Review: Kiwi

For about 4 months, I have been carrying a Kiwi (SS-handle). Why? I needed an office utility knife and my Dragonfly really isn’t that pocket friendly. Besides, I’m always looking to find an excuse for a new spydie. I have been using the Kiwi five days a week, from 9 to 5 for the past couple of months. The knife is pretty much perfect for its intended role:

•  It doesn’t attract attention in use, well…except when I draw and cut with this piece “iaido” style 😉
• When someone does notice it, only positive reactions follow (“oh, how useful” or “cool gadget”).
• The blade shape is ideal for all office work: opening packages, envelopes, cutting out articles, peeling fruit, cutting network cable (don’t ask) etc… Between the Kiwi and my trusty Leatherman Squirt I have yet to be caught short…at work.
• The handle allows for a great variety of grips, thus allowing me to make full use of the Kiwi’s potential. If you can’t grip a knife in just the right way, you are not going to make the cut the way you want to. Disappointment or cut fingers will follow.

Looks
The Kiwi’s looks are one of the foremost reasons why I like this knife. It’s diminutive size attracts only positive attention, as mentioned above. Some will scoff at this compromise, but in my environment I need to demonstrate before I can educate. Most people will only listen if you show them something they are comfortable with. Pulling out my trusty Military will cause my colleagues to be uncomfortable. With the harmless looking Kiwi, they are much more likely to appreciate the knife as a useful everyday tool.

Function
More importantly, the Kiwi works! It cuts everything you will encounter at the office with aplomb, and more. The blade, handle and lock all stand up –very- well when cutting out a square piece of heavy cardboard, covered in tape and plastic. This is my personal test to gauge sharpness, lock and handle comfort. The Kiwi passed the test easily. It’s been said before, and I will reiterate it, Spyderco micro-folders cut better than many other -bigger- knives.

Sharpening
Sharpening the wharncliffe blade, on a sharpmaker, did take a little getting used to, as I was used to sharpening drop-point blades. However, I found out that I had to lower the handle a little, thus keeping the edge parallel to the tabletop. It’s better to have the knife’s tip pointing upward, rather than downward on a sharpmaker. With this trick, combined with NOT letting the tip slide off the stones, sharpening the wharncliffe is no challenge at all.

Conclusion
The Kiwi is pretty much the perfect spydie to use around the office, it does everything you could expect from a knife this size, and even a little more. It’s size makes it easy to carry, and easy on the eyes of your non-knife co-workers. Yet the handle is superbly shaped for many and safe gripping styles. Why is it not THE perfect office-spydie? Well, I just happened to see a Santa-Fe Kiwi with a mother-of-pearl and bug-logo inlay that just might deserve that particular moniker 😉