Guardian Tactical Recon 040 - Stonewash Elmax Blade / Black Aluminum Handle

After lusting over the 040 forever I finally pulled the trigger and man was I happy I did. Besides the NIGHTMARE shipping that north west knives does, the product is amazing.

I just started laughing when seeing it for the first time, the size is just massive. I have a 035 and I didn’t think it would be that much different, but it is.

The action is so smooth and the quality is superb. If you’re thinking of buying one, do it.

What a great knife, I have yet to have any miss fires. This is my second Guardian Tactical, not sure I will be buying anymore from their USA made competitor.

So I got the Recon 40. My second one from Guardian Tactical. I’m So impressed with the quality of this piece that I needed to get a second one just to keep. The first one I got my whole crew use and it’s unbeatable. It beats the Combat Troodon by a landslide. Sorry but we have several in our crew. There isn’t even a comparison. Elmax is a great steel. So is M390. This Recon 40 was WICKEDLY sharp out of the box. I’ll be getting another I’m sure. It’s that good. Northwest Knives got it to me really quick as well. I was surprised twice now. If you’re looking for a full sized OTF I don’t think there is any competition right now for a working knife.

The Guardian 040 is a solid beast! Well made. I like pocket knives on the larger side, but even so, prefer the Guardian O35 (smaller version) especially the green handle with tanto stonewash blade. Northwest Knives shipped quickly. NW Knives: 1. My responsible spending habits: 0.

Let’s discuss the good and not so good of the Guardian Tactical Recon 040 as well as ordering from Northwest Knives.

On the good side, the Recon 040 is a superb knife with great ergonomics, superb fit and finish, and one of the sharpest out of the box blades on any knife I’ve bought. It is a size monster, equivalent to the Microtech Combat Troodon (CT) but with much, much better ease of blade deployment and a much, much lower price point. Frankly, save your money and get the Recon 040. However, finding Reccon 040s or even 035s to buy is like trying to find hen’s teeth…no one has them in stock with the exception of Northwest Knives! So kudos to them for managing to have stock!

On the not so good side, Northwest Knives does NOT ship automatic knives via USPS, unlike most on-line knife sellers. As such, they appear to be compliance with 18 U.S. Code § 1716 which prohibits the same with the exception of certain buyers. Instead, they ship via UPS Ground - Signature Required. Based upon this, not only does shipping take forever, although they do ship out fast, but you’re faced with having to sit around wasting your day waiting for UPS to deliver. It would be nice to see Northwest ship automatics UPS 3rd Day Select with no signature required. Have the buyer sign a disclaimer when buying that they accept the delivery risk. I know of no other on-line knife dealers that require a signature unless you pay extra for the feature.

Overall, a good buying experience with some needed process improvements and a great knife. That said, I would order again from Northwest Knives.