The Arch Ally by Nemesis Knives is one of my favorite compact fixed blades on the market today. It’s just under 6″ in length with a cutting edge of 2.5″ and nearly 3″ of total blade length.
This is a U.S.A. made, full tang, fixed blade knife made of CPM-S30V, a premium stainless steel, and it can be found for as little as $100. That’s a steal for a knife of this quality.
The G10 handle scales come in three colors (black, green, and blue) and they are perfectly matched to the blade. You literally can’t feel where the metal ends and the G10 begins—they are that well finished. Even the screws are carefully countersunk to avoid any protrusions or hotspots.
It’s only a 3-finger knife, but it has a lanyard hole if you need to add a little extra grip. The cutouts on the spine toward the blade aren’t exactly jimping, but they provide four distinct thumb rests depending on how you prefer to choke up on the blade.
The included kydex sheath has good retention and no rattle, but it is unnecessarily bulky in my opinion and could have easily been made more compact without sacrificing any function. It’s still a solid sheath, all in all, and I haven’t felt the need to replace or modify it.
Final Thoughts
The design of Nemesis Arch Ally is more tactical and somewhat less utilitarian than other similarly sized knives such as the ESEE Izula, but its use of premium stainless steel and well finished G10 make it a very compelling package at a surprisingly affordable price. At just over 3 ounces including the sheath, it’s also a comfortable neck knife for urban EDC use. I highly recommend this knife.
