Southern Grind Bad Monkey Folding Knife
The Southern Grind Bad Monkey knife is definitely an heirloom knife. I went searching for a folding knife I could hand down throughout my family and found it with this Bad Monkey knife. Solidly made, excellent steel choice and unmatched fit and finish is what this Bad Monkey Knife brings to the table. Lets start by talking about folding knives. You could go buy any folding knife for $30-$125 and get a decent knife with decent performance. I have used a Cold Steel Recon 1 and a Spyderco Military for the last five years daily. The Recon 1 is something that has a not so solid feeling to it. Does it get the job done? Hell yea it does, but it just is not a top quality fit and finish. The Military by Spyderco is a little more solid, but it still has that feel that it could be better. The Bad Monkey by Southern Grind does not have that. It feels like something made the old fashion way! So lets quit the talking and get down to what this knife is all about.
The specs on this knife are it is a 4" blade, 9.25" total length and 5.25" handle. The blade itself comes either hollow ground or fully flat ground, your choice. It has a strong tip, which means it will be around for years. The liner lock and liners are made of titanium, so as to keep the weight down. They are not skeletonized though, which is one of the few knocks I have on this folder. The blade is made of 14C-28N steel, which is Sandvik steel. It is a very sharp steel and something that will cut through most everything very cleanly. If you cut paper with this you will not have anything hanging back like little burs on the paper. I have only had to sharpen my Bad Monkey once in three plus months and it was relatively easy. Does not take long to sharpen unlike other high end steels. It holds an edge for a decent amount of time as well. The handle is made of carbon fiber, which looks ground down and has a matte finish. The carbon fiber I have used in the past has always been smooth, but this is grippy and comparable to a good G10. The pocket clip leaves about a half inch of the handle out of your pocket, and it holds the knife well.
It is a liner lock folder and it locks up right at the end of the blade joint. So over the years as it wears down, as all liner locks will, you will get tons of use out of it. Versus other folders that lock up say halfway into the joint on the blade. Just a small thing I noticed. One downside is this Bad Monkey folder uses proprietary fasteners. So dis-assembly if you did not know that could be delayed until you purchase the tool set from Southern Grind ($15). Id rather they hold the beer coozy and bracelet and throw in the tool kit! I am not going to talk about tactical usage or any of that. You can make your mind up on what knife will do whatever you need it to do. But being a 4" blade it will serve admirably as a backup blade in a tactical setting. Speaking about tactical, the one main selling point is this has the Emerson wave feature. I am not a wave user, but have found on occasion the use of this feature is rather nice. If your into the whole Emerson wave feature then that will just add to this knifes appeal. I think it would be great to see a non-Emerson wave feature knife with a cheaper price as adding that feature adds to the price of the knife.
If you are one of those people that like to buy once and buy for a lifetime, this knife is for you. Made in the USA and made to kick ass. Even though there are one or two minor knocks, I fully endorse this folder as an heirloom folder for generations!
DETAILS: • Handle: Twill-weave carbon-fiber, textured matte finish • Lock & Liner: 6AL4V Titanium • Grind Options: Hollow OR Conventional Flat Grind • Blade Steel: 14C-28N • Hardness: RC 59-61 • Blade Length: 4" • Blade Finish: Tumbled satin • Weight: 4.97 oz. • Overall Length: 9.25" • Handle Length: 5.25" • Blade Thickness: .130"
