New Knives - Acejet Merlin Kiridashi

 Acejet is not an unfamiliar name here on the blog. Last time it happened, it was the Achilles model that was reviewed. I had a couple of objections to it, and they were mainly based on the size and the design of the tip. For some reason I don't know, Acejet has been quite modest when it came to the length of this type of knife. They haven't been that many in number either. First up were the Spinner Bowie and Maximus, closely followed by the aforementioned Achilles.

On the No Spin side, they have always been big with well-known models like Stinger, Excalibur and several variants of Raven, among others. In addition, they have added several variants of Bo-Shuriken to the catalogue

Acejet

But now Acejet has gone big and is also focusing on knives for rotational throwing. It is a significant expansion of the range. We are talking about fifteen new models, which are also available in both Spinner editions and regular versions, and in several different lengths. This gives a total of around fifty new variants.

The knives come wrapped in a Bandana as usual. Also included is a certificate of authenticity and a pair of playing cards with the Acejets logo.

My first encounter with these knives was this one called Merlin Kiridashi. 

Acejet manufactures all of its knives in Bohemia, a place not only known for its crystal glass but also for strong traditions in industry and technology. The material used in these knives, like most Acejet products, is a Czech spring steel called 14260. It has proven to be an excellent choice as it lasts very well. Should an accident nevertheless occur, Acejet has excellent guarantees.

Acejet Merlin Kiridashi

In terms of appearance, both the Merlin Kiridashi and its sister model, the Kiridashi, are quite extreme. They have features of both kitchen knives and daggers with long, thin blades.

The Merlin Kiridashi is available in two lengths, of which this is the longer, 14" or 35.5 cm. The thickness is 6 mm, and this gives a total weight of 330 g. It must be admitted that it feels lighter than when you first hold it in your hand. The balance is otherwise neutral.

The distinctive appearance gives me an idea of ​​how it might behave. For example, the thickness together with the really long and narrow tip is an excellent basis for brutal penetration, poor targets!

In addition, I wonder how the special handle works in practice. It has something of a pistol grip character, as it is usually called in folding knife circles. This means that it is curved in relation to the knife's intended centerline. What it can contribute in this context is that it provides an extra "kick" that enhances the rotation when thrown from the handle. The question is how much and how it affects the knife's properties. Another interesting question is whether there is a big difference between the feeling when thrown from the blade and the handle. They look quite different.

I intend to discuss that and much more in an upcoming review!

Acejet Official

/ J - agog

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New Knives - Acejet Achilles Vintage Shadow

They say the third time's a charm. It remains to be seen if this is the best Acejet has released when it comes to knives for rotational throwing. Namely, it is their third model, together with Spinner Bowie, which was first out, and Maximus, which was released around the same time as this one. As the title says, it's called Achilles Vintage.

This model is available in three basic versions: Achilles, Achilles Spinner, and Achilles Vintage. The addition "Vintage" means that the knife has a leather-wrapped handle. It is available in three colors: white, as here, or black or brown.

Then there was another suffix to the name, and it's something I've featured before on my Raven IIs: "Shadow Steel." That's Acejet's name for this dark, slightly purple tone on the steel. It is not quite as black as some pictures make it appear. As I told you before, I'm a bit torn about it. It's pretty, especially when paired with a white handle like this, but the question is, how practical is it?

Acejet Achilles Vintage

The appearance is quite striking. Aside from the color combination, it's a dagger. Personally, I'm still torn between whether I primarily prefer that type of knife or Bowie knives for rotational throwing. Both types are represented among my competition knives.

In addition to color and shape, Achilles is remarkably thick, a whopping 8 mm. Even that is eye-catching.  A stock thickness of 5 or 6 mm is more common for this type of throwing knife. Otherwise, the knives tend to be too heavy.

Here, that problem has been solved in two ways. Firstly, the knives are quite small. They measure 30.5 cm in length, which is 12". A minimum measurement in some competition contexts. There are also rumors of a 13" variant, which is not available at the moment, however. The width is a maximum of 35 mm just before the finger guard and at the widest part of the handle including the leather. The finger guard or rather what symbolizes one is 43 mm wide.

The second is that the blade has a large cutout which is also reflected in the shape of the handle. It is through the latter that the leather is wrapped. 

The Shadow Steel version looks great with a white leather handle

A bit annoying is that under "full specifications" on the website, one of the most important measurements is not included, namely weight. It just says "Thanks to the holes in the handle and the blade, the ideal weight for long training sessions was achieved." That's something I'm happy to decide for myself, thanks!

Incidentally, the weight per knife is 325 grams according to my scale. To be honest, it is too little to be optimal for a rotational knife, in my opinion. Achilles really feels very light when you play with it a bit. It will be interesting to see if my first impressions hold even after the knife has been properly tested. Namely, I have my suspicions about certain proportions and how they might behave.

The material is Acejet's usual 14260 spring steel. Here transformed into "Shadow Steel". That said, it's nice, especially paired with a bright leather handle. But it has a tendency not to be seen in leaves and grass and in addition wears away with a lot of use. However, I fell for the look in this case.

I intend to come back to this knife in a couple of ways. Both in some form of "throwing report" with some film clips and in a full-fledged review, of course!

Acejet Knives

/ J - the real knife-throwing chef

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