I got my new D3V 4.1 a few months ago and I love the feel of the knife. The handle and microtextured micarta scales are excellent. It fits my large/xl hand very well and is very comfortable to use. After long use, like all of my other GSOs, I don't have any hot spots. The new 4.1 is also very well balanced and feels good in all of the different ways you can grip the knife. The factory edge works for me, the steel is also excellent and it holds an edge as advertised. I don't know how easy or hard to sharpen it yet but it does seem to take a touch up on a strop well. It's also a great looking knife and, as always, I love the sheath.
As a stand alone knife or part of a kit the new 4.1 is excellent. It would be a great choice for someone's first S!K or as a companion to one of the larger or smaller S!Ks. For people who like larger EDCs this could be a perfect knife, maybe even better than the 4.7?!? To be frank I think it's an excellent substitute for the INFIrat and SR101 Rat if you don't need or like a choil and a less expensive and natural competitor to the Busse SoB. Nothing against Busse both of these are excellent knives in excellent steel. I also have a bunch of them too! When I get some time I'll test it against the LT Wright GNS, INFIRat, SoB, Viper Golia, Blackheart Gunner 10 and the 4.7.
My only issue with the new 4.1 is that it's a little too close to the 4.7. It's a "tweener" knife for me. The new 4.1 has more weight and thus has more power than the old one but if I want more power I'd go up a size or two the the 4.7 or 5.1. The new 4.1 feels more like a midsize knife in the "if I had 1 knife" category. Whereas the old 4.1 feels more like a smaller backup knife and more of an EDC and day hike knife. In this midsize category my hands down go to is my 5.1 with the 4.7 being a close second.
My initial conclusion is that, unfortunately, this knife is a bit of a disappointment. The new 4.1 will not be my go to EDC. I have a last run original 4.1 in 3v with microtextured linen micarta scales that works very well and will remain my primary EDC and smaller task knife. I state this with bias, I've been using the old 4.1 for years. I got my first one in person from Guy at his old shop in Gburg PA shortly after the first 4.1 started shipping. The old 4.1 is one of my favorite all time knives and I have hundreds of hours on them. This with the fact that I have a TON of S!Ks & I feel like the new 4.1 is more of a 4.1.5 or a 4.6.5 meaning it's bigger and heavier than the old 4.1 but a little smaller and lighter than the 4.7. My first grab instincts would be the old 4.1 for smaller and 5.1 for med and 7/7 for larger for the field. For carving at the house would be a 4.7 or a 5.1 for med (depending on what I am working on) and the old 4.1 for smaller work. My 3.5 and Necker II for work around the house and on the boat. My 5.1, 7/7 and or 10 for chopping, again depending on the job and my old 4.1 for day hikes and EDC as described above. Lastly the new 4.1 is much like my beloved but underutilized 5.0, too big for small work too small for big work because I have other S!Ks that are better suited for either kind of job. This makes the new 4.1 (and my 5.0) as the odd man out leaving me with a 1st world problem and a pity party starring music from the world's smallest violin.
