In one of my previous posts, we looked at a knockoff of the ScorpioDesign Shapeshifter, a semi-custom knife with a big price tag that comes from Germany. Its design philosophy was to have a folding knife with a blade capable of being longer than the handle once deployed. That knife is a very clever, very elegant design by Gunther Löbach.
This knife... isn't.
Although it is clearly another attempt at a similar concept.
This is (deep breath) the "MADSABRE Tactical Folding Knife with Rosewood Handle and Sheath, Foldable Long Blade 12.7-in Outdoor Pocket EDC Hunting Survival Tool, Big Blade Fishing Camping Knives Gifts for Men." Yes, another Chinese non-model with a description made for search term robots and not human beings. I'm sure you can find the same or similar from the usual scumbags at your preferred wretched hive of scum and villainy. Don't bother asking for it by name.
The MADSABRE Folding Tactical et. cetera has a blade that's about 7" long, which is clearly quite a bit longer than its handle. So when folded, this little sheet metal tail can be deployed which covers over the remaining exposed portion of the blade.
Once the blade is open this little tail is left sticking out. But it can be folded into the gap left in the handle for the blade, returning the knife to somewhat normal proportions. And yes, even so this thing is enormous. Over a foot long, nearly 12-3/4". Its tacky wood handle scales and clip point, Bowie-ish design makes it look like a schlock '80's movie prop. The villain in some Reb Brown film should be waving this around in a jungle someplace.
This is a slip joint knife, meaning it doesn't have an actual lock. But once you stuff the extension tailpiece into the handle, it wedges up against the heel of the blade and... sort of... keeps it held open. The entire arrangement is very gimcrack, and the fit and finish of every component is quite poor. But the tailpiece is the most crude, just being made out of sheet metal that looks like it was folded over by hand. It's not even straight, or creased evenly.
I'll also draw your attention to the prominent "U.S.A." marking on the blade. If you actually believe that, I have a pagoda to sell you. Actually, this knife came in a completely nondescript brown box which bears absolutely no insignia, description, or place of origin. It doesn't even have any gratuitous Engrish on it we can all laugh at. Just, nothing.
The shape and finish of the blade really puts me in mind of the cheap daggers and various other fixed blades that came out of Pakistan in the late '90's and early 2000's that used to festoon every farmer's market and flea market stall across the world. But I can't prove it came from Pakistan, and if I had to bet I would put my money on the PRC instead. Somebody somewhere is making an actual living stamping these out in a factory someplace, and they haven't gone out of business yet somehow. It's positively baffling.
Oh yes, and the astute among you have probably already figured out that with a blade that's 7" long, this thing can't be any less than 7" long when it's closed, either. And you're right. So that makes it highly unlikely you'd want to put this in your pocket. It's comically gigantic even when folded.
But that's okay! Because it also comes with the most craptastic nylon belt sheath I've seen this century:
That offset little Velcro strap actually does retain the knife, by the way, by going over the hump behind the tail extension piece. So it's got that going for it.
Everything about this knife is exceptionally crude. I didn't even bother to take it apart since the screws seem set to strip as soon as you so much as look at them. We already know what we'll find in there, which is not much other than grease and file marks. I will point out, however, that the blade geometry is ridiculously out of whack. Here's what the grind looks like:
It's got a pretty sawtoothy edge which is also extremely out of true, as you can see. It would not surprise me to learn that this was "sharpened" by someone just buzzing it down a grinding wheel by hand and then tossing it into the box for shipment.
The Inevitable Conclusion
This knife (and the inevitably numerous others of its ilk) is just bad. I can't see any reason to carry this instead of a basic fixed blade. And its ridiculous blade length is certain to make it illegal to carry just about everywhere. I think the problem it's trying to solve is one that really doesn't exist. I can't think of any other redeeming features to apply to it, other than the novelty factor.
And it is certainly novel.
