- Joined
- Aug 27, 2004
- Messages
- 12,955
I first saw the Garra in the form of the Garra II in the recent Tactical Knives issue and thought to myself that I'd like to have one. I was not thrilled at the Taiwan made point of creation but the AUS8 blade didn't bother me at all. Once I read the article and got an idea of the price point I started shopping. Turns out to my complete satisfaction I discovered they also made a Garra that is S30V and made in the USA. Now that I liked and I fortunately found one on Ebay for a great price. It still ran about double what the Taiwan folder would run but its just what I wanted so thats what I snagged with a buy it now.
It arrived this morning and I can't say I am disappointed at all with this folder folks! This is a darn well built knife with some .065" thick beefy liners in it! I have always been attracted to the looks of Karambit type folders but they never really serve much of a purpose for guys like me that are not focused on the needs they were designed for. This one actually is still a folder capable of doing much the same job in defense as the K-Bit but it still has some 'folder utility' to it by design and I really like that a lot among some other things.
As many of my friends know I'm not a big fan of liner locks that much even though I own several but when the liner lock has a built in choil like this one does I don't mind it at all and find that many times I like them and trust them just as much as a frame lock. That choil is like an added insurance to me and that insurance covers accidental closure on your hand or fingers of course, since its darn hard to close the blade on your hand if your index finger is strapped around it securely in front of the pivot.
I have not used this one much yet but it arrived in perfect condition with a razor sharp edge a perfectly centered blade when closed, and a rather unique pocket clip design that I had not seen before. It is tapped for right hand carry only, for tip up or tip down carry and of course like most liner locks it shipped in the tip down carry mode which I promptly changed right away.
To flip the clip you simply unscrew the two screws using a small Phillips head screw driver like the one found on my Kershaw key ring tool and you then place the screws in on the other side after flipping the clip over and place the two stand offs on the screws and screw it down. The ball bearing on the end of the clip (see side profile) sticks out in equal amounts on both sides. It works quite well.
The folder weighs in on my digital postal scale at 4.3 ounces. It measures closed just shy of 4.5" so its plenty to hold and fits the hand perfectly making it very nice the way it curves. Michael Janich designed this puppy and its really a great design from ground up. The spine of the folder is closed not open and the blade whips out quite well but does not flick open that well since the detent holds as it should to prevent gravity opening. (something not seen often enough these days on liner and frame lock models in my opinion) The blade on my model measures 3 and 1/16" but the cutting edge of course is less at 2.5" which overall sits very well with me and makes the folder look balanced even though the dimensions changed with a choil added. The grips are textured black G10 akin to what you see on Spyderco or Emerson knives and the overall fit and finish of the model is A1 all the way through. I have not found fault with this folder.
I know very little about this company other than the fact that BlackHawk is a huge Police officer supply that bought MOD (Master of Defense) a while back. This model is BlackHawks version of the MOD CaraCara but if I'm not mistaken its a lower priced version than the original MOD. If any of you guys have a CaraCara model from MOD please post it. I'd like to note any differences.
I looked for a plain edge in this folder but did not see but one and this is it! I feel its a keeper for sure. You folks that like the Karambit would probably love this folder. Its as nice as many I've paid a whole lot more for than a mere $144 plus shipping. I've enhanced the one side profile shot here so if it appears a bit washed out it was done to lighten it up and bring out the lock contact and clip better for you. I used my flat bed scanner for these. Sorry but my camera batteries are dead again as usual so these will have to do.
STR
It arrived this morning and I can't say I am disappointed at all with this folder folks! This is a darn well built knife with some .065" thick beefy liners in it! I have always been attracted to the looks of Karambit type folders but they never really serve much of a purpose for guys like me that are not focused on the needs they were designed for. This one actually is still a folder capable of doing much the same job in defense as the K-Bit but it still has some 'folder utility' to it by design and I really like that a lot among some other things.
As many of my friends know I'm not a big fan of liner locks that much even though I own several but when the liner lock has a built in choil like this one does I don't mind it at all and find that many times I like them and trust them just as much as a frame lock. That choil is like an added insurance to me and that insurance covers accidental closure on your hand or fingers of course, since its darn hard to close the blade on your hand if your index finger is strapped around it securely in front of the pivot.
I have not used this one much yet but it arrived in perfect condition with a razor sharp edge a perfectly centered blade when closed, and a rather unique pocket clip design that I had not seen before. It is tapped for right hand carry only, for tip up or tip down carry and of course like most liner locks it shipped in the tip down carry mode which I promptly changed right away.
To flip the clip you simply unscrew the two screws using a small Phillips head screw driver like the one found on my Kershaw key ring tool and you then place the screws in on the other side after flipping the clip over and place the two stand offs on the screws and screw it down. The ball bearing on the end of the clip (see side profile) sticks out in equal amounts on both sides. It works quite well. The folder weighs in on my digital postal scale at 4.3 ounces. It measures closed just shy of 4.5" so its plenty to hold and fits the hand perfectly making it very nice the way it curves. Michael Janich designed this puppy and its really a great design from ground up. The spine of the folder is closed not open and the blade whips out quite well but does not flick open that well since the detent holds as it should to prevent gravity opening. (something not seen often enough these days on liner and frame lock models in my opinion) The blade on my model measures 3 and 1/16" but the cutting edge of course is less at 2.5" which overall sits very well with me and makes the folder look balanced even though the dimensions changed with a choil added. The grips are textured black G10 akin to what you see on Spyderco or Emerson knives and the overall fit and finish of the model is A1 all the way through. I have not found fault with this folder.
I know very little about this company other than the fact that BlackHawk is a huge Police officer supply that bought MOD (Master of Defense) a while back. This model is BlackHawks version of the MOD CaraCara but if I'm not mistaken its a lower priced version than the original MOD. If any of you guys have a CaraCara model from MOD please post it. I'd like to note any differences.
I looked for a plain edge in this folder but did not see but one and this is it! I feel its a keeper for sure. You folks that like the Karambit would probably love this folder. Its as nice as many I've paid a whole lot more for than a mere $144 plus shipping. I've enhanced the one side profile shot here so if it appears a bit washed out it was done to lighten it up and bring out the lock contact and clip better for you. I used my flat bed scanner for these. Sorry but my camera batteries are dead again as usual so these will have to do.
STR
