Automated Transcript
Fullers and Opening Holes
The Knife Junkie Podcast (Episode 333)

Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast.
The place for blade lovers to learn about knives and hear from the makers, manufacturers and reviewers that make the knife world go round.
I'm Bob DeMarco and coming up a new K bar from state and Union, I get my hands on The Tempest pinion and we go deep in fullers and opening holes.

Announcer Opening
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast.
Your weekly dose of knife news and information about knives and knife collecting.
Here's your host Bob the knife junkie, DeMarco.
Welcome back to the show, my favorite comment from this past week was from non nobis solum.

00:45
I forgot to look that up.
My dad could probably tell me what that means and he left this comment on my unboxing of the Manticore X from heretic knives.
He says personally, I'd rather have a price cut on the product and skip the fancy packaging.
No shade on this particular product intended, but all that stuff costs money, and I'd rather just have the food than the fancy plate.
And silverware, so to speak.
And I hear you non nobis solum.
I sometimes agree with that, but I must say there is something to be said for the experience of cracking open a box and and wading through the stuff to get to the knife.

01:24
Now the comment was left on the knife.
The unboxing video for which this is the box, and to me it did not seem too overdone.
It just has a little foam insert.
They give you some lubrication, which is nice for the out the front, and you know not much to it.
I think there's a birth card down in there or something, something similar, but it's interesting.
We all have our own our own perspectives as Jim and I were talking right before we rolled the Jack Wolf Knives, knives.
Knives come packaged very intricately and with a lot of cool.

02:00
Ancillary stuff, and that's part of the experience, and that's that's what the maker intended.
And so it it is an interesting thing.
Some people just toss the box.
I keep all the boxes now.
I used to lecture my wife about boxes.
She kept boxes for appliances, you know, like the air fryer box.
Like what do we need that for?

02:18
But we know we need our knife boxes because we might be selling them.
Or we might not.
That's that's probably more like it in my case, but you want to move them along with the box.
And when you buy a knife on the secondary market.
We do like to get the box with it, just in case you want to move it along.
So anyway there you have it.
Thanks for the comments and thanks for watching and liking the videos.

02:40
Everybody OK, today's pocket check.
Excuse me, I just had a delicious pasta meal.
Today's pocket check and a 2D mercantile that's attention to detail.
Mercantile Mark one, this is the large.
This is one of Douglas Esposito's very first locking folders, and I saw it while he was on one of our shows here on one of the town halls, and he showed this off and I fell in love with the inlay that full.
Frame inlay of beautiful old.
It looks like Westinghouse micarta.

03:19
I don't think it is, but it looks like that caramel caramel Westinghouse micarta beautifully inlaid using a pan of graph, so this is all done with old school tools.
He now has CNC and everything's on bearings and everything is super smooth.
This this is definitely an early work, but I love it and it is an absolute tank and I didn't really think about this when I chose this knife today.
But it fits perfectly in the main theme of the show today, which is opening holes and fullers.
I've been just not discovering but sort of really glorying in some of these knives that come with multiple opening methods and the fuller and the opening slot or hole the non circular hole.
I do like the circular hole but.
In that case, we're just talking about spydercos pretty much, Umm, but so anyway, that's why I chose, not why I chose this.

04:15
I happened to choose this because I've been carrying automatics like mad since they've gone.
Since they've become legal here in my state and I basically wanted the opposite and and no certainly no offense to Douglas because he's an amazing knife maker and an amazing guy.
But this is one of his early knives and.
Just not as smooth as his later knives, and so it's interesting to go from a bunch of super slick automatics where you press a button and the thing flies open to something that's a little less.
I'm not going to say refined because this is pretty refined, but a little less user-friendly, let's say because it it's a little stiff.
But man, I love this thing.
My second custom folder, and it remains my second custom folder.

05:11
I just had a conversation with Matthew Christensen yesterday.
It'll be up in a couple of weeks here and or maybe it's this week.
Is it this week?
Jim, it's this week and he's a great guy and he isn't.
He is someone who's custom knives.
I might be willing to get rid of a number of things to to purchase, but I'm not.
I'm not.

05:32
I'm not even going to think about that right now because I need to think about other things like this Jack Wolf knives, midnight Jack.
Did you like that?
Did you like how I segued this midnight Jack?
Is the newest release from Jack Wolf Knives and Let's see, as you are hearing this, this is being released and this is the mid July release 2022. Of this gorgeous coffin handled Barlow.
A bar Barlow is a traditional slip joint style knife and that has a an extra large, long fuller for extra side stability and.
Incidentally, or or because of that, they also have slightly longer tanks which fit in those longer bolsters, and that just gives everything more rigidity, especially side to side and Barlows have traditionally been known as working knives, knives that working working men used back in the day, and.
This is just a beautiful representation and my first fancy Barlow.

06:45
I have a couple of Rough Riders which I like very much, but this is my first fancy legit Barlow.
The others are legit, but you know what I mean.
This one has the fully integrated integral titanium bolster and liner on both sides of that beautiful steel spring which positively matches up with the blade you you don't see it.
You can barely see a seem.
Right from that angle, you can't feel it at all.
The fit and finish on these Jack Wolf Knives is second to none.
I got to say it.

07:17
It's they.
They really.
They're precision made using that the most high tech machines and then they are hand finished by artisans who know what the hell they're doing.
And man, you can.
Really you can really tell the walk and talk on these things are insane, especially this one is especially nice.
Stout, which I appreciate I've heard other people like knife thoughts and he is definitely a knife.
Thoughts on YouTube.

