Surefire Alpha Folding Knife
I received this Surefire knife in a trade recently and really liked it. I have to admit I’ve been wanting one of these for a very long time, but at the price figured that that I’d be better off with another knife since they are pricey knives. Finally decided to pull the trigger since they are such a cool knife and the offer was appealing to me.
I was quite surprised at the size of the knife when I opened the plastic container marked “Surefire Edged Weapons Division”… I had never handled a Steve Ryan custom before so when I saw it I never realized that his knife were so big! I really love the way the knife feels in the hand, with the nice trigger as well as a thumbstud for dual opening options.
One of the problems with opening this knife with the thumbstuds is that the trigger hits my hand on the way. Its quite annoying (and painful!) so I’ve developed a system using both the trigger and thumbstud. The blade steel is S30V Stainless and the entire knife from tip to tail is Hard Annodized black.
The final edge bevel is very unique on this knife. It is only beveled on one side.. forget the Busse assymetrical grind, this one only has one side ground! Maybe this is a Steve Ryan trait? I’m not sure, but it is interesting. Knife is deadly sharp, and pops hairs.
Handle is a sweet black G-10 inlay with a red G-10 revealing the Surefire logo from the laser-cut black G-10. Very grippy with tons of retention. There are two pocket clips.. one on each side. None of this “switch the clip” BS, it works on both sides from the get go… very no-nonsense. I like it.
The knife is serial numbered on the back of the handle, so I presume this knife was made in limited numbers. I know these are quite rare now and out of production, while the current batch of Surefire knives doesn’t strike my fancy. At any rate, if this Surefire knife is a good indicator of the quality of their subsequent products, I say buy them now! This is a great knife albeit a little bit pricey.
Blade Steel: S30V
Blade Length: 4 1/8″
Overall Length: 9″
Handle: 7075 T6 aluminum