I received a Lone Wolf Knives "City Knife" designed by Loveless from AG Russell Knives as a gift in early March. I have used it extensively since then. Before I review the knife, a little background. I've been collecting and using knives for over 12 years. I collect older (pre-60's) slipjoints - mostly trappers, stockmans, cattleman patterns - and have used over 50 different knives in the field as an infantryman and as an everyday fella. I'm not a wealthy man, but insist on quality and will save up and pay a little extra for a user because I know how important a good knife is in tough situations. I've used, reviewed, and recommended quite a few knives to my comrades that are still using them in service today. I regularly carry a Smith LDC-105, and also carry a Crawford Falcon in my web gear.
"City Knife" SPECS: Loveless designed slipjoint that is 3 3/4" closed with a 2 1/2" modified wharncliffe blade of LV-03 high carbon stainless steel. The scales are traditional Loveless green micarta with a red spacer near the bolster. Bolster, liners, screws (2 each side), pivot, spring, and lanyard hole are all brushed stainless (not sure of exact steel). The blade has about a 1/4" choil, leaving 2 1/4" cutting edge and a nail pull about 3/4" from tip.
FIT & DESIGN: a very well designed and constructed knife - tight tolerances and spacing. The hadle is somewhat trapper-shaped with a smooth contour leading to the lanyard end. The handle is a little short for my fat hand, but the contoured end allowed me to choke down for tougher cutting chores. The knife does not have the pocket clip or thumb stud that are all the rage, but it did not detract from my use of the knife in everyday cutting chores. The knife fit comfortably, with no over-bulk in my pockets.
There is no locking mechanism, but the knife has sturdy, graduated movement and a 1/2 stop. The blade fit snuggly into the backspring in the open position. I never had a problem with the blade turning back on my hand (more a function of cutting experience than design in my opinion).
The pivot is recessed into the bolster and is adjustable, which I found handy. The bolster had serrations on the bottom side. I'm not sure the purpose of this, unless it is for an underhand cut/slice in the upward direction. I would have preferred the serrations for grip on the top side of the bolster, where my thumb rested and provided increased power in the cut.
In the closed position, the blade lies about 1/4" above the scales, which makes for easy access to the nail pull. But, the choil (or cutout in end of the blade for backspring fit) protrudes a little above the bolster. This is a minor flaw in my opinion, as the protruding blade-end/choil can have potential retrieval hang up.
BLADE & STEEL: At first I didn't really think the wharncliffe would work that well for everyday cutting, but I found out otherwise. The shape of this blade is excellent: enough belly for longer draws with the blade, and enough top curvature for a solid tip and puncturing ability.
I prefer high carbon steels, and though I don't believe I've used LV-03 before, it met all of my needs. Very resistant to damage, wear, and corrosion and great edge-holding ability. After about 2 weeks of use, I finally honed the edge. I believe it would have held out fine for another week or so. The initial reshaping did take a little more work than with more popular steels, but the resulting edge sharpness and life were worth it.
OVERALL UTILITY: I found this knife to meet my needs in just about every department for everyday "city life." It performed better than expected on many tasks, including rope, cord, cloth, aluminum, cardboard, plastic, rubber hose, and brown paper cutting; more precise tasks like cutting out newspaper and magazine articles and food preparation - slicing and dicing meats, fruit, and vegetables; yard work - digging up weeds, cutting limbs; and even cleaning out and trimming fingernails. The topside (non-edge side) of the blade even worked well as a flat-head screwdriver on several occasions (I don't recommend this task for a knife unless absolutely necessary).
Overall, I was very impressed with the "City Knife." It met all my needs in relatively common tasks, was very durable and reliable, and it's good-looking too. Highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a 21st Century version of a trusty trapper or jack knife.
MOTIVATE,
Dens51
"City Knife" SPECS: Loveless designed slipjoint that is 3 3/4" closed with a 2 1/2" modified wharncliffe blade of LV-03 high carbon stainless steel. The scales are traditional Loveless green micarta with a red spacer near the bolster. Bolster, liners, screws (2 each side), pivot, spring, and lanyard hole are all brushed stainless (not sure of exact steel). The blade has about a 1/4" choil, leaving 2 1/4" cutting edge and a nail pull about 3/4" from tip.
FIT & DESIGN: a very well designed and constructed knife - tight tolerances and spacing. The hadle is somewhat trapper-shaped with a smooth contour leading to the lanyard end. The handle is a little short for my fat hand, but the contoured end allowed me to choke down for tougher cutting chores. The knife does not have the pocket clip or thumb stud that are all the rage, but it did not detract from my use of the knife in everyday cutting chores. The knife fit comfortably, with no over-bulk in my pockets.
There is no locking mechanism, but the knife has sturdy, graduated movement and a 1/2 stop. The blade fit snuggly into the backspring in the open position. I never had a problem with the blade turning back on my hand (more a function of cutting experience than design in my opinion).
The pivot is recessed into the bolster and is adjustable, which I found handy. The bolster had serrations on the bottom side. I'm not sure the purpose of this, unless it is for an underhand cut/slice in the upward direction. I would have preferred the serrations for grip on the top side of the bolster, where my thumb rested and provided increased power in the cut.
In the closed position, the blade lies about 1/4" above the scales, which makes for easy access to the nail pull. But, the choil (or cutout in end of the blade for backspring fit) protrudes a little above the bolster. This is a minor flaw in my opinion, as the protruding blade-end/choil can have potential retrieval hang up.
BLADE & STEEL: At first I didn't really think the wharncliffe would work that well for everyday cutting, but I found out otherwise. The shape of this blade is excellent: enough belly for longer draws with the blade, and enough top curvature for a solid tip and puncturing ability.
I prefer high carbon steels, and though I don't believe I've used LV-03 before, it met all of my needs. Very resistant to damage, wear, and corrosion and great edge-holding ability. After about 2 weeks of use, I finally honed the edge. I believe it would have held out fine for another week or so. The initial reshaping did take a little more work than with more popular steels, but the resulting edge sharpness and life were worth it.
OVERALL UTILITY: I found this knife to meet my needs in just about every department for everyday "city life." It performed better than expected on many tasks, including rope, cord, cloth, aluminum, cardboard, plastic, rubber hose, and brown paper cutting; more precise tasks like cutting out newspaper and magazine articles and food preparation - slicing and dicing meats, fruit, and vegetables; yard work - digging up weeds, cutting limbs; and even cleaning out and trimming fingernails. The topside (non-edge side) of the blade even worked well as a flat-head screwdriver on several occasions (I don't recommend this task for a knife unless absolutely necessary).
Overall, I was very impressed with the "City Knife." It met all my needs in relatively common tasks, was very durable and reliable, and it's good-looking too. Highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a 21st Century version of a trusty trapper or jack knife.
MOTIVATE,
Dens51
I've goofed around with one a little.., and I liked it also...
