Last week you may remember a video where I strapped on the old proverbial water skis
and prepared for a well supervised stunt that involves a large ocean dwelling creature made
entirely of teeth.
And if you don’t get that joke, then congratulations you never watched Happy Days.
And I’m not even being sarcastic about that.
But we’re back to knives and not the more expensive brand name melamine foam which I
should have bought way cheaper off Amazon.
And this one specifically is the updated Kershaw Natrix which you have been seeing show up
on all the internet knife reviews table tops for the past two months- including Austria’s
finest gear reviewing Youtuber A Little Older, whose video about this Natrix I’ll link
at the end.
But before we get into the real knife demonstration video art let’s look at the dimensions of
this update to a knife I think they released last year.
A statement I did not research well enough.
Like the overall length and weight.
I don’t research anything.
I mean I researched new computers today.
I can’t afford any of those.
Blade size and cutting edge.
What do you research or do that is a waste of your time.
Before you answer remember if you don’t have anything nice to say.
Handle size and grip area.
Then you might be a student loan servicer!
Spine thickness and handle thickness.
You know I’ve been out of college for about 16 years now.
Tallness and flipper tabs.
I think in 2024 I’ll have those paid off.
I heard Youtube was lucrative so that’s why I’m here.
The good news is though that the Kershaw Natrix with carbon fiber overlays is a good knife
for under $50- so if you also wasted money on an industry specialized for profit college
you too can own this knife.
Of course if you made the smart choice and went into say computer science at a traditional
college you might be able to afford the knife this is based off of- the Zero Tolerance 0770,
which is based off the 0777- which won an award of some kind.
According to the website.
PBR won an award.
Let's look at the blade shall we.
It features a drop point, that resembles a sheeps foot in a way depending on how you've
been drinking.
"that sheep has real nice feet" ok not that much.
It's covered in a titanium carbo nitride covering a blade made from 8Cr13Mov sometimes known
as D2 if you buy a cheap knife directly from China.
It has a decent sized cutting edge, and some fine spine jimping on the top- not quite like
a spyderco but close.
Deployment of the blade is handled by a flipper tab that is not assisted, but has a strong
detent like the kershaw Fraxion I reviewed last year.
These knives are kind of similar in spirit- the Fraxion being smaller but having a light
mostly G10 frame.
This one can be deployed consistently with minimal effort.
Most is the initial press, and pop it rockets out.
It's actually almost harder to keep it from deploying fully.
Lockup is handled by a sub fame lock... which is a patented Kershaw feature, but looking
at it in idiot terms it's a metal piece attached to the G10 with screws...
so the knife doesn't have to have a full liner- it reduces carry weight and keeps it a nice
size blade and handle.
One thing I noticed after a few hundred deployments is that the blade centering was off... the
pivot had loosened a bit, and after tightening it reentered itself.
The pivot is easy enough to tighten- and apparently has no locktite which is a bonus.
Detent is strong so it's not possible to fling it open downward gravity style.
Handle is as mentioned made primarily from G10 with no liners.
It has a back spacer so it's only partially open backed.
It has thin carbon fiber overlays to match the hood of your 4 door accord with the car
seat in the back.
For a light weight every day knife I don't see any reason to make a handle out of steel
or even titanium.
Pocket clip.
Deep carry short, tip up in right or left pocket because it's swappable.
how ever no tip down deployment is possible- which relatively few people should complain
about.
Note the word relatively.
And I just got this question recently from a new subscriber...
my preferred carry when I'm wearing pants tip up blade backward in my right pocket I
am right handed.
Pocket clip has right amount of tension, I like the tip to be a little less aggressive
of an angle but that's a minor nitpick.
Comparisons.
We'll keep this short this video doesn't need to be 10 minutes.
I dunno maybe it will be.
First the Natrix.
Blue and black, I think the knife is nice looking, the handle is kinda comfortable
I like a grip area about 3.5 inches so I can move my hand around a bit.
A little smaller isn't bad I guess, not everyone needs large knives.
I own a few Kershaws and this one would be most likely to show up in a pocket rotation.
Now the Fraxion- this one is also very nice.
A coworker asked me once what a good small knife was, and I recommended this.
It's a fast deployer and you barely know it's in your pocket.
Not everyone needs handles and blades over 3 inches.
How about the Cryo 2, Hinderer designed.
A little too heavy for me, and not quite big enough I don't need an assisted knife, when
a non assisted like the Natrix is nearly as good.
My rule of thumb is, if the blade and handle are not the ideal size for me, and it's over
4 ounces I won't carry it.
Let's look at the Para Military 2... little bit larger handle and blade the ideal every
day carry size for me but a lot more expensive probably by $100.
Sometimes I have a hard time recommending a good light modern snappy deploying knife
that's affordable that's not a spyderco.
The Natrix fits that bill...
it's sort of comparable to the Spyderco Tenacious in price point and similar steel, but a little
lighter and slightly smaller.
And I think nicer looking.
The tenacious is kind of plain in black G10 personally- although nicer after drinking.
Wrap it up.
The Natrix is a fine every day carry blade if you're on a budget.
Sure knife snobs don't like 8Cr13Mov steel, but to the person who doesn't mind sharpening
a bit more often- then it's a good budget choice.
I own many knives in a lot of different steels, but that's never been the main reason I choose
to carry a specific knife.
My last two larger knife purchases were both Spydercos and the looks, and handle materials
were my first considerations when spending money I didn't have.
Many of the knife designs I like, from the looks, to the ergonomics tend to have good
steel already.
And as a note of caution on the batoning of light weight knife designs.
They are not designed for this.
And it voids your warranty.
Plus you might injure yourself or a nearby drunk loved one.
The blade stop pin popped out because of the flex of the G10 and the repeated hard whacking.
Luckily my knife was easily fixed by partially disassembling the knife, and praying to Lynn
Thompson that I could find the stop pin to finish my review.
The Lord himself smiled down- he was wearing that black tie and dress shirt, surrounded
by 1000 flaming dismembered pig heads.. and I found it.
This of course is not a reflection on the construction of the knife- but a reflection
of my poor character and terrible sense of humor.
The testament is, I was able to fix the knife and return it’s operation to normal boring
every day carry things.
Like cutting.
So if you like this sort of review, subscribe to my channel, give the video a thumbs up,
leave a comment.
I started my Patreon recently- you’re like yeah I know I saw you groveling on Instagram-
I'll link it in the video description.
Signing up for a donation there helps me afford stuff to review for the channel when companies
don't answer my emails.
I feel like there’s a chance for self reflection here to take some personal responsibility.
You know that thing you think everyone else should take.
Yes the problem is other people don’t take personal responsibility.
That’s it.
That’s why I started a Patreon.
Although Kershaw did send me this knife to review- so that's cool.
Patreon also helps pay to maintain my camera and video making equipment.
If you're watching this video that means I was able to successfully upgrade my failing
hard drive in my 2011 iMac I bought in 2012 as a refurbished unit.
If you don't see this video in the last week of July- well some stuff went down and it
took longer than expected.
Also if you like occasionally giveaways and photos of knives follow me on instagram.
However if you don't want to join instagram for a crappy giveaway it's not my problem.
Thanks for watching!