My first experience with Massdrop exclusive design was one year ago.
The Falcon has been a surprise in its quality and design and since has been my Spyderco Techno replacement. The Gent is even a better deal !! We are in presence of a real masterpiece in modern cutlery and, pardon my French but I weight my words.
First thing I have noticed is the blade to handle ratio: in a folder, the blade will be most of the time shorther than the handle but with some designers tricks you can give the illusion… It was already the case with the Falcon: we got a real elegant knife despite being short, the blade is perfectly centered, the blade evenly ground, the action is smooth as butter and the edge cut my hairs… WOW !!

The large choil seems to be a Ferrum Forge signature and it is handy for precision cutting. Also when not using it I can hold the handle with 4 fingers. It is much more ergonomic and fonctionnal that my Izulas in that matter.

The lock is similar to the Spyderco PPT.  It is a thick pride liner lock made of bead blasted grey titanium. The slabs are G10 with a very nice texture. Attention to details is stunning: quality is at the rendez vous. The lock feels strong and any way your hand is protected by the flipper used a guard and by the choil if you choose to use it. This is a very solid folder.

The blade is exquisitely ground and the edge is thin, razor sharp our of the box.

The opening construction is ultra minimalist and VERY EASY to keep clean !!
I love ultra minimalists design as found on the Spyderco K2 for example.

The spine is gently chanferred for an excellent confort in thumb pushing cuttings.
Something I won’t have to do myself.

Immediatly you want to play with and put the high saber flat ground S35VN blade in its pace. A steel first introduced to me through the Spyderco Native 5.

As a Lady/Gent knife it is small like a jewel.

Non threatening is a must in that kind of EDC knife. But don’t get fooled by its size; this is a real workhorse !

The detent is a little harder than the one of my Falcon or my ZT0562CF but it works and fires every time. It is really smooth and no side play so far. I was not able easily to open the blade without using the flipper.

The deep carry clip is well thought and it makes the knife disappearing in the pocket. EDC is often better in low profile configuration.

So let’s put a little convexing on that baby: Stuff 2, Fallkniven DC4 and leather…

Diamonds are in play for the first round. The thin edge makes it easy to scratch and of course I have scratched it. You can notice the very nice belly on the blade.

But nothing some use and future stropping won’t erase in a “beautility” attempt. The idea is just to bring convex in the middle of the belly.

Leather stropping, razor sharp let try it on my favorite test in ergos and edge: the Bottle Butt !!

As you can see it was an easy cut for that little knife. There is power in this one. The blade is just thick enough to provide a comfortable spine to strongly push through.

The Belly always help for push cutting in hard material.

So far what do we got:

an elegant, non threatening short folder with premium materials (Titanium and S35VN).
It can be deployed and close with one hand.  Great balance with its sweet spot just behind the pivot. Great ergos, thin edge and easy to clean ?
This is almost the perfect EDC, worst it the best EDC you can buy for 80 dollars !!
This kind of high quality knife could be the only folder to bring with you anywhere. A great little big knife ready for anything ! Thank you to my friend Dan Sharpe for having introduced me to that little wonder !

SPECS

• Produced by Drop
• Designed by Ferrum Forge
• Manufactured by WE Knife (in Guangdong, China)
• Blade: CPM-S35VN stainless steel
• HRC: 58–61
• Blade type: Drop-point
• Grind: Flat saber
• Finish: Stonewashed
• Handle: 6AL4V titanium with rosewood or carbon fiber scales
• Lock: Liner lock
• Open: Flipper tab
• Ceramic detent ball
• Caged pivot bearings, hardened steel washers
• Choil for easy sharpening
• Reversible, deep-carry steel pocket clip
• Blade thickness: 0.13 in (3.2 mm)                       
• Handle thickness: 0.4 in (1.1 cm)
• Blade length: 3 in (7.8 cm)
• Closed length: 3.6 in (9.7 cm)
• Overall length: 6.6 in (17.5 cm)
• Weight: 2.4 oz (68 g)

Founded in 2009, Ferrum Forge started from humble beginnings in Elliot Williamson’s garage in Southern California. Using found pieces of steel like old files and leaf springs, Elliot gradually taught himself the art of knifemaking and metallurgy. As his skills and passion grew, so too did the demand for his work. Luckily, Elliot’s brother Chris joined the team in 2012 to help expand Ferrum Forge to what it is today: a small operation dedicated to designing and producing custom knives through a rigorous process of development, machining, iteration, and quality control.

The story of the Gent starts back in 2016 when Elliot and Chris Williamson from Ferrum Forge teamed up with Drop (formerly MassDrop) for a cross brand collaboration. Ferrum Forge designed a series of unique Drop x Ferrum Forge knives that they produced, but none would compare to the Gent. After the success of the first few models, Drop asked for a less aggressive design better suited for carrying in an office environment.  It was time for Elliot from Ferrum Forge to break away from aggressive, “tactical” style and give the world his take on a modern, gentlemen’s folding knife.  Not only did he accomplish his goal, he created the most popular, best selling knife that Drop ever sold.  

Ironically, Elliot didn’t like the Gent after he rendered it in 3D. His artistic side screamed it was boring and too simple. Meanwhile, Chris, lacking that artistic side, saw the elegance in the simplicity and loved it. Drop cast the tie breaking vote and the Gent came to life. 

The Gent started their evolution toward slimmer, lighter, more pocket friendly, and less expensive knives. It was the first ever Ferrum Forge liner lock design and would eventually lead them to creating liner locks like the Stinger, Mini Archbishop, and Prolix. 

Unfortunately their collaboration with Drop ran its course and they discontinued the Gent.