Pardon the crappy pics(you should expect them by now :p )
Anyway, on to the review...
Specs:
Overall Length: 5 5/16" (135mm)
Closed Length: 3 7/16" (87mm)
Blade Length: 1 7/8" (48mm)
Edge Length: 1 9/16" (40mm)
Blade Thickness: 3/32" (2.5mm)
Blade Width: 1 3/16" forward of the hole (30mm)
Blade Steel: VG-10
Hole Diameter: 7/16 (11mm)
Handle Material: Stainless Steel
Lock Type: Lockback
Liner Thickness: N/A
Overall Thicness: 1/4" (6mm)
Weight: 4.75oz (136g)
And some general pictures.
And some size comparison pictures.
Handles:
Stainless steel handles. Not the most popular handle material, many will clamor for G-10 scales, and usually, I'd agree with them, but on this particular knife, it's not necessary.
Yes, stainless steel handles can be slippery, but the ergonomics on the Lava are so good, that slippage is not even a factor. Aesthetics on the other hand...well...I bought this knife to use, not since on the shelf and gather dust, so scratches on the handle don't mean anything to me.
For those who want G-10 handle scales, you've got two options. Aftermarket modification, or buy a whole bunch of Lavas, and give Sal a reason to set up tooling for G-10 scales. I recommend the first, the Lava just begs to be pimped.
Clip Placement:
Yet another thank you to Spyderco for making the Lava ambidextrous. The Lava has both Left hand and Right hand holes, both for tip up. Not sure why any would want to carry a knife tip down(sarcasm) but if you wanted to, the Lava could be easily drilled.
Clip tension is exactly where it should be. It's tight enough that the knife won't come flying out of the pocket if I happen to end up upside down, but it's not so tight that it takes two hands to clip it back to the pocket. I think think smooth handle material contributes a little to that second part.
For the southpaws, the Clip screws are T-6 Torx Head, and there was no Loctite on the screws.
Blade:
In my opinion, it doesn't get much better than this. Full flat ground, VG-10, Leaf blade. This blade is a vicious little cutter. It's like a Piranha, small, but it'll take your finger off if you're not careful.
The Lava is a great general utility blade. It can be somewhat limited due to the blade length, but it hold's it's own. The blade has plenty of belly for skinning and slicing, though where it really shines is in push cutting. Cutting cardboard was quite fun, due to the thinness of the blade and the flat grind. Food prep would be kinda tough, you could peel an apple or cut a sandwich, but I wouldn't attempt to cut up something like a birthday cake, though I'm sure it's possible(might be a bit messy though).
Ergonomics:
Now here is where the Lava really comes into it's own. The ergos on this knife are really top notch.
As has come to be expected from CLB knives, Chad somehow manages to trick us into thinking these little knives are full size cutters. They look so small, until you get them in your hand, and they all of a sudden feel bigger.
The Lava allows for a solid three finger grip, with my hand size, and the pinkie is just barely dangling by the lanyard hole. Normally I can't stand knives I can't get all my fingers on, but in this case, I only need two fingers and thumb for a secure grip, anything else is just icing on the cake.
I can have this secure a grip because of some the features found on the Lava. This knife has the ubiquitous forefinger choil, but it also features what Chad refers to as the Indexing Thumb Ramp. What this does is naturall position the thumb and forefinger together in somewhat of a pinching style grip. The middle fingers falls into the second choil and stabilizes this grip.
With just those three fingers, the knife will NOT slip at all, despite the slippery handles, even with sweaty hands, there was no slippage, either forward or backward.
The only problem I have(and it's minor) is that the lockbar feels a little too far back, but I've already adjusted to it, and it feels perfectly normal now.
The Lava feels great in forward and reverse grips, edge out, but edge in grips feel awkward.
Some in hand pictures.
Construction:
Pinned construction, and the pins are hidden. This is the other thing that will turn people off, there is no adjustable pivot on the Lava. In my experience however, stainless steel Spyders take a long time to develop any noticeable blade play, and mine was rock solid out of the box.
The action was pretty gritty at first, but after a little cleaning and relubricating, it's nice and smooth now.
The handles are nicely chamfered, and there's no sharp edges to snag on.
The lock is stronger than I expected on a knife this size. The spring will pull the blade shut from a little under 3/4" out, so watch your fingers closing this one until you get used to it. Also, the lockbar feels like it has to be pushed further down to unlock the blade, but that could just be me. The lockbar seats nice and deeply into the lock well, it's quite secure.
Overall Impression:
The Lava is very nicely made, and is another great design from CLB. A few more things to mention that didn't seem to fit anywhere else.
The Lava is going to be very people friendly. It's friendly looking blade shape is going to appeal to non knife people, and it's diminuitive size won't scare anyone except the kinds of people who actively look for something to be scared of.
Also, the Lava is practically invisible once it's in hand.
For these two reasons, I personally think the Lava would make a great last ditch weapon. Your attacker wouldn't see it coming, which is a plus, and should you end up in court, the Lava will be very jury friendly, because of it's small size.
It might not have the longest blade, but it'll get the job done if it has too, and the ergos are good enough that even with bodily fluids entering the mix, the knife will never slip.
Will I keep it?
Definitely. Only time will tell if it knocks my Tasman Salt out of the "Box Cutter" slot, but it will definitely make it into the "General Utility" rotation of my EDC. Congratulations to Chad, and to Spyderco for making a great design.
And we'll end this review with a shot of the whole CLB collection(at least the ones I have)
Hope you enjoyed this review, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Apparently the Caly 3s are shipping soon, so anticipate a review on that as well, once I get one in my hand.
