QSP Penguin Liner Lock Knife Jean Micarta (3.12" Satin D2)

Excellent knife for the price

This is one of my favorite knives, even competing with some much more expensive ones. The blade shape is excellent, action is smooth, thumb studs are great, pocket clip carries nice and deep and doesn't get in the way of your grip, and the denim micarta looks and feels great.

The downsides to me are that the grip is kind of blocky and the factory edge was fairly mediocre.… read more After putting my own 20-degree edge on it it's an excellent slicer. Vastly exceeded my expectations.

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WHAT A GREAT FIND!

I bought this knife to get my order to the free shipping threshold. But when I got it, I was pleasantly surprised. The fit and finish were more than expected, and while the micarta is more gray than blue, it looks good. The knife is sharp and the sheepsfoot doesn't make it any less EDC friendly. It has some weight to it and the blade is stout. It feels good in the hand. I have no… read more complaints.

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Awesome

Cannot speak about long-term quality but I can tell you about initial quality. This thing is awesome for the money fit and finish is absolutely perfect, Action is unbelievably smooth, blades in the rain is perfect, lock up is perfect. The blue Jean micarta is beautiful and the best I’ve seen. Razor sharp out of the box, I just can’t say enough good about it. This is coming from… read more a guy who has $16,000 in pocket knives many of them in the thousand dollar range. By that is nice for a user or every day Carrie, you will not be disappointed

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Great knife for the money

Just got this knife last week, it's my first QSP and my first sheepsfoot blade folder. The handle is very comfortable, soft but secure in hand. I like the color too, mine isn't quite as blue as the picture, it leans more gray blue than blue gray. Love that it comes standard with a deep carry clip. I'm already sold on the sheepsfoot style blade. I held off for awhile thinking they… read more looked a bit clunky and odd, but - perhaps ironically - I love wharncliffe style blades and I see now that this gives me the straight edge functionality of my Kershaw leek with a nice sharp tip that has more strength behind it and won't be quite as susceptible to breaking. The jimping on the spine is well placed and fucntional. The serrations/jimping (don't know what it's actually called) on the liner lock are maybe a bit aggressive, but not a big deal.
Would love to see this offered in an XL version with maybe a half inch more blade and 1/2-1" more handle, but I have big hands.
Would also love if it had a flipper tab rather than just thumb studs, but that's personal preference.
Overall fantastic knife and am very happy to have purchased it. Didn't comment on edge retention, etc. because I just haven't had it long enough. Came sharp, not razor sharp but sharp enough for a daily use knife.

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This knife is frickin sick dude

This is probably in the top 3 knives for this price range easily. The handles are so comfortable and fit the hand so well. I love the shape of the blade because it reminds me of a box-cutter just with a longer cutting edge. So the knife is very utilitarian in nature. The action is incredibly smooth compared to other knives at this price and just in general. Love the look and the… read more feel of it overall. If you do a lot of box-cutting or work with packages/packaging this is a great buy. One of my favorite knives in my collection for sure.

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Very impressed for the money

So I’m going to give my honest impressions of this knife, I haven’t been able to put it through its paces outside of light EDC use.

Pros:
-D2 is a great steel for the price point, you will find much more expensive knives with less impressive steels
-Action is AWESOME, super smooth and the blade flies out when you flick the thumb stud
-Came very sharp from the… read more factory, hair shaving out of the box
-Centered blade
-Comfy in hand, haven’t noticed any hotspots

Cons:
-Handle material looks a tad cheap, but I’ve seen FAR worse from more expensive knives
-A little chunky if you are used to smaller knives

Overall, this gives a lot of the usual sub-fifty dollar quality budget knives a run for their money! If you are considering this one, just pull the trigger!

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Very nice!

This is a pretty well built knife for the price. The action is smooth and snappy. So it works well. The micarta is really nice and actually feels like denim. I don't have many micarta knives, but this one is my favorite.

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Best value on the website

Not only is the blade shape cool but I still can believe the price of this thing. I have over 50 knives ranging from low end all the way to the most expensive benchmades and Protechs and even a chris reeve and I keep coming back to this knife day after day. The straight edge is easy to sharpen and if you put some dish soap on the micarta and then wash it off with water it cleans… read more up awesome. Some KPL on the washers and your good to go!

