REASONS TO BUY
Interchangeable blades
Clean
Open design
REASONS TO AVOID
Rattly blade
Narrow handle
Havalon Piranta Original Review
Your typical pocket knife design optimized with scalpel-like interchangeable blades, combining a compact carry size with always-new blade performance
The Havalon Piranta Original.
Credit: Kyle Hameister
RELATED: Best Pocket Knives of 2024
Our Verdict
The Havalon Piranta Original pocket knife is our top choice for hunting and angling. When dressing game, a fresh, factory-tuned blade is almost crucial, as it generally requires multiple iterations of freshly honed blades to get the job done. You can accomplish this in the heat of the moment by taking the time to utilize sharpening hardware to refresh your blade. However, such additional steps require expertise, and most manual self-sharpeners rarely get their edges as good as new. The Piranta takes a different approach. It is sold with 12 extra blades in the package with a design that facilitates swapping them out. This makes it easy to carry and change into brand-new blades as needed. Havalon's parent company makes surgical scalpels, so they now bring this expertise to the world of pocket knives. Piranta replacement blades are tuned for everyday use and are as sharp as medical tools. No other knife we tested performed as well when it came to dressing wild game, and the Havalon Piranta still holds up reasonably well when faced with general tasks around camp.
Editor's Note: This review was updated on October 25, 2024, to include refreshed alternate product suggestions based on our most recent lineup.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Havalon Piranta Original | |||||
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| Awards |  Best Knife for Hunting |  Best Bang for your Buck | Best on a Tight Budget | ||
| Price | $65 List | $77 List $57.38 at Amazon | $48 List $48.00 at Amazon | $17.00 List $15.99 at Amazon | $10.00 List $9.95 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | For hunting, you want a new, carefully tuned factory edge all the time, and this design makes swapping in and out new blades easy | There's sure to be a colorway that suits you in CIVIVI's lineup. And take confidence that a great knife will come with it no matter what | CRKT designed this knife to be especially portable and included some commendable material selections | A simple, well-made, especially portable option in today's knife market that's small and light enough to forget it's on you, and strong enough to work in a pinch | An affordable, tactical knife that isn't nearly as well constructed as other knives in our lineup |
| Rating Categories | Havalon Piranta Ori... | CIVIVI Button Lock... | CRKT Drifter | Gerber Paraframe Mini | Albatross EDC Tactical |
| Blade and Edge Integrity (30%) | |||||
| Ergonomics (25%) | |||||
| Portability (20%) | |||||
| Construction Quality (25%) | |||||
| Specs | Havalon Piranta Ori... | CIVIVI Button Lock... | CRKT Drifter | Gerber Paraframe Mini | Albatross EDC Tactical |
| Blade Length (Measured) | 2.31 in | 2.77 in | 2.75 in | 2.20 in | 2.50 in |
| Length Open (Measured) | 6.62 in | 7.05 in | 6.49 in | 5.3 in | 6.50 in |
| Length Closed (Measured) | 3.79 in | 4.15 in | 3.65 in | 3.10 in | 3.90 in |
| Weight (Measured) | 1.85 oz | 3.15 oz | 2.20 oz | 1.45 oz | 3.80 oz |
| Closed Thickness w/o Pocket Clip (Measured) | 0.36 in | 0.52 in | 0.33 in | 0.29 in | 0.40 in |
| Blade Style | Interchangeable scalpel blades | Drop point, plain edge | Recurve blade, plain edge | Drop point, plain edge | Drop point, plain edge |
| Blade Material | S30V stainless steel | Nitro-V stainless steel | D2 stainless steel | High carbon stainless steel | 440 stainless steel |
| Closed Blade Lock | No | No | No | No | No |
| Open Blade Lock Mechanism | Frame lock | Button lock | Liner lock | Frame lock | Liner lock |
| Handle Material | Stainless steel with G10 inlay | G10 fiberglass laminate | G10 fiberglass laminate | Stainless steel | Stainless steel |
| Opening Style | Ambidextrous thumb stud | Flipper (non-assisted) | Flipper (non-assisted), ambidextrous thumb stud | Fingernail | Assisted, flipper |
| Carry Style | Pocket clip, lanyard hole | Pocket clip, lanyard hole | Pocket clip, lanyard hole | Pocket clip | Pocket clip |
