Shieldon Gambit Outdoor Knife Review

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor Knife Review

The Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife features design by Dirk Pinkerton. It uses G10 handles, 154CM steel and has a robust pocket clip and metal liners. Read on!


Official Specs

Here’s a link to the Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife at Shieldon Knives.

Versions

I believe there’s just one version of the Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife at this time.

Price

The MSRP and going price of the Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife is $67.99. Shieldon Knives is the OEM knife manufacturer of the Gambit!


Package and Manual

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife box

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife box

What’s Included

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife what's included

  • Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife
  • Pouch
  • Manual
  • Card

Look

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife side view

You’ll see it here and there in the photos but I’ll note that the Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife arrived to me a bit covered in just general manufacturing “stuff.” Not strictly dirty, but I did need to wipe it down and use a duster to blow out the G10 and other parts.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife side view

The look of this Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife is one of my favorites, though – I love a cleaver! The holes (which I jokingly want to call “Speed holes”) along the top of the blade look cool.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife half open view

There’s minimal branding, but it includes the product name (Gambit) and Dirk Pinkerton’s DP logo.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife logo and branding

The Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife is a nice-looking EDC folding knife!

Open / Close / Lock

The Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife is a front flipper. There’s a generous tab along the top for index or thumb flipping.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife flipping open

It’s pretty easy to open and the action is good. If you don’t prefer to flip using the flip tab, the groove in the blade where those holes are is also “thumb-friendly” and you can twist the blade open that way. On this knife, that’s what I prefer!

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife fully open in hand

The Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife is a liner lock knife. I could stand a bit more relief around the locking mechanism. Some material cut out from the G10 would make unlocking the knife much easier.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife liner lock

Technically, Shieldon calls this a “nested liner lock” so it’s probable that the limited access is intentional, and should be seen as a design feature.

Build and Feel

Build quality of the Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife is nice and robust. The G10 scales provide a great amount of grip. Below you can see the big sway in the spine of the blade (because it’s a cleaver). This blade has a broken edge (comfortable!) and a ton of jimping!

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife jimping on spine

The blade really, really appeals to me! I do like cleavers.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife holes in blade

Shieldon uses a pop of color with this red backspacer. I can’t see where it’s stated, but this feels like G10, too.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife red backspacer

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife closed view

The blade is perfectly centered.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife blade centering

Shieldon uses caged ceramic bearings in the Gambit.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife pivot view

As stated above, there’s minimal branding. One little bit of branding does include the Shieldon logo. This is the reverse side from the pivot screw!

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife logo

These two (on each side) TORX screws hold in the backspacer.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife backspacer screws

The G10 scales are lined with metal. Those metal liners do have holes for weight reduction.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife metal liner view

Size

Blade Thickness 0.12 inches / 3 mm
Blade Length 2.57 inches / 65.4 mm
Closed Length 3.44 inches / 87.3 mm
Handle Thickness 0.472 inches / 12 mm
Total Length 6.01 inches / 152.7 mm
Weight 90 g / 3.16 oz

 

Here’s the knife in hand:

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife in hand

Below you can see the Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a custom laser-engraved Convoy S2+ host by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!

Also above is the knife beside a TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats. I also reviewed that specific edition, the “Oveready BOSS FT Collector Vintage Brass” 35. I love it!

Below is the Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife with the Civivi Elementum. I still use that knife so much!

Steel / Cut / Oats

154CM steel is used on the Gambit.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife blade view

The blade shape, as I’ve covered above, is “cleaver.” I love a good cleaver! They’re nice and beefy!

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife blade steel detail

If you want more info about 154CM steel you can click on over to KnifeSteelNerds.com. There you will find all of the info!

Retention

A nylon pouch is included. It has a Velcro closure and a snap belt loop.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife with included pouch

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife with included pouch

A pocket clip is also included and attached from the factory. It uses two (very accessible) TORX screws and can attach only in the position seen below.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife pocket clip detail

I appreciate that the clip attaches into the G10 handles and not onto the handles.

Shieldon Gambit Outdoor knife pocket clip profile

Summary and Conclusion

The Shieldon Gambit outdoor knife is a great way to get a cleaver-style knife for a reasonable cost. The G10 handles provide a nice amount of grip and the pop of red in the backspacer is a nice touch. Shieldon is a wholesale knives supplier and has a bunch of other stuff to consider!

Notes

  • This knife was provided by Shieldon for review. I was not paid to write this review.
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