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Evaluating Pros and Cons of this Knife

Today we are going to review a credit card knife given for FREE by Survival life. Before we move on, just have a look at this credit card knife below and then we will take it up from there.

Just by the look of it you can see some of the features of this product.

The black body of this credit card knife is made from thermoplastic Polymer known as Polypropylene. This is superlight and durable material and because of this very property it is used in manufacturing of all kinds of credit card knife. Even in the one made by Iain Sinclair, it uses the same material. Now if Chemistry is not your thing and you are having difficulty comprehending the durable strength  of Polypropylene, let me simplify things for you. Polypropylene is the same material that is used in manufacturing of your good old Plastic chairs you use on your daily basis. The picture below will make things clear for you. These stuffs are made from Polypropylene(excluding the stands, Of course!).

Now the body of the credit card knives are made from the same material making them pretty durable.

Now lets discuss the thickness of this credit card knife. It is a ultra thin knife. Its just 2.2 mm thin. To bring it in the context of credit cards, its just got the thickness of two pocket sized credit cards. You need to watch the video below to get a comparative view on the thickness of this credit card knife.

Isn't it thin enough for a knife body (and durable too...)!

Survival life Credit Card Knife (Instablade) Vs Iain Sinclair Credit Card Knife (CardSharp):

Now if we compare Instablade with another popular brand of credit card knife, Iain Sinclair’s CardSharp, then there is no difference in the thickness of the two credit card knives with both measuring 2.2 mm thick (or rather thin).The only difference is in the price, with the credit card knife from Iain Sinclair priced at $11.39(at the time of writing this review) and this one from Survival life comes for Free! (Note: You will still need to pay for the Shipping and handling charges).

Now the second parameter we are going to discuss is the weight of this credit card knife. Though the official website says that this knife weighs 13 gms but when I weighed it up(multiple times), I found the weight to be around 14.2 gms (to be exact). The one offered by Iain Sinclair weighs around 12.7 gms, to be precise. Although this little difference in weight is not of much significance, considering that you are getting this for Free, but just putting things into perspective.

Now lets review the most important element of this credit card knife, its blade.

I must admit that I am really impressed with the blade, not only by its size but also with the sharpness of the blade of this credit card knife. A video clipping below, a little later, will demonstrate the sharpness of the blade of this little tool. The blade of this credit card knife is 62 mm long i.e. the usable part and the total blade length (measured after removing the flaps) is 73 mm long.

Although Survival life claims the actual blade size to be 65 mm (usable part) and 76 mm(total blade length) respectively but with my measurements I have found different results, and Yes, I have checked it twice already.

Now while measuring the blade length of the credit card knife offered by Iain Sinclair, I found that the lengths to be exactly the same as the one offered by Survival life, though officially it too suggests that their blade size is 65mm and 76 mm respectively. I am a little curious regarding the benchmarks they use while taking up these measurements. Anyways a little difference of 3 mm is not going to make much of difference (just like the little difference in the weight) BUT the USP of these credit card knives is not the size of the blade but the QUALITY of the blade. Both the companies (Survival life and Iain Sinclair) have done an excellent job when it comes to the quality of the blades they use in their knife. The blade of this knife is made up of corrosion resistant surgical stainless steel. Again to simplify the things the same quality of steel is used in manufacturing blades of traditional knives like the one in the image below.

Its your usual chromium nickel molybdenum alloy thing, which is super strong. Now Iain Sinclair is charging $11(approx) for it and that’s understandable but how Survival life is offering it for Free, is beyond me. Anyways, as I said above just to put things into context and help you understand the strength and quality of the blade used in this credit card knife, I am sharing a video which will make things clearer. Watch the video below:

The blade is super sharp! Isn’t it.

Now the video above makes apparent enough the amount of damage you can cause with this little credit card knife and the only reason you can inflict some serious damage is because of its surgical steel blade. Both Iain Sinclair and Survival life has done an amazing job with the blade of their credit card knives, more so Survival life because somehow it has managed to keep the product Free.

Now let’s talk about another innovative element of this credit card knife, its Safety Catch, when closed. This is a safety mechanism that prevents accidental cutting caused by an open blade. Both Iain Sinclair and Survival life have incorporated this little safety feature in their respective knives. This safety catch helps hold the blade in place and locks it in position. Its only after removing this safety catch that you can unlock the blade and pop it out of the flaps. This is an important little safety mechanism considering the sharpness of the blade and the damage an accidental open blade might cause. Look at the image and video below to understand the working of this safety catch.

Impressive little mechanism, I say!

This credit card knife has a simple and neat design. In other  words you can say that this little tool has been designed intelligently. Another little thing that will come to your notice just by holding this knife first time around is the protective hand guard, which will prevent your thumbs from slipping onto the raw blade when using this knife. Even if you hold this knife by the other side its hillock like design of the flaps will provide good grip and a good grip is necessary to generate power while cutting through things.

