Qvist Knives Invert Review
Knife design can be hard, especially if your goal is to come up with something new. New designs are challenging when you are talking about humanity’s oldest tool. Heck, given the Apple Samsung legal fight, apparently new designs are hard when your dealing with a comparatively brand new tool. As a result, often times new designs or iterations on old designs kinda feel like they are dancing around the same few targets. Change this a little, modify that and then it is a new design. But I have rarely found knives with these incremental changes compelling when they are based on a design that I didn’t already like. The Qvist Knives Invert bucks that trend. It is a good iterative design on the original Qvist Knives blade, the Variant.
The Variant and its variants were all swayback designs, which are basically knives with an inverted silhouette. Instead of a belly on the edge and a straight-ish spine, a swayback has a straight-ish edge and a belly on the spine. Similarly, instead of a pistol grip handle, the handle curves up into the palm. While I have found swayback designs beautiful, especially some of the custom versions, I never found them fun to use. I don’t do a lot of cutting tasks where the straight blade matters. Either the task is bladeshape agnostic, like breaking down cardboard, or it is better with a blade with a belly like rock cutting during food prep. I have also not liked the fact that virtually all swayback pattern knives have a prominent exposed rear tang. As a result, the Variant never caught my eye. But the Invert did. Here is the review.
Here is the product page. There are two versions, one with denim micarta and the other with black micarta. I chose the denim version. The Invert costs $69.95. Here is a written review. Here is a video review.
Finally, here is my review sample:
Quick Review Summary: Simple, solid, and inexpensive…a good argument for more self-published blades.
Design: 2
When your first design is something quirky like a swayback, it makes sense to zag back and make a dead simple design like the InVert. The benefit of the second knife being the simple knife is that a lot of the kinks (though not all of them, see below in the Grip section) are worked out. This is a very simple but very well-executed design. The InVert is thin in the pocket, solid in the hand, and obliterates paper, cardboard, and food stuff with ease. Its probably a bit too thin for something like heavy-duty fire prep. But in a few different situations I have pressed the Invert into those harder rolls and it has done exceptionally well.
Fit and Finish: 2
While the degree of difficult it exceedingly low here, what the Invert does do, it does exceptionally well. You will find pretty much the easiest or most basic version of all sorts of things. The handle scales are easy, the clip is a bent stamped clip, the finish on the blade is stonewash, and so on and so forth. If you are looking for gee whiz stuff, save your dough for something else. But if you want a neat as pin folder with well done simple things, this is a good knife. If I were in Justin’s position as the knife designer, I would have made all of the same choices he did. Simple but good.
Grip: 1
Index notches and exposed lockbars are not compatible. If you are exerting a lot of force during cuts (and you don’t want to carry a fixed blade), the lockbar here can be a serious irritation. Its enough of an issue that it impacts what would otherwise be a very good, if not perfect design. I get that there is only so many ways to skin a cat aka lay out of the guts of a knife handle, but this design decision seems to be quite the large compromise just to allow the knife to be flicked open. Fortunately, I use my folders for regular folder tasks AND the grind is so well done that the exposed lockbar doesn’t come up that much. This is an excellent example of how design is not just one thing, but the interplay among a host of things. The slicey grind means that you don’t have a ton of materials that require high force grips. As a follow on effect, the problems associated with the exposed lockbar are really minimized. Its still an issue, but not a huge one.
Carry: 2
With a slim profile, denim micarta handles, and nice buttered edges on the micarta, the Invert is great in the pocket. Its heavy enough to let you know its there, but not a pocket anchor. I appreciate the slim out-of-the-way clip, too. Don’t underestimate how much of your subconscious knife preferences are formed by how well it carries.
Steel: 2
The 14C28N blade is, like the rest of the knife, simple and purpose-driven. The result, also like the rest of the knife, is a blade that punches well above its price point. I really do like 14C28N. Honestly, I like it better than some PM steels, like ARMP9 and S30V. Its just good at everything, bad at nothing, and pretty cheap. Sure you could get better steel, but doing so would really strike against entry-level price point. So, again, like with so many other aspects of this knife, if I were making the same choices Justin made, I would have picked the same steel.
