Everyday Commentary

Zebralight SC600 Mk.II Review

2013-05-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

This is the first of many things for the site: the first thing reviewed from the new sponsor; the first Zebralight reviewed; and the first production 18650 I have reviewed. More than all that though, this is just a great light. It is not as elegant as Jason's Prometheus light, but in many, many ways this is the Paramilitary 2 of flashlights--small and light for their capabilities, insane flexibility, and slightly rough around the edges. These two items would make a light&saber pair that could, quite honestly, last you a lifetime and perform any and all tasks you could ever need them to do. There is room for improvement here, but it all nibbling at the edges. This is simply one hell of a light.

Looking at the specs and the size of the light tells you a lot, but sometimes all of those numbers can be misleading. Lots of things have good bullet point lists and turn out to be less than the sum of their parts (the Kershaw Cryo, for example). But here, the bullet point list is very representative. This is a light that can match a car headlight and yet dribble out the lumens on moonlight mode. And it does all of this in package not that much bigger than the McGizmo Haiku. There is a reason this thing has been sold out everywhere--it is a great deal.

Here is the product page. The light, when available, runs about $95 or there about. It runs on a rechargeable only 18650 battery. That is simply the cost of hitting lumens counts this high. The Mk. II is shorter than the Mk. I, has longer runtimes and higher max output. Differences are discussed on this thread at CPF. Here is a video review. Here is a written review. Both reviews are selfbuilt reviews and both are of the Mk. I. I think this is the first review of the Mk. II. Here is the review sample I was sent:

You can purchase the SC600 from E2 Field Gear and get a discount of 8% using the coupon code "Commentary" and the sales benefit the site and its giveaways. Also, Mike is running a special just for the SC600 Mk. II. Mike is offering $5 preorders on the SC600, as they are out of stock just about everywhere. When they come in, you will get $5 off the price. If pre-orders exceed inventory customers will be given the opportunity to wait for the next lot or receive a refund of their $5.

Design: 2

The side switch on a light is a great idea when properly executed. The original run of Zebralights had to the switch too exposed resulting in lots of accidental activations. Not anymore. The switch is sunk in deep into the head of the light making accidental activation almost impossible. But the innovations don't stop there. This is a tiny, tiny light for its lumens output, staggeringly small. It is significantly smaller than the G2X Pro and three times brighter, an amazing innovation. Nothing feels funny about the size either. The diameter is just perfect, the placement of the switch is just right, and the overall layout of the light is great. I'd love a washer style clip, but, well...

The numbers are very strong with this light. The lumens:weight is 204.5. Total lumens output is found on a low setting 2.8 lumens for 280 hours for a max total lumens output of 47,040. Note this is based on the Mk. I specs, as the Mk. II specs are still not available. Assume this will have a better total lumens output number by a significant margin. Both numbers crush the old records which were held by the G2X Pro (total lumens output was around 19,800). This thing is an absolute beast. And it is a beast in a tiny package (compared to the MiniMag):

Fit and Finish: 2

The upgraded switch recess is probably the biggest deal for the Mk. II. Here is a straight on shot showing absolutely none of the switch:

That shot also happens to show the beautiful and consistent HAIII coating. The threads are smooth, the knurling well cut but not shreddy, and the edges of the light are nicely finished. There is nothing here to complain about at all. Well, okay the switch is really tacky leading to a collection of lint

but that is about as nitpicky as it gets, right?

Grip: 2

The knurling is great and the body tube is just the right diameter and length. The switch is placed perfectly and there are two small grooves on either side for your fingers. In short, this light is brilliantly thought out for rough and tough use. Excellent.

Carry: 1

The review sample did not come with a clip (or a battery, the things I do for this blog), but I have used this clip before and while it is okay for a friction clip, I hate friction clips in general. I'd love to see a washer-style clip.

Output: 2

Ho....ly....SHIT.

Reference Shot

High

Medium

Low

The high is just insane. How insane you ask? Well, what do YOU do when you fire up a new light for the first time? Yep, me too. And for the first time ever I feel actual pain in my eyes. Nothing severe, but it was definitely unpleasant. The low is super low, plenty to see with but nothing offensive to your night vision. The medium, which is around 30 or so lumens as I had it set up, is pretty good for up close work, but in the beam shots it seems dim. Comparatively speaking it is. All in all, great high, great low=great light.

Runtime: 2

Check the specs. CRAZY. The lowest low runs for 80 days. 80 days. Like "Around the World in..." runtimes. I do have to point out something with the high. It will hit 900 lumens, but it will only hold that output for 5 minutes. Now they claim that is for heat reasons, which I am sure is the case, but the way they measure ANSI lumens encourages makers to do this sort of thing--ultra high high for a few minutes and drop down to something less later. ANSI lumen specifications measure out the front lumens at a certain distance for a few minutes (2 I think) and so if you have this "safety feature" output set up, it can boost your ANSI lumen ratings. Here though the "drop down" high is still insane: 500 lumens.

Beam Type: 2

Not as floody as you would expect. This deep dish reflector and head are wider than normal and as a result there is significant throw. Add to that the high octane output and you have an insane thrower just larger than a roll of quarters. One warning--on high, this thing is utterly useless for close up work and it will blow your vision, not your night vision, just your regular daylight adjusted vision for a while. Be careful when you turn it on close up. There is a nice hotspot/spill configuration, among the nicer I have seen on a production light. This is why:

Beam Quality: 2

Thank god there are not artifacts. On a light this with this much light coming out the front an artifact or a ring would really throw everything out of whack in the middle of the night. I'd like a better tint, HI CRI is always preferred, but when you are looking for a burner, you know it is going to have a neutral tint (better tints require tinkering that lowers output).

UI: 1

There are three modes and two submodes per mode. Yeah that's right. Sounds a little complicated right? It is. With one switch as the only means of input you have to do some Morse-code like finger taps to get everything to work right. Once you get the hang of it it is not too bad, but God a selector ring would KILL here. This is probably one of the better examples of why clickies, are, in my opinion, on the way out. This is just too much.

Hands Free: 2

This thing tailstands like it has a sandbag attached to it and won't roll even without the clip thanks to a lanyard attachment point. Excellent.

Overall Score: 18 out of 20

Like the PM2, this is a beast of a piece of gear. Its size belies an insane amount of performance and utility. If you can swallow the 18650 format, which is a very good one, probably the best rechargeable format, then this is a light you simply must try. Surefire better watch out, Zebralight has raised the ante on US designed lights (this is made overseas but designed here for a US owned company). Right now only a few, very few lights can hang with the SC600 Mk. II in terms of output v. size. The other option is the Eagletac TX25C2, which has an even higher output (seriously). If you are fan of insane lumens, it is a good time to be in the market and the SC600 Mk. II should be at the top of your list. If you can find one...they are sold out everywhere. For good reason. Value, performance, and size are all pushed to the limit here. Time to update the top 5 chart.

Muyshondt Aeon and Nautilus Mk. II Review

2013-05-17T04:06:00.000-07:00

This whole thing started for me when I found Doug P's (Quickbeam) old site flashlightreviews.com. There is so much information there, even in the archived site, that I still go back there and do research. The 5 star review system was brilliant--clear and simple. Doug's knowledge was impressive. But the thing that really stuck with me were his explanations of good design. Doug introduced me to the Flashlight Axiom, which, even today, all flashlight designs grapple with. The Flashlight Axiom, even almost a decade later, is still true. It says this:

Small Size, Long Runtimes, and High Output: Choose Two.

If you think about this, it brings out a fundamental tension in flashlight design, sort of like the balance of good steels (toughness, hardness, and corrosion resistance have an sort of internal push and pull equipoise as well). You can find lights that have a really great output and are small (the Peak Eiger, if it weren't infinite variable brightness), but don't run for a long time. You can have lights that have a high output and long runtimes but are really big (Fenix TK35). And you can find lights that have a good runtime, small size, but merely okay output. You will not find a light that is competitive in all three categories. It has a lot to do with battery chemistry, but there are other reasons as well. In the end, it is about making tradeoffs. What do you want to emphasize, given that you can't have it all?

I am not going to tell you that Aeon or Nautilus breaks Doug's Flashlight Axiom, but if I had to choose how to best balance out those three attributes it would look a lot like the Mk. II versions of the Aeon or Nautilus. This is not by accident. After I ran a piece about the Aeon going out of production, enough folks wrote me and asked if there was something I could do about it, I contacted Enrique (who is a super nice guy). We chatted and talked. We went back and forth on the ideal configuration of an Aeon and after some cajoling, he agreed to make a run with my requested features, if I could get 75 people to pledge. Given his reputation in the flashlight world that did not take long at all. Then it was just a matter of waiting.

