What's the deal with the Karambit?

H

Hesparus

Joined
Oct 31, 2004
Messages
1,442
Is the karambit out of production? Very few places have it, and they all show prices higher than the MSRP listed on the spyderco website — sites that usually have 40% discounts. If it has been discontinued (or it was a sprint run, or whatever) why does the spyderco website list it as in production?

- Chris
 
It was a Sprint run, though not advertised as such.

That's what I remember hearing a few months back. As for the Spyderco Store still having it, the models on the site are not always in production. Several of the models still for sale on the site have been discontinued, but as long as Spyderco still has stock to sell, they'll keep it up there.

The Persian, Dodo, Temperance, and several others are out of production now, but still for sale.

The Karambit is the same way, get one now if you want it;)

If I'm wrong, someone will come along to correct me.
 
There have been a lot of them on Ebay lately going for around $60. I paid almost $62 myself without S&H. It may be worth a look.
 
I held one, but it wasn't for me...I really wanted to understand it, but the point of the blade effectively points at me. I can't imagine actually using it. A much milder blade curve would have been nice though. Also, kind of a pocket anchor.
 
The Karambit has a history that started in the Indonesian Archepalego. They also had a huge presence in the Phillipines. They were mainly used for self defense but there has been in the past and present a lot of agricultural uses for them.

As with any knife with a very unique design you just have to do some digging on your own. There is a guy named Steve Tarani who is a noted expert on the Karambit. He used to be accessible at www.karambit.com I have heard that the Blade-Tech company is now making Karambits for Tarani.

AS with any special purpose knife I would highly recommend doing your homework as to what the pluses and minuses are with it's design. I have talked to a couple of guys that have really wacked themselves with them. It is probably the most extreme Hawkbill design that I am aware of. If I were going to use a Karambit for self defense I would certainly invest in a trainer and do a lot of practice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top