FKMD Parus why it is a versatile knife for Hiking?


Firstly any "survival knife" is going to be a compromise from a tool more specifically suited to ones predicament or situation: eg. Tropics Vs Montane Vs Desert Vs Forest.

Tropical survival may involve hacking open many coconuts for extended periods (been there done that) and the FKMD Parus can easily do this.

Why is the FKMD Parus* a good knife for survival? And what kind of survival?

Scenario:

Camping trip want to take one knife due to weight. Why carry dozens of knives? Two for sure, the second being a small but sturdy folder.

Boat over turns whilst fishing in the "middle of nowhere" you swim to the shore with only this knife strapped to your side. You may be able to build a shelter with this knife and make some tools.

The FKMD Parus is a well thought-out knife design. I say this based upon my 35 years plus experience in the wilds around the globe. Now first up this knife is far from a conventional straight bladed knife. But this IS NOT a conventional knife.


There are several key points to the design of the FKMD Parus.

1) the weight is near the tip. This instantly allows the knife to be effectively used in a chopping motion, to deliver maximum power to the end of the knife. A sort of mini hatchet if you like.

2) The tip of the PARUS is also curved with a generous radius to allow it to be used for skinning game.

3) The FKMD Parus also features a good tip for penetration for gutting.

4) The recurve section allows fast and easy cutting of fibrous materials such as ferns and grasses in order to build beds or making other insulating structures in a camp survival situation. It excels at cutting ropes and cords.

5) The choil allows you to get closer to the tip to help avoid wrist stress during fine work.

6) The handle is (with the exception of being placed in a fire!) is virtually indestructible Forprene and there is a lanyard hole for securing the knife against accidental loss when working at height or over water or crevasse etc.

7) The Parus can be easily lashed to a pole to gain a higher reach (collecting honey, fungi, coconuts, dates, paw paws, etc)- NOT as a spear only a fool would advocate this in a survival situation.

8) The handle is not too big so if you need gloves during a winter excursion then the grip will still be good.


*The Parus is designed by: Alfredo Doricchi

 Jaktkit KNV2 Fixed blade 2 years on.

QUALITY CONTROL IS STILL THERE!

The Jaktkit KNV2 is a knife I have been thoroughly using now for over 2 years. Made from a proprietary (for Jaktkit) stainless alloy composition  from Ahonest steel, designated by them as:

99Cr18MoV. the extra "9" is supposed to signify more carbon than the usual 9Cr18MoV. Don't go looking for it on their (Ahonest steel) site, you won't find it, as it's proprietary elemental mix. The knife raw material itself is made from Electro Slag Remelting (ESR) technique used to produce a cleaner raw billet than via non-ESR production methods. The billet is then press forged according to Ahonest steel to produce a more homogeneous structure (as apposed to blanks being cut/milled from rolled stock) How the actual knife blank is then manufactured is  not known to me. I doubt it is actually forged too, as this would be stated as it's a selling feature and not something to avoid advertising (like Wildsteer knives for example). Plus I asked directly to Jaktkit if the actual blade was forged and they only said the blade was made from a forged billet (just like Ahonest state on their website). One thing can be said for sure, these KNV knives come deadly razor sharp and the steep convex grind is very well made.

Apparently, Ahonest now designate their version of VG10 as CR-10 steel
"The grind on these KNV2 knives is totally awesome as far as biting into materials and cutting power". So how does the 99Cr18MoV hold up  ?
These knives really hold their edges and do in fact bite into material very very well. I think to begin with there were "haters" of this company's knives, suggesting they were "Falkniven ripoffs".Of course they don't look like this at all nor do they feel like an F1, that's for sure. The F1 has a blocky grip and is no where near as comfortable as the KNV2 and the F1 scabbard is rubbish for such a good knife and price- this is of course undisputed and what lets the F1 down many feel. Anyway I digress.

