Katz knives

Thomas J Ekman

Thomas J Ekman

Joined
Jul 29, 2000
Messages
555
I got the Katz catalogue today, and I've found some interesting models, especially the Avenger BT-10 and Alley Kat AK-6006. They fit my collection of double-edged / fighting knives.
Has anyone any experience with these knives in particular, and/or the brand in general?

/Thomas
 
Katz knives are pretty high quality factory knives. Made in Seki City, I believe. They use some pretty good stainless steels also. A little hard to sharpen, but hold an edge very well. Every Katz knife I have seen has been very well ground and fit and finish was very good also.

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Danbo, soul brother of Rambo
 
I've got a Lion King, but I've never used it hard. In moderate to kitchen use, it seems fine: holds an edge, ergos work for me, sheath seems to be well thought out. It's a thick knife, but handles well for fine work. It seems to be a good general purpose outdoor knife.

It's also a really nice shape. I think that's why I bought it in the first place.

I have heard that some of the other models use a slightly less capable steel than that found in the LK. You might want to consider that.

db
 
I had a small Katz lockback folder with rubber inserts. I think it was called the Cheetah or something. Lockup was rock solid and the blade was bery sharp.
 
I have some KATZ knives:
  • Black Cat Lightweight 3" folder
  • Sabertooth Avenger with one side plain and another serrated
  • Lion Cub fixed blade
  • Special Forces
  • 3" Carbon Fiber which is basically scaled down Spec Forces with CF scales
First two have blades of XT-70 steel which performs very reasonably and also is reasonably easy to sharpen, I could consider it as quite well balanced steel. Lightweight folder holds up very well since I use it for 4 years, maybe not too hard (the new carpet cutting was the most challenging kind of use) but pretty frequently.
Last three knives are made of XT-80 steel which performs more or less comparably with ATS-34.
All knives are very well made, these Premium Series (of XT-80) seem somewhat onto heavy side but very solid and handy.
 
I just received a Katz Lion Cub and I actually love it. The quality is first rate and the blade looks like it would hold up to just about anything since it almost 1/4 in thick. This one has Kraton Grips and feels great in hand. It is beautiful.
 
I EDCed a Katz Cheetah for over ten years. Solid and reliable best describes this knife.
 
I too have a Katz cheetah, gifted to me by my dad, the quality is great (after I removed the plastic thumb "disc" it looked and felt much better)

The lock is THICK! :thumbup: it feels great in hand and it takes a very good edge, it actually turned me back on to the 'rubber' handles since they are still grippy even when my hands are dry as bone.
 
Mine had rosewood scales, a beauty and beast of a solid lockback, and I agree that black plastic thumb stud did not compiment the knife.
 
My brother has the smaller Alley Cat and loves it as he has somewhat small hands.
Fit and finish leave no room for criticism.
He never used it so far, as it is more a self defense knife.
 
I have a Lion King with the white ivory micarta handle and have used it for around 5 years ... the XT80 steel has a great heat treatment and the edge lasts a long time ... it is hollow ground and is from thick stock ... probably around .25 thick ... so you can use the knife quite hard in batonning or using the point for reaming a fire drill ... skinning and carcass cleaning is always a good test on a knife's edge retention and my knife has done up to 5 Red Deer ( which is a days work in the Deer Larder ) without undue loss of the edge.

I re-profiled my edge using a belt sander to take the edge to a convex grind for the first year or so but found stropping the edge to bring back the sharpness very time consuming ... even with chrome paste on the leather strop ... the Rc hardness of the steel must be quite high ... it feels around Rc 60-62. To make touching up the knife a little easier I worked a secondary flat bevel into the convex edge with a set of diamond stones on a Lansky system set to 15 degrees either side ... then polished it with their high end ceramic stones ... that gave a much sharper edge which I can more easily touch up in the field with my spyderco sharp maker set to the same 15 degrees either side angle. This edge system works better as the Rc hardness is IMO a bit high for stropping ... unless you wanted to take the edge finer than 30 degrees inclusive but I would'nt go that way. 30 degrees inclusive works excellent for all round use.

Personally I like the balance on this knife and the steel butt plate works well for pommel use on cracking pine cones for tinder or knocking in pegs for your tarp. The serrations on the spine for a thumb grip also work well with a fire steel as a striking area and the grip is very wide and suits a large hand.

The quality of the sheath is also superb. Spanish made with really top quality hide. All told I rate this knife very highly. It is IMO done to a level equal to a custom blade and the steel is very corrosion resistant. I got a matching fire steel done to go with the knife and altered the sheath so it could fit onto it. It is a great all round field knife.

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