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Best bang for your buck knife

Although it’s not American made, this pocket knife is by far the best knife you can buy under $50. Blue Jean micarta, D2 blade steel, deep carry pocket clip and its running on copper washers. The micarta doesn’t have the best grip but then again it’s $32. The faded blue jean color on the micarta scales are gorgeous though. If you want an early inexpensive knife to beat around… read more and not feel bad doing it then this is your knife.

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Best knife under $50

I love this knife. D2 steal, looks great and feels great.

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First knife

This is my first knife so I don't have any frame of reference for how good it actually is. That being said I am having a ton of fun with this knife 5 months into ownership.
Pros:
*D2 blade
*Awesome color
*Feels great in hand
*quite sharp out of the box
*Comes in a nice looking box that you can store it in

Cons:
*Copper washers make the blade feel
a… read more little bit sticky but this might be fixable with the right tools and some lubrication.
*Color is a little more of a grey then a blue, but it still looks great just something to keep in mind.

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Great knife at a great price!

As a Machinist & Tinker I see a knife as a tool. This review is from the point of view of someone who would be using the Penguin as a daily EDC that gets used on a daily basis. From cutting rope & ribeye's, to whittling wood, stripping wires & splinter removal.

This is a great knife, tough, good in hand and inexpensive. The blade steel is great, it has held its edge even… read more after I clamped it in my lathe and turned some steel with it. Just wanted to see if it would and yup it did! It deploys very snappily with its thumb studs, although lefty is a little tighter. The knife feels solid, with little to no flex. My favorite thing however is the blue jean micarta which is awesome! It looks and feels great and will show wear well I'm betting. The handle is easy to hold with a nice comfy full grip.

The deep carry pocket clip is reversible and hides the knife very well in pocket. This was my first QSP knife and my first BLADEHQ purchase. Thanks to it I am a repeat customer of both now! This is a solid knife, ready for serious work.

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Good value

Got a Civivi and a Kizer in the same order, and this sub $30 knife was the best of the lot. The blade was sharp enough out of the box and the action is getting better the more I play with it. A lot of chamfering around the scales and back of the blade.
Some minor complaints:
The tip of the pocket clip should be bent back in toward the handle instead of sticking up.
The… read more micarta is not textured at all, doesn't feel like micarta should.
The thumb studs are rather big and actually have sharp edges around the tip.

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Sheep's foot coolness

The scales are really nice, the action is incredible, and the price is great. Don't worry about the washers it is way good out of the box.

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Good bang for your buck

Firstly I love the shape of the blade, it is very usable for EDC tasks. The action is slick and reliable. I have had no issue at all with the knife and it is also made out of good materials.

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Good knife for the price

I've been carrying this knife for about 3 weeks now I like the mycarta scales and the action of the knife is pretty sweet I use my knives pretty hard the blade was extremely sharp out of the box I did roll the edge about 1/2" from the tip severely but being a D2 blade I was able to bring it back quickly also the pocket clip screws came loose other than that it's a decent knife for… read more the bucks but definitely not my Shaman but
very nice

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A great folder with one design flaw

***EDIT after several weeks of ownership***
I found a incredibly annoying design flaw partially related to the blade not being centered. The screws holding on the scales nearest the tip, when closed, are long enough that they protrude into the liner of the knife. Since the blade isn't centered, it was hitting the protruding tip of the screw, which put a nice chip into the edge… read more of the blade. Nothing that can't be ground out with some sharpening, but it's not something that should happen in a folding knife. If you get this knife, you may notice the screws opposite from the pivot end are loose. DO NOT tighten them or else this may happen to your blade, as well!
***back to the original review****

Title says it all. I found it hard to believe that a knife in the price range was as good as people were saying, but I figured I'd give it a shot. They were right. Nothing at this price comes close to the Penguin. The action is fantastic. It flicks open with an incredibly satisfying "CLICK" and drops shut to close. The blade came incredibly sharp, with minimal wiggle, and is a beautiful slicer. The micarta handle has a wonderful texture and it comes with a deep-carry clip which works exactly as it should. The liner lockup is rock-solid.

