Review ANV Knives M311 Spelter

  - a serious challenger from the Czech Republic

Acta Non Verba Knives or ANV as it is abbreviated is a brand from the Czech Republic that I presented here on the blog before. What was relevant then were folding knives of a few different types. Now it's time for a fixed blade instead. Nor is it just any knife but the M311 Spelter. A military and survival knife that was developed for the toughest conditions. Now I do not intend to devote myself to "survival" in that sense, but when I saw the balanced measurements, I realized that this is also an excellent knife for outdoor life in general.

After that, it only remained to see if my positive expectations had any bearing in reality.

ANV Knives M311 Spelter

M 311 Spelter is a knife that, like the Swedish Fällkniven F1*, was developed in collaboration with various units within the respective Armed Forces, including the air force. That background means that there are some common denominators between it, the M311 Spelter, and a number of other well-thought-out survival knives on the market. These are areas such as general dimensions, the design of the handle, and the functionality of the blade.

As usual in the case of ANV Knives, the knife can be built on their website, which gives many options when it comes to appearance. You can choose between seven different variants on the blade and three colors on the handle as well as three more colors for the sheath. Then you can start counting the number of combinations. In terms of appearance, most people are likely to be satisfied!

Acta non verba Knives offers only the best materials in this knife

Twitter version: ANV Knives M311 Spelter, a military and survival knife built from pure top materials to handle most things. A real home run!

Blade

Spelter is a knife that has a very advanced blade hidden behind a simple basic shape. It is a classic drop point used as a canvas for this work of art. Subsequently, it has been provided with a number of distinctive details such as a pronounced recess for the index finger, depression for the thumb at the base of the blade spine, and not least a swedge which does not start at the tip, which is rather unusual. In addition, a rounded blade spine can be added and the blade is blackened.

The dimensions are restrained, which means a blade length of 12 cm with a height of 3.7 cm. The stock thickness is 5 mm which is not excessive to belong to this class of knives. It gives a strong knife without it becoming heavy and clumsy.

The twelve-centimeter long blade is blackened by DLC

The steel is Swedish Elmax ** in this case. No doubt it belongs to the group of the so-called "super steels". Elmax Superclean is powder steel which, in addition to being able to get very sharp, is also extremely durable. This applies to both sharpness and toughness. This means that if it does not stay sharp forever, then at least for a very long time. A bit of maintenance in the form of a few strokes with a ceramic or diamond sharpener or rod and you do not have to resharpen your blade very often. 

My previous experiences with Elmax are that it is really rust-resistant but that like all steels it can get stains and therefore ANV has chosen to provide the blade with a black coating. Then there is probably some thought that reflexes should not be visible, but it is a trait I personally am less interested in. But it's true, the matte surface does not glisten if you point a flashlight at it in the dark.

In this case, it is DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) that was used to make the blade black. It is theoretically one of the most sustainable alternatives available. It turns out to apply in practice as well. During the test period, it has not worn despite the fact that I beat on the knife a bit, among other things by batoning very dry hardwood. 

The blade steel is Elmax hardened to 60 on the Rockwell scale. It gives a blade that keeps its sharpness for a very long time

The blade has been provided with a high flat grind, a "saber grind", which ends with a decent factory edge. The knife was sharp on arrival but not one of the sharpest. The edge shaved hair with some pressure if it says anything? The thickness behind the primary edge is 0.8 mm.

This means that Spelter is rather thick behind the edge, which of course is a result of the intended area of use. In a knife of this type, durability is one of the priorities. I have chosen to sharpen the knife and in connection with that reprofile the edge slightly. Elmax can be thinner without risking being brittle. A heads-up when it comes to that bit though. This is a "super steel", which means that you have to invest some elbow grease to get the knife sharp again. On the other hand, that sharpness lasts for an extremely long time, as I said. 

Spelter has also been used to chop in both fresh and, in this case, extremely dry wood. All to see if the edge would bend or get damaged. The long handle allows you to hold far back to get more power when chopping

That detail together with the choice of material and the general appearance of the knife makes you want to test it hard. After all, this is a tough military/survival / outdoor knife, which means that I used it for typical outdoor chores. It includes cutting ropes and some thinner cortege and of course wood in lots of shapes. This means both fresh branches and dry wood. I have split wood both lengthwise and crosswise. The last literally was when Spelter was used to hammer through wood against the fibers. No sign of edge damage after that either. In addition, I have tested the strength of the tip by jamming it into various pieces of wood and prying it out sideways. It holds up for that too!

