I can't really argue with the little knife's showing here. I don't know what you mean by counter intuitive. I called it just as it came about. The knife isn't half bad regardless of the blade steel, particularly when you take into account the money it costs. For perspective, I have several other much higher dollar knives currently in the same size range all with what appear to be edges that should outperform this knife but they don't just blow it right out of the water. And honestly some of them get blown out of the water by this cheap knife.
I've noted that the T5 slices better in my pine block than any of my Leeks for example, two of which are quite expensive and thinner. Why? Can't say for sure. This T5 is hollow ground and those are too, but the T5 offers a bit more leverage on the handle. It also cuts through the hemp better than the Leeks do for some reason. Go figure. I suspect the T5 has a finer more conducive push cutting edge than any of those since the Leeks are all factory fresh but can't make certain of that until I resharpen those also. I can tell you that this knife didn't slice the pine block this well until I took the Edge Pro to it.
Honestly I am quite happy with the T5. The K-bits are ok but won't see much use from me. In fact two of them are heading out to my son tomorrow in the mail.
I think for the money, regardless of what the blade steel is in this knife that the T5 is worth every penny, does a good job on several materials and overall isn't far behind the other higher quality China made and lesser expensive USA made products being offered by Spyderco in the Byrd line and Kershaw in the Vapor, Storm and others of that price range.
Of note, the T5 had a lot of sharp edges NIB, all of which I have beveled down. I was able to tighten the pivot and recenter the blade also once I got it back today.
Is it my favorite knife? No. Never will be but if you are looking for a cheap beater, or tool box frame locking knife look no further. This is a good one for that kind of job, or perhaps a tackle box.
Personally, I would rather have a pocket clip than the wheel thing for the karabiner but for what I've spent here I'll deal with it. I suspect after taking the pivot screws off that the heads of these could break easily but they took quite a bit of torque to tighten it up so in normal use they may hold up better than it appears. Again, for the money its on track I think.
STR
