S-TEC7.25" Karambit w/ G10 Handle & Quick Deploy Sheath

First off, I've had this knife for 8+ months, I carry it daily along with my endura 4 and para 3 Spyderco knives. For the price I love this thing, the quick deploy is delightful, still works. knife edge retention is about what you can expect from a knife that's 20$, it would be short sided and idiotic for me to complain that it doesn't hold up as well as my endura (vg10 steel)...If you don't know how to sharpen or pull it across a "V" sharpener then probably not the knife for you...but that says more about you than it says about the knife. I recommend the smiths pocket diamond sharpener, 2 passes on the conical honing end and it's back to a razor. The guy that posted not 1 but 2 videos of the knife failing to fold...should stay away from sharp objects, for one the way he attempts to fold the blade back in is a great way to cut yourself....were it possible to just press the blade into a table to close it, which it isn't(that would be a terrible design). The knife has a liner locker....so trying to "close" it with blunt force is an excercise in futility along with being equal parts laughable and depressing. I hope someday he figures it out, and changes his review, operator error is a poor reason to leave a 1 star review....you got outsmarted by a 20$ knife, I'm sorry you didn't watch the handful of other videos showing the action for both deploying and folding/sheathing the knife. For the people saying the blade became so loose it wouldn't be safe to continue using because the liner locker wasn't catching....buy a screwdriver set for electronics, 120 pieces with all the torq/Philip/Allen tips you will ever need to tighten your knife...or just throw the knife away because basic knife maintenance is beneath you and you would rather write a scathing 1 star review than turn a screwdriver a half rotation. Might I recommend a fixed blade, mayhaps one made of rubber, wouldn't want you to hurt yourself. And last, the people that said the belt clip was garbage....I'm sorry but do you not have a screw driver either? Once you understand the basics of the buffer rings and one screw threading into the "bigger" hollow center "screw", this sheath has a plethera of different builds for any kind of deployment, direction, or hand dominance preference....and for the likely same handful of folks that couldn't keep it clipped on their belt or couldn't open it to clip to their belt....it has a locking mechanism, slide it over and push the release, if it doesn't depress you slid the lock the wrong way, then once you have it clipped, I recommend clipping the sheath on a belt that isn't already securely fastened around your waisted, unfasten your belt, leave it in the loops but get some slack wherever you intend to attach, press until it clicks, if it won't click....you guessed it, it's locked and you just have to slide it 1/4" to the other side, *click*....oh whats this here? You can lock it once it's attached to keep it from bumping and some how miracling it's way off your belt? Astounding! Also in case this wasn't obvious, okay, you're right, clearly it wasn't...there are little black bars of plastic that come with the clip....you may be wondering why? the clip can fit on a belt around 1.5" wide, if yours doesn't, it's because you have those little black retention bars already installed on the clip simply pull em out, you can also use them to hike the sheath up on a narrower belt or allow it to sit lower on your waist...play around with it see what works best. Pro tip: if you can't get the retention bar out by pulling on it, don't bend it back and forth simply turn the clip so the back of the retention baris facing you, using a small straight blade press out the center fastener of the retention bar...viola.It's a great knife with a unique deployment action that I haven't found on any other knife from any other knife maker, I would love to know if someone is doing it better, I'm aware of the Emerson wave on Fox karambits, but this is a different action for folks who like the kydex sheath and the ability to adjust directional deployment.

I really didn't know what to expect when I bought this knife. All I know is.....auto deployment holster? Cool. And that's really the only point to buying this thing. For the cool factor. Really, what is the real benefit to having a Karambit style knife to the average non-ninja type person? It's not practical in everyday use like a pocket knife. And, really, unless you are trained to use this thing in combat, it's useless in a self defense situation. Plus, I am not sure i'd want this thing up on the evidence bench in a courtroom in a trial investigating a self defense situation. Anything scary looking, will definitely NOT be in your favor in those situations. With all that being said, let me say that it's a cool looking knife. And pulling it out of the holster is really cool too. Provided you pull it swiftly enough, it does snap out and lock. And if you handle it right, it should snap out into your hand perfectly (make sure you put your index finger through the loop and keep your hand open when you remove it from the holster). The black blade is nice looking. It's fairly sharp. But if you are going to do practical things with it, get it sharpened professionally first. But like I mentioned earlier, it is highly impractical to use this thing in every day applications. It's just awkward to try and cut with at best. So, if you are a knife collector, this is definitely worth the coin to add to your collection as being a cool toy. Also, one more thing to mention. There are absolutely NO instructions on how to assemble the holster belt attachment. It's not incredibly hard to figure out, but just a forewarning. You WILL spend a few minutes trying to figure out how it goes together. And it's also worth mentioning, you will need a torx bit set to put on the belt clip it also comes with. Well, that's it! Review done! Now stop reading and buy this thing. It's neat. =)

Keeping in mind that this is a $20 knife, it delivers good value for the money. The G10 handle is nice, but screwing the belt clip into mine was a complete fail. There was a lack of a torqx bit wrench to install the 3 tiny screws that hold the clip onto either side of the knife. After locating a microscopic torqx bit to install the clip, I wound up stripping out the handle where it screws in as they are not threaded from the factory and the holes are not small enough for the screws to cut adequate threads into the G10 handle. The end result is a pocket clip that is firmly secured by one of the 3 screws leaving a clip that wobbles side to side.The liner lock is flimsy and does not pop into lock all the time due to poor fitment and lack of spring force to move it into place upon opening. Drawing the blade from the holster worked well, but I discovered deploying the bade with your thumb does not let the lock engage. This is not safe and could lead to a deep cut on your finger.Overall finish is decent and the blade is sharp AF. Cutting paper into thin slices is pretty effortless.Would I trust this Karambit in a situation? It certainly deploys fast, but the sturdiness of the holster remains to be proven. The mechanism that pulls the blade open certainly looks prone to wear. Such wear would cause the blade openers to slip out of the holster instead of gripping and opening the blade. The liner lock sure looks a bit questionable. I like my digits so a quick inspection prior to use to make sure it engaged is a good idea. The blade itself has a little flex in it when put in a vise and given a little deflection. Not much but it is there. Its not cheap steel but it is made in China where metal quality seems to be hit and miss. For light duty use and $20 its sure to deliver good value for the money but everything about its build would be questionable for any heavy duty use.So to sum it up...PROS : Looks good, sharp AF, quick deploying blade when drawn from holster. G10 grip.CONS: Questionable liner lock. questionable blade strength, poor fitment of belt clip.