I've always liked rams horn scales on a traditional folder so when I noticed a Robert Klaas medium stockman in rams horn for less than $20 I had to buy it.
Initial impression, from a quick glance its a beautiful knife. Closer inspection shows small fit and finish flaws but hey its a $20 knife. For the price its not bad.
The bad, it came extremely dull with a fairly uneven grind on all three blades and an extremely thick/blunt point on the main blade. I worked for several hours with several different stones producing a more acceptable edge but its still not what I would consider truly sharp.
Overall I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I know I'll probably never carry the thing, only bought it because its pretty. On the other I'm slightly bothered by what the Klaas brand has become. Its like every other formally good foreign knife maker who has shipped production to China.
I rarely buy a Chinese knife unless its something odd that catches my eye. At the end of the day I know that I wont be truly satisfied even if its a pattern or material I really like. This knife pretty much echoes that sentiment. It should have been great, and even though its completely serviceable and beautiful I sort of want to get rid of it.
This isn't my first experience of modern Robert Klaas knives. Bough a small sodbuster pattern a few years back to use as a cheap work knife. Came butter knife dull, wouldn't take a good edge, and wouldn't hold an edge long enough to even be serviceable.
Bottom line, Robert Klaas I'm having a hard time being impressed
Initial impression, from a quick glance its a beautiful knife. Closer inspection shows small fit and finish flaws but hey its a $20 knife. For the price its not bad.
The bad, it came extremely dull with a fairly uneven grind on all three blades and an extremely thick/blunt point on the main blade. I worked for several hours with several different stones producing a more acceptable edge but its still not what I would consider truly sharp.
Overall I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I know I'll probably never carry the thing, only bought it because its pretty. On the other I'm slightly bothered by what the Klaas brand has become. Its like every other formally good foreign knife maker who has shipped production to China.
I rarely buy a Chinese knife unless its something odd that catches my eye. At the end of the day I know that I wont be truly satisfied even if its a pattern or material I really like. This knife pretty much echoes that sentiment. It should have been great, and even though its completely serviceable and beautiful I sort of want to get rid of it.
This isn't my first experience of modern Robert Klaas knives. Bough a small sodbuster pattern a few years back to use as a cheap work knife. Came butter knife dull, wouldn't take a good edge, and wouldn't hold an edge long enough to even be serviceable.
Bottom line, Robert Klaas I'm having a hard time being impressed