The only minor gripes I have are that the blade isn't centered but, for this price, I'm not complaining and it doesn't affect the performance at all...(see edited note at the top)

Also, the blue denim micarta is nowhere near as blue as it is in the pictures - it's more of a faint, dark-blue/gray color. Aesthetically, I'm also not a fan of how the spine isn't parallel with the frame when closed, but that's a purely personal preference of mine.

Overall, this is easily the best folder I've purchased in this price range. My hope is that other manufacturers take note and up their game to compete with QSP in the low-end budget tier.

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Excellent knife per $

blade is beautiful, useful, and good for everyday tasks. micarta is soft, action is smooth, blade is thick, carry clip is deep.

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Great, but misleading

I just got it but I'm happy with it so far for the price. Blade is sharp and centered, flicks open easy, SS hardware is nice and shiny, carries light, etc. My only complaint is the scales look nothing like pictured. Like the one-star reviewer said, they are definitely grey, and not blue. This is my first knife in micarta and I was really wanting that blue jeans color, so that's… read more disappointing. For the price, it's still a great value.

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Wow, for thirty bucks!

I watched and read many reviews about the QSP Penguin and it seemed like an intriguing addition to my collection. The thing I liked the most was the blue jeans Micarta. That was different and it’s like knife camouflage when wearing jeans! Once in hand, blade deployment was a little stiff and a tiny but gritty but after a few hours of fidgeting, the thing quickly began to smooth… read more out. Days later, it deploys very smoothly, locks up solidly and unlocks very easily.

Things to note:
The scale on the frame lock side is higher than the scale on the right side. This means that there is a nice gap between the scale/frame on the right and no appreciable gap on the left. So, not only is this not a good ambidextrous knife due to the frame lock, the left handed blade stud is harder to use. I’m not a great thumb/finger flicker anyway so this makes is almost impossible for me to deploy it with a finger flick. Thumb flicking is soooo easy that even for me, it’s a breeze.

The reversible deep carry pocket clip is recessed between the scale and frame! Yea! BUT, the screw heads stick up. Booo. There are extra screws in the other side. Hmmm.

Build quality is really good for a knife of this price but not to par with more expensive pieces. Makes sense at the price point, but some frame weight relief and a flipper tab would be nice.

T6 screws are Loctited in and when you turn one side, the other side turns also. I needed two drivers to get them to come lose. Cleaning out the action was not really necessary as the knife action was already smooth and light BUT, the result was “smoother and lighter!” The blade now drops closed with a light shake.

Thirty bucks? Blue Jean Micarta? I mean, what’s stopping you from buying a quality D2 pocket knife that is invisible when wearing jeans? This is a really nice knife to have in your pocket and at thirty bucks, getchu one!

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Top Value!!!

Fit and Finnish are spot on. Blade is centered. Reasonably sharp out of box. Edges are smooth, ie rolling it in hand is comfortable. Opens with slightest roll of thumb and lock up is solid. It would be hard to find a better value with out spending a lot more. Haven't tested steel yet, but now own several Chinese D2 steel knives and its serviceable. Ok my scales are kind of greenish… read more and are nice. I am a fan of sheeps foot blades. Very functionable and strong. Many trade knives have sheeps foot blades. I am a fan of Walker locks as long as they lock up tight, mine does. Sharpening; I have found that a fine ceeramic stone and then stromping maintains D2 steel reasonable well, this one is to new to tell, (arrived at 2p today). Knife collecting is an addiction of mine, own hundreds of knives, this ones a winner. Hope this helps.

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Great Deal

If you want a Micarta handle for 30 bucks you cannot beat this. D2 blade flies out and the liner lock is surprisingly close to dead center on mine, as is the blade. Love the blade shape. It is more of grey color than pictured. My only complaint is with a four inch handle (not all of which you can grip) this is really close to being just too small. Read the dimensions; if it will… read more fit in your hand, definitely purchase.

