Bradford Knives Guardian4
Sometimes you pick up a tool and it just seems everything clicks. From the looks to the form to the fit to the finish, it all falls into place with you as an individual. That is how I feel every time I pick up the Bradford Knives Guardian4. It just clicks.
Now before I go on let’s talk specifics regarding this knife. It has a 4.5” blade of N690 steel that is .165” thick with a false edge on top (full saber grind also available) that is stonewashed. The handle slabs are 2D milled red G10 that creates a handle that is a half inch thick.
Now, as to the steel, the Guardian4 is available in S30V and N690 with a run of M390 soon to come. This one, as noted, is Bohler N690 stainless steel. Bohler N690 is an Austrian steel that does not get much attention her in the United States though it is used by a number of European knife manufacturers. If this knife is any indication of the quality of N690, when heat treated properly, that is a shame. This knife came to me shaving sharp from Brad. Truly, it might have been one of if not the sharpest knife I have ever received (this includes my Survive! Knives GSO 3.5). Now Brad has told me that he puts a slight convex to the secondary bevel and uses a new leather system he has in the shop on each blade before he ships it. Like I said, all I know is this thing is wicked sharp. And after use such as working with some carving or making feather sticks all I would do is run it over a leather strop a few times with some green compound on it to return the knife its original sharpness. Throw in that the steel is stainless and you have an exceptional outdoor knife. You can order the knife with a satin bevels, stonewash finish or darken stonewash finish.
As for the handle slabs, well Brad has a way of milling G10 that he calls 2D milling and it provides extremely good traction for your hand regardless of how wet, slimy or bloody the knife gets. Upon first looking at the knife in person you might think they would be to aggressive, however, that is not the case. If you grip down hard in adverse conditions the knife stays put in your hand. When using the knife normally almost all the pressure of your grip rest on the top and the bottom of the half inch wide grip. The fit and finish on the handles is top notch. That is to say you can run your finger nail over the top or bottom of the handle and have it glide smoothly from G-10 scale to knife tang and the to the other G-10 scale. Between the full half inch grip and the incredible well fitted scales, when using this knife for extended periods of whittling and carving I neither found a hot spot nor did my hand get tired. I just can’t say enough about how all this comes together with the overall shape of the handle in producing a knife the just naturally fits my hand. The G10 scales are available in thirteen separate colors and also in carbon fiber. Just a note on the carbon fiber scales, the way the sun light reflects off of them is really quite beautiful and hard to show in pictures.
Brad ships the Guardian4 with a leather belt pouch sheath. He says the he does this to keep the overall cost of the knife down. All I know is that for what is supposed to be just an economical leather sheath the retention is top notch, the knife sits just about at the perfect height in the sheath for my liking and the whole system rides quite well on my belt. I have previously reviewed a production knife that was $25 more expensive for the same size knife that had an utterly useless leather sheath that although well enough made it wouldn’t hold the knife worth a darn. So I am quite pleased with the leather sheath that comes with the Guardian4. Bradford Knives also offers a kydex sheath made by Buy Brown Holsters for the Guardian4. They are available in black, OD and coyote brown for $40 of camo kydex for $45. Now almost every time I go camping I end up getting wet (don’t ask, let’s just say for some reason I am attracted to bodies of water at inopportune times), so although I did not have the kydex sheath at the time of this review for the Guardian4, I will be ordering one very soon.
That brings me to my overall feelings about this knife. Not too long ago I did a review for a 4” knife in S35vn steel (with the loose fitting leather sheath) and although I found the knife itself to be a good knife, I had moved most of my kits to a 3-3.5” blade size and made the comment that I didn’t need 4-4.5” blade as it didn’t fit into any of my needs at the time. Well, for this knife I am making room in a kit for it, it just demands to be added to one as I can’t get over how dang comfortable it is and how useful I find the shape and design of it. I have used it for everything from the previously mentioned wood work to cutting vegetables in the kitchen and as a steak knife at dinner. I know any sharp knife should cut, but, with the height and grind of this blade it does remarkably well slicking everything from potatoes to tomatoes and dicing up garlic to gliding through a cooked steak. My wife chides me a bit when I pull out a camp knife to work in the kitchen, but, I take it in stride especially with this one as it is just so handy.
There just isn’t much more to say (or much more you probably want to read) about the Bradford Knives Guardian4. I think it is a great knife and at $199 ($209 for carbon fiber handles), for what you get, it is a very good deal. Even if you throw in the kydex sheath and bring the total to $239 I think you are getting a good deal (and two good sheaths to boot). Yes, I did a glowing review of the Guardian3, a true EDC fixed blade if there ever was one, and here is another great review for the Guardian4. That may make me a Bradford Knives fan boy, however, I don’t care because in each case Brad nailed it when it comes to producing high quality knives, whether it be for EDC or for camping and bushcraft. You owe to yourself to check them out.
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