ER-111

First off, let me preface this review and say that I’m a very frugal knife enthusiast and on a pretty limited budget. Therefore I mentally deliberate over each knife purchase extensively. I read and investigate each knifes’ specifications in detail before I hit the button. The ER-111 came in a very nice box, (the little things do mean a lot to me) wrapped and with dissacent packet to lessen corrosion for ones that sit on the shelfs in the warehouse. Let’s talk about the sheath first. I read some reviews indicating that the sheath was cheap and not made of “real” leather, well mine is definitely real leather and for a twelve dollar knife was extremely well made. It’s a standard vertical high belt-carry. The belt loop is securely riveted in place. The keeper strap is also securely riveted to the back side of the sheath and wraps around and is held tight with rugged snap stamped with the Elk Ridge Logo. One thing that might be an issue with some carriers is the keeper strap; it doesn’t really cinch down on the handle tight enough and the knife can be drawn from the sheath. The reason, I think, is the knife doesn’t really have a finger guard for the keeper to do its job. The stitching is tight and pretty uniform. The sheath also has the Elk Ridge Logo predominately stamped into the leather, it’s not overly large and seems tastefully sized and positioned. Overall I’d give the sheath 4.75 stars. Now to the knife: The old saying, “pictures speak a thousand words” rings pretty true. The pictures were accurate, but do not completely do this little knife justice. The fit and finish is very precise and well done. I purchased the Burl wood version and I believe it to be Burl wood, at least it looks like the wood on a pipe I own. It has two pins that secure the scales to the full tang. One thing I can say that I can’t say often is, this one truly came out of the box shaving sharp. Whether it was sharpened robotically or by hand, it’s uniform and precise. The blade is a drop point and made of 440 stainless or 3CR13, not sure if those terms are interchangeable and to be honest I’m not a professor of steel types so if they are the same thing the description is accurate, they use both terms in the specifications. Regardless it’s very sharp, but as of this writing I can’t detail its durability and edge retention. Overall this little knife is a steal at twelve dollars and its quality and craftsmanship could really command a price three times that amount. I might get a few more for gifts…..I like it that much. I know there have been others with less than stellar reviews, but really I don’t have any negatives to share.

You get what you pay for. That being said, this little guy is well worth the money. I'll probably buy another one. Seems sturdy, craftmanship not great but not poor either. Looks nice. I can slide it right out of a buttoned sheath so I'm scratching my head as to the purpose of the button there.... but all in all very much well worth it. Update The sheath surprisingly holds the blade in place.. at least so far. Ive had it at work for a week without incident. I've also bought another as a back up and one for a stocking gift. Great, little, sharp.

I picked this up for everyday carry, and I think those people expecting to receive a workhorse knife in the mail need to keep in mind the blade on this thing's about 2 1/4 inches in length. You won't be killing bears with this. That said, it's very well made - the burlwood handle is gorgeous, the blade well ground and free of blemishes, and overall the knife appears well-made and well-balanced. Mine came sharp, too. I wouldn't say 'razor sharp,' because that phrase is thrown around so much these days it's lost all meaning - but I'm sure an enthusiast looking to split hairs could put a better edge on it. If you want a decent idea of the size, I'd compare it to an Apple TV remote (just thicker.) The knife itself is five stars, folks. The reason I'm labeling it four is due to the sheath. One reviewer mentioned the snap being too short and it was unable to close. This is sort of true. You have to pull it tight to close it, but honestly I'd rather have that than a loose snap. The leather sheath looks great, but it's thin leather, and you can easily draw the knife with the snap closed - there's no hilt to catch on. This isn't a big deal if it's just sitting on a belt, though. Unsnapping the sheath can be hard with one hand, but honestly if you're in a situation where you need to access this knife in a split-second - rescuing loved ones, fighting ninjas or wild animals, etc. - I seriously think you need to have a knife with a longer blade anyway.

Great little knife, nice quality, beautiful and very sharp. The sheath provided fits the knife very well. Great little knife for us ladies. Would definitely purchase again for a gift.

My husband got this for a Christmas present last year and he loves his so much we bought some for gifts for other this year. My husband and I are country people and always have a knife on us. He says he loves this one because it is easier to have on instead of having one that clips on. He says it is also a good quality blade, it's light, and the size is great considering it is a fairly short blade. I highly recommend this knife to anyone due to all of the good things I have heard from my husband.

Super nice knife for the price! I purchased it for my grandson and what a treat to see it for first time. I could not believe how nice it looks n how sharp it is

Threw it in my fishing tackle bag does great on fish and fishing line, small not built the best but does the trick, sheath is kind of useless knife falls right out even with strap in place

This knife is gorgeous and the perfect size for wearing on my ankle. It is a sturdy knife and the case looks nice as well. The only complaint I have is that the strap that holds the knife in place is not tight enough and you can still pull the knife out when the strap is buckled. It still holds it tight enough that it doesn’t fall out when I run around a bit, but I would hate to accident lose this knife