lionSTEEL Gitano

I can't help it, I'm very drawn to this knife. I like the Navaja design already and this is in that spirit.

Anyone have one?

Thoughts?

@knifeswapper has a few versions: https://www.collectorknives.net/product-category/lion-steel-knives/lionsteel-gitano/

 

Well, I gave in and ordered an olive wood example.

https://www.collectorknives.net/sho...sters-olive-wood-handles-niolox-steel-gt01ul/

I guess I'll trail blaze.

 

Collector Knives has four models in stock.

 

Got ya. I didn't know that.

 

As always, @knifeswapper had excellent turn-around and the knife arrived today. She is certainly sexy.





This knife represents my first...
- Italian knife
- lionSTEEL knife
- Niolox steel
- Olive wood

I've only had it less than an hour but fit and finish appears excellent. I really like the grip-feel and the blade shape.

That said, this knife is very hard to close. Like, very hard.

Mike's site reads:

"It has a unique catch in full open position that is not a lock – but requires a bit more force to start the closing process."

It does indeed. If you have any kind of hand issues, I would not recommend this knife. I didn't even feel comfortable closing it on the side of my leg like I do so many other slip joints. Now, this is intentional of course. They are trying to make a very secure knife for the slip joint-only market and I applaud that so I am not criticizing it in any way as somehow being defective. It's doing exactly what it is designed to do. But it definitely takes some adjustment and you need to pay attention to what you're doing. Pressing the spine with your thumb while holding the knife in the fingers of your other hand breaks it pretty readily and I think safely.

I'm not sure a knife of this design really needs to be this stout but it is a super cool knife overall. One of the things I really liked about it was that it has a clip and so many of these guys don't. I immediately pondered sending it back for an exchange but it's such a good looking and feeling knife I'll probably end up keeping it for gentleman carry.

I need to spend some time with it.

 

If there's anything specific you'd like to know or want me to be mindful of, please let me know.

 

Yes and no. Quality is excellent, great design shape, and really good looker but you have to be willing to accept the stiff break on closing. It is very much a two-handed close knife.

I've been pondering this since last night. It's really interesting and if for that reason alone I'll keep it. The unique catch or whatever that makes it very stiff and secure when open should allow it to be used pretty robustly. In a slip joint-only area, that can be mighty attractive. But the trade off is convenience. Again, this is a two-hand closer and your need to be mindful of it at that. I tried breaking it with just my thumb and it requires sufficient force that you need to keep your fingers wrapped around the handle and the corner of the blade bit my index finger.

It has a half stop and once you get that initial break, it closes smoothly.

I think it is a knife that some people might feel is exactly what they've been looking for but the majority will not be thrilled with.

For me, if they hadn't put in that design feature to strengthen the "lock up" and it was just a normal ole slip joint, it would be a home run. But that also defeats the intent I think they are shooting for.

Hope that helps some.

 

I certainly get what you're saying. I'm not going to pretend to know the intricacies of how such things are defined but it is still a slip joint and by no means locks in place. The spine will break, so it's mainly about closing it safely.

 

Posted a review: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/lionsteel-gitano-gt01-ul.1739245/

I'm hoping that mine was not quite right from the factory and is not representative of the norm. Just wanted you guys to have a chance to read it. Very long but needed explaining.