Kizer Theta Review

As always, Kizer does not disappoint when it comes to packaging. Since Kizer Theta is a high-end knife, it came with an exceptionally premium packaging that also opens up creatively. It comes in a Kizer-imprinted box with a pouch, a cleaning cloth, a Theta rubber patch and the knife itself carefully wrapped in plastic and placed inside the pouch. The cleaning cloth had its own nice packaging with an envelope.

The knife was more than impressive right out of the box. It shone impeccably, showing off its fine finishing. The S35VN blade was razor-sharp right out of the box and the handles were smooth, contoured, firm yet grippy in the hands. It also provides a good hold in large hands.

Although the knife had a lot of oil on it right out of the box. I had to clean it with a paper towel, but I am guessing it was there for the exaggerated shine and to protect and preserve the knife.

The detent was not as strong as expected. It did not flick all the way open for the very first time, but the thumb-hole worked better at opening. It was a smooth action, but with a somewhat exaggerated wrist flick. If you just use the thumb-hole for deployment, the knife may work just fine.

The high flat grind was pretty pronounced and looked like a good slicer. The edge was also pretty sharp and pointy. The modified Wharncliffe blade thins at the edge and points right at the center. It is safe to say that it is robust without being overbuild.

The blade does not disengage or engage on its own and the stonewash is quite nice. The pocket clip is also very well-placed. It is milled titanium and is clearly a right hand only tip-up carry.

First impressions of this knife are really great and unboxing it with its premium packaging has been a joy. It is also a good knife at this price point, and you can use it for your regular EDC use.

The blade of Kizer Theta is Isham’s first knife in the Simple Series knives with its modified Wharncliffe blade shape with a straight sharpened edge and a spine that drops towards the tip. The blade comes with a high flat grind that transitions into a diagonal plunge line intersecting the edge behind the sharpened portion and down towards the sharpened edge.

The blade is 3.125” long with a chunky blade stock thickness of 0.14” from CPM S35VN powdered metal stainless steel. Kizer uses this as its blade material for many of its knives, but the blade thickness on this one is slightly more than Minitherium, Gemini, or Feist that had a stock thickness of 0.12”. The CPM S35VN is a good blade material because it has a good balance of toughness, corrosion resistance, edge retention and sharpen-ability. Edge retention and toughness is important for cutting performance, while corrosion resistance and sharpness along with hardness for durability. This blade will not break easily, and is capable of performing medium to tougher EDC tasks, given its stock thickness. This is also where the knife’s branding comes in.

The titanium scales on Kizer Theta are very well contoured and beautifully machined. The milling around the pivot is also very well done. Its build quality is high at just one look. There is a gentle arc at the flat surface of the handle with an opposite arc on the curved position. It gives the knife an organically textured appearance. The flat border stretches around the oversized decorative pivot ball and runs along its radius edges.

The edges are also well defined, contoured and well-finished. They transition plainly as they turn around the corner. You can see the micro-textured surface running along the thumb ramp and on the leading edge of the handle.

You can also really choke up the knife and hold it from the back, front and side. It is comfortable yet firm. It does not have a finger choil, but offers a comfortable hold. The minimal construction of the knife is also what makes it durable and ergonomically friendly. There is only a single body screw on each side in addition to the anodized pivot screw securing the scales together. They have a polished stainless standoff to press into the handle for stability at the end of the handle. That leaves the rest of the handle unadorned though, and quite Nordic in appearance.

The pocket clip is well-milled and machined, also from titanium. It synchronizes so well with the scales, mimicking its geometry lines in miniature style. It is configured for right hand tip-up carry only.

The ceramic ball-bearing pivot with a bolt-in stainless lockbar insert serves as an internal overtravel stop pin to prevent stress and pressure in the lockbar insert.

Therefore, the build quality of Theta is excellent, and it secures Kizer’s reputation of an excellent EDC ergonomic handle knife. It is also easy to disassemble and clean, given there are only two screws holding the scales together other than the oversized pivot screw. The ease of putting it back together further reflects the high quality of the knife

Kizer Theta has everything for good deployment and lockup. It has ceramic ball-bearings that run on steel washers on the outside of the knife to prevent molding of the titanium. It has a flipper and a thumb-hole opener with a framelock titanium lockup that has a bolt-in steel interface with a stout external stop pin.

