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