(Fox) Karambits - A good compliment?

G

Grim.

Joined
Jul 10, 2014
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40
I'm not nearly the knife enthusiast as I am to guns. However, the more I look, the more I want. It's a curse, but it's mine to bear I suppose.

A few months back, I received a KaBar full size from my brother as a birthday gift. It's a fantastic show and work knife. I love KaBar, they make a fantastic looking, functional knife. It's just not practical to carry to work, around town or in the park. You catch a fair bit of attention and for some of us, that's not something we're keen on.

A few months back I was watching a Funker Tac. video with Doug Marcaida, who highly recommends the Fox 599. Of course, I look into buying one, it looks nice, it sounds nice, and it fits my EDC needs. Although, as experienced as Doug may be, the reviews have been mixed at best.

The good reviews, some legitimate, some from that guy. The negative reviews, usually from users who are just... inexperienced and blame faults on their own misuse.

Anyone have experience with the 599 or 479? For $150 after shipping for either of these, I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into.

Thanks in advance!
 
I just looked at the site real quick.

If it tripped my trigger I'd buy it. Go for it. Keeping in mind there are a lot of good ones out there in that price range.

Wonder who makes it.
 
I'm also curious about this.

I hope the Fox Dart comes into production. Those look sweet! Short blade keeps it legal in most places too.
 
Lucky for you, I own both the 478 and 599 (a pair of 599s actually). For all intents and purposes, they're both different knives to me.

The 478 is a great karambit for someone who wants a quality knife. Comparable in size to the Emerson Super Karambit, it's long but fits my hands well (my glove size is 7.5). The n690 blade came to me hair popping sharp, and took a very fine edge with a couple swipes on my ceramic rod, all without the slightest burr build-up. It opens nice and smooth, thanks in part to the phosphur-bronze washers. The Wave also works like a charm; easy to draw and unobtrusive like other designs (I'm looking at you, Cold Steel). Personally, I think the shining factor in the Fox series is the ring; smooth all around, rounded, and no chance of causing a hot spot. It's awesome. Don't get me wrong, I love the split design from Emerson, but the Fox feels better on the finger to me.

The 599 is a great overall knife. It keeps a lot of the positive qualities from the 478 but scaled down; great blade steel, smooth opening, great Wave action, awesome ring. Of course, it's marketed for people with smaller hands (I don't know how else to phrase it).TBH, it fits my hands perfectly. I can hammer up on it and it won't go anywhere. This is where it starts to go downhill some. I do like that the 599 uses G10 scales, but the pattern is way too aggressive. I ended up sanding down both scales on one of mine because it was so aggressive. if you like a very grippy G10 pattern, then you'll love the 599's scales. To me, however, it was way overdone. There's also the fact that it can only be bought from a singe source; to me that's a very big dealbreaker. lastly, there was the customer service. I will not badmouth anyone openly in a public forum, but let's say it was very distasteful.
 
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Sparki said:
I hope the Fox Dart comes into production. Those look sweet! Short blade keeps it legal in most places too.
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Rumor is, is that it resembles the Emerson CQC-7 karambit too much and can't be put into production because of it. I found it on a russian forum; when I find it again I'll link it to you.
 
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Here's a size comparison for those interested.

From left to right: Emerson Super Karambit (tip was modified), Fox 478, Bladetech Riptide, 5.11 CUB Master, Fox 599
 
Ttran778 said:
Lucky for you, I own both the 478 and 599 (a pair of 599s actually). For all intents and purposes, they're both different knives to me.

-Snip helpful-

The 599 is a great overall knife. It keeps a lot of the positive qualities from the 478 but scaled down; great blade steel, smooth opening, great Wave action, awesome ring. Of course, it's marketed for people with smaller hands (I don't know how else to phrase it).TBH, it fits my hands perfectly. I can hammer up on it and it won't go anywhere. This is where it starts to go downhill some. I do like that the 599 uses G10 scales, but the pattern is way too aggressive. I ended up sanding down both scales on one of mine because it was so aggressive. if you like a very grippy G10 pattern, then you'll love the 599's scales. To me, however, it was way overdone. There's also the fact that it can only be bought from a singe source; to me that's a very big dealbreaker. lastly, there was the customer service. I will not badmouth anyone openly in a public forum, but let's say it was very distasteful.
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Thank you for your input on the knives themselves and the awesome pictures. I'm very jealous of your collection, maybe mine will resemble it someday soon. That last bit about the 599 was what I've dreaded, accompanied by the locking system not being 100% there. I'd err of the side of caution and not buy the 599 at this point, my hands aren't huge, but not small either. I'll look into finding a 478 or 479, the price difference is minimal anyways and the slightly larger profile doesn't bother me much.
 
If I could recommend any one, I would say get either an Emerson or the 5.11. At the minimum, the 5.11 is a great karambit for the money. S30V steel with a very aggressive but utilitarian curve, extremely slim profile, great grip in any hold, very light even compared to the Fox, and with a little elbow grease, you can use a dremel and make your own wave modification if you wanted to (or use a zip tie). If you can't get an Emerson (which should be the first choice regardless of price) then get the 5.11.
 
