Description
Blade: 8.5″
Handle: 5.5″
Spine Thickness at Bolster: 7mm
Total Weight: 640g
No bullshit, just knife. Lots of it.
The goal when designing the Plain Jane was to create a large, workhorse fixed blade along the same lines as the BK7, ESEE6 or RAT7 but with a bit more Busse running through it’s veins. A big mean all rounder that can debark limbs, baton through wood, pry open a crate, cut through the odd nail, chuck it in the back of your truck then maybe cut a steak with it later. Bigger, stronger and better. The design process focused on adding as much capability to the blade as possible while keeping it simple and rugged. What will give this the most durability, what will give it the best cutting performance and extend the range of it’s capabilities while still remaining relatively compact.
We started with the blade which is best described as stout. A hefty 7mm spine provides a solid enough backbone to allow this knife to soak up the kind of intense chopping, prying and batoning which other manufacturers would call abuse. This tanky spine is offset by the tall blade which when given a full height slightly convex grind keeps the primary grind angle as steep as it needs to be to deliver class beating cutting efficiency while maintaining the hard use durability you expect from Kailash Blades. The gentle drop point provides extra strength at the point to handle heavy, borderline idiotic use without stopping it from being able to penetrate with ease. The low heel on the blade acts as an integral front guard to protect the hand during stabbing or prying, while jimping and generous finger choil allows you to a really secure grip around the forward portion of the blade when carving and putting a lot of power down. Should it be required the blade can be ordered with chunky Scourge-style serrations that are great for cutting the square notches required for some traps or with no jimping for a cleaner overall look. Finally it can be ordered with a sharpened or unsharpened back edge for higher penetration performance and the ability to work on the back cut or with an unground, flat spine for more efficient batoning in a more durability focused survival or woodcraft build. The Plain Jane’s gently distally tapered spine and tang lends it a controlled, powerful, moderately front heavy balance which makes it an exceptional all rounder. It is perfectly suited to light or fine work when choking up on the blade but when held further back on the handle the blade will chop with the kind of power that’s to be expected from a blade of this size and thickness.
From there we set about designing a handle to match and we wanted to keep it simple and intuitive. The main portion of the handle has gently contoured swells that fill the palm to give a really comfy grip that has a lot of passive retention in all circumstances. The front of the handle features an index finger notch so you can easily and intuitively lock in to the ideal grip there, while the beaked pommel flares out to anchor the knife in hand during even the most serious hacking and chopping. If you’re looking for even more control and security, just slide right up into the finger choil and get right on top of the edge as you cut. As with so many of our heavy use blades, the Plain Jane features an oversized handle that allows those of you out there with massive gorilla paws or who routinely work with gloves to still manage a comfortable grip, while the contours of the handle are designed to allow those with smaller hands to grip comfortably at different points along the handle for higher control or greater power when chopping.
The Plain Jane is intended to be the kind of knife you strap to your belt once and then can’t do without, the kind of knife that you continuously push harder and never fails to deliver. It’s all the knife you need and more.
Before Purchase, please read through our section on Warranty and Factory Seconds for information on the different grind types, tang options and how they affect the level of warranty we offer.