Eka W11

[ubbe]

Tested the new W11 from EKA, a really nice knife made of Sandvik 12c27 steel and bubinga wood.

The knife comes with a blade length of 111 mm thats 4mm thick, total length is 230mm
The blade has grooves on the upper half of the back so the thumb doesn´t slip. I liked the ergonomics, gave a good grip when carving thru wood. The blade kept it´s edge even after some serious chopping of branches for my temporary bivac.
Got this knife from a friend but the price is somewhere around 70$-80$. Something has happend to the price setting of EKA knives, they have gotten more expensive.
Anybody out there who has some experience with eka knives?

 

[brownshoe]

I have an Eka folder with a button lock release (100 or 110 model). Eka is not widely distributed in USA. The only commercial outlet I've seen is Chai cutlery (now defunct) which had a small gentleman's pocket knife for about $20.

My friend bought my knife in Sweden and paid the equivalent of about $60. He indicated that knives in Sweden were not cheap. Some finish, norwegian, swedish fixed blades were actually a less expensive from US outlets than in the Swedish knife shop he visits.

My knife is fine, with the same stainless Sandivick steel as yours. My only complaint is the plastic handle separated a little after being dropped on concrete. It's opened only a little bit and the knife is still fully functional. The button lock is unique, never seen it on another knife. The blade is enclosed by the handle. You push a button and it opens about 8mm to reveal a nail nick. However, it also can be flicked open as quick as a switch blade. When open, it has a tang lock that is unlocked with the same button. The model is now discontinued. The steel takes a good edge. They sell some knives in a blued carbon steel, my model comes with both steels. The blued carbon steel doesn't rust too much and takes a good edge. Holds it better than their stainless.

They have a website and converse in English. Their customer service woman is nice and will tell you all she can.