Tag Archives: s90v

MANLY CITY S90V 3DG10 – Excellence and Quality from Bulgaria

26/02/2021 nemosandman 10 Comments

This a Mail Call/ Show and Tell. The in-use deeper review will unfold in the coming weeks but as a knife’s fan, this City is just stunning.

Yes, Manly has done it again !
After the Peak, the Comrade, the Wasp… All great knives made in Sofia !
Yes, the knifemakers of Bulgaria have done it again: another wonderful knife !

What is the Manly’s game level in cutlery:
A solid backlock with zero play.
A wonderful geometry totally focused on performance: they are really sharp !
CPM S90V heat treat in the rules of the art.
Clever ergonomy and deep carry clip.
Smooth action and drop chute…
All of that at a great bargain ! My S90V City cost me 63 euros with their 20% winter discount. By the way their shipping cost is still at 5 euros and in less than a week it has gone from Bulgaria to France with DHL.
In a time when S90V sprint runs can be found around 250 euros or more.
This is not only a bargain: this is a must have.

When the Peak has been released, I have started to ask a shorter version to Manly people. Cleverly they have first been focused in proposing a 3 inches not locking knife: the mighty Wasp.
All of those stories can be found in my reviews about that company of perfectionists:
https://nemoknivesreview.com/?s=Manly

The handle: this is a four fingers handle even when not using the ricasso. It is confortable, filling my palm, the jimpering on the back of the blade is not too aggressive. It is a pleasure to hold the City in your hand.
It is not a light knife (93 grammes), there is a little of heft which is also really pleasant even if the nested liners (a tour de force which is not only reserved to Spyderco) are skeletonized. A steel spacer makes the handle totally flex free. The blade is perfectly centered. Just handling the Manly City and my mind goes: wow !

Yes, they are perfectionists because the city is not a shrung Peak it a whole new knife. Making a short folder asks for a lot of thinking and a tabula rasa state of mind.
A great proof of clever engineering is the placement of the thumb stud.
It is completely out of the way when cutting.
Also the City can easily be opened two hands and that stud removed if your juridiction banned one hand opening knives.

The City is also proposed in 3D G10 like mine and the ergos are just stunning. It fits my hand like a glove.
For the Southpaw, two little wrenches are provided in the box.
You can also reverse the thumb stub for the other side of the blade.
So you are not forgotten: the City is totally ambidextrious !

The action is smooth. Not Spyderco Lightweight Native smooth though but the blade once unlock drop chutes gently on the ricasso. Zero risk to get cut. When the knife is unlock the blade movement is silky but there are a little gritty feel when the lock push on the pivot. It is easy to cure: a little oil and moving/wanking the blade back and forth for ten minutes. It wears the parts just enough to get it to a much smoother action. No big deal.
Not the same story with the Spyderco Siren which has cut my finger at first try, huh ?
No vertical or lateral blade play. Knowing the backlock system is the most tried and true reliable and solid of all the lock: this is a hard working knife deep in its DNA.
Oh and for compulsive sharpeners, like myself, there is a nice sharpening choil !

Mine is in CPMS90V but there is also a version for 50 euros in 14C28N (a great razor stainless steel equivalent of AEB-L which should be also a pleasure to strop on leather)…
Manly also propose multicolored G10 variation and 3D shape. You got the choice !

The Blade is a drop point with a very powerful feel: it is wide full flat ground on a 2,7mm stock. This is pure performance oriented ! The thin geometry makes it easy on any job: cardboard, wood, plastic. I have tested on hard dry chestnut wood and it went deep and steady, making nice chips. Knowing how great the heat treatment was on all my previous Manly, there is not reason to get concerned: they know to do it.
S90V is a uncanny alloy which stays sharp for a very very very long time.
It is Sal Glesser’s favorite hightech steel and I think it is still.
For more info:
https://nemoknivesreview.com/tag/s90v/

As you can notice the bottle’s butt test was passed with flying colors because of the Manly infamous thin geometry. The edge out of the box was razor level.

