Milwaukee 48-22-1997 2.5" HARDLINE Smooth Blade Pocket Knife

Milwaukee Tool Co. make some awesome tools, I own many, I wasn't setting my expectations very high when I made this purchase simply because they don't build knives for a living. This HARDLINE knife is a good knife, I like the size, shape/style and the flipper action. I also like the general look, it has a no nonesense "get to business" style about it and it seems ready to tackle what ever task asked of it. I am impressed by the rugged sturdiness with which they built this knife, you can tell Milwaukee intended it to perform real work and do so on a daily basis. It seems very well made even if the build quality is only average. There are some minor fit/finish aspects which a knife collector would grumble over but then again if you're a collector you're not likely buying this knife. The knife came well ground, even and smooth but not all that sharp. It isn't dull either but another knife I recently purchased with the same D2 steel is WAY sharper out of the box, so I know it can be made much sharper, and I will put it to my diamond sharpener shortly to remedy this. Another thing I wasn't particularly happy with is the difficulty I seem to have sliding the liner lock over to close it. On one hand its nice that it is very robust and well contoured but it has no jimping to gave you a decent grip. It's actually nice to see a frame lock as thick and substantial as the blade itself, it made me wonder how some other knives with rather thin flimsy liner locks would actually hold up. I hope through daily carry I will get more accustomed to it, but right now, it's just a bit frustrating with my extra large hands. The blade is well centered when closed, opens quickly with the flicker tab and the bearing is smooth in motion. When I use this knife I think "rough and ready" and I think that description suits this knife well. The pocket clip is reversable but is not a "deep" carry style and I believe that is intentional. You want to be able to grab this knife out of your pocket easily even when wearing work gloves and you can do just that. Plus it's made in the USA! That counts for a lot.

I’m a commercial electrician so I use my knife for skinning wire. It’s a great knife. It’s the perfect size and. It’s a quality knife. It’s very well made. I would recommend this blade to anyone. You won’t be disappointed at all.