I got this yesterday (purchased off eBay from sbc_trading) and am rushing out this review.
So if you see any omissions or just want to know more
please post and ask.
This cost me all of $17.99 shipped all the way from Hong Kong -
and I think the knife is exceptional -
with a couple of caveats,
other than that it's a world class knife
It looks pretty substantial and big -
and it is definitely pretty hefty/heavy - at 5.5ozs.
Everything about it is "heavy duty"/rugged -
but not crude.
Size comparison -
with the BenchMade BM-710 Axis and the Enlan Bee L01-MCT that I recently reviewed.
My first impression it was about the same size as the BenchMade 710 Axis -
but as the photo shows it is not - although it is bigger than the Enlan Bee L01-MCT
I really like the lines of this knife - when open it looks like a good looking drop point fixed blade.
Blade is of 9Cr18MoV steel claimed hardness of 58-60HRC
length - 3 7/8" measured to end of the handle, or 4" to the pivot pin.
the thickness at the spine near the opening disc was 0.125" or 1/8" (measured with digital calipers)
Handle is checkered G10 - closed 4 7/8", and 5/8" thick.
tip down carry.
With deep pocket clip -
blade is centered - and depending on how one looks - with a very slight bias away from the liner lock (also see later)
alignment - the liners are thick.
Measured 0.077" thick at the liner-lock using a digital caliper - but by eye and simple ruler at the back, the liner measures approx ~3/32" thick.
Disc opener -
shown with the Enlan L01-MCT and the black BenchMade Elishewitz Stryker.
- for some reason the opening disc was one of the things that made the Enlan Bee L01-MCT seem cheap
But on this Harnds Viper it seems right, and doesn't look cheap -
lock-up is solid and almost full width of the thick liner.
No blade play whatsoever when locked open - no problem with the spine-whack test.
One of the attractiveness is the sheen/finish on the blade - it is a satin finish - but polished.
I think the sheen may be to do with the high chromium (18%) content that it takes a polish well.
The Ken Warner BGG - Folding Hunting Knife that I also reviewed recently uses 10Cr17 steel with 17% chromium - seems to have the same sheen finish
as does this little Ken Warner utility (KW03) also 10Cr17
It is hard to convey by photograph - my first shot probably shows it the best.
OK where are those two caveats?
well both were easy for me to remedy -
(1) the G10 handle is very sharply checkered - looks good
but the edge is "sharp" - I think I may have picked up a couple of splinters -
and G10 is not good news.
I remedied that simply by sanding the the handle -
not with sandpaper -
but with cardboard -
which smoothed out the sharp parts -
and brushing with a toothbrush cleans out the lines and crevices.
(2) my sample was not that sharp -
I have seen a video review that said it was the sharpest knife they've ever bought -
I am not doubting that - but mine was not sharp.
usb microscope pic (~110x) of original edge - it was "OK" but not too good.
I took it to my Work Sharp (belt grinder) Knife Sharpener to grind in a new 20 deg convex edge
and finished on the Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener - Ken Onion Edition
much better - and one can see that high polished sheen on this edge pic (usb microscope about ~110x)
now the knife is really, really sharp and cuts through really well.
(There is some relevance to the old BM-710 Axis -
I got mine when they first came out I recall about the same time as our mod Joe Talmadge -
and the blade was definitely not sharp, and I had to work for several hours to put on a new edge -
compared to less than 1 hour on the two WorkSharps for this Harnds
and the edge is much better than any manual sharpening I can do.)
ah! but there is another caveat - after the sharpening I noticed the bevel was wider on one side - yet I know it was easy to hold the blade vertically up-down.....
so this means that the blade face is not ground vertically symmetrical!
here's an end on photo of the blade using the handle to line things up -
It's almost as if the blade is ground with a "crink" of a multi-bladed folding knife.
(see: Twisted SAK blades? )
in that pic the left side face is more vertical and the right side has more of a slope -
also the right edge of the spine from the tip is more in-line with the handle
so there is more "distal" tapering in on the left side.
Well the asymmetrical grind might be so that it can cut down better for right handers having the left side more vertical....
and the distal tapering could be so the blade would sit centrally in the handle -
but that's just guessing.
I don't think it's bad manufacturing, I'd hazard a guess all the blades are like that - because of automation.
Anyway I think this is a world class knife - even with the two caveats (which were easy for me to remedy)
I am almost certain that the 9Cr18MoV steel is better than the more common 8Cr13MoV on other Chinese knives -
it certainly seems to take a very fine edge as can be seen in the usb microscope pic.
Feedback, questions?
--
Vincent
http://picasaweb.com/UnknownVincent?showall=true
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