- A fixed-blade in folding knife format
Big, light and bold are three words that well describe this folding knife from Czech ANV Knives. The latter is largely because it is completely black. Otherwise, the design is fairly clean, without excessive embellishments, although a few details are hidden here and there.
The A400 is a solid knife primarily aimed at outdoor life in all its forms.
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| ANV Knives A400 HT |
ANV Knives has always divided its knives into different categories: knives aimed primarily at military use, other fixed blade knives and folding knives. Among the military knives is the model M200 with the suffix HT, which simply stands for "Hard Task". It is a sturdy knife with a simple straight blade and a large and, as usual with ANV, well-shaped handle. Obviously made for what the name suggests, that is, heavier tasks.
This knife is based on that model. The same basic idea, but in a folding format. Maybe not quite as durable, but in return significantly lighter and easier to carry. An excellent complement on paper, I thought. Now all that remained was to see if theory and practice could be reconciled.
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| This knife exudes competence |
Short version: ANV Knives A400, A knife for outdoor activities. Well-balanced and made of premium materials, it is ready to assist you in all kinds of situations.
Blade
You've heard me say it before, and I'll say it again: my mantra is that unless there's a specific purpose for your blade, keep it clean and simple. That certainly applies in this case. When it comes to this knife, it's not just about looks; it's also about function.
The shape is a drop point, even though the back slopes so slightly that the blade can almost be considered straight. The length is 105 mm, which is matched by a height of 29 mm. The blade thickness is 3 mm. The latter deserves a comment. Here, ANV has taken note of what is really needed in a folding knife intended for all types of work and thus did not choose a blade of four or five millimetres. This is a knife that cuts well, not a crowbar. It is a trap that many manufacturers otherwise fall into.
The sabre grind is 21 mm wide and comes down to as little as 0.3 mm behind the edge. Again, a good decision that provides competent geometry.
The blade is blackened with DLC, which protects the blade, which may be needed as the material is basically a tool steel. There is some text on the blade, but it is discreet. On the presentation side, you will find ANV's stylised logo, and on the opposite side, you can read the model designation, country of manufacture and steel type along with the text "fire steel". I will come back to that later.
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| A blade of over 100 mm in Sleipner steel with a DLC finish might be a bit overkill for slicing strawberries with. |
The steel used is a bit exotic in the knife world, but of very high quality. It is Swedish Uddeholm's Sleipner, which has been hardened to 60HRC. Which is slightly harder than its fixed-bladed cousin. A good example of how small adjustments have been made to achieve a high-quality folding knife. In this case, edge holding is prioritised over being somewhat tougher, which can be a more important feature of a fixed-bladed knife that may be used to chop and split wood, for example.
The factory edge was very well executed, smooth, symmetrical and sharp. Something that pleased me was the aforementioned fact that the blade is thin behind the edge.
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| The blade is made of Sleipner steel. At the ricasso, there is a recess intended for use with fire steel. A detail that may be needed since the blade spine is rounded. |
This, combined with the relatively high flat grind, means that this knife cuts just as well as you could wish for. There is sometimes a tendency among modern knife manufacturers to exaggerate when it comes to making knives adapted for hard work, whatever that actually is.
For some, it may be about gutting and processing an animal, for others, building a campsite and making a fire. For me, it is clear that a blade intended for heavier work must be able to handle everything from meat and gutting fish to cutting wood, both dry and fresh, but also dealing with materials such as twine and rope, cardboard, cable ties, nylon straps, tape of all thicknesses and so on. That is, everything from what nature provides to what we humans litter it with.
The A400 handles all of that excellently. If you want to do detailed work, you sneak as close to the edge as you can, perhaps with a thumb on the exceptionally well-executed grooves found on the otherwise rounded blade spine. They provide a solid grip. That applies to everything else on this knife. There is no risk of slipping.
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| The DLC coating is very durable. |
Otherwise, there is a good piece of straight edge to work with, and it bites excellently into wood. Furthermore, there is a nice belly that is good for long sweeping cuts.
The blade then ends with a competent tip that is surprisingly thin for a knife in this class. Nothing to pry with but all the better to penetrate with.
Overall, this is a blade that, with a different grind, read full scandi, could sit on any classic Scandinavian hunting and outdoor knife. Those are big words in my book!