07:48
He's definitely a slip joint aficionado.
He knows what he's talking about, but his was he he called his a five I would call mine more of a 7 pole it or maybe six and a half.
I don't know, but that's sort of like the the lockup percentage.
This is about 3537% lockup.
I don't know, but I guess it's all you know it's all in the eye of the beholder.
But to me this feels more like a. This is a little more stout than the other ones.
It feels more like a 7 to me or so.

08:18
All these Jack Wolf knives have a very nice poll and excellent action.
Excellent walk and talk and man.
This one has absolutely.
Oh it's won me over.
You know that each one as they come out.
I'm like this.
I think this will be my favorite of all.

08:36
And then the next one comes out and I'm like oh but I love a boys knife.
This will be my favorite and then this one comes out.
Oh my gosh, but that's sheeps.
Foot blade is incredible and a coffin handle.
I love a coffin handle just like.
A Bowie knife that coffin handle.
So cool, beautifully shaped and if you're a slip joint nerd, you will appreciate the fact that it is just so fully flat on the lock bar in the half.

09:04
Half stop position.
This thing is awesome.
I have oiled the my card a little bit but through use basically have rubbed the oil out so it will have to naturally take.
Oh I'm sorry I also forgot to mention if you're a slip joint nerd you will also appreciate the triple fluting in that bolster.
If ever it will, there you go triple fluting in that bolster.
What a nice looking knife that is.
Love that love the swedge on top.

09:33
Can't say enough about these Jack Wolf knives and then my emotional support knife today just for flipping and feeling good while working was the astacus.
Yep, still can't.
Can't not laugh when I say ask because it is funny.
I mean you know someone named it to sound funny because it's funny, but a super thin blade and then Super Hollow League ground.
So it's very very very thin.
I mean it is a really you know how some civies are extra thin.
I think this is one of them that.

10:10
Grind here, maybe you can hear it listen.
Sometimes you can just tell.
It sounds like a straight razor.
It is very sharp.
It also has exquisite action.
This was a Christmas gift 2019. I believe.
Christmas gift.

10:25
Or 2020 nineteen Christmas gift for my brother in law.
I know you're like it doesn't matter.
Bob quit, but it matters to me not only if I can remember the date, it's only because it's associated with a knife.
That's how I remember things, a knife, a good meal, or what I was actually seeing with my eyes at the moment.
This is a great emotional support knife.
I highly recommend it.
It's also a great knife if you actually want to use it and work with it.

10:55
It's very thin.
It's very easy to carry around.
It's about a four inch blade, so it gets it has nice long cutting edge.
A full swedge for your finger up there so you are good to go with this knife.
That's the Savi Astacus and this is my pocket check for today.
I was carrying the A 2D mark one the large and early model and I was carrying the Jack Wolf Knives, midnight Jack and then of course the sevii astacus.
What were you wearing wearing see?

11:25
There, but that that was a Freudian slip.
What were you carrying and using today, not wearing frivolously like a garment?
But what were you carrying and using today?
Let me know down in the comments, or call the listener line 724-466-4487 and let me know also.
You might be interested.
We have a knife drawing coming up and we're going to announce with that knife is on Thursday night Knives this week, but we have a drawing coming up for the gentleman junkie this month and I'm going to let you know what that is.
So if you're interested in being a part of that, you do have to be a part of the crew on Patreon.

12:04
Go over there, just check out what we have to offer.
We offer a little bit more than you get right here, like a little bit of extra content from interviews and stuff, and you can get.
Entered into a monthly knife drawing.
Check us out at the knife junkie.com/patreon again that is the knife junkie.com/patreon looking for a new knife.
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12:41
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You're listening to the Knife Junkie podcast.

13:08
And now.
Here's the knife junkie with the knife life news.
Seeing that bastinelli in that last ad boy, it made me think of my diagnostic.
Anyway, OK, so Next up we're going to take a look at a couple of knives in the news and the first one is from our good friend KC at the knives Fast channel.
Well, you know KC he's been on this show and he's got a great channel which I know you probably all go to.
He's got great lives which he invited me on.
Once we had a great time it was awesome.

13:40
Casey's a great guy of Virginia and also who is now happily carrying automatic knives.
But in addition to that he is now carrying his very own Tempest.
Opinion The Tempest pinion.
He has these prototypes and he just sent one to me, which we will show off in a few minutes, but the opinion is very exciting.
It looks like he's well on his way to having this one funded.
Please be sure to go check out his his website and you can get on the pre order.
I did the moment it dropped on Sun.

14:11
It was this past Sunday.
I got on that drop and I got the black micarta version.
I really do like this.
Thunderhead blue G10.
But man, whenever given the choice for my card, I will opt for it.
Was only like five $5 more but this is a really really great knife and here I'm going to try and stick to the article.
I'll tell you my feelings about the knife a little later on but it is going to be in 14 C 28 and the right now.

14:44
The prototypes are in August 10. He wants them in 14 C 28 and and.
Aside from that, it's got a really useful blade.
He's calling a drop sheep, a drop sheep blade.
You can see that it it does have a bit of a drop point profile on the top, but it definitely drops down into a nice sort of sheep's foot slash worn Cliff style knife and excellent excellent user knife for any sort of utility purpose.
For sure you have that nice long.
Almost straight bit of cutting edge that comes at a nice little angle downward from the handle, but it has a rounded off.
A little bit of a belly at the tip, similar to the 9:40 but I will have, you know it has a much nicer in my opinion geometry and the one that I have in my hot little hands is.

