I have carried this knife every day since I purchased it. Here's the breakdown:
Deployment: The flipper is fast and intuitive, as well as smooth and easy to actuate. It takes very little practice to master and allows for lightning-quick deployments. I have found the location of the flipper to be more natural to deploy than side-mounted auto buttons. The assist is legal in places an automatic would not be, and doesn't kick in until the blade opens about 45 degrees, at which point it kicks the blade all the way open under it's own spring tension. The frame lock is very strong and secure. From a non-practical standpoint, it is immensely fun to play with and provides a satisfying thunk upon opening.
Handle: The deep finger choil locks in your finger and prevent your hand from sliding, while the palm swell helps the smaller handle fill your hand. The contour is very pleasant, and fits well into the hand, lending itself to precise control. Due to being stainless steel, the handle can be a bit slick. The coating adds some grip to it, but not a lot. When wet, it can be downright slippery. Handles very well in dry conditions and even in gloves, but unambiguously lacks friction.
Steel: Holds its edge very well, but still sharpens relatively easily. It's a good balance for a mid-sized EDC blade. The steel is *extremely* corrosion resistant; slid it into the waistband of my board shorts and have taken it swimming and surfing in clear, muddy, and salt water without experiencing even a hint of rust on the exposed steel, despite having forgotten or neglected to dry this blade on multiple occasions. The corrosion resistance has far exceeded expectations.
Blade: It comes with a pretty standard factory sharpness, neither fantastic nor terrible, just good. The recurve is wonderful for cutting and gives you more cutting length than the actual length of the blade, as well as accelerating along the cut; however, it is a pain to sharpen, and I have pair of scratches along the front of the handle due to scratching it with the stone while trying to navigate the flowing angles of the blade. The tip is delicate and well-suited to precise work; however, it is also very thin, and though I have yet to damage it, I can see how easily that could happen. The overall shape of the knife makes it remarkably good at piercing. I don't think that bit was intentional, but it is certainly there. The length is perfect for an EDC purpose, and even allows it to flex into a self-defense role if necessary. Again, non-practical: the blade is plain beautiful to look at. The organic shape and swedge along the top make the blade very visually appealing.
Durability: The stock of the blade is reasonably thick for its size, but only the spine retains this, as the blade it contoured to reduce weight throughout; combined with the delicate tip, this folder stays firmly in the light-medium duty category: light duty tip, medium duty spine. Additionally, after my time in the ocean (though notably, not the river or lake) the bearing system got filled up with sand and grit. The flipper still opened the knife, but it was noisier, grittier, slower, and took more input (the assist was barely there). This is not a hard use blade. Cutting, light carving, piercing of soft targets: yes. Batoning, heavy grit, chopping, prying: no. This is an EDC knife that will hold up to EDC tasks.
Fit and Finish: It's beautiful. Everything is tight and smooth. The finish is even and understated, and it does not wear easily (I have only scratched it while sharpening). There is no blade play at all. The steel frame and lack of scales makes this knife very slim, and it fits in inconspicuously with everything from cammies to board shorts to a 3 piece suit.
Overall: Best EDC knife I have ever experienced. Only true drawback is the slick handle material, which is necessary to keep it thin. For field use, I take a bigger folder and often a fixed blade, but for my everyday life from the streets to the beach, this is the knife for me.
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Reviews with images
Best pocket know with assist opening
Has been my pocket knife for over a year. Some of the black has started to wear off, but still a handsome knife. Still razor sharp as I clean it daily and "steel" sharpen each week. I test by slicing down a sheet of paper to ensure I got the edge all the length is smooth. Assist works amazing, mostly surprises people when I open it so quickly (I get a lot of "now that's a knife!") I don't know serrated so this is perfect knife for me. After collecting some pocket fuzz, you might find the opened knife does not "lock" so be careful and clean the locking area to remove pocket fuzz, then it works great. Seems tough but I don't use it as a screwdriver or hatchet. Low to no maintence, camped with it.
