- Joined
- Feb 22, 1999
- Messages
- 3,357
I received a large package of cheap Frost knives today, something I've been eagerly awaiting out of a perverse desire to have some cheap knives with which to play.
At random I have selected a half dozen for comparative review. All the knives are linerlocks (except the "Green Beret Folder, which is a rocker bar lock) and all are made in China. All had pocket clips of either metal (predominant in this sample) or plastic. Each knife cost a mere $1.50 US (an average of the bulk cost).
The Magnum Force was the first "volunteer." I took it out of the box, opened it, and the thumb stud fell out. There's no getting that sucker back in unless I use super-glue. The knife has a rubberized handle, and locks up solidly (the liner engages the middle of the blade tang) with no play. I could not force the blade to fail, either through hand pressure or by whacking against my denim-clad knee. For the final test, I drew the out-of-box blade through the big cardboard shipping box. It sliced a 9-inch section free before binding up.
The Green Beret Folder, though it isn't obvious from the box cover, is a copy of the Paragon XO-Lite (a knife I own). It's roughly the same size, though the blade lacks the Paragon's deeply serrated recurve. This knife had an incredibly hard lock, with no play whatsoever. I tried to force it closed, but could not, and tapping it did nothing. The knife even came with its own nylon vertical/horiztonal belt pouch. The handle is bright green -- somebody in China's idea of "OD green," no doubt. This knife cut a 5.25-inch strip of cardboard box before getting stuck.
The Millennium 2000 has a plastic handle. The linerlock feels very weak, and only barely engages the blade. I could not make it fail -- though had I wailed its spine hard against the table it probably would have -- and the open blade has significant side-to-side play. It carved a full 15-inch strip from the cardboard box (the full length of the box) but ripped free at the very end rather than slicing cleanly.
The Silent Operator -- which probably looks suspiciously like a certain Benchmade model to you, as it did to me -- had a pretty solid lock-up, but again the liner engaged all the way to right side of the blade tang. The blade had slight up-and-down play. The handle is metal coated with either paint or some kind of enamel. Like the other knives I tested, I could not make the lock fail, either through hand pressure or by tapping it against my knee. (I didn't figure these knives were up to a table-top spine-whack, so I didn't try). The "Silent Operator" managed only a 2.5-inch strip of cardboard before it got stuck in the box flap.
The Wave Raider, an obvious copy of an... ahem... another design with which a few of us are familiar... It, too, had a liner that engaged all the way to the right of the blade tang, as well as a cheap plastic handle. Lock-up on this model was poor, with side-to-side and up-and-down play. Brace yourselves: it cut a zero-inch strip of cardboard. That's right; try as I did, I could not make it even start the cut in the box flap.
Finally, for kicks, I tested the single fixed blade I received with my grab-bag: a Frost Marine Combat Knife II. The nylon sheath has only a vinyl liner -- not even a plastic insert -- and not one but two tie-down straps for to hold the handle in place within the sheath. The grip is rubber, and fitted poorly -- you can move it around over the blade tang, and bend the rubber guard all out of shape. The blade was very sharp, though, and has the most severe "tanto" shape I've ever seen -- more like a chisel than a knife. I couldn't break the knife in half, though I didn't really try. It cut a full 15-inch strip out of the cardboard box without even trying, though, making the edge on this blade pretty impressive for a Frost cheapie.
Now, I'm not going to tell you to go out and buy any of these knives -- though you could purchase one for the price of a jumbo-pack of Twinkies. They were fun to test, though, which was the whole point.
Great, now I'm hungry.
At random I have selected a half dozen for comparative review. All the knives are linerlocks (except the "Green Beret Folder, which is a rocker bar lock) and all are made in China. All had pocket clips of either metal (predominant in this sample) or plastic. Each knife cost a mere $1.50 US (an average of the bulk cost).
The Magnum Force was the first "volunteer." I took it out of the box, opened it, and the thumb stud fell out. There's no getting that sucker back in unless I use super-glue. The knife has a rubberized handle, and locks up solidly (the liner engages the middle of the blade tang) with no play. I could not force the blade to fail, either through hand pressure or by whacking against my denim-clad knee. For the final test, I drew the out-of-box blade through the big cardboard shipping box. It sliced a 9-inch section free before binding up.
The Green Beret Folder, though it isn't obvious from the box cover, is a copy of the Paragon XO-Lite (a knife I own). It's roughly the same size, though the blade lacks the Paragon's deeply serrated recurve. This knife had an incredibly hard lock, with no play whatsoever. I tried to force it closed, but could not, and tapping it did nothing. The knife even came with its own nylon vertical/horiztonal belt pouch. The handle is bright green -- somebody in China's idea of "OD green," no doubt. This knife cut a 5.25-inch strip of cardboard box before getting stuck.
The Millennium 2000 has a plastic handle. The linerlock feels very weak, and only barely engages the blade. I could not make it fail -- though had I wailed its spine hard against the table it probably would have -- and the open blade has significant side-to-side play. It carved a full 15-inch strip from the cardboard box (the full length of the box) but ripped free at the very end rather than slicing cleanly.
The Silent Operator -- which probably looks suspiciously like a certain Benchmade model to you, as it did to me -- had a pretty solid lock-up, but again the liner engaged all the way to right side of the blade tang. The blade had slight up-and-down play. The handle is metal coated with either paint or some kind of enamel. Like the other knives I tested, I could not make the lock fail, either through hand pressure or by tapping it against my knee. (I didn't figure these knives were up to a table-top spine-whack, so I didn't try). The "Silent Operator" managed only a 2.5-inch strip of cardboard before it got stuck in the box flap.
The Wave Raider, an obvious copy of an... ahem... another design with which a few of us are familiar... It, too, had a liner that engaged all the way to the right of the blade tang, as well as a cheap plastic handle. Lock-up on this model was poor, with side-to-side and up-and-down play. Brace yourselves: it cut a zero-inch strip of cardboard. That's right; try as I did, I could not make it even start the cut in the box flap.
Finally, for kicks, I tested the single fixed blade I received with my grab-bag: a Frost Marine Combat Knife II. The nylon sheath has only a vinyl liner -- not even a plastic insert -- and not one but two tie-down straps for to hold the handle in place within the sheath. The grip is rubber, and fitted poorly -- you can move it around over the blade tang, and bend the rubber guard all out of shape. The blade was very sharp, though, and has the most severe "tanto" shape I've ever seen -- more like a chisel than a knife. I couldn't break the knife in half, though I didn't really try. It cut a full 15-inch strip out of the cardboard box without even trying, though, making the edge on this blade pretty impressive for a Frost cheapie.
Now, I'm not going to tell you to go out and buy any of these knives -- though you could purchase one for the price of a jumbo-pack of Twinkies. They were fun to test, though, which was the whole point.
Great, now I'm hungry.
ROTFLMAO 
.
