BROWNING WHEELHOUSE

100 Knives in 100 Days Giveaway: The Browning Wheelhouse

When we put out the call for donations for our 100 Knives in 100 Days Giveaway, Browning came through for us big time. They sent us 8 knives and a Wihongi Tomahawk, and I really like the one we are giving today – Day 55 (7/25/19). I really think it is my favorite knife of the lot.

It is a solidly built EDC integral framelock flipper. at an exceptionally affordable $29.99 MSRP. I found it cracking $20 in several cases online. It is a steal at that price.

If you want to win this knife, you must Register for a free account, and leave a comment on our official contest thread (here)

 

Browning’s product descriptions on their website are pretty thorough. Here is what they had to say about the Wheelhouse:

An EDC knife that can handle just about anything you throw at it. EDC stands for Every Day Carry. So, whether you’re opening envelopes and packages, or cleaning a freshly caught trout up on the river, you’ll always be ready with the Wheelhouse.

Easy to carry, every day. This is a knife designed to be carried every day. It fits smoothly in your pocket with its slim dimensions. The pocket clip makes it easy to keep it secure in your pocket, and at the same time, easy to find and remove. The flipper makes one-handed operation easy — which is especially helpful whether opening a package or doing around-camp chores. G-10 handles are about as tough as they get, so this handy knife will be around in top condition for a long time. It is the perfect gift for you or someone you care about.

3 1/2″ working blade. True, this is not a skinner,  or a chopper, or a utility knife. But it is a knife that could fill in any time for a lot of the work hunters do from building things, to cutting ropes,  to even dressing big game in a pinch. At Browning, we like knives that are ready to do the things we do outdoors. The Wheelhouse Folder is one of them.

  • TYPE All integral folding liner lock
  • BLADE 7Cr17MoV stainless steel
  • HANDLE Black G-10 handle scales • Stainless bolster
  • FEATURES Flipper for easy one-handed opening • Pocket clip • Lanyard eyelet

They don’t even mention the deep carry clip with the cutout of the Browning logo.

 

Personal Observations:

As I said at the top, I really like this knife. It has what I like to call a “Cinderella Handle” – it fits my hand like the fabled glass slipper. The ergos are a perfect match for my hand. Not even the pocket clip causes a hot spot for me. The finger notch lines up with my index finger, the pommel extends past my pinkie, and the thumb jimping and raised surface lock the knife into my hand. Your mileage may vary, but it sure fits me well.

The construction is as solid as I have ever seen at this price point and the blade is well centered. How they managed to produce an integral handle framelock at this price is really impressive. There is a lot of machining involved.

The hollow ground blade is razor sharp, and while 7Cr steel is definitely on the pedestrian side, it saves a few dollars and is super easy to sharpen. I haven’t been able to test the knife myself, but I cannot imagine it taking more than a couple of swipes across ceramic Sharpmaker rods to bring it back into shape.

The action is very crisp, the flipper tab is a good size, and even the thumb studs work pretty well. I prefer the flipper personally. Lockup is solid, with no discernible blade-wobble.

The only negatives I can even find in this knife are the fact that the single position pocket clip is tip down, but it isn’t a dealbreaker for me. And I would love to see it in a better steel. It would still be an incredible value even if they charged $5 more for 8Cr13Mov, and still pretty good deal with a performance steel like VG10 and a $45 price point. But as is it is still really like it.

Outside Review:

I could not find an outside review, which actually bums me out a bit since I want to see if the knife performs as I imagine it will. So I will close by thanking all the folks at Browning whose sponsorship of our 100 Knives in 100 Days Giveaway is truly appreciated.