15:43
Full full not full flat ground, just flat ground and I cannot remember if he said he was going to change the grind on this knife.
I'm not sure.
Either way it doesn't matter because the grind that's on it right now is awesome.
The OEM, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to reveal, so I'll just keep that under my hat for the moment, but very, very exciting knife from Tempest Knives if you remember the prototype we had here.
The P51 what was it called?
It was based on the P51 Mustang, but it had this some similar sort of design cues.
The same steering, not steering wheel but hubcaps.

16:26
Sort of pivot and a similar sort of profile on the top of the blade.
So you you were seeing a a style emerge from KC Spirion and and his designs, his knife designs and it's cool to see.
I like seeing that.
I've drawn a million knives in my day and I don't know if I have a style.
I don't think I have an emergent style.
I think we can see one already in Casey, so very excited about this knife and I'm excited to get my own.
Once this is fully funded and goes into production.

16:58
If you like it.
If you like KC, be sure to go to The Tempest Knives website.
And check it out.
Get on the pre order.
They are similar to damn designs.
Damned designs came out with the first.
His first stuff early on.

17:16
All titanium expensive steel high end manufacturing.
His second go of knives.
He decided hang on a second.
People don't know me.
I would rather put out a number of designs and put them out in lower in.
More budget friendly materials and.
People would be more readily willing to spend money and buy my knife.

17:39
They don't know me.
I'm an unknown quantity.
They'd be more more willing to spend 100 bucks on me than 250 or 300, and I think that's a smart a smart way to go about it.
And I and I think that's what Casey's doing here.
He had his.
His first knife was all titanium and and I think it was 20 CV and there was difficulty getting that that production funded.
I have a feeling this.

18:04
One will be different because the materials are more within reach to more people and if you like his design style and this looked well, I know now that it's more than just looks like it.
This is an outstanding utility knife and it's great on the fidget.
Great on the fidget factor, so I think he's got a winner here.
I'm I'm.
I'm rooting for you Casey and this is a this is a cool knife.
I can't wait to get mine in black micarta.
OK Next up.

18:33
State and Union, which is sort of like the Lexus to K bar to to to K bars.
Toyota if you will.
It's it's kind of a an offshoot brand that makes some exclusive and really nice kind of side project knives at K bar.
Well they are releasing something they're calling the special red space or dog Head cave bar, and I mean I'm not going to be getting this knife.
But I would really like to get this knife.
This will probably be a hard one to get your hands on, but that red spacer between the by the way, pretty thick for a K bar crossbar quillion, and the stacked leather handle guard is a a tip of the hat to an old.
Run of K bars that are extremely collectible to people who collect World War 2K bars.

19:32
That were made with a red spacer just in that position, so uh, state and Union is making this special red space and this is one of the dog head cap bars.
I gave a dog head K bar away in one of the gentleman junkie giveaways.
It did have a different guard, an asymmetrical guard, and an asymmetrical Palmer.
So slightly different, but this thing.
I mean, anyone who's watching and not listening who can look at this can has to recognize this as possibly the sweetest looking cabar they've ever laid eyes on.
I would yeah this would be a cool one to have.
It's a it's a hot 200 bucks and sometimes it's difficult to.

20:16
I shouldn't say this because I love them so much and I've done this many, many times, but sometimes you expect to spend more money on folders because of all the mechanisms and that kind of thing.
200 bucks is not inexpensive, but man, that's a collectible one.
So anyway, check it out.
State and Union with their red space or special dog head fixed bladed knife, which I'm just going to call a really cool cave bar.
All right still to come on.
The Knife Junkie podcast.
We're going to take a look at a couple of new.

20:47
Lives here, a couple are one new knife and a couple on loan.
And then we're going to take a look at fullers and opening holes right here on the Knife Junkie podcast and now that we're caught up with knife life news, let's hear more of the Knife Junkie podcast.
OK, so that you can.
Be off of those tenterhooks.
Here it is.
This is the pinion by Tempest knives.
This just came in yesterday.

21:16
I called that good on the fidget.
The knife is I'm not this is left handed.
Let me try that again.
OK, so this is the there it is Tempest knives.
Opinion and that blade shape.
I gotta say it is a little.
At first I was like I don't know about that blade shape that hump right towards the thumb.

21:40
I don't know how I feel about that.
I do know how I feel about that now but you know what I was originally thinking.
I was looking at that.
That looks like the carrying handle of an M16 so.
Gosh, you don't don't judge it by my left handed deployment.
Here you go.
I was playing with this thing all day and so this actually was also a bit of an emotional support knife.

22:04
I must say because it got a heck of a lot of use.
O this is what Casey's got coming out man.
So you got the.
We got The Tempest logo right up here by the opening hole.
You've got a very nice opening hole that's got that reset or that inset area, which I think looks really cool.
You can use it as a slow roll.
You can use it as a you can thumb flick it out.

22:31
You can finger flick it out, which is man, that's the best that comes out just perfectly and then it drops.
This is a free dropper and I think I showed Casey.
That you can.
Also you can also flip it if you really want to.
If you can get your fingernail in there, you can flip it.
I know that's not an intended thing, but it's a fun addition you've got that rounded, very nice rounded spring clip.
And I believe he has made that so that.