Thin fresh wood is of course not a challenge, but it shows that the M311 Spelter also works well for more detailed work. It is easy to shift grip and move forward and actually use the finger choil

"Batoning", or the noble art of splitting wood with a knife, poses no problem either

Then, of course, the knife has also been used to make fire. It includes preparing firewood, splitting small logs, and making some kind of feather sticks. That is not my forte. I also used the knife with fire steel. The latter must unfortunately be done with the edge. If you know that it is a recurring task, I recommend that you sharpen a piece of the swedge for the purpose.

In addition to that, I have of course used the M311 on non-natural materials including cardboard, plastic, jute fabric, and dirty nylon rope, which is something that wears extremely on the edge. It handles those materials gallantly. Then it is if not fantastic then fully compatible with onions as well. That is if you want to indulge in a little outdoor cooking. Even camouflage-colored warriors on two legs must eat.

Overall, this knife is just as versatile as I hoped and wanted!

Handle

There are a couple of different basic types of handles and a dividing line can be drawn between thinner handles and the fuller ones. This handle belongs to the latter variety. It really fills the hand and does it in an excellent way. It is not far from perfection. The length is 15 cm, the height is around 3 cm and the thickness varies between 1.9 cm to a full 2.8 cm.

Then this handle is very anatomically shaped to provide good ergonomics in a number of different grips. To begin with, there is a really good "forward finger choil", a recess for the index finger, which in combination with the finger guard provides high security if you use the tip or stab with the knife. Then ANV has chosen to let the handle taper off to improve the grip. The handle also includes a palm swell and then narrows again before it ends with a small edge at the back where the knife is both thicker and has a small beak to hold the hand in place. The handle also has a recess on the top of the handle for the thumb where a couple of solid grooves have been cut out to further improve the grip. That depression also has its equivalent on the blade mentioned earlier.

ANV has achieved a very well-thought-out handle that provides good ergonomics

A lanyard hole is found in the extended tang. It can also be used as an improvised hammer as long as it isn't steel in the receiving end. But for hammering a pole into the ground the knife works great.

It is thus a very advanced handle when it comes to shape. At the same time, it is amazingly simple and fits the hand very well. In pictures, I think it is reminiscent of knives from, for example, Bill Harshey, which is a good rating.

The handle is very well sculpted

The material that is so well shaped is Micarta of the highest quality. It is then screwed with four (two per side) M5 screws which, like the blade, are DLC-treated to hold better. The knife is a full tang knife as can be seen in the pictures and ANV has chosen to let the steel stand proud to round off the profile further. Here, too, the steel is well rounded. 

The most interesting question is whether all these forms can also be used in practice. The answer is short, yes it is possible. Not only does it work but it's excellent! This is one of the best handles I have come across when it comes to the variants that are built for many different grips. To begin with, this is one of the few handles with "choils" / finger recesses that actually work. It is large and rounded enough to house most size fingers at the same time as the angled front end of the handle means that you can still apply some force when cutting hardwood, for example. It is a very important feature that is often missed on knives that include this detail. In addition, there is the recess on the blade spine when you want to engage in detailed work.

Spelter has a handle that is flexible when it comes to different grips

As I said, the basic grips work excellently. In a hammer grip, the knife feels solid with its full shape that literally melts into the hand. At the same time, it is more difficult to generate power in that grip since the hand end up a bit away from the edge, but as I mentioned before, the angled front of the handle helps. The sides are also thinning at the front to facilitate a pinch grip. Something that is not clearly visible in pictures. 

Saber grip is just as effective and here you can choose how far forward you want to hold, with your thumb in front of or behind the finger guard. It is also possible to move the hand really far back to get a little more power behind the edge if you swing the knife to chop something.

In addition to the shape of the handle providing excellent grip, the pattern milled into the Micarta also contributes to increased traction. This means that there is less risk of slipping even if you have wet and/or cold hands. This knife has been used during both winter and spring and it works well even with a little thicker gloves on. 

