Ergonomics:
The Sparrow fits a M/L hand very comfortably and securely on its shapely handle with contoured scales (concave front, convex back), but it may not present enough room for a larger hand. The front of the handle (including the flipper) nestles the index and middle fingers in a wide, shallow valley which grants a secure grip while allowing sufficient room to change hand positions. The back seats the ring and pinky fingers a relaxed grip. The extensive shaping means the knife has good presence even through gloves.
The deep carry pocket clip (righty-only) hasn't caused any hotspots: my palm tends to float above it or rest gently on it in most hand positions.
Most corners are nicely rounded off, but the edge and top of the lockbar could've been rounded a little more: as it stands, the lockbar has a few slightly sharp spots.
Construction:
Decent tolerances: the action and detent were a bit loose at first, but after an initial disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly the Sparrow opens and closes smoothly and without play: no detent lash, no pivot lash, and no blade movement while opened. The disassembly process was really painless. Thank you, Kizer, for not using evil red Loctite!
I wish the standoffs had a D-shaped end, but the standoffs did not spin during disassembly or reassembly. If you choose to add Loctite to the body screws, the lack of keying may become an issue. Thankfully, the pivot is D-shaped!
The blade is slightly biased toward the clip/lock side, and I can't quite convince it to stay perfectly centered. YouTuber Metal Complex's centering method may get it to stay centered, but I have not tried it.
Performance:
The Sparrow came with an sharp and mostly even factory edge, though on every Sparrows I've sharpened, roughly 2cm of the edge on the clip side has been significantly more obtuse near the heel. This error will eventually sharpen out though, and it isn't on a part of the edge I use too often.
The edge has taken well to sharpening and reprofiling, taking a steeper bevel quickly on a 400 grit diamond stone and a new edge quickly on a 1500 grit ceramic stone, and it has also responded well to stropping on wood-backed leather with 4k grit diamond paste.
The blade features a flat grind running 9/16" of its width, and this gives the knife a decent geometry that retains some durability. It has performed well at light to medium cutting tasks (leather and tougher cardboard) especially after I reprofiled the edge to a more acute angle. Keep in mind that the blade stock is 3mm, so the Sparrow exactly a box cutter; if you need an *extremely* slicey knife, look elsewhere. Unlike the straight edge of a traditional Wharncliffe or sheepsfoot, the Sparrow's curved edge can cut down neatly onto a flat surface from the tip to the middle.
The lock provides a strong detent, lending the flipper a satisfying action but making reverse-flicking a bit painful. The lock started around 30% lockup or so with a small amount of lock stick and after reassembly has settled around 50% with no lock stick.
Final Thoughts:
Absolutely recommendable! If you're on a budget, wait for a sale since Kizer tends to hold sales fairly often. The Sparrow's so good I've purchased three! I'd eventually like to see a new set of colorways featuring a non-black blade and more colorful scales.
