Very Quick First Impression Artisan Shark

[diamdave]

Picked up an Artisan Shark folder from White Mountain. Model #1707PS-BKF. I always regretted not buying a Kershaw OD series, and from the pictures this knife looked like it had a similar blade shape.

I (mistakenly) bought the smaller one, 3.2" blade instead of the 4" I thought I was buying. Nevertheless, knife is solid, excellent deployment and lockup. G10 has perfect amount of grip, not abrasive sandpaper and not smooth or plasticky. This knife oozes quality. Mine has D2 steel, low profile pocket clip, perfectly chamfered flipper and the cobalt blue liners add more than a touch of class. I really like this knife and am very impressed. Haven't put through any paces yet, still to come. I haven't bought a Chinese mfg knife since my last Tangram Orion, which has its strengths but isn't, imo, the same quality as this Artisan. Seems like they've really stepped up their game.

 

[sgt1372]

I own 5 Artisans; all in D2 w/4" blades. They are an overlooked and underrated brand of knives. The Shark and Waistline are my favorites.

Well worth the price at $50-60 for D2 but a questionable value at over $100 for premium steel models, which are built (as far as I can tell) exactly like the lower prices models with the exception of the steel and scale materials used.

In the $100-250 range, I prefer ZT, Spyderco, Benchmade and others instead.