Tarani folding Karambit

brownie0486

brownie0486

Joined
Apr 6, 2003
Messages
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I received one of the first 50 Blade-Tech produced Tarani folding Karambits yesterday from the big brown truck.

Initial inspection showed the blade extremely tight fitting and some effort to deploy quickly as I'm accustomed to on other high end folders. This will need some breakin period and many openings and closings to get it where I want it.

The blade came very sharp but I still touched the ceramics to it briefly and it is where I want it now.

It appears well made overall. The serrated thumb placement after deployment are the best I've seen.
They have sharp teeth, yet when held are not uncomfortable, very positive grip.

The "ring" at the rear of the folder will take some getting used to as well. Th ring does make it very easy to grasp the folder out of the pocket. Likewise, the ring is big enough and either the index finger or small finger of the hand easily slips into and out of it dependant on whether you are holding it reverse or sabre grip for use.

After a day of playing with it I have not cut myself "yet" but I'm sure I will as I do with any new folder I play with. The fingers and hands need to ramp up through muscle memory and I think at this time will take more effort on my part than a normal tactical folder would. Thats not surprising and certainly not indicative of anything wrong however. Its just a whole new ball game.

In drills yesterday I can already see this will be quite the defensive knife. I like the blade being only just over two inches in length. Should not have any issues in any locale in the US unless knives are restricted completely from that area.

I have modified some of the quick defensive techniques to work around this knifes design and it appears initially that this knife may be better at some and put restrictions [ they'll need modification as well ]on others used by a traditional tactical folder in defensive moves.

More to follow. I like it and feel once it has loosened up some for faster depolyment from the pocket this will make one hell of a defensive knife.

Brownie
 
Does not belong in the Custom Forum.
Moving to Reviews.
Randy
 
Mine is on the way. Do you find the tightness a flaw, or something that can be worked out? Is it so tight that it is hard to open and close, or just not as simple and easy as a Sebenza, for example?
This concerns me. I won't be a defensive user, but I want a knife that is made well and not flawed.
Please let me know your feelings.
Thanks,
Prof Ed
 
Prof. Ed:
Mine is for defense but here is what I have seen so far.

In playing with it today I have decided it is not a folding knife at all like I thought it would be.

It's more a folding tool. The ring and overall design parameters with the short hawksbill type blade changes how this will be used.

I can see great possibilities with this tool and the more I play with it the more like it. Having been a round or two with knives in general it can't even be compared to say, the spyder harpys as some may think due to the ring and hand/finger forming general grip, as well the pinky in the ring.

I have taken off the clip which came set up for right hand carry if you are using it in forward grip. Put it on the other side thereby making it retrieved in reverse grip.

Once in that config I tried to grasp the ring, pull from the pocket and open by throwing the blade downward on clearing the pocket. No go--
The blade is too small and designed so that the normal action to do so is negated.

When in reverse grip there is no way to reach the blades opening hole effectively except by the pinky. The blade is too stiff for me to pull this off however and I decided to go back to the original config of right hand opening to what would be a sabre grip on a normal blade.

Once I determined this is the only way to carry it for now at least [ we'll see if it will loosen up so I can reverse it again ]it will be faster to deploy if the blade falls away upon retrieval than the way I'm carrying it now.

Once opened in the hand it is solid and probably not capable of being knocked from your hand unless you give up a grip on the tool.

Some of the things I'm doing today with it in drills and defensive cutting have been extremely fast. It definatley is fast to redirect the blade left to right and gives me a feeling of control and flexibility at the same time due to the ring.

It's only the beginning, this tool and I, and I'll reserve whether it will replace my normal EDC knives[ which it has for the time being ]or whether it is carried as the tool it is knowing it can be deployed and once opened becomes devastating to anyone within it's reach.

The handles is g-10 and cut to fit your hand in overall shape with finger cuts in the g-10 to index the tool in you hand when clearing it from the pocket.

Thats what i have so far, except I still haven't cut myself with it [ yet ] but I know it's coming. I need more work on the aluminum trainer I got from Steve as well before going all out with this just yet.

I like it, it's nasty at what it can do if you know some techniques, easily adapted to what I know for the most part.

It is limited in it's abilities somewhat and I remain confident at this time the tool can be made to sing one day.

