Battle Horse FULT friction folder
Really Old School is New Again
The FULT gives a glimpse of how a friction folder operates.
The sculpted G10 handle is comfortable in hand.
Back during the early 1800s, slip-joint pocket knives — those that stay open when the blade is fully engaged — were highly developed but weren’t always easy to come by in the boonies.
Their predecessor was the friction folder — a simple blade with a lever attached below the tang, sometimes referred to as a rattail, which stood up above the handle when closed. When opened, the rattail rolled out to a flush position on the backside of the handle and was held against it with the thumb. The friction folder is a simple, non-locking folder that uses friction to hold the blade closed, hence the name.
Friction folders have come back in vogue and the Battle Horse Knives FULT is a prime example of one brought up to modern-day standards. The 2-oz. FULT has a 3.8″ handle with comfortable, textured Black G10 scales over stainless steel liners — and if you want to spice it up, it can be had with optional Orange, Coyote Brown and Gray liners.
When closed, the full length (with the lever) is 4.6″. To keep things tidy while in the pocket a black leather pocket slip case is offered as an option. The 2.5″ blade is of 440C stainless done up in a graceful drop-point style.
One particularly nice feature of the FULT design is its opening lever fits flush inside the spine when the blade is fully deployed. On many friction folders the lever sits on top of the spine, which tends to dig into your thumb while using the knife. There’s also a stop pin to keep any blade travel in check once the blade is deployed — another feature not found on knives of this type. The folks at Battle Horse have totally eliminated any blade or lever problems and the handle feels no different from any other folding knife while cutting.
The opening lever or “rattail” disappears into the spine when fully deployed.
Why You’ll Like It
Friction folders are for those who like to carry a unique pocketknife and Battle Horse’s modernized take on the design fills the role to the hilt. The use of stainless steel instead of the high carbon fare used in the company’s Bushcraft knives will help keep the metal finishes corrosion free. Just the fact that Battle Horse took it upon themselves to produce a friction folder deserves kudos in itself. The base price of the FULT folder is an affordable $135. The leather slip case — recommended — adds an additional 10 bucks.
Battle Horse Knives, Ph: (740) 995-9009, https://www.battlehorseknives.com
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