Staying Sharp with the Finch Runtly

Not that long ago, we told you about a newer pocket knife company that had come on the scene. We were interested in what they were creating, as one of the founders is the same fellow who’s behind Raven Watches. Those watches are some seriously nice pieces, so it seems reasonable to assume that these knives would be much the same. Handily enough, we’ve been spending time with the Finch Runtly, and can give you our take on it.

The short answer is yes – the Finch Runtly holds up to the quality and performance standards that we’re used to having from Raven Watches. Right out of the box, this feels like a knife that’s meant to be used in some outdoors adventures. It’s got a significant size and heft to it (you can see all those specs down below), which gives you confidence that it’ll hold up to hard use. Out of the box, the sheepsfoot blade on the knife has a good edge on it, though I did slide it along my honing bar just for good measure.

I will say – if you’re used to carrying a thinner or more compact “gentleman’s knife” – like this Deejo option – the Finch Runtly is going to feel noticeable in your pocket. Once I had it clipped into my pocket, however, I didn’t mind having that bulk there. For me, after a watch, I find a pocket knife to be one of the more useful tools to have on my person on a daily basis. Sure, more often than not this is for opening packages, but you never know when you might need to cut something to size.

Speaking of opening packages – you might be used to knives that (ultimately) just cut the tape because they won’t put a dent into that cardboard without some serious pressure. Well, in my experience, the Finch Runtly is one to be careful with when you’re aiming where that blade cuts. I mean, yes, you should always be careful with a knife blade, but for package opening, this will chomp into that cardboard without any issue.

Here, the sharp point on the blade helps, as does the overall shape. You’ve got a fairly robust bit of steel that locks solidly into place on the handles, which means if you needed to, you could certainly put additional pressure along the spine if you needed to (say, whittling down some sticks to get your kindling ready for the campfire). Having that heftier steel there also means that you should easily have years of sharpening out of it.

So, yes, from the pure knife perpective, I had a lot that I liked with the Finch Runtly. There’s also some nice surprises hiding in it as well. For one, check out that logo up above – your eyes do not deceive you, it is indeed lumed. Not only that, it’s under a sapphire crystal (just like on a watch) which means that lume shouldn’t be getting chipped away. It’s set into scales that are decently grippy without feeling uncomfortable in your hand – and that’s a good thing. You see, this is a knife that you can actually open and close single-handed, actually quite easily.

Yes, you could go with the common two-handed opening using the nail nick in the blade, and that’s the safe option. But for quick one-handed opening (say, your other hand is holding the rope tensioned right where it needs cutting) you’ve got that flipper bump on the backside that easily lefts you flip it open. If you want to close it, the same single hand can depress the liner lock and then get the blade folded in (just exercise caution here). Your day-to-day may not have much use for the single-handed operation, but I can think of many different outdoors scenarios where it’s of benefit.

Until the Finch Runtly entered my arsenal, I was committed to having a different knife for different occasions. I had the slimmer one for day to day, and then a heavier-duty one that I carried when we went camping. Well, with the $139 Finch Runtly in the mix, there’s a knife that can cover it all. That may not be important to you, but there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to have several blades to maintain – one to grab and go for all your needs, that’s convenience. I think this Finch Runtly will give years of service easily, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it does over time. If this design isn’t your cup of tea, there are some other models in their lineup (some still yet to come) that you might find intriguing. finchknifeco.com