A local Pawn shop bought out the inventory of a defunct local business, consequently, they had a lot of these folders they were selling for 2.99 each. I noted that all of them came from Frost Cutlery, an importer of knives made in various parts of the world. I have a few of their hollow survival knives...and although not the best quality going, definitely not the worst. Yes, it pains me to say, there are worst products out there generally than those that come with the Frost Cutlery moniker on the blade. With that said, many view Frost Cutlery as a purveyor of trash and garbage. With that notion bouncing in the back of my head, and the cheap acquiring price, I decided to take one of everything home with me to see just what these cheap folders are all about. One thing I will state right now, expect no wonder steels here. In fact, don't expect much from Chinese steel as the stuff is considered pretty much junk most places.
See this article on steel types...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blade_materialsPay special attention to the Mo/MoV series. I can only imagine at this price point, it must be the cheapest of the cheapest steels out there. So no telling on sharp retention or wear specifics. But then again, for 3 bucks, what does one expect?
I did visit their website, and was quite surprised at some of the names they have under their umbrella. They also state that their knives are 440 stainless. I did find out that the handles are made from Corelon, a type of hard plastic.
Anyways, on with this dog and pony show...
1. Frost Cutlery Marine Corps Tactical II.
Ok, after handling and examining this knife, the first thing that surprised me was the sharpness of this blade. I am used to dull butter knife blades at this price point, which means I tend to stay away from cheap folders to begin with most of the times. My second impression was that of not bad construction. No blade play evident in the lock back mechanism. Handle is comfortable and grippy. My only issue is the serrations on the blade, much preferring a plain edge myself. Overall, not bad. I would definitely use this as a user.
2. Frost Cutlery Marine Corps Tactical.
Right off the bat, I like the PE edge and shape of the blade over the Marine Corps Tactical II knife mentioned above. However, the handle rivets do exhibit some lack of quality as some stick out a little too much from the handle surface. Nothing that would scratch or hurt you...and if you are a glass half full kind of guy, you might even say it might add to the grip...but I have to call a spade a spade and say this shows some lack of quality control in some far off Chinese factory. Other than that, the blade is quite sharp...which is a surprise to me once again. My expectations are so low, I guess anything above is a bonus.
Frost Cutlery S.A.R Tactical Search and Rescue.
I like the colour right off the bat. The handle shape and texture are also very nice. Once again, a partially serrated blade, but, and I am only hazarding a guess here, the knife appears to be of a dagger style...thus I can only think that this knife might be designed to punch through a windshield and possibly used to saw the glass to allow entry. That is only a guess, as I don't have a windshield on hand to test it out. Once again, factory sharp out of the box. What the heck, I am expecting butter knife sharpness here.
Frost Cutlery Scrimshaw Folder.
This small knife features a metal pocket clip on the backside. The design work leaves a lot to be desired as it is hard to tell. I had to take a magnifying glass to see the tiny images properly, and then fell over laughing. Worst artwork ever on a knife I have seen. My best guess, two dogs are depicted...but it is hard to tell. The liner lock doesn't work efficiently, meaning I have to either manually push said piece of metal to the locking piece, or really reef on the blade to position the liner lock...making this dangerous knife to use. Like everything else so far, came out of the box sharp.
Frost Cutlery The Matlese.
Weird name for a knife, but this one features a nice metal pocket clip on the back. Handle geometry is a real winner with this one, as my big paws fit the handle very comfortably. Not so keen on the half serrations. Love the texture on the handles...and the colour is nice. Overall, not that bad of a cheap knife. Bonus because it is a lock back and not a liner lock.
Frost Cutlery The Airforce.
First Frost Cutlery cheap knife I came across that could use some sharpening. Neither does the handle shape float my boat. I find the knife a bit slippery when griping it. It wants to move around in your hands when holding it. A thought just struck me...how does Frost come up with these knife names. Nothing about this knife evokes a though of flying things.
Once again, right handed opening thumb stud. Lefties, go look somewhere else...sorry.
Frost Cutlery Green Beret.
I don't know why I was expecting green handles on this one. This knife made up for the lack of sharpness of the Airforce, being one of the sharpest knives in this lot. Problem is, the whole knife is serrated. To make up for this, there is a plastic pocket clip on the back. I would have preferred metal for this, but oh well.
Frost Cutlery Black Bomber Tactical.
At least this knife doesn't feature a right handed thumb stud, but a nice dual handed cutout of the blade. Nice comfortable shaped handles with plenty of grip. Blade came out of the box sharp. The rivet job sort of sucks on this knife, as rivets do extend past the handle surface. They are a bit uneven at that, making this part of the knife feel cheap...which it assuredly is! Half serrations on the blade seems to be very popular with Frost Cutlery.
Frost Cutlery Bullfrog Tactical II.
Almost featuring the same blade shape as the happily named Black Bomber Tatical, the Bullfrog Tactical II has the much improved ambidextrous hole cutout in the blade. Love the colour, and the shape of the handle is very comfortable. Rivet job sucks much like the Black Bomber mentioned above. This time around, blade isn't very sharp. This one will need some TLC to bring it back to life.
Frost Cutlery Blue Tail.
Another ambidextrous design, the Blue Tail is a bit striking with blue handles. I find the handles not very comfortable, with it rounded design, it tends to force my big paws away from the blade trying to find comfort. Hey what do you know, a perfectly acceptable handle rivet job. Go figure.
Frost Cutlery Salamander II.
Not only is yellow a very nice colour, the handles on this one fit just right. The rivet job is ok, but not as good as the sterling example of my Blue Tail copy. Not much more to add here.
Conclusion.So there you have it, 11 examples of Frost Cutlery folders. A nice little sampling of Frost Cutlery products. What surprised me the most was how sharp many of them came out of the box. I have seen plenty of butter knife sharp cheapies in my days, so this was a pleasant surprise. The handle riveting was what I was expecting at this price point, however, many of them were quite acceptable with only a few bad examples that I wouldn't want to use because of the possibility of sharp metal poking you in the hand. The Corelon hard plastic handles, overall, felt nice and sturdy. Most in this lineup exhibited little blade play, which was another surprise. The let down with these, probably would be the steel made. But then, Frost Cutlery states their products are made from 440 stainless...and if that is the case, it is better steel then what a lot of Chinese steel manufactures are making...but then again, with no way of testing the veracity of this claim, it is all too easy to believe that cheaper low quality steels were used. With that said, most if not all of these knifes are worth the 3 bucks, because at that price point, you get a knife you won't mind abusing. if you wreck it, get another. This is far better than wrecking a more expensive knife. Because of this, I like these cheap folders for what they are...and I do feel they are good money spent because of this. Mind you, that is only my opinion.
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