Havalon Piranta-Edge with Orange Handle with 12 Additional Crazy Sharp Blades (Piranta-Edge Orange/Dark Orange)

Short review: this is a nicely designed and executed folding scalpel. It's a great value for the money. It's advertised for dressing game, but I think lightweight backpackers or anyone who wants a stupid sharp cutting edge could benefit from the Piranta. It is not a heavy use knife and won't work for heavy-duty activities like prying, chopping, or lateral twisting (not that we should be doing that to our knives to begin with, but we've all done it).Long review: I work in medicine and immediately recognized the Havalon Piranta for what it is: this isn't really a knife, it's a folding scalpel. The Havalon blades are not proprietary and I would bet that many blades that are compatible with Bard-Parker #4 handles-like these #60 blades--would also work, if one was so inclined. But Havalon's own blades are definitely going to be the best choice, here.I don't think that being a scalpel is a bad thing, though, as long as you're using it for what it's designed for. The long and skinny #60A scalpel blades are fantastic for a variety of cutting applications, but they're not going to hold up to any hard-use activities. It's an instrument. I know we're not supposed to pry with knives, but some guy is going to do it and immediately break this delicate blade and blame the poor thing, or fail to install the blades correctly, or try to whittle a 5 inch diameter tree into a toothpick. Scalpels are very sharp but ultimately disposable by design.Personally, I purchased this item to field dress game and because I'm only okay at sharpening knives. I am a newbie without a mentor in all things related to hunting so I need simple and effective items to make my first job easier, whenever that happens. This fits the bill. The Piranta will not replace my knife completely, but it will definitely make field dressing easier.The handle scales are ABS. They feel sort of cheap if you're used to G10 or whatever on pocket knives, but ABS is perfect for this application--it doesn't have to stand-up to stupid amounts of abuse and it's very lightweight. It has a nice grippy texture. The rubber panels are only on one side of the knife, but they are soft and seem to do the job. The steel components of the knife, including the pocket clip, appear to be well made and functional. The pocket clip is removable, but not reversible, and is secured with three T5 Torx screws. The pivot is a T9 Torx screw. The lockup on the blade is quite tight. There is some wiggle where the blade is installed, which is unavoidable and due to the interchangeable blade design. That said, the play in the blade is longitudinal to the body of the handle as opposed to lateral, so it's going to be irrelevant when in use. Liner locks aren't my favorites, but the lock on this knife snaps over with authority and I have no concerns with it failing while in use. Finally, the overall fit and finish is adequate for this device, actually it's really quite nice for the price--no obvious, ugly injection molding seams, tool marks, or sharp edges that aren't supposed to be sharp. It's not perfect, but it's also not a $600 knife. Neither the blades nor the handle are made in China--the handle is made in Taiwan, and the included blades are made in India.I don't usually get too worked up over the "nylon sheaths" that come with everything these days, but the Havalon sheath is remarkably nice. It's a thick material that's competently sewn, featuring a proper snap closure and the company logo nicely embroidered on the top flap. Inside is a space for the knife itself and a separate pocket for a few extra blades. It's a nice package to keep it all together, but it certainly wouldn't look weird secured on your belt, if you are so inclined. The blade puller is obviously designed with safety in mind and it functions correctly. My only complaint about the blade remover is there is no place to put it in the sheath and it would be nice if I could keep everything together as a unit.Finally, the company ditched the wretched plastic blister packaging (shown in the product photos) and instead packaged the tool in a simple paperboard box without extra plastic nonsense, save for the individually wrapped scalpel blades. Perhaps it's silly to worry about excessive plastic waste given that it's a knife with disposable blades, but it's less useless garbage for me to have to deal with, so good on you Havalon.Pros: It's very light, super sharp, and a very high quality tool at an attractive price. The interchangeable blades are convenient and a hell of a lot sharper than I can get my knife.Cons: The Havalon Piranta is not a jack-of-all-trades. It only does one thing incredibly well, and that thing is cutting tissue. It won't replace your woods knife. It's not a survival knife by any stretch of the imagination. While the Havalon blade puller is probably adequate for switching blades in the field, it's probably a good idea to carry a multi tool to handle the blades anyways. The Piranta is something that's going to supplement your gear but not really replace it. Thankfully, the knife with a blade installed, four extra blades, the blade puller and the nylon case only weighs 94 grams; ditching the case and puller and just taking the knife and a few extra blades only adds 60ish grams to your pack, but you better have a Leatherman to change those blades. You cannot--or should not--change scalpel blades with your fingers for reasons that I hope are plainly obvious.Overall, I really like mine. I haven't used it for its intended purpose yet, but I think it will work just fine. I could see myself getting another just for EDC stuff--opening packages and letters and such things. It's a cool instrument.

Like how light and sharp the blades are. Easy change out on the blades. A good pocket carry size.

Love this knife! Excellent for hunting season!

This is my 2nd one. Love this knife and exchangeable blades for gutting and quartering Deer/Elk.

I only field dress a few animals a year so I'm no expert, but I try to be meticulous when I do it. I found this knife to be great for the butt area if you know what I mean, but bringing this knife into the cavity to clear it out can be a disaster because it is so sharp that is will cut into anything it touches including things you don't want it to cut. The size is good, I would not want anything larger, but it's too darn sharp in many cases. As for skinning the hide off the carcass it works great, but I found that I was slicing into the meat too easily and that can cause bacteria to ensue. This knife in tandem with a good skinning knife is the way to go for me. I know that many of you are thinking I just don't know what I'm doing. Well, maybe, but thought I'd give my experience. So bottom line is that I really like this knife because there is none sharp, but I use it tandem with my other favorites. I definitely pack this with me in the field.

this thing is sharp! the replaceable blades make it a great tool, abuse a blade while working and swap it out for a new one. The best experience I had was with 4-5 people lollygagging around a shipping crate getting opened. I lent the the knife for someone to cut a shipping strap away. The knife just swept through the polymer strap like butter and the lollygaggers, including your truly, gawked and exclaimed about what just happened. Yeah, its not a box cutter or safety knife, this will separate most things you drag the blade over

Seriously be careful with this thing. Comes with blade removal tool for a reason. Having said all that it’s great. Used it to carve through foam in a pelican case and it was effortless. Crazy crazy sharp.

Orange stands out pretty well on the hill side, black blends in too well and can definitely be misplaced. It's a sharp knife, does sharp knife things. Would recommend for a knife with replacement blade type of guy like me. Just be careful changing blades and they can get tricky with a bunch of animal goo built up around the base. Would buy again.