hey everyone David C Andersen here coming at you from the KnifeCenter now
the world certainly has changed in the last month but fortunately that hasn't
yet stopped the train of new knives here at the KnifeCenter so here are some of
my favorite picks for the best new knives to hit our shelves in March 2020
let's check them out
[short jingle] [Best of March 2020]
so the first thing I want to show you is the CJRB Small Feldspar which i think
is the best bargain of the month hands down now CJRB has always been a
bargain ever since their first models were introduced but this latest and one
of their smallest deserves special attention like I said the Small Feldspar
at just 35 bucks for a budget knife with a blade under three inches this is going
to be a very hard product to beat the blade is D2 tool steel and it's got my
preferred stonewashed finish on it it's a very usable drop point shape it's flat
ground and we've got a continuous curve to the edge that it encourages easy
slicing this is a thumb stud opening knife and we've got ceramic ball
bearings in the pivots it makes it very easy to open and then when closed up
it's nice and clean when it's folded and stuck in your pocket because you've got
no flipper tab now the G10 handle on this knife is available in a few
different colors and it's got a nice neutral shape should be usable and
comfortable for hands both large and small also thanks to the contoured
dimensions of those scales rather than having flat slabs it helps it to feel
even better and more comfortable when you're gripping it's also got an
inset liner lock which is a nice feature typically reserved for knives a bit more
expensive you don't usually see it quite as much on budget oriented knives like
this it even has a reversible deep carry pocket clip to keep the knife out of the
way and under the radar until you need it
the CJRB Small Feldspar is the right size it's got the right features and the
right price to make it worthy of carrying just about anywhere that you
could carry a knife now like CJRB, Ontario is another brand that's known
for their budget folders their RAT series in particular now we've got a new
folder this month which is called the Shikra
coming in at about 45 bucks and they've pushed the materials a little bit with
this design we've got an almost needle-like drop point shape to the
blade good for general work but it's delicate enough for very precise work as
well it's actually not all that dissimilar from the blade on the
Feldspar in a way but we do have a little bit more length about 3.2 inches
we've got hollow ground AUS-8 steel which is easier to sharpen than the D2
on the CJRB and of course it's more stainless as well the blade has a black
stonewashed finish and that's gonna help with the corrosion resistance even more
and it's also gonna make it look very cool we've got a ball bearing pivot with
flipper opening we're seeing this more and more from China at under the $50
price point but it's still very nice to see what we don't see much though at
this price point and what we do see here is a titanium frame lock and that's
where they've pushed the envelope a little bit that titanium is gonna help
keep the weight down versus the more commonly used steel at this price point
it's got that same black stone wash and more premium details - like a steel lock
bar insert with an integrated over travel arrestor now the front handle
scale is micarta and it is contoured for comfort and then milled a little bit for
grip and it's left with a matte texture that isn't too slick overall the Ontario
Knife Company Shikra is a solid EDC and while it is an imported knife it is nice
to see an American company playing in the same ball field as the budget
Chinese companies with a knife that can certainly win on its merits
now speaking of one of those budget Chinese brands we've got a very cool new
design it's a larger knife from CIVIVI at the $55 price point this is the
Asticus now this is a bigger knife but it's not a brute this is gonna be a
laser slicer despite having nearly four inches of D2 blade now a ball bearing
flipper is gonna bring this blade to bear its hollow ground and they do a
great job of getting the edge nice and thin that geometry is what's gonna make
this knife such a phenomenal cutter I can see this thing blowing through stuff
like cardboard with ease and the handles are thinner which is going to keep it
easier to carry as well we've got steel liners and a liner lock
with G10 onlays for a little bit of grip there's a bunch of cool colors including
a jade natural G10 although I did happen to just pick the plain black one to show
you today and I like what they've done with the shape of it it complements the
shape of the frame really nicely and adds a little bit of dynamic flow to the
overall profile we've got a true deep carry pocket clip as well and that is
reversible to either side the asticus is flat enough light enough and it carries
deep enough that it's very easy to carry a lot of knife with this
design now the next is something that is just so daggone fun that KA-BAR Wrench
Knife now a lot of knife companies tend to take themselves very seriously so
it's good to see something a little more lighthearted a knife that just makes you
smile however despite being a bit of a novelty
this is still a very useful knife and affordable - at about 40 bucks right now
this is drop forged from 425 stainless steel and because of that drop forged
construction each one is gonna come with its own little imperfections which makes
your knife like none other out there we've got a drop-point blade it's got
sort of a shallow hollow grind it's gonna have no problem putting in the
work that it's gonna have you wanting to keep it on your tool belt now the
handles may not be super conducive to something like a paracord wrap but there
is enough depth to the scooped out section with these raised letterings in
there that it gives you enough traction and you can keep a pretty good grip on
the knife it even ought to work with a lot of
different hand sizes because this is another knife with a neutral handle
shape and even if your normal hands will just fit when you're wearing heavier
work gloves that's definitely going to be appreciated the KA-BAR Wrench Knife
works and it's just plain fun and if you don't get it then you just don't get it
and that's just gonna leave more for the rest of us next is the new Becker BK-18
Harpoon this is the first new non limited edition Becker knife in quite
some time and yes I do omit the BK-62 Kephart when I'm making that
determination I think this knife combines the best of
the discontinued BK-15 and BK-17 knives and is gonna be a good alternative to
