As widely explained in the biography on their website, the patriotic spirit guides the choices in terms of manufacturing and choice of materials, all in the name of the "made in the USA" and of a constant commitment to guarantee the end customer an high quality products.
The Spartan Blade Formido (fear in Latin) is a fixed blade knife devoted to self-defense and EDC.

The steel used for the Formido is CPM-S35VN stainless steel hardened to 59 / 60HRC, a material which confers an high cutting capacity and edge retention. The blade with its tanto profile, has a length of 95 mm and a thickness of 4.8 mm. On the blade spine there is the anti-slip jimpings that favor the thumb positioning. To preserve the index finger from the blade we find both a finger groove and a small - but useful - guard.

There are two finishes available: SpartaCoat - PVD - Tungsten DLC (Flat Black) or ZrN (Flat Dark Earth).

The Formido is a skeletonized knife (devoid of the handle scales), but the handle size and thickness are such as to guarantee a good grip and handling of the tool. On the handle there are triangular-shaped lightening millings, which bring the knife balanced onto the guard. At the terminal part of the tang there's the lanyard hole.

It is clearly possible to personalize your knife with a paracord wrapping, thus increasing the thickness on the handle, making the grip on the knife even more comfortable.

The knife at our disposal comes with a Kydex sheath, in the same color as the knife coating, and it is equipped with IWB belt loop. As an alternative to Kydex it is possible to choose the Nylon sheath, featured on Spartan Blades catalog.
The clean lines and the simplicity of the Formido made the knife eye catching, but at the same time this marked linearity could make you feel the lack of the extra details. The proportions between blade and handle are such as not to preclude different uses of the knife, in addition to self-defence, even if given the not so small dimensions, in my opinion would have been appreciate a pair of handle scales. As an alternative to the soft loop, an ideal solution for IWB carry, I also suggest the use of a Tek Lok for those who prefer more rigid adapter systems.

Overall, the Spartan Blades Formido shows up in terms of shape, size and ease of handling, not only as a "self-defense tool" but also as an excellent utility knife, providing at the same time lightness and practicality carrying. High-end steel and the excellent workmanship do not disappoint expectations by rightly placing the Formido in an high-end category products.

European retail price is € 310

SPECIFICATIONS:

Manufacturer: Spartan Blades, U.S.A. - spartanbladesusa.com
Type: fixed blade, skeletonized tang
Blade profile: tanto
Steel: CPM-S35VN (59/60HRC)
Blade length: 95 mm
Blade thickness: 4,8 mm
Total length : 220 mm
Sheath: Kydek or Nylon
Weight: 132 grammi
Made in U.S.A.

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