Kirby Lambert Justice Folder Desert Ironwood
My latest Kirby Folder is another fantastic peice, and being a design that he introduced at the 2009 CKG show, not too many people own one yet. This is his Justice folder, in Desert Ironwood burl with front and rear carbon fiber bolsters. This is a huge folder!
The Justice has a 4″ S30V blade, with a hollow ground main edge and flat ground swedge. The liners and blade on this model are extremely thick. In fact, the liners are so thick that this knife is really a framelock with bolsters and handle material overlays.
I’ve been collecting Kirby’s knives ever since he starting making them, and his knives have always been top notch. I have noticed his last couple peices are even more smooth than before, however. He is actually getting better, which is good to see. I’ve seen some makers actually get worse over time, whether it’s from cutting corners or just old age. Kirby is a young guy so obviously age wouldn’t be an issue for him.
The Desert Ironwood burl that he used on the knife he told me was picked up at a Knife Show and he had searched through a big pile of the stuff at one of the vendors and found a few great peices. He was saving it for a special project.. and I got lucky, cuz this is some beautifully figured wood! He even used some of the wood to inlay the dual thumbstuds.
Like all Kirby’s knives, the Justice has fantastic ergonomics. The normal Justice folder has an exposed butt with inlaid ball bearings, but because of the rear bolsters that I requested on this model there is no exposed butt. The knife opens very nicely with a resounding thwack when the lockbar is engaged too.. always a nice bonus.
I was chatting with Kirby about his knives and I only realized now how much effort he puts into making a knife that is very reliable that doesn’t need to be serviced. He really puts a lot of emphasis on making a knife that never has to be returned because of defects or wear. I guess one of the things I’ve never really taken into account is wear from use. I don’t hard use my knives so I will rarely have to return a knife for repair, but many users may have this problem.
In conclusion, the Justice is a great new folder from Kirby, with even more size and thickness that he has had in the past. When speaking to him at the show, he indicated that his next folder will probably be a smaller folder since he has only made large folders in the last little while. This will be a welcome change as I need some smaller folders from Kirby!
Specs:
Blade Length: 4″
Overall Length: 9 1/2″
Blade Steel: CPM S30V
Handle Material: Desert Ironwood
Bolsters: Carbon Fiber
Video Review:
March 29th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
It really is a big (emphasis on the BIG!) beauty. Kirby really does some excellent work with his folders. I was lucky enough to pick up one of the other two Justices that he had on diplay at the show (the one with carbon fiber bolsters and black G-10 handles with the luminescent insert). Congratulations on the great acquisition!
March 29th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
So you were the one that picked that one up! I left Kirby’s table after chatting with him and then came back around noon, and someone had bought it just prior to that! That was a nice folder. Congrats ont he pick up!