Kizer Theta has everything for good deployment and lockup. It has ceramic ball-bearings that run on steel washers on the outside of the knife to prevent molding of the titanium. It has a flipper and a thumb-hole opener with a framelock titanium lockup that has a bolt-in steel interface with a stout external stop pin.

Although it flips smoothly, it is not as good as rest of the Kizer knives we have experienced. For starters, the flipper tab looks more like a front flipper but is not. It points unusually forward, goes parallel with the spine and too far back from the pivot to function as a front flipper – unless you use one major wrist flick to jerk it open. However, it is not a design flaw but intentional. Isham calls it Edge below Tab and leaves the flipper tab concealed in an open position so that it does not interfere with cutting from the low angles. The forward pointing flipper tab is also uncomfortable.

The detent strength is enough and works smoothly, it requires a sharp wrist flick to open the blade without any blade play getting in the way. The thumb-hole works well but does not open the blade all the way through in one flick. It gets awkward from the top side because of finger placement on the top bar. However, it works well when flicked with the middle finger.

The placement of a lighter detent was so that the user can easily use the flipper and the thumb-hole opener comfortably and effectively. If the detent was too stiff, the flipper would work fine but the thumb-hole deployment would be difficult. On the other hand, a softer detent makes the thumb-hole work fine but not the flipper. That is where the deployment suffers – the two opening methods do not sync well with each other.

Additionally, there is some grittiness in the pivot. Even if you clean it with oil and compressed air, the grittiness goes away only temporarily only to return much sooner than anticipated. This is because of the placement of ceramic ball-bearings and the knife’s open construction. Although the construction is beautifully configured, the deployment here suffers.

The framelock however works perfectly. The steel lockbar insert prevents the lock stick effectively and Theta rounds up 30% of the solid finger flip. The lockup shows absolutely no horizontal or vertical blade play or lock rock for that matter. The framelock is well dialed in and works flawlessly.

Kizer Theta vs Kizer Minitherium

As you can see, the Kizer Theta looks much like Kizer Minitherium, except that it is fully titanium and has a straighter profile. But Minitherium has better ergonomics with its lightweight carbon fiber scales and curved handle. Both the knives have the same blade, but the Minitherium offers superior cutting performance with its finer blade construction and edge holding.

Both the knives have wharncliffe blade, but the minitherium cuts well with its blade stock thickness of a standard 0.12”. Theta’s thumb-hole works just as well as the Mintherium with a perfectly aligned blade. Its price is also the same as Minitherium, but the Miitherium is a clear winner when it comes to functionality and features.

Kizer Theta vs Spyderco Yojimbo 2

Spyderco Yojimbo and Kizer Theta stand at the same price point with similar knife profiles. However, Spyderco Yojimbo has G10 scales and S30V blade. But both the knives have thumb-hole deployment that work great. But the lockup of Spyderco Yojimbo is a compression lock, and Spyderco does compression locks really well.

Both the knives are great, but Yojimbo offers better ergonomics. Both the knives also have the same blade stock thickness, but Yojimbo’s is slightly thicker with 0.16”. Both of them also perform equally the same, except Yojimbo does not come with a flipper tab, so it may work better.

Kizer Theta is a great EDC knife, except it lacks a finger choil jimping and thumb ramp. The blade is excellent and the handle also holds well. But the two do not sync well together. The handle is lightweight while the blade is thick and long. It makes using the knife awkward.

The thumb-hole works fine, but the same detent is incompatible with the flipper deployment. The framelock however, works flawlessly. The pocket clip looks impressive but creates hot spots when used.

It also feels bulky and takes up more space in the pocket. The blade’s edge also protrudes out at the spine in a closed position, which can pinch inside the pocket or on your finger.

When compared with Kizer Minitherium, the Minitherium came out to be the winner. But when compared to Soyderco Yojimbo, the two knives turned out to be very similar.

Overall, we think Kizer Theta is a good knife, but not as good as this price point being a high-end knife. Its cutting performance was underwhelming.