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- Jul 7, 2013
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I participated in Riley12's One Knife Challenge, and the knife I chose to be my only knife for the month of March was my Companion from Evans Knife & Tool. I got a lot of use out of it and now consider myself qualified to write a proper review.
Let me begin by stating that the Companion is a huge departure for me in terms of knife carry. It's a lot of things I don't usually carry: semi custom, S35VN steel, and saber ground...and it's a fixed blade I often belt carried! I was meant to try something different for the aforementioned challenge, and so I did...and boy, did I like it!
INTENDED USE
I'm going to be very clear about this: the Companion is a heavy duty EDC fixed blade. It's small, light, tough, and meant, as per its namesake, to be a fixed blade you can take anywhere and use for any task. It is not (in my opinion) a fighting knife of any sort. The Companion's calling is to be the most reliable all-purpose utility knife you own.
ERGONOMICS
The Companion's handle features a curvature conducive to comfort. It just feels good in the hand, and the unique jimping does as well. Unfortunately, neither the scales nor the jimping provide much in the way of traction, but your hand won't be slipping around, either. The carbon fiber scales are completely smooth, while the G-10 scales have some light texturing and offer slight traction.
The handle is smallish, and I don't recommend it for people with gorilla mitts. It is, however, completely devoid of hot spots even when the knife is used for hard cutting tasks. The traction provided by the jimping does provide enough purchase to somewhat improve your control over the edge. Unlike many "skeleton knives", the Companion is comfortable without scales as well, but if you want to carry it this way you'll need a new sheath.
CUTTING PERFORMANCE
In my opinion, the Companion excels as a shallow slicer, and that's what it does best. While future versions will be FFG, the original Companion is a saber ground knife, and the flats of the grind can get in the way of shearing cuts, making them difficult and perhaps even fooling you into thinking the knife needs sharpening. The knife still gets the job done, but it isn't the best for every cutting task. The point of the knife is very sharp and very helpful. Overall, the knife is a reliable if not the most efficient cutter. The saber grind does have its benefits, which leads me to my next talking point...
DURABILITY
I haven't put the Companion through a lot of hard use, but it doesn't take genius to figure out that this knife is tough as nails. It features a skeletonized full tang, a saber grind, a point that is sharp but not especially narrow, and S35VN steel. This knife can handle your cutting task. The scales are either G-10 or carbon fiber, both strong materials, and the screws are huge, making for an overall tough little knife.
CARRY
The Companion is a very easy knife to carry in a variety of ways. It can easily be neck carried, but my preference is belt carry as pictured. This is easily the most comfortable fixed blade I've ever carried. It also lends itself very well to pocket carry. The Companion is slim and lightweight.
The included sheath from Halestorm Custom Kydex comes with no attachment method, and it's up to the user to figure out what works best for them. While openly belt carried in a liberal Canadian city on public transit and elsewhere, I've never had a problem with the police or anyone else. It's not a particularly intimidating knife.
The Companion is true to its namesake and is easy to take anywhere. The sheath is superb, and the knife doesn't wiggle in it. Great job, Ronnie!
MAINTENANCE
The Companion is an easy knife to maintain. In the entire month of March I've never had to sharpen it once, though I did touch up the edge with a honing rod. I still haven't sharpened it since and its edge is still excellent.
Don't treat this well-crafted piece of S35VN like H1, or you will be disappointed and it will rust on you. Hone or strop it once in a while and check under the scales for discoloration every now and then, and you should be just fine. Those scales are not fun to remove, however, without both a hex key and a wide flathead (the included tool sucks).
VALUE
For a midtech, the original Companion was offered at a great price, and it was some of the least expensive S35VN around. This knife will probably outlast me, and I will pass it down to my eventual child one day as "Daddy's favorite knife". The quality vs price ratio is off the charts. Now, up here in Canada, it's not so cheap; I paid around $180 CAD for mine. Still totally worth it.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My favorite fixed blade, bar none. As of writing, this particular model is discontinued, but Brian Evans is still on his game and is releasing a new USA-produced model, full flat ground out of CPM-20CV steel. I probably won't be getting one because I'm a broke college student, but I am regardless very happy with my knife. It's going to see many more years of carry and use. Brian Evans did a great job.
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