And by the way, I’m happy I did test it a little before taking it to do something important.
The Fraxion is a real gem for what it is. Some people complain that the detent is too stiff but it breaks in to what I’d call “perfect”. It’s strong enough to stay closed when carried loose in a pocket. It snaps open without fail. It is surprisingly comfortable for how small it is. Some people say the overlay on one side looks strange but handling it, you’ll notice that it provides purchase points for your fingers in certain contexts.
Of course it isn’t perfect. I don’t love the clip so I removed it. Like I said, this knife is great for loose pocket carry. Mine is ground so that it smiles up at the base of the blade and that can be a pain when sharpening. (It’s probably best to fix it right away with a total reprofile on course diamond.) It’s also 8Cr13Mov but at $22, who cares? This knife has so much going for it at such a good price. Honestly, I wish all my flippers had a detent this strong.
Interesting. I’m the opposite, I like the ease with which my Scallion flips out (and I’ve never had it open by accident… yet?). My Leek takes a bit more to start with its heavier blade, but still good; however my Volt II takes quite a push (which you’d probably like).
We’re all different. Maybe that’s why they make so many different models.
I never said anyone asked for sympathy.
And when you abuse your tools, don't be surprised when they break, no matter what you paid for them.
The non assisted models need stronger detent to transfer the force applied from your finger to the blade so it swings fully out. I have a ton of speedsafe assisted Kershaws, but I’m really enjoying these manual bearing models like the fraxion, atmos and natrix, they all fly open and drop shut with one hand, a lot of fun to fidget with.
As Blackbeard mentioned, these are different types of action. The knives you mention have assisted actions via the Kershaw Speedsafe mechanism. I’ve carried quite a few Speedsafe knives over the years, including the Leek and the Volt II. I actually had a Dividend in my shirt pocket yesterday. When done well, Speedsafe both helps a knife to stay closed and lets it open with a magic touch.
In a manual action, you build tension by pushing your finger against the flipper tab. You push through the detent. It breaks and the knife opens. With a weaker detent, proper opening is much more dependent on technique. A strong detent helps to build tension and ensure a snappy opening. With the Speedsafe, there is a little more play as energy builds with the torsion bar. There is a little hill to climb and then when you clear the top of the hill, the torsion bar springs the knife open. It’s a nifty little mechanism and has a distinct feel.
Speedsafe can be reliable and satisfying. However, there’s something special about a good manual action.
well, there’s the blade thickness, the geometry, the alloy and the hardness. these determine how much abuse a knife can handle.
the firebird is D2 with a high hardness, so it should keep an edge longer, but doesns’t allow for much abuse. cheap knives are usually much softer, the blade deforms instead of chipping.
Hi Teus, Absolutely, it all figures in. Mine is the G727m so maybe not Firebird. It’s 440c. The edge is very hard and has held up well for two years against cardboard/zipties/cord etc. In this case I was changing the cross over in an old set of speakers and there was a 50 year old staple in a 50 year old piece of plywood on the inside and just thought I would pop it out with the tip of the knife as that is what was in my hand. A portion of the edge crumbled like sand. I presume the edge just got very hot then cold or something in the manufacturing process and was probably harder and more brittle than it really should be. Is it my fault. Sure is. Will I trust it in important situations. Nope. Is it still a good value at $15. Yup.
Will probably stick with something like this if steel abuse is on the horizon :).
It is absolutely worth keeping a junk knife for rough and dirty tasks.
Is there any good deal for the Ganzo FH41?
Also got the multitool, that’s how I originally learned about Ganzo. It’s all very nice.
My Ganzo F7551 just arrived. Decent size portable cleaver.
Good choice. It is one of my favorite knife! And super comfortable.
It’s also a good base for modding! 
Thanks to Fasttech I learned about an interesting kind of knife, a folder designed to take scalpel blades:
https://www.fasttech.com/p/9719201
I really like the promise of a very sharp blade with minimal maintenance but 20 mm blade just won’t work for me.
There was a discussion in the FT thread about different blades:
The FT knife (also available elsewhere but FT is the cheapes source I’ve seen so far) uses #11 blades and the folded picture above shows there’s little chance of it fitting something larger.
If there was a folder that could accept blades #20, #21 or #22….maybe even #10….or similar - I would be very glad to try it.
Does anyone know such blade?…
Not the truth, your truth.
What is a mouth made for ? Eating, biting, articulating phonemes, playing wind instruments, etc ?
A knife’s blade is a bar of metal with a cutting edge, as is, it can have many more uses than a basic straight cut.
Hmm, the NiteCore NTK05 looks like there’s room for a fatter blade. FreeMe has it at $25. Here’s a lock’s review.
Personally, I carry a MiniChamp :-), but have a Kershaw Cinder that I sometimes carry.
Thanks.
I looked it up. It indeed looks like #10 would fit, though that’s not certain. Fasttech has them for only a slightly higher price w/out coupon; waiting for another 15-20% discount would drop the price to about $23-$24 shipped.
Considering that #10 blade is likely too small to be good for me anyway, that’s a little more expensive than I’d like….especially that I found other options:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000306725903.html
$15, takes #22 blades.
81 mm is a little long considering the still-very-short blade. Well, most scalpel folders that I found are like that.
There are a few exceptions with non-standard blades, namely Havalon and Gerber. Though they produce only even bigger knives which are simply not good for me.
Look for local source for scalpel blades.
Many available.
Mike