About a month and half ago I got my Aeon Mk. II. Inside the package was a surprise. Unknown to most, Enrique also made a batch of Nautilus Mk. IIs as well. I got both to review and it has been one hell of a month, flashlight-wise. Given the fact that these were essentially made to my specifications, it is no surprise that I really like the lights. REALLY LIKE.

Here is the product page. Here and here are the posts that served as the kickoff for this project. The Aeon costs $425 from Enrique, though they may all be sold out. It was a run of 75. The Nautiluses are going on sale soon. There are no other reviews as I think I am the only person have used both lights other than the maker himself, but here is my review of the original Aeon and here is the Aeon Mk. II thread where you can read some of the specs. I emailed Enrique and he provided me some additional information, though he was careful to note that none of this data comes from an integrating sphere, so it is just a series of geusstimates: the low is around 3-5 lumens, the medium is close to the old low, around 30 lumens, and the high is around 110-115 lumens. The output is the same for both lights. Runtimes vary. Enrique has squeezed out a staggering 1 hour and 30 minutes for the high on the Aeon and 2 hours and 45 minutes for the Nautilus. Final specs will be added to this review when they are released.

Finally, here is a family portrait:

Design: Aeon: 2; Nautilus: 2

The Aeon Mk. II is an ideal EDC light--small enough to tuck in a coin pocket but with enough punch and versatility to cover just about any situation you would encounter. The Nautilus isn't a porker by any means, but the size increase doesn't do a whole lot for me. In the 1xCR123a class of lights the Nautilus is still among the smallest, but the increased runtime isn't enough to persuade me it is superior to the Aeon. In a vacuum, either is an excellent to superior light. Comparing one to the other, pure personal preference tells me I like the Aeon better. If you don't share that preference or if you only have the option to get the Nautilus, you will not be disappointed. It would be like having to "settle" for Rolex Deep Sea Dweller when you had your eye on the more svelte Submariner. Both are amazing, simple, straight forward, idiot proof designs.

The numbers are good with both, but better with the Aeon, obviously. I am going to hold off on actual ratios until the final lumens counts are done, but suffice to say the runtimes are insane, especially for the size and brightness (see above, Flashlight Axiom). Here is a shot of both next to the Zippo:

Mmmmm....shiny.

Fit and Finish: Aeon: 2; Nautilus: 2

There is no other way to describe these lights besides lush. The threads are silky smooth and get smoother by the day. The checkering is well cut with no errors I could see or feel. The tail end of the light is well cut even with the extensive machining. Enrique had a few delays because of machining issues, but the wait was worth it, these things are gems.

Of course the materials are of unsurpassed quality. The lens is sapphire, the body titanium, the heat sink brass, and the emitter my emitter of choice, the Nichia 219 HI CRI emitter. Everything is top shelf and made with superlative quality. Only the best of the best on both, hence a 2 for each. I'd give them a three if I could.

Grip: Aeon: 2; Nautilus: 2

The size on the Nautilus gives it a distinct advantage here. You don't need to any finger yoga to activate this thing one handed. It works quite well. The checkering on the bodies and heads of both lights is also excellent. The Aeon is not a slouch and again in a vacuum would score a 2, but I like the Nautilus a tad bit better here.

Carry: Aeon: 2; Nautilus: 2

I fell in love with the Aeon because of how nicely it carried. It almost completely disappears in your pocket. In jeans, the light vanishes. The size and shape are perfect--not so small as to be "unfindable" in a pocket, but small enough to essentially add nothing to what you already carry. This is one of the reasons this light is so amazing. The Nautilus is a little bigger, as you can see, but nothing crazy. It still rides well in coin pockets, but it is not quite as passive loose in a main pocket. Still very good though.

Output: Aeon: 2; Nautilus: 1

The output on both punches above its lumens rating because of the HI CRI emitter, but for the size, the Aeon is quite bright. The Nautilus faces incredibly stiff competition in the 1xCR123a market and the top end of roughly 110 lumens is not exactly tearing it up. It is more than sufficient for most EDC tasks, but compared to similar lights with the same power source it is just about par.

The low is the one area in which the Mk. II exceeds the older versions of Enrique's lights. The high and the low in the old lights were useful, but they lacked a true moonlight low. Here the low, the additional third mode, is perfect. It is not as low as some lights, my Steve Ku 40DD can get down to something like a half a lumen or less thanks to the QTC, but the low here is quite amazing.

The numbers, of course, don't tell the story. It is the actual light coming out the front of the torch that does that and in both cases it is quite good. Here are the beam shots:

Reference:

Aeon Mk. II

Low:

Medium:

High:

Nautilus Mk. II

Low:

Medium:

High:

Comparison (47s Penlight on high of 180 lumens):

The HI CRI output does a lot for both lights. The whites are pure and the off whites are noticeable (compare the off white cabinet of the band saw to the white of the peg board on the upper left of the picture). Notice the richer tan in the barn jacket and the redder reds on the clamp heads. Finally, notice how the green of the band saw stand seems to really stand out as green and not greenish blue as it appears on the Penlight beamshot. Even the concrete wall appears to have more texture and detail in the HI CRI shots of the Aeon and Nautilus. HI CRI does a lot to make the light more useful so both lights punch above their weight lumens-wise.

Runtime: Aeon: 2; Nautilus: 2

This is where Enrique laps the field. I owned the Mk. I Aeon for about three years and used exactly three batteries and the third one still had life left in it. The Nautilus's runtimes are even longer, at 2 hours and 45 minutes on high. The runtimes on low should be about a couple of days. Simply amazing.

Beam Type: Aeon 2; Nautilus: 2

Here is a shot down the barrel of the lumens cannon:

The beam, as you can see above, is a very floody beam with a mild hotspot and lots of spill, perfect for an EDC light. There is a better balance than the 47s Penlight which is also an EDC light but has virtually no hotspot at all. I like this balance a lot and it is a tribute to Enrique's design chops that this works as well as it does.

Beam Quality: Aeon: 2; Nautilus: 2

HI CRI, great emitter, wonderful reflector, and great lens equals a lush and beautiful beam. Frankly no other light I have owned or seen comes close. The Haiku has lost its crown as the highest quality beam available. The HI CRI Haiku that I gave away is probably an equal, but really nothing is better.

UI: Aeon: 2; Nautilus: 2

This is, perhaps, the best part of the light after the runtimes. Three modes could be finnicky, see all other twisty lights except for QTC lights. Instead we get the beauty of a three stage twisty in both lights. Twist, twist some more. That is all there is to operating this light. Simple, repeatable, easy to explain, and easy to use. BRILLIANT.

Hands Free: Aeon 2; Nautilus: 2

Both tailstand like they are nailed to a surface with no sway or wiggle. Both also fit nicely between the teeth, though again I don't recommend that. They are both a little roll happy, given that they lack clips but there are two spots that correspond to either gap in the rear tail portion that can hold the light in one place absent bonks or knocks. See below:

Overall Score:

20 out of 20 for the Aeon Mk.II with a PERFECT SCORE

19 out of 20 for the Nautilus Mk. II

The difference in the score comes down to the fact that the Nautilus's high is just not competitive with the best CR123a lights out there. The Aeon on the other hand has very little competition in the CR2 space, though it does lose to the 47s Mini CR2 (though the difference of 70 lumens is nothing like the difference between the Nautilus and the best 1xCR123a light, which is currently the LED Lenser F1 with 400 lumens on a single CR123a). The lumens counts could change a bit, but nothing enough to change the score.

Frankly, it would be silly for me to not give the Aeon a perfect score. After shameless begging Enrique agreed to make this light exactly as I had requested, the low low and the HI CRI emitter. This is as close as I will ever come to making a flashlight myself and given that, the Aeon deserves a perfect score. It is the best EDC light I have ever used or handled. It's fit and finish is equal to any light on the planet, its size, brightness and runtime are amazing, and the beam is simply jaw dropping. All of these things apply to the Nautilus too, but again, the competition is a bit stiffer in its product class.

Neither light is anything like a disappointment, but for me the miniaturization of the Aeon is a huge bonus. This is the new best light, cost no object. I'd love to get a review sample of a Spy 007, but even that light is a bit big for me. Unless you have some specific task, in my opinion, there is no better EDC light in the world than the Aeon Mark II.

Get one if you can.

