This isn’t a review, as the item I have is a prototype. I have also been very careful with it, not subjecting it to the same level of use and carry I would for a review item because, so far as I know, there aren’t a ton of them out there. That said, I do think I can provide some meaningful feedback on this item and answer the burning question with all prerelease items—should you get it?

So as to be systematic about this, I am going to give one of three possible positions: Instabuy, Consider, and Don’t Bother. An instabuy, like in my product line up grade cards from SHOT Show (of which there will be none in 2021—thanks Covid-19), is an item I would recommend any reader of the blog should purchase. Consider is a more nuanced position, basically, if you like gear you should consider this, but there are some reasons not to buy the product. The meaning of “Don’t Bother” is pretty obvious.

Urban EDC Supply reached out to me with an offer from an overview of the Half Delta. This is an interesting collab between Urban EDC Supply and custom knife maker Dustin Synder. It is a smaller version, ready for this, of his Delta custom. The knife is produced overseas and is being offered for preorder now. Here is link.

Product Description

The Half Delta is a very small knife with a blade length of just about 2 inches. It is a titanium framelock. There are three variants, all different colored handles. The knife opens with a thumb disk and has a contoured handle. The clip is a relatively staid sculpted titanium clip. The fit and finish is absolutely top notch with no blade play, centering issues, stray machine marks, messy grinds, or crooked grind lines. The knife has only one blade shape—an Americanized Tanto (a true nihonto tanto has the complex grind of an Americanized tanto but omits the secondary point; here is an article on the difference). The blade steel, Elmax, is one of the more underrated steels out there—95% of M390’s performance at 50% the price. The preorder is for $100. The total price is $199 (and there is an option to pay the full amount as the preorder).

Impressions

The Half Delta is an impressive little gem. Picking it up immediately imparts upon the handler a sense of quality. It carries beautifully, stowing away in a jeans coin pocket like it was built to do so (because it was).

The striations on the handle are tastefully done and add grip, which is important because this is a small knife that feels small in the hand (unlike, say, the Dragonfly, which is a small knife that feels big in the hand—its a full four finger knife). The thumb disk works exceptionally well and the pivot is crisp and snappy. The pocket clip is pretty unoffensive, but is noticeable in use given how little real estate exists on the handle. The knife’s blade stock is thicker than needed, but I can say that about 95% of folders on the market—modern steels with ultrahigh hardness makes thick blade stock unnecessary for all applications appropriate for a folding knife. The Americanized Tanto is absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately, its beauty is inversely related to its ease of sharpening.

Here the Americanized Tanto is doubly useless. The original design of the tanto blade shape was to help with piercing cuts in hard use applications (read: killin’ armored dudes). Here, the blade length of 2” precludes any sort of hard use application, rendering a tanto useless. But the problem is compounded because this not a traditional tanto, but an Americanized Tanto, which makes sharpening the knife unduly difficult. No utility AND difficult sharpening, equals a meh for me. Yes, its beautiful, but for me, that is a secondary concern on a knife.

Conclusion: Consider

There are two caveats against this knife—its small and feels small, and the tanto. If this knife had a traditional drop point, I’d be in on the preorder. Its spectacular looking and stunningly well made. But the tanto choice slowed my roll a bit. For many people though, the deal breaker is simple—this knife really scrunches up the hands. So if you are big dude, skip this one. If you aren’t and you are okay with a tanto, this is something that you need to get in on. For anti-tanto people like myself, well, it is a close call.

If anyone out there wants me to look at prototypes I am happy to do so. I have done this for years but this my first article publishing my thoughts. The only stipulation is that if you send me something and want me to publicize it, I get full editorial control over what I write and say. Urban EDC was okay with that and so we get this article. Once more, here is the preorder link.