FKMD Predator II Liner Lock FX-446 ODS LAWKS Made in Italy In depth Review.

 FKMD Predator II Liner Lock FX-446 ODS LAWKS Made in Italy

My trusty FX-446GR in the field. But wait there's more!......

There are knives for looking at and knives for everyday use and hard use.

 

The FKMD series of liner lock folders featuring the added safety of the LAWKS system are just the thing to satisfy this requirement. I have owned now for over 3 years the FKMD Predator II FX-446 GR non serrated liner lock folder in N690, 420J and Forprene construction. This knife is serving me well on a daily basis. Strong construction, with a semi closed back. This type of construction (semi closed back) produces the most stable configuration of a basic liner lock. Why? Because, there is simply more material in contact with the liners, ie a great surface area of contact, instead of just regular standoffs as seen on so many liner locking knives. The semi closed back as a consequence of physics can provide a better lateral stability for the construction. This knife also features a thick stainless steel pin at the butt end for the attachment of a lanyard. The stop pin too, for the blade is very thick, along with the liners and this construction clearly of the years of use has held up very well. Other than a regular cleaning and or some addition of light gun oil to the moving parts, the knife is basically maintenance free. The Forprene scales are impervious to water and extremely wear resistant. They may not look great but this is a WORKING KNIFE built tough with an excellent blade shape.

 

There is of course a reversible pocket clip.

After 2 years the FX-446 has not required any major service. There is zero blade wobble, the blade indent is still working just fine like the day I got it.

Working at height one needs needs to sometimes cut ropes or tapes in a hurry; or sections of carpet which is often used for "sacrificial" rope protectors. The best way to achieve this using a blade with a serrated edge. To this end the Predator II (FX-446 ODS) was the obvious choice. Deadly effective serrations, plus the same robustness and reliability of the FX-446 GR non-serrated version

Now after being convinced of its’ (FKMD FX-446) durability, I have got the same version but with a partially serrated  blade (FX-446 ODS) as for me I find serrations upon such a knife an extremely useful addition for instantly slicing through any cordage, small-medium diameter ropes; in fact rapidly cutting (let’s face it a knife is for CUTTING) most things. FKMD know how to make proper serrations. Yes, there are serrations and there are serrations! For serrations to work properly and stay sharp for a very long time (longer than the plain edge of a blade), they must be ground at exacting angles and be designed in such a way they alternate with shallow vs deep grooves. Physics dictates that the serrated edge binds and has a greater surface areas in contact with rounded or fibrous materials, hence a more rapid cutting than a regular plain edge.

 

Both knives are made with Böhler's N690 Cobalt enhanced Stainless steel.

The FX-446ODS is a properly (well-thought out) designed liner lock for the professional. 

Anyone wanting to reverse the pocket clip or fiddle with adjusting the blade retention etc., well the FX446 series comes with a dedicated Torx head wrench for such jobs. Personally, I have never in almost 4 years had to adjust anything in my FX-446GR except put a little gun oil on the moving parts (and of course keep the folder clean).

There is nothing woosy about the FKMD FX-446 series of liner lock folders.

This RED lever is the LAWKS Safety lock (shown "disengaged" here). Note big thick stop pin.

View of rear lanyard pin

It is important to note here the "roughened surface treatment" to the contact surface of the tang in order to prevent liner slippage under load. This feature although small and maybe goes unnoticed plays an important role in providing a super solid lockup without liner slippage which can sometimes happen under load for liner lock type knives.

Extremely secure grip due to scale pattern and scale/knife body design. Spear point blade featuring a big swedge.

LAWKS Safety lock shown in "Engaged" position, preventing any movement away from the tang. (see above note) and also note the relatively thick 1.5mm liners!

Deadly serrations makes cutting rope and cords dead easy.

The FKMD FX-446 ODS has  wicked serrated Böhler N690 blade, teflon coated (it is extremely wear resistant- see my notes on my other FX-446GR). The serrations are in a 1:2:1 pattern, wide shallow, wide pattern, means super fast cutting power and long sharp life. The OD (Olive Drab) Forprene scales may not look like your grandfather's pocket knife but they are no nonsense, impervious to water, super resistant to abrasion and basically unbreakable.

Lets look more closely at what my almost 4 year old FX-446GR looks like compared to a new (2 week old FX-446ODS

Very little wear in reality of the Teflon Idroglider (it's extremely wear resistant) coating on the blade (Fig. B). So I do not expect the new ODS to look much different as the years move on.

EDC or whatever, the FX-446ODS is a reliable folder

Some say the Forprene scales make these knives look cheap. I totally disagree. It's not about making the FX-446 GR or the FX-446ODS look cheap, it's about professional features, that the Forprene delivers; a non slip grip, impervious to moisture and greases, dust and dirt, resistant to knocks and abrasion, resistant to cracking and or breakage or damage from accidental dropping. And speaking of dropping, the FKMD FX-446ODS like the FKMD FX-446 GR has a very thick stainless steel pin at the rear of the knife for which a lanyard can be attached to prevent knife loss. This pin only further serves as just another point of reinforcement for the two sides of the knife.

The blades are released via a thumb stud, no fancy flipper. Why isn't there a flipper? Well a flipper would serve little purpose on such a knife but only get caught up on one's clothing/causing accidental opening of the blade. The thumb stud does what it's supposed to do and that is enable one handed opening.

When I see these liner locks taking the name Predator, like the Predator fixed blade series from FKMD, I expect the same robustness in these liner locks and think military tough.

Do yourself a favour, if you are after a well-built (Made in Italy) tough liner lock, that cuts, look no further than the FKMD FX-446 line. 

FKMD FX-446 GR (gray scales non serrated)

or indeed the 

FKMD FX-446 ODS (Olive Drab Serrated) version.

You can see these models here as well along with all of the other series in the FX-446 line up.

These folders are meant to be used and can take some serious use too!

Full field review of the FKMD FX-446ODS coming soon!

BCT