Let's see:
Firstly, I have to say the knife does hold an edge against harsh treatment. It is relatively easy to keep the edge if slightly dulled via some 800-1000 grit carborundum wet and dry abrasive paper over leather or rubber (it's got a steep convex cutting edge).
 I found the grip to be pretty grippy but if your hands are oily then the knife is slippery. I think that most grips would be slippery with oily hands except grips like on my Extrema Ratio MK2.1, 

Extrema Ratio MK2.1 FRN grip, very secure!

which is grippy regardless of what's on your hands. 

So after 2 years of usage, do I think the Jaktkit knife is a good buy? The answer is yes. It holds a good edge, doesn't chip on the edge, hasn't rusted or shown signs of corrosion, has a good grip, flat pommel, good kydex sheath, relatively easy to keep sharp (using a stropping via v fine carborundum paper-1000 grit, or higher. The polymer grip handle has shown no signs of wear or degradation due to sunlight exposure. The blade angle makes it easy to carve with and it cuts materials very well due to it's grind (true to the publicity on their site).

Military version of the KNV2

(see field testing here)

The KNV2 is now available with a "Ceramic" surface treatment to lessen stray reflections from the blade surfaces intended for military applications. This is their military version.

Ceramic surface treatment KNV2 Military

The blade blackening on the Military version of the KNV2 helps to prevent stray reflections in the sunlight.

The Jaktkit website  reads: "Ceramic coated"  the blade is now anti-reflective as compared to the standard non-coated KNV2, which shines like a mirror.
The blade SURFACE HAS A SORT OF VARIATION IN COLOUR, and is supposed to be from the heating of the ceramic. None the less, this coating I noted appears to be very tough and scratch resistant.
The steel alloy designation 99Cr18MoV is now LASER engraved upon the blade hilt. That gives me more confidence about the alloy being used. I like to see this on all blades I buy.

Ahonest Steel's 99Cr18MoV alloy designation LASER engraved

The spine geometry appears to be slightly different from the standard KNV2 in that it is clearly more narrow and thus has better penetration abilities.

Note narrower tip compared with the standard KNV2 seen below.

Standard civilian Jaktkit KNV2 in 99Cr18MoV IS NOT marked anywhere on this KNV2's blade surface, so it could be anything but I don't doubt for one moment it has loads of carbon as it just stays sharp even under abuse! LASER engraving takes an extra step in production and therefore increases the cost of production and thus a decrease in profit. BUT it adds loads of "confidence value" for the consumer. That's what I like about this in my military version with blackened blade.

Now there is is another new version made with Ahonest's version of Japan's Takefu's famous VG10 alloy (V gold).

It looks basically identical to the original KNV2 in 99Cr18MoV, of course it does!

Working in or near water

KNV2 in VG10

Hot or cold environments, the KNV2 VG10 knife is easy to pick up and hold

Gathering wild herbs, i just had to basically touch the stuff for the blade to cut it. This is a super steep convex grind.

Hunting capable VG10 Version of KNV2, blood and guts no problems, this is a "working no nonsense knife"

The KNV2 VG10. VG10 for those new to this well-proven alloy, is a high cobalt content stainless alloy. Here is the minimum specifications of this alloy from Ahonest (probably one of China's biggest stainless steel producers).
See below Ahonest Chanjiang VG10 composition:

Chemical Component  ( weight % )

Grade	C	Cr	W	Mo	V	Co
Changjiang VG10	1.0	15.0	/	1.0	0.2	1.5	%

My VG10 version of the KNV2, (like my original KNV2) also is not marked with the steel grade and is hence basically indistinguishable in appearance from my KNV2. The cardboard box that it came in had a sticker saying VG10, and that's all. I'm not so happy about this as I would have more confidence in what grade alloy it was if I saw a LASER engraving. ALL of my knives (except these from Jaktkit-excepting the now the military version) come with the alloy designation LASER engraved upon the blade (even the no name Chinese brands sent to me for review, show D2 laser engraved upon the surface. LASER engraving the steel designation is a selling point not to be omitted IMHO.
STOP PRESS!!!
JAKTKIT JUST CONTACTED ME AND EXPLAINED WHY THE LASER ENGRAVING WAS OMITTED, HERE IS THEIR REPLY:
"Concerning steel marking on blade. Before we only made knives in our proprietary steel and we did not see the benefit of adding steel logo. When we started making knives in VG-10 Cobalt we also started to add logo to the right side blade of our knives. However, this caused problem for some big military orders where custom logo was requested on right side of blade. This caused a temporary stop of logo on all blades, which we still see in current stock of VG-10 knives. However, now we have started adding a small steel engraving close to the handle and will continue to do so on all production going forward."