Sheath

The sheath that comes with the M311 Spelter is of the "pancake type", ie one made of two pieces that have been pressed together. It provides plenty of attachment points around the edges if you need them. The footprint is larger than a taco-style sheath, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both types.

The material used is Kydex and the fastening device itself is a pair of folded plastic hobs. However, made of very tough plastic which seems to be really durable. But with these mounts, other systems can also be used if desired.

The fastening device takes all dimensions of belts and is equipped with quick locks so that the knife can be easily removed or secured elsewhere

The sheath comes in a few different variants as mentioned earlier and this version is some form of O D green with a light gray shade. It matches the knife very well. A spacious drainage hole is found in the bottom of the sheath.

The knife fits really snuggly in the sheath with very little rattling or other noises. The Kydex material squeezes the knife hard enough so that it is not dropped. Not even if you turn it upside down and shake it hard. On the contrary, the knife is a bit sluggish to pull when the sheath was new.

Speaking of which, there is an excellent thumb ramp to use for that purpose and just the right amount of the finger guard is visible so that you get a good grip directly from the sheath if you pull the knife quickly. There is no need to change grips, which is otherwise not entirely uncommon.

The knife sits high up on a belt

If you carry a backpack with a carrying strap, the knife may be moved to another location

I myself carry this knife in two different ways. If I'm just out walking or hiking, the knife is on the belt. But since it sits quite high up, it is not preferable if you carry some form of a larger backpack with a carrying strap. Then I attach this knife to the backpack straps instead. The straps are also "MOLLE-compatible". Something that is of less interest to me nowadays. But it makes the sheath easy to attach to other things as well.

Conclusion

My impressions of this knife can only be summed up by the fact that it is a really qualified challenger in the class, no matter what knife it's compared to. The design is well thought out, which results in many built-in features, which not least provides excellent ergonomics in many different grips. 

It has since been implemented in a consistent manner where some of the best materials available have been selected. The package includes Kydex, Micarta, and not least Elmax with DLC coating. Steel that beats most of the competition. The build quality is outstanding and shows the know-how that exists in this part of the world. More specifically, Bohemia in the Czech Republic.

ANVs Spelter is a very advanced knife that can handle most things

Then the knife looks good in a slightly brutal way. It has a serious look if you see what I mean. But it was, after all, the relatively restrained design, especially in terms of dimensions, that made me take a closer look at this knife. It is not full of gimmicks but the details that are there are there to improve the function. Basically, it is a fairly simple blade shape that is then provided with a number of exciting details. The blade works really well for mixed outdoor life and I am sure even for more serious applications if necessary. It is, after all, a knife made with the military, rescue personnel and the like in mind.

M311 Spelter has been used even in colder conditions and the handle is very functional even with gloves on

Then it can be stated that in addition to the eminent blade, the handle is very good. There are not many handles found on knives that include the word "military" in the description that is so comfortable to actually work with. Sure, if you are going to carve for two hours, a Mora Bushcraft is a bit better, but otherwise, this is a superb handle. I was a little worried that the pattern and the grooves that were there could give rise to a "hotspot bonanza", but my suspicions fell short.

ANV M311 Spelter is an extremely well-built knife and thus very good for all outdoor life

If it has not already been stated, I can only say that this is an extremely good knife in its category. It simply does not get much better. Different yes, but not better. Quality doesn't come cheap though. At the time of writing, ANV M311 Spelter costs around 320$ and about the same amount in Euros. Not cheap but it is also a premium knife with premium qualities. A knife you will have for the rest of your life.

Specifications:

Length Overall: 275 mm
Blade Length:  120 mm
Blade Thickness: 5 mm
Steel: Elmax, 60 HRC
Weight: 288/386g  knife/knife + sheath
Handle: Micarta
Sheath: Kydex

Produced by ANV Knives, made in the Czech Republic 

/ J 

* But it is slightly longer than the mentioned model, so if it is something it should be compared to, it is in that case model A1. However, the M311 is slightly shorter and above all lighter than that knife.

** The website states that if you choose the untreated blade, Sleipner is used instead. It is, by the way, another Swedish super steel.