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Will be returning

I am not happy with this knife for 2 reasons: (1) It is sticking when trying to open. I don't know if it it the liner lock putting too much pressure on the blade or what, but I nearly cut myself twice trying to open it with the thumb stud. I had to push so hard that when it did open, it did not open fully, and my thumb was flying forward because of the force I had to use. (2) The… read more coloration of the Micarta scales look nothing like the picture. Now, I get there will be variation in Micarta, but the one I received just looks solid grey. There is not any variation in the grey. The picture looks like a pair of stonewashed jeans with variations in light and dark. The handles I got are not even blueish grey, and there certainly is not variation in shading in the handles. I was really looking forward to this knife, but alas in both function and style it falls way short, and out of the box - it is dangerous. BTW, I know how to open a knife with a thumb stud - in case you are wondering. Perhaps loosing the pivot would help, but I do not want to void the warranty on a knife that I am this disappointed with.

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Great knife for the price

Great budget knife. I love the blade shape. Wasn't super sharp out of the box but got nice & sharp after stropping. The micarta handles feel nice, though they are a lot closer to grey than blue denim. The nicest feature of the knife is just how rounded over everything is. Everything from the back of the blade to clip & even the jimping on the liner lock is rounded and smooth. Makes… read more it comfortable to hold with zero hot spots. The detent is firm and holds the knife securely. The clip is easily one of the best I've gotten on a budget knife.

One slight disappointment are the washers. Each side has a copper & teflon washer. Not a fan of the combo. The copper ones were both roughly made with raised edges all around one side where it was stamped from a sheet. That & the teflon makes for a slightly sluggish deployment unless you really pop the thumb stud. Not unexpected at this price. Probably worth polishing.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Penguin. It's way nicer than the price suggests. Very glad I ordered it.

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Fantastic knife out of the box

Right out of the box, I could easily thumb flick this knife open. It has a great, fun flickability factor. Blade centering is spot on. The blue jean micarta handles are very nice and feel great. Lockup is around 30%. The pocket clip provides good retention. The only downside to the knife is that the thumb studs are slightly wider than the body of the knife.... slightly. That's not… read more enough for me to knock it back a star. For the price, it would be very hard to beat this knife! Get yourself one!

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Great budget knife

Most of my purchases are in the $100-$200 range but the micarta scales looked good so I took a chance with this knife and was very happily surprised. First of all, I really like micarta like this that changes color from my hands almost immediately - the oils darken it considerably and create a nice patina. The D2 sharpened easily to a very keen edge, and as the blade is pretty thin… read more at the edge it's real slicy.
The clip, lock and pivot all worked nicely out of the box, and the overall fit and finish is quite nice. For $30 you cannot go wrong - I own many knives that cost more but don't present the quality of the Penguin. Highly recommended.

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Great little knife for the money

D2, micarta and copper washers at $30? It's a great time to be a knife nut.

QSP got a lot right on this thing in the little details. The scales are chamfered for great ergonomics. The clip is very deep carry, and actually attaches behind the scale so only the screw heads are in the path of your pocket.

The action was a little tight out of the box, but a slight loosening… read more of the pivot and a little breaking in have it feeling great now. The scales on mine are not as brightly colored as in the picture above [as is common here; someone at BHQ really likes to push up the saturation], but they still look really good.

The blade had a good working edge out of the box, but wasn't shaving sharp. It shouldn't take much work to get it hair-popping, though.

All in all, this is a steal at $30. This is a real shot across the bow of Kershaw and Civivi.

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Fun EDC

This is a fun little knife.The Micarta is pretty smooth but not too smooth. It actually feels like it'll wear in better with time. The screws on the blade are all recessed making the ergo's very appealing aside from a little poke from the lockbar when you bear down on it. The pocket clip is tucked away behind the micarta making for a very easy in and out of the pocket profile. The… read more blade is pretty thick stock but comes down to a relatively fine edge. Great blade shape for EDC tasks and with the stock could put up with some abuse. D2 is an ok steel in that I have a little trouble sharpening it over other steels. The only thing I don't like about this blade is the thumb studs are a little awkward to open at first.but getting into it more no biggie.

For the price this knife is amazing. Do buy.

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