Mid-tech flipper in S35. USA customers save on exchange rate!

North Arm Knives

North Arm Knives

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Jan 9, 2014
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This is our flipper. We call it the “skaha”. It sports a CPM S35VN blade and G10 scales with our version of a "liner lock". Instead of a full liner, we insert a lockbar into the G10 handle. This cuts down significantly on weight but functions just like a traditional liner lock, and looks pretty sleek too. The only part of this knife we aren't making completely ourselves (besides small hardware), is the pocket clip.

We CNC mill the blades and scales. After milling, the blades go through many hand finishing steps before and after heat treat. You will notice we leave the milling lines on the bevels. Each step is only .001”. We like the “CNC” finish for it’s unique look. Leaving the lines on doesn't affect performance but does reduce production time, and in turn the final cost to our customers. Below are specs and photos! For additional info, photos, or to purchase a knife visit the website or PM me!

We’ve had trouble keeping up with demand on these but we’re finally getting into a rhythm with the production of this knife. We have a few in stock at the moment!

website price is $199 Canadian or approximately $158 USD after the conversion You can shop in either currency on our webstore. Shipping will be added on top of this for all customers and Canadians will have to pay tax (varies depending on province).

If you are in the US and prefer sending a paypal payment instead of ordering from the website, the cost is $170 USD shipped CONUS. PM me to arrange specifics.


blade: cpm s35vn @58.5-60 HRC
scales: G10 (black, red, purple, tan, dayglo yellow, hunter, orange or OD green)
lock bar: spring tempered s35vn @~47 HRC
bearings, stop pin, washers: 440C @ 59-60 HRC
pocket clip: hardened 420 stainless
pivot pin: hardened 416 stainless
all other hardware: 18-8 stainless

blade length: 3.3" (8.38cm)
closed length: 4.4" (11.18cm)
open length: 7.75" (19.7cm)
blade thickness at pivot: .1" (2.5mm)
total weight: 3.1 oz (90g)
edge angle: 25° inclusive

pocket clip is oriented for tip up carry and is not re-positionable.

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Here is a rough quick video of the knife from different angles, to give you a better idea of the action and so on. When we have more time we'll do a better vid!



questions and comments welcome!

Cheers,
Mike & John
 
'curious about the closing bias on these.

Anyone that has handled one have any feedback ?
 
Just to chime in without doing a full review... I've had mine for a few days. Meets most of the expectations I had and exceeds some. The blade is excellent. The spine is thick but not too thick - it's a good slicer. It came very sharp. Blade shape and markings are first rate. Quality and fit/finish are excellent. Lockup is rock solid with a loud "click". (Click is a little hollow sounding due to the handle - not a bad thing, just not what you get with solid Ti scales.) Bladeplay is nonexistant - none whatsoever in any direction. Handle is smooth but not at all slippery. Blade action is great. One of the better flippers I have used. Overall this is well done knife and a good value. Excellent blade for this price and not made overseas. Appears to use standard screws. Haven't disassembled mine, but looks very straightforward.

A couple of suggestions that would make this knife better for me: Pocket clip is a little tight. I would also prefer a deeper carry. It's absolutely acceptable as-is. I may bend my clip to be less tight. (btw, would gladly pay for a deeper carry clip if NA offered one.) Second, the detent is just a little too strong for me. I know there's a balance between detent and flipping, so maybe this is the best it can be. It's just a little tighter than I want for flipping. I expect it will loosen up with usage.

Dyn, not sure how to answer the closing bias question. It has a strong detent and while it's smooth opening and closing, it's not loose. I don't see how it could ever open unintentionally and certainly won't close on you (lock and detent ball after you unlock.)
 
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Have been carrying my Skaha for a few more days and have a few more comments: First of all, I don't get why there aren't more reviews here of this knife. It seems fairly unique. I get that the $150-200 US price range is pretty crowded, but I would have expected to see more. There's a review here from back in January that is closed, so no discussion there. I don't feel qualified to do a full review - may give it a try in the next few weeks if nothing else shows up.

For me here's the surprise with this knife: it's probably the simplest "high end" knife I have. I'm not an expert and am relatively new at this. Despite being very mechanical, I usually hate disassembling knifes. There's generally no consistency and too often a surprise with bearings, locktite, free spinning pivot, or other stuff. This knife is simply built and NA posted a disassembly video. Compare that to others who discourage disassembly.

But the bigger surprise for me is how well it works being basically just G10 with a blade (and a lockbar, of course). I really like my Ti frame lock knives, and I perhaps have a frame lock and Ti bias. Looking at this knife I have to reconsider why I need all that metal for a knife that's going to cut a lot of fruit, cardboard, rope and carve some wood occasionally. The handle is very good. The action is great. This is an excellent flipper. I think you either like the milling marks on the blade or you don't. I like them. I don't think they help with cutting, nor do they hurt. But it's a unique look that I like. I had a NA kitchen knife before I got this one so I knew what to expect from the blade.

Hoping somebody with more experience will step up and do another review of this knife. Appreciating the quality and simplicity of it the more I carry it.

Edit 1: Forgot to mention that the detent is now just about where I want it.

Edit 2: In case NA is reading, the only two requests I have are a deep carry clip (mentioned previously) and if you're going to add another folder, I'd be thrilled with a ~2.75" version of this to carry to work. The 3.3" blade is fine too, but generally prefer something smaller for the office. This goes with me most days despite being larger.
 
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Just watched his review Mo. You NEED to hear what he says about the action!!
Will be ordering one of these, if I can decide on color, this week.
Seems like an excellent value!
Joe

PS.....Because of Nick's great review they are now on back order. Looks like ~ 5 week wait!

Mo2 said:
Nick should have a review soon. Here's his disassembly video

Click to expand...
 
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palonej said:
Just watched his review Mo. You NEED to hear what he says about the action!!
Will be ordering one of these, if I can decide on color, this week.
Seems like an excellent value!
Joe

PS.....Because of Nick's great review they are now on back order. Looks like ~ 5 week wait!
Click to expand...
I'm waiting for the cf version.
 
I just bought one used and it's coming in tomorrow. I can't wait for that back order (and i generally don't like buying foreign knives as customs forms have "KNIFE" written all over them, and knives aren't very welcome in new york).

There's no way i wasn't going to buy a knife that Nick Shabazz, who is obsessed with flipper action (along with the 90% of knife enthusiasts out there), claims to match Grimsmo action at a $160 price point. I sold my Shiros because i couldn't justify owning $500 - $1000 fidget toys that i was afraid to actually cut anything with. Then counter intuitively i was waiting for grimsmo rask orders to open up again. I'm hoping this knife fills that niche in my collection and i can stop looking for the "best action for dollar", and blow my money on other types of knives...

on a related note, is the flattened detent ball the trick to the action? or some other Canadian magic? Is everyone going to start replicating this action? i sure as hell hope so.
 
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josh yu said:
on a related note, is the flattened detent ball the trick to the action? or some other Canadian magic? Is everyone going to start replicating this action? i sure as hell hope so.
Click to expand...
It's mostly the flat detent, but without good design also it wouldnt make a difference. The flat detent may become mainstream in the coming years.
 
the back order went from 2 weeks on saturday afternoon, to 5 weeks yesterday, to 6 weeks this morning, and currently 9 weeks. if anyone wants one, place your order now! i've seen this before, they are going to close orders soon
 
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It's called the nick Shabazz effect.
#nickshabazzmademebuyit

Had they known this was going to happen before his review went live they would have made more ahead of time.

I'm not that in a rush to get one. Specifically because they are not offering carbon fiber yet.
 
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