Since the prac tac has a limited audience I decided to put this also here.
Having now owned the Bastinelli Kalinou karambit for a while I have some thoughts about this knife and karambits in general. I have handled several karambits in a knife shop, the United Cutlery Honshu and other knives by that maker and the Cold Steel karambit. The United Cutlery karambits were considerably worse quality. I did not like their handles, espesially those undercover karambits were very uncomfortable. The front finger ring in my opinion ruins the whole knife. Your hand size must fit exactly the handle for a good hold. Also if you want to have the traditional karambit grip the front ring messes the thing.
Honshu was better, but at this point you should look at the blade and steel. Like the Cold Steel Steel Tiger the Honshu is a big knife. Too big in my opinion and for my intended use. The steel is mediocre at best. If you want a larger karambit without going the custom route the Cold Steel is a choise.
For my needs and looking at the quality the Bastinelli Kalinou is in my opinion the best karambit I have handled, it must be one of the best in the market. The size is right, the knife is nice and flat but still it has a comfortable handle. The ring has a good zize. Only thing that I dont like is that the ring is thin, I would not use it as a blunt force instrument (the blade back is dull and you can strike with it, a less lethal option). The blade is thin but not too much so and the knife came shaving sharp. The steel is of excellent quality and the finish is flawless. The geometry of the handle and blade combined with the very sharp flat ground blade should make this a fierce cutter. I really must do some test cutting. I can tell after a small accident that the point penetrates really well.
The sheath is also good, it retains the blade well but has loosened up a bit. I use a statick cord to keep the knife inside the waistband, the cord is just long enough for the sheath to clear on the draw so the sheath falls just below my belt. This makes also resheathing the knife safe.
I could use a slightly smaller karambit from the same maker, but the bottle opener on the karamdrink model is in my opinion a gimmick that ruins the othervise clean lines. A shame. The Rancunier by Bastinelli is not strictly speaking a karambit but a karambit hybrid, but still interesting. If I really get crazy I might buy another Kalinou and customize the blade and sheath.
Having now owned the Bastinelli Kalinou karambit for a while I have some thoughts about this knife and karambits in general. I have handled several karambits in a knife shop, the United Cutlery Honshu and other knives by that maker and the Cold Steel karambit. The United Cutlery karambits were considerably worse quality. I did not like their handles, espesially those undercover karambits were very uncomfortable. The front finger ring in my opinion ruins the whole knife. Your hand size must fit exactly the handle for a good hold. Also if you want to have the traditional karambit grip the front ring messes the thing.
Honshu was better, but at this point you should look at the blade and steel. Like the Cold Steel Steel Tiger the Honshu is a big knife. Too big in my opinion and for my intended use. The steel is mediocre at best. If you want a larger karambit without going the custom route the Cold Steel is a choise.
For my needs and looking at the quality the Bastinelli Kalinou is in my opinion the best karambit I have handled, it must be one of the best in the market. The size is right, the knife is nice and flat but still it has a comfortable handle. The ring has a good zize. Only thing that I dont like is that the ring is thin, I would not use it as a blunt force instrument (the blade back is dull and you can strike with it, a less lethal option). The blade is thin but not too much so and the knife came shaving sharp. The steel is of excellent quality and the finish is flawless. The geometry of the handle and blade combined with the very sharp flat ground blade should make this a fierce cutter. I really must do some test cutting. I can tell after a small accident that the point penetrates really well.
The sheath is also good, it retains the blade well but has loosened up a bit. I use a statick cord to keep the knife inside the waistband, the cord is just long enough for the sheath to clear on the draw so the sheath falls just below my belt. This makes also resheathing the knife safe.
I could use a slightly smaller karambit from the same maker, but the bottle opener on the karamdrink model is in my opinion a gimmick that ruins the othervise clean lines. A shame. The Rancunier by Bastinelli is not strictly speaking a karambit but a karambit hybrid, but still interesting. If I really get crazy I might buy another Kalinou and customize the blade and sheath.
