With all the talk about Benchmade pricing, it's nice to find a good deal.

Looks like both BladeHQ and KnifeCenter are clearing out stock of the full-sized Benchmade Griptilian 551-BK for $100 and $110 respectively.

~~www.bladehq.com/item--Benchmade-Griptilian--6223~~

Edit: BladeHQ is sold out

~~www.knifecenter.com/item/BM551BKS30V~~

Edit: KnifeCenter is sold out

And full-sized is key here. This is not a small knife. 3.45" (8.76 cm) blade with an overall open length of 8.07" (20.5 cm). It's also 3.82 oz (108.3 g) which is more than 2 full sized Bugout knives.

But for $100 with S30V steel and very sturdy scales (even if it's not a full liner) this is a really good deal.

Happy Front Flipper Friday to all who celebrate.

Despite the fact that I tell myself I don't even really like front-flippers, they keep showing up at my house.

A true cry for help, I think.

Today's Front Flipper is the Ray Laconico designed, CJRB Ekko

This version has CJRB's budget powder steel AR-RPM9, 3.25" (8.26 cm) in length with green micarta scales. The micarta is very smooth and, depending on opening method, can feel a little slippery but I've not had any real issues.

Straight spine with a nice deep swedge ground out at the front.

Perfectly centered out of the box with really great action.

I like the fact that it's a sheepsfoot with a little bit of belly on it. I like the fact that you can easily spydie-flick it open (and are not forced to use the front flipper).

It's not an out-of-this world knife but a nice solid choice. I got it used, as I do most of my knives these days, and so the price was really good. Looking forward to putting this into the EDC rotation.

Here's a quick photo essay on what $9.99 will get you (currently $8.99 with coupon at amazon) from "DuraTech"

It came in a serviceable cardboard box and not just bubble wrap or anything like that. The pocket clip provides the retention inside the box. Added bonus inside the box: extra oil (I hope it's just oil) soaked into the cardboard:

The scales are very grippy and will probably tear up a pocket or two. Pocket clip is pretty decent deep carry. Screws and clip are not recessed. Right side-only. Also, I'll need to get another photo of it but the clip has a lateral bend in it that parallels the shape of the scales. Very odd looking.

Centering was slightly off but not bad (my photo is also off so it over-emphasizes the angle)

Grind is really good for a $10 knife. Even on both sides, no issues. 8CR13MOV steel but unknown hardness so we'll see how it holds up. Here it is with it's little protective sheath out of the box.

Everything was looking good but, of course, there is a catch. It is, after all, a $10 knife. Probably the worst detent I've ever seen. Getting the detent ball out of the hole gives you a click loud enough to be heard in the next room. I may have to try and capture it on video. The knife is almost impossible to open with the flipper tab and completely impossible to open with the thumb studs. Even if the detent was dialed in, the thumb studs are almost useless given how close they are to the scales. I might remove them entirely.

So, if you'd like a knife with a flipper tab and thumb studs that is actually two-hand open, this may be the knife for you!

I'm trying to remember if this was my first button lock knife. If it wasn't the first it was darn close. Picked up a used Civivi Altus back in June. I carried it for most of June but then had set it aside for other things.

In December I picked it up again after using it to improve my sharpening skills and it's been in my pocket, for the most part, ever since.

I have to apologize in advance for the low quality of the photos here. After dropping my phone through the ice while ice fishing recently I had to settle for a lesser phone with much lower camera quality.

Maybe if I had not purchased so many knives in 2023 I could afford a better phone? Such talk is madness and we will never think like that again.

The Altus, right out of the box, was a good fit in my hand. Handle length and shape is good and, while it appears a little boxy, doesn't feel that way.

The one issue I had was the pocket clip sat in a weird spot in my palm. So, this seemed like a good excuse to try out one of the replacement titanium clips that Civivi offers and it has made a world of difference.

I can't even notice it's there anymore.

The trade-off with the titanium clip is that it is no longer deep carry. But it's close enough and the way the back of the handle is shaped, it doesn't show up in your pocket in a very noticeable way.

The blade is 2.9" (7.37 cm) Nitro-V steel which, near as I can tell, is very similar to 14C28N. It's been a great steel for the money and takes a nice edge (as far as I my so-so sharpening skills are concerned). I've not had to sharpen it since but have stropped it several times. The flat grind is good but I do wish it had a bit of a hollow grind as food prep is not nearly as fun as with my classic Elementum.

The button lock on this has been fantastic. No issues at all (though again it was used so probably already worked in a bit) with lock-stick or weird deployment. Detent is well tuned as well and the drop-shut and flip open with the button is flawless. It makes a satisfying-sounding click in both directions.

