I recently received an Eric Ochs Lynx Knife by Drop in a small group of knives I purchased. That’s a mouthful but it’s the only way to tell you what it is! The Knife was designed by Eric Ochs, he called it a “Lynx” and was built by REAT and distributed by DROP. There!
Background Information
I wasn’t familiar with DROP or REAT. Apparently, if you have a design idea for a new knife, you can submit it to a company called DROP. They in turn will evaluate the concept, arrange for a manufacturer to build it and help distribute it. Actually, it’s an interesting concept for someone lacking production connections, facilities, or a marketing team.
REAT is a Chinese based manufacturer of cutlery. From what I can discover, it appears they have a good reputation for building quality cutlery.
Finally, Eric Ochs is a US knife designer/maker. He’s been making knives for around 15 years. Some are handmade by Eric and, as in the case of the Lynx, some are contracted out. Based on the Lynx, he has some pretty good ideas.
The Knife
The overall length closed is roughly 4″ with a 3″ drop point blade. Blade steel is RWL34 stainless with a flawless stonewash finish. Just a brief note, the “RWL” is in recognition by Damasteel (the steel maker) of Robert W Loveless. I’ll let you do the research on the association.
The handle is G10 with a Titanium pocket clip, liner and lock. Caged Ceramic Bearings result in a super smooth opening blade. An interesting (albeit minor) detail on the butt is the jimping.
It’s an interesting concept. The jimping is relatively shallow and not very noticeable in the hand. Once I was aware of it I moved the knife around in my hand and you could feel that it did give you a little more control over slippage. It’s not so deep it would get irritating to your hand, but it could serve a function.
The milling of the G10 handle results in a nice secure surface. Again, it’s not so deep or sharp to be irritating but does seem to work as intended. G10 is a fantastic handle material and works great under wet or dry conditions.
Both surfaces on the liner lock are properly beveled to accommodate any wear. You’ll also notice a beefy titanium lock that is as solid as it gets. When it comes to using a liner lock for dressing game, one of my complaints has been the debris that can collect between the liners. In my old Buck 110 you can quickly get enough tallow between the liners to make it damned hard to close the blade without a good cleaning. Not a problem with the Lynx. There’s plenty of room to allow any crud to pass through or be easily flushed with a little soap and water.
Solid Locking Surfaces 
Plenty of room for debris to fall through
Summing it all up…
Like it or not, the Chinese can build a helluva knife at a great price. It seems like every time I try to pick one of their knives apart, I come up short. The quality we see compared to just 10 years ago is incredible. The Eric Ochs Lynx is a great example. It’s a well thought out design that’s well built.