k n i v e s i l l u s t r a t e d . c o m2 0 KNIVES ILLUSTRATED • MAY-JUNE 2015

When you think about where to find cus-tom-quality handmade knives, Cambodiais probably not the first place that popsinto your head—but it should be. CitadelKnives and Swords, by CAS Iberia, is pro-ducing handmade knives using a mixof modern steels and traditional ma-terials. The result is unique, func-tional, beautiful pieces unlikeanything else on the market.

CITADEL GIVES THE GENTLEMAN’SFOLDER AN EXOTIC TWISTSTORY AND PHOTOS BY TIM STETZERADDITIONAL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAS IBERIA

SOMETIMES the best things come fromthe most unexpected places.

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“THE CITADEL KNIVES AREUNIQUE, FUNCTIONAL,

BEAUTIFUL PIECES UNLIKEANYTHING ELSE ON THE

MARKET.”

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From Cambodia with LoveWhile Citadel knives have been avail-

able in the U.S. for a while now, until re-cently they were often hard to find. But allthat changed when the Citadel line waspicked up by CAS Iberia. You can now findan impressive array of folders, fixedblades and swords either directly throughthe CAS Iberia website or through one oftheir distributors.

I spoke with the folks from CAS Iberiaat Blade last year and at this year’s SHOTshow and got some scoop on Citadel andhow things are made. The short version:While many Asian-made blades comefrom a large factory, that couldn’t be fur-ther from the truth about Citadel knives.

Like many custom and semi-customshops in the U.S., Citadel has a small crewof employees that build their knives byhand. The use a mix of imported steelslike German Bohler N690Co stainless andDNH7, which is pretty similar to 1075 car-bon steel but responds well to differentialheat treating. Handle materials are largelytraditional, such as Micarta, rosewood,palisander wood, buffalo horn and bone,but also include more unique materialssuch as rayskin.

The folks at CAS Iberia are excitedabout the Citadel line, so I figured it wastime to pick up a couple pieces and seewhat all the fuss was about. After somediscussion we settled on the Saigon, asmall everyday-carry, and the Kukri Lock,a big heavy-duty folder.

A Tale of Rays and BuffaloWhile I tend to review a lot of modern

blades and have worked with more thanmy share of tactical designs I have to ad-mit I have an affinity for old-school, ethnicpatterns. There’s something in these de-sign that sings to my soul. Maybe it’s theconnection to the cultures they springfrom, or maybe it’s just the novelty com-pared to the styles and designs that Imore commonly see. Either way I was ea-ger to work with these Citadel folders.

When I opened the box from CAS Iberiathe first thing I noted was that both knivescame in sturdy, padded, zippered nyloncarry cases—a nice touch right out of thegate and one I usually only see with cus-tom knives. Unzipping the cases revealedthe pocket-sized Saigon with its distinc-

tive rayskin scales and the massive KukriLock with its buffalo horn scales.

I gave both knives a thorough look-overand a few things soon became apparent.First, Citadel knows what it’s doing whenit comes to building knives. The fit and

finish on these folders is impeccable. Theblades are well centered when folded andlock up solidly with no play present in anydirection when opened. Both knives useliner locks with sturdy liners that clickpositively in place, yet are still easy

Citadel folders come with padded nylon pouches just like many custom knives.

The Saigon is a compact, classy EDC folder that blends modern European steel with classic Far East handlematerials.

“THE SAIGON IS CLASSY AND DISTINCTIVE, BUT AT THESAME TIME SMALL ENOUGH TO BE SUBTLE IN MIXED COMPANY.”

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enough to disengage whenyou’re ready to close yourknife. They both featurecutouts in the scales to al-low access to the lock aswell.

The blades on theseknives are the BohlerN690co stainless, and theyfeature a saber grind withpolished edges and mattefinished flats. The edgesappear to be convex andboth would pop hair withease out of the box. Thespine of the knives isadorned with hand-en-graved scrollwork that linesup with matching scrollwork on the bladespines when the knives are opened. It’s asubtle, but classy addition to already im-pressive blades.

At only 3.5 inches long when closed,the Saigon is a compact folder. It carries adrop-point blade just over 2 inches inlength and weighs in at a petite 3.5ounces. An extended tang acts as a flip-per of sorts, and the Saigon can beopened with one hand with a little prac-tice. It definitely classifies as a gentle-man’s knife in my book and would be right

at home in any for-mal setting.

The rayskinhandles areunique and

attractive. They consist of rayskin glued toa wooden scale and then polished andcoated with a clear lacquer-type finish.The polishing smooths out the roughrayskin texture and leaves behind a blackand white spotted pattern that my 10-year-old son said reminded him of a leop-ard skin. It’s visually stunning and quitethe departure from most other handles.

Citadel also makes the Saigon in arosewood handle if the rayskin is a bit tooexotic for you, but I have to say that theray is much of what makes this knifestand out. In traditional form, no pocketclip is present or available for this littleEDC blade. It’ll ride nicely in the pocket ofdress slacks or cargo pants with equalaplomb.

The Kukri Lock is a big working bladethat channels the impressive Nepaleseblades it’s designed after. At 9.5 inchesopen, and with a downswept, recurveblade that looks bigger than its 3.9 inches,the Kukri Lock is a sizeable piece. It carriesa 4-millimeter thick blade that locks on itsgenerous 5.5-inch long handle and clocksin at a hefty 10 ounces.

There is no provision for one-handopening and, in fact, no opening mecha-nism of any sort, not even a nail nick. Theblade is easily opened, though, by simplygrasping the tall blade on its matte-tex-tured flats with the index finger andthumb of your support hand and openingthe blade until it snicks into the lockedposition.

