SOGKiku Quick-Opening Sharp Ambidextrous Pocket Folding Knives with Linen Micarta Handle | CTS XHP Steel, XR Lock

So I was given a smaller Kershaw knife a few years ago as a gift and It's a nice little knife. What I liked most about it is the flick opening mechanism on the back side of the handle. As I was looking for another SOG knife the other day I saw this beautiful knife with the incredible looking scales AND the same opening mechanism that I loved on the Kershaw! This sort of serindipity is the kind of thing that makes me lose all control around the Buy Now button.When the knife arrived and I tore open the shipping envelope and then carefully opened the box, it was even more beautiful than it looked in the photos on the site. The Linen Micarta on the handle is not only gorgeous but very functional, feeling great in the hand and provides a very solid grip on the knife. The nub that you use to flick the blade open becomes a very nice and effective guard to ensure that your hand doesn't slip forward on to the VERY sharp blade. So, convenience and safety in one little detail of the blade.The blade itself is beautiful. The Japanese knifemakers are world renowned for a very good reason. It's quite thick along the top and the subtle tanto style shape of the lower, edged portion narrows to literally nothing. This is a serious blade. It's also an extremely capable blade.The knife as a whole is substantial, heavier than most pocket folders but beautifully balanced when it's open. In one of the photos, I'm holding the closed knife in my palm to show scale. I'm 6'4" and about 220 and my hands are proportionate. This is not a great knife for someone with small hands.But it IS a great knife.Other than SOG, I own Victorinox, Kershaw, Spyderco and one Cold Steel (hey, don't shame me, I just liked the way it looked with its traditional looking tanto style blade). Quality knives matter to me and this is gonna be one of my favorites. It's the only blade I'm taking on a six day camping trip in a couple of weeks.This knife is certainly not the cheapest thing you can find on Amazon but I think that, for what you're getting, it's VERY fairly priced. If you can afford it (and your hands are big enough) I highly recommend it!As a matter of fact, I like this knife so much that I've got a Kiku XR LTE coming on Friday!

Nice heavy duty knife. SOG has stepped up their game and are producing some nice knives. This is the full weight version which I prefer. It has heavy liners and is a large knife - the type sold in the men’s department. Fit and finish is well executed. It feels good in the hand. I like the “knapped flint” turtle shell contoured Micarta handle scales. The grinds are well done and symmetrical. The knife is factory sharp but not hair splitting. Overall, I like it. Some of the subjective dislikes is the compound grind and the concave contour of the blade. I will withhold judgement until I successfully sharpen it. The lack of a sharpening choil makes it difficult as well.

Love this SOG pocket knife. When you hold it you know you have a quality knife. When it’s folded and in your pocket it’s almost like you don’t know it’s there. I’m thinking about buying a few for my friends. Oh yea great price on this.And it holds its sharpness. I love the look and the speed of the open and close of the blade.

There is a lot to like about this knife. For instance, I really like the looks. The grip of the handle is excellent in part due to the texturing. The blade is robust and fairly, but not amazingly, sharp. The flipper works great and opens the blade easily.Why only four stars? The action of the axis slider release is not smooth at all. I tried lubricating and that didn’t help. You can actually hear it when you pull it back to release the blade. Also, at this price point I have to ding it for being made in Taiwan. With a list price of ~$200 I expect made in America, Germany or Japan. To be fair, I paid $100.

It's a SOG and is what you would expect a SOG to be. Excellent quality, excellent craftmanship, and feel. Although I was expecting it to be bigger, I find it still functional. It is, for me, a little bulky and most likely more suitable to a knife with a pouch or pack-pouch attachment type carry. Saying that, it will be going to the field more and as a good utility knife. The downside? And all knives have downsides, are the knife is stiff when trying to open. So opening it quickly, and until it wears in, is stiff. Closing? Due to the thickness of the frame, for most, it will be 'hard' to get to the thumb notch. Again, the knife is new and needs some breaking in to conquer that and over time, it will be easier. The blade, remember it is a SOG, is not the sharpest I had, but it is razor sharp. It has a good definition and the blade is wide enough to handle most crafting functions. It's not a robust bush-knife but in a pinch it will work, or should work. My thoughts? If you are looking for a good all-purpose (carry, EDC, outdoor, craft, etc.) knife. this is one to have in your collection. Worth the money.....