I’m going to go outright and say it. As an outdoorsman who loves playing in the world of bushcraft, this knife is a boss. It’s cheap, made from tool steel, and has micarta scales. What’s not to love? Let’s get straight into this Ganzo Firebird FH41 review.

Ganzo Firebird FH41 Review

First off, what a pretty knife. I opted to buy the green micarta model which screams bushcraftiness. It’s a knife I imagine a park ranger would use. The drop point shape, flat grind, and scary sharp edge are much more than I’d expect from a knife at this price point.

The hinge has Torx hardware and swings on a shim. It isn’t an assisted opening knife that’s spring loaded, but doesn’t really need to be. It feels good. As long as it’s kept dry, the smooth action shouldn’t ever go bad on you. However, I do have another model of Firebird in D2 and that one is getting rusty. It doesn’t help that I use it as my fishing knife and have stood in salt water with it.

Field Testing

I’ve been carrying this knife in my pocket as an EDC for a few months now. For this, it has been totally great. The action is smooth. The knife eats cardboard boxes. I use the Ganzo Firebird FH41 to slice apples and I haven’t seen any discoloration or oxidation from the D2 tool steel.

Last weekend was the first time I’ve gone camping in a long while. I decided to go camping with a newborn, so we limited ourselves to car camping. It was the perfect opportunity to leave my homemade fixed blade knife in the car and only rely on my folding knife.

Prior to heading out to camp, I had drilled a hole in the micarta handles to create a pocket knife with a bow drill divot. Spoiler Alert: it works well.

However, that’s not the point. Here, I wanted to talk about the effectiveness of this knife as an outdoor knife. Overall, it rips. I am more than impressed by how well built this knife feels. Batoning wood with the loose blade wasn’t a worry when creating a fire board. Carving a spindle from cottonwood was easy and I was able to make a friction fire using my folding knife as a hand hold.

Fast forward to a week later, I’m sitting at my desk and cant find a noticeable knick or chip in my blade. It’s still as sharp as ever.

Final Thoughts

You’d never know this was a cheap knife. Seriously. Hand to God, if this was a Pepsi challenge and you asked me how much this knife would retail for, I’d say at least over $100. the quality of the build feels great. The fit and finish is fantastic. The micarta scales are ever so slightly textured, adding a refinement you don’t see in a knife at this price.

I highly recommend the Ganzo Firebird FH41 as an outdoor knife and an EDC, that is, if you don’t care about the name value.

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