Brownie
 
Brownie,
Thank you for the excellent monograph on the Tarani Karambit Folder. I suppose that the tightness of the blade is not a harmful thing, something I was worried about.
I would like to rotate this as an EDC. My main concern was that the knife/tool was entirely too difficult to open and close; possibly being a design flaw. From what I understand that you are saying, this is not the case.
Sandy, at Karambit is talking to BladeTech engineers about this apparent stiffness.
I will know in a few days if the tool will be tolerable for me. I won't expect it to be easy to open, but you are saying that it can be opened with the thumb, no problem. Am I correct in that assumption?
I will probably open the blade in the sabre grip, exclusively. I can't picture trying to open the blade in a reverse grip with the pinky.I haven't experience with that method.
Anyway, after waiting a long time, I hope the Karambit is all that I expect it to be. A useful, well designed, tool and toy:)Not to hard to open that it will be uncomfortable or damaging to the knife.
Hear from you again.
Prof. Ed
 
Prof. Ed:

The blade was stiff to open but after a few days of playing with it it is loosening up some as I suspected it would. It wasn't that I could not open it but that it was like other folders I have purchased that required "breakin".

It is not as smooth as I like my EDC's to be normally, but then this can be corrected by "breakin" and tweeking the pivot pin if I have to.

I think you will like it. It is a different animal than a regular folder you are used to carrying [ at least it is for me]. It will take the time/effort/practice to be on par with my normal EDC's but I am willing to commit to that in order to carry and rely on it for possible defensive needs.

Time will tell.

Let us know when Sandy gets back to you. She is a very nice person to deal with on the phone [as you know] and I'm sure she will follow up on your question relative the blade being tight.

Brownie
 
Gentlman

Thought I'd better give a little insight into the Tarani Karambit.

First off it was designed by Steve and built to his exacting specifications to perform under extreme circumstances.

In other words be "Tarani proof"
Read 600 pound gorilla proof! (No offense Steve!)

Put it this way If I had to make the choice of facing Steve Tarani
or an enraged 600 pound gorilla, I'd take the gorilla!
On second thought make it Tarani, I'd be dead quicker!

With regard to the Tarani Karambits front lock being a bit stiff, it can still be deployed quite easily in saber grip by simply pressing the thumb into the top end (pivot end) of the oval hole and pressing the blade up and open.
To unlock in saber grip simply depress the lock nearly flush with the lock recess, until the blade is unlocked. Then give a little downward shake the blade will stop on the index finger. Finish closing using the thumb.

The front lock will never be quite as smooth as the liner lock, but can be much stronger when made correctly. Especially when used in a Tarani reverse blade strike (using the spine).
Making the lock on this knife any lighter could result in liablities.

If you have a Tarani Karambit or if you are thinking of getting one.
You owe it to your self to take one of his seminars and or get his tapes, to be able to truly appreciate this tool.

Remember with the right training and techniques " practice makes perfect!

Thanks
Tim
 
Thanks, I've been waiting to hear some impressions on this knife. Too bad they are back-ordered (or luckily for my wallet).
 
I know this is a subjective question, but how comfortable is the handle?
 
Not bad at all. A bit long for me. I have trouble putting my pinky in the ring and opening the knife.
 
Prof. Ed:

Try this--------pull it from the pocket with the little finger or as you would normally if the ring were not there. Lay it flat [ sideways ] in your hand. The little fingers first digit will just sit inside, not really curled around the ring yet, but ready to.

With the knife thus, thumb the blade open to lockup. Turn the knife back to ssabre grip and the pinky then fully enters the ring and grasps same.

Took me a few tries to figure out the best way to depoly it quickly and this works for me. I wanted to get the pinky into the ring first and the blade opening hole is then too far to thumb open easily.
It needs to be adapted based on your body structure. My hands are too short as well to do what you are trying to do. Improvise. It gets better.

Once deployed the tool sits very well in the hand. The cutouts in the g-10 are very nice and well placed, and as well, the finger grooves cut into the g-10 allow a very, very solid grip and the pinky finger closed around the hole makes it very secure in the hand at the same time.

It wasn't molded to my hand as in a custom that might have been, but I have never seen anything as well deigned to fit the hand while being used in it's intended roles. Certainly no folding knife I've ever seen or held.

I guess you can tell I like it. It is slower to deploy than my normal EDC's over the last 20 years. Once in the hand, it is devastatingly effective at it's intended purpose. I plan on using this knife like a cats claw and swiping the offending limbs when they reach in.

That blade will enter and slice itself out of flesh, cutting ligaments and tendons, with less force applied to the strike by the nature of the blades design.

Serious piece of equipment, short enough blade to be legal almost everywhere in the USA where knives would be allowed at all these days. Just what the doctor ordered.

I have contacted Sandy at Karambit and have a Strider made Taraini karambit coming thats their making for me without the sharpened outside edge making it legal to carry in most states whose blade length restrictions are over 4 inches. This thing is something like 3 3/4 blade length.

