Columbia River Knife and Tool's 2906 Otanashi NOH Ken Tactical Folding Knife by James Williams

This knife was for my son, Chris, so I will let him do the review..I've wanted this knife for a while. There's no particular reason 'why' I like it. It's a folding tactical knife. Not the largest, not the sharpest, not the most expensive. But, there's just something intangible about it that appeals to me. I'm a martial arts practitioner, but not an active soldier or law enforcement officer. I am also a blade (knife/sword/etc.) collector. This knife was designed in such a way that makes it ill-equipped to do bushcraft type work, and I don't see it as a utility tool. It is a fighting knife.I can open it with either hand, with my eyes shut, although there is some effort to close it one-handed. The contour of the handle favors right hand use, although there is no reason you can't open it with your left thumb. I'm a lefty, and that means I sometimes have to work a little more to get the blade open. It's not a problem in my opinion, but my opinion isn't the only one, so, be aware of that if you are also a lefty. The spring clip is reversible, but, please do not reverse it. As it comes, the clip is on the steel side, which makes the knife smoother to draw from a pocket. If you switch it to the textured G-10 side, it may be harder to slide out of your pocket. Let me talk for a moment about blade length. The literature describes it as a 4.52 inch blade. This is 'goldilocks' size for a folding knife. Long, without being too long. It will reach vital organs easily, if you needed it to do that. It is about the same opened size as a SOG Seal Pup, or a Ka-Bar Mk1 Navy. The handle of the Otanashi noh Ken is substantial. It is very 'grippy' in the hand. You won't lose grip unless you want to. The grip is very slim for it's size. This makes the knife easier and more comfortable to carry in the pocket. That said, it will probably not fit all pockets comfortably. I have drawstring running shorts, and while the knife fits in the pocket, it tends to weigh the waistband down a little. The knife sits much better in cargo shorts, or jeans, or any other casual pants.There are people who 'whine' about the AUS8 steel. I say whine, because that's what it is. The steel is fine for the purpose this knife was built for. It is a fighting knife. The geometry of the blade makes it an excellent stabber, and an unreal slasher. It's scary how easily the tip of this knife slides into things. Only my bowie knife can do that, or could, until I got this knife. There are knives that do not need to be properly sharp to cut. This is one of those knives. Be careful.The Otanashi noh Ken is essentially a folding version of a classical Japanese tanto. It is a bit smaller, but still in the same class. There are people who will complain about the price. To those people, I would say, find me another blade of this type, properly designed by an expert in the design and use of Japanese blades, for under $200. This knife cost $73 when it was ordered. You can bet your life on a knife like this. You cannot say the same, if you were to somehow manage to find a cheap knockoff somewhere.I suppose the important thing is, am I happy with it? I love the design. I love the weight and feel. I love the edge out of the box. Sharp, not shaving sharp, but sharp enough that an accidental light contact flaked off part of my fingernail. I didn't even notice that I had touched the blade. That has not happened with any other knife I own, and I have a lot. Am I happy with the price? At $73, I'd probably buy another at some point. If I had to pay $120, or $150, maybe not. But, I would still consider it if I had that kind of cash in my wallet at the time.Bottom line: This is probably the only folding knife I would consider effective in a real fight. I'm not saying other folding knives are junk, or can't harm someone. But, this is the first knife I've seen, and held, and used, that I can say I would carry into combat, expecting to use it in combat, to harm someone. It has all the bases covered. This is my first James Williams designed knife, but not my first CRKT knife. I look forward to giving his others a try.*PARENTS*, please read the disclaimer below. I beg you.--I have to give people a little disclaimer. There will be people out there who think this is a 'pocket knife', and that it will be okay for them to get one for their kid as a gift. This knife is designed to *KILL PEOPLE*. If a cop finds this in your kid's pocket, he is in serious trouble. If you give this to your child, there is a high likelihood they are going to cut themselves. And, make no mistake, this knife can cut you deeply. I don't care if your kid throws a tantrum, begging for the knife. Make them wait. Because, for every kid that is mature enough, smart enough, and experienced enough to not do something stupid with it, there will be ten kids who aren't. The box this knife comes with says "For Professional Use". It's not just a marketing ploy. I don't do disclaimers on knife reviews. That is how serious I am on this subject. This knife is dangerous.

