It is noticeable that I have been in a "Micarta period," as several knives with that handle material have been acquired recently. This version of Unicorn is no exception. This knife features a greenish-brown color.
With this knife, QSP has released a model that follows several current trends quite well. I am talking about the opening methods and the lock. Let's see what that means in concrete terms!
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| QSP Unicorn |
Some of QSP's models come in many variants, but not the Unicorn. You can choose between the Micarta presented here or a two-tone G10. Then, the choice is between a very loud lime green accent color or a more discreet purple.
The three handle variants can be combined with a black blade if you so prefer.
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| Unicorn is a knife whose design is dominated by one specific element, there are holes in both the handle and blade |
Short version: QSP Unicorn, a knife whose appearance is dominated by holes and otherwise follows several modern trends for folding knives
Blade
A knife named after a unicorn must be somewhat unique. This applies especially to the horn, one must assume. Here, QSP has chosen a knife blade with a straight back. That is not the most common on pocket knives today. The blade type has pros and cons but is not as all-round focused as some other variants. Much of that stems from the sweeping big belly that ensues.
In addition to the shape, there are a couple of other details that stand out. One is of course the blade hole and the other is the partial false edge. It starts in front of the hole but ends before the tip. Thus, it is an aesthetic addition. That it ends the way it does reinforces the point.
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| The straight blade shape is not quite common on EDC knives today |
They claim that the blade is 83mm but I end up with 80mm no matter how I measure. The height is 26.5 mm and the stock thickness is three millimeters. Together with the steep belly, it makes the blade almost rectangular. The grind is flat and high. In principle, the blade is "FFG" or fully flat ground. Behind the edge, the Unicorn is 0.6 mm thick, which is a lot.
The steel used is the common Sandvik 14C28N. Steel which I often point out is one of my favorite materials among those that cannot be counted in the "super steel" category. By that, I mean that this steel largely behaves like, for example, an S30V with a slightly lower edge holding capacity.
This steel can otherwise handle some abuse without chipping from the edge, rather the edge rolls in that case so it is not fragile. It is also easy to sharpen and maintain.
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| The knife is exceptionally discreetly marked, but those with good eyesight can read that the blade is made of 14C28N |
Once put to work the Unicorn is, unfortunately, a "meh" knife for me. Some of it has to do with personal preference. Then it is mainly the location of the tip that is not appreciated. If boxes are to be opened, for example, you have to angle your wrist significantly to be able to use the tip. The alternative is to turn the knife upside down, of course.
The advantage of this shape is that the blade is easier to use against, for example, cutting boards if desired. But my biggest objection to this particular blade is that it is so thick behind the edge. It gives a steep secondary edge which, despite decent sharpness from the factory, does not cut as well as it should with this tall blade combined with a wide bevel.
It's not that the Unicorn doesn't cut at all but just not as good as I expected. This applies to paper materials such as cardboard, foodstuffs, and plastics of various kinds. But of course, the edge will be a little stronger compared to if it had been thinned out. But it's a weakening I'm happy to take.
Handle
Unicorn does not offer any surprises in terms of construction, but some details. This particular design has sides in Micarta as already mentioned in the introduction. They have also been given some love and care. Certainly, the sides are flat and not curved, but the edges have been beveled all around and polished sympathetically.
Then there is a pattern that frames the main design element of this handle.
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| The handle is characterized by a certain blockiness, the Micarta sides and the three large holes |
I'm talking about the three substantial holes found in the middle of the sides. They extend all the way through the handle, which means that in addition to boosting the appearance, they lighten both the sides and the frame.
It is polished steel and attached at two points in addition to the pivot point and in this case the locking mechanism. Otherwise, the knife is open in the back, which also keeps the weight down. As usual, the sizes are T6 for the screws in the handle and the clip, and a slightly more substantial T8 is found in the pivot screw, which of course can be adjusted.
QSP chooses to place the logo on the screw head on the presentation side, which is a good solution, especially as the screw is D-shaped, which means that it does not spin if you want to tighten it or disassemble the knife.
