Zero Tolerance 0004BLK Messer

I bought this knife after watching a positive review online. I probably shouldn’t have. The knife is very well made, as is the sheath. For once, here is an American knife not made from simple 1095 steel, but coated high end steel. I also like the sheath for being leather and offering excellent retention. That said, the choil makes no sense in a knife of this size. If held in the normal grip around the handle, the cutting edge is too far away from the wrist. The forward grip is fine: safe and offering excellent control over fine work and power cuts, but a reverse grip is impossible except around the handle. If held on the choil it is a fine small knife - but awkward to use in anything but a choking up grip. It’s impossible (for me) not to think this would have been a much better knife without the choil. In the end, an interesting (in the sense of weird) addition to the collection, rather than a knife I will wind up using a lot.