Let me tell you about the ANV A400 BB, a knife that fascinated me so much it tempted me to run off with the prototype the first time I got my hand on it. It’s no secret that I love fixed blade knives but in many situations a folder is still a valuable choice. So when I do carry a folding knife I tend to go big and strong. While I’m a big fan of Acta Non Verba blades I always thought that it was a missed chance that their folders a relatively small and “sensible”.

So you can imagine my feelings when suddenly someone at the Acta Non Verba booth at IWA put this beauty in my hand with the words: “Here’s a new prototype. Don’t tell anyone about it but it’s very likely that this exact model will go into production”. Honestly, I was really tempted to just grab it and run for it.

I’m not good at running so I didn’t and finally I have one in my collection. It’s released for a while and so I’m finally allowed to tell you about it. Since I got it, I carried it every day I spent in a region where it’s legal to carry such a knife. Every. Single. Day.

First impression of the ANV A400 BB

Maybe you remember my review of the ANV M200 HT. Well you can see the A400 as the little sibling of the M200 and both share all the best parts of their common heritage. Both hit the sweet spot between being big and tough on one hand and being sensible and useful on the other. I mean, I love their looks but the designer clearly focused on building the most useful knife for challenging situations they could come up with.

The handle is deeply textured which gives an enormous amount of grip but still does not hurt when working over prolonged time. I can only imagine that the grooves are so narrow and close that they don’t feel “sharp”. The blade has the same shape as the M200: An almost unseeable drop point with a high flat grind and a barely there recurve. The recurve is so minimal you can even ignore it when sharpening.

When you take the knife in your hand, you immediately feel that this thing means serious business. There are many models out there that look great but feel… ok. This one fits like a glove – like a well fitted glove. You flick it open and the *clack* of the lock makes clear that it’s ready for action. Due to the great balance, the ANV A400 BB feels quite light for a knife this size. Yet, it’s not flimsy but feels trustworthy.

Regarding looks, it is a real ANV. The overall dark colors are a perfect fit for a tactical knife like the A400 BB. Still it has red details like spacers between the scales. And the “lumidot”, a small dot of glow in the dark material in the flipper. Both are details that all production ANV folders share.

Well, let’s put it to a test.

Things you shouldn’t do to your knife – 101

Depending on the build there are some things you shouldn’t use your knife for. There are other tools that perform better and are definitely less of a loss when you damage them. I don’t destroy things I test on purpose. But I like to bring them to their limits and see what they’ve got. So, kids, don’t try this at home (or in the outdoors, but you get the picture)

Hacking

Using a knife like an axe is likely to make the edge dull or even break small pieces out of the edge on every knife. Additionally a folder has a delicate mechanism for opening and locking which is not suitable for repeated impact.

So hacking was one of the first things I tried with the A400. If it would show some signs of damage I’d stop and be disappointed. But, just as expected, the knife chopped through medium sized branches without any problem. The blade geometry helps a lot with deep cuts into wood. The handle is longer than that on other knives so you can slide your hand to the end and shift the balance to the tip. It’s almost as if the knife was made for chopping!

But, realistically, it’s not a replacement for an axe. If you use it for chopping over a long time it will start to show signs of it. It’s good to know that you can use it that way in an emergency but if you can you should avoid chopping too much.

Prying

While force along the length of a knife will wear it out eventually, force along the width can break it immediately. Prying is one of the last things you want to do with with a folding knife.

So next up: Prying. Someone built a hut in the woods where I usually walk our “best friend operator” Ronja. I didn’t want to damage anything there just for test reasons but since someone tore down the whole construction just a few days before I came by with the ANV A400 BB I felt free to have a go at some of the pieces that were still nailed to a tree.

Well, I used quite a lot of force. I even bent the blade in a visible angle. It didn’t manage to break the wood loose but that was not my priority. I was a bit anxious to see the results but there simply weren’t any results to be seen. The blade was totally straight again and there was no sign of wear on the folding mechanism.

I couldn’t really believe it, but I checked if the blade was still centered in the handle and there was just no sign that something changed. I also checked for a wiggle in the opened blade: nothing.

Tip prying

The most delicate part of almost every blade is it’s tip. So applying force to the tip is likely to bend or break it.

Maybe if the folding mechanism won’t give, the tip is still a thing to try. I took to a fallen tree close to the dismantled tree house and stabbed it. Which alone can be enough force to break some tips. Since I didn’t see any result I pried some pieces of wood out of the tree. I still didn’t see any result, so I repeated the procedure a few times. Because I forgot to take pictures I repeated yet again. Well. Nothing.

Batoning

Putting a blade on a piece of wood and using another piece of wood to hammer it through is called “batoning”. Some survival guides tell you that this is only for real emergencies because it will damage your blade.

Well, even when I do this on a regular basis I thought it might not hurt to have it in the testing line. So I set out to start a fire. Collected some dry hardwood with a saw (I was just too lazy to hack through) and went to a fireplace. There I started to split the quite thick and hard branches. I made a few bigger pieces and a lot of very fine ones. After that I carved even smaller ones. So, not even was the folding mechanism, the lock and the coating of the blade totally unimpressed by my whacks, the blade was still sharp, too. I have to admit I forgot to do a “shaving test”.