| Other Features Or Functions | None | Lanyard hole | Lanyard hole | None | Seatbelt cutter, glass breaker |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Havalon Pirantal is the only knife in our test that has a user-replaceable blade. In fact, when assessing pocket knife models you will not find another so well equipped for frequent and easy blade changes. The Piranta is designed to work with the Havalon 60a scalpel blade, and a bunch of such blades are included with your initial purchase. To keep a fine, usable edge, Piranta users change the blade out entirely rather than resharpen the one they already have. When the edge has degraded below your standards or needs, you put in a brand-new blade and move on. This is clever and a valuable asset in certain settings. Some tasks, especially those related to hunting and game preparation, will wear down a tuned edge or two within a single session. Some hunters carry sharpening equipment, some carry multiple knives, and now some can carry the Piranta. We recommend the Piranta for exactly this reason and purpose. Having a factory-tuned, low-angle, wicked-sharp edge through the dressing of an entire large mammal is incredibly valuable. Being able to take advantage of those features while also reducing overall weight and creating minimal hassle is what really sells the Havalon Piranta.
Performance Comparison
The Havalon Piranta features quick-change scalpel blades, easily swappable in the field with the included blade change tool, or by carefully prying off with some pliers.
Credit: Kyle Hameister
Blade and Edge Integrity
Analysis of the blade of the Piranta is almost entirely different than analysis of other pocket knives. The unique edge performance of this Havalon knife is tied entirely to its fundamental design. Your typical pocket knife is meant to be resharpened. Resharpening works and has for millennia. However, it requires effort, time, specialized equipment, and a blade with material and structure different from what actual cutting might require. A blade built to be resharpened is thicker and softer than it would be if it were optimized for cutting alone.
The blade of the Piranta isn't meant to be resharpened. You swap it out with a brand new one when you need to. This makes it fast and convenient but also allows Havalon to make the blade much thinner, with a gentler front edge angle, than the blade on virtually any other pocket knife. The Piranta edge is very fine and cuts very, very precisely.
The edge wears at about an average rate. Edge wear is a function mainly related to the material hardness and edge angle. A steeper edge angle and harder blade material contribute to longer-lasting edge integrity. Harder materials are harder to sharpen at home. Your typical pocket knife is built with steel of moderate hardness and moderate edge angle, attempting to strike a balance of cutting acuity, edge integrity, and ease of resharpening.
The Piranta comes with 12 replacement scalpel blades, a quick-change guide, and a belt sheath
Credit: Kyle Hameister
Since the Piranta blades aren't meant to be sharpened at home, the steel can be harder than typical pocket knife blade steel. Factory sharpening and honing equipment and techniques are more effective and tolerant of hard steel than home techniques. We did not test hardness, but we have good reason to believe that the Piranta blades are much harder than typical pocket blades. We deduce this because the edge holds up as expected of typical pocket knives, but the edge angle is very, very low. The blade starts thin and takes a long, slow taper to a razor edge. If they were made of typical home-sharpenable steel, we would expect the Havalon blades to wear rapidly.
A specialized tool which excels in its specific use case.
Credit: Kyle Hameister
The Havalon Piranta knife is built to work with their '60a' scalpel-style blades. Havalon's parent company, Havel's Inc., is exclusively a scalpel company. Surgical-grade scalpels come in a variety of styles. Interchangeable blades are pretty common in that setting. The blade change interface is fairly standardized but not perfectly universal. Surgical #60 scalpel blades are built to work on #4 handles. As best we can tell, the Havalon 60a blades are the same as #60 but a little thicker. If this deduction is true (and we've done a fair amount of digging), only Havalon #60a blades will work on the Piranta. This shouldn't be a problem. It is a good blade shape, works well, and is widely available.
The Piranta's 60A surgical steel scalpel blades are its defining feature. Notice also the large and comfortable thumb rise; one of its other notable features.