Ttran778 said:
If I could recommend any one, I would say get either an Emerson or the 5.11. At the minimum, the 5.11 is a great karambit for the money. S30V steel with a very aggressive but utilitarian curve, extremely slim profile, great grip in any hold, very light even compared to the Fox, and with a little elbow grease, you can use a dremel and make your own wave modification if you wanted to (or use a zip tie). If you can't get an Emerson (which should be the first choice regardless of price) then get the 5.11.
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As nice as the Emerson's are, I don't see $320 of value in their Karambits. I think their CQC7 is an amazing(for aesthetics) knife. However the profile on the 479 is preferred. I haven't (luckily) ordered my knife yet, I looked into that BladeTech, it has a very agressive curve on it , which is both appealing and yet, may not make for the best EDC. It's definitely more of a combat and aesthetic orientated blade style. If I could find a 478 for under $140 US shipped, I think it'd be worth my money for an EDC.

If I knew I was constantly dealing with unpredictable people in my area, I'd definitely go for the Emerson, but I doubt my knife will see combat or any situation where the slight upgrade in quality will make all the difference.
 
Grim. said:
As nice as the Emerson's are, I don't see $320 of value in their Karambits. I think their CQC7 is an amazing(for aesthetics) knife. However the profile on the 479 is preferred. I haven't (luckily) ordered my knife yet, I looked into that BladeTech, it has a very agressive curve on it , which is both appealing and yet, may not make for the best EDC. It's definitely more of a combat and aesthetic orientated blade style. If I could find a 478 for under $140 US shipped, I think it'd be worth my money for an EDC.

If I knew I was constantly dealing with unpredictable people in my area, I'd definitely go for the Emerson, but I doubt my knife will see combat or any situation where the slight upgrade in quality will make all the difference.
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It's all in the build quality and character of an Emerson, especially in their karambits. They're built like tanks. You can choke up on it, you can hammer a grip on it, and it's won't budge. The lock-up on mine is vault-like (never sent it in to adjust, and probably won't have to either). If you do end up getting one, you'll understand what makes them the grail of folding karambits. They're the best food good reason.

If you want one for EDC, get the 5.11 CUB Master. I have used mine to the point of near abuse, and it still holds strong. Same for the Emerson. The Fox series are great too, but I feel the steel needs to be re-touched often.

The Riptide is a fun one to carry; when I do coverage for the Marines here, it scares the hell out of them, just looking at it. The AUS-8 blade takes a wicked edge, but I honestly don't care for the second point on it. The IKBS works decently well, but I could care less for the flipper, which to me has proven useless. The polymer scales are smooth and even, and provide an ample enough grip; the grip, however, is extremely awkward. In a normal presentation, it holds just fine. In a reverse style, however, you either choke upwards or downwards; it's just odd. That alone is the negative factor, and had I known of it before, I never would have gotten it. Other than that, for EDC, it's good enough.
 
Ttran778 said:
It's all in the build quality and character of an Emerson, especially in their karambits. They're built like tanks. You can choke up on it, you can hammer a grip on it, and it's won't budge. The lock-up on mine is vault-like (never sent it in to adjust, and probably won't have to either). If you do end up getting one, you'll understand what makes them the grail of folding karambits. They're the best food good reason.

If you want one for EDC, get the 5.11 CUB Master. I have used mine to the point of near abuse, and it still holds strong. Same for the Emerson. The Fox series are great too, but I feel the steel needs to be re-touched often.

The Riptide is a fun one to carry; when I do coverage for the Marines here, it scares the hell out of them, just looking at it. The AUS-8 blade takes a wicked edge, but I honestly don't care for the second point on it. The IKBS works decently well, but I could care less for the flipper, which to me has proven useless. The polymer scales are smooth and even, and provide an ample enough grip; the grip, however, is extremely awkward. In a normal presentation, it holds just fine. In a reverse style, however, you either choke upwards or downwards; it's just odd. That alone is the negative factor, and had I known of it before, I never would have gotten it. Other than that, for EDC, it's good enough.
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Looking around, the cheapest(yay!) place to buy any of these seems to be ExtremAddiction (114 for the 479 with g10) versus the 140 at a few other sites. However, they also stock the Emerson Combat at $182. This has me tearing my hair out.
 
My personal recommendation, get the Emerson. There's a reason that Emerson is the best when it comes to folding karambits. You're paying for overall quality. By saying such, I'm not downplaying the 478/479 at all, I'm just saying the Emerson is that good....because it is really that good.
 
Ttran778 said:
My personal recommendation, get the Emerson. There's a reason that Emerson is the best when it comes to folding karambits. You're paying for overall quality. By saying such, I'm not downplaying the 478/479 at all, I'm just saying the Emerson is that good....because it is really that good.
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Thanks for all your help! I'll be ordering both, starting with the Emerson. I'm also going to see if I can find one of the skilled knife makers here to build me a skeleton styled K-bit w\ wave and Fox style index ring.
 
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