Fox Karambit 479 SW Review: More Useful Than I Expected

The 479 SW is a full-size folder, measuring 8.5 inches overall with a 3.1-inch hawkbill blade and roughly 3 inches of cutting edge. The blade is 0.12 inch thick and uses Bohler N690 with a flat grind and stonewashed finish.

The black G10 is very, very aggressive. The handle is about 5.5 inches long and half an inch thick, with a reversible tip-up clip. This Italian-made knife weighs 4.2 ounces. My review price in September 2020 was $129.95.

The TRM Atom and large CJRB Feldspar give a rough idea of its front-to-back size. I don’t have a collection of karambits to compare, so these conventional folders are useful for scale rather than a perfect like-for-like comparison.

The Cold Steel Code 4 and Spyderco Para Military 2 provide another familiar reference. The Fox is such a different shape that none of them tells the whole story, but they help put its overall footprint in perspective.

I had always been intrigued by karambits and thought they looked awesome, even though I didn’t see one as a particularly practical EDC knife. I picked this one up and carried it for a little while to find out how much use I would actually get from it.

The blade is razor sharp. It isn’t as thin as something like a Quiet Carry Waypoint or TRM Atom, but the curve of that hawkbill makes it an impressive slicer for the things I tried. It was more useful than I expected.

The two jobs that really surprised me were opening letters and opening packages. It went straight through an envelope very easily, and the pronounced point worked exceptionally well on package tape. I wouldn’t choose it for a lot of cardboard cutting, but for opening a box or a letter, it worked phenomenally well.

The limitation is how it looks. This isn’t something I would casually take out at the grocery store or in just any public setting. I enjoy it at home and when talking knives with friends, but it is a much more conspicuous choice than an ordinary pocket knife.

I really like the jimping on the flipper tab and above it. The forward grip feels surprisingly good: my thumb has a comfortable place to sit, and the texture gives it plenty of purchase.

My index finger sits a little behind the flipper tab instead of having the tab pressed right against it. That extra space works nicely for me. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this grip as much as I do.

The ring and high-mounted clip are central to the karambit layout. This is extremely high carry, with a lot of the handle and ring left above the pocket.

The Emerson Wave is a pocket-catching opening feature, and I found its deployment very effective. It behaves differently from a conventional flipper. That mechanism is part of what makes this knife distinctive, rather than a reason to expect it to handle like my usual EDC folders.

This is a design associated with self-defense and martial arts, but I’m not a martial-arts expert. My interest was in trying an unusual knife, seeing how it carried and discovering what use I would get from it.

The reverse grip feels pretty good, although the handle seems a little long for my hand. My index finger ends up farther from the other three fingers than I’d like. Bringing them closer together puts my hand against the handle’s contour.

If the handle were about a quarter to a third of an inch shorter, I think the fit would be just about perfect for me. As it is, it is still comfortable enough to enjoy, but that length is the change I would make.

It carries well for me, but it isn’t the sort of knife I would take out and use frequently in public. Its appearance and specialized layout are real considerations if what you mainly want is a routine everyday cutter.

The Wave action is good, but the conventional flipper is very stiff on my sample. A normal finger-only push doesn’t do the job; it takes a lot of wrist movement to get the blade out that way. Don’t expect the effortless action of a typical modern EDC flipper.

The liner lock has a nice, solid feel, and the overall construction is what really stands out to me beyond the appearance. It feels extremely stout in hand. That is an impression of the build, not a measured durability or lock-strength result.

This is a fun, unusual piece that certainly isn’t for everyone. I wanted to try a karambit for myself, and I’m glad I did. The useful forward grip and surprising ability with letters and package tape gave me more to appreciate than just the way it looks.

It won’t replace a conventional folder for every job, but it was an interesting one to spend time with. Our karambit guide gives you other designs to compare, including the smaller Fox 599.