TT PockeTTools TT Zombie

2013-05-13T04:58:00.000-07:00

If you were at a marketing department meeting for an outdoor store or a general gear company, the sort populated by the folks that brought us Poochie, you'd probably hear a lot about branding and end line users (that's us, in case you don't speak "marketing"). You'd probably hear stuff about "value lines" (that's Chinese made). And then you'd hear stuff about trends. It would start out with gear, and then slowly zombies would creep in (they always creep, right?). In the event this was Gerber they would then turn to how to bundle as much stuff together with a nylon carrying case and slap the word zombie or apocalypse on it (you would, in their marketing version of the apocalypse, need seven blades but no pain relievers, water filtration, or fire starting equipment). Zombies and one piece multitools have nothing to do with each other, but they are such incredible buzzwords in the gear community that it was only time before someone other than Gerber brought them together in a meaningful way. But unlike Gerber's attempt to part you from your cash with junk tools and a zombie label, this little guy from TT PockeTTools invokes the zombie name for good instead of ill.

Here is the product page. There are no reviews, written or video, this is the first. There is only one source for the TT Zombie and it is the product page above. Here is the TT Zombie review sample:

Design: 2

The trend seems to be towards larger OPMTs, like the Pocket Tools X Piranha, which is about the size of a credit card, but both Todd and Peter Atwood have gone the other way. Atwood's Ghost is smaller than the Prybaby and here the Zombie is smaller than the Chopper. The TT PockeTTools TT Zombie (from now on "TT Zombie") is a itty bitty OPMT. It is very compact, even compared to other TT PockeTTool OPMTs. This compact size means that you have no trouble dropping it on your keychain or hiding it in your pocket. It also means that it weighs only a smidgeon. Overall, I like the smaller design, but there are some drawbacks, which will be noted below. From a blueprint perspective though, I like the tool, I like the look, and I like the size. The tool was small enough to slot nicely on to the BladeKey, for those of you out there looking to comply the ultimate compact key set up.

The ratios are decent. First, though, the obligatory scale shot with the Zippo:

See I told you, absolutely tiny. The tool:weight, 10.87, is pretty darn staggering, given that this thing weighs a feathery .46 ounces. The Charge by comparison has a tool:weight of 2.32 (19 tools:8.2 ounces). Safe to say this will never be beat as it is probably impossible to make a tool smaller and still have it be useful for EDC tasks.

Fit and Finish: 2

Todd's finishes are the best in the OPMT business. I know that is controversial. I know Atwood fans love his work, as do I, but the slick satin finish on a lot of his stuff makes grip an issue. Todd opts for a raw bar finish that hits all three features I like in a finish: it is good looking, it adds to grip, and it wears very well. The edges are a bit buffed which provides a visually interesting contrast. The angles, jimping, and grinds are very clean and even. The holes are nicely cut but not sharp or snagging.

Theme: 2

As a mini OPMT the TT Zombie does very well. It tucks in your keychain with minmal fuss even with the massive thickness. The selection of tools suits the small size well and the appearance is a visual pun tying in with the name. That last point is not a big deal, but just a little wink from a skilled and clever maker.

Grip: 1

By now we have all learned that gear design is a set of tradeoffs and here the trade off for the miniature size is less of a grip. There is thick and pointed jimping that helps and the raw bar surface is nice, but there simply no way to get around the fact that a tool this small lacks leverage, both in the pry tool and the bottle opener. More on how this affects performance later.

Carry: 2

I'd give this thing a three if I could, it carries so well. The idea that I could drop this on any keychain without concern, even something as tightly designed as the BladeKey, is a sign of the tool's compact greatness. The Atwood Ghost falls into this same category, so it would be nice to compare the two, but I am more than satisfied with how things thing carried.

Materials: 2

The choice of 154CM puts this little tool in the upper echelon of OPMTs. Production stuff like the Boker Toucan and the Leatherman Pocket Tool X designs use lesser steel and it works quite well. Todd's other stuff and Atwood's stuff is usually S30V and some folks opt for Titanium. While 154CM is not as high tech as other options, it is more than fine in the role. Also, Todd's penchant for massively thick tools works well both stylistically and in terms of adding stability to the bottle opener.

Lots of stock of a good steel equals a 2.

Deployment/Accessibility: 2

As small as the TT Zombie is, everything is laid out well and nothing gets in the way of anything else, which is kind of surprising given the space constraints. This is, however, a nod to Todd's skill as a designer. Even when the TT Zombie was lashed to the BladeKey I could still get to everything. On a regular keychain the thing is just awesome. Great job.

Retention Method: 2

There is a laynard loop at the top giving you one option and the bit holder gives you another. The thickness of the stock makes a split ring harder than normal to use, but you know how I feel about split rings (BARF).

Tool Selection: 1

This gets a 1 for exactly one reason: NO SNAG EDGE. The Chopper spoiled me. It had all sorts of things that made it innovative and great and one of them was the snag edge which was very new at the time. The TT Zombie could easily incorporate one and it would make the tool all that more useful. The snag edge should be a standard part of all pry-based OPMTs--it is just too useful.

Tool Performance: 1

This was a tough category to score. I could see any of the three options being legitimate and fair. If you do a lot of prying, then this thing's size is an issue and could result in a score of 0. But generally OPMT are too small, even in the largest sizes for lots of prying, so I don't think that is fair. The bit holder really is a masterpiece design and locks the bits in almost as if they are magnetized.

I screwed and unscrewed a normal 2.5" 8d Phillips head screw into a pine 2x4 three or four times all the way down and all the way up with no cam out on the tool side (the bit did cam out of the screw, but not from the tool). If you do lots of screwdriving, this thing is freaking amazing and a 2 would be fair. But most of us use OPMT as a bottle opener like 85% of the time. In those instances, the TT Zombie's size is a factor. It does open bottles, but it is a two or three pull device. Here is a mid-action shot (yes, I know I have a Mac, I have a blog, and I drink Sam Adams; I am hipster...really though, I drink bourbon if I had a choice):

Overall Score: 17 out of 20

The world of OPMTs is starting to mature into various product types. We have the general purpose OPMTs like the Atwood Prybaby, the PockeTTools TT Chopper, and the Gerber Shard. We have those with a blade like the Boker Toucan (review coming, I promise). And we now have more than one miniature sized OPMT, the TT Zombie and the Atwood Ghost. This is all a good size folks, a sign of a more evolved and sustainable product class.

In the mini tool product class I have only had the chance to review this gem, but it is quite good. If you accept the limitations that are dictated by size, then this is a capable little tool. It works very well on a wide variety of keychains and it can do a good deal of real work. I wish it had a snag edge and the bottle opener was a bit more leveraged, but those drawbacks are minor ones. For the price, $20.99, you'll be hard pressed to find something better. Hell, the Boker Toucan is a production OPMT and it is $25.

AWESOME Everyday Commentary Reader Bonus:

Todd's letting me give this gem away. Comment in the comment's section and I will choose one at random by next Monday as a winner.

New Sponsor: E2 Field Gear

2013-05-11T05:21:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a really nice guy wanting to sponsor the blog. His name was Mike. After some research, including a scan of ebay rankings, business website profiles, and other sources, he checked out. Mike and I began talking and we decided that the first piece of gear I'd review would be the Zebralight SC600II. If you follow this site, the light needs little introduction. It is probably the smallest 18650 light on the planet and one of the two brightest as well (the EagleTac TX25C2 is the other, shootout coming...hopefully). A chance to get my hands on this torch which has been in high demand since its release was an offer I couldn't pass up. It also happens to be something I couldn't get through any of my other channels.

Mike's site, E2 Field Gear with a slightly different focus from most of the mainstream gear commerce sites. In part, E2 Field Gear tries to stick exclusively with US owned companies to stock its virtual shelves. They also carry things that are slightly off the beaten path from the normal light and saber stock (though they have that too), including awesome stuff like Field Notes notebooks and Green Mountain Grills.

Welcome Mike and E2 Field Gear. Thanks for the light and I can't wait to work with you again. Oh, yeah, there is a bonus for you. If you buy things through his site and use the code "Commentary" you will get an 8% discount AND benefit the site. It is a good deal all around and I look forward to reviewing some more unusual stuff.

This is probably going to force me to buy some Field Notes for review. And my "probably" I mean "definitely" and by "force" I mean "tempt".

Men of a Certain Age

2013-05-10T03:53:00.000-07:00

No, I am not talking about the wretched cable TV show (hell, I don't even have cable TV) where Scott Bakula proves yet again he can play only one kind of role, making him the Michael Douglas or Kevin Costner of TV. Instead I am talking about a phenomenon where you slowly realize that things your Dad or Grandpa (not, I am told on Twitter your "GF" which stands for "girlfriend") liked aren't stupid, boring, or old, but, in fact, rich with history. Its the same age you start saying to yourself: "boy, isn't that Harley much nicer looking than that Hayabusa." It might be the time when you go back to your parents house and rummage through a musty smelling desk looking for a Parker 51, only to be disappointed when you find dried out rubber bands and a 17 cent stamp. That time has come for me. I am man of a certain age and that age is 35. I am now capable and willing to appreciate the quality and beauty of a finely crafted traditional folding knife.

