One week later with Thorin in the pocket (Tolkien fans will know) I can now say: “What a great EDC knife !”. And especially after each use: “What a cleverly designed cutting tool !” Of course, I have noticed some nagging about the fact that the ball bearing are not made of ceramic but I remember reading also many issue about the Spyderco Mantra 2 and mine was just getting better and better the further I have used it. The same for the Nano. It flipper fires now at 100%.
Now the Dwarf has proven to be exceptional in regard of pure ergonomy. This is the knife which has been thought as a tool you can handle for a long time making it a great candidate for wood working and even for various bushcraft uses.
As you can notice the handle got that “elbow” near the end which makes it simply nesting in the palm of my hand.
See ? It was the same idea on the Casström‘s handle, a knife which is a pure Bushcraft’s tool.
This detail in the way the knife is designed changes a lot in terms of the comfort of the handle in your hand.
Another really nice touch is the way the flipper is integrate to the handle once the Nano is open.
The flipper almost disappear in the handle. It flushes better than on my Amalgame Bowie.
This dwarven knife is done for hard uses and tough work. The blade has a wide full flat grind on almost 4mm thick stock which is really powerful in term of push cutting. Like the dwarves in Tolkien’s books, you cannot judge the Nano by its size.
This little big knife has a handle to grip hard and a short blade to cut hard.
Also the edge of that CPM Magnacut blade once convexed is easy to maintain crispy only with some leather. Apparently the heat treating has been really well done by Maniago people.
The excellent geometry makes it a breeze to use on soft material also.
The open construction makes it easy to clean.
For the better actually. Titanium and Magnacut are not easy to stain anyway. You are not obliged to clean it immediately. Then under some hot tap water, it is back to new.
So really, so far so good, Thorin the Dwarf (“Nano” in Italian) is delivering and is not a disappointment at all but an excellent surprise. It goes in the same category as the Spyderco techno. Short tools with a lot of power are precious and not easy to design well; a folder short enough to sit comfortably in the watch pocket and with its pebble shape won’t rise any sheeple eyebrow. That’s a gem !
I’ve been eying the Nano from Lionsteel for almost a year now. Magnacut and Titanium framelock made in Maniago in compact package is very very tempting. Lionsteel has decided to invest a lot on the “darling of all steel” aka the CPM Magnacut and you can find a lot of their new collection in that wonder steel. Lionsteel is also known for a very high quality in manufacturing. I had already reviewed a MKM designed by Bob Terzuola made in the same factory. Also I was a huge fan of their great collaboration with Spyderco on their LionSpy great knives.
So, back to the Nano: what not to love in this chunky little big knife ? Magnacut and Titanium encapsulated in a beautiful well thought Italian design ? Amore a prima vista !
See how it is beautifully crafted ? A picture worst thousand words.
Nano by lionSTEEL, technical specifications from their site:
Total length: 162 mm. – 6.38 in. Blade length: 65 mm. – 2.56 in. Blade thickness: 3.8 mm. – 0.15 in. Total weight: 101 gr. – 3.56 oz. Blade steel: CPM MagnaCut Blade finish: Satin finished Locking system: Frame lock Frame: Gray titanium Handle material: Titanium 6AI4V Handle colour: Blue Packaging: Cardboard box
This is designed to be the “ultimate every day partner” quoting Lionsteel.
For me it is the Italian answer to the Spyderco Techno. even the upcoming Techno 3 looks a lot like the Nano ! It is an ultra solid short fixedblade with a strong lock and a strong steel. The stop pin is hidden like on my Swayback. A natural born workhorse at 200% ! A Landrover in a Ferrari skin ! Zero play, vertically or horizontally. Build like a tank.
Let’s flip it.
The flipping action is not the best out of the box despite its the Double Crown ball bearing system. It perhaps needs a drop of oil ? Edit: with a drop of teflon oil (for bikes) it works fine now.
Any way the flipper is not the main way to open it.
There is a notch in the blade which is totally useable to open it one hand. I’m able to notch drop opening my Nano.
The flipper is removable and it is called the “ReF” (Removable Flipper system). “The Removable Flipper system let the user decide if the flipper tab has to be part of the blade or not. The tab can be installed when in need, or removed and replaced with the second “cap” screw.”
I intend to keep the flipper also works as a little guard.
Zero issue also to close the knife. “The titanium frame locking bar is reinforced with a hardened steel insert so that the titanium part doesn’t get worn by the rotation of the blade in time.”
Nice touch and a tech totally mastered by Maniago !
Out of the box it is sharp.
Magnacut loves leather and it will soon be stropped. See the edit at the end of this article.
Now about the clip.
The clip is gorgeous and very solid. “The clip comes out a single piece of Titanium CNC milled. It is reversible, so it can be fixed on the opposite side for left hand users.”
But it is very hard to clip and unclip on my denim thick pocket. This is almost tedious. Not a big deal but for a serial clipper like myself the Nano will prefer thinner frabric to get clipped too. Anyway, as a small knife it can go easily the pocket without being clipped. The clip does not ruin the ergonomy and this is also important to notice. There is no hotspot once closed or open. Edit: I was skeptical about the thinner “edges” on the handle, as a square handle proposes more flat side like on a Native for example. But no, the handle is confortable even when cutting in hard material.
The handle is exquisite with a lot of attention to the details. It looks and it is a premium folder. It is exquisite ! And for the price (I got mine discounted at La Coutellerie Tournagell for less than 200 euros) it is a steal ! That kind of top notch manufacturing in my favorite USA brand would be much expensive, even made in Taiwan. The Nano is a bargain for the very high quality it is offering.
The blade spine is rounded like a Chris Reeve Sebenza ! So confortable for pushcuts using your thumb.
Testing on a piece of hard wood, the geometry is excellent and it goes deep right of the box. Magnacut being strong and easy to maintain sharp, it is a wood worker knife by essence.
The Nano offers also a lot of blade, a tiny bit more than my Native for great handle/blade ratio.
So this was a first glimpse to my 35th SICAC found which has just jump out of its box. It is a short knife with a lot of cutting power and an exquisite design and realization. Kuddos to Lionsteel and Pauletta Gianni for this absolute ge of a knife. Mine is blue. “Nel blu, dipinto di blu”. And I feel like “Felice di stare lassù !”
Edit: I have decided to deshoulder the edge and start to turn it into a convex edge as usual on my knives.
Using a DC4 from Fallkniven and protecting the blade with gaffer.
And it goes through the bottle butt ! Right in the thickest part.
To Quote Prince in his song 1999: “I got a lion in my pocket and baby he’s ready to roar, yeah hey.”
Edit: There is a video of CBRX which I highly recommend to discover the insides secrets of the Nano. Very informative !
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