KnifeInformer: Schrade Truix Review

When word started to go around that Schradewas undergoing a revival after a buy-out from Smith & Wesson’s subsidiary Battenfeld Technologies, my optimism ran high.  After all, Schrade is a storied brand – with roots dating back to 1904 in New York, the brand had a solid century of history in the US before they declared bankruptcy in 2004 and were bought out by Taylor Brands.  After turning the previously storied name into a fairly sad state of affairs, the brand being bought out again in 2016 meant there was potential for some good products to surface again.

When Schrade announced a slew of new products in February of 2022, it included dividing the product line up into three tiers – entry level Delta class knives, upgraded Beta class knives (with nicer handles and better steel like D2), and the top-of-the-line Alpha class knives.  These Alpha class knives are all high-end materials and made in the USA, including the dramatic looking Radokfolder with its forged carbon handles, aggressive Wharncliffe blade and sculpted clip.  After I reviewed the Radok I was left with the impression that it was a knife designed to look good, not necessarily work well.  It has a lot of nice materials and features and none of it particularly worked well together, from the iffy build quality to the sometimes painful ergonomics and really terrible pocket clip.

I had higher hopes for the Truix, which sits below the Radok in the Alpha line.  It’s a lot more conventional – No weird clip, no strange sci-fi blade shape, it’s not as huge and bulky and frankly unattractive as its more expensive brother.  Make no mistake, the Truix is a better knife than the Radok, but it’s still not a good one.  It is another relatively pricey knife that’s let down by a slew of missed details and quality issues.  It gets closer to being good than the Radok, but still not close enough to recommend it.