All this talk about up and coming Chinese knife brands and the types of things we spend more money on are coming out of my almost annual ritual of buying a couple of new knives for testing and review purposes.
I’m nearly done with the last batch of knives that I bought or received for similar purposes months ago. The new batch will include a couple of sub-$50 knives, and $100-$200 workhorse-type models that I think some of you might go for.
This all had me lookin at BladeHQ, one of my favorite knife dealers. It turns out they have special President’s Day weekend pricing on LionSteel SR2 knives.
First off, the red knife above is not this red – it’s really a darker almost maroon red. Second, the red knife already sold out. That leaves you with 3 other greater color choices: orange, green, and black.
I am hesitant to mention this knife, given the recent we don’t need no stinkin’ $100+ knives response by some readers. And I totally get that response. If you’re not there, it can be hard to understand why someone might want to spend this much on a knife.
The LionSteel SR2 is on sale for $130. The full price is said to be $180. When I ordered mine from a lower priced site, it was $169.
The SR2 is as beautiful as it is functional.
I don’t carry mine around often, but it gets some good use. It’s definitely due for review soon – I’ve been using it as part of my EDC rotation since purchasing it in December of 2013.
When mine arrived, the RotoBlock lockbar stabilizer was a hair loose, but nothing a Torx screwdriver couldn’t fix. The stabilizer is a neat LionSteel innovation that I have not once needed, but it’s still neat to have. If you turn it when the knife is deployed, it secures the lock in place, in theory making the knife almost as rigid as a fixed blade knife.
This isn’t a mini knife as the marketing descriptions sometimes call it. With a 3.125″ blade and 3″ cutting edge length, this is good size EDC knife. It’s highly functional without being too big.
The handle is a little bit boxy, but you might like that.
And the blade is one of the finest I’ve ever used. I find the deep belly drop point profile to be great as a general purpose knife, and it is super sharp out of the box.
I don’t remember what happened, but this is one of few knives that has bitten me. I was either breaking it in, trying to check the smoothness of the pivot, or unlocking it with the wrong hand, and cut my left pointer finger on the side of the nail. Maybe I’ll show you the 2 year scar in the full review writeup.
Anyways, sorry, I got lost in my impressions and recommendation for the knife, this was supposed to be a short deal post.
The LionSteel SR2 anodized aluminum handled folding knives are on sale at BladeHQ, and I wanted to bring the promo to your attention, in case anyone was looking for a new $100-$150 folding knife.
The SR2 is made in Italy.
It’s small enough to sit comfortably in a pocket, and with the deep clip it rides low. But it’s big enough to be practical for most everyday cutting and slicing needs.
Sure, you could just use a utility knife or sub-$50 folder, but the SR2 gives you a lot of bang for the buck and a good balance between form and function.
With the LionSteel SR2, you’re mostly paying for performance, and a little bit for looks.
Sale Price: $130
Buy Now(via BladeHQ)
Compare(via Amazon)
Sale ends 2/15/2016, unless supplies run out sooner.
Part of the reason for this post is for you – to let you know about a recommended folding knife that’s on sale. The other part is for me, to pacify my “wow this is a great deal!” feelings and squelch my urge to buy another one but in a different color.
If you want a larger knife, the larger aluminum-handled LionSteel SR1 knives, with a 3.7″ blade, are also on sale, for $205.
There are other S2 styles available, such as with black D2 steel blades, and others with titanium handles, but they’re not on sale. Only the aluminum-handled ones are on sale.