Brous Blades Parallax Knife Review

 

When Brous Blades talks about Jason Brous, they say, “Knife making encompasses an amazingly broad spectrum of styles ranging from the purely practical to the whimsical. Most makers getting into the craft tend to start with fairly basic, functional designs and, as their skills develop, get more ambitious and artistic. Jason Brous; however, isn’t like most makers.” He started his efforts in knife making in his early 20s, with the benefit of nearly 10 years of experience in CNC machining. His father owns a shop that specializes in the custom machining of high-precision components, mainly for the medical industry. Jason spent a lot of time in his father’s shop while growing up, and by his id teens was actively helping out with production. His skills and knowledge steadily increased and by the time he was 20 he was a seasoned and very competent machinist. Jason’s interest in knives actually began with art—specifically a style called Bio-mechanical” as practiced by one of his favorite artists, a Brazilian painter and tattooist named Lango. Biomechanical art is a surrealistic style of art that combines elements of machines and robotics with organic animal features.
Intrigued by this style of art and its similarity to many fantasy knives, Jason figured that knife making would be a natural extension of his metalworking skills and an appropriate medium for his artistic ideas. Although he had no specific training in knife making, in 2010 he designed and made his first knife—a fantasy design with a Biomech flavor—and eagerly posted photos of it on several Internet knife forums. Unfortunately for him, his design drew harsh criticism from some all-knowing keyboard commandos. However, fortunately for us, he turned that criticism into fierce determination which ultimately led to his success.

Though persistent trial and error, Jason changed his style of knife design to focus on functional simplicity, while still maintaining a strong artistic signature. His early successes came in the form of a series of stout neck knives with dual finger-hole grips. Fans of these “Silent Soldier” neck knives began asking for other expressions of the design. Since then, Jason has created numerous variations including a clip point version, a tanto version and the very popular folder version called the Silent Soldier Flipper.

Today, we will be going over the Brous Blades Parallax Acid Stonewash flipper knife, with a D2 blade.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this exceptional everyday carry knife is made out of D2 steel. This is a tool steel that is often used in industrial settings. This steel has very high hardness and relatively high toughness, which does make it the perfect choice for a knife steel. Because this still is so much harder than similar steels, it holds its edge much better. Unfortunately, this also makes it exponentially harder to sharpen. In almost all cases, you will require a master sharpener to get a fine edge on this blade. D2 steel is technically not a stainless steel, because it falls just short of the required chromium percentage, but it is still very corrosion resistant. So corrosion resistant that it is actually often referred to as a semi stainless steel. This steel also sports excellent wear resistance. This steel has made its mark in the history of knife steels, because it has been around for over 20 years. All of these characteristics make it the perfect option for your everyday carry blade, because it will be tough enough to take on the tough tasks that you encounter in your day to day life and it is pretty low maintenance. This steel is hard and tough enough that you shouldn’t encounter chipping or breaking very often at all. And, because it sports the acid stonewash finish, this blade looks extremely rugged.

The acid stonewash has a few names that it is called, but it is essentially a darker stonewash than what you are used to. This finish, as well as the classic stonewash finish are created by tumbling the blade in an abrasive material. This finish works to easily hide scratches, while also providing you with a less reflective nature than a brushed or satin finish blade. Surprisingly, there is actually a wide variety of stonewashed finishes due to the variety of abrasive shape, tumbling motion, and even the type of finish the blade has previously had. The acid stonewash is a blade that has had an acid treatment that darkens the blade before it undergoes stonewashing. Not only does it give you a very cool look, it actually enhances the blade’s rust resistance by placing a stable oxide barrier between the steel and the environment. While the regular stonewashed finish is already very low maintenance and already works to preserve the original look of the blade overtime; an acid stonewash finish is like a stonewash finish on steroids. This finish is extremely low maintenance because it will hide the scratches and smudges that a blade accumulates over time. This means that you are going to have to polish the blade less often. And, you have a rugged, well-worn, textured blade. You really can’t go wrong with this finish.

The blade on this knife has been carve into a drop point blade shape. This is just about the most popular blade shape that is used for EDC knives today. Also, the drop point is for sure the most commonly available pocket knife blade type on the market right now. To form the shape, the unsharpened back of the blade follows a long and slight curved downward form its base toward the point. The belly, or edge, follows a similar but slightly more pronounced slope upward toward the point. Because of this shape, the blade has a long and easy to maintain cutting surface and does feature a fairly sharp point. Although, this point is probably not fine enough to have full stabbing or piercing capabilities. This blade shape is so popular for good reason: it is one of the easiest shapes to use and to maintain.