Now lets talk about the Snap Open Waterproof Locking Mechanism. Before you get too intimidated by this term, let me tell you  that its nothing but the way the two flaps of this credit card knife locks onto each other. This again goes onto show how intelligently this knife has been designed. If not for this mechanism the blade would not seat hold in its place rendering the entire concept of credit card knife useless. It is this mechanism that holds the blade fixed in its place while the knife is open and ready to be used. The video below shows this Locking mechanism in action.

All clear here!

Now many people had problems opening up and getting this slick little knife up and ready for use. But getting this credit card knife up and ready is very easy. You can open it, fold it up and get it ready in just 8-10 seconds, it’s so simple. But still I will share a little video below which shows how can you open up and fold this credit card knife and get it ready for action.

Now I hope you will not have any problem using this credit card knife by Survival life or even the one provided by Iain Sinclair, because its all the same. Frankly speaking I haven’t been able to spot out any significant difference between the two, neither in the design nor in the quality. The only difference between the two is in the pricing. Iain Sinclair charges around $11(approx.) for the same and Survival life is giving it for Free! God knows how!

Final Verdict...

My verdict on this little utility tool is that do not expect much out of it. Its no Swiss army knife. Its just a little backup utility tool which is convenient to carry and can come in handy and serve multiple purpose (self defense too…to an extent).But don’t think of waging and winning a knife fight with it. Its not meant for any such purpose. The best part of it is that its Free! So if you wish to order this credit card knife you can do it at the link below, but you have to pay for shipping and handling (just a few bucks!).

Click here to order Survival life Credit Card Knife! (from Official site)

Now one thing which annoyed me a little was the questionnaire which you have to answer while ordering this credit card knife from Survival life. Its a kind of survey consisting of many questions which you need to patiently answer before you can place your order. Honestly speaking it was a bit annoying.

But when you are getting a quality neat little product for Free in return for all your responses, you would not want to argue any more. Besides, after ordering, it took 25 days for this nifty tool to reach my home which I felt was a quite long considering Survival life is Texas based and I do not live too far away either.

One thing  I am pretty sure of is that in order to compete with Survival life, Iain Sinclair will be forced to slash down prices for their own credit card knife or come up with another ingenious marketing strategy otherwise Survival life will dominate for pretty long time to come, atleast in the credit card knife segment.

Now since we are done with our review of this Survival life credit card knife we are going to cover some FAQs regarding Credit Card Knives in general.

Is it true that this little knife is being offered for Free?

This folding credit card knife is being offered absolutely Free. No Catches whatsoever! You just need to pay for the shipping.  But don’t ask me how are they making profit out of it. I have no idea.

Are Credit Card Knives illegal and not allowed at Airports?

Credit card knives in general are not considered illegal to possess i.e. you won’t be jailed if you are found in possession of one but Yes, they are not allowed at the majority of airports around the world. It’s a no brainer that Airport authorities around the world have already declared credit card knives as illegal, considering the amount of damage that can be inflicted with these little tools. Quoting Canadian Transport Security Authority, “Unfortunately, this item is a concealed knife and, as such, is illegal under the Criminal Code of Canada”, it is apparent that these knives are considered illegal at the airports.

There are quite a few companies manufacturing Credit Card Knife. How do I Choose the Best?

Indeed there are a few companies manufacturing this little tools, be it Survival life, Iain Sinclair, Spyderco, SOG etc. Although the one offered by Survival life and Iain Sinclair remains the popular choices. I have used the one by SOG too. But honestly speaking I haven’t noticed any significant difference in either of them. They are all pretty same. Yes, the ones offered by Microtech and Spyderco is a little different (design wise) but the basic mechanism remains the same and there is hardly any difference in the blade quality as well.

There are a lot of fake Survival life Knives doing round over the Internet. How do I spot a legit one?

Yeah right. There are a lot of fake ones out there which looks exactly alike and comes with a poor blade quality. This has been reported by many people on Survival life’s Facebook page too. It was advised on their part to check out for the Survival life logo on the credit card knife. If you are not sure how this looks like. Take a look at the image below.

Besides, the best way to get the legit product is to order from the official website. In this way you are guaranteed to get the original product.

I have heard that though this Credit Card Knife is offered for Free but still you need to pay for Shipping and handling. How much do I need to pay for Shipping?

Yes. You need to pay for shipping and handling of this nifty utility tool by Survival life and the exact amount depends on your location. It can range from a minimum of $2.95 to $6.95.Shipping Charges for people living in the remote area are on a little higher side.

Still have a question which is unanswered?

If you want to know anything more or for any other credit card knife related inquiry you can call us 24x7 at 512-366-3322.

On that note we come to the end of our review. If you found this to be useful feel free to share it.