TL;DR
- It’s a fantastic knife to actually use, but awkward to carry with an Ulti-clip
- The cuts just about everything like butter: cardboard, paper, even food.
- The ergonomics are primed for food prep since it gives knuckle clearance. It would be better with food if it had a full flat grind, though.
- The edge bites a little too hard for easy wood carving, but it’s good for making a quick pointy stick.
A Fine Tuned EDC and Camp Cooking Tool Held Back by Its Size and Carry Option
I have yet to carry a Schwarz knife I don’t absolutely love using. The blades and ergonomics of their designs are always so carefully dialed in, and they take a fully justified pride in sending out knives with razor edges.
That’s all still true with the Overland X. It’s a good compact knife that’s an efficient cutter in a broad range of contexts, especially with food prep and most EDC tasks. That’s the point, of course. It wouldn’t be called the Overland if Schwarz didn’t make sure it was optimized for Overlanding tasks, which mostly seem to be food related.
It has an odd spot in the world of knives, though. This is a mid-sized variation of a design that was optimized for overlanding, and it feels to me like that size adjustment has put the Overland X into an awkward category space that leaves me a bit at a loss where to put it in my collection.
The Free Knife Disclosure: TJ Schwarz handed us this knife at Blade Show West to review. I won’t try to make any claims about being unbiased despite that. I am not. I like this company. I like TJ. I will say that I’ve come to hold Schwarz Knives up to a high standard, and getting one for free won’t stop me from pointing out ways in which this knife might fall short of that expectation.
Specifications
| Overall Length: | 7.7” |
| Blade Length: | 3.3” |
| Blade Steel: | Magnacut |
| Hardness: | 63 – 64 HRc |
| Carry System: | Pancake-style Kydex w/ Ulticlip |
| Blade Thickness: | 0.13” |
| Blade Shape: | Sheepsfoot |
| Blade Grind: | High flat |
| Handle Length: | 4.4” |
| Handle Material: | G10 |
| Weight: | 4.8 oz / 7 oz w/ sheath |
| Designer: | TJ Schwarz |
| Made in: | Idaho |
| What I Liked | What I Didn’t Like |
|---|---|
| Great edge bites hard and cuts smooth | A little to clunky as a fixed blade EDC |
| Ergos are great for food prep | G10 scales can be slippery in cold, dry weather |
| Sheath retention is dialed in perfectly | Bites too hard for easy wood processing |
| The knife is compact but has plenty of room to grip | Ulticlip doesn’t seem like an ideal carry option for this size |
The Other Overlands
The Overland X is the middle child in the Overland line up. It sits between the Overland and Overland Sport in overall size and shares near-exact thickness with the Overland Sport. They all share the same steel, hardness, design lines, and attention to detail, though. So if you like the look you should be able to find the size that works for you.
Here’s a quick breakdown on the differences:
| Overland | 8.5” Overall / 3.8” Bade | 0.012” Behind the Edge | 0.14” Blade Thickness |
| Overland X | 7.7” Overall / 3.3” Blade | 0.008” Behind the Edge | 0.13” Blade Thickness |
| Overland Sport | 6.6” Overall / 2.8” Blade | 0.008” Behind the Edge | 0.13” Blade Thickness |
The Blade is Everything I’ve Come to Expect from Schwarz Knives
This blade shines for proper cutting. Get some green onions and a nice cut of meat under the Overland and it goes like a sports car.
It’s not the thinnest blade, but they managed to get the behind-the-edge geometry fairly slim, and the cutting edge bites hard so the cutting action feels very clean. It moves through thin paper like silk, and it quickly became my preferred knife for breaking down boxes.
It almost doesn’t matter what direction I point the blade, or how sloppy my own grip is. If I can push it forward, the blade cuts.
Wood Slows It Down
I only kind of wish it was a full flat grind so it was a little nicer for cutting up food, but I think that would make it less capable as an EDC. There’s something about high flat/sabre grinds that make cutting up cardboard a lot easier.
The only thing I didn’t really enjoy doing with the Overland X was processing wood. The edge likes to bite so carving can get tricky. I found it a little difficult to carve out the size of feathers I like for starting fires because it wants to dig into the wood. It also tends to get stuck when I baton with it, but that’s a little outside the range of intended use for this,
It’s good for making a quick point in a stick. I was able to make a skewer and a modestly-shaped fire poker in short order while trying to cook something over a campfire that wouldn’t poison us.