the BK-16 in a knife this size we've got a long sweeping edge with plenty of belly
that's gonna be great for skinning and food prep just like the 15 was we've got
an inline point with an acute penetrating profile something the 17 was
very good at it comes together in a great package that's gonna be useful at
camp or on the hunt maybe even some tactical uses thanks to that harpoon
profile the steel is KA--BAR's proven 1095CV
because it is KA-BAR making the Becker knives nowadays and it comes with this
tan coating to help keep the rust at bay the flat grind comes about two-thirds of
the way up the blade leaving the full thickness of 5/32 of an inch for good
lateral strength there near the spine this knife comes with matching tan
synthetic handles bolt on which is typical of all the mid-size Becker
knives now micarta is of course available
separately if you prefer a more premium feel but both are contoured the same way
for a phenomenal and secure grip in the hand it looks like another winner from
KA-BAR and Ethan Becker and it's typical Becker high value to with American
construction offering a lot for less than 90 bucks
now this next might be my personal favorite for this month the new
composite bladed Kershaw Dividend coming in at about 83 bucks now yes when I
introduced this in our new items of the week video if a couple weeks ago I did
have a brain fart and refer to this knife as the Link so I'm sorry about
that but a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet and this knife no
matter what you call it is just plain cool this knife uses Kershaw's composite
blade technology to meld a spine of N690 steel to a cutting edge of CPM-D2 steel
and they fit together almost like a puzzle piece with a cool almost shark
tooth like pattern with this particular knife the way these two Steel's behave
when they're darkened I think looks extra cool and I love that they've used
CPM-D2 here you're going to get phenomenal edge retention without it
being typically as hard to sharpen as D2 has gotten a reputation for being the
aluminum handles here have gotten an upgrade too with some geometric milling
designed to break up the lines of the handle as well as add a little bit more
grip in the process the blade is still nice and thin it's gonna be a phenomenal
cutter and the frame is thin to for easy carrying the SpeedSafe assisted
opening makes it a fast flipper and they've even thrown in a reversible deep
carry pocket clip these tweaks make this easily the best Dividend yet next we've
got a new premium knife with a very appealing price tag the WE Knife Company
Kitefin coming in less than 160 bucks I think this is the perfect gentleman's
knife it is a titanium frame lock flipper with your choice of either
titanium or carbon fiber on the front marbled or shred in the case of this one
I've got here now the carbon fiber version especially helps keep the weight
way down this is barely over two ounces yet you get a lot of capability the
S35VN blade is about three and a quarter inches long it's got a nice hollow grind
with a thin edge flips open easily and it's ready for cutting very quickly the
fit and finish and the attention to detail is typical WE Knife quality which
is to say meticulous and even the pocket clip has seen some extra attention it's
almost completely deep carry and it's flamed titanium on this one and we've
got some drilled and chamferred holes some clips feel like an afterthought but
this one feels integrated fully the Kitefin is one of those knives that you
really have to hold to fully appreciate it definitely stands out when you do and
you can tell that it's something special as we get closer to the end we've got a
new Ray Laconico design from Artisan Cutlery this is called the Centauri this
is a front flipper design and it actually front flips very easily even if
you normally have problems with it and it's got a broad three and a half inch
modified wharncliffe blade you can get it with S35VN steel or VG-10 Damascus and
both of them sit at the $200 price point I think the Centauri is a gentleman's
knife that thinks it's a workhorse knife because it kind of is it looks fantastic
but it still has a design that is not going to shrink before hard work thanks
to that capable and powerful blade shape the looks are provided by carbon fiber
on the front and titanium on the back with fine diagonal milling and a nice
milled pocket block and I'm seeing kind of a trend here with some of the items
I've picked this month the Centauri definitely carries nice and thin in the
pocket but it creates an outsized impression when you deploy it that's for
sure finally we've got another small knife
but this one is a brute and I mean that in a good way this is the Kiku XR from
SOG knives coming in at about 190 bucks this knife features a roughly three-inch
blade made of CTS-XHP steel but despite the moderate size it feels capable of
very large tasks that's thanks to the wide profile with this recurve shape
which increases the amount of edge a little bit as well as that XHP steel
that gives you a lot of cutting potential within this
and backing that up is a girthier handle which gives you the confidence to push
this blade hard now it's linen micarta with a matte
texture and plenty of scalping - for a nice amount of grip now you can
certainly flip her this blade open because we do get a nice flipper tab
here you can also use the thumb cut out but my favorite way is to use
centrifugal force wrist action to flick the blade open and closed all you have
to do is pull back on the lock bar of the XR lock mechanism which allows the
blade to float freely and virtually free of resistance until you release that bar
and it locks up nice and solid I love SOGs take on this crossbar lock
design and I love that when you pull the lock bar back it even rotates the blade
open by just a few degrees allowing it to flick open even easier and the SOG
Kiku XR is a design that's not to be trifled with
we've been looking forward to it a lot and so are you so we're very glad that
it's finally here so that's it for our list of best new knives to hit our
shelves and March 2020 and I'd love to hear what you all think of this down in
the comments make sure you let us know which one of these was your favorite or
if there was something else that you would would rather have seen here in
this list the meantime if you want to get your hands on any of them
we'll leave links in the description to take you over to KnifeCenter.com
and in the meantime I hope everyone out there is staying safe sane and sanitary
i'm David C. Anderson from the Knife Center signing off see you next time
[KnifeCenter.com the original and largest online catalog of cutlery]