DoukDouk Knives Folder With Douk-Douk artwork Made in France

At first I thought it was just a cheap historic knife, but it's actually really nice! Tight mechanism, carbon steel blade, it's lightweight, it looks nice, and I love the cute little Douk-Douk engraving! It's so nice that I think I might even buy the larger model!

I really like this knife. I've seen some complaints from other people:"It's hard to open" Yes, it is. TheDouk-Douk has a strong backspring and lack of a nail tick that took some getting used to. I eventually stumbled on a change of technique that makes opening and closing a breeze. Don't move the blade. Hold the blade still and move the handle. With most folding knives, I move the blade while holding the handle still. With the Doouk-Douk (and the Squirrel) I do the reverse."It's dangerous. You could cut yourself." If you own a knife that you can't cut yourself on if you're careless, then you need to sharpen your knife. Learn to be careful."It doesn't have a locking blade." True. If you need a locking blade, don't buy this knife. Or most of the other folding knives out there. The Opinel is a nice choice if the strong backspring and lack of a lock on the Douk-Douk bother you. So is the Solingen K55 Both have simple locking mechanisms and neither has a backspring."It's not sharp enough out of the box" I've never seen a knife with more than a few reviews that does not include this complaint. It's sharp. It's not being sold as "shave-ready". If you need it sharper, then sharpen it. Problem solved."It's simple and cheaply made" Yes. That's why it doesn't cost much. If you want a beautiful $400 piece of pocket jewelry that has a cutting edge, don't buy this knife. For those of us who love it, the simplicity is a huge part of its charm.

Great traditional pocket knife! No bells or whistles, just a sturdy, sharp blade. Sure, it has the caché of being an exotic French design that was influenced by Polynesia, and then gained popularity in France's African colonies, and was the go-to pocket knife for the Légion Étrangère,But at heart it is a just a great all around user of a pocket knife, as adept at opening mail and slicing a sandwich as it is lopping a small branch, whittling a walking stick etc...Came out of the wrapper with a nice fit and finish and a sharp utility edge.

Douk Douk! This knife rocks the kasbah! This one of the toughest and most useful knives I have ever bought. I own a good number of quality, American made traditional folding knives for comparison. This knife is in my top 5 favorites for functionality, appearance, and flat out mojo. The knife has a very cool history - check it out. The knife is 4.25" closed and very slim - makes for a good sized knife that is easy to carry. The carbon steel blade can be sharpened to a razor edge. This is a slip joint knife, not a friction knife. The back spring is very strong - the blade snaps open with authority and stays in place. There is no play or wobble in the blade when open. The blade has a half stop for safe closing. This knife is very strong and durable despite its simplicity. The finish details of this knife may seem crude compared to typical production folding knives. But there is nothing lacking with respect to quality and function - this knife is fit for duty. The carbon steel does require a little extra attention to prevent rust. This not a negative, but something to be aware of if you've never owned a knife with carbon steel. This very good steel - its very strong and easy to sharpen. The blade will oxidize and show patina over time - that's just the simple beauty of this knife. This knife is a great tool, a cool conversation piece, and with care could be an heirloom. I believe Race Bannon would carry one of these.

The first time I ever ran across the expression "hipster knife" it was applied to a douk-douk. I don't really know what a hipster wants in a knife, but I would guess it is something out of the mainstream, but not so exotic that no one would recognize it as exotica, something serviceable and not expensive. The category has a lot in common with a class of knives that appeals to me. I'm not sure what to call them, but they are typically inexpensive, low-tech working knives, often with some kind of ethnic tradition behind them. Opinel and Mora would typify this class of knives for me.Douk-douk would certainly fit in; the kind of knife that back in the day an Amsterdam drug dealer might have used to cut salable chunks off a centimeter-square stick of hashish. Actually, a Moroccan dealer might have been the original user, as the douk-douk was originally meant for the French colonies. Even today, one of my son's most hipsterish buddies, one who is quite savvy about knives, can often be seen sporting a douk-douk.It is a cool looking knife with unusual swoopy scallops on the spine of the blade and an ornate floral or curlicue design etched on the presentation side of the carbon steel blade. The back side is unadorned. Similarly, the handle, which consists of a single piece of folded steel, has an engraved picture of what I take to be the eponymous douk-douk, who looks like a chicken man in a dunce cap. I don't know what could be more exotic.The blade comes pretty sharp, and no doubt can be made much sharper. It has a half stop, a necessary safety feature with so stiff a spring. If I were giving this knife as a gift, I might give a small packet of Band-Aids along with it.The handle resembles the metal handles on a couple of other knives I have. One is the Higonokami, a bare bones friction folder with a brass handle. despite the raw edges, the Higonokami is comfortable in the hand. The other is the German Mercator, a lock-back with a handle profile almost identical to the Douk-douk. But for some reason, where the Mercator rests comfortably in the hand, the douk-douk hurts to hold it. The raw edges of the metal dig into the hand where the thickly-painted edges of the Mercator cause no discomfort.The other annoying aspect of this knife is the price. At $25.00, this knife should be at least fifteen bucks cheaper. There just isn't that much to it. One more thing: the sheet metal bail on the end of the handle is really cheesy compared to the wire bail on the Mercator. The Mercator is overpriced, too, but there is no way the douk-douk should cost as much.