At the end of the day, there was almost no discernable change in the edge after breaking down a dozen large boxes and abusing it around a campsite for a bit. It still cut smooth strips of paper. This is Magnacut at around 63 HRc made by a highly competent maker, though. My expectations on edge retention were high, and they were pretty thoroughly met.
The Handle Hits Almost All the Right Points
This is a great example of a handle that helps exactly where it needs to, then gets out of the way. It’s also a pretty ingenious way of getting more knuckle clearance on a small knife without having to make the blade itself taller.
That angling back is a near-perfect shape for a pinch grip (which is largely how I ended up holding the knife for almost all tasks), and a Filipino grip. It sets the back of the handle into the palm of my hand that gives me a strong feeling of control over the knife.
The texturing on it is pretty good. It’s sort of a wide-spaced ribbing that provides decent traction and gives my fingers something to plant onto in a pinch grip.
The G10 Scales Might Not Be Ideal for the Cold
The G10 version did feel a little too slippery in the cold. Not like aluminum or any handle sanded smooth, but there was definitely some fumbling every now and then when I first took the knife out and my hands hadn’t warmed up from working on something yet.
Which is just to say that if you want a knife to take into cooler weather, the Micarta version is probably the way to go.
Great Sheath but Would Have Been Better as a Belt Carry
The sheath itself, like most Schwarz Knives sheaths, is right on point. The retention feels strong, but easy to manage when drawing. I could hike with the knife hanging upside down if I wanted and I wouldn’t feel any concern about it falling out.
But I’m increasingly out on Ulticlips, but I especially don’t like it on knives with a taller blade in a pancake-style Kydex sheath. I can never really get it to settle in a way I like. Most of the time I carry this knife it’s just loose in my back pocket while I work around the house.
When I hike with it I’ll actually fasten the Ulticlip to my pocket, and truth be told, I really like the ergonomics of it as a back-pocket carry. It’s easy to draw and sheath, I’m not all that worried about hurting anything if I slip and fall, and all things considered, the Overland doesn’t feel awkward back there.
It’s only really a problem when I want to sit down, or if I forget it’s back there and lean against a car (which only almost happened once). And it certainly isn’t going anywhere since Ulticlips always clamp onto the pocket with a clawed death grip. Great for securing the knife. Not very fun when I want to take the sheath out of the pocket.
More and more I find myself wanting the Overland X to have a drop-carry back similar to what’s on their Lost Trail 5 (although it wouldn’t have to be as heavy duty). I think it’s just big enough to warrant carrying on the hip, and since they’re using a pancake-style sheath anyway, they might as well take advantage of the holes and give it a nice, wide belt loop.
Comparison and Alternatives
On a purely design basis, I love this knife. It has a lot of little details that either optimize the way it cuts and carries or serve as efficient compromises to being somewhat compact. But it feels like the Overland X exists between categories. It’s hard for me to place where this knife should go in my personal line up.
Since I don’t exactly do the thing it was specifically made for, I’m left deciding whether I’d like to carry it as a general camping knife, a camp cooking knife, or a fixed blade EDC:
It’s not the best option I have for the first option. I’ll take a Reiff or the Schwarz LT5 for camping because I prefer the way those knives can process wood.
I’m more inclined to take the CJRB Silax for camp cooking because the thin flat grind and balance just overall feel better for cutting all kinds of food. Or the original Overland because that has a larger, taller blade that makes slicing a lot nicer.
And for fixed blade EDC I’d rather slip the Big Idea Lookout or MKM Pocket Tango into my pocket because they’re smaller and the sheaths are better designed for the pocket. Or the Overland Sport because that’s maybe small enough to make up for the pancake-style sheath taking up a little extra space.
An Excellent General Use Knife
The Overland X cuts beautifully, the sheath has great retention, and the ergonomics feel natural for slicing and push cuts. I would never regret having the Overland X for any particular task, because it’s designed and built well enough to work for just about anything.
The truth is I loved actually using it as an EDC. During the days when I found myself having to cut thread, bread down boxes, and do a bit of gardening, the Overland X was a champ. I like the way it cuts, and I usually like the way it feels in the hand.
I just can’t seem to find a way to actually carry it that I like, and shrinking the Overland design to this particular size has made the blade a little less ideal for food prep and wood processing, but hasn’t quite made it comfortable for EDC.
It’s about to become the forgotten middle child in my knife collection: capable and competent, but never asked what it wants to do for dinner because it’s surrounded by larger and smaller knives that have a clearer sense of purpose.
Someday maybe I’ll pick up a sheath back with a belt loop, and then the Overland X can travel the world. Until then it’ll take the middle seat on my table and only come out when I need help filling up the recycling.
