NOTE: This review sample was provided by Gallantry.com. Purchasing this knife through links below to Gallantry.com will help benefit the site and keep in 100% independent. Gallantry reached out to me to partner with the site. The terms of the agreement are pretty simple and similar to other relationships I have had in the past with retailers—send me review samples, I will review them, send them back, and reference where they came from. Gallantry was really great, offering to do the pairing with ZERO strings attached. They have specifically asked for no editorial control or input. As they put it: “say whatever you want.” With that, I agreed. I have two other items in for review from them along with the TJB Carter—the TJB Duval and the OrbitKey Key Organizer. I will put up a similar note before each of these reviews.

The James Brand (or TJB as I will refer to them throughout this review) has a history of making stunningly beautiful knives. So what if some of them have been good and some flawed? The unifying element has been their looks—these are gorgeous blades are basically what would happen if Apple designed to getting to the knife game. The Carter, I feel, is their most important design. It is quite literally a TJB Mini Griptillian—an EDC focused knife with a sliding bar lock and a very pocketable size. Even the price, around $160, is the same. The interesting thing is this—can the upstart take the EDC crown from the Mini Grip? Let’s see.

Here is the product page. There are eight versions, including this version, with the Black on Black version being the cheapest at $139.95 and the OD Green Micarta being the most expensive at $159. Here is a review of the Carter. Here is a video review of the Carter. This review sample was provided by Gallantry. Here is the review sample.

Twitter Review Summary: Like the Mini Grip, but handsomer…if that is a word.

Design: 2

TJB has always hewed close to traditional lines with a few strategic changes—the Chapter knife is not THAT dissimilar from a Sebenza. Here they have their most traditional folder design yet (the Hell Gap is pretty similar to virtually thousands of fixed blades). In many ways it IS a Mini Grip. The lock, the blade, the size, the price—all bear striking similarities to the Mini Grip.

Fit and Finish: 2

TJB’s fit and finish has always been good and the fit and finish here is in line with historical precedent. In particular, I really like the finish on the handles—they aren’t complicated, but they are well contoured and comfy. The coating, which, of course, I hate, is even and has held up to cutting tasks.

Grip: 2

Thanks to the nice thumb disk, the grip on the Carter is really superb. In the event that you need to do high pressure cuts, this is the best place to rest your thumb. The contoured scales are also nice, as are the simple shape of the handle. Only the big honkin’ pocket clip is a problem, but even here, its size is offset by its position.

Carry: 0

The pocket clip here is so large and squared off that it basically guarantees that the door jams in your house will not survive intact an encounter with the Carter. Neither will the paint on your car door, your smartphone in the pocket, or anything else other than bricks and concrete. The reality is that the clip works in terms of keeping the knife in your pocket, it just abuses everything in its path. Its not a fatal flaw, but man, this knife would be way better with a tamed down clip.

Steel: 1

VG10 is not a bad steel. It is not a good one either. My personal gripe with it isn’t its edge holding or rust resistance, both of which it does well, but instead its sharpenability. There is a ratio of work to edge quality that is all out of whack here. With a steel like Spy27 a bit of work gets stellar results. S35VN is a little more work for the same results. But with VG10 the work you put in doesn’t bear good fruit. Sure it is easier to sharpen than S30V, but the resulting edge is meh. I have had too many rolled, chipped, and dinged edges with VG10 over the years to ever like the steel. Getting those issues fixed is a chore and the “repair” is never that impressive. Why this doesn’t have S35VN is a mystery. At this point S35VN is more common than VG10, so I don’t exactly understand why TJB chose this steel. The raw bar stock price of the two provides no real guidance either.

Blade Shape: 2

When in doubt, drop the point and get out. If that is a mantra for knife making you won’t do poorly. It looks good, works well, and is easy to sharpen. Plus, unlike other knives, the drop point has a classic appeal to it—a clean strong appearance. That look, more than anything else, just works well for a TJB knife.

Grind: 2

The grind here is meticulous, clean, and even. I really like the diagonal plunge line too, giving the blade a look of speed. If you don’t think clean grinds are the ultimate statement of minimalist beauty you are probably reading the wrong website.

Deployment: 2

Like with most post-patent expiration sliding bar locks, deployment is really quite good, not as snappy as a good bearing pivot detent, but still really good. I love the thumb disk here as it gives you a ton of purchase to pop open the knife.

Retention: 2

The clip is a terrible paint scrapper, but it does work at keeping the knife in place. It makes the knife easy to get in and get out of the pocket and it doesn’t look especially knifey in the pocket. The clip WORKS fine, it just makes for a miserable pocket item.

Lock: 2

The new generation of sliding bar locks are among the best locks available. They might lack the flipping action of a framelock or liner lock, but what they lack in flipping smoothness, they make up for in terms of safety, ease of engagement and disengagement, and its lack of slop (now that the fit and finish issues have changed).

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: High

With a simple, pleasing shape and a fun lock, the TJB Carter is a fidgeter’s friend.

Fett Effect: Moderate

While coatings have gotten better that simply means they aren’t bad. But they will still age and show wear, if you are in to that kind of thing. I’d buy the uncoated version which would also show wear.

Value: Moderate

This isn’t a budget knife, but in today’s market is is probably a mid priced knife. In that context it is neither a good nor a bad value.

Overall Score: 17 out of 20

This is a really strong entry into the midsized, midpriced EDC market. With a better clip and better steel, it would be at or near the top of the heap. The problem is the market is VERY tight right now. Even three years ago, this knife would be one of the three or four best options. The choice of VG10 is very definitely not welcome and the monstrously sized and shaped clip really detracts from the overall svelte package and good looks. That said, there is no denying that TJB makes fundamentally good knives that look good and cost appropriately. Even just tweaking the clip would be a huge help.

Competition

Compared to the stock Mini Grip, I like the Carter better. The steel isn’t significantly worse (VG-10 to S30V) and while the Mini Grip clip is better, the overall look and feel of the Carter is nicer. Compared to the higher end version of the Mini Grip, the 555-1, its not clear to me that the Carter is better. 20CV is a noticeable upgrade over VG10. And the clip is clearly worse. In that scenario I still think the Mini Grip wins, but not by a lot. Similar comparisons can be made elsewhere in the BM line up. I like this knife better than the Bugout, but not as much as the Mini Bugout. I really like the 945, but it is $50 more money. Another SBL knife, the SOG Terminus XR LTE does well in comparison. It is roughly the same price with better steel and a better clip. In that comp, the Carter doesn’t retain a huge lead in looks either. I still think it is better looking, but not a ton better looking. Overall, the Carter is a competitive option and the best looking of the similarly sized and priced knives with sliding bar locks. I’d opt for a better performing knife, but if looks matter, this is an easy choice with not a lot of trade offs.

Gallantry Links

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Gallantry page for TJB Carter