Knife Review: Pro-Tech Skulls #3 SBR Automatic Knife

The Pro-Tech Skulls #3 SBR Automatic Knife

Pro-Tech Knives, LLC is a family owned knife company that has been building high quality American Made knives since 1999. Each of their knives is a blend of the finest materials available, mixed with their commitment to craftsmanship. Their knives are always built with the most current high-tech manufacturing process that includes CNC Machining, Wire EDM, and Laser Cutting. The high-tech components are assembled and hand fit by dedicated and caring craftsmen right in their factory. Yes, that does mean that they are all made in the United States of America!

One of the unique aspects about Pro-Tech is that they manufacture small batches of knives so that they can take the time to individually hand fit and finish each knife to a level that you are rarely going to find in a factory knife. Their production knife models offer the best design, function, and value of any knife that you are going to find on the market today. They even have custom art knives that are individual pieces of art. Each of their custom, limited-edition knives are a showpiece of heirloom quality. But, no matter which of their knives that you choose to purchase, they, and we, are confident that you will be very satisfied with your purchase.

Their collection of knives is always changing. They are always working on new designs form collaboration partners, new variations of classic designs, new inlay materials, Damascus blade choices, and many more.

Today we will be discussing one of their newest releases, the Pro-Tech Skulls #3 SBR automatic knife. This knife is in stock at BladeOps, but it will be going quick, and quantities are limited. If you are hoping to get your hands on one of these, you’re going to want to hurry.

The Blade:

The blade on this version of the SBR has been made out of Chad Nichols Damascus steel. The name itself on this steel dates back to medieval cultures. The name does refer to a craftsmanship style that comes out of India. This was round 300 B.C. which was a time when craftsmanship was large. This steel name was most likely named for the 

region where it comes out of, in Syria. Damascus was originally used for swords. These swords were known to be tough, almost resistant to shattering, and even capable of getting a very fine edge on it.

At the time, Damascus steel was known as almost a superplastic, because it was hard and durable at the same time. Today, our Damascus steel can outperform the ancient Damascus steels, but many legends have come out of the Damascus steel history.

The Damascus steel is known for the bands and mottling that is welded together in a patterned fashion to create a decorative blade. Often times, this pattern is compared to flowing water. To create this steel, the manufacturer is going to combine different pure metals, depending on what they want to get out of the specific Damascus steel.

Nichols Damascus company says, “we strive to offer a quality product at a reasonable price.” This is important for two reasons. For starters, Damascus is a complicated process that creates a single steel made out of different steels. This means that the cost of a Damascus steel is usually fairly high, which also means that the price of the overall knife is going to skyrocket. This Damascus steel is going to be quality but offered at a reasonable price that will lower the overall cost of the steel.

The blade has been finished in a Damascus finish, which is most often found on a Damascus blade. This is because of how the steel is made. Like I mentioned, this steel is made when multiple different metals are melted together and then hardened. Because of the different densities, melting points, etc., the steel has a mottled look to it. This finish is known for being very beautiful—definitely more for aesthetic than performance.

On the Skulls #3 SBR, the Damascus finish appears to have different circles, with thin liens that outline them until they are all connected. With each Damascus finish, it is going to look slightly different, allowing a knife to feel more custom. This is a finish that is not offered on too many knives, so while the handle is unique, the blade may steal the show.

The blade has been carved into a classic drop point blade shape. Just like the name implies, the point on this blade shape is dropped. The dropped, or lowered aspect, is going to provide the control that fine detail work requires. Plus, you will have more control over all of your cuts and slices, which is something that you cannot go wrong with. While the spine on most drop points angles downward slightly from the handle to the point, this one is slightly different. The spine starts out going straight out from the handle in a row of thick jimping. This row of jimping is going to help provide even more control. After the row of jimping, the spine angles down to the point.

The next defining characteristic of a drop point blade shape is that it has a very broad tip. This is where the strength of the blade shape comes from. Drop points are known for begin strong, for being able to take on the toughest of tasks, for never having to back down. Of course, this broad tip is also one of the biggest drawbacks to the blade shape. Because of the thickness, you aren’t going to be able to easily pierce with the SBR. Of course, with all of the other great characteristics, this shouldn’t be too big of an issue.

The last great thing about a classic drop point blade shape is that the belly is massive. This extra size leads to a better ability to slice with.

The Handle:

The handle on this Pro-Tech has been made out of 6061-T6 aluminum. Aluminum is a very popular handle material, because it does offer a lot of characteristics that are easily desired form a knife. For starters, aluminum is very corrosion resistant, which means that maintenance is going to be much easier. It is also a durable and strong material. It doesn’t and won’t feel cheap or flimsy in your hand while you are trying to use it. This can sometimes happen with more modern materials such as GFN.

