I recently gifted myself with a Sitivien ST139 knife and immediately wondered why I let "knife" languish at the bottom of my to-buy list for so long. I know little about things such as blade material (what makes a knife sharp versus durable) so I finally accepted help and recommendations from others who know knives. As soon as I began sharing my experience with this knife there were others that said this would be a great gift; hint-hint.
As I said, I am not a knife afficiando. Quite the opposite. I only recall owning 3 or 4 folding knives before this. Most recently, two of those were Kershaws that I really liked. And two others prior were really cheap knives - one of which I kept clipped to my kayak life vest because I had a terrible fear of capsizing and becoming entangled in some underwater mess. I know, I know, a somewhat irrational fear and yet I felt better having a blade handy in case I wanted to cut myself from my vest or my 'yak leash. Since that specific knife was junk, it didn't take more than 2 seasons to corrode.
The Sitivien ST139 Folding EDC Knife
In order to educate myself about knives, and stay within my very low budget, I began listening to people who know much more than I about the subject. Of course, being knife collectors and daily users, they have their eyes on high quality knives and carry knives with a smaller price tag than their "next" knives. That smaller price is still out of my range. One day I was brave and asked point blank for a recommendation for someone with with a very tight budget. Sitivien was the answer.
The ST139 was my choice because it looked like the handle would be the best for my weak hand grip. And I chose the yellow and black handle so I could find it more easily if I drop it in the woods.
In the description online it states:
- Knife dimensions: Overall length: 7.48" inches(19cm); Blade length:3.15" inches(8cm)
- Handle length: 4.33” inches(11cm); Weight of Knife: 4.37 Ounce OR 124 grams
- Blade: Sandvik 14C28N Steel Knife : Durable 14C28N steel blade hardness 60-61 HRC, provides a perfect balance of edge sharpness, edge stability and corrosion resistance.
- Handle: Micarta Handle Ensures a secure and confident grip during use and comfortable in-hand feel.
- Ball Bearing knife can open extremely smoothly on its ball bearing pivot,
- Lock: has a simple and reliable Liner lock [that] is resistant to dirt and prevents unexpected closure.
- I could have used it with garden plants, pruning, and cutting tomato stake ties.
- Harvesting... if I had veggies to harvest this year (it wasn't a good gardening year for me).
- Building my chicken coop and similar projects (cutting paracord and zip tie ends).
- I needed a good knife to cut that Black Gorilla tape I needed to use (that was a nightmare with dull scissors and tin snips).
- I've used it for opening boxes.
- I've used it for cutting up meat (it was FANTASTIC for that purpose as the handle did not become slippery).
- I desperately needed a sharp knife last year when I installed my water line heating cords under the house.
- do simple or emergency household and/car repairs
- go hiking
- go camping
- live/work on a farm or homestead
- people who hunt and fish
- are crafters or artists (whittling, trimming, sharpening, and who need a sharp cutting tool larger than an Xacto blade)
- collect knives
- and people who have the skills to use it for self-protection and/or emergency situations
- perhaps in medical kits - I imagine it would be good for cutting those large band-aid wraps