Максим Ткачук (Max Tkachuk) as LASER engraved upon the blade.
Max Tkachuk is a Ukrainian Graphic and Industrial Designer.
Kubey knives is a Chinese company and they are not afraid to indicate that their products are Made in China. They are based in Shenzhen, within the province of Guangdong, known for high tech manufacturing within China.
Straight away I'm going to say after a very very close inspection of this model that it is made extremely well. The tolerances are spot on and the materials are as good as any quality manufacturer in the West.
Japanese AUS10 has been used for the blade steel, G10 for the scales and back spacer (it is a partially closed back design liner lock). The back liner also has a hole milled in it for a lanyard.
They say:
The pivot is made with 416 stainless steel
and the pocket clip is supposed to be 6AL4V. I say supposedly because when I tested the clip with a strong Nd magnet, I found the clip to be highly magnetic, something which should not occur if Ti 6AL4V was actually used.
HRC is stated as 60-62.
I say so far so good withy the testing, the blade really holds an edge after cutting fruits, electrical flex, paper, cardboard, various plastics (such as cable ties).
Aesthetically the design of the Kubey Vagrant is very cool!
The grind is a sort of Sabre flat grind witha very good even edge bevel.
Partially closed back via aG10 spacer, very thick stainless liners,
ball bearing pivot (very smooth but enough friction via the force of the liner ball bearing on the tang). 3 fixing bolts as apposed to the usual 2 for such a sized knife (3 is always better and I'm a firm believer in the partially closed back for a stronger and more rigid knife design as apposed to straight out and out standoffs, so commonly used by manufacturers).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying standoffs aren't any good I'm just saying a partially closed back has to make for a more rigid design simply because there is more in contact with both liners. The Kubey Vagrant comes in either Black G10 or Fawn/light brown G10.
The blade finish of the Kubey vagrant is excellent on all fronts. A high almost mirror polish and all edges are beveled. the Words AUS10 is engraved upon the blade as well as the designer's name and the Kubey. Good thumb/finger gimping is present. The stop pin is thick.
Lock up is perfect every time and there was zero play in the mechanism. I can not fault it.
Kubey have a number of European designers associated with them.
I never mention price however,I would suggest It's not a "cheap knife" nor is it an "expensive knife". It appears to be built to standard. My experience with manufacturers out of Shenzhen is that they (especially if they are actually a Chinese company) are trying to show that the Chinese can indeed make quality products if they want to.
Stick around for the upcoming video review at BushCampingTools.
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