Lets copy the specs from Manly:

Technical Specification

Model Name: CITY CPM S90V Black 3D Handle
Type: Pocket Knife
Overall Length: 17.7 cm
Blade Length: 7.0 cm
Folded Length: 10.5 cm
Blade Thickness: 2.7 mm
Weight: 95 g
Blade Material: CPM S90V
Handle Material: 3D G10
Opener: Thumb Stud
Opening: one hand
Lock Type: Lockback
Color: Black
Blade Color: Uncoated

Found there:
https://manly-bg.com/product/city-cpm-s90v-black-3d/#tab-additional_information

The G10 is grippy but on the smooth side: zero risk for the pocket to be destroyed. No need to send it. Keeping looking at it in details: Manly has really made an eye candy.
There is no hotspot. Also when closed the talon of the blade flushes with the handle. No hard angles when closed (looking at you Cold Steel’s folders…). Again this is Manly’s attention to details !
I love the big bead blasted pivot and hardware.

The bead blasted deep carry pocket clip is also beautifully designed it is the same as the clip introduced on the Wasp and the Peak. I would have preferred a flat screw but this is really nitpicking.

Let’s picture the City with some of his brothers and cousins as you can notice Manly made in apparence simple tools like our grandfathers would have loved: they are made to cut and be reliable.

“I like performance for money. Like the Manly knives, but also the Urban. Not bling-bling but real cutting power!”
JD.

The City is providing the same blade length as the excellent Para3.
All in all, the City is an all terrain folding knife. There is even a lanyard hole, go figure ! 😉 It would be a great hunting knife: a drop point skinner. It would be also great for bushcrafters: Ray Mears is known to use those kind of short folders (made by Fallkniven). For my Italian hunters in Tuscany: the City is perfect for hare’s hunting. It can be an urban friendly solution but the powerful thin blade is afraid of nothing, you feel it asks to be a workhorse not a church’s knife.
So really, kuddos to Manly for this little big knife !! It took me by surprise !
In a time when S90V sprint runs can be found around 250 euros or even more.
This is not only a bargain: this is a must have if you really love knives.
So clearly, yes, I got a huge crush on this excellently designed pocket knife !

The City will get a lot of pocket time until the chapter II of this review in some weeks.
Since then updates and photos will be done on the Facebook Group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nemoknivesreview

Edited the 24th of March 2021:
Since Manly Knives do not answer to any messages and emails and was not respecting their customer’s requests, Si I had really recommended caution when ordering from their site.
(See the comments and Knife Lover issue with them. I have tried to help him with no success.)
I will edit that review again when I will have a positive contact from Manly.
Is it the Covid crisis ? I don’t know, but for now, without any answer from Bulgaria, you are warned to order knives from Manly’s site with caution.

Edited the 25th of March 2021.
Manly has answered to Knife Lover.
“Thank you for contacting us.

First and foremost, we sincerely apologize for any inconveniences caused due to the delay.We would like to inform you that we are working in reduced capacity due to Covid 19.
Today your order has been provided to our forwarder A1post.Here is a link to follow the shipment… “

So, case closed. Manly is alive and kicking, still providing excellent knives at very fair price. (Even their shipping cost is fair) but are they are running on skeleton crew, it could be a little longer than before in the ordering process, so don’t worry.

Folders, Review

The Spyderco PPT Round 3- Long Term Review of a Faithful EDC with Supersteel.

31/05/2019 nemosandman 3 Comments

Since last year round with the PPT, the very unique ergos of this unique folder have made me come back again to its radical design and I have decided to EDC it in all circumstances (instead to keep it safe).

Still, I really enjoy how the weight of the handle glue it to my hand and I have found zero hot spots after filing a bit the choil. Smoothness of its action has been really enhanced by using it everyday. Now it deploys fast and close by gravity.
After some work on the blade, the edge has been thinned as my Manly’s.

