Blades not sharp, rough grind, all burrs. They are not shiny - discolored from black to grayish maybe from heat treat? Mine has the white stamping on the handle"NWS GERMANY PRODUCTION‚" but it is ghosted and blurry. That doesn't really matter as that will wear off. But hey for the price I really like the blade selection with marlin spike and can finish them with a sharpener.

Upon delivery the knife had two stiff blades, one especially bad (the smaller cable blade with dual cut-outs) and also some sharp points on the spring and back of the tang. I worked the blades back and forth for a couple of days and cleaned out the metal filings that built up, it eventually became easier to open. I then filed the sharp areas down and now it's a knife that is my EDC and I find it useful. I like the scraper/ spike and the shorter blade, It is super sharp! If I lacked patience this would have received one star.

I have shopped at KCT for several years and have never posted a negative review because the quality has never been in question. This knife is horrible though. Very stiff to operate. I cannot return because I thought I could remedy with some lubrication and I actually engraved it with my name The lubrication did not help much though. Very surprising from NWS who is usually top notch.