Bit by a Bug

There were three things that started me down this path. The first was, of course, my grandfather. His father's Queen Cutlery Congress is well over 80 years old and it is, as of last October, gloriously sharp. It has the patina of age and the swirl marks of a thousand or so sharpenings, but the brass bolsters look good as do the white handle scales. Second, after doing research for the Swindle review, I was taken in by the sway back design. One thing led to another and then bam I find myself on AG Russell's site ordering a Queen Cutlery knife. Yikes...how did that happen? Third, and most importantly, have been internet stalking Tony Bose.

If you have no idea who he is, let me put it this way: imagine that Picasso was still alive and painting, but had the reputation he does today--that is Tony Bose in the knife world. In so many endeavors--art, craftsmanship, sports--we do not understand the legacy of truly great people until they stop doing what they do. Part of that is that the mark of true greatness is that one's place in history is unsure because the great person has literally rewritten history. The other part is that even when we know someone is truly, historically great we are reticient to say a much because, well, maybe we are caught up in a fad. But Tony Bose's work is no fad. It is the anti-fad. He has made cool something that is perhaps one of the two or three most iconic symbols of "old fashioned." His work focuses on remaking knife patterns that have fallen out of use and that is even amongst those that still use and appreciate traditional knives. He is remaking stuff that is a niche even among a niche. Given those limitations greatness is perhaps the only way he could be world renowned.

Image courtesy of knifepurveyor.com. Look at that spine, it looks like a fixed blade!

He long stopped taking orders on his customs. His knives sell in half a heart beat on custom sites for well over $2,000. His production collaborations with Case are almost as sought after. These runs, which are both large (relatively speaking) and expensive are generally sold out in a few months after release. Even these production blades appreciate in value, especially the more popular patterns. Bose is reaching the upper limits of the knife world, up there with guys like Ron Lake. Only Loveless and a few others remain. I have this feeling that he will start getting recognition outside the knife world very soon, graduating to that "national craftsman" position that the late, great Sam Maloof (of the awesome rocking chair fame) had before he passed away. Make no mistake Tony Bose's blades are among the best in the world. After reading about them and seeing one in person I couldn't help but catch a traditional knife virus.

That Stag Handle is SO Cool

For me, it is becoming entranced by traditional knives. I have made fun of them again and again and again on this website. They have been the butt of many jokes. But, as Mark Twain said, "The older I get the smarter my parents become." At my ripe old age of 35 I have started to appreciate the beauty of a jigged bone handle and brass bolsters. I have spent hours browsing the wonderful and informative site for Great Eastern Cutlery, marveling at their nostalgic ad posters and studying their vocabulary page.

When modern knives came into being, a whole section of the business started to fade away. There are only a handful of traditional knife companies left, the most famous of which is Case. But there are a few die hard companies like Queen, Great Eastern Cutlery, Buck and AG Russell that still design and make traditional patterns. Then there are the horde of resurrected brands, names that were sold to overseas companies, famous long dead brands like Hen and Rooster and Schrade that are cheap pale imitations of their former glory (you can still get "real" Hen and Rooster knives through AG Russell in incredibly small quantities and staggeringly high prices). You can also find some traditional blade designs among the modern knives of more more familar companies. CRKT has a few traditional patterns. Benchmade's purchase of Lone Wolf has injected some traditional knife feel into a very modern knife company. Even Spyderco threw some stag handle scales on to their Kiwi slip joint.

Pros and Cons

Part of this is just an appreciation for tradition, but part of it is a fascination with knives themselves. There are design decisions in making traditional knives that are just as innovative and just as interesting as there are in modern knives--you just have to know what to look for. In large the difference can be summarized by time v. tech. I talked about this before, found here, but the divide between traditional knives and modern knives puts this issue into stark relief.

For example, high polish blades, generally, are more rust resistant that low polish blades, especially bead blasted blades. The reason is simple. A high polish "closes" the grain of the steel making harder for rust to get in, while bead blasting does the exact opposite. For the most part modern knives overcome problems with a steel's rust resistance by just getting a more high tech, corrosion resistant steel. For traditional knife makers, the solution is more elbow grease. You can get a very good rust resistant finish on 440C, D2, and 1095. Only one of those is truly a stainless steel, but the best production makers in the traditional knife space, folks like GEC, get great performance out of these "lesser" steels through a more labor and skill intensive finishing process. There are other places where the traditional knife makes up for a materials deficiency through superior processing. Polished interiors keep the guts of traditional knives free of rust and small pins and bolsters help finish the knife and protect the more fragile handle materials from damage.

But this is not just a story of overcoming drawbacks. Traditional knives outpace modern designs in quite a few ways. First, there is the overall size and shape. Traditional knives are just slimmer. Without the need for one handed opening, these knives cut out all of the extra width, doing away with the hump for a thumb hole or a thumb stud, or the protruding metal of a flipper. A nail nick or a French nick may stink for speedy deployment, but they sure do make a knife nicer in the pocket. Additionally, the traditional knife designs are usually more buffed and polished with fewer harsh edges and lines. Handle scales are finished with wood or bone or plastic simulating bone and these feel much nicer in the hand than rough G-10 and offer only slightly less grip. They also make the knife a nicer pocket companion. Bolsters add class and, in many cases, they hide the exposed tang when the knife is in the closed position. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, these knives are clearly in the tool camp as opposed to the weapon camp. No traditional knife inspires the sort of shocked and scared looks that a ZT350 does, for example. Opening a traditional knife in the parking lot of a big box store is never threatening. Popping a ZT350 almost always is.

Then there is the final and most important reason traditional knives deserve a second look--they are working tools almost exclusively of American origin. Aside from brands that were bought sent overseas for production, most of the high end traditional knife companies still make, design, and build knives in the US, many in the same factories they have always used. Case is still headquartered in Pennsylvania, as is Queen. GEC is in the same town as Queen, Titusville, PA. Queen has machines still working that were part of the company when it was founded in 1922. Those machines, like these knives, wouldn't still be used if they didn't work well. And that is the thing, many of these traditional knife patterns, ones like the Barlow or the Toothpick, just work amazingly well. They look nice to boot.

There are some drawbacks, though. These knives weigh a lot. Bolsters and stag and polished liners add up. For their size these knives are very heavy. Second, a lot of them don't have locks. They are slip joints with stiff springs, but still. Third, a lot of them have multiple blades and not the kind I like. Gimme a SAK or a Spyderco Dyad where each blade does something radically different over the Congress knife with a main blade, a pen blade, and a sheepsfoot blade, all of which are basically the same thing. Or better yet, give me one well designed blade (like the aforementioned Barlow pattern). These knives rarely have pocket clips or lanyard holes, so they are strictly pocket knives only. Finally there is the nail nick. I am not going to pretend to like it. I think it stinks, but its not the end of the world. When using a knife speed is very rarely important, especially when you are using it as a tool and not a people poker.

Resources

You can find information about these knives on BladeForums and KnifeForum. But they have their own, parallel universe of sites and YouTube reviewers. Here are some of the better resources.

Collector Knife Forum: because a lot of folks into traditional knives are in it for the collection, you can find good discussion and info here. There are some modern knives thrown in too.

All About Pocket Knives: a larger, more populated forum with lots of info. An excellent discussion about Case knives.

GEC Forum: This is a brand specific forum for Great Eastern Cutlery but it is chocked full of good info and given GEC's tendencies to go back to historical brands and knife patterns there is a lot of universal information about old and out of production knives.

Prometheus19799791: He kinda rambles. He says funny, silly things like "boy has this knife got a lot of meat on it still." He is not reviewing stuff so much as showing you stuff and talking about a random semi-related topic. But he has a lot of knives and lot of knowledge and a comforting tone in videos. Imagine if your grandpa started a YouTube channel about knives and was much younger.

Stefan Schmalhaus: He has a bunch of different channels including one dedicated to various nationality's specific knife styles including American knives. The production values are through the roof and the information incredibly well researched. Basically the exact opposite of Prometheus, but both are excellent.

Case College: this includes lots of info about knife patterns and how traditional knives are made. An excellent and well organized resource.

