Ti UKPK

[awa54]

I have to say, the Titanium scale UK Pen that I just picked up was a surprise in several ways, first off it's heavier than I had imagined (despite reading the weight spec), at first the thick scales and heavy overall feel were off-putting, but after using it for a few days I have come to appreciate the rock solid feel. Second the blade "lockup" is not even in the same county as the FRN version... smooooth and solid, easier to deploy than the FRN, but far more positive at the half way detent and full open positions, so less likely to close inadvertently. Like the Pingo, this is a slipit that inspires confidence, no worries about the blade moving during a cutting task. I think that this one is going to be my daily carry for some time to come.

I really liked the UKPK based on my FRN knife, the Ti version only solidifies that opinion and makes me want to see a few higher end Sprints of it in the future!

[Liquid Cobra]

Congrats on the Ti UKPK! It's one of my favourite knives of all time. A UKPK sprint was talked about a few months ago, not sure if it will become a reality or not. The new FRN UKPK has a very strong "lock" compared to the originals. Do you have the new or old one?

[awa54]

Mine is a black handle, CTS BD1, but non-FFG blade, it has the split backspring... so transitional? Purchased less than a year ago.

Don't get me wrong, I still like the FRN knife, especially for the price, but the Titanium version is in a completely different league (as would be expected for the asking price!). I actually like the one sided flush head pins on the FRN knife better than the asymmetric double torx headed layout of the Ti version, but that's serious nit-picking

[Liquid Cobra]

Hmm...if it has a hollow ground blade its the older model that doesn't have the upgraded spring I think.

[MarcusH]

The upgraded variant with CTS-BD1 with the split-spring and hollowed grind was only produced during a very limited production phase.
AFAIR the CTS-BD1 production was switched to the hollowed grind with the split-spring in April 2012 and after early fall 2012 there were only ffg-models with the split-spring produced anymore.

A pic of the split-spring, you can see it best in closed position.

[MarcusH]

AFAICR the short history of the FRN-UKPKs, just for your information:

variant 1: hollowed grind, GIN-1, weak spring; handle in blue, grey or burgundy (introduced in 2010)
variant 2: hollowed grind, CTS-BD1, weak spring; handle in blue, grey or burgundy (production since 2011)
variant 3: hollowed grind, CTS-BD1,stronger split-spring; handle in black (production since April 2012)
variant 4: fullflat grind, CTS-BD1,stronger split-spring; handle in black (production since early fall 2012)

[Liquid Cobra]

I had no idea, thanks Marcus! I'm gonna have to track one of those hollow grind split spring ones down.