If you’re interested in purchasing a Clemente or any other Sandrin knife, you should definitely visit the Cabot or Sandrin website.

Overview

Excellence was once again on display at the Cabot booth at SHOT Show 2017. Yes, their 1911s are always amazing and eye-catching, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m referring to the Sandrin Knives that were also being showcased.

Back at NRA 2016, I first learned of Sandrin Knives, an Italian-based knife manufacturer, which has partnered with Cabot Guns to bring their proprietary tungsten carbide blades to the states. If you’re not familiar with tungsten carbide, it is a powder material that when pressed together into a shape is harder and more resilient than steel!

The Clemente, as they say, the “Apogee of cutlery.”

Typically when something is very hard it is also very brittle. So, the knife industry has largely ignored tungsten carbide as a blade option — until now. Sandrin found a way, a patented method, to harness the benefits of tungsten carbide in a blade design without sacrificing toughness and durability. The result is a knife that will cut better and hold its edge longer than any steel-made knife on the market.

Sandrin’s initial launch of their lineup only contained fixed-blade knives.  At SHOT, though, they debuted the “Clemente,” the company’s first folder.

The Clemente features an overall length of 7.44 inches when open, 4.4 inches when closed, a blade length of 2.95 inches and a weight of .42 pounds, making it suited for every day carry.

A beautiful little knife.

Its mirror-polished drop-point blade has a 35-degree hollow-ground cutting edge of just .00004 inches, sharp and fine enough to perform multiple cuts on even a single red blood cell.  Needless to say, it’s a precision cutting tool with an unparalleled fit and finish.

A breakdown of the assembly of the Clemente.

Specs

Overall Length: 7.44”
Blade Length: 2.95”
Cutting Edge: 35°
Blade Thickness: 0.10236 +/-0.0004”
Blade Material: Tungsten Carbide
Blade Style: Drop Point
Blade Grind: Hollow Grind
Finish: Mirror Polished
Edge Type: Hollow Grind
Handle Length: 4.4”
Handle Thickness: 0.63”
Handle Material: Titanium
Weight: 6.77 oz or 0.42 lb
Lock Type: Frame Lock

Impression

I’m really sold on the development of tungsten carbide to make knives. I think it’s the next evolution in blade technology. Sandrin knives are so hard, 71HRC, that you can literally sharpen your steel knife on a Sandrin blade. That’s insane!

I’ve also seen these knives in action and they cut like nothing I’ve ever seen. I definitely want one.  As it relates to the Clemente, I think it is a great first generation folder for Sandrin.  There’s just one thing stopping me from purchasing one.  The price.  It’s a little too rich for my blood.  But I’m optimistic that in the future prices will drop a bit.

The Clemente uses a frame lock.

Price and Availability

The show price for the Clemente was around $1,000. If you look on the Sandrin website, only the fixed blade options are available at the moment. But that should change in the very near future.

If you’re interested in purchasing a Clemente or any other Sandrin knife, you should definitely visit the Cabot or Sandrin website.