Imperial Schrade IMP22 Black Folding Pocket Knife for Outdoor, Outdoor Survival, and EDC

One of the best deals you can get in a sod style knife. Be it the large or the Jr they are crazy good traditional style knives for 8 bucks or so. The only better deal you can get in a sod Jr style knife is the Marbles Mr579 it has smooth white bone handle scales instead of the plastic that these have and can be had for around 8-9 bucks as well and it has a snapper action with a half stop and sadly these do not have a half stop. The 7cr17mov these knives are made with performs very much alike to case Tru-sharp stainless they are both fairly low performance stainless steels so don't expect much edge retention from either BUT the edge retention is plenty serviceable for what you will be using this knife for and it touches up so easily on a diamond loaded strop and or a ceramic rod. Shockingly the heat treatment isn't bad on this steel and it sharpens nicely as a result. If these had a half stop they would be awesome, it's my only complaint with the IMP22 series of knives. The large one has a flat grind and the Jr has a hollow grind in case you are wondering however the hollow grind isn't very deep and the grid angle is fairly obtuse so they are around 22 thousandths of an inch behind the edge, not the greatest cutting geometry but not bad so they will slice OK, case Sod Jrs are definitely thinner behind the edge so if you want the best slicing performance you will want to get the case Soddy Jr but these are great for the money just don't expect them to have laser beam like cutting geometry.

So a lot of people had issue with this knife for being made in China, the blade being un-centered and a couple other reasons. Schrade/Imperial is a brand I know nothing about. I've bought knives from Smith and Wesson, Buck Knives, Columbia River, Sinclair and Gerber. I won't say this is the best knife in my collection, BUT I will say this is my favorite. Why? It's cheap, the blade is thick, the handle is sturdy and has some weight to it, there is no wiggle/loose parts, and it looks good in my opinion.I'm not a fan of Chinese-made things. And after reading the reviews, I was extremely hesitant of buying this knife. But when I thought back to my collection of other knives that cost $25 and up, I thought, what could I lose? My fear was that the blade was going to be razor-thin and lose its edge very quickly. I was pleasantly surprised that was not the case. Its thick and I use my beloved AccuSharp 001 Knife Sharpener knife sharpener to keep all my knives field-ready. I needed something small, strong and to just use for everyday things. This knife is reassuring to hold in my pocket as I walk to my house in the dark on most nights and it's not unwieldy or flashy.Like all things that come from China, there may be 1 good knife for every 25 that come out of the factory. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. My blade is centered, the edge was very sharp out of the box (and stayed sharp after a month of frequent use), and there was no wiggle room between the blade and handle. If you don't get the right one the first time SEND IT BACK. This is such a great little knife for the price, it would be worth your while to get a non-defective one no matter the hassle!

I bought 10 of these as Christmas Gifts for the warehouse guys at my job. I have no idea if they like knives, but I do, so that's what they got!I also bought some extra for my family and of course one for me. I've been using mine daily for about 2 months. I really like it. It fits in the coin pocket of my jeans and it's just the right size for small tasks. Cutting boxes, tape, rope or opening packages. Also good for cutting up fruit, steak, whatever.These are really a throwback for me since this is what pocket knives used to look like when I was a kid. No pocket clip, no open-assisst, no lock! Real old school!It's heavy feeling, the handle is made out of a pretty hard and damage-resistant material. The brass pins and liner look really nice.Also, it's crazy inexpensive! I mean, you could lose this or break it and would you really care? Maybe all those super cool, expensive knives we buy and are afraid to use/loose are the wrong answer! This knife however, is most certainly the right answer for most of the tasks that you'll see in any given day.

When I first received the knife, I'd resolved to send it back because there was this gritty, crunchy sound when you opened and closed the blade. This also made the action too stiff for my liking. On Reddit, people were advising flushing the knife with oil and soapy water in order to wash out the grit. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I used some 3-in-1 oil where the slipjoint locks into the knife. I opened and closed the knife repeatedly to really work in the oil so all the grit was suspended. Next, I poured some dish detergent in between the scales and added some water before opening and closing the blade several times. Then, I ran the knife under the faucet for a minute or so until all the soap and oil washed out. Next, I dried the blade thoroughly, and this is very important so you don't develop any rust. I used a bunch of paper clips wrapped around with paper towel so I could thoroughly dry between the scales. After that, I used a can of compressed air to blow out any remaining moisture in the pivot and slipjoint mechanism. Last, I applied a drop of 3-in-1 to relubricate the action. The gritty noise was completely gone and the action became significantly smoother. It's definitely a keeper now, and for $10, a great value, even if it needed a bit of work. If all that seems like too much hassle, pick up a Case Sodbuster Jr. for 3x the price.

I own many knives but this simple, well, made blade always seems to wind up in my pocket. GREAT little knife at a bargain price! I own several and keep one in a variety bag in my truck