry’s design is simple and it should work well for most people. I take an “XL” size glove and have no problem getting a full four finger grip on this knife.

There is a short row of jimping on the spine that provides you with a little traction and something to index your thumb on. Beyond that there is not much in the way of texture. That’s fine by me as I don’t think this knife needs aggressive texturing. It works well as is.

The pocket clip is a standard parkerized black spoon style pocket clip. It’s relatively discreet and unobtrusive. While it’s not a true deep carry clip, it buries the majority of the knife in your pocket and keeps the 0450CF tucked away. The clip is swappable for right or left side tip up carry. A deep carry clip would have been nice.

I have carried this knife quite a bit. The 0450CF is a knife that you forget you are carrying. At just under 2.5 ounces this is not going to pull your pants down. The clip has great retention and the knife stays where you want it to in your pocket.

Deployment and Lockup

This is a Dimitry Sinkevich designed flipper made by Zero Tolerance, so the flipping action is outstanding. The detent is perfectly tuned for crisp, snappy flipping action each and every time. I’ve never “flubbed the flip” with this knife and I’d say the action is a solid “8” on the 0-10 scale. It’s good. Inside you have a caged bearing system. It is exceptionally smooth and you can shake the knife closed easily.

Please note I’m a lefty, so I don’t have any issues with putting my fingers on the lock bar when flipping the knife. I tried flipping this 0450CF with my right hand. Beside it being incredibly awkward for me, it works fine. No issues flipping open this knife. I think ZT fixed the issue that plagued their earlier knives.

Here is a shot of the 0450CF next to another excellent EDC knife, the Spyderco Sage 1:

For lockup we have a titanium frame lock with a stainless steel insert. Zero Tolerance does such a good job with these, that I almost feel that writing this section is unnecessary. The lock bar engages early and securely. The lockup is rock solid with zero blade play in any direction. The lock is smooth and easy to manipulate with no lock stick. This is titanium frame lock perfection and continues to be something of a gold standard in my world.

Blade centering is dead nuts center on my knife.

Zero Tolerance 0450CF Review – Final Thoughts

Ben was a little lukewarm on his 0450. He didn’t like the way the knife cut, the ergonomics, and he had issues with the action. Aside from that Mrs. Lincoln tells me the play was OK.

I think Ben raises valid points. A little knife like this should zip through stuff, but the combination of narrow blade and partial flat grind impacts the 450CF’s slicing performance. It still cuts, but it could be better. Personally, the ergonomics were spot on for my hand, and I found that the 0450CF flipped great. Ergonomics will vary from person to person, and I think ZT addressed the flipping action.

All in all, I am glad I picked up this little 0450CF. It’s as cool in person as I always hoped. I like the look of it over the standard 0450 and how it’s even lighter with this carbon fiber handle.

The 0450CF is an excellent little EDC knife in my book. With a retail price at close to $200 it’s not cheap, but I’m glad I went for it. The 0450 is probably ZT’s most practical EDC offering for the average person. This carbon fiber version takes things up a notch.

Zero Tolerance 0450CF; Folding Knife with 3.25” DLC-Coated S35VN Stainless Steel Blade, All-Black Carbon Fiber and Titanium Handle Scales, KVT Ball-Bearing Opening, Frame Lock, Pocketclip; 2.45 OZ.

List Price: $179.99

Price: $179.99

Price Disclaimer

I recommend purchasing the Zero Tolerance 0450CF at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.