Handle
When it comes to "heavy duty" in combination with knives, it's not the blade that I think of first, but the handle. A sharp blade does its job if used correctly; not all handles do. It must be designed so that it is comfortable enough to use for a long time when needed. Something I learned when I worked as a butcher in my younger days. The knives used in the meat industry have simple blades but more advanced handles.
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| The handle is spacious and provides an extremely secure grip. |
This also applies to the ANV A400. However, the basic materials are only two. First, a frame that is only advanced in that it is heavily milled. This, of course, contributes to making the knife lighter. But its main task is to, in addition to reinforcing the sides, house the lock.
The sides are made of strong G10. A material so stiff, especially in this thickness, that it actually doesn't need a frame. Here, it is only used to have both suspenders and a belt.
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| As you can see, the handle is quite shaped to be found on a folding knife. In the open back, you can see a detail that makes the knife look a little more civilian, red anodised spacers |
A lot of effort has been put into designing the knife, and that is also visible in the handle. The sides are heavily sculpted, which means that they are both bevelled and widened in the middle. Then there is a very deep recess for the index finger, and the handle swells at the back. All of this makes the knife fit perfectly in your hand. It is almost impossible to slip. Especially since the grooves that make up the pattern provide extremely good grip, think coarse sandpaper or perhaps even better, a rasp.
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| The A400 is very well balanced, which makes the knife feel lively in the hand. It is also very easy to find a good grip, no matter how you choose to hold the knife. |
At the same time, this is an extremely competent handle. All grips work equally well, whether you prefer a hammer grip, sabre grip or spin the knife to a reverse grip. The knife is also not excessively wide at the front, which means that it is possible to hold the knife in a pinch grip if necessary.
In other words, it is suitable for everything from detailed work to tougher tasks. This becomes even clearer when it is a large handle made to be used even with gloves on. A necessary evil sometimes. Either for the sake of the cold or to save your hands. In any case, it also works great with the A400.
The first thing that strikes you when you grab this knife is how light it feels for its size. The second is how well-balanced it is. The centre of gravity is found exactly where it should be, that is, in the middle of the indentation for the index finger. This results in a knife that, despite its large external dimensions, feels lively and quick to work with.
Opening and Lock
On paper and in appearance, the A400 is a flipper knife. That is, it is preferably opened with the flipper tab that sticks up on the back. It is also equipped with a small lumi-dot insert. A detail that usually appears on all ANV folding knives.
In addition, this knife can, of course, be opened with two hands. But it is also possible to use the lock, as all variants of the crossbar lock can be used for opening the knife by pulling back the locking bolt, whereupon the blade is released and can swing freely.
Then there are a couple of probably involuntary opening methods. One is to simply place your thumb against the blade and gently open the knife as if it had a thumb stud or a blade hole. Thanks to ball bearings and a light detent, it works great. But the fact is that the resistance is so light that it is also possible to open the blade with a flick of the wrist.
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| The flipper is not the most efficient I've come across, so it's lucky there are more ways to open the knife. |
Now, the resistance is not so weak that there is any risk of the blade opening involuntarily, but as I said, the resistance can be overcome. This is because when this type of lock is used, it is the resistance that holds the blade in place when the knife is folded and not a detent ball as is usually the case.
As for the speed of the blade, it is not as impressive as the performance when cutting despite the ball bearings. It is certainly possible to use both downward pressure and backward pull to get the blade out using the flipper, but neither of these is particularly fast, and it is possible to fail. The reason is a combination of a heavy blade and the geometry and placement of the tab, which is not optimal for the purpose.
This means that I prefer to use my thumb against the blade side or the lock. But I probably would have done that anyway. The advantage is that there are many ways to open the knife.
ANV calls their interpretation of the now classic Axis lock, Benchmade's patent having expired, the A-lock. This means that the lock belongs to a category that works by squeezing the blade base between a transverse lock bolt and a stop bolt. Simple but effective, and it works well as long as the more or less infamous "omega springs" that hold the bolt in place don't go bust. Some brands have had problems with them breaking over time. However, it's not something I've ever had a problem with and certainly not on this knife either. But it's worth keeping in mind.
