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Product Description
Named after the cold, brutal Gobi desert located in Northern China, this folder takes design cues from knives of traditional desert dwellers. Armed with a 3.5-inch upswept trailing-point blade, the Gobi offers plenty of belly and room for wrist extension through long cuts Read More
I have to say I was thoroughly impressed upon unboxing. I think my last pocket knife purchase was a Case with carbon steel blade...decades ago. I put this through its paces almost immediately (as we had already scheduled a camping trip) and it performed its duties splendidly!
The resistance on the flipper/blade has suddenly disappeared. Now it opens freely. I almost sliced my hand open pulling it out of my pocket!!! Hopefully this isn’t a common issue.
I would like to know how to send in for a warranty repair or replacement.
Couteau sans défaut, lame centrée sans jeu latérale. Ouverture de la lame facile et fluide.
Gros point fort c'est la prise en main ! Manche suffisamment long pour des mains larges.
Je recommande chaudement
Background
I’ll share this up front to show biases and expectations.
I use knives daily and feel naked without one in my pocket or within reach. For the past 10-15 years I’ve bought a sub $100 folder about 2-3 times a year and splurged on something over $100 about once a year. I can’t justify anything above $200 ever to myself. I’ve exceeded the quantity since COVID/work from home, because I’ve enjoyed not having a 3” restriction Monday through Friday (work rules).
A knife is a tool to me and not a weapon. I’ll always be an old school Boy Scout I guess. I care for them by habit. I’m a little abusive, but not enough to chip a decent steel.
I have pretty mundane use: rope, freshwater fishing stuff, and yes, Amazon boxes and packaging. I do clean funk off the blade before folding always. I’ll hone a blade occasionally, but try to sharpen only when necessary with my Spyderco Sharpmaker, because I find it works well with less effort. I’m a practical sharpener and don’t get into the “pocket knife as a razor” or edge polishing. I guess I subscribe to the school of steel preservation. If you’re into sharpening as an art, I admire that, but my thoughts might not be as applicable to you.
Fit and finish
I bought the natural scales and really think they look cool and a nice change from black or drab green I usually buy. It contrasts well with the orange accents. It’s not important to me from a use sense, but looking cool always makes a purchase feel better.
The flipper mechanism and lock are very satisfying for my fidget habits. It doesn’t flop open and the lock is firm. No wiggly blade while opening and no give when locked.
I was worried that it would be too thin for my hands but it’s actually quite comfortable. I have long skinny fingers, so I’ll attach photos.
Pocket clips are probably disproportionately important to me. These are not too tight where they damage the fabric of my jeans, but tight enough to hold firmly and not slip out when I sit down or pull stuff from my pocket. It’s firmly attached to the knife doesn’t have any wiggle and I haven’t had to locktite the screws back in like so many sub $100 knives.
The scales are cut and lined up evenly, which is often an annoyance with inexpensive Chinese knives. The center of gravity is around the finger groove by the liner lock, which is a natural balance for me.
Blade
I was a little worried I wouldn’t like the blade shape or that the point would be brittle. Sometimes it’s hard to judge the thickness and just “feel” from photos.
I really like it, though. The belly is so nice for slicing. It’s thick enough to be sturdy throughout, but not what I think of as “chunky.”
Steel is a religious topic. Whether D2 is better or worse than others, I’ll leave to the million comments on the internet. I personally like D2, and this matches my experience with other well made D2 blades. I have had a couple that were too hard/brittle, but this seems consistent with my expectations.
It came reasonably sharp OOB. It annoys me when I have to immediately sharpen a blade to be useful, and a sign I’ll likely be unhappy with it quickly.
Parting thoughts
Almost every sub $100 knife is a bit of a gamble. But I think I’ll enjoy this as an EDC for a good while. It’s made my “knives I don’t travel with” (except camping/fishing) list out of fear of losing it. I’ll save that for the last one I got 🤦♂️
And I’ll show some phone camera shots featuring my cat.
I bought this knife because I was interested in the blade shape. Once I received it, I was blown away by the fit and finish. I highly recommend this knife especially at this price point.
Great blade shape and the D2 blade is a workhorse. I used this knife while doing fiberglass and gelcoat work on my boat, very rough work. Came home and hit it a few strokes on a fine diamond stone and had it very sharp and then used it to cut up all ingredients for a LA duck gumbo. Much knife for the money.
This knife has become a welcome part of my rotation. Was sharp upon arrival (watch out for that point... It'll get ya!). It's held up super well, sharpens easy enough. Make note that if you carry this in the 5th pocket of your pants, it's a bit longer than other knives. Works well as a fishing knife. I quite like it. Feels good in the hand. Others have noted that it takes a bit of effort to flip open one handed. Can confirm. I lubed mine up and it's a bit easier. All in all, I can dig it.