23:05
Some of the aftermarket clips that are made that are not spring clips like that but are made to fit in the in the opening or or in the accommodation for them will fit here.
And you know this is a prototype and he has a quite a list of things that are going to change but based on this.
Man, I love it.
I love it.
Based on just looking at it and watching a couple of other videos I got on the pre order but now that I have it in hand I'm really psyched about it.
One thing I do remember seeing from the list of things that he's going to change all which will be mentioned in my video about this and this I think is a good move right here.
You can see there is some space between that backspacer and the tip of the blade.

23:56
He wants to have them extend it as much as it can, so it looks like he'll get an extra.
I don't know 8th of an inch in there or something and you know it seems like it's not a lot, but it is actually when you consider the difference between a you know some of your favorite blades and the difference between 3.125 and 3.5. It's a quarter inch Bob, I know but but how different it seems at
just a quarter inch also translates to 8th of an inch.
There you go.
I think I just won my argument with myself.
Alright, So what do you guys think of this?
This is the pinion by Tempest knives.

24:37
Go check out the knives fast Channel KC does a number of videos about this knife and and you can also see his other knife there.
Very cool knife and like I said you can sort of track his design style at just by looking at those two knives.
Ergonomically excellent action excellent.
I think that this is an excellent utility knife.
Look at that tip.
It's perfect and it's got a nice little bit of belly here just just for that.
I don't know man when it comes to a I keep saying man today I'm sorry if you're a woman but when it comes to a point like this I love it but sometimes I almost feel like it's too delicate like I am going to round it off just through use.

25:28
So doing something like this gives you the benefit of a point much like this but also gives it a little bit of cushion just.
With that curve.
So nice design Casey and very excellent execution I. Like I said, right as I talk.
I'm not sure if I'm supposed to talk about the OEM, but I'll mention it in my video.
By the way, inset linerlock, very nice, got weight relief on one side and.
No chamfering on that lock and it feels good, feels good all right.
That is the pinion Tempest knives.

26:05
Next up.
This one's all mine.
This is one that I've been saving up for and waiting for and waited for it to become legal and just hoped it wasn't going to get sold out on Smoky Mountain.
Knife works.
It's the only place I could find it.
And, well, wouldn't you know it's a little too big for most people, so it it stayed there and I was able to buy it.
And that is the heretic Manticore X that means big.

26:37
This is the big one.
That's the four inch bladed heretic.
Out the front.
And I love it.
And this one has a very special blade.
It's got that gorgeous recurve blade.
It is so nice.

26:53
It reminds me a little bit.
A bit of a Walter Brend fixed blade knife, but just any sort of recurve like that where you have a a hollow ground swedge and a hollow ground.
Primary bevel and super sharp.
This thing is amazingly sharp, shares a lot of characteristics with with my micro tech.
Ultratech and combat or and troydan.
I don't have the combat and then in some ways departs from it in good ways, and in some ways departs.
In I'm still deciding ways, but this button is pretty cool.

27:34
Nural down top stepped jaggedly out not jaggedly, but stepped sharply.
And you get great positive action out.
This is on bearings, so this.
What do you call this sliding actuator?
I'm going to call it the sliding actuator is on bearings so it rolls back and forth on bearings and and has a different sort of smoother feel to me than than my microtechs.
It does have a little bit more of a. Rattle than my microtext and you can't hear it because I'm not.
I'm not slashing it through the air pretending I'm Jason Bourne right now, but it does have a little bit more rattle of the guts and I know that's something we can expect from out the fronts most of the time.

28:26
Unless it's a a hawk, you know deadlock, but.
This seems just a little louder and I'm not sure if it's because it's bigger, but it's stout and solid and it's mine and I love it and I can now carry it legally and I have been since I've gotten it.
Today was my my first day not carrying it, and you know, like I said, I kind of went in the opposite direction with that a 2D.
Mark one aluminum body fluted nicely blasted.
It doesn't have that.
Doesn't feel like a protech doesn't have that chalky feel, which I like.
This feels nice too, but but not not like that other kind.

29:11
Not sure I'm unresolved on the jimping.
There's like sort of this semi jumping on the sides and it's pretty good.
It's like I don't know.
I I you know what I really like the way the sharp jimping feels milled into aluminum.
The way Micro tech does it on their aluminum knives or the way protect does it on theirs and it's a full groove going all the way through and it's sharp on the edges and it just.
It feels good and it feels, uh, solid in hand, these, uh.
You know, I have not felt really.

29:45
You were you're with this knife.
Sorry with this knife you are relying on the thumb button primarily to stop you from going forward.
That and that super acute and sharp point and sinuous blade, trusting that that goes in smoothly to whatever you're pushing it into, and you're bracing enough with your thumb on there.
This jumping down here shouldn't matter much, though I must say I would like it going all the way across.
That's all I'm trying to say.
Manticore, or I'm sorry, heretic clip this one relatively tame reminds me of a little bit of an elephant, but relatively tame.
I've seen other ones that are a little more spread out and kind of not not to my liking anyway, right here in the in the pomel you have a nice ball bearing for breaking glass, but you can still it's still comfortable to to cap it with your thumb if you needed to use this in this reverse grip.

30:45
You know, say if you're working, you know on the border and someone's driving through with a bunch of fake canisters of oil 55 gallon drums, say, and they're filled with contraband weapons, and you need to open them up and you need to use that sort of grip.
This will do beautifully.
You don't have any problem with that glass breaker.
Try that with your combat Troodon.
Try that with your UTX because.
They're just a little bit sharper on those on those glass Breakers.
I love this knife.

31:20
This Manticore I would like to check out other knives from heretic and and actually primarily more Manticore exes in different blade shapes.
They have a really cool Bowie and a really cool tanto.
OK. Lastly, in the state of the collection.
This also on loan.
This is the new parathion.
It's the new knife by arcane designs.
Sorry about my left hand today people.

