Thanks for a comprehensive review. I just bought one of these. It’s in my mailbox when I get home from work. Was seeing a lot good things said about it and decided to give it a try. I have a couple Civivi’s, a couple WE Knives, a couple Benchmades, but liked these scales and the sheep’s foot blade. Hope mine is as good as yours is.
I bought this knife on a spur of the moment type thing and I love it. Its perfect for me as an EDC blade. Its not ridiculously expensive so I’m not afraid to actually use it at work and to beat it up a little bit. Great knife in my opinion.
I've had 2 of these and 1 of them has good action. The other almost falls shut just under the blade's weight. It's better than most CJRB actions I've had and they run on bearings. Deployment is also great. I would also say that disengagement is among the best in the budget world too. Easy lockbar access, the liner curves out just at the top which makes it feel natural, the jimping works but isn't sharp, and then the blade tang has that little nub added in that allows it to fall on your finger while disengaging. That's a really, really considerate detail that a lot of great knives miss. And again, on mine it's good that nub is there or it would just drop straight on my finger.
2 years later; i have bought multiple identical ones to replace ones ive lost, gifted one to a friend, and gifted one to my father. absolutely insane value for your money
My grandfathers hand forged knives used to have a similar polish to the penguin. How he did the finish was a light pakerisation then polish the steel up to a satin finish it left a degree of etching and a better rust resistance on high carbon steels than standard.
Good vid. I have one of these knives and it's a steal for the price. I love the blue jean style denim micarta. It's something I'd love to see on the newer Buck knives that have micarta. It looks to me that the steel for the QSP Penguin was cut at a transverse angle to the rolling direction of the steel. Maybe someone with a some more knowledge of metallurgy than me could confirm this. If they cut it blade out "against the grain" it would make the tip a lot more prone to breaking, which is less of an issue for a Wharncliffe, but much more of a problem with a drop point or even more with a clip point blade design. Most knives are cut out of the steel parallel to the rolling direction.
Have the blue jean micarta too, i agree with almost everything you said. Lock up is solid, scales are amazing, action is amazing on mine though and I don’t have the puddling on the blade finish. Blade comes razor sharp out of the box and being D2 i rarely need to sharpen it. I can’t recommend it enough honestly and being a sheepsfoot blade it comes across as less threatening i think to most. You get a lot of bang for your buck here and i love it, best budget knife going right now imo. Fit and finish is amazing, better than my Civivi elementum and i think i like it more than my Civivi Elementum and it’s a better budget knife overall I think.
I recently got my first QSP knife, the Pemguin of course, the action on mIne is better than average and ideal for an EDC, The blade not only slices extremely well but is easy to maintain, I cut up a Dozen large Triple bonded corrugated boxes with no effort (I tried a couple of other knives but they jammed easily making it a chore) afterwards a few strokes on a strop and the blade was razor sharp again, also it was very comfortable to use, Yeah it is a cheap knife but it can hold its own against some far more expensive knives
Just got my Penguin a few days ago. I love the denim micarta and the blade. Mine has a serious lock stick issue, and the thumb studs have torn a big pit in my thumb. Hopefully I can get the lock stick issue solved by disassembling it. And I have to file down that thumbstud. Hopefully I didn't get a total lemon.
Just ordered the Knife Center exclusive Penguin in S35VN and black/orange G-10 scales. Lots of value for $64.95. Also have the Pelican in S35VN and black linen micarta, with titanium pocket clip. Excellent knife. If the Penguin is the same quality, I will be very happy.
QSP does super-steel machining so well. They show off with the Penguin 🐧 they have like five variations now and all are great. I want a frag-Ti handled Penguin Plus next. The 154CM. That’s been my favorite recipe steel, stuff is fantastic for a beginner that needs a nicer steel anyways.
I have the brown Micarta version and that’s only because the denim was out of stock. I will be purchasing the denim as well. I 100% love this knife for the price and even if it was a little more I’d still be all in
I have two and love them but not until I filed the overly pointy thumbstuds to be more soft and staightened the clip so the kick up at the end doesn't scratch up on stuff. My detent is wildly good, dropping silkily shut. Love the thickness and high grind of the blade. For a relatively small knife, it feels 'beefy'.
Got one of these recently and have been checking reviews because one of the scales on mine is really polished instead of the normal micarta feel on the opposite scale and I was curious if anyone else had encountered this. Hard to complain on a $29 knife though.
I got the blue jeans Micarta and really enjoy it, I also purchased the brass one. I own some other QSP knives and I am addicted to the hawk knives. I want to get one of the S35v versions of the penguin 's in carbon fiber. Thanks for the great reviews, I just subscribed.
@@senseibrewster I also have the Jean micarta and the brass one. It’s a tough call, they are both very nice looking. The brass one is a little more weighty but that is to be expected. Maybe get the micarta first, because it’s cheaper, to see if you like the knife first. Overall, this is my most used knife at the moment. I use it all the time at work.