TOTALLY FAIR ENOUGH I SAY!

It's surface colour does however appear less "chromey/shiny" than my standard KNV2, which the latter, does have more Cr in the alloy and one might expect a shinier surface finish. But without a XRD or EDAX analysis, it is impossible to tell what alloy it is (this is basically true for all knives of course). And this is far from scientific in the slightest comparing the overall sheen of a blade in the determination of what steel it is made from!

I think that there maybe some issues legally with laser engraving VG10 onto their blades as VG10 is a Takefu steel invention and this VG10 version is produced by Ahonest steel. So as the pictures show on Jaktkit's website, A representative VG10 KNV2 shows the label "Ahonest VG10", there is nothing wrong with this, so other than legalities (are there any?) or reducing manufacturing costs by omitting a manufacturing step (this is fact) , such as LASER engraving prior to boxing, I'm not sure why they'd do this (or rather omit it) and I contacted Jaktkit but they did not answer my questions as yet.

Let's assume it is VG10 in the interests of good will!

How does VG10 compare with N690 from Bohler?

N690 has Mn (0.4%) and more Cr (17%) and a little bit less vanadium (0.1%). Same Cobalt and same carbon and no Molybdenum.

Firstly VG10 is an XLNT steel for knives, there is NO question about this. So now take this excellent steel and make a knife like Jaktkit's KNV2' geometry.

How about in practice?

This is how the knife performs.
Results so far show me:

Deadly deadly sharp!
Super biting edge!
Comfort in grip like All KNV2 knives and the KNV3
Great corrosion resistance.
Same quality Kydex scabbard.


Stay tuned for the full video field review.

BCT

Reality check against marketing hype.

For this subject I'll focus on the following "design", the 
Cold Steel Triad lock, I read the blurb and it sounds and looks like total marketing BS. If a lock back folder is made with precision machining resulting from proper engineered design, it will not fail. Use some common sense. 

The gimmick lies here. They (Cold Steel) use a stop pin in order to take the downward, (normal forces) of cutting on the blade(like in numerous liner lock folders, nothing new here or revolutionary). Since the back spine of their Triad knife is not designed to be perfectly flush with the pivoting arm of the lock bar, they must machine things a little different here as their diagrams indicate. But why? Because it is easier to produce actually. It is far harder to make a precision fit of the back of the spine with the lock bar, (no matter how good your CNC engineers are) ie perfectly flush over the entire surface. It usually requires some sort of hand finishing to totally make sure the mating surfaces are flush. Hand finishing costs money, this money comes off the profit! I believe this Triad lock system to simply be a marketing gimmick with loads of videos demonstrating how strong this lock is in the opposite direction to normal forces to brainwash the many about how good the knife is based upon the lock and steer away from the blade materials and other key features of what a knife is used for (like comfort, durability and cutting abilities/blade wear resistance etc etc).  

As for the apparent lack of matting of parts in the Triad lock, where it is suggested or rather stated that this leaves room for wear and tear and that it is self correcting??? WTF? It is far easier to put a big thick pin and have a half hearted lock back system than make a precision system in the first place.
In a normal cutting procedure, it is basically impossible for the lock to break (of a well made lock back). The lock bar is under a compressive force, not a bending force. Physics right??? The bolts holding the lock bar are under a bending force (yes they must be good quality parts used here). 

Let's say in this  fantasy world of applying extreme forces to the spine in the opposing direction of cutting, again, if a normal well-made (I emphasise well-made) lock back is used, for failure to occur, the lock bar engagement has to move upwards away from the spine notch. There is no reason why any one who is worth their weight in precision knife making can not and does not design these notches so that these "backward" forces only make the lock bar engage more strongly, ie move towards the knife spine notch. Plus use good quality spring material and shape and design of spring is important. Heck it's done in plenty of good lock back folders! That's not new at all. 

