Coast LX320 Pocket Knife

I recently had the opportunity to review the Coast LX320 pocket knife. Of course, Coast doesn’t really need much of an intro on this site. In addition to their knives and multi-tools they make some outstanding LED lights that we’re huge fans of. But this is my first experience with one of their knives.

I‘ll admit that I hadn‘t bought one of their knives before because I had only seen them in the auto parts stores, and just never thought about buying a pocket knife there. I’m very picky about the knives that I spend money on, and made it a point to learn about the different kinds of steels that are good for knife blades, the grinds for them, the different blade designs and what designs work the best for a job. Of course I have own opinions about it all, but that is why I‘m here writing these reviews, so I can lead as many people to the promised land as I can (and play with new gear).

Coast’s LX320 is a folding pocketknife with a 3.0 inch drop point blade designed for one handed use by having a large thumb hole for opening. The edge is serrated on the first portion of the blade with some pretty aggressive serrations. The handle/frame is made of aluminum with heavy checkering and a pocket clip that carries the knife quite deep in the pocket. This gives a pretty solid feel, but I did find that the blade loosened a little while out testing it to see just how much I could put it through. That was easily corrected by tightening the bolt in the main joint. On the LX320, the blade is made of 7Cr17 steel, which is a Chinese stainless steel comparable to American-made 440A stainless. This keeps the cost down with a high corrosion resistance, perfect for a pocket knife. It has a non-glare finish that looks quite good, and the edge wasn‘t bad when it was received and during use and abuse it held up pretty well. I played with the knife for the last week using it whenever I could – making opportunities, and finding all sorts of things to cut up. I resisted the urge to give the cutting edge my loving touch and left it that way for a week before attempting to put the kind of sharp edge on a knife that I like – sharp enough to shave with. It wasn‘t difficult to get a good sharp edge on it, much easier than I thought it would be really. Having a hollow grind blade made this much easier to do, but also doesn‘t take a lot of abuse. I haven‘t had enough time to find out how durable this new edge is yet, only time will tell.

With a suggested retail of only $15.99, this is a solid pocket knife that would be great to carry as an inexpensive, yet reliable everyday knife.  It’s not the one I would take on extended outdoor trips, but definitely what I need for a daily carry knife. A knife that won’t leave me heartbroken if I lose. Unlike the many expensive knives that I have lost out of my pockets over the years, I won‘t think about losing this every time I put it my pocket, but will still feel like I have a fully capable knife in my pocket. coastportland.com

– Rob S.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the Coast LX320 pocket knife for free from Coast, in consideration for review publication