Hey, everyone.
David C. Andersen here coming at you from the KnifeCenter, and today we’re taking
a look at some new KnifeCenter exclusive flat dark earth Chris Reeve Inkosi.
Let’s check them out.
Now, the Inkosi was always a knife that could stand up to heavy duty jobs.
But now, with the frame and the blade both covered with this flat dark earth KG Gun Kote,
this knife is tougher than ever.
It’s safe to say there’s never been an Inkosi like this.
It has a subtle, sort of military-ish or tactical look with the matte finish set off nicely
by some metallic accents of the hardware.
This knife definitely has a new look, but it’s got the classic Inkosi materials.
We’ve got CPM-S35VN for the blade and a full titanium frame, all with that impressive
quality that’s a hallmark of the Chris Reeve construction: quality that’s guaranteed
for life.
All shapes and sizes of the Inkosi line are represented in our new KnifeCenter exclusive
variants.
Both large and small sizes are available with the classic drop point, the aggressive tanto
blade, and the sheepsfoot-style Insingo blades, and they’re all hair-splitting sharp right
out of the box.
All of them feature a hollow grind that’s not quite as deep as the hollow grind that
you’ll find on a Sebenza.
This keeps things a little bit thicker behind the edge for more overall strength.
This is actually done with a twenty-inch radius wheel, and if you know anything about knife
making, that’s positively huge.
It gives sort of a blend between a traditional hollow grind and a flat grind.
The blades also feature a subtle thumb ramp with some nice jimping, and it’s got some
nice chamfered edges as well, and it transitions, actually, to a full crown spine ahead of this
small cutout.
That’s a nice feature that takes time to do right, and it just feels really good, and
it’s one of those things that you can only really get when you start to get into premium
knives.
Right behind that cutout on the spine, we also see a nice set of dual thumb studs, as
opposed to the single thumb stud that’s found on the Sebenza.
The action on these knives, as with everything Criss Reeve, is a bit more deliberate than
where a lot of the industry has gone, but one thing that’s always impressed me about
their construction is how smooth they are.
That said, they still can be made to flick if you want to.
It might require a little bit of wrist action at first, but they should break in quite nicely.
I know by now that my Sebenza 21 that’s part of my daily carry rotation can be flicked
open quite easily.
The handles of these knives house the Reeve Integral Lock, commonly referred to today
as a frame lock.
But it was, in fact, invented by Chris Reeve, so they can call it whatever they want.
The Sebenza was already known for its bank vault-like lockup, that’s a term you’ll
hear thrown around a lot, but the Inkosi goes even further.
Instead of the commonly-seen steel lock bar insert that a lot of the competitors are using,
the Inkosi actually takes things a step further, and it actually uses a ceramic ball insert
on the lock bar to interface with the tang.
This system has proven itself to be long-wearing and smooth to operate in the years since they
introduced it, and it’s worked so well that they’re incorporating this feature into
the upcoming new generation of their flagship model, the Sebenza 31.
It’s gonna be hard to see on video, but they actually use oversized washers on the
pivot to provide more surface area and less opportunity for wiggle.
And the lockup it creates is seriously impressive.
Honestly, just trying to flex it, it feels a lot like a fixed blade.
None of these models have inlays, so they carry nice and flat in the pocket, too, but
they’re still pretty comfortable.
We’ve got precise chamfering all around the edges, and a couple of finger grooves
at the front for easy indexing.
Looking at the back of the handle, you can see that the pocket clip is angled so that
it doesn’t rest on the lock bar, and this eliminated the possibility of interfering
with the opening action if you happen to be gripping on the clip a little bit too hard.
The pocket clip is a one-position clip set up for right-side tip up carry, and it’s
inset very nicely into the frame so there’s a lot of rigidity there.
They’ve actually stuck with a folded pocket clip for this model, unlike the machined clips
that a lot of the competition is going to, and there’s a really good reason for that.
As you can see, there’s an extra fold in the clip right here, and that actually makes
this a dual-retention point pocket clip.
That’s an extra little pinch point to hold on to the fabric of your pocket, making it
a little harder to accidentally slip out, but it’s still easy and intuitive to use.
The included lanyards on the back of these knives can be used to aid extraction in the
pocket, and you can even swap it out for something different if you want to get fancy or add
some beads or anything like that.
We’re really excited to have these new KnifeCenter exclusive Chris Reeve Inkosi models.
There’s none other like them, and they certainly have a subtle, yet striking look, and you
can only get them from us.
Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments, and to get your hands on one, click
the link to head over to KnifeCenter.com.
It’s not as deep as the hollow ground that you’ll …
The action on this knife… these knives…
Large, small.
(Please put that one out of context)