I just got the copper handled. All and all nice knife for 50 bucks . I love the heft of the copper. Really nice action opening and closing. I think its one of the best budget priced knives. With that being said, do I feel the need to purchase another in different handle materials? Nah! I'm good with this one.
I'm blown away by my example of this Penguin... Action can be adjusted to make it drop shutty... Because of it, I got 2 of them in Jeans and Brown Micarta...
Starting to get into this whole knives thing and this will probably be my first blade after some cheap nonsense I EDC'd back in the day. I'm a fan of the "thick razor blade" style sheepsfoot thing and was thinking about the Gerber Quadrant, but this knife offers way more bang for my buck and isn't as "toyish" as the Quadrant.
@@cemetarygates2800 I carry a Penguin and the Chevalier kinda feels like a bigger flipper cousin of that. Definitely one of the knives I'm eyeing. But since I got the penguin (and a Ruike P801), my next target is something shaped like a symmetrical drop point. I'm madly in love with overall shape of a different Civivi which has this blade shape. It nicely mixes "cute" and "badass". Can you guess which blade I'm talking about?
Ya know, I have a Bestech Swordfish with the blade puddling. I’m almost positive that it’s from the blade being stored in a bag while it’s oily. But that’s just my guess. But I got the swordfish and it almost immediately made sense to me that might have been the issue. Mine kinda looks cool on the swordfish so I don’t mind it lol.
I think those puddles that you're talking about is the stresses in the ingot as I've done an acid etch on a Civivi Incite and it brought out those a bit and it makes it look really cool but it doesn't affect the blade to my knowledge although I'm sure it will somebody will chime in
Hi JT. I have the Penguin with green micarta scales and do not have any of the “puddles” in the D2 finishing your knife is displaying. That is very odd.
Mine has the same lines in the finish. I am considering getting a few of these to give as Christmas gifts. Did yours have teflon washers too. Mine has 2 bronze washers and 2 paper thin teflon washers.
Yes Jesse Bergunder, my Penguin also has thin Teflon (nylon) washers along with the phosphor bronze washers. I did read somewhere that what we're calling phosphor bronze are actually copper, but I have no idea if that is true or not. Either way, the action on my Penguin is smoooth.
Great little knife, the only complaint besides the blade finish is the thumb stud is a little sharp and will make your thumb raw if u are planning to fidget with this little guy.
Does yours have detent rock when closed? On mine it isn't noticeable when quickly opening with studs, but if you grab near the end of the blade and slowly pull, you can feel some wiggle up and down before it hits and breaks detent ball resistance. I'm not sure if it is big quality issue and problems in the future, but definitely annoying.
I own a jean micarta Penguin and I have to say that it seems you got a semi-lemon at least in two areas. Mine has no "puddles" or any flaws or discoloration in the blade steel, at least not that I can see. As for the action, if I didn't know the Penguin was on PB (copper?) washers, I'd swear it was on bearings. I mean mine has a wonderfully smooth action that is VERY fidget friendly and requires only a SLIGHT shake to close the blade. Judging from my experience with mine, I'd highly recommend the jean micarta Penguin.
What’s up Lenderman! When I got mine, it had some QC issues. I had to exchange it. The replacement is really good. If you’re interested, Blade Banter released a video yesterday showing the upgraded KnivesPlus exclusive in s35. It think the jean micarta version is around $60 and the swirling CF version $10 more.
@@winchesterinc.5643 yeah, the upgraded Penguins are mighty tempting and I'm not gonna say I'm not gonna buy one BUT, there are others out there I'm more focused on. Still, that carbon fiber Penguin looks really fine🤔
@@winchesterinc.5643 went ahead and got the natural Jade G10 scales as well as the carbon fiber ones when I ordered the Solaris. Now I'm just waiting on February to get here.
I got one of these Penguins from Atlantic knives...my first one had lock rock, sent it back and got an exchange without lock rock...mine has way better action than yours, about 200 open and closing broke it in nicely...my lock rock on the first knife wasnt noticeable unless you gripped with a normal grip on the handle and moving the blade with the other hand..I think the grip pressure on the handle/lock bar did something to make the blade rock...not really what I want in a knife...but the replacement is perfect
My qsp penguin is really drop shutty and the action on mine is excellent and watched other videos of there's knifes having good action too maybe you got a bad one
They changed the internal washer system at some point after the initial release, which caused the newer ones to drop shut more nicely. Mine is an older one it seems.
I’m not sure over ever seen a thicker more well done liner on any 3” knife under $100.. you kept saying that. What is your edc?? A tank? They are surprisingly thick scales especially for knives in this bracket.
Yeah, the scales are thick but the liners seemed pretty darn thin to me. Coming from a background of CRKT and Kershaw budget knives, the width of the liner at lockup was noticeably smaller than almost every knive I'd had that wasn't from a gast station. That said, it worked fine, so no big deal.