It is not a small knife but it is not a large knife either. Even with the G10 scales and internal milling it somehow feels a bit heavier than similarly sized knives but it sits nicely at 3.11 oz. (88.3 g).

No comparison photos against other knives today, sorry.

Overall: If you like the blade shape and want to experience a good button lock, I recommend it. I've used it for food prep, fire prep (feathersticking pieces of fatwood), opening 40lb bags of bird seed, on plenty of boxes and zip-ties with excellent results. The only real issue with food prep is the same for every flat-ground knife: not as efficient a slicer. The other thing I'd mention is that current prices are at ~$73 US which feels too high. Maybe catch a sale or buy one used if you can.

What is up knife community! It's been a while, what with the chaos of the holidays, and then the chaos of work after the holidays and etc., etc.

I picked up a few knives over the holidays, some for the kids, some for me. The first of which is this KNAFS Lander 2!

For those who do not know, KNAFS was started by Ben Peterson, a former BladeHQ marketing/YouTuber/designer/other things guy. He first collaborated with WE/Civivi on the Banter and Baby Banter series of knives. (See previous post on one Baby Banter variant here

Ben was famous for his long drawn-out catch phrase "What Is Up Guys?!" that he would start all the BHQ videos with.

Fast forward a few years and Ben left BHQ and started his own knife company with a couple of his own designs. The first was (not surprisingly) the Lander.

The Lander is an interesting platform because it was designed, from go, to be something you could easily swap scales on. The knife does not have to be completely dissembled in order to change its appearance. And, amazingly, Ben released the detailed specs of the Lander scales, free, to the internet. If you have a 3D printer (or access to one) you can download the complete STL or STP files and print your own.

The original Lander is a liner lock and either D2 or 14C28N steel and OEM'd by QSP.

As is the way of things in the knife world, one Lander is not enough. And so, the Lander 2 was released in November 2023.

Using Keizer as the OEM, the Lander 2 is a crossbar locking knife with an S35VN blade. (Keizer calls their lock the Clutch Lock) which has 5 different adjustable points for both sets of springs on the lock, meaning you can adjust the spring tension simply by moving where it connects to the liners.

So we have a knife that is provides user-friendly customization in looks and in action.

Here it is in comparison to a couple other knives, first the Kershaw Heist (another crossbar lock discussed recently)

Similar in length but the Heist has a much thinner blade and is slightly thinner in body and lighter.

Here it is compared to a classic: the Civivi Elementum. This has been my user for some time now and the D2 has a slight patina but is blemish free for the most part. (Tape residue not withstanding)

I was losing the evening light, so I only got one image of the Lander 2 closed.

Usage so far: Pretty limited use by me since I got it. Mostly because I've been using other knives that I also picked up. This Lander 2 was used but barely so. I had to clean up the scales a bit and stropped the blade but other than that it looks brand new.

I buy used knives almost exclusively these days as the discounts can be quite good.

The action on the Clutch Lock is really really good. Buttery smooth right out of the box. But then again, it was used so the previous owner may have flipped it a lot? I'm not going to complain because it's really nice.

The thumbstuds and crossbar studs are well made and do not bite into the hand. The shape of the handle is, for my hand size, nicely formed. What use I've put it through has been pleasant. I wish the Lander 2 had a hollow grind instead of a flat grind but the slicing has been fine even without.

I didn't have it handy for photos but it reminds me a lot of the first version of the Civivi Elementum button lock (the one where the button was only method of deployment).

Because the knife was just released, there are not many 3rd party options for scales. A few have started showing up on Etsy that I've seen, so hopefully more soon.

Overall verdict: The crossbar lock (adjustable) and open format of the scales (awesome) makes this a very compelling choice. I would not have paid full retail price for it though, as there are a lot of other S35VN knives out there for much less. But if 3D printing or just having a lot of choice for how your knife looks is your thing, it's hard to find an easier solution than the Lander series.

(dear gods... what have I done? )

Some of you may remember my Weird Knife Wednesday post from a few months ago about the 2022 Walmart crossbar lock (hilariously called "shaft lock") knife. It was a first for Ozark Trail. Here's a link: https://lemmy.world/post/5850196

That knife came out of nowhere and many of the budget-oriented knife communities took notice. If your local Walmart had them, it wasn't for long because they were selling out. I bought 2 (and gave one away as a part of a white elephant gift).

Skip to 2023 and Walmart has released not one, not two, but three different crossbar locking knives for this holiday season. (more on that later).