The PPT is a very easy companion. My main battlefield is the kitchen. It is not an open handle design but with some hot water I have been able to keep the spacer and the skeletonized liners clean. A dip in very hot soap water is all my maintenance after a full day in the kitchen but a tiny drop of oil is then always welcome. It has been used in the woods where I was able to use it on wood. The knife has behave perfectly even when twisting the edge. Zero issue here. The chips are flying everywhere as the full flat ground is fast in making deep cuts in wood. While in the forest, when working with it, most of the time I have thrusted its blade’s point in a tree instead closing it and opening again.

No damage at all. For the record, Sal has developed and sold his own version of a Bushcraft knife, at first named the NASA Bushcrafter with S90V blade and Carbon Fibers handle and later the Proficient. It means that the melange S90V plus CF is approved by Sal for being used in the wood with reliability.

The lock which is almost a RIL lock has not failed me because your grasp reinforced it when you hold the knife in your hand. Zero movement vertical or horizontal. I have not been able to fumble my grasp when closing. The opening of the knife is now made with my major finger flicking it like.

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I have sanded the handle (just a bit) to smooth the edges of the corrugated CF, just to protect my trousers from being chewed. Nothing changed in the look but the PPT is now much easy to retrieve and introduce in my denims. I carry it in my right front pocket along with a leather wallet.

Once brought to “razor sharp level”, S90V is easy to maintain to that level mostly only with white ceramic and some leather stropping. ( JD has given me some diamond compound that help the process too). After some cardboard cutting, the ultra razor level is lost but the working edge is keen enough to slit through paper and this sharpness will last for a very long time. Zero chipping even after various cuts into very hard plastics. It is almost a maintenance free knife, like my Manix in CPM110V which I use for travelling (It is light and stays sharp for a very long time avoiding me to bring some sharpening tool).

When cutting with the PPT you got a very agile blade with its center of gravity inside your hand and, by just holding it by its hole, it immediately orients itself tip up. It helps when you need to change your grip: it like a compass telling you where is the point and the very sharp edge even with greasy or wet hands.

Despite its martial pedigree, sheeples seems not afraid of my PPT. No raising eyebrows even when used in restaurant or family dinners. Nobody seems to notice it which is a very good thing.

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Eventually if the PPT was a dog, it would be an Amstaff : compact, bold and powerful.

Folders, Review

Manly Wasp – Round 2 – The Captain’s Marvel !

06/02/2019 nemosandman Leave a comment

Long story short: opening the Manly WASP with two hands is tedious compared to all one hand opening knives available but the pleasure to use such an agressive cutter worst it ! So let’s be short !

Slide #2: I have gently rounded the shoulder of the edge making it even thinner: no chipping or rolling. It tells a lot about the quality of the Bulgarian heat treatment !

Slide #3: The cutting action is absolutely accurate and it slips gently in any material it is confronted to. Peeling an apple is a child play. Also the hard plastic is no challenge for the thin hard WASP’s edge.

It is just fun to “test” that little folder on different chores !! What else ? It is not threatening so even sheeples can borrow it. Also the deep carry clip does wonder.

I have also noticed how the edge is resilient to the plate’s ceramic ! Repeated hard contact on the plate did not affect the sharpness: this is a first for me.

All in all the knife is slow in its opening with two hands but once ready to cut, it is a marvel ! It can bring a smile on your face when you see how easily it can separate matters. It is a keeper.
BTW mine seems to be the 2019 version with no contact between the blade and the spring when closed.

Folders, Review

Bulgarian Rhapsody – Manly Wasp in S90V

21/01/2019 nemosandman 6 Comments

In winter we all need vitamin C, after a long wait I get my shot !!
My Viking friend Dan Sharpe has been the one who has injected me the Manly Virus. First one was the Manly Peak, the Comrade… And with my Welsh pal Wayne, both were keen to have the chance to carry their Manly knives legally in the UK: three inches blade, no lock and a deep carry clip. By luck some people of Manly were reading our conversation on our Facebook Group and voilà: the WASP was born.
But our Bulgarian friends were even more clever than this… Let see why. First picture, please ?

