Review Kubey KU184

   Review Kubey KU184

Introduction

I have said it once, but I repeat it, I love knives, some of them impress me more than most of folding knives and I have not been able to resist trying one of the models that have attracted me the most lately.It is the KU184 model, a really strong knife whose aesthetics have made me fall in love.Let's see it…

Exterior design and appearance

I have been looking at a lot of knives lately and this is one of the ones that I have liked the most in terms of design. It is a knife that, from my point of view, would work very well for bushcraft and in fact I confirm that it is very good for that by tests that have been carried out.

This piece has a contained size for what are my standards, and it is not excessively heavy, I really love its overall design.

If we look at the blade, we are dealing with a 5 mm thick full tang monster and a practically full flat grind.

D2 steel with a good heat treatment (cryogenic) and a “drop point” style with the peculiarity that the edge has a small curvature, very slight, but that makes the point something similar to a Japanese “tanto” point (not American), but I already said that it is very slight and you have to look closely to see it.

 Said D2 steel is well known and is one of the most requested steels in folding knives or fixed knives due to its characteristics of retention of edge and hardness without going to super-steels, which I assure you increases the price of the pieces a lot.

Regarding the handle, comment that there are three colors, tan, green and black, the latter being the model that I show you. The finish of the blade is the same in all the colors of the handle.

Said handle is in G10 joined to the steel with torx screws and is anatomically shaped. In the next section we will see its handling and use. We can also observe a glass breaker or hammer that also serves to put a tail or lanyard.

 

Regarding the measures we find:

 

Total length	Handle length	Blade thickness	Blade length	Scale weight (unsheathed)
22.5 cm	12 cm	5.0 mm	10.5 cm	188 gr

I'm amazed at how light the knife is for a beast with a 5mm spine (I have folding knives that weigh more), but it's weighed on the same scale that I weigh all the pieces on, I don't get the weight from the spec sheet of the manufacturer, I weigh the pieces on my digital scale. If we have strength + lightness, then perfect.

And as always, we must talk about the sheaths on the knives, it is made of Kidex and with the Tek Lok system, which is not usually seen much in other brands, however, Kubey uses it a lot, this system will allow us to carry the knife of various shapes and it is also a system that represents a standard known in the world. I must emphasize again that it is especially well made when I have compared it with other similar sheaths from other brands, I mean the thickness of the material, finish and fit of the knife.

Management and use

 

First, let's talk about the sheath. The knife stays very solid in it, so it can be hard to remove. The best thing is to rest your finger on the sheath and push it, just as we did with the previous Kubey knife, the KU230 Golf.

The sheath comes with a clip that complies with the Tek Lok standard and we can use it in elements that are compatible with this standard, we can also use it horizontally and vertically.

To open the Tek Lok clip we must press a button that it brings, it also has a locking system so that it cannot be opened. I see a pretty safe system and it is not going to come off from the belt by accident.

The sheath material is thick and well finished, it is better than similar sheaths from other good chinese knife brands that I have tried before. Apart from the fact that it looks like a good material (within the type of sheath that it is) the knife stays perfectly embedded in the sheath, it does not move, I really like its fit. To remove it, it is best to rest your thumb on the sheath and pull the knife back that way.

 

With the knife in hand, I observe that the handle fits well in the hand, it is comfortable and the texture of the handle in G10 is adequate. Something to mention is that, although it is comfortable and long enough for a normal hand, the width and height of the handle could be a little larger. I mean, it's comfortable, but when you pick up other bushcraft knives, you notice that they tend to have a thicker handle.

The full tang of the knife is perfectly polished and does not hurt the hand when gripping it, very smooth.

Regarding the beautiful blade that it has, it seems to me of a multipurpose type and that it can be used for anything, from hard bushcraft tasks (a 5 mm spine with almost full flat grind goes a long way) to self-defense (I love that touch that it gives a small angle to the edge when it is going to start to climb to the tip and that grants it a good penetration).

 

The guard seems important to me in a knife of this style and is a safety element. Somehow it seems to me to have in my hands a foldinf knife with a "flipper" with the best lock in the world (a fixed knife) because of its appearance.

Regarding the jimping on the spine, it is a bit soft, it could be a bit more aggressive to improve grip and, above all, be a bit longer, but that is better than nothing.

 

Finally, a detail that I usually like in this style of knives is a glass breaker, which is also for the tail or for the lanyard. That by the way, the tail that is seen in the photo was already brought by the knife, just as it brings a wipe to clean the blade.

We practically do not have a finger choil, and well, I think it's good because that way there is more useful edge. It is true that with a blade with 10.5 cm long, it can be used for fine work, but this knife calls for hard tasks, even chopping or to do battoning.

 

Regarding the factory sharpening of the blade, I found it quite good, it cuts the paper very well and very smooth.

Final verdict

Well, I summarize it in one thing: I have knives from several chinese brands, perhaps the most popular that there have been in recent years and it is possible that this knife is the best I have had so far.

It is not only the quality of construction, finishes and materials used, it is that the design seems to me to be one of the best of the brand in terms of fixed knives, although there are several more that I also like apart.

It is unquestionable that the knife is quite good and that, if you like its design, it is a good buy.

 

Things that i love

 

- One of the designs that I have liked the most lately of the knives that I have seen.

- That blade with that grind and that tip with that angle have me crazy. A very strong knife but at the same time without losing penetrating power.

- The D2 steel is very good and the brand's heat treatment too. This steel is one of the most wanted for its characteristics without going to super-steels.

- The handle fits very well in the hand, it is very comfortable.

 Things I would change

 

- A couple of centimeters or more in total length would be incredible.

- The handle is very comfortable, but it could have more volume, be thicker in general.

- The jimping on the spine could be longer and with more grip, somewhat more aggressive.

 

Moving

Where to buy it

***Kubey KU184*** Shop: Kubey KU184

Amazon-ES: Kubey KU184 Amazon-US: Kubey KU184 Amazon-DE: Kubey KU184

AliExpress: Kubey KU184