For those who don't know, Ozark Trail is the Walmart in-house brand (the Amazon Essentials of the brick and mortar world) for many, many things. Including knives.

For $5-6 US, these are knives built to a very specific price point and it shows.

Enough talk, time for some photos:

As mentioned these are 2 of the 3 released this year for the holidays. You'll find these two, along with a few liner lock, frame lock, and fixed blades, in an end-cap or center-aisle display if your Walmart has them in.

The textured G10 (?) one at the top looks suspiciously like the Sencut Scepter (which, is par for the course for Ozark Trail "designers"). The second one, with the blue pivot ring does not look familiar but I'm assuming eagle-eyed readers know its inspiration.

It's hard to see in these photos both knives have deep-carry clips that extend past the back of the scales. These are very deep carry indeed.

The action on these knives is really bad. As if straight out of the factory they decided to take them to the beach and bury them all in sand before shipping them off. The crossbar on both grinds against the back of the knife. The spring tension on the bar is not as strong as last years model but could still use some work. I'm sure that they will break in, even if it takes a year. You can't really flip them open (without also throwing your wrist around wildly and looking like a lunatic) and you're mostly going to have to 2-hand shut them.

On the other hand: these were $5 each. So if you have to slow-roll them open, maybe that's not so bad?

I had mentioned a 3rd "shaft lock" knife that seems to be mostly available online, though I did find a few stores listing them as in stock (but I'm not driving further than I already have for these). It comes as a part of a 3-pack of knives and some other tools.

I'm blatantly lifting this image off the Walmart website:

I don't think I'm going to buy the pack though because, while only $5 each, buying a couple of these gets me into "real" knife territory (the aforementioned Sencut Scepter being a great knife for the money) and I'd rather buy more of those than more of these.

Should you buy these Ozark Trail knives? I would hope not. I made this sacrifice for you. Don't repeat my mistakes, learn from them.

NKD (well, week): The Kershaw Heist

This knife is a steal. There I said it. It's done. We can move on. No more puns from here on out. 😆

Earlier this year, Kershaw released their first crossbar locking knives. It would appear that the runaway winner of the 4 was the Iridium. It showed up in many reviews winning a lot of praise, and likely for good reasons. Kershaw knows how to build knives well and they appear to have knocked it out of the park with their version of the crossbar, which they call the "Duralock."

The Iridum is not really a knife for me though. With only a few exceptions, I'm not really into knives with scales made of metal. Too cold in the winter and too slippery in the summer.

When I saw the Heist, however...

IMHO, the Heist is what you get when you take a Benchmade Bugout and a Benchmade Freek and make a functional baby at 1/3 the cost. Hashtag KnifeBaby

I don't have a full-sized Freek, just the old-school Mini Freek but the comparison works, I think.

First off, the Heist is thin. As thin as the Bugout. Lightweight handles, but full-length liners so slightly heavier than the Bugout. The blade itself is far thinner than the Freek and thinner than even the Bugout thanks to the deeper swedge. So this is a very slicey knife indeed.

This is not a knife I would expect to be using for hours on end. Much like the Bugout, it's function is all about having a knife in the moment for quick needs without weighting you down. This is a knife I would not have a problem camping/hiking with at all.

Out of the box the knife did need a little breaking in. The action was a little slow but after a week of just handling it, it's just fine. The blade steel is D2 which helps keep the costs down. Kershaw is not a super budget brand though so at $50 it's on the higher end of D2 knives these days.

Pocket clip is great with the right amount of deep-carry for me. Scales are grippy but not aggressively so, and I don't feel like it's going to tear up the pocket.

Based on a week's worth of use, I would highly recommend this. The Duralock is well tuned, the knife sits in the hand comfortably for what it is, it's light, and best of all: it's not super expensive.

Recent discussions around purchasing knives got me thinking maybe a thread of online stores would be good. I'm going to assume that a lot of new-to-knives people are starting on Amazon which is often not the best place.

I'll list a few that I use or have experience with (and maybe some background). I have no affiliation with these places other than being a happy customer. None of the links or codes are going to make me money or give me free stuff. Just thought I would throw together some options for people who are new to knives.