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| The back is open and two hourglass-shaped spacers are found here |
The handle is 108 mm long and just over nine centimeters of that can be gripped. That is, what is found behind the finger guard which consists of the front part of the handle reinforced by the flipper tab.
The thickness is 12.6 mm, which together with the other dimensions and a fairly box-like exterior gives a full handle. Especially as the height goes from about 22 mm as a minimum to 28 mm at the stern.
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| The Unicorn is well-balanced thanks to the holes but the handle never became a personal favorite |
It could be hunky-dory if it weren't for a couple of things that are not appreciated. One of them is that the handle in my hand feels a little too square somehow. It should be pointed out that it has nothing to do with the actual shape. There are knives that pull even more in that direction without feeling like it, even among QSP's models. There is something about the proportions that haunts the knife.
But mainly it's the clip that messes with my grip anyway. It already starts in a standard hammer grip as the clip cuts into the hand directly. Something that actually decreases if you press a little harder when working with the knife. When the knife rotates in the hand, the clip ends up closer to the fingers instead, which is preferable.
Unfortunately, it gets even worse with a saber grip. Then the corner of the clip ends up directly against the hand and the tip also against the palm. It is possible to adjust the grip slightly to reduce the discomfort, but it cannot be removed completely. Not nice at all!
Opening and Lock
It is in this area that the trendy details mentioned in the introduction are found. First up is the opening, which in the name of consistency is double. Or triple depending on how you look at it. The flipper tab is of course there. Then I briefly mentioned the hole in the blade, which is method number two. The third follows from the lock type and simply means that you hold down the lock button and the blade swings freely. But don't tell any legislators as that makes all knives of this type "gravity knives".
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| The knife can be opened in several ways, but the flipper is the one that dominates |
Then, the knife can always be opened with two hands, of course. As for how well the different ways work, there are mixed ratings. If we start with the most obvious, the flipper, the function is decent. Like many other brands, QSP has moved towards reducing the size of its flipper tabs. It is a good trend but requires well-thought-out geometry because the leverage will be reduced. There are no problems in this case. Especially not as the blade runs on ball bearings and is quite light. The speed thus becomes satisfying. Less good is that the edges of the flipper are rounded and the grooves found there are a little too polished, which means that from time to time I miss when I open the knife.
The two-hand opening is not much to dwell on. There is a piece of blade and a blade hole to pinch so there is no problem.
Speaking of blade holes, it is one of the less successful details of the knife. It barely works at all as an opening method while being too large to exist purely for decorative reasons. Possibly it can be used if you have very narrow thumbs and long nails.
There are several faults with this blade hole. To begin with, it is narrow and sits too close to the handle, which means that there is not much to hit to begin with. That characteristic is significantly enhanced by the thick handle sides, which are also not beveled for ease of access. In fact, it's so bad that the edges instead hide part of the already narrow hole. To add to the burden, the edges are also nicely chamfered. Elegant yes, but that means they become slippery.
So if you are to be able to use the hole at all, you have to put the knife completely flat on its side in your hand press your thumb straight down towards the hole, jam the soft parts of the tip of the thumb in the hole and then try to make a semi-circular movement with your finger. It becomes somewhat easier if you learn to aim at the back of the hole. However, it is not intuitive. It can be used with a flick of the finger from the back of the handle, but the resistance in the lock is a bit too great for that. So even there you sometimes miss.
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| The blade hole is a bit too rounded, narrow, and partially obscured to be good |
If the ways to open the knife were so-so, the lock and closing the knife is all the better. This is a button lock as stated and as such it works great. The blade sits as it should without movement in the open position. The button is also reasonably easy to access while sitting so deep that there is no risk of the lock accidentally releasing.
The ball bearings allow the blade to move freely when the lock is released, making it easy to close the Unicorn. Thus, this is an excellent lock. I like the lock type in general and this is a good representative.
