Knife came early. This was my first time ordering from Knife Center and I'm very pleased. Someone called me on Saturday morning to verify my address before shipping that day. Utah has a weird grid address system that worries shippers often enough.
Custom Knife Factory Anton Malyshev ELF Flipper
Collaboration between Anton MalyShev and Custom Knife Factory in Russia.
They now have a US distributor here in the United States, which his great because otherwise shipping would cost $60 from Russia.
Specs as supplied by the manufacturer
Blade Length: 4.5" (115 mm)
Cutting Edge: 4.3125" (110 mm)
Blade Steel: S35VN Stainless Steel
Thickness: 0.135" (3.4 mm)
Overall Length: 9.60" (244 mm)
Closed Length: 5.4375" (138 mm)
Handle Material: Carbon Fiber Face Scale with Titanium Frame Lock
Weight: 5.8 oz. (165 g)
Made in Moscow, Russia
Overall Impression: Very good. Im a bit disenchanted with the whole Midtech concept as it is a description of a build process and not a designation of quality, even if the knife community has adopted that connotation, of which Ive also been guilty. But, Id put it against Zero Tolerance, Tiachung Spydercos, Reate Knives and Lionsteel. Fit and finish are all excellent, the action is smooth, although a bit gritty at the moment.
Basically its this, if you have been wanting another Zero Tolerance with over a 4 inch blade, this is the knife for you. And since its a limited run of 200, you probably want to get one sooner rather than later.
Blade shape is an interesting drop point with a hump, quite similar to the Reate Hills among others. Wonderfully sharp with nice clean lines, even grinds and an attractive stonewash. Markings on the blade are quite minimal, simply designating CNF and S35VN, as to not distract from the aesthetics and leave the rest of the details to those in the know.
Carbon fiber is nicely 3D machined to give various grip options on the large handle, either further forward or farther back on the knife. The carbon fiber isnt polished, it has a bit more of a tactile feel inspiring more confidence in a slip free grip, that coupled with the nicely chamfered edges give it a great feel in hand. Even though the knife is 5.8 oz, the weight is very evenly distributed over the 9.6 inches giving it great balance and making it feel like a 4 oz knife in use.
The titanium side shares some of the nice 3D machining as the CF side, but not to the same extent. The CF side has a few additional peaks and valleys for added comfort. You can see the faint lines of the 3D maching marks on the Ti side, and I wish they would have made them a bit deeper and more prominent to give additional visual detail and whatever minimal traction can be gained from deeper machining marks.
The hardware includes a double row bearing system, satined Torx pivot and screws. The pocket clip is a wonderfully 3D machined titanium pocket clip that sits very flush with the knife and doesnt impede the hand in a nice grip towards the butt of the knife. The back spacer is partially enclosed titanium with a nice bronze color for contrast to the Ti.
Lockup is nice and solid at 40% with a stainless steel lock insert, no stick as you would expect. There is a lockbar relief cutout on both side of the frames to allow your thumb in there without too much trouble; the lockside is a tiny bit sharp, but nothing tragic.
Flipping action is quite impressive for a knife that is 4.5 inches, flies out with authority and locks up solid every time. You can use the light-switch or push-down method with equal success.
Now, since this knife is over 4.5 inches and well built, it could potentially serve well as a tactical knife, but would greatly benefit from jimping on the spine of the blade. I feel the flipper tab would also benefit from jimping as my finger has slipped off a few times while opening the knife.
In summation, its a very well designed and executed knife from Custom Knife Factory and Anton Malyshev. The price is quite fair and considering there will only be 200 made, it compares well against the Limited Edition Zero Tolerance knives that have been in very high demand over the last few years. Custom knife factory is now very much on my radar and I love that they collaborate with knife makers from that side of the world as their offerings are unique and a bit diverse from the US based companies. I hope they produce more in the Sub $400 price range and continue to supply their US distributor; if thats the case, this wont be my last by any means.
Here are a few pictures. Once I got the ZT 0600 out for a comparison pic, I noticed the two are quite similar in size and slightly edge each other out in various areas. Weight on my scale for the ELF was 5.9 oz and the ZT 0600 was 7.25 oz.
Also put together a Video Review in HD.
[video=youtube_share;yDKq7vArNB8]http://youtu.be/yDKq7vArNB8[/video]
