- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,666
My first impulse buy of 2025 has been a full serrated Tiger Claw. I have a few big ol' Cold Steel folders, several practical and tactical folders, but I was missing something that I might want to carry "just in case". I have been quasi training with and carrying karambits for the better part of 20 years. As someone who uses a khukuri a lot, the way a 'bit handles came very natural to me. I tended to favor larger samples simply because that fit my familiarity level best. So the Tiger Claw has been on my radar for several years, but I never felt the need to invest in one.
Honestly, I have been carrying a Spyderco Civilian for the last couple of years. Extremely purpose built, I keep it in its zipper case and pack it when I travel to areas where a knife is ok but a gun is not. I carry it in my back right pocket to draw and Spydie Drop open since it's tip down only. That said, it's not the most practical.
When the Big River offered a limited time deal on a fully serrated Tiger Claw for under $90, I just had to give it a shot. I know it is straighter and sports a lot of handle, but I figured that the Thumb Plate would aid in deploying the knife and act pretty much as well as the add on Snaggletooth I purchase for my more tactical knives. UGhhhhhh, I'm so irritated with this this design
IMHO, that Tiger Claw does not lend itself to the thumb plate opener. Due to the shape of the blade, drawing it in a forward grip requires a rolling that will snap it open at the expense of potentially cutting any shirt in its path or your back pock of your pants. OK, no big deal. I was planning on drawing this in a reverse grip, as one my gripes with a lot of other Karambit style folders is that they aren't designed to be opened in a reverse grip. My Microtech Hawk Auto is a glaring example of this. Anyway, I move the pocket clip over to the left side so that it draws in reverse with my right, and I can probably deploy this thing with a practiced drag maybe 70% of the time. 10% of the time it opens 90% but doesn't lock up. 20% it doesn't overcome the back spring and snaps shut where careless fingers might fall.
I nipped myself twice trying to find a reliable way to draw this knife, and I was going slow and trying to be careful.
I would have either cut out under the disk more to give it a better grab or just licensed Emerson to use the wave feature. The thumb disk is a joke on this short and inward curving blade. I decided that I would take the disk off and see if there was anything I could do to modify the knife to give a better grab on my pocket. What I found does not inspire confidence.
I had never taken one of these off, be it on a CS or the Emerson ZT 630. I had thought that maybe there was a stair step down where the disk would rest on a little notch to lock it in more. Instead, I see its just this one short little T6 with a tiny bit of thread lock and nothing secondary to take some of the lateral stress off the knife nor mitigate the stress of pulling that plate upward over and over again. You can also see the slop in the over-cut of the blade.
Honestly, I have figured out how to wrist flick this knife open in a reverse grip, so I think that's what I'll do. That scrawny thumb plate isn't going back on there. Actually, the step that plate rests against isn't much worse than the plate itself to wave the knife open. I think I may take a dremel and just wallow that area out where they cut too far back and see how it grabs.
All around, I DO dig the knife and plan on carrying it. It's incredibly formidable. However, I have really been kicking around getting a Talwar for my birthday next month. I'm not feeling confident with that thumb plate opener.
This may end up getting carried in my boot as a back up.
Honestly, I have been carrying a Spyderco Civilian for the last couple of years. Extremely purpose built, I keep it in its zipper case and pack it when I travel to areas where a knife is ok but a gun is not. I carry it in my back right pocket to draw and Spydie Drop open since it's tip down only. That said, it's not the most practical.
When the Big River offered a limited time deal on a fully serrated Tiger Claw for under $90, I just had to give it a shot. I know it is straighter and sports a lot of handle, but I figured that the Thumb Plate would aid in deploying the knife and act pretty much as well as the add on Snaggletooth I purchase for my more tactical knives. UGhhhhhh, I'm so irritated with this this design
IMHO, that Tiger Claw does not lend itself to the thumb plate opener. Due to the shape of the blade, drawing it in a forward grip requires a rolling that will snap it open at the expense of potentially cutting any shirt in its path or your back pock of your pants. OK, no big deal. I was planning on drawing this in a reverse grip, as one my gripes with a lot of other Karambit style folders is that they aren't designed to be opened in a reverse grip. My Microtech Hawk Auto is a glaring example of this. Anyway, I move the pocket clip over to the left side so that it draws in reverse with my right, and I can probably deploy this thing with a practiced drag maybe 70% of the time. 10% of the time it opens 90% but doesn't lock up. 20% it doesn't overcome the back spring and snaps shut where careless fingers might fall.
I nipped myself twice trying to find a reliable way to draw this knife, and I was going slow and trying to be careful.I would have either cut out under the disk more to give it a better grab or just licensed Emerson to use the wave feature. The thumb disk is a joke on this short and inward curving blade. I decided that I would take the disk off and see if there was anything I could do to modify the knife to give a better grab on my pocket. What I found does not inspire confidence.
I had never taken one of these off, be it on a CS or the Emerson ZT 630. I had thought that maybe there was a stair step down where the disk would rest on a little notch to lock it in more. Instead, I see its just this one short little T6 with a tiny bit of thread lock and nothing secondary to take some of the lateral stress off the knife nor mitigate the stress of pulling that plate upward over and over again. You can also see the slop in the over-cut of the blade.
Honestly, I have figured out how to wrist flick this knife open in a reverse grip, so I think that's what I'll do. That scrawny thumb plate isn't going back on there. Actually, the step that plate rests against isn't much worse than the plate itself to wave the knife open. I think I may take a dremel and just wallow that area out where they cut too far back and see how it grabs.
All around, I DO dig the knife and plan on carrying it. It's incredibly formidable. However, I have really been kicking around getting a Talwar for my birthday next month. I'm not feeling confident with that thumb plate opener.
This may end up getting carried in my boot as a back up.
I don't need many of my knives to snap open on the draw, but if they are going to be for SD, I kinda like that they operate as they are designed. It's not a deal breaker, but it does bother me. I probably should have just ordered a Fox and been done with it, tbh.