I have been carrying a Carbon Fiber Balance for a few days now.
I carry a swiss army multitool along with it (just in case) and I have not needed to pull it out and use its longer blade yet.
However last night it really had its chance to shine. The wife and I were at our annual Christmas party with her friends. Every year they get together, eat drink, be merry, and make silly videos. Like Saturday Night LIve sketches. We break into two teams and compete.
During one of the sketches, we needed to cut a hole for a face to fit in the bottom of a pizza box. I heard "someone find me a knife" and sprung into action, proudly handing my Balance to a friend.
Here is a quick pick as a reward for reading so much non knife related info
:o
He started to cut, and was so amazed at the comfort and performance, he pulled it out before finishing the cut and looked the knife over again, his mouth was agape! This knife really fits into the hand and everything is really lined up for controlled cutting. Extremely ergonomic.
Later we had the idea to make a Santa Character, but alas, we only had the hat! I saw an old towel and asked if it was ok to sacrifice it for the cause, I got the go ahead. So I held the towel up to the guys face and traced with ink where the openings would be, then removed the towel from the face and went to work with the Balance.
Of course, it just went through that towel like butter, and it is so easy to control this knife. It is like a sharp finger.
Here is a couple more pics in a hold that is really comfortable and really useful with this knife.
I have been opening mail (favorite mail opening knife ever, I have always felt strange whipping out a 3 or 4 inch blade to open an envelope :D ) Cutting zip ties (The blade to handle angle on this made it really excel, as we all know when cutting zip ties you usually are trying to cut away from the material that is tied.) Opening boxes, trimming strings. Usual edc type stuff, and I have never needed more than balance provided.
It was hard to press the "send money" button on such a small knife at the price. I suppose we all have the psycho-logical feeling that the smaller knife should cost much less. Because it uses less materials.
However, this knife has all the features. Four way clip, carbon fiber, liner lock, lanyard hold. And most importantly it is an ideal minimalist edc knife. It is small, light, comfortable to open, hold, and cut with. It looks great, it looks interesting, and it does not intimidate people who are not comfortable with knives.
I haven't heard much talk about this knife besides people who want it, but do not feel it is a good value. I would hate for my fellow knife lovers to miss out on such a great knife, that is the reason for my post.
I had to fight off my evil side... the side that told me "do not tell them how great it is, then the Balance will go on clearance and you can buy them all at a deep discount!"
Buying this knife is like buying an Ipod. You pay more for an Ipod that can do more, in a smaller size. This knife is like that. It has met my everyday needs in a minimal size.
