Marbles Bushy MR309

My other review this month is for a knife costing £300, so it’s time to come down to earth, with a bump. I needed a cheap work knife, it had to be locking, be bright orange in colour, so I could see it if I dropped it, have a lanyard hole and a pouch to keep it on my belt. A tough set of features to find in a knife really. Heinne Haynes has a lot of knives to choose from and I was amazed to find the exact specification for £10.95, yes that’s five pence under eleven quid!

The Marbles Bushy ticked all of the boxes on my wish list. It has an Orange synthetic handle made out of tough FRN material. It comes in a black nylon press stud fastening belt pouch. It has a 4mm lanyard hole and as we have seen from the price, it’s cheap. The locking system on the Bushy is the traditional lock back seen on many American made folding knives. On the Bushy, it locks out with a satisfying snap and feels sturdy in use. To unlock, the handle has a cut-out on the back to allow the spacer/locking bar to be pushed down and the blade returned to the handle. Below the curved cut out on the left hand side of the handle is the ‘Marble’s’ logo and the flat surface of each side of the handle has a brick pattern for added grip. There are two finger grooves in the front of the handle, then a wider one at the back for your ring and pinky finger; the handle is almost 130mm long, so it’s got a lot to get hold of, I found it very comfortable indeed.

Living on the edge

Getting on to the blade, it’s surgical stainless steel and a tad under 100mm long with a clip point end. It is arm hair shaving sharp (don’t try this at home!), for cutting and slicing stuff it’s very good. The black nylon pouch has a single press stud fastener and it can be carried vertically or horizontally, as there are two sets of loops on the back — neat. Also, the Marbles logo is picked out in orange stitching to match the handle on the flap. The Bushy is also very light, thanks to its FRN handle, a lot of lock back knives are wood/ brass in construction and weigh a lot. If you are looking for a lightweight camping knife it’s worth a look, the orange colour of the handle means you will not lose it in the grass either. I have fitted a neat accessory, available from HH. It’s a Kwik Thumb Stud to enable knives with just thumb nicks in the blade to be opened one handed, the stainless steel one to match the blade is only £6.95 and transforms the use of the knife. So, the Marbles Bushy is fantastic back up/work knife you will not be afraid to lose or damage, cheap enough to buy two. The Marbles brand has a lot to offer the real world EDCer.

Many thanks again to Bruce and Richard at HH.