31:48
This knife is on pre-order right now, I believe it's.
Geez, I should have checked.
I'm pretty sure this one is actually in production at this point.
Uh, but this is a prototype and what a great, beautiful, handsome, cool knife this is.
Israel Bacchus of Arcane Design has a very definite style and this fits right into it.
Everything from that semi angular handle which actually feels great in hand to the inlay.
The interestingly shaped inlay, the somewhat futuristic profile.

32:24
Uh, and that man, that blade I love that clip point blade so beautiful he's got two types of jumping here.
He has jumping for the thumb when cutting.
Up there on that thumb ramp and then jumping for yes the front flipper.
It's got a great front flipping action.
And great jumping, fine jumping there to to actually get purchase thumb purchase or finger purchase.
This knife is wide enough for me to do that.
That sort of technique that I don't have a knife in my hand, huh?

33:04
Technique and you sort of flip it open.
With your forefinger, sometimes that works.
Other times it hurts like hell.
So I I don't have enough front flippers or front flipping experience to be sure.
Sure, as as as can be with it.
But anyway, I do like the clip on this thing.
Very cool because.

33:25
He's giving you something like a sculpted clip.
But he's also giving you something like a bent wire clip.
And it's reversible.
Very very very nice design, reversible.
Just take out that screw.
It's a symmetrical design.
Fits over here on exactly the same spot that little cut out in the in inset G10.

33:50
There fits the contour perfectly and it's I think it's really cool.
It's a very elegant solution to the.
Supplying clipped edge to lefties as well as righties, but also making the clip something special.
Not just a cheesy kind of spring clip.
And don't get me wrong, I love cheesy spring clips, but hey man, if you can make the spring clip.
Less cheesy and look more sculpted like this.
I say you go for it and also someone else mentioned this.

34:23
It doesn't loop all the way over so that your pants material goes past the G10 and gets stuck in that little void.
That little area where the clip is curving into the G10.
You don't have that problem with this.
The parathion I have not used it yet.
This is S 35 VN and G10 and then there's that's for 200 bucks.
There is a. All titanium version for 3:50 I believe, and then one with like Moku Thai and Damasteel, and all the serious works for 6:50. So check it out.
You like Israel's designs, you like arcane designs.

35:03
This is definitely at least at this price point.
And this setup of materials, a great kind of go to EDC it so far is, and I've only had it a day.
But it's just.
It feels great.
I haven't used it for anything yet.
I got to be honest, but I have a feeling it's going to do fantastically, and I'll fill you in on Thursday night Knives.
All right so that.

35:28
Is the parathion from arcane design a cool cool knife?
Well, you may have noticed before when I was showing off The Tempest knives pinion I was having trouble with the flicking with the finger flicking of the knife with my left hand, so I think I'm going to be turning this way a lot for this next segment because I want to talk to you about fullers and
opening holes.
Fullers are something that I've discovered recently.
I must admit.
I mean, I've always known of fullers and they've always been there, but only recently have I. Considered them, have they been in my life as an alternate opening method and I have to I have to say I love it.
A Spidey flick off a good fuller is a very gratifying way of opening a knife.

36:16
And if you're fidgeting, it's a it's a. It's a bomb diggity for for for fidgeting.
Alright, let's take a look at the first one.
This is the Volstead Bellamy.
This gives you three ways of opening the knife.
You have your flipper tab.
There you have your front flipper there.
But really, it's that Fuller that kills it.

36:38
That fuller is small, and until this knife, I believe every fuller I looked at, I was like that's too small.
How do?
How do people actually flip it open using that small little fuller?
But really, all you need is space for your fingernail to get in.
Yeah, just a little little, so there I don't do it.
A little space to get your finger in there now.
It's a lot easier.

37:01
I I contest.
It's a lot easier with a liner lock because you're not worried about pressing down the lock bar like you would be with a. With the a line with a frame lock.
Sorry I got distracted.
They're trying to middle finger flick this thing.
With the fuller there you go, so very very nice knife.
I love this knife.
I mean if you guys don't know or haven't watched any videos on the Bellamy.

37:33
Check mine out for sure, and then there are a lot of others and everyone seems to agree.
This thing is awesome.
I mean all you gotta do is is get one in hand.
It is super incredibly smooth, very very sharp.
It's got a hollow ground.
Very attractive hollow ground and thin behind the edge clip point blade.
I mean, there's there is a lot to like here and to me it's not the greatest front flipper, but it's but I feel like I'm getting better at it so.

38:06
And then it's got this awesome cross, not cross cut, end cut.
I think it's called carbon fiber, so it's carbon fiber and very light, but it doesn't have that carbon fiber look that I don't like.
Vaste cutlery, uh, first I knew them for their Morgan chef knife that they sent me, and they said, hey, we have this folder and I was like Oh yes, because I had just seen a nieve.
I think video knives, knives, video on that.
Next up is.
I got to say this is one of my favorite designs of the past year.
I've carried this one even more so than the full titanium quite a bit and I love it.

38:47
And this is the Preta 2 from concept, and it's designed by our good friend Kay Max Rum from France, France, France, right from France, and what a great guy Jonathan Jonathan Renowden.
We had him on the show.
He was really fun to talk to.
I like his.
Design philosophy I've been following that guy for a long time on Instagram.
Sort of tracking the progress of his work that sounds.
That sounds pretty high handed, but yeah, I've been following him for a long time and kind of seeing how his work has evolved and then and then.