My list is going to be US-centric. If you are not in the US and have recommendations, please add them here!

http://www.whitemountainknives.com One of my favorite retailers. Great prices, free shipping, and offers a variety of coupon codes for 10% off. Most of these are tied to individuals who get rewards for people using them. I use one that is, as far as I know, generic: WMK The site has a ton of stuff on sale (especially now).

http://www.indianaknives.com Small retailer in southern Indiana. Great, great customer service, excellent prices and free shipping. A more limited selection but often has 1 or 2 things that larger retailers sell out of quickly because this store flies under the radar.

http://www.knivesshipfree.com As the URL says: knives ship free! Lot of fixed blades, especially Bark River knives. Not a super limited selection of manufacturers but it feels like a very well curated list.

http://www.knifeworks.com Mentioned in a recent thread here. A ton of options and the exclusive home to Doug Ritter-designed knives (manufactured by Hogue). Used to have Benchmade under MSRP but I don't know if they still do that. $100 purchase requirement for free shipping.

https://www.knifecenter.com One of the OG stores. Huge selection, and fantastic YouTube presence. Their website allows you to filter searched by a ton of different options not found in many other stores. Tons of really cool Exclusives as well. $95 min purchase for free shipping.

http://www.bladehq.com For a long time a more commanding presence than KnifeCenter in social media but I think they've fallen back as maybe has their customer service. Always a ton of Exclusives especially all the "Dessert Warrior" options. Free shipping at $100.

Others I have limited experience with but are good:

http://www.smkw.com Smokey Mountain Knife Works

https://www.cutleryshoppe.com/ Another shop with a ton of exclusives. I got a exclusive ALOX SAX from them.

https://www.knivesplus.com If you want a customized Spyderco or Benchmade without going with a random person off Etsy or Ebay, these guys are great.

I know I left stores off the list (mostly for time) so fill in the gaps. Who have you purchased from that's been great?

I had posted on a FFF (Front Flipper Friday) that one of my go-to office carry knives was the CJRB Malieah. A great 5th pocket carry that is not worrisome to non-knife people and fits within the 2.5" blade length limit of the city where the company office resides.

I think the CJRB has been replace by the Civivi Baby Banter. At least, it seems to have been for the past 6 ot 7 visits.

The Baby Banter is even less worrisome to non-knife folks (some have said it is "cute" which I'm sure it bristles at).

The knife is my go-to for food slicing at work and (once cleaned) boxes, tape, or as in today: velcro cable straps so I could jerry-rigg a second wireless lavaliere mic receiver to a small video camera.

It's small and unassuming but has performed really well. If you're looking for a knife with those properties on the budget side, I highly recommend it.

As requested by @Nimrod@lemm.ee :

A day late and a dollar short as they say. So much for "Thursday." I tried to get this post up yesterday but the fates were against me.

I admit this is a bit of a stretch for Throw Back Thursday because I'm old and 2011 was, near as I can tell, last week.

At least I think 2011 is the right year because my Google-fu is weak today.

The CRKT Drifter has come in 2 major varients: G10 scales with a liner lock and stainless steel scales with a frame lock. I think this was introduced in 2011 but that could also be the liner lock version. If someone wants to correct me, operators are standing by.

This is one of only 2 frame locks I own and also one of only 2 combo blades I own. I own a lot of knives, so this might give you some indication as to what I think of frame locks and half-serrations... Edit: I just remembered that I have 3 other frame locks. So, I'm a complete idiot.

This knife was purchased in 2019 which was yesterday near as I can tell. It was a very early knife purchase and I had not yet figured out what I did and did not like. Another huge factor was the fact that BladeHQ was basically giving this away in the discontinued section for $15.

Aesthetically this is a good looking knife (IMHO). The matte grey and smooth lines go well with the polished blade. However, the reason the lines are smooth is because the pocket clip is single position, tip-down. The horror...the horror.

But, there's actually a clever trick here: the pocket clip also serves as the overtravel stop for the frame lock! Now, me not being a frame lock guy, maybe I'm just ignorant here, but that's not something I remember seeing on other knives. This photo is not of great quality due to the lighting I had to work with but you get the idea I think. So while it takes 3 screws to hold the clip down and while it's sort of obnoxious looking, it's also functional and I can respect that.

The combo blade, I figured out fairly quickly, is not for me. Give me a knife with full serrations or give me a plain edge blade but not both. It will fail to meet my needs for most things. But thankfully it only took $15 to sort that out.

If it's not for you, why keep it you ask? Well because it does remind me of the journey this silly hobby has taken me on but also because I don't get rid of anything and in all likelihood the authorities will find my body buried under a mountain of knife boxes years from now. So what's one more?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/9035683

And you'll never guess what kind of knife it is. Go on.

...

Yes, of course it's a balisong box cutter. Because it just is.

Update: And the .STL files are released! Get them here, along with assembly instructions, and other sundry bumf.

Okay, so it's not exactly an exciting custom collaboration with a big name manufacturer made out of a supersteel with rich exotic handle materials in a fancy matte box. That would require being considerably more involved with the industry than I am. Which is not at all.

