I loved the original Ferrum Forge Gent. Its successor, with the oddly downgraded steel (S35VN became 9CR), is pretty unexciting, but that original knife was a compact, well designed, well-made knife that just about anyone could benefit from carrying. Alas, its a bit pricey for what it is today and the clip is pretty not exciting. Fortunately, Kaviso, a company that sells gear like Drop used to before it became keycaps and headphones only, commissioned another knife that hits this note perfect—the Kaviso Mini Keen. Yes, this is a follow up to Drop’s mega hit the Keen, a TFF (titanium framelock flipper) design by Ray Laconico. That original knife was a bit big for me, so when I discovered Kaviso had a mini version, I was all in. This knife is really excellent and worth a look.

Here is the product page. There are two different versions each with three or four different colored handles and either a satin or stonewashed blade—one with S35VN blade steel and a titanium framelock handle for $125 and another with 14C28N blade steel, a liner lock, and aluminum scales for $59. There may be an even cheaper version of the knife with D2 blade steel available some time in the future. This is a review of the S35VN version. Here is a video review from Wayne’s Sharp World. There are no written reviews. Here is the review sample (which was purchased with my own money and is mine to keep):

Quick Review Summary: An excellent all-around knife and an ideal “one and done” blade.

Design: 2

Ray’s designs are spare and clean with almost no frills or excess. In that sense they are both on-trend for knives right now and fit in with lots of different aesthetics. They are also not particularly menacing or frightening, especially, if, like here, they aren’t large. This knife fits well with Ray’s other knives—its exceptionally clean. There is no exposed reat tang, the blade is a flat ground knife with a high satin grind and a drop/spear point blade. The flipper tab has a single cut of jimping for a grippy but clean look. Overall, this is my favorite Laconico design and an exceptionally solid knife. There isn’t much that could be changed and nothing that should be changed. I really like this knife’s blueprint.

Fit and Finish: 2

This knife was produced for Kaviso by QSP and their fit and finish tends to be good. Everything here is well done, clean (that word comes up again and again), and neatly finished. I wouldn’t think this is the most complex design out there, but what is here is very good. High marks for execution even if the degree of difficulty is relatively low.

Grip: 2

Carry: 2

At under under 3 ounces the Mini Keen is light enough to carry all day even in shorts and not be bothered, but because of its size its dense enough to know that you left it in a coat or jeans pocket. The smooth handle and decent clip also go a long way in making the Mini Keen great as a daily pocket passenger.

Steel: 1

S35VN is still a very competent steel. But it is probably time to call it what it is—average. If we were doing this by numbers, then M390 would probably be average, but it is still a smidge better in terms of performance. With S35VN you are getting nothing all that special. Its better than S30V, but not by much. Its not as good as Magnacut. Its just, well, average. Fortunately none of its weaknesses matter all that much for EDC use. Sure, I would prefer other steels if I were doing work in or near water, but for this use case, S35VN is perfectly fine.

Blade Shape: 2

A lovely drop point with a high flat grind is just right. Don’t mess with simple blade shapes. I am not sure what you get with those recurve or hawksbill blades. Whatever it is, you probably don’t need it on an EDC knife.

Grind: 2

Thin blade stock, ground high and flat, with a minimal thickness behind the edge—its a formula for success—slicey yet still easy to maintain. Like a lot about the Mini Keen, this is just the best and most straightforward answer.

Deployment: 2

With a snappy detent and a good flipper tab shape, there is not much to fiddle with or complain about. I think this is a bearing pivot, too. It is possible to fail to fire the blade once the detent is overcome, but actual failing to fire during regular use is exceptionally rare.

Retention: 1

This is a good clip with good tension, good sculpting and it stays out of the way in your hand. I’d like to see a ramp near the back end to make the back end a little less squared off. Some of the best clips, like the one on the Bridgeport Knives 395 v2, do this and the result is a superior in-hand feel.

Lock: 2

Its a frame lock. It works. It has easy access to the lock bar, it is rock solid in any position, and it is nicely finished. Like with so much else on this knife, the lock bar is just the shortest distance to an effective design.

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: High

With decent bearings and a good flipper tab geometry, this is a very fun knife to carry and flip.

Fett Effect: Very High

A blasted finish here picks up every single scratch, knick, and ding resulting in a knife that looks carried and loved relatively quickly.

Value: High

There is nothing that makes this a remarkably good value, but the combination of a premium designer, decent materials, and overall superb finish makes the knife well above average in terms of value.

Overall Score: 18 out of 20

The Mini Keen is a really great knife, a solid entry into the positively bloated ranks of TFFs. Its size, build quality, price, action, blade shape, clip, and handle scales are all excellent. Nothing here is best in class, but nothing is even average, but for the steel. But the steel is clearly a concession to price. It is not solid in normal knife channels (which is a shame because Kaviso has some really good stuff, go check it out). Its kind of bland. But at the end of the day, this is a knife you could carry for years and never have a problem.

Competition

There is a metric ton of stuff that is competiting with this knife—SOG’s new Twitch III, which is excellent, the Knafs Co. Lander, the CRJB Pyrite, and a dozen or so very good overseas made knives with 14C28N. The Mini Keen stands out from this crowded field because of its simplicity. Like a sphere is the same with the smallest surface area to volume, over and over again the Mini Keen’s simple design works. There is not much excess here and the knife is better for it. I would note that the Lander comes in better steel (M390 in a special edition) for not much more and for just a little bit more cash than that you can get two of the best folders available—the TRM N2 and the Bridgeport Knives 395. They are harder to find, but they are just as simple with even better design touches. That said, for a readily available knife, the Mini Keen is great. Notably, the Spydercos and Kershaws and Benchmades with better steel are all really expensive and knives from those companies in this price range tend to have inferior steels. This makes the Mini Keen pretty competitive—its price competitor in a Spyderco Delica with FRN handles and VG-10 steel. Bleh.

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