In this detailed review of the ANV – ACTA NON VERBA Knives A100 Folding Knife, find out if this could be the perfect size for everyday tasks? Read on in this ANV A100 Ultem Review to see. The version of the A100 featured in this detailed review has Natural Ultem for the handles and a DLC coated Sleipner blade.
The ANV A100 has a sleek modern design and is made from the latest materials. The single sided (you choose the side to suit your handedness) thumb stud features a glowing Superluminova dot, as used in luxury watch faces.
The handle used for this A100 is made from Natural Ultem (polyetherimide) which is a semi-transparent high strength plastic material that can operate in high service temperature environments with excellent chemical resistance. It also has outstanding electrical properties, with one of the highest dielectric strengths of any thermoplastic material. Best known for its use in the aircraft industry, it has also been a popular material choice in the knife world.
ANV specify the A100 as using A-lock, more commonly known as an Axis Lock, and the A100 has an ambidextrous deep-carry wire pocket clip.
What’s in the box?:
The typical ANV presentation for a folder is a black cardboard box with precision cut foam liner perfectly securing the knife in place. Also included is an information card.
A good look round the folded A100 – Things to look out for here are:
And now onto a large gallery looking round the knife in the folded state. At first glance the apparent colour choice may seem unusual with its yellowy-orange colour, but remember this is a feature of Ultem in its Natural, or uncoloured, state. The A100 has other handle choices including dyed Ultem and a range of colours in GRN (depending on availability). The fact it is Ultem is to be celebrated.
The transparent natural Ultem also makes it easy to see what is going on inside. A deep carry wire pocket clip can be fitted to either side of the handle. As strong as Ultem is, the A100 uses small steel inserts for the a-lock and bearings, and the exposed edge of the liner has thumb-grip jimping. The pivot bolt is one sided, and is in fact secured with blue loctite. The handles are attached to a GRN back spacer with small screws.
For the A100, a single-sided thumb stud is used. This is an interesting design where the stud and treaded post are one piece, and it is not a screw going through the blade and into the stud. When removing it to swap sides, remember you actually screw it in with a T6 bit to remove it and then tighten it by unscrewing what appears to be the ‘screw head’.
Back to the gallery after the little thumb-stud aside…the floating GRN back spacer covers the entire length of the handle where the cutting edge might be seen.
Looking between the jimped steel liners the lock bar and stop pin can also be seen.
A good look round the open A100 – Things to look out for here are:
Swinging out the distinctive ANV blade allows us to further appreciate the clear natural Ultem handles by watching the lock mechanism’s function, and with the dark blade out of the handle the Ultem really lights up.
There is no mistaking the ANV blade shape, and the Sleipner steel used in this version has a DLC coating to protect the steel.
Going in close to show the plunge line and sharpening choil details, and with the blade open the size of the steel liners is easier to see.
The Blade and Handle – Detailed Measurements:
For full details of the tests and measurements carried out and an explanation of the results, see the page – Knife Technical Testing – How It’s Done.
The blade is made from Sleipner steel.
The Factory edge up close:
Followers of Tactical Reviews will know my views on factory edges, but to recap:
Anyone using a knife will need to sharpen it. That first factory edge is just like the first tank of fuel that a new car comes with (or first charge of the battery).
A good factory edge is a ‘nice to have’ but not a ‘make or break’ for a good knife, as you will be putting your own edge onto it soon enough.
The factory edge does however indicate the care a knife maker has put into the final finish.
It is for this reason Tactical Reviews measures factory edge sharpness and specifications, and includes this information in the detailed technical testing.
As a further look at the factory edge, this section has been added to include some high magnification photos of the factory edges.
What is it like to use?
Immediately the A100 feels slim, light and easy to carry, but not insubstantial. In fact its weight belies that the A100 is a good sized knife. The gallery below shows the A100 in my XL-glove sized hand.
Yes, it is slim in the hand, but this slim profile makes it so easy to carry. Combined with the deep carry pocket clip it virtually disappears and you are not aware it is there (which can give you the occasional ‘oh, no, have I lost my knife?!’ stress). Tip-up is my preferred clip position, and although this is considered more hazardous, remember the A100 uses an A-Lock (which I would identify as an Axis-Lock) so the lock spring also positively keeps the blade closed. With this positive spring pressure it massively reduces the likelihood of an unwanted pocket-open. It isn’t something I would be concerned about with this knife, so the layout works perfectly for me.
Putting it to use, and with the toughness of the Ultem to play with, I decided to give it a literal beating. A bit of batoning, but without the lock engaged. The smaller steel liners might not have been able to spread the shock I normally generate while striking, so I used the unlocked blade method. You will see the blade locked to then work the blade out of the cut, which you can’t do if it isn’t locked. That was enough of that, as I really don’t like unlocked-folder batoning.
Moving onto carving and shaving cuts, the A100’s blade really bites in and cuts aggressively but smoothly. The slim handle does feel harder work in heavy cuts; of course it would. The A100 doesn’t shy away from the hard work though, and has done its stint as my beater knife with whatever thrown at it. The DLC has taken everything in its stride and knowing Sleipner is only a semi-stainless, it has surprised me that the edge bevel is not showing any corrosion despite being left well covered in ‘garden goop’, various plant/tree sap, and whatever else was on what I was cutting.
I am always a bit surprised at the popularity of ball bearings in knife pivots, as exactly as I would expect on a user exposed to dust, the A100 has become gritty. The blade no longer moves under its own weight with the lock held open. It is not stiff in action, but is not smooth as it was out of the box.
ANV effectively sell the A100 as a sealed unit, and do not advise disassembling the pivot as the bearings can be very difficult to get right again (and it has blue loctite on the pivot bolt). This then leaves non-disassembly methods of cleaning. Air blasting, WD-40, and maybe even ultrasonic cleaning.
ANV aimed the A100 at EDC (when your local laws allow carrying a locker) which prioritises factors like size and weight, to make you want to EDC it. Not only have they hit the target on weight, slimness, and ease of carry, but at the same time included a good sized blade with an eager cutting blade profile, AND their signature ANV svedge grind (a faux harpoon, to my eye), making it a very efficient and useful tool to carry.
Review Summary
The views expressed in this summary table are from the point of view of the reviewer’s personal use. I am not a member of the armed forces and cannot comment on its use beyond a cutting tool or field/hunting knife.
Something that might be a ‘pro’ for one user can be a ‘con’ for another, so the comments are categorised based on my requirements. You should consider all points and if they could be beneficial to you.
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What doesn’t work so well for me
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Bearings becoming gritty in dusty environments.
Slim handle can dig in for heavy cutting (as you would expect).
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Things I like
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Light and easy to EDC.
Deep carry clip makes the A100 almost disappear in/on your pocket.
A good size, despite being lightweight, so large enough for most tasks.
Smooth bearings (when kept clean).
Ambidextrous with movable thumb stud and clip.
Choice of blade steels.
ANV Svedge blade shape.
Resilient DLC blade coating.
Super tough Ultem handle.
Review Videos
Starting with a short format sixty second review:
Onto a full video review covering many more details:
Thanks for joining me in this ANV A100 Ultem Review.
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