I chuckled to myself when I found the Band-Aid™ packed with the knife. But when I checked the edge on the Undertaker, I could see why they included it. This is one wicked sharp knife.
A couple of months ago, Finch Knife Company sent me a few knives to check out. I was passingly familiar with Finch, and I was eager to get my hands on some of their blades. The Undertaker caught my eye right away.
What’s In the Box?
In addition to the knife and the aforementioned Band-Aid, there were a couple of stickers, a warranty card, and a little piece of metal with a screw. That last one took me a bit to figure out. We’ll get to it in a minute.
The Undertaker is available in several different handle materials, including carbon fiber and micarta. The one I have is what they’re calling Sapphire micarta. The S35VN steel blade is 3.0 inches long, with a 2.75-inch cutting edge and a 1.0-inch maximum height.
The handle is 4.0 inches, giving the knife a total overall length of 7.0 inches. One of the reasons the Undertaker jumped out at me is the handle shape. It’s about an inch high at the tail end, tapering to 0.75-inch at the narrowest before ramping back up a bit.
The Undertaker weighs 4.0 ounces. It’s not a ridiculously heavy knife, but there is a solidity to it, which I find appealing. It doesn’t feel flimsy or cheaply made. The pocket clip isn’t reversible, but it is removable.
That’s where that little bit of metal I mentioned earlier comes into play. It’s meant to cover the spot where the pocket clip attaches, giving the knife a smooth and finished look. I’ve not run across this before and felt it was a very nice touch.
This is a flipper-style knife. There is an integrated liner bolster lock to keep the blade in place once it’s been opened. When the lock is released, the blade easily swings closed.
How Does It Perform?
Let’s start with what I like about the Undertaker. It’s an incredible slicer. It has a thin blade, and the geometry is on point. Paper, fruit, boxes, everything parted cleanly and easily when the razor-sharp edge was applied. S35VN is a great steel for pocket knives.
The blade deploys very fast with the flipper. Once locked in place, there is no wiggle whatsoever. The balance point is right about where the bolster meets the micarta scales.
The Undertaker’s pocket clip keeps the knife secure without being awkward when you pull it free. And I really like that they included a cover for the handle if you decide you want to remove the clip.
But I found the handle to be a little difficult to work with. The tail-end corners tended to dig into my palm. Now, I wear a L/XL glove, so someone with smaller hands might not have that issue. But it definitely detracted from my experience with the Undertaker.
I also wish the liner lock would engage a little more of the blade. While I didn’t experience any failure with the lock, I’d feel more confident if there was just a bit more liner involved with that lock. That said, no knife lock should ever be completely trusted.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I like the Undertaker. It’s a gorgeous knife, especially in this Sapphire micarta. It was hair-splitting sharp right out of the box. The knife is great for quick jobs, but I’d not want to spend long periods of time working with it. I wish the handle were either a bit longer or that the end corners were rounded just a touch. Either of those would bump the grade from a B to an A+ in my book.
Find the Undertaker at Finch Knife Co. or DLT Trading.