The spine of the Saigon ishand engraved withdecorative scrollwork.

CONTACTCAS IBERIA

(800) 635-9366www.CASIberia.com

SAIGONOVERALL: 6 inchesBLADE LENGTH: 2.1 inchesHANDLE LENGTH: 3.5 inchesWEIGHT: 3.5 ouncesBLADE STEEL: N690CoHANDLE MATERIAL: RayskinMSRP: $215

KUKRI LOCKOVERALL: 9.5 inchesBLADE LENGTH: 3.9 inchesHANDLE LENGTH: 5.4 inchesWEIGHT: 10 ouncesBLADE STEEL: N690CoHANDLE MATERIAL: HornMSRP: $209

A sturdy liner lock keeps the Saigon’s blade open.

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The handle shape with its flared buttand buffalo horn scales is all kukri; it’seven affixed with a lanyard hole andcomes with a braided leather lanyard.

Rosewood is also an option for the KukriLock if that’s what you’d prefer. Again, intraditional fashion there’s no pocket clipon this piece and it probably is best suitedbeing tucked into the back pocket of yourjeans or Carhartts.

The size, weight, and opening character-istics of the Kukri Lock reminded me in a lotof ways of the classic Buck 110. The Buckswere a solid folder in this class and oftenrode in the back pocket of many an out-doorsman, cop and tradesman back in theday. Think of the Kukri Lock in the samesort of light, but with custom craftsman-ship and materials and a far-Eastern feel.

Putting the Citadels to Work I put both knives into my EDC rotation

to see just what they could do off and onfor a period of approximately two months.On a day-to-day basis I would drop theSaigon in my pocket, as it’s definitely theeasier of the two pieces to carry. Itssmooth, rounded handles rode well in thepocket and proved very comfortable touse for routine chores. I didn’t do anythingcrazy with the Saigon, but it did open itsshare of boxes and packages, cut somestring, tape and other odds and ends—ba-sically all of the things you normally dowith your pocketknife.

I found that the 2.1-inch blade was plen-ty big enough for all of those chores, yetsmall enough that it didn’t panic anyonewhen I pulled it out in public to use it. Therayskin handle garnered quite a few com-pliments, even from folks who are not nor-mally “knife people” and wouldn’t general-ly pay much attention to what I wascarrying. The Saigon is classy and distinc-

The Saigon uses handle scales of polished rayskin that make for an extremely unique and striking appearance.

KUKRI VS. KUKRI LOCK

I have in my collection an interesting kukri that dates back to the 1940s. It’s a very nicebuffalo-horned model that’s a quite a bit nicer than the typical British military issue ones fromthat era.

This knife came to me via my father, who in turn had acquired it from a woman in his artleague. Her husband was a pilot in the Army Air Corps and was responsible for flying the“Hump” over the Himalayas from India to China to resupply Chiang Kai-shek’s forces in theirfight against the Japanese during World War II. He, like many other pilots of the era, picked up alocally made kukri in India and carried it on his missions in case he was shot down or crashed insuch rugged terrain. Thankfully he never had to put it to any use and it sat in a footlocker untilhis passing and eventually ended up in my hands.

When I received the Citadel Kukri Lock folder, I was immediately reminded of this piece bothbecause of the obvious kukri styling of the folder but also due to its beautiful buffalo hornhandle scales and the quality of build. While I certainly am not doing anything remotely asdangerous as flying the Hump on a day-to-day basis, I do find the presence of the Kukri Lock inmy daily kit nearly as comforting as those pilots did with their full-sized kukris back in the day!

The Citadel Kukri Lock folder and an authentic, World War II-era kukri the author inherited from hisfather.

“THE KUKRI’S BIGHANDLE MAKES ITVERY COMFORTABLETO USE AND THERECURVE BLADE ISCAPABLE OF MAKINGPOWERFUL CUTS...”

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tive, but at the same time small enough tobe subtle in mixed company. It’s a greatchoice for someone who wants a solidEEC blade without all the tactical bling.

The Kukri Lock mostly got carried whenI was dressed casually in jeans or cargopants. It’s pretty heavy to just drop in yourfront pocket but it worked well tucked inmy back pocket alongside my wallet. I’vegiven some thought to having an open-top leather belt pouch made for the Kukriand think that might be just the ticket forregular carry.

Regardless of how you carry it, the Kukriis a real performer when you start using it.The big handle makes it very comfortableto use and the recurve blade is capable ofmaking powerful cuts. I can see this knifebeing a great outdoors blade, especially inareas where a fix bladed knife might beprohibited. The lock-up is extremely posi-tive and while I didn’t try any choppingwith it, I did run it through some basiccamp and bushcraft chores such as cut-ting poles for a cooking tripod, sharpeningstakes and prepping tinder for the fire.

Pairing this knife up with a sturdy fixedblade or a small axe would make for a for-midable camp combo.

Custom Quality the Cambodian WayBoth the Saigon and the Kukri Lock

tested impressively, and they’re in excel-lent company among Citadel’s dozens ofother options. If you’re looking for aunique blade that blends classic featuresand handle materials with top-notch con-struction and modern blade steel thenlook no further than CAS Iberia.

The Kukri Lock’s handle is very similar to the author’sbuffalo horn handled kukri from World War II.

The Kukri Lock uses a recurve blade similar in style toa full-sized kukri.

The Kukri Lock has alarge 5.4-inch longhandle complete withbraided leatherlanyard.

FAST FACTSSAIGON

Distinctive rayskin handle•Compact but effect blade size•Best for everyday pocket carry•

KUKRI LOCKLarge, comfortable handle•Powerful recurve blade•Best for light camping/outdoors chores•

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