Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/739629
subtly non-symmetrical. Under the transparent coat you can see traces from machining process, rather coarse, in particular on its spine. With regard to the aesthetics I have some reservations to the a manner of performing a logo – the laser engraved BK&T KA-BAR OLEAN, N.Y. USA occupies nearly a half of the blade and looks like a water mark generated by demo version of some graphic software. GRIP AND HANDLE The handle liners are made of green BASF Ultramid® polyamide and they are attached by three Hexagon Socket Head Cap screws with the nuts, without any bushes often used in the knives of this type. The polyamide is pleasant to touch and rather smooth, but it can raise fear when it comes to a grip confidence, but during its usage it turned out that it quite well sticks to a palm. A shape of its hand prevents its slipping out of the palm – it is closed by a semi-circular guard from the top, and an extension of the same length from the bottom. To be sure you can thread a cord through a hollow located in the lower part of the hand – its diameter is so large that it can fit without any problem a 550 cord doubled loop. Besides a slight bulge, in the liners there is no profiling thanks to that the hand fits with every grip the same comfortably, regardless a palm size. Ergonomics is a great advantage of this model, with such a massive knife (472g), intended for heavy duty, a comfort of operating is of key importance for a user. Nothing rubs in the BK39, and a texture is not aggressive thanks to that you can operate it without gloves. I had not a chance to test only a window punch key, however an existence of it behooves to be noted here. Nevertheless, the high comfort of gripping is not on a par with fitting of the hand elements. Besides a mentioned overlapping of the liners on the grind beginning, it is also noticeable that one liner is shifted and from the upper side protrudes slightly above its spine, and from the bottom unveils a piece of the tang. In the places when steel contacts with plastic you can see small slots, palpable also when you move over them with your nail. www.fragoutmag.com