The downside of such a lock design (Triad) is that it now allows for pocket lint and or dust, dirt or whatever to enter the region within the spine notch which is supposed to be there for the "self adjusting" mechanism and also the region surrounding the lock bar pivot. With any lock back knife (the Triad is no exception) small amounts of contaminants easily can prevent proper function. Hence we have open backs and liner locks which also can let in garbage but are also much easier to keep clean and functioning successfully. If one really uses a lot any lock back folder you will have experienced this at some point. If however, one just wants to carry a knife in a clean pocket and it's not a "work knife" but rather a "concealed weapon", well that's their business.

No lock back knife can function properly without proper maintenance, ie cleaning particulate matter and proper high quality lubrication of the mechanism.

One thing Cold Steel are good at and that is publicity stunts and marketing. When it comes to marketing they are the kings of marketing.(ok some of their products are good-some). Now before anyone who is a Cold Steel lover decides to lecture me, please, please think carefully about what i said and read their marketing hype, draw some diagrams and work out where the forces are generated and think of the last time you whacked the daylights out of your folder in completely the opposite direction to cutting something.

Severe shock loads to the spine are unlikely even in the most extreme fantasy cases. The kinds of loads that your hand which holds the knife would be severely damaged whether the blade collapsed or not LOL! We must wise up to marketing hype no matter who the manufacturer is, they all use it to varying degrees to convince us to purchase their products. I'm still waiting for Cold steel to provide me with some data of their "tests" of which I openly publicly challenged them- it was Andrew Demko, actually (about 2 years ago now!), so as I could publish the real forces generated, in order to demonstrate how large they actually are and then equate that with your hand being compressed to mush if you are holding onto a knife and exerting such forces. 




BCT

manly Knives PEAK Lock back Folder CPM154 WOW

manly Knives peak Lock back Folder CPM154 WOW
manly Knives in Bulgaria is a young and dynamic knife company, whose products are gaining serious popularity around the world, with a strong following in Germany at present.
By "young", I don't just mean  the age of the company (about 14 years old at the time of writing); but ALL the staff are young dynamic people, and passionate about their creativity at manly. This passion is clearly reflected in the end products, such as the peak lock back folder, one of several folders they are currently producing.

manly PEAK model in CPM 154, Black G10 scales

Laser engraved model name on locking lever.

 Precision engineered, the manly peak folder is available in 2 locking models: this one pictured here has a hole in the spine to make it one handed opening, whilst the second PEAK model is more traditional in design, with 2 handed opening. Both models are currently available in several G10 color/pattern variations and a range of premium blade steels, CPM154 (this model I own), German 1.2379-like D2; and high vanadium S90V!

The manly peak is equally at home in the wilds as in urban environs.

Only premium grade raw materials from the USA (blade stainless steels S90V and CPM 154) and German 1.2379 (D2) tool steel are used for blade choices, along with Sandvik's 12C27.

The manly peak features "recessed" stainless liners and  forefinger gimping, as seen in the following image:

Here the recessed liner is exposed and milled gimping for an extra great grip.

No corners are cut in design and manufacture, along with stringent quality control measures, I know, I saw first hand as I was at the factory for several days whilst a factory tour was being filmed and saw it for myself and spoke with all of the staff. That's why is came as no surprise to me the quality end product, which functions beautifully in your hands.

The blades of all models (I mean ALL to include their fixed blades too!) are thoroughly inspected during each process.

The heat treatment is meticulously conducted along with post cryogenic processing. They even make their own phosphor bronze washers to assure full QC!

manly peak model one handed opening lock back folder pictured alongside Boletus luridis

manly peak lock back folder pictured alongside Boletus luridis mushrooms

I've now become a devotee of manly products and it's great to see another  European company manufacturing quality knives with premium raw materials at affordable* prices! 

Stay tuned for a full field review of the "manly peak folder (this very one featured here in this blog).

BCT

*Who knows how long this can last for as their products gain popularity around the globe??