Then we get to the 6061-T6 aluminum alloy. This is the strongest alloy of aluminum and it offers the highest yield resistance. This means that all of those great qualities that we just talked about are going to be further enhanced. This is going to be strong, tough, and incredibly corrosion resistant.

Unfortunately, there are still some disadvantages to having an aluminum handle. For starters, it is prone to getting scratched and dinged. The other disadvantage is that it does have a high level of conductive properties. This means that when it is cold, the metal is going to feel extra cold. In some environments, this coldness is nearly unbearable.

The handle does feature a Peter Keller anodized handle in a unique skull-them motif. For starters, the anodization process offers a lot of great qualities as well. This is a chemical change to the surface of the aluminum, which means that the color is not going to peel off like other coatings. Plus, it almost creates a barrier in the same way that a coating would. This means that the handle is going to be stronger, tougher, and even more corrosion resistant than the original aluminum. Plus, while plain aluminum is prone to getting scratched, this anodization process is going to limit the amount of scratches that it does accumulate.

The special anodization process is black and purple, with purple skulls appearing on black background. In between the different skulls are wreath-like designs that pair well with the Damascus blade.

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on the SBR is designed for tip up carry only on the traditional side of the handle. Like most things, this has positive and negative aspects to it. The negative aspects are that this is not going to be an ambidextrous friendly knife. Also, tip up carry is the more dangerous way to carry a knife. This is due to when or if the blade randomly opens, you are in more danger if you reach into your pocket when it is a tip up carry. However, this is a sturdy knife, with a sturdy mechanism, so you shouldn’t have to worry about that.

The biggest positive aspect of the single position carry is that there are going to be no random drill marks where the clip is not.

The pocket clip is black, which pairs well with the purple and dark purple/black appearance of the handle. The clip is slightly skeletonized, which does allow you to see the two silver screws keeping it in place, which match the rest of the hardware on this knife.

The Mechanism:

This is a push button automatic knife. Like all automatic knives, this one will also fall under the same strict set of laws in the United States of America. These laws state that automatic knives are not legal in all states, cities, or areas. It is your responsibility to know your local knife laws before purchasing or carrying this knife. BladeOps is not the responsible party.

One of the only other drawbacks to an automatic knife other than the legality issues is that they are slightly harder to maintain. This is due to the amount of inner workings and moving parts that must be kept clean and dry. Really, unless you are using this knife for some pretty messy tasks—like hunting—the automatic function should not be any bigger of an issue than a typical manual pocket knife.

The SBR is a push-button automatic, which means that to deploy the blade, all you have to do is press the firing button on the face of the handle. The firing button has been inlayed with Mother-of-Pearl. This is the largest advantage of having any automatic knife, because it is so easy to use. All you have to do is press the button and the blade will swing open and lock into place, ready for use. This leads to all the major advantages of having an automatic knife, such as saving time when you need it most. As well as being able to open the knife with only one hand. Automatic knives are easier, quicker, and smoother to use than your typical manual folding knife.

The Specs:

The blade on this version of the SBR measures in at 2.625 inches long with a handle that measures in at 3.875 inches long. This creates an overall length of 6.5 inches long when the blade has been deployed. This is going to be a strong enough knife that it can take on what you want it to, however, it is on the smaller side of the knife spectrum.

The lack of length and the aluminum handles are going to translate into a much lighter weight knife. This Skulls #3 SBR automatic knife weighs in at a mere 2.9 ounces. This minimum weight does have positive and negative aspects to it. The biggest positive aspect is that it is not going to weigh you down in the slightest. It will be easy to have this knife with you without even remembering that you do. However, the negatives are that it is not going to offer you the heft that may be required for certain tasks.

This Pro-Tech was made in the United States of America. This means that you will be able to easily rely on the quality of the automatic knife.

Conclusion:

This special-edition automatic knife features a Peter Keller anodized aluminum handle in a unique skull-theme motif, a drop point style blade in a Damascus finish and the pocket clip is designed for tip up carry.

The Pro-Tech SBR (Short Bladed Rockeye) is a Les George designed push-button auto that boasts a stout 1/8" thick blade stock. Each model sports stylized pockets milled into the spine and the deep finger groove promotes excellent grip security. Lastly this specific model also includes a mother of pearl inlay on the firing button.

This version of the SBR is in stock currently at BladeOps. Shop this one and other versions of the SBR here.