Eighty-one grams with a 3.375-inch blade. The Kizer Splinter V3457N1 is the kind of knife that makes you re-check the spec sheet, because the numbers do not look like they belong in the same sentence as the $43.20 price.
Full sheet: 7.5 inches overall, 3.375-inch drop point in Bohler N690 at 0.118 inch stock and 58-60 HRC, flat grind, stonewash finish, black G10 handle over stainless liners, liner lock, caged ceramic bearings, tip-up clip with right- or left-hand carry, 2.84 ounces. Designer is TomCat Knives, and this run is sold as an exclusive.
The interesting specification is the 0.118 inch stock paired with a flat grind and 3.375 inches of edge. That is a genuinely thin, tall blade, and tall thin blades are what slice. Cardboard, rope, fruit, tape, hose โ the Splinter will out-cut a thicker knife of the same steel every time. N690 at 58-60 HRC is not a supersteel, but it is a clean, fine-grained stainless that sharpens on a coffee mug if that is what you have, and it will not chip the way harder steels do when you hit a staple.
Against the Begleiter V4458A1 at $41.30 you give up a tenth of an inch of blade, gain reversible clip carry and save weight; VG-10 and N690 are near-cousins in behaviour, so this comes down to which handle shape fits your hand. Against the Barbosa V3487N2 at $42 you are buying 0.4 inches more blade and 0.23 ounces less weight, at the cost of a narrower handle. Against the Guru at $91 you are paying half as much for a liner lock instead of a titanium frame lock.
Verdict: the Splinter is the smart sub-fifty-dollar purchase in this batch. Thin stock, decent stainless, ceramic bearings and reversible carry at 2.84 ounces is a combination that usually costs sixty or more. Buy it as a daily cutter and expect to touch it up on a rod once a month.
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