A Super Slicey EDC Knife! The Kizer Mini Grouper (New Arrival And First Impressions)

[@dougwinchester4963]

I'm anticipating buying a mini grouper in the near future, and will be getting the coated blade version. I very much appreciate the look of the upgraded thumbstuds, and will follow suit , with some Etsy sourced ones (likely gold screws and anodized pocket clip). It appears to be a Nesmuk adjacent blade shape . True ? You had mentioned in an early video that thumbstud use , with the thumb, seemed as black magic . I find that a swift and sure push , near straight upward, parallel to the handle scales , works best for me .

[@Archetype_EDC]

I do think you will like it, as I said in recent video I think its up there in the sphere of best knives that kizer have ever made. Not sure if the blade shape could be called a nesmuk, more a shillin cutter or kukri. Regarding the thumb stud stuff I said, that was a while back, even this video from 3 months ago, things have changed rapidly. The search for new and interesting content and new knives coming in has led me further down the rabbit hole and so much has been learnt along the way. The change of colour with the thumbstuds was a nice addition for a while, but I did change them back to the thicker ones they came with because the detent is wildly strong on this and the smaller ones were a bit painful. Oh and regarding the thumb flick, that one has come and gone with no issue as it stands today, just a matter of repetition over time

[@jeremyburris4890]

I agree that the laminate carbon fiber doesn't look good. I wish they had done micarta.

[@Archetype_EDC]

apparently it feels a bit slippery as well after talking to some people who got it, so definitely better to go with the g10 version, which weirdly enough feels very much like actual carbon fibre. Maybe if its popular enough they will put out some other versions of it in the future. Great knife though

[@shane_wc]

benchmade fact has nice big gold studs? Gold version?

[@shane_wc]

btw yes that g10 looks amazing btw i thought it was cf

[@shane_wc]

had no idea kizer had the top liner lock at all I liked the look but I had the nightshade look but it wasn't that bad, thought it was the best of the bunch of new ones but looked past it. gotta read specs more lol thanks for this vid, and I need more selections of thumb studs can you recommend any?

[@Archetype_EDC]

The benchmade fact comes with xl silver thumb studs, I swapped mine out for large gold ones. You need larger ones otherwise you can’t grip The studs to open the blade. Hehe no not the gold class, although way back last year one of my favourite retailers had the gold class fact and I was eyeing it up (was 1200usd) and I can certainly say I’m glad I didn’t give in and get it lol

[@Archetype_EDC]

@@shane_wc no problem glad you got something out of the video. The g10 really looks and feels and just mimics cf in every way, but it’s damn heavy so yea that’s what gives it away. Umm in terms of studs there’s no real easy way to get to nice ones, unless you have enough knives to mix and match. You can get different coloured studs from kizers store but apart from that not many other resources

[@Archetype_EDC]

@@shane_wc oh and to add to the thumbstud part, you can also get smaller ones that fit all benchmades from flytaniums website, also Etsy has a ton so if you live stateside go have a browse on Etsy (it’s a dangerous rabbit hole for buying well priced knife accessories lol)

[@charlesburow8120]

I just ordered one today, and I can’t wait! Great video and you got a sub.

[@Archetype_EDC]

Hey, thats great to hear. It is an exceptionally solid knife and Ive made quite a lot of videos on it lately because I thought it kinda went under the radar on their June drop. Thanks a lot for the sub tho, very much appreciated! All the best

[@dbuck01]

I just got mine and the detent is super strong. Flipper is great but reverse flicking it is off the table unless it breaks in a lot or I can bend the lock bar a bit. I got the CF/satin version and it’s very slick (slippery). Handle material is the weakest element of the knife. It’s a keeper though.

[@Archetype_EDC]

Ah ok thats interesting to know, glad I went with the G10 version then as its super grippy (really feels like carbon fibre but lacks the weight reduction). And yea the detent is absolutely ridiculous, to the point of the studs being painful. I was testing it recently to see how it would make as a backup machete (this is not normally what I do with my knives) because of that downward, Kukri like sweep, and after hacking with it a whole lot, the detent is somewhat more forgiving (slightly). Anyhow, overall I really like it, nice to hear from someone who got the cf version and how it feels. Cheers and enjoy your knife!

[@dbuck01]

@@Archetype_EDC I opened it up and adjusted the lock bar which lightened it up a LOT. It took that killer snap from the flipper away but reverse flicks like a dream now.

[@Archetype_EDC]

@@dbuck01 cool, thats good to hear, I’ve never adjusted a lock bar before so I may look into it and give it a try, if the action has been improved so much with the studs. Sure would be nice to use them without grinding my fingers up lol