Massdrop x Ferrum Forge Gent

Usually when I pull the trigger on a knife purchase it’s only after a great deal of careful deliberation--watching/reading reviews and weighing the knife in question against other competitive options in a similar price range. However, sometimes that all goes out the window when I find a knife that I immediately love the looks and specs of right off the bat, especially when it’s discounted or part of a limited run. That’s what happened with the Ferrum Forge x Massdrop Gent. I got in on the first run after about a day of contemplation because the drop was ending soon and I just had to have one. It took a few months to get to me, but I went into it knowing that. That’s just the cost of doing business when it comes to Massdrop, but in exchange they offer some incredible values. This knife is manufactured by WE Knives out of China who are quite a high end manufacturer--most of their knives sell for around the $250 price point. They have a budget line that uses G10 handles and D2 steel instead of their usual TI and S35VN, but even those “budget” knives go for $100. The Gent, on the other hand, comes in at the mind-boggling price of $79.99. That’s a crazy good value.

General Dimensions and Blade Performance

The blade is 3 inches long and the handle is 3.6 inches, the weight is 2.4 oz, the handle thickness is 0.4 inches and the blade stock is 0.13 inches. It’s a very svelte knife and I’d class it as a “little big knife”.

The blade is an elegant drop point that forms a pleasingly consistent gentle curve along with the handle all the way from the tip to the butt. You get a point that is fine and precise without being overly thin and delicate, and it terminates just above the center line of the knife. The reasonably thin blade stock thickness along with the high flat grind leaves this knife nice and thin behind the edge for solid cutting performance, without being so thin as to give any concerns about fragility. The blade steel is S35VN, which based on my use and sharpening WE seems to heat treat quite nicely.

Deployment, Action and Lockup

The blade deploys via an unusually small flipper tab which in spite of its size rockets the blade out smoothly and quickly. The detent is dialed perfectly for my taste, making it difficult to fail to deploy the blade fully without being so stiff as to cause discomfort with extended flipping. The tab is nicely chamfered which gives it a nice round feeling and prevents it from being harsh on the finger or from scratching up anything else that might be riding in your pocket beside it. Due to the small size and the lack of texturing on the flipper tab my finger does occasionally slip off of it as I attempt to deploy the blade, but it happens rarely enough that I don’t consider it to be a problem. The blade deploys reliably with a “light switch” motion and simply rockets out when deployed with a “push button” technique. The action is so silky smooth it’s a delight to play with on the couch. The blade falls shut with ease when the lock is disengaged, although the blade is so light it does require a little shake to get it shut. The detent ball is positioned nicely such that it’s easy to catch the flipper tab on your thumb when closing the knife without having to separately push the tang up onto the detent ball to get it closed. The pivot runs on ceramic bearings housed in a metal cage and the detent ball is also made from ceramic. There is no steel interface attached to the titanium lock bar, but I haven’t had any issues with lock stick or wear on the lockbar in the month or so that I’ve been carrying this knife (and flipping it incessantly). This knife could be classified as a liner lock or a framelock depending on how you look at it, but either way the lockup is solid and confidence inspiring.

Handle Ergonomics and Carry

The handles are made from 6AL4V titanium with G10 overlays. The dimensions are rather small, but due to the forward finger choil it offers a full 4 finger grip and fairly good ergonomics. The handles are letterboxed which to my eye looks great and if anything helps the ergonomics slightly by giving the edges of the handle a nice contoured feel (all of the edges are nicely chamfered as well, even the inside of the liners). The G10 is nice and smooth, so it won’t tear up your pockets, but it doesn’t offer as much traction as your average textured G10. In my medium sized hands I can get a full grip on the handle even without the forward choil. One thing to note if you have especially meaty fingers is that the forward choil isn’t as large as you’d find on a Spyderco and my fairly slender fingers just barely have enough room to avoid riding up onto the base of the edge in the choked up position. This knife might not be ideal for those of you with big old meat hooks.

The pocket clip has been a matter of contention for this knife, and I’ve seen many people commenting that they don’t like the looks of it. Personally I don’t find it particularly attractive but I don’t find it offensive looking either. It works quite well, buries the knife nice and deep in the pocket and makes it look more like you’re carrying a pen than a pocket knife. Whether that’s a positive or a negative thing is up to you, but personally I like it. The clip is reversible to left or right side tip up carry.

Final Thoughts

I only have few minor nitpicks about this knife. In order to adjust the pivot you do have to remove the G10 scales, and there’s a good chance you will have to adjust the pivot because mine came without any threadlocker on the pivot screw and it did begin to back itself out after the first few dozen flips. I took the knife apart and added a touch of Daiwa Reel Oil to the pivot, put some threadlocker on the pivot screw and adjusted it such that the lockup was rock solid, the centering was perfect, and the action was glassy smooth. It’s been at least a month and the pivot hasn’t budged, but be prepared to do a little maintenance right out of the gate. Other than that, I don’t find the G10 to be particularly attractive (I’d much rather have micarta or carbon fiber), I don’t love the Massdrop logo on the blade (although it is very small and not super noticeable), but otherwise this knife is pretty much impeccable in my mind. It has become my most often carried knife, and has yet to let me down. Unfortunately this knife is only available through the Massdrop website and it drops one batch at a time, so if you want one you’ll probably have to wait. That being said, the demand has been high enough for this model that I suspect they will be releasing new batches on a fairly regular basis, at least for a while.