To make up for forgetting the sharpness test: I haven’t sharpened the blade since I got it. I put the blade through all this, used it a few times for daily tasks and carried it in my pants pocket for over half a year (which could cause some corrosion). And after that I’m testing the sharpness as I’m writing. It’s not sharp enough to shave off hair from my forearm but it makes clean and easy cuts into paper. After a few strokes on a leather strop it even shaves again. Maybe it helps if I tell you that “daily tasks” for me include scraping fascist stickers off of metal lamp posts. Nothing that could impress a blade of this quality.

Scratching fire steel

While using the edge of a blade makes perfect sparks from a fire steel it’s not good for edge retention to use it in this way. Also the firesteel will leave hard residue on the edge and might even damage the coating on the blade.

Yeah, well. You don’t have to use the edge on a fire steel because the blade has a dedicated choil just for firesteels. It’s even marked. If you happen to scratch the coating with the fire steel you might have a hard time removing the stains. While this is purely a cosmetic issue, you can use cleaners for glass ceramic cooking surfaces to remove the stains.

The build of the ANV A400 BB

Handle

The handle of the ANV A400 BB is a bit longer than you would expect on a folding knife. That’s for one to make room for its lengthy blade but it also has another benefit. Together with the curve in the handle you can move your hand along and shift the balance.

Moving your hand to the back of the blade you can even go so far as to put your little finger on the rear end. In this hold the whole blade gets so tip-heavy you can use it for chopping, as described above. Due to the 3d shape and the very rigid texture you still have enough grip to not lose the knife. Have a look at my M200 review with a similar handle to see how well this works (I only say “video”, “lube” and “tree trunk”)

If you grab the handle close to the blade, you have a deep dent for your index finger. With the balance moved to a more rear end heavy hold you can make swift and precise cuts. Since the blade has the very fitting flat grind in a not too wide angle you’ll be able to do precision work just like with a knife that’s much smaller. You just can’t use end the of the blade because there’s a choil for a fire steel but more on that later.

Blade of the ANV A400 BB

The blade is made of Sleipner steel and cryogenically hardened like many of the bigger blades by ANV. It’s a flat grind with a very decent drop point and a an “almost not there” recurve.

To sum it up, it’s a very sensible blade shape that fits perfectly for it’s intended use: Everything you need when you’re outdoors in a package that’s small enough to always carry with you. The blade cuts very well due to it’s angle, it’s easy to sharpen and yet it’s thick and tough enough to not let you down in a critical moment. It’s like the archetype of an every day carry working knife blade.

Like on other ANV knives, the spine is rounded and nice to the touch. Some wide and rounded serrations on the back allow for a better grip for your thumb when applying force to the spine of the blade. Because you can’t use these smooth parts to work with a firesteel, there’s a small choil between edge and handle. It’s even marked with “firesteel”

Folding mechanism and lock

The ANV A400 BB already has it in its name: “BB” stands for ball bearing. You might love or hate ball bearings on a knife but ANV invented a new way to use BBs that will not wear out as easily as other ball bearings on knives. I’ve used this system on a few different ANV knives and none has let me down so far.

For swift opening there’s a flipper with integrated “lumidot”, meaning a small piece of glow in the dark material. A distinctive feature of all Acta Non Verba folders. Together with the ball bearings you get a fast opening and a very satisfying “whack” noise.

You might argue that something like a “survival folder” might not need to be swift but since this is also an EDC knife, it’s more than fitting to be able to open it quickly. And of course, it’s perfect for collectors.

ANVs “A-Lock” is similar to the famous axis lock. I have to admit that I didn’t disassemble my knife to check the differences, but the axis lock is not protected by patent anymore anyway. Locks of this style are known to be among the toughest locking mechanisms ever built for folding knifes. During all the use and tests I could not find even the slightest flaw in how it locked.

Technically speaking it’s basically a bolt that runs from one hole in one scale to another hole in the other scale. Using a spring it’s pushed into a notch at the rear end of the blade. So even, if its bits should show a bit of wear and tear, the spring will make sure that the bolt will still sit tight. A big plus of this mechanism is that it’s ambidextrous.

Maintenance of the ANV A400 BB

So far I didn’t need to repair or reset anything on this knife. But just in case, I tried how well it would work to losen or tighten the screws. A simple screwdriver is all you need in case you really manage to get a wiggle into the folding mechanism. Luckily the Acta Non Verba M050 CMS comes with all the bits you might need for field repair.

Availability

If I showed you why you want your own Acta Non Verba A400 BB, then head over to Perunika and grab one! Thank me later.

Conclusion about the Acta Non Verba A400 BB

I was in love with this knife when I first saw the prototype and the production version totally held the promise. Right now I only see one big issue with this knife: I love to rotate through my collection when I chose which knife to carry. And for almost a year now I just did not leave this one at home. Sometimes I do take other knives with me but they are always “extras”.

If you follow my blog for a while you know that I have a fixed “real EDC” kit with things I absolutely rely upon. If shit hits the fan, I know I can trust these items and I never leave my home without them. And without noticing the ANV A400 BB became a part of this. I guess there’s nothing I can say to better show how much I respect this knife.