Brownie
 
Prof. Ed,
Heads up on another small issue I discovered at work today.

I have opened and closed the knife about 500 times since receiving same.

I noticed that there was a little lateral play in the blade when opened. I got the correct tool to tighten it and it was just a little loose.

I'm home now and have readjusted it with loctite [blue] and it will set over night to alleviate this occuring again.

I have already loctited the screws to the clip upon receiving it so there should be no such issues in the future.

As an aside, I have had to retighten a lot of the knives pivots over the years with loctite applied.
No problem but I wanted you to be aware of the potential once you get to opening it a few hundred times.

Brownie
 
Brownie,
Thank you for the heads up. I'll need to buy some of that magic blue elixir.
Best,
Prof. Ed:)
P.S. Brownie, I have to admit that I'm a total klutz, now that I'm a bit older. Is this "job" something to worry about? Is it normal for this to happen to a knife? I started thinking about it, thus the P.S.!
I don't want to wreck the knife or have it do something it shouldn't. Maybe you could give me a crash course ,when you have time ,as to what to do. I haven't even done the clip screws yet. I have a heavy hand and thought I might strip them or something:)
Thank you for your kind and generous help.
P.E.
 
I just received my Tarani folder today. Right out of the box this folder was smooth to open and easy to close. It was also hair popping sharp. I love it. It has already found it's way into my EDC.

This happens to be my second Tarani Folder. My first one is one of the Prototypes that was made for Steve Tarani. It was given to me by Steve and was placed into my show case.

Brian
 
Prof. Ed:

The blue loctite is what I use as later you are able to undo the crews that were loctited easily yet the blue stuff will keep everythig tight until you want it different.

I tightened the pivot pin [which makes the blade harder or easier to open]until there was just barely no lateral play with the blade opened. Checked the ease of opening at that point which was acceptable for me and let it sit over night.

Checked the blade stiffness when opening it this morning [saying hello], ;) , and it was actually a little smoother than when I put it away last night.

It is quite acceptable for the pivot pins to loosen and in fact I have had to loctite almost every folder I own at one time or another. You can either do it now or wait until the pivot loosens up and do it then.

I expect no further issues with this happeneing again and it's "good to go".

Randal16-1:
Congrats on your securing the proto and production Tarani Folding Karambit.


Brownie
 
Update on the Blade-tech Karambit.

Having spent several hours becoming one with the tool by depolying from the pocket using the thumb hole in sabre grip, I can now have it opened and defending in one second. When I started it was more like 2 seconds or close to it.

I'm accustomed to retrieval of the EDC's from the pocket in sub 1 second times with the "Brownie Pop" developed years ago for defensive purposes.

In that vain, it is still much slower for me to have deployed and defending in "startle mode". I'm comfortable with it's retrieval time for now but have gone back and forth the last few days with my regular carry EDC [ military the last few days, elishewitz custom, sypder large wegner, MT LCC, Socom ]as it bothers me with the Karambits slower times [ If I touch these others on the pocket they are opened and moving to target in thousands of a second with my technique ].

The knifes pivot screw loosened after 500 or so opening. I noticed lateral play when opened [ not a lot but I check them when new and until I loctite them afterwards ]. I blue loctited the pivot screw back down just enough to keep the blade from lateral movement when opened. Let it sit overnight and "said hello" the next morning.

To my surprise the blade was actually easier to open than when I set it down for some reason still unexplained. No knife has done this when loctited so it became very evident immediately.

Another 200+ opening and I'm still at a second to ready from the pocket but it has really smoothed out nicely and remains tight in the pivot area. The clip screws had been loctited the day I got it because I changed the clip to reverse right side carry [ which didn't work out ] and then put it back to sabre right side as it was shipped.

The knife is solid as a rock closed and opened. I have practiced some closed retrievals and with the pinky finger in the ring [ thats how I retrieve the tool ], knife grasped in fist with thumb on the top of the knife, and hitting objects with the ring. Gently pressing the ring in this fashion on hard targets and using the thumb to keep the Karambit from moving when pressure is applied I find that I could realistically use this technique to inflict much damage to soft body targets as well while closed. I don't believe I can damage the knife with my own strength in this fashion.

The Blade-tech Karambit's lock is incredibly strong as well. They advertise that the knife lock was designed to not allow the blade to close until you have depressed the lock completely with the thumb. THEY ARE RIGHT!!!!!!!!!! Thats just how mine works and I'm happy that they did this as I am very confident that I will not unlock the blade under heavy/hard use with my hand in either sabre or reverse grip. They did this right. It is easy to use the thumb to purposely depress the lock and release the blade.