GEC's Knife Terminology Page: an excellent and well-researched, almost scholarly glossary and explanation of traditional knife terms. Super helpful for understanding what's going on in the high end conversations in forums.

Conclusion

The bottom line is simple: I am going to start covering these knives. I am not going to make the switch entirely. They will be scattered in with other stuff here and there. The first up is a Queen Cutlery Mini Hunter. Here is a sneak peek at this little beauty (it has a great "walk and talk" for all of you traditional knife fans):

If this is boring, then I will drop it. If its not, then down the rabbit hole. A lot of the appeal of these knives is their collector value. I am not a collector of anything, so that will be lost on me, but I think I can tell a good knife from a bad one (though some disagree, go read the comments to the Cryo review). Part of this is about a challenge to myself. I can pick up a modern knife and tell right away whether I will like it or not. I might not be able to predict its exact score, but I can get within 3 or 4 points. I know and understand what I like about modern knives. With traditional ones, I am starting at square one. This should be interesting.

47s Penlight Review

2013-05-06T17:43:00.002-07:00

The penlight is an odd piece of gear. It is one of only a small handful of items that regular folks--non-gear geeks--will carry with them all of the time. I still remember my old fashioned pediatrician carrying around his penlight to shine in kid's eyes.

The penlight is to the flashlight world what the SAK is to the knife world--a non-threatening, virtually ubiquitous tool. There are people out there that carry a penlight everyday and have no idea what EDC is.

But the penlight has not been spared in the relentless pace of upgrading. The penlight has been given better batteries, newer emitters, multiple output modes, and an unfortunate "tacticool" make over. The best performing penlights are something the army of penlight fans would never carry, knurled grips don't look right in a doctor's pocket.

Until now.

47s new light, dubbed the Penlight for simplicity's sake (please 47s simplify the naming conventions on your other lights, it is SO confusing; how about this: product line + number of batteries + type of battery for something like this Mini 1xCR123a, everyone knows what that means). It is a very stylish, distinctly non-tactical looking penlight. It blends in quite well when the rest of your office haul. The question is whether or not the good looks are matched by good performance.

Here is the 47s Penlight product page. Note that this is badge swap with the Olight O'pen (47s and Olight have been working together for many years now and these badge swaps are common among the two brands). There are a few different colors--red, blue, black, and . Here is a written review from selfbuilt. Here is a video review from selfbuilt. Given how thorough selfbuilt is, I could just end here, but I am not. Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find the 47s Penlight, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:

Blade HQ

Finally, here is the review sample 47s sent me.

Design: 2

47s is marketing this light as something that blends in with your normal office stuff, something that doesn't look out of place among your pens and pencils. They totally succeeded. The design is upscale, without the tactical horns and knobs of other penlights (Streamlight I am looking at YOU). Everything has been carefully designed to make the light very functional but not too tactical. The pocket clip looks very much like a pen clip. The clicky could easily pass for the knock on a more upscale ball point. Even the length and diameter are convincing look a likes. I love everything about the look. But this is not simply a pretty like (Jil Light CR2 anyone?). 47s packed it with a new high performance emitter, the small die XPG-2, and trimmed out the package with a stainless bezel (for looks and performance). The body tube works well in the hand from both the perspective of turning on the light and holding on to the light. The choice of running commonly available cells is always a good thing, especially when they result in no real performance compromise thanks to their number and the highly efficient LED. This is one of the reasons why penlights are so popular--lots of lumens in a small package run by common cells. To that end the design of the 47s Penlight succeeds.

The ratios are decent. Lumen:weight is 112.5. The total lumens output is 150 (5 lumens for 30 hours). Usually the high is where you get the most output lumens, but because of the short run time on high .36 hours, the low provides the most. Finally here is a size comparison with a standard 2xAA Mini Mag:

Fit and Finish: 2

I found nothing to complain about here. I have a local product tester who helps me out on some reviews and he is REALLY tough on stuff and even he had no complaints. The clicky was nice and crisp, but still easy to use. The emitter was well-centered. The anodizing withstood his brutal attacks. All in all, this is a well made light. The body tube is a little thin, but this is the case on virtually all modern lights and I have never had a problem with them.

Grip: 2

With a penlight, especially one of a less tactical design, it is the size that makes the light grippy. Going back to an old refrain, there is an ineffable ratio in flashlights between the diameter and length. The penlight has been so beloved despite all of the different designs because of this ratio. The 47s light doesn't have much if anything in the way of knurling, but that's fine. In this role, this size and shape is perfect. It will stay in your hand and remain useful in virtually all scenarios. I wouldn't use it in a tactical scenario, but its not a tactical light. This size and shape is simply great for EDC use. Its been around for a long time for that very reason.

Carry: 2

I have thought for a long time that it is silly that our gear can't look more like...well...other stuff. I love the clips that look like pen clips and I really enjoy stuff that can hang out in my pockets discretely. But alas tactical gear seems to be decidedly unstealth. Penlights, on the other hand, look like, um, pens and that means they are easy to carry and easy to conceal. The 47s Penlight takes this to a whole new level. Here it is hanging out in my Tom Bihn Cadet:

Capitalizing on the tactical pen trend, 47s Penlight is not just at home hanging out with your pens, it looks and carries great with them. Even the clip looks like a pen clip. So if you can find a place to carry a pen you can find a place for this light.

Output: 2

The lumens arm's race is crazy, but the 180 lumens on high is still more than respectable, especially given the ultra-easy-to-find power source (2xAAA). In fact it is 100 lumens more than the best Streamlight penlight option, the Streamlight Stylus Pro Tac. As I am want to do, however, the highs don't really concern me much. Instead, it is the lows, you know, that mode you ACTUALLY use, that captures my attention. And in this light we have exactly what made 47s a great brand in the first place, a usefully low low. Overall, this light does highs well and lows well, making it an excellent option output wise. I would note that the Preon P2 penlight (which runs 2xAAA as well) has a lower low (2 lumens compared to 5 here) and a lower high (160 lumens compared to 180 here). The difference is strange because they both run the same emitters.

Runtime: 1

One curse of making a really great product is that subsequent products need to be that much better. Here the Penlight pales in comparison to the Preon P2. The runtime on max here is .36 hours versus 1 hour for the P2. Same batteries, same emitter, virtually the same high (180 here, 160 on the P2) and dramatically shorter runtimes. I just don't get it. The runtime on low is longer here (with a higher lumens count) so something seems off. I like the longer runtime on low, but why the difference? Also, the difference in utility between 30 hours and 23 hour on low is not as big as the difference in utility between roughly 20 minutes and 1 hour on high. This seems like an issue to me. In a vacuum the runtimes are fine, but compared to the cheaper P2, something is wonky.

Beam Type: 2

There is flood and then there is this, something like "deluge" or "Noah's Arc." It is so floody, so incredibly floody that even at moderately close range, something like 30 feet, the light starts to dissipate quickly. That's okay because in this product class, you aren't doing search and rescue. Selfbuilt noted the incredibly large hotspot and this borne out by my experience. I'd like a touch more throw, but penlights typically aren't pressed into any type of throw-critical applications. Take a look at the floody beam for yourself:

Reference Shot:

Low:

Medium:

High:

Notice the lack of a distinct hotspot and spill. This is the opposite of the Surefire EB1--that was a tiny hotspot and tons of spill, this is a HUGE hotspot and no real spill to speak of. In this application, it was very good.

Beam Quality: 1

Tint snobbery has invaded the scoring system. Here is a comparison shot with a HI CRI emitter (the Nichia 219 on the Aeon Mk. II):

In a vacuum, the tint is not bad, not good though. Compared to the golden warm light of the Ku 40DD or the balanced beauty of the Mk. II Aeon, this thing looks like a blue Christmas tree light (query: blue Christmas tree lights, tacky or solemnly beautiful?). Note the tans in the barn jacket or the blues in the shop aprons. The issue I have is this--the XP-G2 emitter has a HI CRI variant and for the price, a jump of $10 over the P2, this would have been a nice and noteworthy upgrade.

This is not, however, to say that ALL non-HI CRI LEDs will score a 1, though it is getting there quickly, but merely to say that this is a below par tint, irrespective of HI CRI or not. Compare this to the tint of an Eagletac D25a, for example. There even without the HI CRI emitter, the light produced was a warm and accurate tint. Also, as a brief aside, can you see how the HI CRI emitter makes less lumens more useful? By accurately rendering colors, even at a lesser brightness, you can get a lot done. Distinguishing objects in the dark is what flashlights are all about and HI CRI lets you do that easier than a light with the same lumens count.