Here is my Manly family. The Wasp is the shorter. All are in S90V and with a very thin edge.

The stout WASP is showing proudly is wide belly. This is a powerful combinaison: belly and ultra thin edge.

The cleverness of having the Wasp steel liners hidden inside the G10. The Comrade got thicker G10 slabs too keeping is role of hardchore slipjoint.
You got the best tech of the Peak and the Comrade in a compact tool.

Thin edge is evident on simple tasks like peeling a fruit. Thos Manly knives are razor sharp out of the box and their S90V is very well het treated: no chipping and no bending. I have used hard my WASP in plates and the ceramic was not able to mark the blade. This is really amazing.

I’m starting to think that Manly S90V is as tough as 3V !! (Benchmade CPM 3V Pukko pictured)

The WASP is not threatening at all on a table. It can be used in a restaurant or amount non knives friends with no problem. I know, I only got compliment about it.

Yes, that wide thin belly edge is really powerful. It goes deep and steady in any material. Of course the slip joint mechanism is the same as the Comrade with zero play and 4 steps to avoid closing on the finger. Also the guard is an excellent protection. You really will need your two hands to open it.

I’m not crazy about the “look” of the screw but this is consistent in all my Manly Family. It’s really “cosmetic” but I think this knife desserve a more beautiful screw. No big deal. The Orange G10 is perfect and I won’t need to sand it. The G10 on the Comrade was more aggressive… The ergonomy is absolutly great for a short knife with no lock. So far it is a joy to use. There is no “square” feel like on the comrade. It is really close to the Peak in term of flat handle.

Here is a close up on the wonderful deep carry clip, the same which is found on the Peak. It works great.
The Comrade clip is the only “proud” clipped of the family. But again it is logic with the way the Comrade has been design as a slip joint tank for outdoors applications.
The Wasp is more on the stealth side but its belly near the pivot makes it really powerful in pushcuts I do when cutting wood to make a pole. More to come after some use, but this one is ready for travelling is Danemark !
Anyway all those Manly have thin edge, great action, and wonderfully heat treated S90V blade. The Wasp is the proud son of the Comrade and the Peak. Now I hope a 3 inches version of the Peak will be proposed.

Folders, Review

The Spyderco PPT Round 2 — The Son of Anarchy.

29/04/2018 nemosandman 4 Comments

Strangely I am coming back often to the PPT when I first thought it would be a collection and a safe queen. Safe queen my a$$ ! Pardon my French but there is something quite sensual when holding this knife, something which makes the other feel “hollow” in comparaison. The PPT got that heavy butt “anchoring” it to the palm but also the toxicated finish of the handle’s slab is a delight under the thumb.
There is something almost “paleo” in the finish. Something primal in the mechanical way it feels. It’s dense but is designed to be heavy metal. It’s a knife Opie could have admire…

On the performance side, I have decided to get a convexed edge. Diamonds are the only language stubborn S90V seems to understand and scratches on the blade side are, well especially for the clumsy sharpener, something hard to avoid especially when using the stone at a 10° angle to get rid of that secondary bevel. The performance in pushcutting are really enhanced now. I can measure it to the Manly Peak and its thin S90V blade.

I use white ceramic to make the steel shiny but S90V is really a tough cookie in the kindergarden of alloys: it’s a game of patience to obtain a nice finish.

But now on plastic I can enjoy the enhancement of that already very thin edge. It goes easy through.

Someone asked me why using a workhorse knife on tomatoes ? Tomatoes may look like some fragile fruits but they are not: their skin got no pity for any dull knife and their flesh will give in under any pressure. The best tools for tomatoes are serrated and micro serrated knives.

Hence that test on my polished edges. You need a very keen blade to push cut in a tomato and make thin loaves. Plastic and bambou can be used to test the edge stability which often is only due to thermic treatment of steel.

