CJRB CUTLERY Folding Knife Feldspar(J1912) AR-RPM9 Powder Steel Black PVD Blade Carbon fiber Handle Pocket Knife EDC Knife, Carbon Fiber Handle

Wow, much nicer than expected for the price. Super sharp, very well made and beautiful finish.

This knife punches above it's price. Overall, a very nice knife, and a great value. Sharp blade right out of the box and looks good. Of course this is a sample of one, but this particular one had clean symmetrical grinds and required no touch-up (unlike a recent SOG that went back). The G10 handles were slightly contoured, not just flat slabs, and although smoothed out they had just enough grip. Unfortunately, there's no jimping on the spine where the thumb pad would make contact. The steel liners were nested inside the handles. The action was smooth, with the detent being a bit stout, so getting the blade started took a bit of effort. The pocket clip was well positioned and deep carry, but the shinny finish was distracting (matte or bead blasted please!). For me, the size was just about perfect (not too big, not too small) and allowed for a full four finger grip. The 3.5" blade was nearly perfectly centered, with a very slight bias away from the locking side. At about 4.0 oz it's not a lightweight but not overly heavy either (Spyderco Endela LW for comparison is about 3.2 oz and the PM2 G10 is about 3.8oz ). The D2 steel isn't a super steel, but is going to be adequate for most users and keeps the cost down. This is my first CJRB and likely not my last. They don't have the same US based factory support like Spyderco or Benchmade (they have a address in CA that is a UPS Store), nor services like free sharpening, but they do have a lifetime warranty per their web page. Easy 4.5 out of 5, but calling it 5 stars for the value. Spyderco Endela shown for comparison.

Couldn't be happier with the quality of the knife especially for the price. I make pocket knives so I'm familiar with the liner lock design. My lock is 3/4 the thickness of the liner and that is how you want it. The blade isn't going to close on you unless you are using it like a fixed blade knife. The liner wears over time so all you are doing is reducing the life of the lock by filing it down. So you can open packages, cut string, whittle wood, cut apples, etc. Despite the description saying it has a tactical handle that doesn't mean it's a tactical knife, Don't jam it full force, tip first, into wood, expect to do ninja or special ops knife fighting and you should be just fine. The lock up on my knives is tight. No blade wobble from left to right or up and down. The blade is centered when returned in the handle. It drops down with a decisive click and is held firmly in place. I have two of these and if you are complaining about this knife you either got a lemon or you are expecting way too much from a knife under $40. The bearings are fine that come with the knife. There are 10 bearings set in a plastic cage. You can get a phosphor bronze cage holding 12 ceramic bearings from SKIFF for the CJRB Feldspar. It might be worth it in the long run. D2 steel is a really good knife steel. When heat treated properly it has very good hardness (around 60RC) and decent edge retention. It is semi-stainless steel and resists rust but if you are in a humid climate you will need to keep an eye on the blade and oil it. Oh, this is a martensitic stainless steel which can be hardened through heat treatment. 434 stainless cannot be hardened so if this isn’t D2 it is a stainless steel which responds to hardening and 434 does not. Overall a surprising find.

This is my first folding knife from CJRB and also my first foray into this much more budget/bargain price range. As I've been initiating a small knife collection, the "sweet spot" price range I've gravitated toward is around $50 to $150. I got curious enough to see what a sub-$50 knife was all about -- if for nothing else, just to compare to the others so far in my collection. I'll say that for what I paid -- under 40 bucks -- this is a pretty nice knife. It looks and feels solid, and has a lot of the same features of my more expensive knives. Without having extensive knowledge of RPM9 steel, it seems like a reasonable option for a knife in this price category. The blade on the knife I received is definitely not as sharp, out of the box, as any of my other folders were, however, so it will take some tuning to get it to where I'd like it to be. I like the look of the knife. I got it in the translucent light green option -- just for something kinda different, since I tend otherwise to gravitate toward the blackout look. The G10 case is done very well, TBH -- it's got a very comfortable feel to it. The action, too, is surprisingly nice -- I mean, it's not on-par with my Off Grid, by comparison, but it's smooth and the liner lock mechanism is very solid. I like that the case has recessed mountings for the clip -- that's always a nice feature and I'd not have expected it on a knife this cheap. It's a big knife! The biggest folder so far in my collection. But it doesn't feel unwieldy or overly huge. It's got heft to it but is not super heavy, either. At 4", the blade looks and feels... ...formidable... ...once you get it deployed. To me it's almost slightly shocking to flick out a blade that long :-D I like the thickness of the blade. It's enough to make it beefy and tough yet keep it nice and slicey. There are a few things about the knife where you begin to see how they keep the cost down. The main thing, for me: there's no jimping on the spine of the blade. In my opinion, for a blade of this size, that's sort-of a big deal. The way the case is put-together, too, gives me a tiny bit of pause, as there are a couple press-fit attachment points. Honestly, though, my complaints are few. Given what I paid -- next to nothing -- I'd say I got a lot of value. I don't know if the quality level is par for this price range, but I'm happy with it and will keep it. In terms of functionality, I'm actually a bit at a loss to know where this knife actually fits-in. It's quite big for general pocket carry, and also probably not quite tough enough for general outdoor use. I could see it working quite nicely for something like a "picnic" knife -- i.e., for outdoor chef duty. Bottom line: definitely recommended if you're looking for a good, larger folder under 50 bucks.