UI: 1

Times change and things improve. This is a good clicky interface (identical to the old 47s UI except for a memory for the last mode and the removal, thankfully, of the hidden modes), but not state of the art. Add to that the fact that I don't think clickies themselves are state of the art and you get 1. I'd love this like in a selector ring or a QTC UI. That too would have been a good justification for the increased price over the P2. As it is, it is exactly the same three years later. For state of the art clicky interfaces see the Olight Baton S10 or the Zebralight interface on lights like the SC600. Once great, now par or slightly below par. Cool little trick I noticed after my super thorough almost 3 year old product tester finished with the light--you can twist it and switch through modes if the light is already on.

Hands Free: 2

Okay, so it can't tailstand, but no penlight can. They are too tall and narrow to effectively balance on end, so it is not fair, really to deduct a point for that. The clip is a good anti-roll device and it works very well between the teeth given its dimensions.

Overall Score: 17 out of 20

If you are looking for a penlight, consider the P2 AND this light.The P2 is a little cheaper, a little dimmer, but has a longer runtime and a lower price. The fit and finish on the Penlight is better, the appearance more sophisticated, and the overall design a bit more refined. Both are good flashlights, excellent renditions of the penlight form factor. Personally, I have reached point in my gear appreciation that I am willing to pay a few bucks for good looks. The Penlight colors are amazing and they really do remind me, both in their non-threatening utility and vibrant tones, of the SAK Alox Cadets. In fact, here is a color coordinated EDC using the two:

This is a very good light. I'd like an updated UI and the runtimes are weird (note selfbuilt's issues in this regard as well), but in all other respects it is very good. The P2 is probably a better value, very strictly speaking, but if you have even a passing interest in aesthetics, this is the clear choice. If you are closet gear geek and want a great light that no one will ever notice or poke fun of you for, this is the obvious choice. Stashed in a pen cup, no one will be the wiser until the power goes out at the office and you can get everyone outside easier, or at least help out those that didn't tease you. Also, if your name is Brad Dowdy, this is the clear choice in EDC flashlights. It is, after all, called the PEN light for a reason.

AG Russell Skorpion

2013-05-03T03:35:00.002-07:00

AG Russell is an unusual fellow in the knife world. He makes knives, sure. He also has a website where he sells knives, his own and those made by others. Finally, he sells used knives through Cutting Edge.com. All of these grow out of his catalog business and show a willingness to invest and embrace new technology, an impressive trait for a company as well-established as AG Russell's.

As a knife maker, I think AG Russell is a bit underrated. Part of this has to do with his style. He has a distinctive, non-tactical style as seen in his many traditional blades, those with Amber Stag handles and nail knick openers. But he does other blades as well and I think quite a few of them look very appealing. The Acies2 is a knife I am trying, desperately, to get my hands on. I want to review that knife for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which is to complete a trio of Ti framelocks for a Shootout (the small Sebenza and the Alias II are the other two blades). His Button Lock looks likes a winner, melding the convenience of a modern folder with the materials of a traditional one. But it is the Skorpion that really attracted my attention. This will be the first AG Russell knife I review.

Even non-enthusiast press has latched on to just how groundbreaking this knife could be. Here is the product page. Here is an image of the knife from AG's site:

The big deal, for me, at least, is the knife's numbers. This is a metal handled 3" folder with a clip that weighs less than 2 ounces (1.8 ounces to be exact). AG has always had an eye for good ratios, take a look at his FeatherLite knives, but the Skorpion raises the ante significantly.

This is a framelock. It uses a thumb oval opener. It comes with a choice of pocket clips (deep carry or normal). Finally, the blade:handle is a stunning .80, just shy of the record Al Mar Hawk (which had a blade:handle of .82). This is a lot of blade for the size. It is also a lot of knife for the money, as this knife will come in at $65. The steel is the Chinese 8Cr13MoV which is not my favorite, but given all of the other things this knife has going for it, I am willing to overlook the steel choice. Keep an eye out for the Skorpion review. It will be up as soon as I can get one and test it out. I am very excited.

NOTE: After corresponding with Mr. Russell, who is super nice, he wants me to make sure everyone knows that there has been a production delay for the Skorpion. This happens when you are pushing the envelope. And remember what the wise Shigeru Miyamoto said: "a late knife is late only until it ships, a bad knife is bad forever. " Well, okay, so he was talking about video games, but it works for knives as well. Looks like the knife may ship in May some time.

CRKT Swindle Review

2013-04-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This review has been very challenging. Not only is this knife highly unconventional, I got the production prototype. CRKT sent me the knife, that in all likelihood, was the one on screen at SHOT Show. It gave me early access, but as with all prototypes there was a flaw. The main pivot screw had a strong tendency to wiggle loose and effect the entire blade. After consulting with CRKT and their engineering folks, they gave me advice on a fix (Loctite Blue 242) and it worked. This should not happen on a true production model. That being said, once fixed, the knife worked exactly as intended. Given the fit and finish on other CRKT products I have had I will assume (safely, I believe) that this problem is based solely on being a prototype.

In the knife business, no one calls them "models". They are and have been for many hundreds of years, called patterns. This is a throwback to when knives were cut from steel sheets and the outlines of the blade and handle were, literally, patterns on the steel. The idea of creating a knife from a solid billet of titanium was many years in the offing. One of the most unusual patterns is an old folding knife design known as a "swayback". Here is an archetypal swayback knife from one of the two best classic knife makers in the world, Tony Bose (the other is Ron Lake, who straddles classic and modern knifemaking):

The photo shows all of the elements that make something a swayback: the palm swell at the end of the handle, the positive angle sweep of the handle, and the wharncliffe blade shape. It is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful of the traditional knife patterns (after researching for this article, I might have to break my promise to avoid classic knives and go get a Bose Case of some sort...they are gorgeous).

What would a modern rendition of a swayback look like? It would be the CRKT Swindle. When I first saw the knife in SHOT Show 2013 videos I knew it was a modern swayback (here is that post). The Swindle, with the heritage obvious from its name, is what happens when you take modern knives and classic knives and mix them together. The end result is a knife like no other on the market. Aside from the classic knife heritage there are a number of design features that make the Swindle unique. It is, in my mind, one of the most intriguing production blades on the market and an excellent choice for a gentleman's folder.

Here is the Swindle's product page. There are two models, an upscale model with Sandvik's 12C27 steel and striated handle scales and the model I reviewed, the budget model with plain handle scales and 8Cr14MoV. There are no video or written reviews as this is the first. Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find the CRKT Swindle, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:

Blade HQ

Finally, here is the Swindle CRKT sent me as a review sample:

That is about as slim and as gorgeous a knife as I have seen in a long, long time. More on that in a minute.

Design: 2

This is a Ken Onion design. I normally dislike Ken Onion designs because of their needlessly busy appearance and hard to sharpen recurve blades (the Ripple being a partial exception, it was busy but I liked it anyway). But this knife is different. It is in a league all its own. It is something of incredible beauty. It looks so slender and organic almost like a muscle attached to the skeletal frame. It is balanced and aesthetically graceful. In short, nothing else in the knife world looks anything like the Swindle. Yet, in all of its distinctive modernity there is still an unmistakable element of the swayback pattern. Here is the knife open:

Note the swayback hallmarks--the wharncliffe blade, the palm swell at the end of the handle, and the positive handle angle. Make no mistake, this is a swayback pattern with distinctive modern touches.

I love the spine riding pocket clip, as it both adds to the palm swell and preserves the knife's clean lines. I also like the convex handle scales. They are slick but fill the hand well. The flipper is discrete but effective. The blade shape is nice with a tiny bit of belly. On paper and in the flesh this is one of the most striking designs out there, utterly and perfectly clean when closed and stylish when open. I like the smooth handle scale much better from an aesthetic point of view than the grooved version, but the grooved version has better steel.

The ratios are okay. The blade:weight is decent, but no more than that, at .96. The Chill, a very good knife in terms of ratios, is a 1.56 on blade:weight. The blade:handle is .75. The Chill is .81. Here is a shot with the Zippo:

Fit and Finish: 2

If you set aside the prototype issues, which I think is only fair, this knife is really quite elegant and refined in terms of its fit and finish. The IKBS bearing system deserves special mention here, as it makes the knife incredibly tight and rigid. Once tightened down and locked in place, the benefits of the IKBS pivot were clear--everything on this knife is just right. The lock walks in about 1/3 of the way across the thin blade stock, there is no movement in the blade at all, and the spring loaded, articulated clip is excellent. The texture on the flipper is good and the texture on the pocket clip is excellent. The best part of this blade's fit and finish though is the immaculate handle scales. They are so well done and so uniform they really set the knife off. A normal pocket clip would ruin the elegance of this design.