To Carry
Everything positive about ergonomics comes back to haunt the knife under this heading. It's hard to have your cake and eat it. More specifically, a handle that measures over fourteen centimetres in length is 17 mm thick and around 30 mm high, translates to a lot of volume.
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| The clip is of the wire type and very stiff. The advantage is that it does not move sideways; the disadvantage is that this, coupled with the small ramp, makes the knife very difficult to put in a pocket. |
The weight, however, is nothing to be scared of as the A400 weighs 137 grams. But the length is noticeable when the knife is put in a pocket. Although it is still nothing against the pattern in the handle, it is enough to give even experienced knife carriers a scare.
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| Well, that much of the pocket is needed for this knife as it measures over fourteen centimetres when folded. |
Especially when combined with a fairly small clip. The clip has the big advantage that it is not in the way at all when holding the knife because the long handle means that the back end ends up outside your grip. Otherwise, that is a common problem with "deep ride" clips. Another advantage is that the wire clip has good tension and thus does not move sideways unnecessarily.
But that feature and the discreet format with relatively little space underneath make it almost impossible to get this knife into a pocket without using two hands. Especially since the ramp is too small for even fairly normal fabric thicknesses. I'm not talking about winter clothes, but regular jeans and slightly thicker work pants.
Here, a slightly larger clip would have been needed, or at least one with a higher ramp and preferably combined with a smoother surface underneath to make the knife easier to both get into and out of a pocket.
As it is, I usually carry this knife in an outer compartment of a bag or backpack.
To Conclude
It's always nice when a product lives up to the descriptions and expectations they raise. It's not uncommon for marketing departments to get their hands on a product and let their imagination run wild. In the knife world, it's a common problem, and as a consumer, you have to try to read between the lines.
Then it's liberating to see a knife that actually lives up to the advertising texts. On the website, ANV Knives writes that "We've captured the unique character of the M200 HARDTASK knife in a robust folding EDC model", and I think they have.
But wait, the description also says "This reliable knife is designed to be carried as an everyday tool (EDC)". That's where my thesis broke. I certainly don't agree with that statement!
The A400HT has been used as an EDC knife, but in many contexts, a 25 cm soot black folding knife is a bit much, so it is complemented by a smaller A200.
Because what we have here is a knife that, first of all, looks like a military knife, large and 99 per cent completely black. In an office environment, someone would probably wonder if you were preparing for a third world war if you pulled it out to cut fruit. So it is definitely too big in general for that purpose, but as I described earlier, the A400 is not particularly easy to carry for several reasons. After all, an EDC knife spends most of its time in your pocket, so that aspect is particularly important in an EDC role.
Then several of the fine details are completely wasted in that role. What exactly do you need a special fire steel notch for in everyday use? And a handle of this calibre is quite wasted if you are going to open a package, cut a piece of tape or cut a string.
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| The A400 is an excellent folding outdoor knife |
What we have here is instead an excellent knife for both professional use, such as military personnel and the like and for mixed outdoor activities. An excellent handle and a robust blade that still cuts really well go a long way. The materials used are also of high quality. In addition, ANV has dared to trust the quality steel used and given the blade good geometry. It is impressive, especially considering what is usually the case when knife manufacturers add "hard"-something to the description.
Then there are small luxurious details that reappear here and there. One is the nicely rounded blade spine, and another is the bright red spacers found in the handle spine. But otherwise, the A400 makes me think more of forests and mountains than city life.
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| An early autumn morning on a camping trip, that's where the ANV Knives A400 HT performs best in my opinion. |
So with that said, the ANV Knives A400 is an excellent folding knife for those who want to replace a smaller fixed blade knife or complement a larger one. It is light and well-balanced, made of well-chosen materials, and the design is well thought out for the purpose. Just don't be fooled by "EDC" unless it includes that you work in a branch that includes a lot of solo work out in the forest.
Specifications:
Length Overall: 248 mm
Length Folded: 142 mm
Weight: 136 g (weighed by me, stated 137g)
Blade Length: 105 mm
Blade Thickness: 3 mm
Blade Steel: Sleipner with a DLC coating, HRC60
Handle Material: G10
Lock: A-lock
Produced by: ANV Knives, made in the Czech Republic
/ J - thinking about camping nights
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