Oh My God! Any knife which has been hand crafted by A.G.A. Campolin and further customized by AIK is sure to be a winner. This particular Maltese style knife is such a winner and truly error-free.

Come to think of it, every knife I've purchased from AIK has been an error-free winner. That said, the mechanical operation of this knife is simply, perfect. The blade is nicely centered and sits deep in the frame. The safety lock operates smoothly while maintaining the perfect amount of resistance when locking and unlocking. The blade deploys with authority (very strong leaf spring), locks up tight, doesn't wobble and (when looking down the length of the entire knife) the blade spine is perfectly in line with the handle. No bananas here!

The back lock operates smoothly and releases the blade as expected. The paua shell scale selection could not have been any better. The shell is translucent in areas and contains deep purples and blues with subtle hues of aquamarines and pinks. The scales fit exactly as they should and have been expertly shaped to flow flawlessly with the structure of the knife. There are neither sharp edges nor over/under hanging scale material. The drill work for the pins, button and safety is perfectly fit, sized and aligned with hardware.

If there are any mosaic joins, they're entirely undetectable. The milgrain and file work is exceptional and in no way overdone. The gold screws (used to replace the original pins) contribute nicely to the overall aesthetics of the knife. The knife came with a clean, highly polished finish and zero fingerprints. AIK's maker mark, artist's signature and customization date have been inconspicuously engraved onto inner side of the back liner.

The knife was carefully packaged in a watertight protective zip lock bag, placed inside a nice A.G.A. Campolin stamped soft leather sheath, bubble and tissue wrapped. Finally, everything was securely packed into a padded box and placed in a bubble wrap mailer! Package was shipped priority with tracking information supplied immediately. Folks, AIK's high-quality craftsmanship and service are the best in this industry.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]