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Nealen reviews Maxpedition Ferox Knife

When I first received the Maxpedition Ferox Knife from TacticalGear.com, I admit I was a little uncertain.  Maxpedition isn’t the biggest name in the business, often appearing to be the cheap little brother of companies like Eagle or even Blackhawk. When it came to knives I was even less certain.  I’ve been burned by cheap blades before.  Seeing the Made in China label printed on the box made me even more wary, so I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box and pulled the knife out.

The Ferox is a pretty simple liner lock, drop point blade knife.  The one I got is all black, but you can get them with handle scales in green and khaki as well.  The blade is 5Cr13 stainless steel.  The knife is 4.5 inches long closed and 7.75 inches open.  This one is plain edge but it also comes with a serrated section.

Everything about the knife is tight; there’s no rattle when you open it or put stress on it.  That said, the opening is extremely smooth, while still being tight enough that it isn’t going to open on its own.  The blade has a small protrusion that is similar to the assist-stub on a Columbia River Knife and Tool knife, which you can place your finger on to aid in opening the blade with a quick flick of the wrist.

Maxpedition Ferox folding knife-4The handle fits my hand nicely, and the scales have just enough texturing to make it easy to hold on to.  The belt clip is tight, and I’ve occasionally found it’s almost a little too tight trying to clip it onto the pocket of a thicker pair of trousers, but it’s not going to come flying out of your pocket when you climb over a log, boulder, or the hitch of your trailer, that’s for sure.

The knife was also extremely sharp right out of the box.  It really didn’t need any sharpening, but was ready for heavy use.  I put it to use cutting dry branches, whittling, and the usual use for a pocketknife these days—cutting packaging.  Let’s face it, for all the fancy knives guys buy for the field, at least in the military the primary uses for it are cutting 550 cord and opening MREs.

I’ve used this knife daily for over 3 weeks, and only recently had to actually sharpen it.  It holds an edge quite well, at least for a day-to-day pocketknife.  It also sharpens back up pretty easily.

The finish on the blade is already starting to show some wear and tear.  While I don’t personally really care much about that, some people might.  It’s not much, just some thinning on the point and the top of the bevel, as well as some scratches on the blade from use.  I’ve also used it in pretty wet conditions, and there is no rust showing as yet, either.

Maxpedition Ferox folding knife-3

My one beef with the Ferox would be this—I’m left handed.  There is no way to switch the belt clip to the other side of the knife to make it smoother to pull out for left-handers.  CRKT and Gerber allow for switching sides, I’d like to see that for this knife, too.  It’s a minor point, but about the only negative I could find.

Overall, it’s a good, smooth opening, sharp knife rugged enough for regular, day-to-day use.  I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a nice, inexpensive folder.

Below are the “official specs.” You can pick on up for $26.99 here.

SPECIFICATIONS

  • Blade: 3.25″ / 82.5mm
  • Handle (closed) length: 4.5″ / 114.3mm
  • Overall (open) length: 7.75″ / 196.8mm
  • Blade thickness: 0.125″ / 3.1mm
  • Weight: 4 oz
  • Steel: 5Cr13 heat-treated to 56/59HRc
  • Blade profile: Drop point utility with flipper/guard
  • Blade grind: High V-grind
  • Blade color: Black
  • Edge: Plain
  • Thumb stud: Ambidextrous
  • Locking mechanism: Liner Lock
  • Handle material: Fiber reinforced nylon
  • Handle hardware: Black stainless steel
  • Non-obtrusive Maxpedition logo blends with handle
  • Thong hole: Yes, fits 550 Paracord
  • Pocket clip: Yes, tip down
  • Available in Black (#FEROXPB), Green (#FEROXPG), Khaki (#FEROXPK)
  • Imported

Maxpedition Ferox folding knife-5

PN

About the author: IPete Nealen is a solid guy who brings a boots on the ground perspective from his time as a Reconnaissance Marine. He was in Iraq with 1ST Platoon, Bravo Company, 1ST Recon Battalion, then in Afghanistan with 4th Platoon, Force Reconnaissance Company, I MEF. Combat experience in both places along with an excellent training pedigree and a serious attention to detail contribute to both his non-fiction op-eds (like this on on “Operational ADHD“) and his military fiction novels (Task Force Desperate and Hunting in the Shadows). You can follow Pete on his personal blog, American Praetorians.

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