ZA-PAS Handie fixed blade knife

Some excellent outdoor products are being produced in Poland using materials sourced entirely from within the country. ZA-PAS is a company that exclusively uses Polish suppliers to manufacture high-quality knives that are reasonably priced.

Handie spec
The 4” full-tang blade on this Handie knife is NVM (02) carbon steel, hardened to 58-59 HRC, making it particularly resistant to impact, and at 4.5mm thick, it is totally rigid and robust. The drop point shape and thickness of the back of the blade (over 4mm almost all the way to the tip) make for a very strong design, and in testing, it proved impossible to bend or flex. Four deep lines of jimping on the spine of the knife ensure that your thumb does not slip forward, and your forefinger sits safely in a deep groove in the handle behind a substantial front quillon. The acid stonewash finish makes the blade non-reflective and gives it a really attractive look, but it is important to remember that this type of steel is not rustproof, so it is necessary to dry the knife after use and apply a protective coating when it is stored.

Handie to handle
The G10 fibreglass scales are sandblasted for a better grip and the orange colour ensures that you can find the knife easily if you drop it. The edges of the handle have been left relatively square, with a slight chamfer, and the overall shape keeps it static in your hand, preventing it from rolling when you twist the knife.
The ZA-PAS Handie is supplied with a Kydex sheath that includes a steel mounting plate. This can be mounted on a belt, on the PALS system, or on a Tek-Lok mount. It holds the knife very securely, gripping the quillon tightly, and it will not shake loose when upside down.

An all-purpose knife
The Handie is a very practical ‘off-road’ tool and its strength and sharpness mean that you can use it for a multitude of tasks. When cutting branches or ropes, peeling vegetables, cutting meat, or doing fine precision work, all cuts are very clean with minimal drag. This is one very rigid and strong knife, and you can be sure that it would take a lot of serious abuse to do it any damage. The edge retention is good, and the knife is also easy to sharpen, using either a stone or something like the Lansky sharpening system.
The Handie is great value, and the quality of the materials and the finish on the blade are far more than what you might expect at this price. It is a knife that you can feel comfortable using and abusing in the knowledge that it is up to just about any job, and if you were to mislay it, then you have not lost a fortune.