This knife does have a high, hollow grind and plain edge. A hollow grind is one of the most common grinds where a convex hollow is removed from both sides of the edge. It produces a very sharp edge, but being so thin, the edge is going to be more prone to rolling or to damage than some of the other grinds. This grind makes it unsuited to heavy chopping or cutting hard materials. Because it is a plain edge, this knife is going to be able to take on a wide variety of everyday tasks.

The blade itself has been perfectly designed for your next everyday carry blade. It is rugged, strong, tough, and ready to accompany you throughout your life. This blade is not going to let you down when you rely on it.

 

The Handle:
 The handle on the Parallax is made out of titanium. Titanium is extremely durable and tough, and for how sturdy this metal is, it’s crazy lightweight. However, this is also the most expensive common metal that can be used in knife handles. This material offers one of the highest resistances to corrosion and it is not going to bit into your hand as strongly as aluminum would, because titanium doesn’t conduct and retain cold as much as aluminum. This is perfect if you were hoping to use this knife in the colder months, while aluminum would feel too bitter. Even though this material is so tough, it is actually more prone to scratching than stainless steel. You will probably see titanium being advertised as the perfect metal, but it is still for from indestructible, and you have to keep that in mind.

The handle has also been finished with an acid stonewash to match the handle and to give this knife a more unified look. Because of each part of the knife being finished with an acid stonewash, you have a very tough looking knife on your hands.

One of my favorite features about this blade is that the handle and the blade almost look like they are doing the wave. The handle is very curved, just like the blade. In fact, it almost looks like the handle is an upside down drop point. Because of the extreme curves, your grip is going to be secure and comfortable. There is an extremely elongated finger groove to give you a place to rest your fingers comfortably. To keep your fingers safe, this knife does sport a finger guard when the blade is opened. There are a couple of raised portions of the handle to provide you with the grip that is need while going about your everyday tasks.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip has a very slim profile and has been attached for tip up carry only. This clip has also been acid stonewashed and has “Brous Blades” stamped down he length. All of the hardware on this knife also matches blends in, being a dark charcoal. Although the clip is slimmer than some that you would find, it is going to keep your knife very secure inside of your pocket.

 

The Mechanism:

This knife is a flipper knife with a very solid frame lock locking mechanism.

The flipper mechanism is a very straightforward and loved opening mechanism. There is a portion of the blade that juts out of the handle when the blade is closed. This piece of metal looks like a shark’s fin coming out of the handle. You manually pull back on this piece and it flips the knife open until it locks into place with the frame lock. This mechanism is an alternative to the thumb stud and many people love it because once the blade has been opened, the flipper doesn’t get in the way like a stud would. In fact, the flipper actually falls perfectly in place to act as a finger guard. One of the other main benefits of a flipper mechanism versus a thumb stud or hole is that the flipper keeps your fingers out of the way of the blade during the entire opening process. If you are at all worried about keeping your fingers intact, I would highly recommend the flipper mechanism.

The frame lock mechanism operates similarly to a liner lock, except that the lock is a tensioned part of the handle frame with an open channel. When the blade opens, the frame lock moves into the handle opening and locks against the blade. Pushing this piece to the left will release it from its locked position so that you can close the blade.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.75 inches long. The handle on this knife measures in at 5 inches long, with an overall length of 9 inches long. The Parallax weighs in at 4.9 ounces. This knife was also made in the United States of America.

 

Conclusion:

The Brous Blades Parallax flipper features elegant 3-D machined titanium handle scales with an integrated flipper for quick deployment that keeps your fingers safe throughout the entire opening process. This model features Jason Brous’s iconic acid stonewash finish all throughout the knife and the D2 tool steel used on the Parallax offers a drop point profile with a high hollow grind for an incredibly razor sharp edge right from the start. These features make this the perfect knife for your next EDC because the blade is tough enough to take on the unexpected situations, but looks good enough to be a constant accessory. The frame lock design and reinforced steel insert offers a solid lock up–exactly what you would expect from any Brous Blades knife. The ultra-slim profile of the pocket clip is designed for tip-up carry only. This knife is one of a limited run of 250. So come pick up your Brous Blades Acid Stonewash Parallax Flipper Knife with a D2 blade today at BladeOps. You couldn’t ask for a more equipped every day carry knife to accompany you throughout your adventures.