Designed by Ben Petersen, the Banter is made to be the perfect EDC knife, after all, Ben Peterson has handled a lot of knives in his career, and we think it's spot on. Completely unassuming in design, yet perfectly practical in use.
After a couple months of testing/use, we are really enjoying what this knife has to offer. Starting with the design, the Banter looks non threatening - which from a visual stand point lends itself to a good daily carry, not to mention it is just plain good looking anyway. The blade is razor sharp right out of the box, shaving hairs and cleanly slicing paper effortlessly.
The S35VN has incredible edge retention, I simply put mine on a leather strop about once per week for a minute and I've managed to retain a perfect, shaver sharp polished edge, even with daily use.
There's a deep carry pocket clip so it sits nicely/well hidden in the pocket. The clip is thick and solid, and clips to your clothing securely. The profile of the knife while folded really feels good in the pocket, its sort of flat and wide, and just seems to sit so comfortably.
The textured G10 scales offer more then enough grip, and the handle shape feels perfect in the hand for any task. The Jimping on the spine gives good grip for fine tasks where you are chocking up on the blade a bit more.
Caged ceramic ball bearings on the Banter offer a super smooth action. A slight push on the thumb stud with either the thumb or index/middle finger allows the blade to quickly glide out and lock in - offering a satisfyingly snappy single handed deployment.
Overall we believe that the utilitarian design with the outstanding fit and finish, make this knife a real winner. It looks amazing, and more importantly in practice it feels and works perfectly. The detent is great, alignment is perfect, and there's just a feeling that cant be explained when you handle the banter.
View the knife and read more about it here:
Mitch
