I’m a big fan of a curved blade, like that of a karambit – especially for EDC as a backup. The martial art Kali makes heavy use of them but even for the person untrained in Kali, it’s a great tool.
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Bastinelli Knives’ tagline is “Tactical Art” and I’d have to agree. This blade is a piece of art. It’s elegant, well balanced, and sharp as a razor. The Kalinou is a formidable blade to say the least.
This aggresively hawkbilled knife has a blade of 3 inches, but a cutting surface of 2.75″ that turns pretty much any semisolid into a nothing more than a pad of butter: it’s SHARP. With an overall length of 5.5 inches it can be concealed easily, and the high quality Kydex sheath (included) with rivets afford you multiple mounting options: IWB, OWB, small of the back, you name it.
The blade itself is made up of N690CO Stainless that is .12″ thick, and the handle is made of Black G10. The fingerloop at the end is comfortable and not too big, and allows you to flip the blade in a traditional Kali sensed. However, you don’t have much purchase to make cuts when it’s extended, so it’s more of a rention device.
In my opinion, any backup knife should have a retention hole, as the last thing you want to drop is your back up weapon, and it allows for quick deployment.
Speaking of deployment, that’s my singular issue with this otherwise awesome blade. The geometry of the blade and sheath mean that you have to accimate to how you draw it. Given the tight tolerances around the handle and sheath – which I appreciate as it stay secure during the day – if you dont draw with the same curce of the blade, you dig into the kydex.
Nothing major, but that will gouge out the kydex eventually – perhaps leaded to a loosening of the retention – but that’s just speculation. Other than that, this blade is amazing all around.
Pros, what we like: A piece of artwork that is uber-sharp, made it Italy, and comes with a versatile and sturdy sheath that allows you to load this out any way you like – what’s not to like?
Cons, what we don’t like: Just a ding for the adjustments you need to make in order to unsheath it – but we’re getting granular with that.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Castiglione lives in Atlanta, and is an avid outdoorsman and competitive shooter.
Wher-abouts include getting after it in his garage gym, practicing martial arts, hitting the trails, or running CrossFit and Strongman competitions for his non-profit, Barbells for Bullies, which holds fundraiser fitness competitions dedicated to aiding Bully breed rescues, dog rescues, or other non-profits with similar missions.
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