Olamic Wayfarer 247 Knife Consult -- Good, but is it Great?

My thoughts on the Olamic Wayfarer 247. A knife designed with EDC in mind. Shabazz called it his knife of the year...I beg to differ. It's well made, but a few issues keep it from being truly great. What do you think?

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[franknowakowski]

I've owned one for a few weeks now, using it daily. Mine is a plain model, no holes, inserts, etc. With the LE discount it was $360. Throw in the options available as well as the ridiculously short time between ordering and having the knife in hand. And I'm quite happy with my Olamic's.

[franksalem]

I bought one when they first came out and mine is one of the 5 smoothest deploying knives in my collection (over 400). The blade doesn't fall shut on its own weight but can be lightly shaken to close very nicely. I would compare the deployment of this knife to my Koenig Arius and the closing requiring maybe 15% more effort. I don't know about knife of the year but it is one of the top 10 knives in my collection.

[lucacadianalbert]

I have one and absolutely love it. Yeah it doesn't drop shut - but it's still pretty damn smooth. If you ask them, Olamic will tune the knife so you can more easily use the thumb holes - I can finger flick mine but it's very difficult. My friend has a 247 and his you can easily flick it.

[christopherjohnson]

I love the looks of this knife but like a lot of knives in the 3.4 to 3.6 inch bladed folders wish it was 4 to 4.2 inch. My hands are probably just a touch larger than yours and I often find the same issues with these "EDC focused" knife sizes. An upscaled version of this would be nice. I know the original Wayfarer Custom (called a classic now) was a 4" blade but those are pretty scarce and pricey and have a slightly different look depending on how it was done. Maybe I'll order one someday and just tell them "make it look like a bigger 247" and see what I get.


When I first got the ZT 0450 I thought it was cool, but it was not comfortable to open as it was too small for my hand. When I got the 452CF it was simply Nirvana and I sold off my 450 and 450CF since my wife was still happy with her Emerson Mini-Roadhouse. I like the ZT 0920, perfect size. I want to love my 0609 and sure do love looking at it but it is also a bit uncomfortable to open in my hand due to its small size and I run out of grip real estate on it. I hope a bigger version of it comes out as well. I know the 606 is a thing but it is long gone.


With the way the 45x progressed, from the 454 to the 450 to the 452 I'm hoping the 606/609 follows suit. 606 to 609 to 60x, with the last being a production version of the 606 like the 452 is to the 454.

[abcf]

I spent $495 for a kinetic ocean, gold rock backspacer model. It's a beautiful knife but I am disappointed with the closing action. I like a knife that when you close it and the flipper hits your thumb, that the blade will be able to fall or be shaken closed. The detent is late so the blade needs to be almost at a 90° angle in relation to the handle to reach the point where it's cleared of the detent and can be shaken closed. For the money, I think my sebenza and umnumzaan are better, more precision made knives.

[blitzbbffl]

For most knives the addition of a detent ball ramp eliminates the two stage close. Deepening that ramp will, most likely, take care of that problem.

[todaysgrailtomorrowsbeater]

Sweet blade, Tony! Thanks for another great video, Frank!

[christamu]

I think you'll appreciate the Swish more. I love both but the Swish is more refined, generally a bit smoother, and it has a larger, more neutral handle design.

[mforrest]

If you sent it in they would fix up that detent. Olamic is rough cut out in Italy but finished in America. They do great work. I totally agree that the handle is too small for large hands. In all, figuring the price. Might be the best bang for your buck available. Wish they still used elmax but the new ones are m390.

[guncotton]

I would not turn this knife down for 70% off but there are many knives i would choose over it for a third the money because the design does not stand out to me at all, I prefer a 4 inch blade and I find all metal scaled folders cold on the hands here in Canada not to mention the reasons stated in your review - cheers

[jdmbeaner]

Olamic weakened the detent on the newer (m390) versions. I had a regular plain Jane which had a crazy stiff detent which I traded in for a custom one which had a much softer detent.

[slidetek]

LOL! You nailed it as usual Doc! My biggest complaint is the "perfect" ergos. Could be why Nick loved it - so sculpted I could see a medium sized hand loving it. But my pinky's got no place to go. The blade hole reminds me of the WE 606, strictly for aesthetics as far as I can tell! I'd prefer killing off the hole and doing a high-flat grind. I've thought about a heavier weight oil or even grease to smooth out action, hoping to see what Eugene thinks. I carry the crap out of this knife, in spite of its foibles I _love it._ The Swish is heads and shoulders better as far as sophistication and ergos for larger hands, but this is still a keeper for me. A lot of WTF? moments, but it was a first in a lot of ways. Sorry, I bet it had sawdust in it, didn't it? At least it was _sharp_ this time!

[jsstr]

I have one in m390 and its smooth with no hangups. Medium hands, good ergos but not great

[edvanek]

I agree with you. The best thing about my, 247, was the resale value. One of the few knives I purchased new. And made a profit on.
I ordered mine with a scluped back spacer. As I recall, it was gold anodized. With matching hardware. Being able to customize the knife was cool.
And again, how many knives do you buy new. And get to resale for a $200.00 profit?

[eplane]

Got one of these in the M390 recurve version. Detent is OTT strong. Ergos would suit Nick Shabazz’s smaller hands. I like it, just don’t love it...Great review, Doc.

[captainsewerrat]

I really like the Wayfarer but I have big hands myself so I've been drooling over the Swish instead. Hoping to score one this year depending on how things go.

[BParker]

Man everything about that design looks so awesome to me. The non functional hole would definitely make me hesitate buying it

[kurtgrates]

Nice review Doc, I did not realize that these were made in Italy, for some reason I assumed they were made in USA. Been interested in these for a while now, look to be well made..

[d__knives]

Weird, i wonder if maybe it might be too tight to flip because i can spydie flick my Wayfarer. Totally agree with the odd closing action though

[jayunitedwestand]

another great video sir...i have always liked the 247 and i like you pointed out that you can't flick that blade open that is a BIG disappointment for me if that hole was not there then fine it's a flipper but it kinda makes you think you can also spydie flick it and you can't i know they don't say it's also a flicker but i don't like that the hole serves no purpose at all...but that is just my opinion...