This is not intended to be a full review of the Samior GP035. I haven’t put the knife through enough testing to really put it through its paces, so this is more of an overview and a quick look at a knife that surprised me quite a bit.
I bought the GP035 at the request of Homo Sadorovich, who mentioned it in the comments and pointed out that it looked like just about the cheapest knife you could get with an M390 blade. At around $70, you get carbon fiber scales and an M390 blade, which immediately made me curious.
What really stands out about this knife is how incredibly thin the blade is. It measures just 0.078 inches thick, which is very comparable to the CRKT CEO. Having handled the CEO several times and now spending some time with the GP035, I think the Samior is better than the CEO in just about every way.
Premium Materials at a Surprisingly Low Price
With the carbon fiber version of the GP035, you get a very thin, slicey M390 blade along with beautifully done carbon fiber scales. I believe the hardware is also titanium, and the anodized blue finish looks fantastic against the carbon fiber.
One of the biggest differences between this knife and the CRKT CEO is the opening mechanism. The GP035 uses a flipper tab rather than the CEO’s thumb stud.
I generally like thumb studs, especially on my Benchmade knives, but I have always found the recessed thumb stud on the CEO very difficult to use. In my opinion, it simply isn’t a particularly pleasant opening mechanism.
The flipper on the GP035 is much better. The only issue I’ve encountered is that the lock on my particular example is slightly sticky. It occasionally hangs up a little when I close the knife, although I can still operate it easily with one hand. I don’t know whether that varies from knife to knife.
Overall, it seems like Samior has taken a design that is extremely similar to the CEO and mass-produced it in large quantities while using higher-quality materials at the same or a very similar price point. In my opinion, the GP035 simply does it a little better.
An Extremely Sharp Blade
I carried the GP035 to work and used it for opening packages, cutting tape, and removing serial numbers from TVs. I work as an AV technician, so those are the types of light cutting tasks I frequently encounter.
For work where I only need to cut through something like a single layer of cardboard, I honestly don’t think I could pick a much better knife.
This might actually be the sharpest knife I own, which is saying something considering the collection I have. It came out of the box incredibly razor sharp.
The edge is sharp enough that I think you could fairly comfortably shave with it. It could also easily cut into something like a fish, although I obviously wouldn’t recommend using it for that because you could encounter bone, and this extremely thin blade probably would not handle that very well.
The cutting edge itself, however, is fantastic.
I tested it on a thin paper coupon that came in the mail, and the blade cut through it incredibly smoothly. There was virtually no resistance. The tip is also extremely sharp, allowing it to pierce the paper and slice straight through without tearing.
For this type of cutting, the GP035 really performs.
A Great Gentleman’s Knife
I think the GP035 makes an excellent gentleman’s knife.
When Homo Sadorovich first told me about it, I expected it to leave quite a bit to be desired. My assumption was that it would essentially be a low-quality clone of the CRKT CEO.
Instead, it seems to be a CEO-style knife produced in such high volume by Samior, primarily for sale on Amazon, that the company has been able to offer better materials at a very similar price.
That also made me curious about what other knives might be available on Amazon that are being mass-produced in huge quantities while still using relatively high-quality materials.
When I normally think about knives that are primarily marketed and sold through Amazon, I tend to think about inexpensive knives with fairly low-quality materials. That isn’t necessarily meant to disparage those knives. I own plenty of inexpensive knives, and many of them can be put through some serious work, including cutting wood and other demanding tasks.
The compromise is usually lower-quality blade steel, lower-quality scales, questionable build quality, or issues such as hardware working loose or falling out.
That does not appear to be the case with the GP035.
I’ve only had the knife for a couple of days, but so far I’m extremely impressed with it. If someone were considering buying a CRKT CEO, I think I would recommend taking a serious look at this knife instead.
The design is obviously very similar to the CEO, although the addition of the flipper is a significant difference. The flipper does make the GP035 slightly less low-profile in the pocket, but I consider the improved opening action a worthwhile tradeoff.
Overall, I think the GP035 offers better value for the money and is simply a better all-around knife.
Where the Thin Blade Makes Sense—and Where It Doesn’t
If you’re looking for a gentleman’s knife to use as a letter opener or primarily for opening Amazon boxes rather than cutting those boxes down, the GP035 could be an excellent option.
The blade measures only 0.078 inches thick, while the CRKT CEO comes in at approximately 0.08 inches. They are extremely close in blade thickness.
That thin profile is one of the reasons the GP035 slices so incredibly well, but it also means I would be cautious about putting too much lateral pressure on the blade.
I think there is a real possibility of bending or breaking the blade if you tried using it for something like whittling wood or potentially even heavier cardboard cutting. In particular, I could see the extremely fine tip breaking off if it were subjected to the wrong kind of force.
M390 is supposed to be a very strong steel with excellent edge retention, but blade geometry still matters.
Is It Really M390?
I believe the GP035 probably does use M390 steel, but I don’t have the equipment required to independently test and verify the steel.
Because the blade is so thin and these knives are presumably being manufactured in very large quantities, I would imagine Samior can get a significant number of blade blanks out of its raw material. That could help explain how the company is able to offer M390 at this price point.
There is still always the possibility that the blade is not actually M390 and is instead made from a less expensive steel. Again, I don’t have the equipment necessary to verify it.
What I can say is that, based on everything I’ve done with the knife so far, the blade has held its edge very well. I haven’t noticed any visual change in cutting performance.
Looking closely at the microscopic edge, it still appears extremely well aligned to my eye. I don’t see any rolling or folding of the edge, which would seem to indicate that the blade has received a proper heat treatment.
So far, everything I’ve seen makes me think this is a fantastic all-around gentleman’s knife.
Final Thoughts
The Samior GP035 genuinely surprised me.
I went into this expecting an inexpensive, lower-quality interpretation of the CRKT CEO and instead found an extremely sharp, well-built knife with carbon fiber scales, what appears to be titanium hardware, a very effective flipper mechanism, and an M390 blade—all for around $70.
For light-duty cutting, opening packages, cutting tape, opening letters, and similar everyday tasks, I think it is an excellent option.
Thanks again to Homo Sadorovich for recommending the GP035 and bringing it to my attention.
If there are other knives you would like me to take a look at—whether they are inexpensive, mass-produced Amazon knives from relatively unknown brands or more expensive knives from established manufacturers—let me know. Obviously, I can’t buy $1,500 knives every week, but I’m generally willing to spend money on knives that people are interested in seeing reviewed.
Homo Sadorovich also requested the Cold Steel AK Field Knife, so I’ll probably get around to looking at that one eventually.
I also have a review coming up detailing my Benchmade warranty experience with the 320 Precinct, along with a look at the new Case Kinzua, which represents Case’s move into a more modern frame-lock folder design.
I haven’t been able to produce as much content recently as I would like. By the time I get off work, it is already dark, making it difficult to shoot outdoor footage. Even on weekends here in Ohio, temperatures have been around 20 to 30 degrees, which isn’t exactly ideal weather for shooting video outside.
In the meantime, I’ll continue putting together shorter reviews and overviews like this one to keep the content flowing.
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