Very sharp very well put together would recommend it to anyone

My only co.plaunt about this knife is the angles of the grind from the factory... it could be a lot more precise... it was sloppy, but it was easily fixed

I wouldn't say I'm a knife guy, per se, but I own a lot of knives--because I abuse them. This, however, isn't one of the knives that sees the level of abuse most of my EDC knives see. I do carry it almost every day, but not when I suspect I may need to do "tasks" with it. This knife was purchased with the intent of personal protection for when I can't carry my gun (or in addition to it, when I can carry my gun). That said, this knife doesn't see EDC tasks outside of cutting packing tape and opening plastic bags, because I keep this blade shaving at all times.The blade geometry does not lend this knife to "hard use." It has a very fine tip, and an over all thin profile (compared to, say, my Emerson CQC-7 or Benchmade Griptilian). Most people have pointed out the blade geometry lends it to being able to pierce extremely well. However, anyone very familiar will tell you the traditional Japanese geometry actually lends it to exceptional slashing ability as well. This is an all around fighting blade, not a working blade (though I'm sure it can handle light to moderate tasks, just don't pry anything with it).The blade is pretty large compared to what I normally carry on me (3in-3.6in), and may startle some people if you have to take it out to use it. I'm not a HUGE fan of AUS-8 steel, but it gets the job done. This is a rather pricey knife for AUS-8, but I bought it for the blade design. AUS-8 does take an edge extremely well (I get a better edge on it than I do 154CM, but just by a fraction). It's not the best for edge retention but it's pretty tough and shouldn't chip on you. I can't comment on the heat treat of the steel and how well the edge holds up under heavy use compared to other AUS-8 blades I've owned, simply because I try to keep this knife as sharp as possible at all times. I have no doubts that this knife with keep me safe if I need to use it, and that the blade will last.The overall thickness of the knife is actually pretty thin (thinner than my Emersons and Benchmades). It is not a light knife, though, due to the big blade and big slap of metal used for the frame lock. However, it carries extremely well in the pocket to the point I forget it's there. The deep carry pocket clip is a really nice touch for a knife you don't really want would-be attackers to know you have. I actually prefer the feel of this knife in my pocket over any of my other knives I currently have. I guess other reviewers have mentioned something about the tip catching when carried in the pocket. I have had NO such issue with my knife, and question how loose they have the tension on their knife set.The blade locks up solid with the frame lock with zero play. The LAWKS feature is nice if you know it's about to see some serious use and don't want that razor sharp blade closing on you in a struggle. However, I'm confident enough in the framelock that the LAWKS is kind of an afterthought. The knife opens smoothly out of the box, and I haven't found myself needing to adjust the tension.Now for the CON: Something about the pivot point of this knife causes me to not be able to open this knife as quick as other folders I have with thumb use only. Maybe I could adjust the tension, but I don't think that's it. It does open fine with a wrist flick, however. The only improvement I could think of, is if they designed the thumb-disc to catch the pocket to aid in opening the knife (sort of like on the Cold Steel AK-47). I've been spoiled with my Emerson knives with the Wave Feature, and think a feature to aid in immediate deployment of the knife on a manual is necessary for a fighting knife. I may have someone CNC me a custom thumb disk for this use. However, it's not a deal breaker.Final thoughts: This is an exceptional fighting blade, which was it's designer's intended purpose. The knife opens smoothly, locks solidly, grips well, and sharpens amazingly. I think a better steel could have been used for the blade (154CM would have been great, S30V* would have been perfect) at this price point for better edge retention, especially if anyone plans to use the knife a lot. However, even with an AUS-8 blade, the design of this knife is worth the little extra money. Currently, this is my 3rd favorite fighting knife in my possession just behind the Emerson Combat Karambit and Fox 479.*footnote: S30V would have driven the cost of this knife up into the $120-150 range, or possibly even higher depending on country of manufacture. However, it's a great blade steel that would have made this the perfect Japanese-inspired fighting knife.