The budget category in the pocket knife world is a pretty busy place, you wouldn't think it, but there's so many companies all fighting for dominance. What it comes down to us quality vs price, how cheap can we make said knife to make more money but at the same time have it be quality that blows peoples minds. The word budget is a subjective term, because everyone has their own views as to what that word means. To me budget is $30-$70, while another might think anything under $100 fits that category.
On the hunt for budget knives that pack a lot of bang for my buck, I came across a company I had never heard before, Free Tiger. Odd name, but it's not that odd considering some of the more interesting names we have seen. While this Chinese brand is sold mainly on Amazon, I've seen them in a few other places as well. They don't the presence of someone like Ganzo, but they're growing and certainly one to keep an eye on. Today we're checking out the FT2103-CF, Free Tiger knives don't have cool names like some other companies, maybe they just let the knives speak for themselves.
The FT2103 comes with an overall length: 7.56", a blade length of 3.35", and a handle length of 4.21. The knife comes with a real carbon fiber handle, drop point blade, cross-bar lock, and a deep pocket clip. This is all the hallmarks of a high end piece of cutlery, something you'd expect from one of the juggernauts in the industry.
The handle is long enough to get my meaty mitts around, there's just enough to accommodate all four fingers without needing to choke up. The handle is indeed real carbon fiber, I used a flashlight to look inside the milled scales, and was shocked that it was. I find the handle really comfortable for the size, there's no major contouring going on but it doesn't seem to effect comfort. The carbon fiber's finish is pretty slick, I would have loved a texture similar to that on my AD20.5, but considering the price there may be factors there.
The knife operates with an axis style, or cross bar lock as we're calling it these days. The lock isn't over hard to disengage and spring tension is a good middle ground, not too strong, nor too light. The pivot runs on ceramic bearings, that's almost as much as a shock as the carbon fiber. Companies like Free Tiger are really pulling out all the stops, and offering premium type materials at a highly affordable price.
The blade is drop point with a 3/4 flat grind. It's steel is D2, it's pretty common in these import knives, and it has a history of being reliable. Cutting performance is good, I didn't have any issues with edge retention or using it on a daily basis. The blade blade is nice, kind of goes with the whole motif. A satin blade would have really made the design pop, but that's subjective. The thumb studs to me are a little high on the blade, when in the closed position they sit pretty close to the handle making deployment a little funny but not bad. The giant "Free Tiger" emblem is kind of tacky, but not horrible. When it comes to performance it certainly hasn't been a slouch.
Pocket clips, I'm a stickler for pocket clips. It's not just a deep clip versus regular, or anything. I care about height of the clip, how does it angle towards the end, how does it bend at the end, etc. I say all this because a lot of these import knives can have pretty plain clips, and they'll use the same joker on their whole line. With that said, this one in the FT2103 is pretty good. It's not super deep carry, there's a little that will come above the pocket. There's enough height to make sure it clears most if not all pockets out there. And the end of the clip has enough angle, that it's easy to pull and replace the knife. It's not the best clip by means but it does a good job as it's intended function.
All and all the FT2103-CF is an incredible knife at a more than reasonable price. You can pick this puppy up anywhere from $25-$35. If your looking for a super classy knife with modern type materials that won't break the bank, check this guy out.
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