The alignement of the point on the PPT is very different from my Millie and is very close to the experience of the YO2: its makes powerful cuts.
Also the handle makes Icepick/reverse grip very confortable, knowing this is the favorite grip of Philippe Perroti on La Griffe, a grip I have found handy in forcing a door. Just kidding but the confortable reverse grip (à la “griffe de chat” in French) is not a joke.

You get also an excellent blade/handle ratio for a choiled knife compared to my Para3 for example.

And as good as the non-choiled Sliverax !!

My PPT has been used in the kitchen is not easy to clean because the way the hole in the liners are not accessible. This is serious issue if, for example, a piece of raw meat get stuck there and could contaminated the blade. The full Reeve Integral Locks are the best lock for checking your folding for any debris. I would have preferred solid titanium liners without that hidden cheese holes which ask for special maintenance starting by unscrewing the slabs to get full access and complete cleaning.

So in a wrap, the PPT is a compact hard user with very high performances featured by great ergos. It has a really strong character (it feels like it has been done for some Hell’s Angel fan) but once deployed it will pierce and cut with high reliability. Once the PPT is entering the game: this is serious business. For the record being represented to bikers gathering, bikers love La Griffe and various neckknife which are handy on a ride. So it’s easy to understand some DNA in the PPT design.

Folders, Review

Spyderco C135CFP PPT — Portable Praetorian Tool.

26/03/2018 nemosandman 4 Comments

The first PPT was release eight years ago. It was the mind child of Sacha Thiel and Philippe Perotti. For the record Philippe Perotti aka “PP” was Fred P.’s student in knife making (and PP being an instructor in handguns and fire arms). I still own one of PP’s Streetbowie made in D2 and also one of his great great Commander knife made with Sacha Thiel and produced in Maniago which looks a lot like the Spyderco Streetbowie.

Now the design’s goes in the stardom with a luxury amazing S90V / Carbon Fibers corrugated stunning handle.
This rude boy is a beauty like Marlon Brando in a Streetcar Named Desire or Tom Hardy in Taboo. It’s heavy in your palm. But this weight is a pleasure exactly like the Sharpfinger. Marc Animal McYoung in his book “Knives, Knife Fighting and Related Hassles” was choosing a butt heavy short knife over any other. The weight is like an anchor in your hand as the knife handle is cuddling inside your palm. You find the same idea of weight distribution on heavy butt first Streetbeat.

Talking about the handle, this macro-texturing shows a wild side of this tool.

On this picture you can notice the unique clever sturdy lock. It’s made to be secured once the handle is hold tight.

The steel liners and the full steel back spacer, the full steel construction, while sturdy, makes for a dense carry. Being able to use the “pommel” as a crowd pleasure won’t be a surprise. Anyway it’s a lil hammer which can certainly be used to drive a nail in a plank.

Balance wise, let’s just compare it with a titanium folder, the Spydiechef.

It’s a matter of taste but I love it as the butt heavy balance suits me.

In eight years the Taiwanese manufacturer has refined his production.

The choil used to be a hotspot in the first version I had handled back then. No more now, there is absolutely no hot spot but… the infamous clip.

The way it’s stand with a point prouddly high …it’s really not the best Spyderco clip just compared with for example… the Lil’ Lionspy great great spoon deep carry clip !!
The pointy end of that clip needs to be parallel to the handle as this one is an invitation to scratches cars doors and catches things.

But its zips easily inside the pocket. It’s a no brainer.

Like the Spydiechef the design of the PPT notice how it give you a lot of power in case of cutting on a board. But the PPT won’t be as easy to clean with it’s squeleton thick liners but nothing which cannot resist to some hot tap water.
This new incarnation got a very thin edge. Those full flat ground blade in S90V provided by Spyderco lately are a pleasure to use and performance oriented.

But its true brother in law could be the Yojimbo 2.

The PPT got a very strong spirit, mix that with Sacha Thiel attention to details and Philippe Perotti pragmatism and you got a very powerful EDC which can be used by soldiers, firefighters, hunters, cooks, collectors and bushcrafters.

A little edit: after some EDC carrying and using.
Of course I have started to de-shoulder the edge and gives the PPT a more friendly way to get strop on leather.
Ergo wise, this heavy butt is really addictive. It works like a magnet because of that handgun handle. It makes your tool almost jumped in your hand and really anchored it in your palm while the perfect radius of opening makes it a very fast and safe opener. The meat of your finger is caught by the sharp hole and SHLACK !! It’s really one of my fastest tip up carry opener so far.
Why is the PPT a tip up carry ? I remember Fred bitching about the way some newcomers (back in 90’s) who were providing RIL locks with a tip down carry: the clip was in the way. What I loved in the RIL lock on the Sebenza was the way the hand will secure the lock just by holding it tight. With a clip attached near the pivot, you could not squeeze the handle anymore and secure the lock.
So the PPT reflect all those years. It’s a real biker friendly design, like the La Griffe has always been. Bikers are modern world horse riders. The PPT would a horse rider best friend too.
In the part 2 the rider could be a nightrider ?

Folders, Review

Manly Comrade S90V – Heavy Duty Slipjoint !

17/01/2018 nemosandman 4 Comments

What strikes first when you hold the Comrade is its thickness and weight.
This 9 cm blade non-locking slipjoint folder is massive; once open, see how its beautiful classical lines are gentle to the eye.

I have chosen the CPM S90V version with a camo G10 theme. As this non locking knife, it deserves some virility. It’s a a slipjoint with a very strong attitude. The kind of knife our grandfather would have loved. The notch in the blade is like a reminiscence of my childhood…

Also it is such a pleasure to have a non-locking traditional knife with a CPM420V AKA CPM S90V blade.

As you can notice the blade is perfectly centered !

And it comes with a clip which is unfortunately not a need carry clip.

Surprisingly it is much more beefy and thick handled than its grand brother the Peak.

The Peak has got hidden recessed liners whereas the Comrade has got a more simple layered construction. It gives a real confort as the square handle fits the palm of your hand.

There are three steps before to open it completly. The last one is the harder to pass giving a very secure feel in the non locking open position. This is really a knife to open with two hands. Once open the choil forms almost a quillon where the index goes to secure it.
Like on a locking Spydie Millie, this is a system found first in boot knives. The force applied during the cut goes directly to the blade.

I have sanded mine to my taste and for that I removed the clip.
No doubt we got here a hardchore workhorse non-locking folder with enough blade for many tasks and a steel which is hard to beat in term of edge holding.
Its clip makes it easy to carry. The edge is thin like on the Peak and it’s going to be a great knife to go around places where locking knives are forbidden.

Also after watching the video of BlackforestGhost here, I think batonning with a slipjoint non locking knife is less stressful for the tool as there is nob lock to take the impact. The slipjoint is a spring ! So no lock failure possible. 😉 “I bend and do not break…” from the Oak and the Reed from Jean de la fontaine.
I really love that Bulgarian Comrade which is the only industrial S90V slipjoint I know so far. Manly, please do a 3 inches version and a one hand open version !! 🙂
More to come soon.

A shorter version The WASP can be found here.

edited by Pascal Jaffré on 17 jan 2018

Folders, Review

MANLY PEAK S90V — THE BULGARIAN WONDER AT WORK.

15/01/2018 nemosandman 5 Comments

The Manly Peak is a workhorse. So, it has been put to good use in various tasks.

The main features of that folder are a very thin geometry and a zero play mid backlock.
It has not developed any play and the edge has ever been thinned for outstanding results.

Tomatoes are great for testing. As you can notice, it was a very easy task to cut through the skin.

The same for any fruits it was confronted to. The thin and long blade gives a lot of hand control when peeling and cutting or on the cutting board. No pitting on the S90V alloy after intense and daily kitchen duty.

Pushing the envelop, I have thinned both my S90V Native and S90V Peak. I was inclined to think that the Native 5 with its belly would be better than the Bulgarian folder but in fact not. The thinner grind of the Manly got better results on hard plastic and when the Native was stuck, the Peak was going through like the Nilakka or my Opinel would do.

I was even able to do multiple cuts on the same bottle butt. This is really impressive. Let’s not forget that should should have the same results on a 45 euros Peak with D2 steel.

The mechanism feels a little smoother now on opening and closing but it is also due to a drop of nano oil. The clip is really perfect, it is deep, secure and smooth. It has been well thought and I really wish the future generation of Manly folders will be likewise equipped.
So the Manly Peak is really a high quality workhorse in terms of reliability, power cuts and ease to wear. This is a serious tool for any users, from the LEO to the ELU. It’s a thrill to see it compete against folders which can reach 4 times its price and see how easily it can beat them. Now this is a stiff mechanism “à la Cold Steel” and you will need some open and close mileage so that it folds and unfolds with ease. Once in action though you have a pocket lightsaber able to work hard and keep going. Highly recommended!

More Manly folders here.

last edited by Pascal Jaffré on 18 jan 2018

Folders, Review

Spyderco C41GPFGR5 Native 5 — A Smooth Operator.

08/12/2017 nemosandman 4 Comments

Every Spyderco’s fan needs an all American Made Native. Why? Because it’s one of the short folders well designed to accommodate every type of hands. It is like a super Delica: wider, stronger, with zero vertical play and as recently I have offered a Native to a friend who use it for hunting, I needed a new one. There is a lot of choice those days, with a lightweight version, even with a Maxamet blade. Maxamet is one of the new Über Super Steel and I have a Para3 ordered with Maxamet. There is also a carbonfiber version with S90V and even one to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Spyderco with Damascus blade, also a S35V blade with G10 and one with a flutted titanium handle… Many choices. Anyway this Knifecenter Native special edition brings one of the most amazing steel available: S90V on a stunning dark green smooth G10 handle. In the 80’s Phil Wilson was making fillet knives in CPM420V (S90V previous name) and find out it was exceptional in terms of edge retention for filleting salmons. It’s not a new steel but certainly one of the uncanny in terms of behavior: it looses it’s razor edge fast but seems to keep a keen working edge forever. Spyderco use diamonds wheels to work on it and it’s really a steel which refuse to give away its molecules. So you can use it on cardboard and any abrasive materials without worrying to lose its edge. But what that Knifecenter’s exclusive Native brings also is a lighter construction for the handle: they are no steel liners. The slabs of G10 as thicker for good measure. You can notice also the construction is very cleverly made as in hole screw holes for the clip (they are 4 position you can use, tip down, up on both side), you can see some steel. It means they are hidden nested construction under the G10 slab. But the only steel parts visible are the spacer and the lock (pictured here before sanding). It makes a very clean design. And also a knife more impact resistant. I have had steel liners knives warped after a fall. A tiny tiny change which made the blade touch the liner. You oblige to bend it back. Also steel liners are a place were rust can appears and you cannot spot it. So the more G10 the happier I am, as I need to rinse my knives often under the tap. Also the balance it now just perfect: just behind the pivot. Also there is only 2×3 screws in its construction, the pivoting part of the lock is a pin not a screw like on the majority of Native. You can find that pin on the lightweight versions, but also the new carbon fiber version C41CFFP5 which also share a S90V blade… Again, the less screws, the better. (Screws can get loose and be lost) This is the same kind of construction found in Cold Steel Recon 1. But also, the G10 in the Native is smooth as a polish piece of ebony. This will save your pocket’s lips, trust me on that. They are jimping on the blade, on the top and on the choil so there is no problem with wet palms to held the knife. G10 is an amazing material (Glass fiber mixed with epoxy) and I love to sand it to my taste. But this time I will focus on the edges. Again, be careful not to breath the dust of G10, it’s very not good for your health.

