Reiff Magnacut F6 Leuku Survival Knife First Look

Written By Nick Italiano

A few years back, Stu and Ben Shank, the owners of Reiff Knives, reached out to me inquiring if I would be interested in testing out one of the prototypes for their F4 Knife. It was a pretty pivotal moment in my life as I had never really been approached to do any knife testing before, but the knife nerd in me couldn’t resist the opportunity to test a premium American made knife! While this was my first foray as a knife tester, Reiff was also a brand new company at the time, and the F4 was one of the two knives they were launching their company with. I enjoyed the F4, I carried and used it quite a bit, and it became a regular companion for many of my outdoor adventures.

When I launched this website, I decided that my very first review should be of the F4. In the conclusion of that article I wrote “While they are still in the early stages of manufacturing and distribution I truly believe Reiff knives will soon be a very well known and respected brand in the outdoor and bushcraft community.” Nearly three years later, I am very happy to say that statement rang true! Today, Reiff Knives is a successful and growing brand with numerous available models and even more designs in the works. They have stayed true to their original roots and continue to build high-quality outdoor knives in America from premium American materials. 

Watching Reiff Knives grow over the last few years has been an absolute pleasure, and today, we will be taking a first look at Reiff Knives’ latest model, the Magnacut F6 Leuku Survival Knife. This variant of their original F6 has more than just an upgrade to Magancut super steel. It also now comes in a variety of handle scale options and three different sheath options!

Specs and Design Theory

The overall length is 11.25 inches with a 6-inch blade. To further bolster the toughness of F6 it is made from 3/16 inch blade stock.The Blade is made from CPM Magnacut heat treated to 60-62 HRC and features a drop point style blade with a hollow saber grind. The handle is 5.25 inches long, 1.16 inches wide, and .95 inches thick. This new version offers a variety of micarta and G10 handle scales. The overall weight of the F6 is 12.9 ounces.

Blade

Based on the specs it’s easy to see that the F6 is a big, burly knife. These features are not for show. Each one of them serves a valuable purpose when adventuring in the Wilderness. There is not much you can’t do with a 6 inch blade and combining that with 3/16 inch blade stock will ensure that the F6 will be ready to break down kindling and split large pieces of wood while batoning. Blades this size can even take the place of a small hatchet and perform chopping tasks. The Saber is a great jack-of-all-trades style grind. It is more than capable of doing fine wood processing tasks like creating feather sticks but also allows for increased slicing performance versus a traditional scandi grind. The Reiff F6 also has a slight hollow grind, which keeps the edge thin, which will increase cutting performance even as the blade begins to dull with use.   

Steel

Now let’s get into the Blade Steel, Magnacut is a supersteel developed by Dr. Larrin Thomas for Crucible Industries. It is one of the newest and hottest steel options on the market, and as such, it has been in high demand. Magnacut started as a popular steel for folding knives, but many fixed blade makers have begun using it due to its well-balanced properties. When it comes to corrosion resistance, Magnacut is one of the best options on the market. For outdoor users, this means less worry when using your knife in wet environments or processing heavily acidic plant materials. Besides the excellent corrosion resistance, Magnacut also boasts great edge retention and toughness. The only drawback to magnacut is that it is difficult to sharpen without diamond stones, but many modern portable sharpeners have diamond plates, so it may still be sharpened in the field with the right equipment. Even with the challenges presented with sharpening the excellent edge retention means you’ll get a lot more use between sharpening sessions. 

Handle

Stu and Ben put a tremendous amount of R&D work when developing their handles and that hard work has paid off because the first thing you will notice when picking up any Reiff knife is how good it feels in the hand. The new version of the F6 is no exception, the handle has a “coke bottle” shape providing just enough contouring and centered palm swells to help lock the knife into your hand for a comfortable and secure grip. The addition of multiple materials gives users options for both grip style and color. G10 is a bombproof fiberglass infused polymer. It is impervious to the elements, incredibly durable, and will not absorb liquids such as water, oils, or blood. Micarta is a grippy material made with layers of canvas impregnated in a polymer. It is also very durable but will absorb some liquid and dirt, which causes the material to patina over time. There is no answer to which is better, both are very durable and both will provide good grip in wet conditions. I personally love the grip that micarta provides and the patina that it develops throughout use. 

Carry System

Reiff is now offering multiple carry options for the Magnacut F6. There is a great fitting kydex sheath available as well as a leather belt sheath and a leather dangler sheath. Much like the handle material options, this will come down to personal preference. Kydex is the lightest and slimmest carry option, where leather is a bit more bulky but can offer easier access to your knife and the dangler will provide the highest level of mobility when moving and sitting with the knife on your belt.

Final Thoughts

The new Reiff Knives F6 is built to be a serious outdoor user. The robust blade combined with premium Magancut steel will ensure that the F6 will be able to take on just about anything you can throw at it. While I have not had the opportunity to do extensive testing, the F6 feels great in the hand during use and does not have any hot spots. Having multiple handle and sheath options gives the end user the ability to customize their knife based on their own individual preferences. Overall I think the Magnacut F6 is a fine addition to Reiff’s robust line of hard use American made outdoor knives and I am looking forward to using it over the next few weeks and getting a full review completed for you all! The Mangnacut F6 is releasing on June 14th, 2024, at noon Eastern time and will retail for $399.