39:26
Sort of watching him go into production licensing with companies like Kaiser and concept is exciting because I always thought his custom knives, his little custom knives he's making over in France.
I think he lives in the Pyrenees.
I always thought they were really cool so to see him kind of go big.
And mainstream was very gratifying a real.
Signature design queue for him.
Is this uh Swale there on the back of the blade for your thumb or or for aesthetics or for trapping or for whatever.
But also you will find Fullers in his work and right here in in the most satisfying way.

40:11
Now I mentioned before that the fuller on the Bellamy I thought was going to be too small to use as a flicker as a finger flicker and.
If you look at this, it's also relatively small, but by comparison much larger and this you feel the difference there is less.
Chance of failure.
Less chance of not getting your finger in that somewhat large or larger fuller so and I'm going to be talking about opening holes too and.
Opening holes are differ from.
I'm not talking about round opening holes, I'm talking more like slots.
They kind of have that same effect as a fuller, but we'll get to that in a minute.

41:00
So large, nice Fuller.
But this also has a thumb studs which work great.
The flipper is great.
This knife I think.
I even like it.
Like I said better than the full titanium version, which is pretty darn sweet.
I got to say super smooth and everything else.

41:16
But lately I've been coming back towards liner locks as as a desirable as a very desirable setup for a knife for the opening ease of opening and closing and.
Yeah.
Fidget is through the roof too.
Alright, Next up is from another good friend designer here.
This is from kombu and this is his orneta and it has recently come out in G10 and this one was graciously gifted me to me by bestech love this thing man.
So I've I've had a couple of hornettes here.
I reviewed 2 ornellas from them, both very positively one the first one actually was the new G. 10 version when it first dropped a bunch of months back and then recently they sent me the all titanium version, the original orneta and the first design Kambu had produced with Bestech.

42:21
Now Kambu is exclusive.
He's a knife designer only he doesn't make them and he designs exclusively for best tech so.
Interesting position and an enviable maybe not enviable because I want him to have it, but I I would like to have that too.
You know, it's like an enviable position, and because?
The designs that they take of his and that they license and and make into knives he knows are going to be built to the to the to the nines.
I mean best tech.
I think they are awesome.

42:55
I think they are really really.
I don't know.
I think they're making their way up to the very tip top I. I just think they're awesome and I hear some people gritting their teeth and saying, oh it's it's Riyadh like it and and I know and I know.
And Riyadh is awesome and there is a difference.
You know, at least between say this G10 and D2.
Best tech and a Riyadh.
But when you're looking at a full dress titanium and high end steel production from best tech, you're looking at a knife that can compete.

43:32
With Riyadh, I think, and I think they have a pretty wide repertoire too, which is which is cool.
So this knife here I've just been sitting here flipping.
But really, what I want to talk about is again, the fuller, the fuller here goes, really deep.
And man, you can.
You can get just your the fat of your whoops.
You can get just the fat of your thumb in there, or the fat of your forefinger in there and open it up.
I'm not sure if you can see how deep that runs, but the blade up up at the top is somewhat thick, thins out a lot beneath the fuller, and comes to pretty thin geometry behind the edge so fullers can do that too.

44:17
They can really reduce the width of the blade on the other side and actually I have a very good example of that and I should have pulled it out tonight.
Uh, my.
That Russian knife, uh, the the crystal Aurora has an interesting fuller setup, but I don't use the fuller to open the knife and that's that's kind of what this conversation is about.
Opening hole on this one can be used to slow roll.
The blade open like that and you can get your forfeit your flicking there.
You can even flick it with your thumb, or at least I've been able to.
Yeah there we go because it's kind of sharp and it's very deep, so these are some.

45:07
Desirable attributes for a fuller you want you want the edge of that fuller to be sharp enough to grab some of your flesh or to grab your fingernail, and you want it to be deep enough.
I mean, ideally you want it deep enough so that your finger fat can get in there and you can just open it up with your finger fat instead of your.
Your fingernail, OK, I'm moving on to the send cut Bronte this is this is one of my favorite $40 knives ever.
I got it because, well, look at it.
It's beautiful.
It's got such a simple look, but such a beautiful sort of Dow blade.
Or what is that?

45:47
Like a downward?
I don't know what that is, sort of a clip point blade, sort of a worn Cliff blade.
It's, uh, it could be a number of things, but I do know I love the point.
I love the long, almost straight cutting edge and the angle from from which it presents itself from the handle, which is 2 parallel lines.
I love that.
But I got it also because it's a front flipper and I wanted a front flipper.
This I think I only had one at the time.

46:14
I wanted a different one.
This one has really broken in nicely and it needed breaking in.
I was surprised.
I thought being a send cut it would be like all the survivors I've ever had and that it would.
Be like Insta smooth, it would be smooth right out of the box.
This one wasn't this one had to be earned so emotional support knife you know who rescued who really?
I think that's that's the question when it comes to this knife the the fuller is perfect.

46:44
Not only is it perfectly executed for fingernail or finger fat there for the opening, but it's also deep and it's tall.
Ish reasonably so and the shape of the blade resents it at an upward angle, so it's it's it's ever easier to grab you can.
You can do it way down here and flip it open, or you can do it way up towards the front loops and get it open and anywhere in between you can slow roll it using that using that fuller.
Just a great knife.
I think this is 9 yeah 9 CR 13. 9 CR 18 movie.
I'm not sure it's nine CR and.
Send cut we is known for doing their nine CR very well Speaking of Savi.

