Overview & First Impressions
Every hand-forged chain link begins as a bar cut to length, and a hundred-link chain means a hundred cuts before a single ring is closed. Smiths cut stock, trim the scarf where a link will be welded, and clean scale off the bends with a shop blade between hammer sessions. The cut lengths have to be consistent or the chain drifts uneven, so the blade doing the marking cuts matters more than visitors to a forge would ever guess.
Materials & Construction
Forge scale is the enemy: iron oxide flakes that embed in soft steel edges and drag through the next cut like lapping compound. A hard, fine-grained alloy resists that embedding. M390's powder-metallurgy structure keeps its apex through scale-laden stock cutting, and Bestech knives back it with a titanium frame lock on the Buwaya, whose solid metal slabs ignore the heat radiating from a bench near the forge.
Design & Details
The Buwaya BT2203B pairs a frame lock with a broad titanium handle that grips sooty gloves. The lock's engagement is visible, useful when a smith checks the blade will not close under twisting stock, and the M390 blade's drop point starts cuts in mid-bar where layout lines cross. The wide handle spreads pressure during leverage cuts that would concentrate a slimmer knife uncomfortably.
Real-World Use
Four cuts fill a chainmaker's day. Cutting bar stock to link length needs a blade that scores deep enough for a clean snap. Trimming weld scarfs needs an angle that leaves metal for the hammer. Cleaning scale from bends needs a stiff, fresh edge used as a scraper. Marking leather for the chain's display mounting needs a fine tip. One folder doing all four survives a forge bench only if its steel and lock are honest.
Ownership Notes
Smiths are unsentimental about tools but loyal to the ones that last, and conversations about working EDC knives at forges always circle back to scale resistance and lock solidity. Among folding knives built for that duty, the Buwaya at EdcMall stands out: M390 steel, titanium slabs, and a price that reflects factory heat treatment done properly rather than marketing margins.
Who Is This For?
Buy it if you work a forge, welding bench or any hot shop where scale, heat and abrasion destroy lesser blades. It suits chainmakers, farriers' apprentices, smiths who demo at events, and metalworkers who want one pocket knife that survives the environment. Skip it if your shop work is light fabrication, since a cheaper liner lock would do. For heavy, scale-covered, high-heat benches, this is the right tool.
Final Verdict
Chainmaking is honest repetition, and the Buwaya BT2203B is an honest tool for it: M390 edge retention through forge scale, a frame lock that never questions its own strength, and titanium that treats heat as weather rather than a threat. It is heavier than fashion folders and correct for exactly that reason. Dedicate it to the forge bench and it will cut stock for chains long after cheaper knives have retired.
