AFAustin
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2004
- Messages
- 2,492
I confess to a weakness for the nicer traditional type knives, which for me usually means Bark River fixed blades and GEC folders. But it is fun---not to mention a nice break for the wallet--- to sample from time to time what's available in the budget category.
I recently have had a notion for single blade spearpoint folders, in the 3.5" range, of which, surprisingly to me, there aren't very many. So, when I came across the Padre Jr., a 3.5" lockback model in Rosewood, I picked one up---for the princely sum of less than $16 shipped. It is from Boker's Magnum line, which I understand is lowest on the Boker totem pole, so my expectations were modest.
I have to say I was pleased with the Padre Jr. right out of the box. The size and feel were just about right. I was impressed with how much blade is packed into the compact frame, and the Rosewood scales are very attractive. Functionality is good---easy pinch open and the lockback is solid---virtually no blade play.
There are plenty of minor nits if you want to pick them---the liners protrude a bit from the scales, there are some small gaps between the spring and liners, one of the pins is a bit proud, and the grind/sharpness from the factory was mediocre. But, honestly, we have all seen these issues in knives costing several times as much.
I was a little concerned about the steel in that it is advertised as "440", which I understand usually means it's not 440C and more likely 440A. But it has sharpened up nicely on my WorkSharp and taken a keen polished edge. I haven't given it much of a trial yet, but for a few routine chores it has done fine, and touched up easily.
I had a small gripe with the tip grind---it was very thick. So, I set about with the WorkSharp to thin it out and grind a swedge of sorts. It took me a while but in the end came out pretty well. My "before" pic below is a poor one, my apologies. But the "after" is better and you can see that the tip now has a slimmer profile.
In sum, this is a nice little knife, and for $16 a real bargain. Its virtues---very useful size and shape, great blade-to-handle ratio, easily sharpened, nice Rosewood scales, and solid lockup---outweigh the minor issues. The longer term steel performance remains to be seen, but so far at least, this seems like a lot of good knife for the money.
Andrew
"Before" pics:
"After" pics:
I recently have had a notion for single blade spearpoint folders, in the 3.5" range, of which, surprisingly to me, there aren't very many. So, when I came across the Padre Jr., a 3.5" lockback model in Rosewood, I picked one up---for the princely sum of less than $16 shipped. It is from Boker's Magnum line, which I understand is lowest on the Boker totem pole, so my expectations were modest.
I have to say I was pleased with the Padre Jr. right out of the box. The size and feel were just about right. I was impressed with how much blade is packed into the compact frame, and the Rosewood scales are very attractive. Functionality is good---easy pinch open and the lockback is solid---virtually no blade play.
There are plenty of minor nits if you want to pick them---the liners protrude a bit from the scales, there are some small gaps between the spring and liners, one of the pins is a bit proud, and the grind/sharpness from the factory was mediocre. But, honestly, we have all seen these issues in knives costing several times as much.
I was a little concerned about the steel in that it is advertised as "440", which I understand usually means it's not 440C and more likely 440A. But it has sharpened up nicely on my WorkSharp and taken a keen polished edge. I haven't given it much of a trial yet, but for a few routine chores it has done fine, and touched up easily.
I had a small gripe with the tip grind---it was very thick. So, I set about with the WorkSharp to thin it out and grind a swedge of sorts. It took me a while but in the end came out pretty well. My "before" pic below is a poor one, my apologies. But the "after" is better and you can see that the tip now has a slimmer profile.
In sum, this is a nice little knife, and for $16 a real bargain. Its virtues---very useful size and shape, great blade-to-handle ratio, easily sharpened, nice Rosewood scales, and solid lockup---outweigh the minor issues. The longer term steel performance remains to be seen, but so far at least, this seems like a lot of good knife for the money.
Andrew
"Before" pics:
"After" pics: