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Amare FieldBro Slide-Lock Folding Knife

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Amare FieldBro Slide-Lock Folding Knife

Name: Amare FieldBro Slide-Lock Folding Knife
Brand: Amare
SKU: amare-fieldbro-slide-lock-folding-knife
Price: 50 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.555556 (45 reviews)

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Product Description

A companion in the field, at home, or on the go, the FieldBro knife from Amare delivers smooth deployment and a sure grip. Designed in house by Amare’s knifemakers, the FieldBro features a new locking mechanism called a slide lock for fast and friction-free locking Read More

Customer Reviews

4.6

(45 reviews)

(31)

(9)

(4)

(1)

(0)

90% would recommend to a friend

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reswright

3851

May 16, 2020

Verified Buyer

I picked up the Amare FieldBro because I wanted a look at the slide lock -- the variation of the axis lock that Real Steel Knives, the OEM for Amare, built for The James Brand -- but not so much that I'd go ahead and pay 160 bones to get a Carter. When I saw this knife I figured this was a better chance to see how the slide lock works.

The specs are all slightly off but still close. They say the blade is 3 1/2 inches long and it's more like 3 1/3 inches. Close but not fully accurate. Same thing with the overall length. 7.4 inches long fully open - it's more like 7 3/4. Specs say 93 grams, my scale says 94 so that's pretty close. The handle material is G-10 and the liners nestle -- the design resembles a hybrid of a Benchmade shape and a Spyderco style, but it's only skin deep. The surface is relatively grippy, but it isn't as ergonomically perfected as a Spydie, which actually tilts the surfaces of its FRN grid squares for maximum grip, or as rounded as a Benchmade, which makes sense when you realize that all those knives cost a lot more than $50. Moving on -- now that the patent is expired everyone's making axis lockers and calling them by some other name, because the patent has expired, but the term Axis Lock is still trademarked. Many people tried to come up with a variation so it didn't seem like they were just stealing the design, but generally speaking none of these variations are improvements. I have been saying that the best new 'axis lockers' are ones where people frankly didn't try to do anything new to make it look like something they'd come up with themselves, they just built an axis lock and called it whatever they wanted. For me, patents are patents, they're either in effect or they aren't, and if they aren't, the design is free to copy and I don't have a problem with people doing that as it's how it's supposed to work. The patent holder had a long period of exclusivity to make their bank, now the innovation gets to go to everyone the same way the Reeve lock and the Walker lock did. Anyway, I'm usually happiest when a new 'axis lock' isn't any different from the original except in name, because I don't expect people to improve upon it. So you all may be surprised to learn that I think the slide lock in this knife actually represents a modest improvement over the original Axis Lock! Broken down:

Not seeing the upgrade? LOL, it's hard to see. It isn't the hybrid washers or the keyed pivot or the deep carry clip or the light scales or even the cutaway liners. It's this:

That tiny lip on the tang of the knife is where the barrel of the axis lock engages the knife blade and locks it shut. There's usually no lip there, to the point where the barrel of the axis lock can 'clang' back open when trying to quickly close it -- and up until now I thought that was how it had to be. But the lip helps the barrel lock catch against the tang of the knife when you're 'dropping it shut' instead of clanging against it and bouncing off, and it doesn't seem to have any drawback. You can just open the axis lock, dip your wrist a little, watch the VG-10 blade swing shut, contact and catch cleanly against the barrel of the axis lock, which you then release the axis lock lever, the spring slides the barrel back, that notch in the tang moves with it and boom, fully closed up knife. This is something that, with practice, most people can do with a decent axis lock, a good sense of timing, and some muscle memory. And practice. With the FieldBro, you can do that out of the box, and that is definitely handy. Here, watch this and you'll see what I mean: https://youtu.be/calAqPL9XBo Anyway, this is only the second time I have seen this improvement on a new axis locking knife. The first was on the Land 961 axis locker. RSK spend a lot of time stating for the record that they're a different company than San Ren Mu, which is generally acknowledged to be the company behind Land Knives. Stuff like this is probably why they have to keep repeating themselves. Then again, I wouldn't complain if everyone started making the axis lock this way. It's pretty good. The action isn't as perfectly smooth as it could be, probably because of all the petrolatum they used to grease it (another thing I usually only find on RSK, Land and SRM knives) but a touch of blue lube seems to have turned the trick and loosened it up. So how's the edge?

It's at least partially honed. You can still see 3D serration but you can also see some smoothing of the edge. Compare it to the edge on the VG-10 Mamba, which wasn't honed and is still reasonably jagged:

And for comparison to a honed edge, here's my 154CM M3:

VG-10 takes a great edge so I decided to run the FieldBro through my WorkSharp. Wasn't going to redo the edge, just touch it up a bit.

Aaaand there we go. Can still see some of the original serrata but the blade is now sharp enough to cut toilet paper like this:

Finish out the edge smoothing a bit, because I could:

That's some good looking steel. The truth is, a slightly rough factory grind gives you a knife that will cut things faster than a polished edge like this, for the same reason that a serrated knife cuts things faster than a plain edge, so I usually leave the factory edge alone until it needs resharpened. In fact I may well end up using redoing the edge with coarser abrasives, but an edge like this has its uses, good steel will take it well like this, and it really does catch the light to boot, so for now I'll leave it polished like this. Anyway, there you are, one FieldBro. Is the FieldBro good? Well, the name is every bit as stupid as it was before I started this review -- that hasn't changed. :) But I am quite pleased with this purchase in every other way. A VG-10 axis lock weighing less than 4 ounces and costing less than $50? That's a hell of a bargain even without the modest improvement on fidget lockup that I described above. If you have fifty bones, you need a good light rugged pocket knife, you want a good steel, and you like the axis lock, the FieldBro is your jam. And it represents tremendous value for price. Anything wrong with it? Besides the name? Hm. It's kind of hard to say so, at this price. The handle's chamfer could be a little more pronounced -- it doesn't seem hotspotty but I can see someone wanting to ease an edge here or there with some sandpaper. The satin is a little too fine -- it shows scratches pretty easily and it wouldn't if the satin was done with a slightly coarser belt. If I had to pick one thing to complain about I'd say that the edge of the clip is a little too thin, and the reason it's an issue is that it's where you tend to put your last two fingers when flipping the knife open and closed. Right now it bites into the fingertips a bit, just enough to be a bit uncomfortable. Juuust a little more thick and rounded on that part of the clip, and I think it'd be just right. The rest of the clip is fine, the tip sticks up enough to make it easy to clip onto things, but not so much that it digs into your hand when you have a firm grip on the knife. Five star knife. But every time I type the name I feel like someone's putting me on. Someone give UIi the memo before he names any more knives the SomethingBro.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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FknHungry

May 19, 2020

Very well done review.

Vote

Balut3

May 23, 2020

reswrightImpressive review! Thanks!

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bizzlecizzle

Aug 30, 2020

Verified Buyer

Solid EDC for the price!

Fo the price I am very happy with the purchase. The blade had a sharp factory edge and was perfectly centered. The action was stiff at first but broken in quickly and is now snappy. The knife sits really well in the pocket. Overall a solid EDC

Recommends this product? Yes

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Narq

912

Jul 25, 2020

Verified Buyer

The poor man's Bugout.

Inferior to the Benchmade Bugout in every way, except for the price. And for a very affordable amount, you get a perfectly fine and functional Chinese-knockoff of the Bugout. But you be the judge...

Bugout: Grivory scales, Fieldbro: G-10 Bugout: 1.85oz, Fieldbro: 3.3oz

Bugout and Fieldbro: Reversible, deep-carry pocket clip

Bugout: CPM-S30V, Fieldbro: VG-10

Blade length, Bugout: 3.24", Fieldbro: 3.5" Blade thickness, Bugout: 0.09", Fieldbro: 0.1"

Overall length, Bugout: 7.46", Fieldbro: 7.4" Handle thickness, Bugout: 0.42", Fieldbro: 0.47

Estimated cost: Bugout: $120-140 Fieldbro: $50

(Edited)

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weasel210

Jul 17, 2020

Verified Buyer

Like a Benchmade

This is a Like a Benchmade for much less money.

Recommends this product? Yes

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Flightofthebear

Aug 9, 2020

Verified Buyer

Awesome EDC!

This is a wonderfully built lightweight EDC knife, that looks similar to a bug out style but with a VG 10 blade. It’s very comfortable in hand, but the lock is a little stiff to start.

Recommends this product? Yes

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johnnylongstreet

Aug 5, 2020

Verified Buyer

Solid Take on this Knife

Been pointed out enough times that this compares to a Bugout. It's cheaper, and its handles are a little more chunky and grippy. Sort of squared off at the edges. Otherwise, this is a solid take on a axis lock slicer. The Fieldbro is one of those knives that makes me feel silly for collecting knives. With this in the pocket, what else could you need? The tall flat grind blade slices like crazy and is super sharp. I love the blade shape, very useful. Handle scales fill the hand and the G-10 has a good texture. Good gimping at the top of the handle on the otherwise nested liners that do indeed run the length of the handle all the way to the farthest spacer and lanyard hole. The lock is perfect and makes this knife into a fidget toy - snap open, snap shut, snap open, snap shut... Two minor complaints, both on the pocket clip. First, it looks like Amare were trying to do the Spyderco thing, where there's a less grippy pad at the center of the handle that's softer on the pocket than the rest of the grippy G-10 - only nah, the logo falls about a half inch from where the clip hits the handle. Second, though the deep carry nature of this pocket clip is spot on, the clip itself is hopelessly flimsy. One snag on the pocket going in, and boop, it bent outward like a paperclip. Lame. I don't really feel like detaching it to bend it back, so now it floats 1/8" off the handle. Press down and release for a tuneful "sproing!" These feel like nitpicks though. This is a solid utility knife.

Oh yeah, and the stupid name. Who's the bro who named this?

Recommends this product? Yes

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HoosierNLa

Jul 28, 2020

Verified Buyer

Awesome knife for the Money

This is a great knife with a great execution of the axis-style lock. Very sharp out of the box. VG-10 may not be a super steel but takes a great edge and has adequate edge retention.

Recommends this product? Yes

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Fomoco523

Jul 27, 2020

Verified Buyer

The Fieldbro is a great EDC Knife, Check it out on my YT channel @ OCD-4-EDC

Here is a link for my Unboxing & First Impressions video of the Amare Knives Fieldbro!!!! https://youtu.be/ecOB33fLT1U

Recommends this product? Yes

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zulicious65

Jul 22, 2020

Verified Buyer

Amazing knife. Great flat grind. Steal at this price.

Love the flat grind and slide lock. G10 is a little rough but easy to sandpaper smooth. Nice size.

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Lawn-Mower

Jul 15, 2020

Verified Buyer

I s'pose it's okay for the price.

EDIT: After a hours of fidgeting it's loosened up and I've become more familiar with the knife's quirks, and have warmed to it a little. I'm guessing the reason the lock studs protrude so far is to allow for single sided purchase (so it was an intentional design decision), but even after considerable loosening and fidgeting I still can't get consistent single-handed flick closure with single sided lock release. I realise it's not an appropriate comparison, but the AD15 requires less force to both deploy and close and is far more fidget friendly. I'll take this out for a few days, but I still suspect it'll end up in the bottom a draw somewhere rarely to see light afterwards. ORIGINAL REVIEW: Technically this is a fine and functional knife. I bought this more out of curiosity than anything, particularly re the locking mechanism as I don't own a knife with a similar lock. This review may be based more on my emotional reaction than anything else: I just don't like it. It's very stiff. I've never bought a knife that's this stiff off the bat, other than a $3 folder utility knife that takes razor blades. Sure, they usually take a little work in, but I wonder if the stiffness of this is far beyond that? Single-handed quick deployment is a challenge - thumb flick needs to be at just the right angle and force, forget spider flicking. I could ease the tension, or even give it a clean and re-grease, but motivation is LOW. The lock studs stick out too far - I can see them getting caught on things. They're also very aggressive - I can see them perhaps tearing up the inside of a pocket. The knife can't sit flat - however, even if the lock studs were flush with the scales, the pivot hardware isn't, you'd think that could at least be recessed in the G10. The scales, while practical and grippy, seem cheap and unpleasant. The ergos just don't do it for me either. The deep-carry clip rides up 1/2mm above the scales. The clip is probably the best thing about this knife. Which is a shame, because I always remove clips as I don't use them. I only have a handful of other knives, and I have cheaper knives I like a lot more; I prefer all my other knives more than this one, including the above mentioned $3 utility knife. This knife is unlikely to ever enter my rotation.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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rmm125

Any way of getting another pocket clip for this knife? Mine snapped off at work. Great EDC knife if you need a small slicer with great action. Doesn't feel like a toy like my Bugout does for almost double the price.

pocketoperator

Why not just visit the website: https://amare-knives.com

SteveMidwest

Thank you.