r/knifeclub

Which knife would you Keep, Carry, and Destroy. Here are the contenders.

Left: Sharp by Design Mini Arch Nemesis (Aspirated with blade milling) [M390]

Middle: Holt Outlaw Prestige Grade (ZircuTi Inlay and Collars) [Nicolas Twist Damasteel]

Right: Shirogorov x Igor Oleinikov F95 "Solar System" (Inlay & MRBS) [M390]

Rules:

Keep means it's in a safe. You cannot carry it ever. Just fidget with it.

Carry means it's in your pocket for the day if you plan to touch it at all.

Destory is self explanatory. I imagine the lava and fires of mount doom.

Combat Troodon Delta Frag

I was a bit hesitant on picking up the 50th, and even said that i wouldn't, but the N5 is my favorite model and this was too special to pass up on. It's pretty sick, the packaging was neat, the wooden box gave me pause, and reading all the notes and stuff was nice. The knife itself is something special, it at it's core is just a native 5, but the bone and shiny blade gives it a classic look, the Damascus bolster is very cool, and the “toothed” liners and spine are a nice touch. I took the knife apart and the construction seems to be more delicate than the standard n5, and given the bolster isn’t stainless, this knife will be mostly a collection piece. I did try to swap blades with the 40th anniversary knife, but i couldn’t get the damasteel blade to sit right with the 50th’s handle.. oh well.

This was the biggest purchase made today. More photos to come with the rest of the haul 🤙🏼

Finally snagged a Shaman. Also included are the PM2 and PM3. Finally got the ones I wanted!

Just incredible Reblades by Josh at REK. I love the weight, style, and heft. These knives feel great in the hand and are just so solid. Kudos to those on the swap that made it happen!

An update after my post yesterday asking if I should go to Blade Show West. I went.

Getting there was a bit of a chore as I feel like navigating the 15 in Utah can be a challenge. (Why is every exit and exit only lane?!?) Then finding it was a bit of a challenge, as there was no external signage. However, I figured I was in the right place when I saw a long line of mostly dudes. I know I was in the right place when I realized several of them were casually flipping balis.

The show itself was fun. I got to meet some of my favorite knife makers, the Halperns (of TRM fame)! They were just as delightful as I had hoped. The big makers had some cool displays, but I think I enjoyed the smaller booths more.

I don't have the same disposable income I used to, so I have to be choosy about what I buy. I'm a front flipper fan boy, but those were few and far between. In the end, I came home with two blades I thought were neat-o.

First, the Fox Radius. The lock tickled my fancy! I loved the controlled open and close of the knife. Plus, the Fix USA folks were dandy. They had some beautiful ones in Ti, but I like the wire pocket clip and G10. I guess the design is years old, but it was new to me.

Now the star, at least, for me. I spent more on this than I wanted to, but it's gorgeous, feels amazing in my hand, has a great action, and is a passion project of a guy in my home state. Look at the millwork! The attention to detail, including the faceting around the finger groove and all the radiuses edges, were the final straw that sold me. It is a Midnight Knives Manona and Kyle was great to chat with! Wild to think he finished making this knife on Tuesday.

Anyway, that's my report. I went. I saw. I got to see and handle some amazing knives. I met some cool folks. I came home a little bit poorer.

Here's the thing though, I cannot get a stupid sharp edge. Like yeah it'll cut paper towels and paper, but it has zero bite, barely pops hairs off my arm, while the same treatment on any of my other knife steels it works. Meh.

Regardless it's very buttery to sharpen, extremely comfortable and ergonomic, and my main thing is it's fidgety as fuck. The front flipper works amazingly.

Anyone have some tips for the steel? Is it known to not handle a low angle like say 14 dps for the apex or am I just dumb. I'm assuming the latter.

The only Shaman I won't customize, because it's perfect as-is. SMKW Exclusive S45VN in grey micarta. Smooth as buttah.

What's your Friday carry?

Voodoo doll. I like this much more than I expected.

I recently received my Hog House Model T Gen 2 in Fade Honeycomb from Recon1 and I’m really happy with the knife overall.

