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Famars Lama Knife Review! WOW!

Steel Sahlute fellow steel brothers and sistuhs!

Man the battle stations of the Steel Sahlute Enterprise! All hands on deck and accounted for as I introduce this Star Trekky stlye knife. Remember how slick the Star Trek Communicator was? Just a flip, and Captain Kirk was magically connected to his crew? So advanced. So far ahead of it’s time. So futuristic! So dad-gum cool.

Introducing the Famars Lama pinless, double action, sidelock knife, automatic, just squeeze and wuh-tesh, you’ve engaged the blade.

Like you, I had not previously heard of Famars. I had no clue who they were or what they made. Heck, I had no idea they made anything. I promise you though, you won’t soon forget about this knife.

Details:

Made in USA! All parts are produced here in the US and hand assembled!
Model – LAMA
Action: Automatic, pinless sidelock knife
Blades: Satin finish, Standard & Tanto blade, 154CM Steel (Definition taken from Benchmade.com: 154CM: An American made premium grade stainless steel originally developed for tough industrial applications. Known for its best all-around qualities, it offers great corrosion resistance with good toughness and edge quality).
Handle: anodized Aluminum, Maple Burl wood inlay. Hand cut

The TripleF: Fit, Finish & Functionality – 10.0
Smooth. Sleek. Refined. Flawless. Impeccable. Can I find any other words in my Thesaurus for perfect? Not surprisingly, your natural inclination is to press the flush-set button to watch the knife bolt into the open, ready-to-cut position. Oh, that is just too cool you think, so you repeat the process, not once but hundreds and hundreds of times. And that’s just the first day.

As a knife reviewer, my intention was to see if I could make the knife malfunction. Hasn’t happened yet.

My brother in-laws couldn’t get enough either.

Accessibility – 9.9
WOW, I hate to bump this down off of the prefect scale for one-tenth of a demerit, especially when this may very well be the easiest one-hand opening knife ever! All that is required to bring forth the blade is thought….ok, not really, but a medium amount of squeeze from your thumb on the flush-set button and whopa……out comes shoots the blade.

The only drawback as far as scoring the accessibility factor is concerned is it has no clip. That means to access the knife, you have to reach into your front or back pocket to extract it. I understand that’s a personal preference, but you know, when I grade on accessibility I want perfection and ease.

Collectibility – 10.0
As I stated in my last review, anytime you pause and ponder – should I REALLY carry this knife, or should I just put it in the back of the sock drawer, scores the knife an automatic 10 on the Richter scale of collectibles knives. Lest, I forget mentioning that these knives come handled in a variety of exotic materials. No sir, nothing common for Famars knives.

Maybe you’d like your Famars Lama handled in brown fresh water shark, or rust elephant, blue ostrich, or black and white lizard…..or some sort of exotic wood. Those are just small samplings of the offerings from Famars knife creations. And, then, there’s the option of Damascus blades, and engravings. Good lord have mercy!

Combine these options with a top-notch gift case, inside of a specially hand-crafted, made in the USA (putting a half dozen American workers back to work) gift box and a letter of authenticity and…….

Knife collectability has reached a new steel warp speed!

Final Steel Sahlute Score = 9.97 Steel Sahlutes!

Mega Steel Sahlute to Steve “Hog” Hanner at www.iKnifecollector.com for recommending the folks at Famars contact me to review this knife. The marketing dude for www.famars.com , Tim Ross, fired me off an e-mail and here we are.

Scott Rauber

7 members like this

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Replies to This Discussion

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on July 10, 2012 at 8:45

Clint, my father served in the army in the South Pacific during World War II. He told me that Mitsubishi made the engines for the Japanese Zero air plane. Your dad sounds like a real cool dude, I wish I still had my father but he passed away a long while back. Congrats on his award.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by stephen tungate on July 10, 2012 at 12:44

nice knife but cost a little to much for my liking you are talking custom knife market..

▶ Reply

KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Tim Ross on July 10, 2012 at 13:42

Hi Stephen,

Thank you for post and compliment!!

We realize costs play a major role in peoples decision to buy a knife. Our challenge everyday is the cost to make the quality knives we manufacture. Although not custom by technical standards (Our body's are machined to specific tolerance by a CNC Machine) we buy all our Steel and Aluminum in the states and hand assemble each knife one by one. If we took our patent and set up a facility in the Far East (China, Taiwan, etc) it would cost us a fraction to make. We know the quality would suffer and the country would lose an asset. We strive each day to make our customers and dealers happy to be a part of the Famars USA family. And we are so happy to be in business with the great American Machinist, Grinders, Engravers, and Laborers.

stephen tungate said:

nice knife but cost a little to much for my liking you are talking custom knife market..

▶ Reply

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on July 10, 2012 at 14:20

Tim, how many employees do ya'll have?

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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Tim Ross on July 10, 2012 at 15:10

Hi Robert,

In Rhode Island we have around 15. Give or take how busy the machine shop is. We use all local companies for blade grinding, our packaging, engraving. We buy all our blade material and body materials across the US at different vendors. When things are real busy we have sister shops in CT and MA.

Tim

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on July 10, 2012 at 17:00

That's great Tim. A good shot in the arm for our USA economy. I think this forum, the last few days will help expose your knives to alot of collectors. Good luck with them.

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Permalink Reply by Kit Adams on July 11, 2012 at 8:36

I love this knife, to bad i cant carry it since it is an auto here in NC.

▶ Reply

KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Tim Ross on July 11, 2012 at 8:45

Hi Kit,

I'm so glad to hear you are a fan. The beauty of the knife is we hand assemble each one so we can make you a spring assist version or a manual version to comply to your state requirements. Just let me know if you want to know more. 855-326-2771.

