Two Months with the James Brand Folsom

Brand: The James Brand
Model: Folsom
Specs:

• Blade: Carpenter CTS-BD1
• Scales: G10
• Blade Shape: Drop Point
• Lock Type: Liner Lock
• Carry Style: Tip-Up
• Clip: 416 Stainless Steel
• Hardware: 416 Stainless Steel
• Spacer: Aluminum
• Washers: Phosphor Bronze
• Blade Length: 2.75"
• Handle Length/Closed Length: 4.00"
• Handle Thickness: 0.39"
• Weight: 3.4 oz

My girlfriend and I spent June and July and half of August in an Airbnb on the Gulf Coast of Florida. We found a cheap little spot in Port Charlotte, FL. It was wonderful. We had our own space for the first time. We were a short distance from quiet beaches. We had central air. We had zero good knives. One of the two knives left in the knife block lost a battle with a vegan sausage casing. The other had a cracked blade. Our peelers wilted at eggplant skin. 

When the opportunity presented itself to give the James Brand Folsom a spin around the block, I eagerly accepted. It’s a very handsome liner-lock with G10 scales and a 2.75” blade. Everything about the Folsom feels very well manufactured. Everything is tightened perfectly. The liner lock snaps into place securely. There is no play at all, even after months of heavy use.

My girlfriend says she doesn’t like knives and initially didn’t trust the idea of a liner lock. Two days later, it had earned the moniker, “the knife” – as if we only had one. “Where’s the knife?” she’d say meaning explicitly the James Brand Folsom. We used it for almost everything. Brought it camping and hiking, broke down cardboard boxes, trimmed fat from steaks, cut razor-thin lemon wheels. We particularly loved the fat belly of the blade for crushing and mincing garlic.

The Folsom feels very comfortable in-hand. The jimping on the liner lock and the blade’s spine and the G10 scales made for a secure grip.

Different steels have different properties, but often the better a knife holds its blade the harder it is to sharpen. Carpenter CTS-BD1 steel has pretty good edge retention and sharpens very easily. For this reason, the Folsom would make a great first knife for someone who is looking for something long-term but is new to blade sharpening. The black oxide blade coating offers some further corrosion resistance. The coating held up perfectly through use but chipped away during sharpening, which I don’t mind personally but something to keep in mind if you’re wedded to the sleek pristine black look.

Shop the James Brand here.