A lot has already been said about the Lander, Knaf’s pocketknife that lends itself to scale swapping, dismantling, maintenance and general immersion in ownership. For knife nuts who are also tinkerers, there’s a lot to like. I recently picked up a Lander – the green micarta 14c28n version – from Adventure Carry, and thought I’d share a few quick insights into what I think makes this a great design for pocketknife lovers who aren’t necessarily into the whole tactical thing.
The Knafs Lander makes EDC easy
The Lander’s size, shape and light weight make it the perfect choice for everyday carry. You scarcely know it’s in your pocket, and when you need to take it out and use it, the simple, organic shape melts into your hand. It’s comfy to use and takes care of most EDC tasks with ease. Start using the Lander regularly and you quickly discover that a lot of thought has gone into the functionality that drives its slightly vanilla handle and blade shape. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s simply a ‘cute’ little knife. The Lander works.
The Lander doesn’t skip the details
Okay, the Lander might not be up there in custom knife territory, but look closely and there’s some beautiful attention to detail. On my version of the knife, the green micarta is nicely contoured, and the perfect texture. Knafs haven’t ruined the knife’s lines by randomly boring a lanyard hole through the scales. There’s a nicely fitted metal infill to smooth out the side of the handle opposite to where the pocket clip is mounted. The stonewash on the blade is just about perfect, the grind is very good and the thumb studs are easy to operate. Too often I find myself looking at a knife that’s great…except for that one oversight. Not the Lander. Lots of smart little touches make it a satisfying knife to own and use.
The joy of a supported design
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know that the Lander allows – nay, encourages - easy removal and swapping of scales for anyone who can remove a few T6 screws. More on that later. Meanwhile what is not so well known is the ability of the Lander ‘platform’ to be easily maintained.
The Lander arrives packed with a small bag of spare screws. Yep, the Knafs people realise that some of us will lose a screw or two over time (I know I have…) and need to replace them. What’s more, you can easily purchase spare parts kits including screws, clip, pivot, all sorts. So what you have is a knife that you can modify, repair and maintain. That’s refreshing in an industry where makers seldom seem to acknowledge a need for parts or maintenance. So, whether you have a screw fall out through normal use, or you’re tinkering with your Lander and your cat swats the pivot screw into a low earth orbit, Knafs have your back. That makes the Lander is a knife for life.
The Knafs Lander flies under the radar.
The Lander is the antithesis of the big, angry tactical knife. And thank goodness for that. I work from home and carry a pocketknife every day. When I leave home, I often forget that I’m carrying it. So I occasionally go out to the hardware store or the bakery, reach into my pocket for my phone and only then realise the knife is there. Now depending on the state you live in, this may or may not be legal, and it’s certainly not something I’d encourage. However, if you’re away from home I’d suggest there are two good reasons that the Lander is the right knife to…forget that you have in your pocket. Firstly, the pocket clip is one of the deepest carry designs I’ve ever seen. In my work pants, no part of the Lander is visible except for the clip. So it’s highly unlikely that anyone would ever suspect that you are carrying a pocketknife. Secondly, this side of a Swiss Army Knife, the Lander is about the most harmless looking knife I’ve ever seen. Its small size and soft contours are unlikely to raise any eyebrows should your Lander fall to the floor when you whip your wallet out at the sandwich shop. So, if like me you accidentally leave home from time to time with a knife in your pocket, the Lander might just be a good choice as your daily carry.
The Lander is an ongoing story
As I write this, the entry level Lander is available in D2 blade steel and G10. Then there’s the contoured micarta Lander in 14c28n blade steel. Knafs and Urban EDC have also joined forces to create two versions in M390 blade steel with blackwash or satin blades, and a choice of green or tan Seigaiha pattern G10 scales. No doubt there’ll be more designs to come in the future. And much has been said about how the Lander scales can be swapped out in minutes without affecting the blade centering or action of the knife in any way.
You might choose to buy just one of these Lander models. Or buy all of them and amuse yourself endlessly swapping scales with steels and vice versa. It’s like Pocketknife Pokemon with a twist, and for many knife nerds, I suspect that this mix-and-matchability will bring a new level of fun and interest to the hobby.
This easy swapping out of scales isn’t a feature entirely unique to the Knafs Lander, but it is by no means common, and the Lander is certainly the only low cost knife I’m aware of that features it.
Summing up
I’m loving my Lander. I picked one up simply because a compact knife fits my lifestyle, but after living with the Lander in my pocket for awhile I’m surprised by how taken I am with the design itself as well as the whole Lander concept. It sees regular use, and I already know I’ll be buying more Landers, scales and parts so that I can enjoy the swapping and tinkering. I’m hooked.
If you can fit another compact budget knife into your collection (hint – you can!) then you could do a lot worse than to pick up a Lander. If you enjoy modding, changing and maintaining what you own, the Lander concept might just appeal to you in the same way it has to me. And you’ll have satisfaction knowing that if you ever find you have a screw loose, it’s not really a big a deal – right?
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A massive thank you to Kym from Copyriot for this entertaining write up on the Knafs Lander!