Kit Adams said:

I love this knife, to bad i cant carry it since it is an auto here in NC.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Clint Thompson on July 11, 2012 at 9:09

Kit....

Here is your NC law on knives. Being in law enforcement for the last 40 years I would say NC has some rigid knife laws. I am sure NC LEO don't enforce these too close as you would not be able to carry much more than a folder. No assisted opening, no auto, no gravity knife and no fixed blade. If you have kitchen knives with you there better be a plan on proving your on your way to a cooking contest. You should join a NC knife organization to change these laws.

Here is the NC law:

14-269 (excerpts). Carrying concealed weapons. (a) It shall be

unlawful for any person, except when on his own premises,

willfully and intentionally to carry concealed about his

person any bowie knife, dirk, dagger... razor... or other

deadly weapon of like kind. This section does not apply to

an ordinary pocket knife carried in a closed position. As

used in this section, "ordinary pocket knife" means a

small knife, designed for carrying in a pocket or purse,

which has its cutting edge and point entirely enclosed by

its handle, and that may not be opened by a throwing,

explosive, or spring action... (b1) It is a defense to

prosecution under this section that: (1) The weapon was

not a firearm; (2) The defendant was engaged in, or on the

way to or from, an activity in which he legitimately used

the weapon...

- 14-269.2... (d) It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to

possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any...

bowie knife, dirk, dagger... switchblade knife... razors

and razor blades (except solely for personal shaving), and

any sharp-pointed or edged instrument, except

instructional supplies, unaltered nail files and clips and

tools used solely for preparation of food... on

educational property [or to cause, encourage, or aid a

minor to do likewise].

- 14-269.6... it shall be unlawful for any person, including

law enforcement officers... to possess, offer for sale,

hold for sale, sell, give, loan, deliver, transport,

manufacture or go armed with any spring-loaded projectile

knife, ballistic knife, or any weapon of similar

character...

Tim Ross said:

Hi Kit,

I'm so glad to hear you are a fan. The beauty of the knife is we hand assemble each one so we can make you a spring assist version or a manual version to comply to your state requirements. Just let me know if you want to know more. 855-326-2771.

Kit Adams said:

I love this knife, to bad i cant carry it since it is an auto here in NC.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Clint Thompson on July 11, 2012 at 9:11

Robert....

Yes Mitsubishi did make the engines but also came up with the design of the Zero and then made them for the Imperial Japanese Empire.

Robert Burris said:

Clint, my father served in the army in the South Pacific during World War II. He told me that Mitsubishi made the engines for the Japanese Zero air plane. Your dad sounds like a real cool dude, I wish I still had my father but he passed away a long while back. Congrats on his award.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Scott Rauber on July 11, 2012 at 9:23

WOW...... NC no kidding. I'll

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kit Adams on July 11, 2012 at 9:29

Yeah i am a member of a few knife organizations and I am hoping we get several things changed. It is just plain crazy that we have such stringent guidelines for knifes, yet NC is an open carry state. 5 bucks will get you a permit and as soon as you buy your gun you can proudly wear it on your hip in plain view without any qualifications to own a gun other than a background check done when you apply for your permit.

As far as the NC LEO's, or state troopers go, they arnt a big fan of me. Not that I usually give them any reason to dislike me (other than being a little mouthy when they have made me sit outside my house for an hour cause my alarm, in my house, went a little weird... but thats another story.), they just seem to not trust me. Now, I am a big guy, and have a few tattoos, so i guess that is why even when i get pulled over for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign I end up having to have them call for atleast 2 more cars of backup, and half the time a pat down. I had my Cold Steel Recon 1 taken from me because looked dangerous and the blade was longer than his palm, so now I'm a little more careful about what I carry.

Clint Thompson said:

Kit....

Here is your NC law on knives. Being in law enforcement for the last 40 years I would say NC has some rigid knife laws. I am sure NC LEO don't enforce these too close as you would not be able to carry much more than a folder. No assisted opening, no auto, no gravity knife and no fixed blade. If you have kitchen knives with you there better be a plan on proving your on your way to a cooking contest. You should join a NC knife organization to change these laws.

Here is the NC law:

14-269 (excerpts). Carrying concealed weapons. (a) It shall be

   unlawful for any person, except when on his own premises,

   willfully and intentionally to carry concealed about his

   person any bowie knife, dirk, dagger... razor... or other

   deadly weapon of like kind. This section does not apply to

   an ordinary pocket knife carried in a closed position. As

   used in this section, "ordinary pocket knife" means a

   small knife, designed for carrying in a pocket or purse,

   which has its cutting edge and point entirely enclosed by

   its handle, and that may not be opened by a throwing,

   explosive, or spring action... (b1) It is a defense to

   prosecution under this section that: (1) The weapon was

   not a firearm; (2) The defendant was engaged in, or on the

   way to or from, an activity in which he legitimately used

   the weapon...

- 14-269.2... (d) It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to

   possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any...

   bowie knife, dirk, dagger... switchblade knife... razors

   and razor blades (except solely for personal shaving), and

   any sharp-pointed or edged instrument, except

   instructional supplies, unaltered nail files and clips and

   tools used solely for preparation of food... on

   educational property [or to cause, encourage, or aid a

   minor to do likewise].

- 14-269.6... it shall be unlawful for any person, including

   law enforcement officers... to possess, offer for sale,

   hold for sale, sell, give, loan, deliver, transport,

   manufacture or go armed with any spring-loaded projectile

   knife, ballistic knife, or any weapon of similar

   character...

Tim Ross said:

Hi Kit,

I'm so glad to hear you are a fan. The beauty of the knife is we hand assemble each one so we can make you a spring assist version or a manual version to comply to your state requirements. Just let me know if you want to know more. 855-326-2771.

Kit Adams said:

I love this knife, to bad i cant carry it since it is an auto here in NC.