I was real careful initially, closing the knife with two hands, as I have never carried a blade of this shape before. Now, I retrieve, open, use, unlock and close the knife with either hand without assistance from the other hand as I am accustomed to on my former EDC's.

Yep, this is my EDC primary defensive tool now, sitting clipped on the RFP. Other than the speed of deployment issues I have [ which are not solveable for my tastes ] I can't find anything I don't like about it and a lot I do like that a normal defensive folder can't do. It's about parameters and their differences which are enormous between this and ANY other tactical folder unless some variant on this theme.

Another plus to many will be the under 2 1/2" blade length which should meet every states, cities ordinances if you can carry in the area at all to begin with. I don't travel often out of my area in the last couple of years but it's nice to know I can be in any state and be legal. One worry no longer about what the laws are relative blade length when moving about.

In the hand in sabre grip with the pinky in the ring and the thumb on the serrations at the top of the spine, the tool becomes a serious lever capable of putting a lot of pressure onto the shapened edge in downward/outward and pulling movements. I believe this tool could easily take a wrist off pretty clean with enough force applied through an arcing hard defensive slash. If it didn't remove it completely I have a feeling the receiving individual would have a useless hand and need immediate medical attention or lose the use of it anyway. Catch a defensive cut to a finger or two and I don't even want to think about what they'd look like from then on.

Do I like it? I'd say so. It fits my needs as well as the states statutes needs anywhere in the US as far as I know at this time. The most restrictive I have seen for laws anywhere was 2 1/2" blade lengths in places which includes Boston after 9-11.
It's well under that so there shouldn't be any problems there.

As an aside, the folder does not have a sharpend outside edge as in the straight Karambits. The design does not allow it to be and it would be dangerous as the edge would be exposed when closed. In reverse grip the knife could be used to pound a defensive block with the outside of the blade onto an offending limb hard enough to cause great pain and in the right places, nerve damage.

I have asked for and been granted, by Mick Strider who makes Tarani's straight bladed double edge Krambits, a special order Karambit from the run being made now that has the outer blade edge softened slightly so it will not be considered a "sharpened edge", which would make it illegal in my state and most others.

It's due date is in about 60 days when the present run of these goes out to customers. Ordered the video from Sandy at Karambit.com and will take possesion of the Strider Tarani Karambit and video at the same time.

I want to play with it on my own with no outside instruction for awhile. I have found my own way of reversing the grip and back to sabre, first using the Tarani aluminum trainer for a few days to save the figers.

I'll be interested in the video content and how they perform the reverse grip to sabre and back to reverse. I'm doing it this way as I want to see how my mind figures it out for me and how the tool has been designed to be used by those more knowledgable than I on this format.

One more thing, Sandy at Karambit.com is extremely easy to speak with and very accomodating. If you are interested in a street legal Strider Tarani Karmabit as I have ordered I'm sure the Mick and her can get you up to speed as well. Great service and Sandy makes sure you are kept up to speed on deliveries and questions about their products. Sandy made the connection with Mick Strider to get me what I wanted. Can't say enough about both companies at his point.

Brownie
 
Brownie,
You have been busy. I bought the blue stuff as suggested, haven't put it on yet. I have only opened the knife, to date, a dozen times! I've been busy with a newly acquired part time job to pay for these things.
I really can't seem to open the knife without releasing my pinky grip.
Maybe with practice, I'll figure out away. Maybe, I don't have the hand length needed?
My other new Karambit is the EKI. It fits my hand well and has a "wave' feature that I can not master. I seem to be the only one in the world that can't do the wave:)
The Tarani is more comfortable. The EKI has a chisel edge that is different for me, very sharp.
I still worry about the lateral play, because I'm anile! I'll proably never open the knife enough to develop it.
I do enjoy carrying my LeGriffe "necker". I know it is always ready for a "chore". Deployment is slow. Being a "klutz" I'll probably cut my shirt off. The look of my hirsute body will most likely scare an attacker off:) Shoot, I scare myself. Once my gray chest hair turned green. Halloween came and I opened my shirt and scared hell out of my younger students. The doctor had no explanation for the green. Had to be a body chemistry thing. It wasn't chorine, I don't swim.
So you see, maybe this all has to do with me not being able to deploy either Karambit. BTW, I bought both of Tarani's books-intersting.
Prof. Ed (Klutz Extraordinaire)
 
how different this front lock from the traditional back lock (Buck 110) or mid lock (CS Voyager)in design and locking mechanism?
 
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