Credit: Kyle Hameister
Ergonomics
In use, the Piranta is familiar and comfortable. Havalon's intent seems to have been to make a knife with all the advantages of a surgical scalpel but with the usability and familiarity of a pocket knife.
The Piranta is about the same length as other compact full-size pocket knives; 3.7 inches is about perfect for us when looking for an optimum balance of dexterity and carriage. Because the blade is so thin and compact, the handle can be narrow, too. The handle is a little too narrow if you ask us. A slightly bulkier grip is better for most adult hands for heavy and extended use, which the Piranta is designed for. The textures and contours are good but don't make up for the narrow handle.
The prominent thumb pad on the blade of the Piranta is meant to double as a one-handed open anchor point. Though great in theory, we found it to work less than 50% of the time as such in our day-to-day use.
Credit: Kyle Hameister
Swapping blades in and out is also an ergonomic consideration. You can do it with your bare hands, but this is sketchy. You're likely to cut yourself if you try to remove or replace a blade with bare hands. Pliers work, too, but that also takes some risk. It is best to use the included plastic tool. The clamshell-like orange tool Havalon ships with this knife is slick and clever for removing and installing new blades. Mind your fingertips as you manipulate and unwrap new and old blades.
In a pinch (pun intended) one can change the Piranta blade with pliers. The included tool is preferable though.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Portability
At 1.85 ounces, this is very light for such an effective and purpose-built tool. We like that. We also like the tight pocket clip. Other online reviewers cite issues with the pocket clip losing its spring, but we haven't experienced that and have a hard time imagining it. There's also a pair of holes in the handle for installing a lanyard cord, should you choose.
We don't usually expect knives of this stature to include a belt sheath. The Piranta comes with this. At first, it seems far from necessary. The knife is small enough to disappear in any pocket, and pocket-clipped carry is faster and easier to deploy than from a sheath. However, when you realize that you need to carry extra blades most of the time and that the Havalon sheath holds some of these, the sheath makes more sense. The sheath is compact enough that you could carry it just as a vessel for your extra blades while the Piranta itself lives in your pocket.
The belt sheath of the Piranta holds some extra blades and the knife or the blade changing tool. It won't hold the tool and the knife at the same time.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Construction Quality
Aside from the blade, Havalon's Piranta employs familiar construction cues and materials. The handle is two pieces of steel bolted together. The inside of this frame is wide open for ready cleaning.
Piranta pivots and joints are tight and smooth. The frame lock yields no play and disengages readily. Unlike any other knife we tested, the blade itself is temporarily affixed to the knife. This interface is secure but rattles a little bit. You will notice this, but we cannot envision a situation in which it would matter. The blade interface relies on fairly close tolerances and small grooves. Real messy tasks (like game dressing, for which the Piranta is optimized) can fill the grooves with gunk during blade changes. We got it messy this way and found that all but the most stubborn detritus in the way could be removed from the important interfaces by some sharp taps to a firm surface.
Everything about the Piranta is slender. With the blade, this is only good. We do wish the handle were a little bulkier for extended and strenuous use.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Should You Buy the Havalon Piranta?
The Havalon Piranta is unique and brings performance attributes that should appeal to hunters and anglers. For dressing game of all sizes, the opportunity to always have a brand-new knife blade is quite appealing. The Piranta is solidly mid-range in terms of price. However, considering the innovative design and modularity, it is a good value. There are some minor drawbacks that some will not like for everyday carry, but backcountry hunters can't do any better than this knife.
What Other Pocket Knives Should You Consider?
For hunting and angling, the Havalon Piranta presents a great value. There are other hunting-focused knives, though, including the excellent Benchmade 15032 North Fork. But for compact knives, such as those aimed at the EDC crowd (everyday carry), better options exist. At this price point, models like the CRKT Drifter and CIVIVI Button Lock Elementum II are going to be good alternatives to consider. However, a high-quality pocket knife can last for decades if properly sharpened and maintained. So we maintain that it is well worth investing in a top-end knife, like the Benchmade 535 Bugout, when everyday needs are the goals you are trying to meet.
—
Jediah Porter & Kyle Hameister
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