Kizer Dogfish Review: An Underrated Aluminum Folder

The Dogfish combines a lot of things I like: design, ergonomics, action and small details that you don’t see on every affordable knife. It was one of Kizer’s more impressive offerings of the previous year for me.

Kizer’s dimensions are 7.44 inches overall, a 3.15-inch blade and 0.120-inch blade stock. This is the 154CM version with a flat grind and milled aluminum scales. The handle is 4.29 inches long, and the knife weighs 3.39 ounces.

Caleb Waldman designed it around a button lock, which I refer to as the Trek Lock. It has a reversible tip-up clip for right- or left-hand carry. The way that clip arrangement is finished is one of my favorite details.

At the $99 price of my March 2024 review, I was impressed. I would take this over plenty of knives priced above $150. I hadn’t given it enough pocket time initially, but carrying it more had me falling in love with it again.

The Hogue Deka is very close in overall length, and the Vosteed Thornton is another useful size comparison. The Thornton, which I designed, is a little longer. I enjoy the ergonomics of all three, and the Dogfish falls into a size range I think will work well for a lot of people.

The blade is a sleek, well-balanced drop point. There is a useful stretch of flat edge followed by plenty of belly toward the tip. I really like this shape. The harpoon-like rise sits a little farther back than it does on some other blades, and it looks great here.

The jimping is excellent. It runs along the spine and back toward the rear flipper, but the forward section is especially nice. The rise behind it gives my thumb a natural stop and tells me exactly where it belongs. It has just the right amount of tackiness and grip for me.

There is also jimping where I need it for the different flipper deployments. The blade cutout itself is not jimped, but it works very well once I get used to it.

One detail I particularly appreciate is the rounded spine. Some people might call it semi-crowned because you can still make out an edge rather than one completely round surface. Either way, it is a nice bit of finishing that adds to the feel of the blade.

The handle has some of the better ergonomics I’ve found on a Kizer. The Doberman and Sheepdog are others that come to mind, but this is definitely toward the top of my personal list.

I can hold it farther back and still get four fingers on the handle, but the forward choil is where it really shines for me. My hand wraps around it beautifully. It almost reminds me of a narrower Shaman, and I couldn’t enjoy the grip much more.

Then there are the details. From a distance the milling looks like a Doppler pattern, but up close it is a spiral working its way outward from near the pivot. It looks amazing and feels great.

The reversible clip has a properly fitted filler on the unused side. I like that the filler is black against the gray aluminum. A matching gray piece would still leave a visible outline, so the contrast looks intentional, particularly with the black blade.

Kizer also carried the milling onto that filler, and the lines match up extremely well. It is a small touch, but it makes the whole knife feel more thoughtfully finished.

The Trek Lock is another highlight for me. Along with the Thornton and Cormorant, this is one of the better examples I’ve handled. It feels secure and releases very smoothly on my sample.

I can barely detect any lock stick. If I were putting a number to the sensation, I would call it about a one out of ten. That isn’t absolutely zero, but it is very, very slight.

The opening resistance is satisfying, too. It is not the clicky feel of a conventional detent ball, but I can feel some resistance before the blade breaks free. That helps give the deployment a satisfying, slightly muffled thwack.

I get that enjoyment from the back flipper, front flipper, reach-around front flip and middle-finger flick. The blade hole looks deeply recessed, but even with my nails trimmed very short I can use it easily once I have the movement figured out. I would give it a little practice rather than dismiss it at the first attempt.

When I checked in March 2024, both Blade HQ and Kizer had this version in stock. I was surprised that a knife this good at that price was still sitting there. That was the availability at the time, rather than a promise that the original aluminum version will still be available today.

At the time I hoped Kizer would make more versions, particularly titanium with a stonewashed blade or a shiny black DLC finish. The aluminum knife had already made me a fan; those were versions I wanted to see, rather than knives I had tested.

If you enjoy several opening methods and care about the small finishing details as much as I do, the Dogfish is a very appealing package. I’m going to keep standing behind this one. It is a fantastic knife that deserved more attention. Our budget pocket knife guide gives you other affordable designs to compare.