Blade Shape: 2
Love me some broad drop point action. Its hard to find a flaw with a drop point blade. Its not as cool or as organic as Spyderco’s leaf-shaped blade, but it is quite good. Bob Loveless’s innovation still feels great five or so decades later.
Grind: 2
Dear Knife Companies,
Grind your blades thin and preferably in full flat grinds. The Invert’s blade stock starts out quite thin, and it is expertly and simply tapered until it terminates at a very slim edge. This formula is not complex or challenging. You have the steel that can handle these thin edges. So why not do it?
Sincerely,
Everyday Commentary
Deployment Method: 1
There are two deployment methods here, a oval and a front flipper. The front flipper works, but not super well. Its not as easy as the from flipper on the Civivi Lumi but it is easier than on other knives. The oval works both for a roll open and a Spydieflick. The oval, unlike the front flipper, works really well. So if you want to join the cool kids on IG with a Spydieflick knife, but you haven’t quite mastered the finger yoga necessary to pop open a lock back Spyderco, this is a good training wheels knife to get you started.
Retention Method: 2
Dead simple, perfectly focused, and out of the way—the clip here is really good. Even though it is a stamped steel clip, its actually quite effective and stays out of the way. I am not sure how it would work for lefties, but seeing as I was not born with such a flaw, I don’t really care (the entire knife seems obviously worse for those with the left-handed disability).
Lock: 2
Aside from the lockbar issue referenced above, the lock itself is not bad at all. It had a little play in it when the knife arrived and I adjusted it. Since then it has been rock solid and unmoving. The access is, of course, GREAT as the lockbar is literally obstructing the index notch. The engagement is solid (now) and it is easy to disengage.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: High
With a few ways to open the knife, inviting micarta handles, and a good shape to the handle its hard to not fidget with the Invert.
Fett Effect: Low
The micarta will show some age (and you can speed that up with a little mineral oil) but the rest of the knife, with its stonewashed blade, will be impervious to age.
Value: High
At $70, you get an interesting, well-made, budget conscious performer. Its a pretty good value given that a Delica 4 is coming in at $90 these days with VG10 steel.
Overall Score: 18 of 20
This feels like an 18 of a knife. Its just good all around, but its not quite perfect. For a second or third effort from Justin that’s pretty darn good. Its also a sign that the self-published knives trend is worth continuing. Sure there are a bunch of stinkers that are in desperate need of an editor and a bunch of wildly overpriced knives, but as the Invert and the previously reviewed Bridgeport 395 show, there are still some very solid, very special designs out there that don’t cost an arm and a leg. I am pretty much done with the $400 TFF from some rando “custom” “maker” that has produced one or two designs. But these knives with real value and superior design, they interest me.
Competition
At $70 you are basically getting competition from everyone. Your a (hipster) lunch away from a Delica and in the same price bracket as about thirteen dozen Sencuts or Civivis. But even amongst this uber-crowded field, the Invert seems like a good buy. Its simple shape and performance driven design choices are all good enough for it to hang with the best entry level knives. I like it better than the Delica, but only by a smidge. It is better than the 8Cr equipped budget Spydercos by a large margin, thanks largely to the much better steel. I think it is a bit worse than the Civivi Lumi. It bests the Damned Designs knives I have seen. It also offers nice competition to the Knafs Co Lander and the Civivi Baby Banter. The CRJB Pyrite in ARMP9 steel is probably a perfect rival, although I would skip the all steel version of that knife as it is a bit of a pocket anchor. Next to a good CRKT like the S35VN Executive, which is about $30 more, it still holds its ground. In other words if you are looking for a knife that is a step up from the D2 $30 budget blades on Amazon, like the Mini Feldspar, the Invert should be among your choices. Its excellent.
Amazon Links