Made in the U.S., affordable, ergonomic, and built for hard work, the Bear Edge 102 Sideliner is an everyday knife that hits all the right notes
by Dexter Ewing; photos by Marty Stanfield, Marty Stanfield Photography
When considering lower cost knives, most of what’s out there are knives that are sourced from the Far East. Nothing wrong with this, but there’s a percentage of consumers who wish to only purchase USA-made knives. There aren’t too many options when it comes to lower cost USA-made knives. Not everyone can afford to purchase a $300+ high-end factory knife. If you do own such knives, you might prefer a lower cost knife that you can carry, use, and beat up without worrying about damaging or losing it.
This is where Bear & Son Cutlery comes in.
Bear & Son is a reputable USA brand that offers a lot of lower cost options for USA-made knives that fit this purpose exactly. We received Bear & Son’s Bear Edge 102 Sideliner single lock blade folding knife for review to see if it would hold up to such daily use.
While not a new model for the company, the Bear Edge 102 Sideliner has been around for a few years. I selected this model to review based upon its ergonomic-shaped handle paired with a sexy looking recurve drop point blade. It looks like it would be a great knife for someone in the trades as well as being an excellent everyday carry knife. It is also built in the USA in Bear and Son’s Jacksonville, Alabama, factory.
Starting with the modified drop point blade, the recurved edge is sinuous and does an excellent job at slicing (more on this in a bit). The blade is 3 ⅜ inches in length and is made of 440A stainless steel. This isn’t a high-end blade steel by any means, but it is a steel that has good edge holding and rust resistant properties and it is easy to maintain. It will take an edge cleanly when the time comes to resharpen.
The blade can be quickly deployed with one hand using either the ambidextrous thumb studs or the flipper tab on the tang of the blade. Strategically placed traction notches on the blade spine allow you to place your thumb or index finger on it to apply more direct downward pressure, making cuts easy and controllable. The blade is given a bead blast finish for subdued visibility. All grinds are even, both the primary as well as the swedge.
The Bear Edge 102 Sideliner’s handle is well designed and executed. Textured black G-10 laminate handles conceal double-nested stainless-steel liners for rigidity, and the G-10 incorporates some features that make the handle easier and more comfortable to hold. With the nested liners, the inside of the G-10 is milled out so the steel liner can sit flush inside the G-10. This reduces the overall width of the handle compared with non-nested liners.
In the finger grip area, there are two finger grooves. These grooves help to seat your fingers on the handle and allow you to get a more secure grip for safety and control. A deep-carry-style pocket clip is included, which carries the knife tip up in the pocket. There’s another set of clip screw holes on the opposite handle scale, which allows you to switch the clip around to accommodate left-handed users. Held in place with two T6 Torx head screws, the pocket clip can be easily re-mounted.
The handle spine is mainly an open-style construction, allowing you to quickly clean the pocket lint and other debris from the inside of the handle using compressed air or by rinsing under running water. The liner lock blade lock mechanism secures the blade in the open position, preventing accidental closure during hard use. The handle spine also incorporates a run of the same style traction notches found on the blade spine, giving you a nonslip grip on the handle.
With an overall length of 7 ⅞ inches, the Bear Edge 102 Sideliner is large enough to tackle the bigger cutting jobs. Recurve blades accentuate cutting power by presenting the cutting edge at an angle relative to what is being cut. Using a back and forth sawing motion, this allows the recurved belly to slice with efficiency. If you measure the length of the recurve blade and compare that with the length of a non-recurve blade, you will find that the cutting edge of the recurve is always longer because it packs in more edge within the same blade length. Plus, recurve blades look cool! When it comes time to resharpen a recurved blade, be sure to select a sharpener with a round profile, such as a diamond sharpening rod. The round profile sharpener will capture all the curves of the recurve blade.
I found the knife to be an excellent everyday carry folding knife. It carries very low when clipped in the pocket. It opens quick with one hand using the flipper tab and has a great blade length that’s large enough to tackle most cutting chores but compact enough to not get in the way.
The 440A might be lower on the blade steel totem pole but it is a steel that can easily be sharpened quickly, which is a plus when you must sharpen in the field.
Another thing I like is the handle ergonomics. The various finger grooves help your hand attain a secure, nonslip grip in conjunction with the textured G-10. All of this helps to inspire user confidence as well as maintain all-weather grip quality. I like how it was plenty sharp right out of the box. In short, this knife is ready to be put to work. Slicing materials like linoleum and cardboard are easy. If you need an inexpensive knife for trade work, consider the Bear Edge 102 Sideliner folder. It will more than stand up to heavy daily use.
With an MSRP of $73.99 and being made in the USA, you cannot go wrong with such value. If you prefer OD green handles, the Bear Edge 102 Sideliner is also available in OD green G-10, and either version is also available in a partially serrated blade for extra cutting power.