47:39
Here's another one.
This is the keen natter and this like some of the others here also has multiple ways of opening it.
You've got the flipper tab.
You've got the thumb stud.
But most pertinent to this conversation, you also have a fuller, and that is the best way to open this knife is that fuller.
There's something gratifying about putting your thumb fat or your finger fat in there and just kind of casually flipping your wrist.
Of course, you don't need wrist.

48:10
Not in the age of ball bearings.
No wrist needed, but it feels good.
It just it feels good to do.
Yeah, I'm here.
I'm ready for work.
I'm ready for action and it just sort of comes out.
Survive this, uh this survival Keene Natter was a gift from Dave.

48:26
This old sword laid reviews.
Thank you Dave.
I love this thing and yeah, I do like to flip it.
And yes, I do like to slow roll it with that thumb stud, but my favorite way to open it is with that fuller.
This was one of my first fully operational fuller knives.
So I have Dave to thank for that too.
That really nice natural tan canvas Micarta has has really soaked up my funk and looks great, especially next to that Gray.

48:57
Sort of dark tumbled finish on this flat ground and hollow ground recurve Tonto.
OK, next is this one has a kind of a frustrating, fuller and I think that's a new category.
This is the micro tech SOCOM Bravo and if you look at it.
It's got and or if you're listening, just look at it in your mind's eye, you know what it looks like because.
There's a million videos on this beautiful knife, but it's got that big exotic looking fuller along the top and it's got a nice Ridge on the top that would be excellent for grabbing that finger flesh and flipping that blade open, but the only bit of that big, gorgeous, glorious fuller that they give
you to use for opening is that, and that is completely unintentional, so they they did not mean that to be used as an opening fuller, I mean, you.
Easily.

49:59
Use the thumb stud if you if you want that sort of reverse flicking action.
The thumb stud works great.
They're giant, and by the way, they're also the blade stop.
But they're giant, you don't.
You don't need the fuller, but I see Fuller.
I wanna use Fuller so I I didn't think it was possible.
And then I saw someone else can't remember who it was online doing it saying it's a little hard.

50:22
But yeah, you can totally do it.
I think maybe it was stasa and I was like oh all right.
So I I tried it and yeah you can.
But it's the most ungrateful, lying fuller action ever, because every time you do it, you're wondering, is it going to work this time?
Is it going to work this time?
Like have I jammed enough in there to create enough pressure to pop this blade and a lot of the times when you're trying to use that fuller, you're just cheating.
You're pushing off with the thumb stud too.

50:52
So a vestigial fuller, at least in terms of for opening, I guess for as a blood gutter, so that pressure doesn't build up in your in your foe as you're shipping them, maybe, but you know, for opening not so much, but what a beautiful knife look at this thing.
Just gorgeous.
OK, so now now we're we're moving into the vents.
I think this is a word I've heard recently opening vent and it was.
I think it was a term used because.
What the hell are you going to call the shape?
These all have different shapes.

51:28
If it's not a Spyderco.
You know registered trademark circular round opening hole, then it's some other weird shape.
Lozenge sometimes works, but that.
Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, neither does vent, but I get what they mean so.
I'm still going to call it an opening goal.
Alright, so but this is more of a event because let's look at the shape look at the shape of that.
That's not a hole.

51:56
I mean, it is a hole and it's a hole in the blade, and but it's also long and.
I don't know.
I could see why someone would would call it something other than a whole.
But in any case it works great it with this on this koobi vagrant Oh my gosh, this thing works great with that.
With that reverse flick and that has really become a. You can also use it for the thumb and you can also slow roll using that vent.
But that reverse flick has really legitimized itself over time because people are making knives to accommodate it and and not just enthusiasts.
Knives like like like Casey's Tempest Knives or or so many of the other knives by enthusiasts that we all know and love who are designing their own knives.

52:50
Well, we all know that they've been Spidey flicking forever, but did the knife companies know that you know so well now the knife companies know that because they've been watching enough of our videos and they're designing the knives to be Spidey flicked as well as every every other way.
And I think that's great.
This could be vagrant man.
Kobi is awesome.
I got to say they surprised me.
I always thought they were a little bit I. I just assumed they were a little bit cheesy.
Honestly, from the cost, the price of their knives and the logo.

53:21
The logos like this weird skull with a beret and headphones and I don't know.
The logo is a little off to me, but man, the knives are incredible.
They're so well made, awesome like Detents, awesome action on these things.
Really like.
Action you would expect on a much higher end knife is on these little $40.
In general, $40 knives, this one the vagrant comes in a million different colors and two different blade shapes.
This is the Warren Cliff and it also has comes in the sheep's foot.

53:58
A little bit more rounded off a profile on the spine and these are in Aus 10 great action on bearings.
All the rest of it, and justice work beautifully.
OK, I'm going to put this here.
And move on to let us see where is it.
Here it is Viro engineering.
Now Speaking of enthusiasts who design knives now.
He didn't start off as a YouTuber.

54:29
Joseph Vero is an engineer, and he's designed some pretty interesting drone things for certain interesting agencies and that kind of stuff he designed himself and built his his own electric motorcycle.
He's just kind of a brilliant dude, and thank thankfully he turned his brilliance to designing knives, and this is my one Vero knife.
This is the synapse, one of my one of my favorite flippers, and definitely a big.
Emotional support knife.
This one gets a lot of use just.
Just for fidget, this one gets a lot of fidget because it is so wickedly drop shut smooth.
Feels good in the hand with that with that, canvas micarta has one of these awesome flippers.