Grip: 1

This is a gentleman's knife so don't expect something crazy here. That said, even for a flipper this knife doesn't have a lot of traction. The palm swell created by the spine riding clip is awfully nice, but the teeny tiny flipper and no choil means this is probably not the knife you want to take on your mountain hiking trip as a survival blade. I will say that the positive handle angle was a huge surprise. I loved it. In role the grip is fine, not great not bad. A perfect example of what gets a 1.

Carry: 2

There is nothing that really carries like this knife. The fact that the blade completely hides in the handle and that there is nothing on the scales to cause wear or problems is great, but the spine riding clip is truly outstanding. It allows you to rotate the knife easily in your pocket and once positioned correctly, it kind of locks into the fabric of the pocket. I cannot say enough about how awesome this knife is in the pocket. I'd give it a 3 if I could.

Steel: 1

8Cr14MoV is not bad at all. It is probably one of my favorite 1 point steels. It is, in fact, consistently though not significantly better than good 8Cr13MoV. I'd take nicer steel, but this is good enough here.

Blade Shape: 2

As a swayback patterned knife you know the Swindle is going to have a wharncliffe blade. This is an excellent rendition of that blade shape, having just a little bit of belly. It works well in slicing tasks and has enough curve to do some roll cuts (I cut some pepperoni with it and it very good).

Running the knife through the hair-paper-cardboard-paper cut tests showed me that the blade shape is quite good. In a weird way it reminds me of the sheepsfoot on the Mini Grip 555hg. I like that blade too.

Grind: 2

Do you like radiused grinds? I don't think they work everywhere, but here, in this sinewy, curvy knife they look great. I would note the uneven ricasso in terms of the cutting bevel, but everything else is outstanding. CRKT's Chinese OEM does a great job with their grinds and the Swindle is no exception.

Deployment Method: 2

Here is the tiny flipper:

But really, you don't need much more than that. Once I fixed the prototype, the IKBS bearings and the tiny flipper popped the blade open with perfect ease--no wrist action required. I really have come to love IKBS pivots and it is a testament to CRKT that they can get bearing-based pivot systems into their cheaper knives. Spyderco and Kershaw seem to reserve them for their $200 plus blades. That, my friends, is an example of good value. How awesome would a Leek be with KVT instead of an assisted opener?

Retention Method: 2

I like every single thing about this clip. It is a daring and unconventional design and the bravura pays off in spades. I LOVE this clip. It has rocketed past the Spyderco spoon clip and the Kershaw/Strider clip to become one of a four or five favorite clips of all time. GREAT. Oh yeah it looks good too:

Lock: 2

Once the fix was in, the lock was great. IKBS has a huge impact not only on the deployment of a knife, but on its lock up as well. The bearings give the entire knife a certain level of rigidity that does not occur on non-bearing pivot knives, at least on those under $200. I will note that the lock disengagement grooves are the little shallow and the convex taper on the handle scale makes the lock edge a little tiny bit uncomfortable, but it is nothing at all concerning.

Overall Score: 18 out of 20

Ken Onion has truly come into his own with the Swindle. No more are we forced to endure wavy undulating blade shapes and Alien-like handle scales. We get simplicity and elegance. We get an update to a classic knife pattern. And we get all of this for a bargain. I love the look and feel of the Swindle. If you are looking for a unique blade, if you want to try out something a bit different, this is a good choice. So long as the pivot issue is limited to my prototype, which I have good reason to think it will be, this is a fun gentleman's folder to carry, use, and fidget with--highly recommended.

CRKT Enticer Review

2013-04-26T05:19:00.003-07:00

SHOT Show 2013 was great for CRKT and its fans. Two or three years ago there was a noticeable improvement in their quality and innovation. They started using different steels like Acuto+ and invested in the IKBS bearing pivot system. Those improvements bore fruit immediately, but SHOT Show 2013 was the first show where EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT was affected. This is a different CRKT. The Swindle looked interesting, the tomahawks looked bad ass, and one knife that was shown but didn't get a lot of press caught my eye--the Enticer. The shape wasn't too radical and the materials weren't insane, but the ratios looked great. This is a 3.125 inch blade that weighs 2 ounces. Slim, lightweight, with plenty of blade. That is a pretty simple formula for garnering interest.

The Enticer is the first production knife, to my knowledge, to be designed by a woman, Mary Jo Lerch (MJ Lerch). I believe she is the wife of famed knife maker and designer Michael Lerch (who came up with the Optimiser assisted opening). The overall package the Enticer represents is a very appealing knife for everyday carry. There is one large flaw, but given the knife's size, weight, and performance, the flaw is something worth working around. Think of this knife as the beautiful car with a hideous spoiler or the gorgeous woman with bad teeth. If you obsess over the flaw you will never be happy. If you look at the knife as a complete package, it will be just one part of an otherwise promising design.

Here is the product page (with specs). There are no video or written reviews yet. Here is a video interview with Mary Jo Lerch. Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find the CRKT Enticer, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:

Blade HQ

Finally here is my review sample generously provided by CRKT:

Design: 1

With a faint persian feel to the handle and an excellent blade shape, just on looks alone the Enticer seems like a winner. But then you pick it up and notice that it is only slightly heavier than a nice pen (the Enticer hits the scales at 2.0 ounces and the Ultimate Clicky comes in at 1.7 ounces). Great. There is also the fact that this knife, even with its incredibly light form factor, has metal liners. You read that right, metal liners that don't make this thing a pocket anchor. However CRKT did this, everyone else should take notice. I am not normally a fan of liners, but since they seem to add virtually nothing to the blade's weight and they did increase its stability in very tough cuts (see more on this below). On these points alone this blade is a winner, even with the flaw it is still a very good blade.

The flaw, however, is an unavoidable one. CRKT calls it the FireSafe, while the idea is admirable one--safe, fast deployment, as the design works in this case, I just don't like it. The system works by having a rotating thumb disk disengaging a part of the liner lock which holds the knife in a closed position. The system is not only finnicky, it is also very noisy as the disk is loose and rattles quite a bit. Kudos to CRKT for pushing the envelope, but it just didn't work here.

The ratios are amazing, of course, and this is why, despite a major flaw, the knife gets a one. Here is the Enticer next to the Zippo.

The blade:handle is .82. The blade:weight is 1.62. Both are quite good. The blade:weight is second only to the what seems to be unbeatable Al Mar Hawk (.84 and 2.81 respectively). Note that the Enticer bumps out the recent second place finisher, the Chill. Companies have apparently heard us on the forums talking about getting something for nothing.

Fit and Finish: 1

Overall, the fit and finish is better than a 1, but the rattling thumb disk drove me bonkers during the testing period. Everything else is fine if not better. The lock is nice and tight. The blade has a nice satin finish. The handle is well made. This is a good knife with a bad part. I tried fidgeting with the thumb disk to no avail. If it was tight enough not to rattle it was very difficult to deploy the blade. If it was loose enough to deploy the blade it would rattle. Ugh.

Grip: 2

There is a reason why the persian-style knife shows up time and again. There the aptly named Spyderco Persian and the Benchmade Bedlam as well as the Cold Steel Espada. The Enticer's gently curved handle puts it squarely in the persian knife heritage and the grip the form affords is amazing and versatile. The Enticer allows for three different grips, a pair of forward grips and a comfortable reverse grip. Additionally, the blade's thin profile makes the handle really nice in the hand. The minimal jimping is blah, but it is the handle shape that is the star here.

Carry: 2

A relentless focus on weight saving and a slim profile make this a good knife in the pocket. An elegant clip, more on that later, makes this a great knife in the pocket. When you add in all of the gentle curves and nicely finished edges and surfaces, this knife becomes a true all star in the pocket. What did you expect? It is 2 ounces. Wonderful.

Steel: 1

The steel is 1.4034, a European designation for a steel that is roughly equivalent to 420 or 420HC. It has a low carbon count and a low chromium count, but hardens to roughly 56-58 HRc. The blade is thin ground, the stock itself is slim, with a max thickness of .09 inches. In my cut tests (paper, then cardboard, then paper again finally hitting up the forearm) the steel was decent, very similar to the steel on a SAK. This is understandable because they are very similar in origin, both were European steels originally, and very similar in chemistry.

I was really surprised, however, when I took the knife out into the field, literally, the field behind my house (insert gear geek joke about some moron hacking down a tree on accident that destroys his car). My son and I spend a lot of time out there, hiding, looking at rocks, smashing stuff, and chopping things down. One particular day, my son wanted a stick to play with and asked for a small woody weed. I took out the Enticer and using a series of alternating chops, cut it down. It was very fibrous, sappy, and about an inch and a quarter in diameter.