At first I wanted to rounded the handle like the new Shaman (a bigger version of the Native with a compression lock) but the second screw of my Native is too close to the edge. Rounding it would be an issue. At least I wanted to feel no sharp edge under my fingers. The Native did not have sharp edges, it has some very nicely squared angle like a musical instrument but to sharp for me. Even if It gives some kind of Bauhaus style to the handle. Very classy. Anyway, sanding is a way for me to appropriate that knife, to custom it to my taste. Rare are the knives I did have the urge to do it but it’s also a pleasure to twist it to my likings and I prefer it that way. The Native is, like my Delica, my Falcon, my Techno, my Lil’Nilakka, a locking non threating knife I can carry in the city. It’s in my eyes a little “Clip-it” perfect to be EDCed. So I will keep the black clip as it gives a very low profile for a knife which is not deep carried. We will see how long the black coating will remain.

And of course it was able to push cut through a plastic bottle butt with ease. More to come soon.

Folders, Review

Yojimbo2 vs Paramilitary2 — Face 2 Face !

31/10/2017 nemosandman 3 Comments

I got two requests for writing that little comparaison hence a lot of users are hesittating between those two radical designs.

My Yojimbo2 is a special edition as is my Paramillie 2. Both got carbon fiber handles. Both are made in Golden, Colorado, USA, Earth. Both are second generation.

The Yo2 has been designed by Michael Janich and The P2 by Eric and Sal Glesser. Both got compression locks and inhouse system invented by the Glesser. The Yo2 got an S90V blade and the Para got a 52100 ball bearing blade.

The steel in those exclusive runs are totally opposite. S90V is a powder metalurgy alien steel named CPM420V in the previous Century. It is like some kind chewing gum alloy which refuses to let got any particules even during sharpening when 52100 is more of traditionnal old timer bladesmith steel of choice with carbon and a pinch of chromium. S90V got carbid of vanadium and chromium and more than 2% of carbon. 52100 got 1.2% of carbon. They are on the two opposite sides of the famouse best steels spectrum. S90V will stay sharp more than 3 times longer than 52100 if used on abbrasive material like cardboard. But 52100 will be easy to reach razor sharpness. S90V loses its razor edge very fast before to keep a plateau of working edge for a very very long time.

Both knives got a convexed edge, it was a bear to obtain it on S90V.
Both got very pointy tips fir a equivalent lenght.
But the Yo2 blade is saber hollow ground when the P2 is full flat ground.

On wood I have already noticed how great the Yo2 was for making sticks.
It has a very confortable handle for hard use and the keen edge got full power from the choil to the tip. Also the thick back helps a lot for pushing with the thumb.
Try the Yo2 on sticks: it will amazed you. But if you need some belly, the P2 will be obviously better. You won’t take the Yo2 for an hunting knife at all.

The Paramillie got this wonderful performance and control the full flat ground can provide. It is in his element: reliable and steady.
But the Self Defense knife is not the last in performing camp task. Do not underestimate it in that mattet as Michael Janich always advocated to use his knives to get used to their ergos and the way you carry them on your person. the more you do it, the more you train to to draw them in stress situations.

But in pure quick drawing, the Paramillie got a serious avantage: you can easily spyderdrop it. It is opened in a breeze just by drawing it by holding the hole. This is fast and actually faster than the Yo2 which required first to be clear from the pocket.
Both knives are equally smooth. The YO2 got a little more momentum because the blade is heavier. But, in my book, the Self Defense knife is beaten by the utility knife.
The Yojimbo got also more presence than the Paramillie2, it is like one of wolverine claws and not really sheeple friendy.

So really it just a matter of look and taste if you need to choose between them.
Both a high performance folders, with great locks, great ergos and an attention to detail breed in a second generation design. Both will find a way to be very useful in everyday chores. They are false brothers but you know…
Now, the world don’t move to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you, may not be right for some……

NemoKnivesReview

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