Here follow a brief description and my impressions of these two budget folders I purchased. I don’t think members from America will ever come across these ones, but maybe some member from Europe may encounter them and some information may be of use.
A few words about the manufacturer: Beta Utensili is an Italian “professional tools” manufacturer which has a reputation of good quality and reliability in its country.
Beta 1778SOS
I saw the 1778SOS on their catalogue and I decided to order one. It was sponsored as a “car rescue knife” and I liked the idea of keeping it in my car for any eventuality. It came quite sharp from the shop, the blade snaps in locked position with a nice sound and has almost no blade play. It features a double thumb stud, and they work pretty well. The opening is smooth, not super fast but wasn’t meant to be either. The liner lock seems decent, now and then i put some pressure on the spine while opened and it seems to hold well. The type of steel cannot be found anywhere on the knife nor on the manufacturer page, but considering it cost 20 euros I bet it’s not VG10.
The knife features a glass breaker and a seat belt cutter. I tried the seat belt cutter on a cotton belt strap and it does not work, so I think I wouldn’t rely on it for a seat belt! I think the bad performance is not due to lack of sharpness, but to the design itself. Up till now the black coating has held quite well and no sign of rust is to be seen, but keep in mind it lived mainly in my car for a couple of years. The handles are metallic orange and I find them nice to the eye (orange is the brand color of Beta). The knife is quite heavy, weighing 0,140 Kg. The tip is definitely pointy, not that I dislike it, but seems a bit weird for a knife sponsored as “car rescue”. The knife came also with a pouch that was such a garbage it ripped apart the first time I put the knife in. Luckily the knife has a decent pocket clip. Overall I think I got a fair deal considering the price, for sure it is not a top quality knife, but it feels solid and well assembled.
Beta 1778SAFE
In a time when I was looking for a rigging knife to use as a beater I came across the 1778SAFE folder on ebay. On the experience I had with the 1778SOS I ordered the 1778SAFE at about the same price of the earlier. The 1778SAFE sports a blunt square tip (almost like a huge flat screwdriver), a built-in-the-blade shackle-breaker slot, a locking marlin spike (the main reason I wanted it), a glass breaker and a seat belt cutter. It has the double thumb stud like the former and supposedly the same unknown steel was used. The locking mechanism this time is a frame lock, both for blade and spike. It came with no pouch but a decent pocket clip. Regarding the finishing it follows the same pattern of the 1778SOS, black coating and orange handle, but strangely only one handle is orange, the other side was left naked metal. First disappointment came as soon as it arrived by mail: completely blunt edge. Dead blunt! I managed to put a decent 30° edge with not much effort but I belong to the category who thinks a knife should come sharp from the factory. At the same time the blade in the opened position had so much side to side play it was a joke. It was easily fixed by tightening the torx on the pivot, but this also resulted in a great friction occurring while opening the blade. It can still be made one handed, but it is quite slow and needs a bit of strength. The marlin spike had a little of up and down play when opened but I didn’t mind at first. Later I realized the frame lock was probably flawed from the beginning. About maybe the second time I put in use the marlin spike I had to tighten a series of turnbuckles, and I didn’t want to go to the toolbox so I decided to use the spike; the turnbuckles were quite free so I didn’t have to put a brutal torque on the spike but at the third one or so, the marlin spike got suddenly loose; the frame lock collapsed and bent a good way toward the axis of the knife, deep between the handles, becoming useless; later I tried to fix it with some pressure but it is bent and ruined beyond repair, at least for me. So the 1778SAFE was not a good deal for me, but taking it with a bit of philosophy it was useful cos I decided to finally order a Myerchin (second hand) which is by now on the way. I must say there is a good thing about this knife: the belt cutter! This performed very well with nylon and cotton belts; the design is different from the “car rescue knife” being shaped in a “V” instead of being plain vertical like in the 1778SOS.
Beta 1778SOS
Blade Length: 8,5 cm
Total length opened: 20 cm
Weight: 0,140kg
Blade Type: drop point, 1/3 serrated edge
Locking System: Liner Lock
Blade Steel: Unknown
Country of origin: Unkown
Carry system: Belt clip/Nylon pouch
Features: Glass braker, Seatbelt cutter
Beta 1778SAFE
Blade Length: 8,5 cm
Total length opened: 20 cm(26cm with marlin spike)
Weight: 0,140
Blade Type: blunt square point, 1/3 serrated
edge
Locking System: Frame Lock
Blade Steel: Unknown
Country of origin: Unknown
Carry system: Belt clip
Features: Glass braker, Seatbelt cutter, Marlin
Spike
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