55:21
This is my favorite kind of flipper right here.
Barely there super low profile.
Love that and then that translates into a platform down here where you can choke up.
Very thinly ground beautiful.
This is a best tech made knife, beautiful machine satin and you can see those grind lines which is so pleasing to me.
Very sharp internal stop pin which I love and.
This has the old bummer clip on it.

55:52
The clip that you feel in your hand, but if I'm choked up like this, which is how I would use this knife anyway, at I'm never going to use this knife in Saber grip, it's just not in the cards.
But if I'm up here using it like this I feel it.
But it kind of nestles between the metatarsals of these two fingers, like how I used that word.
I broke one once that's how I know that word.
It fits right in there, nestles in there somewhat and.
Feels all right, though he really made an improvement when he tipped down that tip a little bit of that clip.
I would say that's the one design flaw I've ever discovered on this knife.

56:33
Maybe it's a little.
No, this isn't that.
I was thinking it was sharp right here.
This one isn't super smooth action and a bolster lock.
Who doesn't love a bolster lock, but Bob?
Why are we looking at this knife for this list?
We'll look at that.

56:47
You didn't see that from that side, did you?
You didn't see that from the from the show side.
That's a little pocket milled halfway deep into the into the blade.
You don't see it on the side.
Put exclusively there for knife nerds exclusively there for knife nerds who are going to see it and be like oh that is so I can do this.
It is there for Spidey flicking or it is there for middle finger flicking.
I shouldn't use Spidey flick when I'm not talking about a spider Co. But that is probably the most gratifying way to open this knife.

57:23
And yes, just the fat of your thumb works, or I tend to use the four the the fingernail on this one, but that's the first time I ever saw that, and I thought it was ingenious and I told him so, and I thought that was cool.
That was one of the first.
Bits of evidence that when an enthusiast designs a knife, you get some interesting and cool stuff.
And what I mean by that is like, uh?
Like to the at the very current stuff like this when he started doing this, I feel like that was a very current move, whereas a big company might take a while to to bring something trendy to market.
He was able to pop that in there and really take advantage of the fact that everyone loves to Spidey flick.
You know, explicitly petrified fish did the same thing a couple of years later, biters.

58:21
Get it petrified, fish fish biting.
This is a victor.
This is the coolest petrified fish ever.
I think it is so beautiful.
I mean it is right there next to the beluga.
Actually, the beluga is what I was looking for.
But then I stumbled on this and you know I love bowies but look at that.

58:41
You flip it over and there's a vent again.
A divot if you will something milled in halfway or.
1/4 of the way a third of the way or whatever into that blade.
Just enough to give your the the finger fat or your.
Fingernail purchase to flip that thing open.
And being a petrified fish, this is an absolute drop.
Shut guillotine, and it's got a pretty thick and heavy blade also, so that aids in the action in in both the opening and the closing, but that that fuller there is just I mean that opening vent there is just so perfect, so perfect, perfectly shaped, positioned and long enough you know, goes far

59:29
enough down the blade you can.
You can kind of choose your spot and choose your action of you know where you where you end up flipping.
Along this, along this line here.
This is a great knife.
I highly recommend it.
It's in K110, Umm, which is analogous to D2 and it is in canvas micarta.
In this case, Blue Jean Micarta denim micarta had to get it.

59:53
OK, last up I I wanted to pay homage to the just the plain lozenge shaped opening hole that the Oval opening hole.
So so it's this.
It is the Strider SMF or any Strider or any knife that has that style hole.
Umm, you know, you could even talk about the growler coming out by Devo Knives.
It's not even out yet and and they have a similar sort of.
Opening hole, but this this is the kind of hole that is approaching this.
This sort of vent here longer than just a circle and gives you a little bit more space so you can almost choose your action by where you choose to to engage with that opener.

01:00:43
Great for in this case.
Slow roll flick with the thumb flip with the with the four with the.
Other finger reverse side and I figured Strider is one of those emblematic brands and designs, and I think they took early advantage of the non circular opening vent.
Very very nice to open up.
OK so there you go people.
These are my favorite opening hole opening vent and fuller knives and it's becoming something that is showing up in a lot of the knives I draw and then a lot of the knives that I'm looking at.
I keep I keep kind of finding myself coming back to these folders.

01:01:31
So what do we have here?
We have the vaste Bellamy we have, the concept predator we have the orneta by bestech.
We have the send cut Bronte, the keen natter by sevi, the SOCOM Bravo.
That's a micro tech, the kubi vagrant, the synapse by Vero Engineering, the petrified fish Victor, and the Strider SMF fullers, and opening holes.
People going deep in the fullers and opening holes.
What's your favorite knife with a fuller or opening hole?
Let me know and is that opening hole long or is it circular?

01:02:03
If it's circular I'm not counting it even though it works all right.
Join us on Sunday for Matthew.
Christensen he will be back on the show.
Christensen knifeworks.
Uh, he's got the thug out.
He's got the critical with Kaiser out they have the.
Thug Axel coming out.

01:02:22
You didn't hear that here.
You will hear that first on Sunday.
So join us on Sunday with Matthew Christensen.
What a great guy.
Also tomorrow night Thursday night Knives check us out and come be a part of our our of our fun and our conversation all right for Jim working his magic behind the Switcher.
I'm Bob DeMarco saying thank you so much for watching the show and until next time please don't take doll for an answer.
Thanks for listening to the Knife Junkie podcast.

01:02:48
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