However, I noticed two things I wanted to ask about:

1. Line in the Fade Honeycomb Milling Pattern
There’s a noticeable line near the end of the handle, around where the blade tip rests when closed. It almost looks like a machining mark or toolpath transition. (See pics)

I reached out to Recon1 and they confirmed that another customer had asked about the same thing. According to them, Hog House confirmed that the line is intentional and part of the design.

For those who own a Model T Gen 2 with the Fade Honeycomb pattern, does yours have this same line? I’m curious whether it’s consistent across all examples or varies between knives.

2. Certificate of Authenticity – Blade Steel
I also noticed that my COA simply lists the blade material as “Steel” rather than “RWL34.”
Recon1 explained that this is intentional and related to customs procedures when importing the knives from Finland. Apparently, using the generic designation helps streamline customs processing and ensures the correct duty classification.

Have other owners received COAs listing just “Steel,” or do some specifically say “RWL34”?

I’m attaching photos of both the milling line and the COA.

Would love to hear whether your experiences align with what Recon1 shared or if you’ve seen anything different. Thanks!

SOG S1 Bowie - I bought this well over 20 years ago for my dad. He kept it in the box, save for an oil massage or two…He gifted it back to me a few years ago and I had no clue what the collector value was - I paid $199 back then. It is NIB, even has the newspaper in the blade sleeve and the little catalog. Are these really that desirable???

Hello knife enjoyers I hope your Thursday is going well! Sold nearly my whole collection a ways back, and am looking for more specific knives that fill my needs as a lefty. All designs welcome. Ambi or actual lefty is fine, but I prefer fully left handed. Slip joints, back locks, cross bar locks, button locks, frame and liner locks, Super lock/shark lock, etc all totally acceptable. I dislike Kunwu's design language. Things ive tried and liked in the past: various spyderco, various benchmade, various microtech autos and ram locks, CRK, ad20.5, we vision r.

Things I didn't like: righty frame locks with reversible clips, the "detent" on most button locks.

Design wise i love drop points, anything with a harpoon, wharnies, japanese tantos. I have a ronin 2 fixied blade and yojumbo on the way to test out.

I like carbon fiber and titanium the most for materials but g10 and micarta rule as well. I tend to prefer larger knives but I love a good mini too! Budget is max $650 but would prefer half that or less. Any suggestions welcome ive been away from the game so I need recs. Have a wonderful day! (Pic for tax)

The real question is, can I stop myself from doing it anyway?

Small Inkosi Insingo in tumbled S45VN, sandblasted handle, and a 2023 Blade Show bead & lanyard. SIN-1022, born May 18 2023.

Found it still new in box from Tactical Elements, how it never sold is beyond me. Wasn’t sure about them at first, never seen them mentioned here and their site looks a bit sketchy, so had to do some googling to check if they were legit. Shoutout their customer service though, smooth anti fraud verification since it was my first purchase, friendly rep, and even put some stickers, mints and band aids(lmao) in the box.

Compared to my Civivi Vision FG and WE Roxi 3, the fit on this is insane, people really aren’t exaggerating their tight tolerances. Such a lovely piece of craftsmanship. I was even impressed with the attention to detail of the packaging, from the nice branded microfiber cloth to the fancy paper stock the info package is printed on lol.

I think my only critiques will end up being the pocket clip, and the tease of a front flipper tab. The clip far thinner than I would prefer, so I can feel it digging into my middle finger when opening/closing mainly. The blade is clearly not designed to be a front flipper, but the little tab at the end of the jimping is just enough for me to want to use it 😭. Also I don’t understand the hate on the thumb studs, but granted, I’ve only been playing with it for an hour.

This knife makes my OCD very pleased all in all. Id put it at a 9/10, and i’m not sure it’s even fair to deduct that point for the pocket clip and front flipper qualm, especially since they’re completely personal preference, and the clip can easily be swapped.

All that milling 😍

• Hog House Model T Gen 2
• R&H Knives Tasca 2 Gen 2
• Grimsmo Norseman
• Microtech Socom Ram-Lok

The Microtech is a bit out of place, but still a great knife