Short Review of a Hartkopf Solingen traditional pen knife

Testing out the Hartkopf Solingen pen knife. Frighteningly sharp out of the box, ace for feathersticking, with a really secure backlock, lovely, beautiful ebony handle with nickle silver bolster and badge. Comes with a sharp spine. Blade is 79x2,4 mm, full flat grind to almost zero (0,3 above the edge). Steel is 1.4116 , full quench, hardness 56-58 HRC (claimed). After an hour of carving aged maple and chestnut it still shaved. The handle is a bit small if you really apply force, but fact is, you do not need to, because it is just so sharp. The knife obviously is not a bushcraft knife and I would not do silly stuff like batoning with it, of course. But it is really light and laser sharp, so chance is, you will have it on you. It is also really beautiful and doesn't scream "tactical" on top of its lungs. It is a grampa knife in the best sense of the word. Whittling, snacking, even lighting a fire or using it for a good steak or good products for a "casse-crôute", you name it. I do not think it will cause you any problems with the police, too. It is perfectly legal in Germany and, being that beautiful, it is not the typical theatre of social warfare knife, either. I keep it in the leather pouch in my pocket in order not to scratch the beautiful scales anyway. If you understand the concept of a pocket knife, I can only recommend it. What it is not, is a sharpened prybar, but it doesn't claim to be in the first place. Not that cheap, but worth the money. You might want to check several pieces for quality, though, because given they are all handcrafted, there are huge differences in quality. If you can do that, you get an awesome everyday companion.