Thank you for sharing JT!! I don't like d2 steel. I get a gift from a really good Human being, , the Harnds Vanguard, and I used it the first day at work and it has rust on it just from sweat! Just a couple hours. My 14c28n steel has no rust on it after 2 years. Anyway greetings my Friend
Put mineral oil or edci all over the blade. Those are food safe. Will hold off the corrosion. Re apply after heavy use or in time when it wears off. China d2 is not good overall and it's not stainless. Also that specific brand is pretty bad overall.
@@tacticalcenter8658 thanks my Friend. The thing is I used Balistol. Its mineral oil also used for weapons but still corrode. I just hate D2 Steel. Sandvik Steels are my favorite ones. I had also 8cr18mov rust on me. And that's a "Stainless Steel" I wish EDCI would be available here in Europe, Austria. Greetings from Austria
That weird finish on the blade is exactly how the BD1 on my Spyderco Polestar looks. It has those squiggles all over it. Other people report the same thing. It's not a problem, though. I don't think anyone has given an explanation for it.
i accidentally got some oil on my scales while lubricating the action...seems to have stained the micarta a slight brownish color, doesnt look awful i just wish i wouldve been more careful lol
I have the light green Micarta overall I like the knife I have been using it as my dc for a couple weeks my biggest wish would be a flipper tab I prefer those over thumb studs.
Just picked up one of these. Watched videos of disassembly. Looks like it should have 2 bronze washers and 2 Teflon washers. Mine has the 2 Teflon and 4 bronze. Has the denim micarta. Not a fan. It absorbs everything and looks horrible.
The "puddles" is grain segregation. I've never seen it in high alloy stainless or near stainless, but have seen it in 52100 and 5160, but only after an acid etch. It is most likely chromium that did dot dissolve completely during heat treat, meaning it probably needed a longer soak at high temp. With high chrome carbon steels like 52100 I've gotten better performance when the "damask" showed up than when it didn't, not sure how it'd work with a near stainless like D2. Got the QSP EDC ordered and will see how it performs. One thing I like about their design is it looks like something a custom maker would build, not an injection moulded plastic handle, just clean and simple design.
😮Stretch marks😲 Might look good in tight jeans, but once they come off😖 Srsly though, even if I don't care much for the bladeshape, it does look like a good one. I do hope they'll be using that denim micarta on some other models!
The Sitivien ST-106 is one of the best budget knives I've owned. Ganzo are great too, but the ST has linen micarta scales that take a nice color and feel excellent for a 26 dollar knife. Its actually pretty heavy duty as well. The big Chinese budget brands have their work cut out for them (npi)
While a ton of people love this one I’m not one of them. Now if they offered it with a different blade shape.... I owned the Parrot and for the price I thought it was a great knife.
Maybe, but my take on it is really just a reflection of the market as a whole. Sure, other knives might be overpriced, but comparable to the quality of those, this seems like a good deal. However you choose to look at it, this one sells for less than other knives of similar quality.
"Action Ok-ish"? Really? Either you received a bad one or I received an exception. The action on my Penguin is second only to my Skaha II. I actually thought mine had bearings until I watched "Stassa23's" review. Just the slightest movement of my wrist causes the blade on my Penguin to drop shut. Absolutely the best $25 I ever spent on a knife!
I'm with you, Mr. Love. The action on mine is superb. In fact, I bought this knife based on it's reputation as having action comparable to knives costing $250-$300. Out of the box, it was a bit tight, but after opening and closing for a day, the action is super smooth, and dropshutty, better than my Para3, all on bronze washers. Also, the grind is beautiful. Best grind I've ever seen on a budget folder.
I received one yesterday and grinding is awful, it looks like been done by someone drunk to death and blind too. So QC doesn't look to be high standard. disappointing thou
#11. Don't buy a Penguin. My lock bar snapped after 8hrs of use. Getting warranty service from David was excruciating at times. They made me pay for shipping before they would send me a replacement. It shipped today, so we will shall see. l hate buying knives or guns online. Rather pick and choose what l want in person.
You’re gonna have to post some pics to back up this outrageous claim, AND what were you cutting? Did you spend 8hrs trying to pry your way into a car? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say not only is it impossible for a liner lock to “snap” unless you’re doing something real screwy with it... 🧐
@@Stahlwerk88 never cut anything but paper. Just walked around the house flicking it all day inorder to irritate the Mrs. You can not post pics here but l did post shots on CKG FB page and QSP asked for lots of photo too. Lock bar snapped at the frame. The general consensus was a bad heat treat. Looks similar to a MIM part on the inside. Outrageous lmfao. All mechanical devices fail eventually. Some sooner than later. Buy a cheap knife and you get what you pay for.
Naw, my nitpicks were always comparative to standards set by other knives at similar prices. Not sure exactly what I said about this one, but I do know that I've had plenty of better built knives for cheaper. Sure did like that scale, but not enough to keep the knife. Easy come easy go.
Its chinese saturn d2 they cut corners thats why the puddle effect, mine doesnt have it, but i bought this knife and im satisfied with it, i got the red, grey and black carbon fibre scales. Love those denim scales though too
