Fixed Blade Knife, 8.0” Black Titanium PVD Coating DC53 Steel Blade Full Tang Hunting Knives with Leather Sheath, Ergonomic Handle Bushcraft Bowie Knife for Camping, Hiking

I will share my initial impressions, I haven’t put this knife to hard work outdoors yet, but being a knife enthusiast and also having a KA-BAR (USMC version; I will shorten the name to “K-B” in the review), I can compare the two, since it’s clear where the inspiration came from when designing this Chinese blade.- It has a thicker back/spine. It’s a bit longer in the blade and in the handle, thus a bit heavier overall but not by a whole lot.- The packaging was, actually, much more substantial and “premium” than when I received my K-B. The blade was oiled, the box was quite thick and strong, and plenty of anti-humidity bags inside. K-B has an effective but less impressive packaging. I know some folks love a very nice box :)Personally, I like the longer handle, it allows a slightly different grip, that I would appreciate when it’s time for it to work. If you have larger hands, you will love how it feels. The hand-guards also look and feel much more substantial than on the K-B. Whether it’s warranted or not, but visually, to me, the hand-guards look very nice and give extra confidence when gripping the knife.The handle’s leather is of Good quality, and the scabbard appears to be well-made as well. It’s made of slightly thicker leather, and locks in the knife very well, just like the K-B’s scabbard. No rattle. The stitching though is done well-enough but I think K-B’s leather scabbard is stitched, visually, more substantially. I can’t say how it would be in the field over the years (hopefully), just sharing an observation. It’s a great feeling and looking scabbard overall. Quite minimalist but appears to be strong. Reminds me of the K-B’s scabbard in the design, but slightly thicker. No tool marks or scratches, which is awesome. Nice and old-school, to me well-made leather scabbards feel better than plastic ones, but I don’t live in jungles either. I still gently oil all real leather time to time.It’s sharp right out of the box. No problems with the edge. The black coating is fairly even, I have a little spot at the very beginning of the edge, near the handle, where it’s missing the coating. No big deal for me, but my K-B has more even coating without any missed spots (where it’s supposed to be). Again, no big deal. I always keep my knives clean and oiled when they are not working.Overall, the way it feels, the presence of the full-tang vs. the narrow tang as on the K-B, this knife means business. Steel is supposedly good but I won’t know until later.Without extensive testing, I can say that the knife looks and feels in the hand very solid. It seems a lot of thought went into the design, and with the full-tang they did an awesome job. I can’t say that this is better or worse than K-B right now. Both knives are great. K-B’s lower weight and length is not a minus. Also, its narrow tang has been tested for decades and is fairly substantial. But this Chinese knife feels like they tried to make no compromises and develop a knife that is good for more tasks than K-B, and may even be stronger.The balance point is more towards the handle, reminds me of my F-S in that regard, so while being slightly heavy than K-B, it still feels lively in the hand. I appreciate that. Magnum Tanto from ColdSteel is much more blade-heavy. I think it really depends on the personal preference and intended task, one way is not better than the other. Just an observation that may make a difference for some.For now, when I go camping and work in the yard, I will set aside the K-B, keep it for display as an artifact of the 20th Century, and give this Chinese knife a chance to prove itself. I do like the thicker spine, longer handle and blade, as well as the full-tang A Lot. It looks and feels very promising. If the steel holds well, it would be one of my favorite fixed-edge knives. And in that case it would be a very good, excellent, really, value for money.

I read good reviews on this knife so I chose to buy it over others I was considering because it was made in China and I'm looking forward to pissing people off. My juvenile sense of humor aside, this is a great knife. I would have paid twice as much and still been impressed. It's got a heavy, thick blade that came sharp enough to shave the hair on my arm. The slightly tapered handle is very comfortable, while the finger guard is thick but not too wide (a personal preference). I'm not the type of person who uses a knife to do a hatchet's job and complain about the knife letting me down .. so barring some sort of catastrophic manufacturing defect I don't foresee this piece letting me down.

The constructive criticism first..#1 Make the sheath out of harder leather and don't use glue between the stitching..#2 Attach the pommel to the tang more securely, threaded it's not failed me but is a concern..#3 The edge profile would be better at a 25 degree grind, it won't slice as easy but it's tougher..#4 The balance is good but a chopping knife balance would take better advantage of the blade..#5 The rounded butt end of the leather handle makes it hard to keep the blade straight..The positive input..#1 It's a huge improvement over the ka-bar inspiration in all aspects except the above reasons..#2 The ka-bar inspiration it improves upon is a combat knife, this one is more useful for everyday tasks..#3 The stacked leather handle is extremely well done..#4 The chosen knife steel and heat treatment make this an excellent knife for real world use..#5 The blade coating it tough as nails, which is great when you need to clean it..Overall it's a great knife with some issues that can be overlooked, but should be addressed..