To Carry
Even in a pocket, the Unicorn is a typical medium knife. It is neither exceptionally good nor bad in any way. What disqualifies it from being at the top is the volume. The knife is somewhat rectangular when folded and measures three centimeters in height. Except where the fin is found, there we end up at 36 mm. It's approaching Spyderco levels, which is to say, not good. If you add the thickness of 12.5 mm and the length of over a decimeter, you will understand why I am talking about volume.
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| The Unicorn has a very shiny deep ride-type pocket clip |
On the positive side, however, is the weight. It's a relatively low 115 grams. Okay, it's not the lightest either, but we have a quite wide blade that measures eight centimeters in length to take into account.
In addition, the sides are kind to fabric and not so coarse that they make it difficult to pull or put the knife away.
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| The clip is neatly attached to a recess on the side of the handle. |
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| Two things are visible here. Partly the neat solution with a plate to cover the slot not used by the clip and partly the nasty corner of the clip that hurts the hand |
The clip is one of QSP's simpler standard clips. A spring steel clip with good tension, an ok ramp, and plenty of space underneath. It is attached with two screws, one of which also helps hold the handle together. The clip is also recessed in the side of the handle, which means that it does not move sideways at all, while at the same time, there is more space for fabric. A very good way to solve that problem.
Unfortunately, there are also negative aspects. The fact that no part of the handle is visible when the knife is carried in the pocket also means that the clip is very annoying to grip. The location combined with the shape of the handle is the culprit. There is simply a corner that sticks out from the handle and it's not nice to hold around as mentioned before.
To Conclude
Unicorn is one of those few models from QSP that didn't really win my heart. It is strange since all the basic conditions are there. As usual with knives from this company, it's very well-built. On that point, I have no negative objections at all.
That characteristic manifests itself in several different ways. The micarta, which is a favorite material by the way, is of excellent quality and it is well treated. Both shaped and polished as it should be. "Speed holes", as those decorative holes in the handle are sometimes called, can be viewed differently. But here they are nicely done and of course, they reduce the total weight. The steel is also one of my favorites in this price range.
The lock is of high standard and works perfectly. Even the flipper does its job in a perhaps not perfect but still capable way.
Speaking about looks, the Unicorn doesn't disappoint in that area either. In other words, only positive things so far. So why don't I like the knife?
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| Unicorn is an EDC knife that is actually somewhat larger than you might first think |
The reasons are found partly in a personal preference and partly in two design shortcomings.
Namely, I've come to realize that I'm not particularly fond of straight blades, at least not on my EDC knives, for several reasons. Firstly, the tip is found very far up in relation to the knife's supposed center line. This means that to use it, you must either turn the knife upside down or angle your wrist very much. Then the blade shape gives a very distinct belly. A shape I don't have much use for daily. It performs best on hunting or skinning knives or other applications where you benefit greatly from sweeping long cuts.
But then we come to two areas that QSP normally never misses. The first, mentioned above, is that the blade hole does not work very well at all. It is difficult to reach, narrow, and partially obscured. It also happens to be my favorite way along with thumb studs to open a knife. Therefore I react strongly when they are not properly executed.
The second point is of course the clip and its placement. Someone with significantly smaller hands than me may avoid the discomfort it causes. If the whole hand fits on the handle, I think the problem disappears. But as it is now, it is not comfortable in my hand.
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| With a straight blade that is slightly thicker behind the edge and a bit wider handle, the Unicorn is also suitable for outdoor use |
With
Unicorn,
QSP has nevertheless achieved a solid build. If you have smaller hands and prefer a knife with multiple opening methods but value flipper opening and a good button lock, this might be the knife for you. The choice of materials and build quality are good, and the slightly more robust appearance and blade shape make it suitable for outdoor activities as well.
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QSP Knife
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Specifications:
Length Overall: 191 mm
Length Closed: 108 mm
Weight: 115 g
Blade Length: 83 mm
Blade Thickness: 3 mm
Blade Steel: 14C28N
Handle Material: Micarta
Lock: Button lock
Produced by: QSP, made in China
/ J - looking for my cup of Tea
