EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Penguin pocket knife is so closely identified with QSP Knife that the brand uses – you guessed it – a penguin on its promotional stickers.
The QSP Penguin is arguably the company’s most well-known and best-selling pocket knife.
It is a well-known everyday carry (EDC) knife with a reputation for being a good “budget” offering in many of its versions.
It also comes in different sizes and with different locking mechanisms.
QSP recently did another upgrade on the Penguin. It is now available with a “glyde lock,” or what many knife makers call a crossbar lock.
The glyde lock is simple. You push down on the lock and it frees up the open blade to fall back into the handle. And to operate the lock, your fingers are safely out of the blade’s path as it closes.
For the past few days, I have had the opportunity to carry around a new Penguin with the company’s glyde lock.
What really stands out is this knife’s action. The blade – a sheepsfoot – rockets out using ambidextrous thumb studs.
The glyde lock allows you to safely close it up using just one hand.
Just super sweet action.
The one I have comes with a 3.06-inch, blacked-out sheepsfoot blade. The handles are OD green and are made out of FRN (fiber-reinforced nylon), sort of a high-impact plastic-type material.
The whole look has an Army vibe.
The FRN handles have diagonal etching on both sides, giving them some extra grippiness.
The lock itself is made out of the same FRN material and matches the rest of the handle.
The blade – a sheepsfoot – is one of my favorite styles. It is just super useful and versatile.
The knife also features a lanyard hole and reversible pocket clip.
Here are some numbers, though these hardly tell the whole story: 7.06 when open, 4 inches when closed and weighs 2.93 ounces.
This knife is a little guy and is so light it virtually disappears in your pocket, but when it is time to use it, it is an EDC beast.
The Penguin with a glyde lock comes in seven different flavors, ranging in price from $49 to $69.
Besides the OD green, the Penguin with glyde lock also comes in black, purple, khaki and “ice cream blue,” all in FRN material.
The two “upper-end” knives come in either G10 with copper foil or G10 with aluminum foil. They are priced at $69 and $66, respectively.
Here is a link to the QSP home page and to the Penguin featured in this column – OD green handles.
QSP tries to live up to its mantra of “quality, service, price.” From what I’ve seen, the brand definitely nails it.
One other factoid that indicates this brand’s quality: They do the manufacturing work for Finch Knife Co., which has a reputation for making innovative modern knives that have a foot in the past.
Here are some YouTube channels I watch and enjoy on pocket knives and EDC gear.
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