Mini CUDA Tanto....

[Yekim]

A friend gave me one of these as a gift. I must say that so far I am actually impressed.

First let me get this out of the way....I hate linerlocks, clips should be on the non-pivot end, and I have never been a ken fan of new-fangled opening devices. Bead blasting sucks and he tanto is not my most favord blade shape.....but for some reason, I love this knife.....I tink it is because that the knife's other attributes make up for the more preference related failings.

Initial impression....

This thing looks rough, hate to say it, but it does, the liners look like they were cut out with a oxy/acetelyne torch, and the edge grnd is a little off, but it is sharp...facial hair shaving sharp, which is pretty good. The bead blast is not as offensive as some of the other knives I have seen, it is pretty smooth compared to inished by CRKT (read: Fingernail File Manufacturers of Taiwan).

The G10 is really textured and grippy.

What I like......

I like thie blade thikness ofthe Cuda, it is pretty thick, well over 1/8", surprising for a knife with a ~3" blade. It seems to hold an edge well, and the Tanto shape is more od a drop point tanto, similar to that of the BM Stryker, but not as extreme.

The CUDA opening disc is a blast to play with. Flicking the CUDA is more fun than any of the autos I have played with. My thumb had just recovered from a bout of Axis burn, and now here I am with CUDA callous...

What I would do Different if I were in charge....

1) I would make the liners a little nicer and thicker. They are pretty skinny, but on the Mini CUDA they seem to work well, I have heard other wise on the larger CUDAs which use the same thickness liners.

2) I would use a larger Stop pin and assembly pins.. i am just a beef junkie I guess. The ones on the Mini are 1/8" and look okay, I guess I might just be a bit spoiled.

3) Put the clip on the butt end or have the option to anyways.

Conclusion...

I like this knife..it is fun to flick, it passed the spinewhack test, and it doesn't mind hard werk. I can open and close it with one hand with gloves on. IT does beg for some dremeling to polish it up a bit, but because it was a gift, I will try and keep from buzzing it. It is in my right from pocket, and my axis is now residing in my left, for the time being at least. I will see how I feel when the newness wears off, but I think this will be my Seattle knife when I get ready to move there next year.

YeK

------------------
It is not a matter of whether or not you are paranoid, it is a matter of whether or not you are paranoid enough.

 

[Roger Blake]

I was less impressed with this knife than your are. My mini was not the tanto but I really liked the blade. It was was the best thing about the knife.

My main problem with it is that the end blade pivots outside the back edge of the handle right where my hand seems to be naturally placed to slide the disk forward such that the rear corner of the blade would clip my hand unless I made a consious effort to keep my hand back.

While I am ragging on the knife,let me say too that the feel of it in the hand is overly abrasive. Not only are the scales abrasive, ridges are cut into the liners and the back of the blade as well as the handles. I think the grip thing is way over done.

On the positive side is the blade and the lock up. Lock up was perfect even if the liner is somewhat thin particularly so because the blade is rather stout. I also found the edges of the liners poorly finished.

I sold mine because a neighbor who is a retirred LEO thought I would get busted if stopped while carrying it. My state has a rather broad definition of "switchblade". I think I could probably beat the rap but I would rather not try. I will probably sell my Random Task for the same reason and I really like that knife.

 

[Titan]

Folks -- if you want a free CUDA of your choice (aside from this month's raffle prize), head on to www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum21/HTML/000055.html !

Thanks for the review, Yekim!