Artisan Biome

Pomsbz

Pomsbz

Joined
Jul 31, 2015
Messages
2,556
Any thoughts? I'm rather tempted. I like modern slipjoints. This seems to be simple, cheap (<$40) and a good design both aesthetically and ergonomically.

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I've no idea about the company though. Are they any good?
 
I don't own any Artisan but I've handled quite a few of their blades. They seemed quite good for the money.

Artisan Cultery is part of the "newer" wave of *better* made Chinese companies along with CJRB (Artisans budget line), CIVIVI (WEs budget line), and Bestech among others.

*better* is a subjective term but it seems the above listed companies produce a good product for the $ based on what I've read on forums, handled in person, and yt reviews.

It's a good looking knife. I think it's worth a shot for $40 with 14C27N blade steel.
 
Rich S said:
Where can I get one besides their website?
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Their website is the only place I found it too. The website also had a few knives not listed at many of the big sites. Left over sprint runs? Discontinued models? Small batches that they didn't want to ship to distributors? Not sure, I'm guessing.
 
I have an Artisan Cutlery Waistline, and maybe one or two others if I thought about it harder. It is one of the budget ones, not the $100 plus models, and it has nice fit and finish. It came sharp and stays sharp, and even though it seems every budget blade from China is at least D2, it performs well. I would say to get it if it interests you at all.
 
I’ve been waiting for an Artisan to call to me and I think this might be the one. Not sure how I missed this thread the first time around, but thanks for bumping it miso2 miso2 !

I think I’ll wait until they make it to a BF supporting dealer and then I’ll grab either a black or blue G10 version (looks like it’ll be about $10 cheaper that way too).
 
Went on an Artisan binge when I started working from home back in March. But I haven't seen the slip joint yet.

They make a decent knife. There's a non supporting dealer that gets special factory orders made for them.
I picked up a few models with copper and bronze scales.

The D2 seems to be pretty good from the minimal use I've given them. I cut up some heavy cardboard boxes and the blade remained shaving sharp.
 
JPD1998 said:
Went on an Artisan binge when I started working from home back in March. But I haven't seen the slip joint yet.

They make a decent knife. There's a non supporting dealer that gets special factory orders made for them.
I picked up a few models with copper and bronze scales.

The D2 seems to be pretty good from the minimal use I've given them. I cut up some heavy cardboard boxes and the blade remained shaving sharp.
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Are these then usually short runs?
 
I don’t know how many they contract for, but you can only get them from one dealer.
Right now some are out of stock, but they have a few models in stock.
They have about 5 or 6 different Artisan models that are usually scaled in G10, scaled with brass, bronze and copper.
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I picked one up. In the minutes I spent looking at the carbon fibre one at BHQ, it went from available to sold-out. Only the black G-10 was left, so I settled on that.

It's a very nice knife, well worth the mere $30 ($35.55 after shipping+tax). It's absolutely symmetrical, something which many, many higher priced slipjoint (both traditional and modern) knives I've seen aren't. Handle is slightly rounded (the carbon fibre one looks flat, don't know if it is or not) and comfortable, and just long enough for all 4 fingers of my medium-large hands to grab.

Pull is a bit light for my preferences, the only gripe I can really have about it. Maybe a 3½-4 (on a scale of 1-10, 5 being an ALOX SAK), and easily pinchable. The pull is light, but it's OK for what the knife is. One advantage of the light pull is that I can actually open the knife one-handed, albeit rather awkwardly. It has a half-stop, but it's only slightly more than a slight speedbump on opening, and barely but adequately functional as a safety for closing one-handed. Rather than a kick like many slipjoints have, there's an internal stop-pin preventing the blade from hitting the spring upon closing with zero possibility of bounce.

Blade is flat ground, pretty thin behind the edge, and shaving sharp out of the box. 12C27N is perfectly good for this type of knife, especially at this price, and since it's not exactly a hard-use knife, the fine grain and ease of sharpening of this steel might be preferred by some (myself included) for simplicitiy in maintaining a razor sharp edge for daily light use. Zero side-to-side blade wobble and spring is flush with the handles in open and closed position (a hair proud at half-stop, but that's irrelevant).

Well worth the cost from BladeHQ, but I'd also say it's worth the under $50 price (shipped) from Artisan if you absolutely must have the blue or ghost G-10 or CF that are sold-out at BHQ.
 
I just noticed that BHQ gave me a really nice sticker with my Artisan Biome. It's a Benchmade sticker, and I didn't order a Benchmade, but it was still nice of them. If I had a car I'd put it in the window.
 
Planterz said:
I just noticed that BHQ gave me a really nice sticker with my Artisan Biome. It's a Benchmade sticker, and I didn't order a Benchmade, but it was still nice of them. If I had a car I'd put it in the window.
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Thanks for posting, you just reminded me about these things! @KnifeCenter currently has all versions of this knife in stock for under $30 with free shipping (no minimum purchase required). That was just too good to pass up (blue/gray G10 on the way)!
 
Fixall said:
Thanks for posting, you just reminded me about these things! @KnifeCenter currently has all versions of this knife in stock for under $30 with free shipping (no minimum purchase required). That was just too good to pass up (blue/gray G10 on the way)!
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Well, now I've got a natural G-10 and a carbon fibre one on the way too.
 
Fixall said:
Thanks for posting, you just reminded me about these things! @KnifeCenter currently has all versions of this knife in stock for under $30 with free shipping (no minimum purchase required). That was just too good to pass up (blue/gray G10 on the way)!
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Snap! Thanks for the heads up.

There is a lot to like about this knife from all reports. Good quality, good EDC steel, looks great, good price. It's perhaps the best modern and updated representation I've seen of everything the slipjoint pocket knife represented in the past. Far more than the recently M390 slipjoint knives at $100 or more or limited run 1095 steel knives selling at the same price. The Maserin Plow is another contender of course but I like the Biome design and steel better.
 
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Pomsbz said:
Snap! Thanks for the heads up.

There is a lot to like about this knife from all reports. Good quality, good EDC steel, looks great, good price. It's perhaps the best modern and updated representation I've seen of everything the slipjoint pocket knife represented in the past. Far more than the recently M390 slipjoint knives at $100 or more or limited run 1095 steel knives selling at the same price. The Maserin Plow is another contender of course but I like the Biome design and steel better.
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I really do want a Fox Livri. And the new ZT 0235. But the value of the Biome certainly cannot be denied.
 
Pomsbz said:
I want the Libar so I'm with you on that. :D
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Yeah, that's a sexy looking knife. Even though honestly the Livri's blade is decidedly less attractive, it is far more utilitarian for my uses and preference. Besides, if I want to carry a premium small clip point slipjoint, I have my Dunlap for that.:cool:

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