Rather, this is a 3D printable utility/fiddle toy that's ~~ripped off from~~ just a smidge inspired by the Gerber EAB we were talking about the other day. Why doesn't anyone make a flipper like that?

So as our resident balisong expert, I just had to ask myself the other day just how hard developing a working balisong knife could be.

The answer is more than you'd think at first blush. I'm not at all ashamed to report that the production and assembly of one of these takes no less than 26 individual components if you include...

...The optional but fully functional pocket clip.

And yes, it even has a fancy kickerless design with "zen" pins like your big dollar brand name balisong model.

"But does it actually work?" I hear you cry.

You're damn skippy it does.

My design goals were: 1) Make a functional balisong knife that 2) is completely 3D printable without reliance on outside hardware -- other than the blade, obviously -- that 3) plays to the strengths and avoids as much as possible the weaknesses of filament deposition printing and 4) does not require using any supports.

(And yes, you could print the blade, too. If you wanted it to be laughably ineffective.)

Even the assembly hardware is 3D printed, and you can install it using nothing but a penny.

I know you all have been holding your breath until I posted this picture. There you go. You can breathe out now.

Oh, and also: Would you like to use this as a fidget toy that won't get you in too much trouble in polite company, or at the office, or in some backwater hellhole where balisong knives are illegal?

You're in luck. Because there's a blunt trainer blade for it, too.

The Burning Questions I Know You're Going To Ask:

Q: What are the sizes and weights?

42.1 grams. 1.48 ounces. This thing is the second lightest balisong knife I currently own. I designed it in metric, but in keeping with tradition around here it is almost exactly 5" long when closed, 7-1/2" long open (with a typical Stanley style blade installed), 1-1/8" of usable blade edge, and 5/8" of an inch thick (not including the pocket clip, which you can leave off).

Q: That's very funny, but the tolerances on this plastic piece of shit are terrible, right? What does the wiggle test look like, smart guy?

Bam. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Q: But, it's made out of plastic. Isn't it going to break or erode into nothing, like, instantly?

I've been messing around with the above pictured example for about a week now and I've probably flipped it somewhere between six thousand and a zillion times by now. I've been using it to cut up boxes at work all week, too. It's as perfect as the day I minted it.

Q: Isn't cold creep in the PLA going to turn it into a banana eventually?

Maybe! Probably! We're sure as hell going to find out.

Q: Are you going to sell these or something?

I'm not ruling it out, but that wasn't my goal here. I might give a couple away at some point, though.

Q: Then can you shut up and give us the fucking STL files already?

Soon. In order to prevent this post from being longer than it already is, I'm going to release the files and assembly instructions separately. After I'm good and satisfied the design is well tuned enough to inflict upon the unwashed masses, anyway.

Happy Front Flipper Friday to all who celebrate! Today is also a NKD* for me with the recent arrival of the Civivi Appalachian Drifter II.

The lineage of the Appalachian Drifter family is intersting as there have been a number of variations. A slip-joint version in S35VN, a liner locking version in S35VN, various damascus versions, and this, the Nitro-V version. All, as far as I know, are now discontinued by Civivi and most places are offering remaining stock with pretty good discounts.

This has an odd-ball pocket clip: it's curved and has a triangular mount that is not compatible with any other Civivi knife that I've seen. (I'm not a We/Civivi/Sencut expert though so don't hold me to that.)

This might be only the second folding knife I own with a clip-point blade, which seems odd, as I like the blade shape. The original slip-joint has a traditional pocket knife feel/look to it and the Drifter II continues that albeit with more modern materials.

In-hand this feels, for me, pretty good. My hand fits well inside the curve of the scales and I don't get an hotspot with the clip. The deployment, on my copy, has been a little hit-or-miss. Maybe that's user error or maybe there's some weirdness going on but sometimes it flips out beautifully and sometimes it stops half-way. It might just need a disassembly and cleaning though. The jimping on the flipper is not rough and doesn't tear up your thumb. In theory you should also be able to deploy it by way of flipping with the fuller but I can't do that with mine. That's probably all user error though.

The micarta is not overly smooth, which is my preference. I know some complain about the Civivi micarta but I would rather have more traction than less and have never had any issues.

This rides close to the "gentleman carry" category for me and while I would not put it through hard use there's nothing to indicate it couldn't handle it. The hollow-ground blade is thin and elegant while the Nitro-V steel gives plenty of toughness.

For the deeply discounted price I paid, I think it's a great purchase. A nod to a classic looking folder with a modern twist.

(* I actually got this last Friday but as I was heading out of town to go camping in the cold, I didn't have time to even really look at the knife. )