EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — One of the coolest and most enjoyable aspects of everyday carry is discovering new gear and new companies that make that gear.
Recently, Shieldon reached out and asked me to look at some of their knives.
A couple of weeks ago, I did a review of their Empoleon knife and thought it was a pretty nice EDC blade especially for the money – around $20 directly from them or on Amazon.
Here is a link to that first article on the Shieldon Empoleon.
Shieldon Rain, left, and Shieldon Bulbasaur on a Junkin Genius hank. Photo by Dave Burge/KTSM
For the past several weeks, I have been carrying two other Shieldon knives, pretty much everyday to see what they can do.
As a refresher, Shieldon is a Chinese company that has been around since 1998.
Let’s take a look at the company’s Bulbasaur knife.
To be honest, this isn’t my usual style, but I came away impressed, with just one misgiving.
This knife comes with green and black G10 (woven fiberglass fabric and epoxy resin) handles that I thought at first were a little flashy. I usually like my knives in earth tones or blue or red at the very most.
But I was won over by this knife on several levels.
It comes with a super-sharp drop point blade with a nice belly for slicing, cutting and most EDC-type tasks around the home and yard.
I’m not an expert on steel types, but this knife is made out of Sandvik 14C28N steel, which has a good reputation for holding an edge and for being tough.
Shieldon Rain, left, and Shieldon Bulbasaur on a Junkin Genius hank. Knives are open with pocket clips showing. Photo by Dave Burge
The action, blade centering and overall craftsmanship are all really nice.
Its liner lock fully engages but is easy to close up.
The blade is 3.66 inches long and its closed length is just under 5 inches, so it is a little bit bigger than my usual carry.
My one concern is the same I had for the Shieldon Empoleon – its pocket clip.
Again, the clip seems a little flimsy and I worry about catching it on something, bending the clip and losing the knife.
The knife did come with a cloth sheath, but the stitching on the back loop that holds it to your belt came undone after just a week of use.
Overall, though, I really liked this knife and look forward to adding it my rotation of knives I carry around.
Here is a link to the Shieldon website.
Here is a link to the Bulbasaur, which is currently listed at $62.99, making it one of Shielon’s higher-priced knives.
The other knife I tested out is the Shieldon Rain.
Shieldon Rain, left, and Shieldon Bulbasaur open on Junkin Genius hank. Photo by Dave Burge/KTSM
This knife has beautiful blue micarta handles (layers of paper, linen, canvas, or other fabrics sealed with resin) and a Wharncliffe or sheepfoot-style blade. The blade itself is super slicey and for all intents and purposes, this looks like it would be an awesome knife to use as an everyday carry.
Normally, this would be right in my comfort zone. I was super excited to try it out, but found that its nested liner lock would stick and I mean stick really bad.
At times, the locking mechanism would stick so much that I had to use two hands to close the knife back up.
The gentleman I have been dealing with at Shieldon offered to have the knife repaired.
Since it was a freebie that was sent to me to review, I politely declined.
Instead, I learned that Shieldon offers a two-year warranty on most of its knives and has a person in the United States who deals with issues involving quality control and potential repairs.
Here is a link to the Rain. It currently lists for $52.49 on the Shieldon website, marked down from $74.99.
Overall, I enjoyed checking out these Shieldon knives and felt like their representative really listened to my feedback on them.
I now have this company on my radar and look forward to seeing what they have to offer in the future.
Here is a list of YouTube channels on EDC gear that I enjoy:
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