Kunwu Compadre Knife Evaluation | GearJunkie

Abroad knives have been on an upswing previously 10 years. Reate and WE Knives have lengthy been the frontrunners out of China, however a more recent identify, Kunwu, has been producing some very fashionable, complicated knives. 

Till now, the corporate’s smallest providing fell into the “behemoth” measurement class, however a couple of new choices have been fairly for EDC. The Compadre was probably the most attention-grabbing these newer knives. 

Briefly: The Compadre ($280) is a fantastically made, extremely stylized knife with superior reducing efficiency. Its cuts and curves would possibly look busy, however getting the knife in hand and utilizing it’ll show definitively that every factor was thoughtfully thought of. This can be a fidget fiend’s buddy, too! Its thumb gap and pivot enable fast deployment. 

Evaluate the Compadre with the greatest pocket knives in our information.

Kunwu Compadre Evaluation

First Impressions

Only a few knives make as robust an impression because the Compadre does. Its evocative look appears to be like like one thing out of a sci-fi pirate mash-up, however it nonetheless serves a practical function. With an enormous arc to the deal with and a very good bare finger choil, this knife is nice in-hand. The tall, skinny blade and Vanax metal make it an elite cutter, falling wanting solely the perfect knives on this planet on this account. 

Kunwu Compadre Evaluation: Use and Carry

Arriving simply after Christmas, the Kunwu Compadre received loads of use. It did work post-Christmas processing bins. This 12 months, I made a decision to make some paper briquettes for the winter, and the Compadre helped me course of a ton of fabric. I’ve additionally used it for meals prep duties — reducing and peeling apples, reducing cheese and cured meat, and at last, I used the Compadre across the workshop as a marking knife.

Don’t let the appears to be like idiot you — the Compadre, although a bit busy, is extra Ferrari than Fiero. The metal and the blade top (which is feasible as a result of excessive, curvy design) make the Compadre one imply slicer. 

Solely one thing like the perfect conventional knives or the supernal Spyderco Spydiechef clearly outpace this distinctive performer. Its match and end match the extent of design, from the ramped tail finish of the clip to the lock-up; nothing has been given quick shrift within the making of this knife.

Meals Prep and Chopping Cardboard

Clearly, the knife did nicely opening packages and presents over the vacations. In meals prep duties, like reducing an apple, the Compadre sliced it somewhat than cleaving or popping it open. I appreciated the efficiency by sticky meats and cheeses. The knife additionally did nicely with strawberries and different fruits.

The stonewashed Vanax metal regarded none the more serious for put on even once I left sticky and acidic juice on it (like when reducing by an orange peel — oranges in stockings are a long-time Italian Christmas custom). Generally duties and meals prep, the Compadre did nicely. I had a Case Crossroads Barlow in for assessment on the similar time, and it suffered a bit by comparability, however it was nonetheless higher than many of the knives I used to be testing.

Making the paper briquettes was one other nice take a look at. These briquettes are made by taking cardboard, paper, and sawdust and mixing it right into a pulp by including water and letting the combination set for per week or so. The pulp is pressed into cylinders which can be left to dry. As soon as completed, they make exhausting, fist-sized gasoline for fires in and out of doors.

With all the bins from Christmas, sawdust from the workshop, and a 12 months of saved native newspapers (yep, we nonetheless have a printed paper), the Compadre confronted a very daunting reducing problem. Cardboard tends to boring blades rapidly, even with fashionable steels. The abrasive nature of the fabric is an efficient problem for any knife, and slicing dozens of bins into small strips for pulping up took a couple of 3- or 4-hour classes. 

Vanax Metal

After some time, the thicker blade inventory on the Compadre held it again whereas the Crossroads Barlow stored going, however each minimize for a really very long time. Finally, the reducing dulled the Compadre, and I stropped the sting and stored going.

Of the half-dozen or so knives I used (the Spyderco SpyNano, the Case Crossroads Barlow, the Victorinox Enterprise Professional, and Golden Designworks Nugget), the Compadre got here in a really shut second to the Barlow.

The outcomes weren’t surprising — the thinnest blades carried out greatest, however I used to be impressed by the Vanax metal (that is my first knife with it). In each method, it jogged my memory of MagnaCut, a metal with an identical chemistry. 

As a marking knife within the workshop, it wasn’t nice. The Compadre is a really tall knife, and one of many initiatives I used to be engaged on is a detail-oriented Japanese toolbox. 

The blade top made entering into corners powerful, however the Spyderco SpyNano by no means dulled when marking walnut (reasonably exhausting wooden) or maple (exhausting wooden). A smaller blade would work higher right here, since most marking knives are fairly slim. 

Kunwu Compadre: Conclusion

The Kunwu Compadre is a wonderful blade — a extremely complicated design that may put some within the minimalist mindset off. However don’t let the appears to be like baffle you. This can be a candy knife that cuts for days. Vanax metal is among the many greatest steels in the marketplace, and the match and end right here, as seen within the complicated deal with design, is prime shelf. Reate and WE have a brand new rival, and Kunwu’s designs are distinctive and visually placing. The truth that they work so nicely ought to fear others.