This is not green white oak, but it is much more than I thought the steel could handle. After taking the sap off with some Goo Gone (a favorite blade cleaner of mine), I was still able to shave arm hair with it. It did dull eventually, but it was easily touched up on my Sharpmaker. Overall the steel performed much, much better than I thought it would. In the right application, these low carbon steels can be good. I liked them in SAKs and I really liked one in the Enticer. They aren't great, but they are good compromise, especially for the cost.

Blade Shape: 2

The Enticer's blade shape is about as conventional as they come and the knife is all the better for it.

There is a pronounced swedge and that makes the knife great in penetrating cuts. The drop point has plenty of belly and a good straight portion. The 3.125 inch blade is simple and simply well done.

Grind: 2

This is a nice flat grind, something that combined with the thin blade stock makes this knife an amazing slicer. The swedge is also nice in that it lightens the overall blade and gives the entire knife an excellent cutting and piercing capacity. The cutting bevel is wide and even. The entire knife's grind is very well done.

Deployment Method: 0

Here is where the rubber meets the road. The FireSafe method might work in another knife, but with the rotating thumb disk, I just don't like it. I can get it to work on a regular basis, but it has a learning curve. As a test I gave the Enticer to my Dad. He is a tool guy and an engineer, so he knows his way around gear. It took him quite a few attempts to get the knife to open and even then it did not deploy quickly. For whatever reason, when he hit the thumb disk the Optimiser bar didn't kick in. He tried over again and again, but it never worked. When I was learning how to use it, it would just not deploy. With lots of work the combination of the thumb disk and the Optimiser can send the blade out fast, but you have to hit it just right. This is a problem, not something that bars me from recommending the knife, but it is something you should consider.

Retention Method: 2

The slim gracile clip is both unobtrusive and effective.

It is virtually snag proof and an excellent design. Hopefully, CKRT will use it again in the future. It is an excellent clip on par with the classic Spyderco spoon-style clip.

Lock: 2

This is a thin liner lock. It works. During the chopping incident, the liner lock floated all the way over to the far side of the blade tang, but it did not fail. Future use showed that the liner lock actually held up well as there is still no blade play in any direction. The lock float is a bit of concern, but I was really surprised how well it held up.

Overall Score: 15 out of 20

It was the best of times--incredible lightweight and good blade shape with surprising performance--and the worst of times--a finnicky deployment method and a rattle prone thumb disk. But unlike the excruciating experience of reading the dreadful Tale of Two Cities (or at least the my high school experience of reading that novel), the Enticer is probably worth the time and hassle. Once you get the hang of the FireSafe and thumb disk this is an impressively fast opening knife. The Optimiser is my favorite assist mechanism and having had previous experience with it on the Benchmade Aphid I can confirm that it works well. If they dropped the Firesafe opener this would be one of the best values in the EDC market. As it is, it is a knife with a flaw, albeit a non-critical one.

How to Use the Top 5 Tab

2013-04-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have realized that with the pace of reviews I am probably not going to be able to finish the Recommendation Series in a timely fashion. Additionally, those articles are so time-intensive in terms of links and research that I dread writing them. Instead, I have decided, in a nod to the Pen Addict, Brad Dowdy, to have a tab with my Top 5 Recommendations in different product classes as a permanent page on the site. I will update these frequently. Let me know if you have any suggestions for other categories or products. Because this will be a "live" page, I will leave some things open and add to them as they come to me. Basically, if you want to know what you should be looking at in terms of gear for you next purchase, start with the Top 5 Tab.

If I don't have a link to the product that means I haven't reviewed it. In cases where I have no review, I am using the same process I have in the past during recommendation series articles, research on the Internet, checking specs and materials, and cross referencing price. Obviously people whose opinions I have used in the past to good effect are people I will rely on more heavily, especially compared to random a random YouTuber.

The rankings are based on a composite of things--the score, the product's reception among enthusiasts, and my sentiments about the product over time. There are some products that score high but lack that something special, that unique thing that makes them stand out. Then there are products that fall down in one or two ways, but nothing too bad, and stand out in others. I'd rather have something that does one thing FANTASTICALLY well than have something that is merely decent in every way. That is why, for example, the cheaper Kershaw Skyline is in the Top 5 but the Spyderco Delica 4 is not. Both are great blades, but the Skyline has that little something extra, be it the low weight or the cool flipper or slightly better steel, that makes it the knife I'd rather have.

These recommendations are made not based on score or value alone. Instead I am basically answering the question: what X should I get? Without information about the product's intended use, and assuming general EDC tasks, these are what I'd recommend. The main recommendations, the actual top 5s are price sensitive, but quality trumps price. I'd rather pay $70 for a great product than $50 for a good one.

A few general things about recommendations. When given a choice I'd never get serrations. I don't do a lot of rope cutting and thus serrations are offer no benefit to me to off set the difficulty of sharpening them. If you plan on doing rope cutting or the like, factor that in. Second, I am not doing a lot of search and rescue, so throw is not that important to me in a flashlight. I like SOME throw, but not to the exclusion of carry. I dislike assisted opening knives because they are generally unnecessary when a knife is properly designed. More parts to break for no added benefit, as I see it. I prefer selector ring, QTC, or stage twisty UIs, but clickies, when done well, are acceptable. I do not like pure twisty (twist, twist again) style UIs.

Surefire EB1 Review

2013-04-22T04:08:00.001-07:00

Total Internal Reflection is an optical property that has long been known, studied, and mathematically defined. Here is the wikipedia page on the topic. In total dummy terms (those being the only ones I can understand when it comes to advanced optics), total internal reflection, for purposes relevant to this review, occurs when light strikes the boundary of a normally transparent material at an angle insufficient to let the light pass through. Here is a good example. Viewing water a certain angle results in it being transparent, you can look right through it. But viewing at a different angle, makes the water's surface function like a mirror--you can't see beyond it and it is totally reflective. This is Total Internal Reflection. Normally this occurs when you are looking at the boundary of water at a very acute angle, such as when you are in water, looking up towards the air. Here is an image that best demonstrates this phenomenon:

When I explain it, it sounds weird, but when you see the image you know EXACTLY what I am talking about. Total Internal Reflection or TIR is something we all have experience with, but it has just made its way into the world of flashlights.

Surefire is a brand that while not on the bleeding edge of emitters, is constantly pushing the boundaries of flashlights in other, and in my opinion, more meaningful ways. Which would you rather have: a DX flashlight that says it is "500 lumens!" or the amazing throw/flood array of the Surefire A2 Aviator? If you read this site, the answer is a no-brainer. Likewise, the time and energy they spend in perfecting the reflector and beam pattern greatly outweighs the need for a new, new, double new emitter (see here for more on why you don't need the newest, latest, and greatest). All of this is a very long lead in to say that the move towards the TIR optics in Surefire's newest lights is yet another example of quality over quantity at Surefire and one of the reasons why, even in the hyper competitive flashlight market today, Surefire still stands out. The EB1, the TIR upgrade to the E1B, is an evolutionary step, but a very big one. Reviewing this light, with such new and powerful technology, is a daunting task and something that took me quite a while to do. In the end I was convinced that this is the way things should go. Production lights with TIR produce beams very much like the finest, high end, perfectly tuned, custom lights at a fraction of the cost. They are not QUITE as good as a Haiku, but they are awful damn close. The future of production lights is, without question, TIR optics.

Here is the product page, with specs, for the EB1. The heads are compatible with the E series, but the tailcaps are not. Additionally there are two models, one with a shrouded tailcap and the other without. I reviewed the shrouded tailcap version. Here is a written review. Here is a video review. Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find the Surefire EB1, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:

Blade HQ

Finally, here is the review sample Blade HQ sent me:

Design: 2

Surefire's designs have always been stout and tactical and the EB1 is that, but to a lesser degree than any other Surefire. It has the muted functionality more closely related, aesthetically speaking, to a Dauntless than the Klingon lights found elsewhere in the Surefire line up. The muted aesthetics appeal to me a great deal and the overall robust feel has not been diminished in the least. This is a light that looks and feels bombproof because it is. It is easily ranks as one of the best 1xCR123a production lights on the market in terms of design. The shrouded tailcap has issues, but the clip, the bezel, and the clicky are all absolutely first rate. Surefire designs again lap the field.

The TIR head is a weighty and relatively big. This makes the EB1 a very big light for the 1x CR123a class of lights. The head is also large in diameter, another way in which this light is bigger than normal. I prefer much smaller lights, but I can see why folks like this size (it is roughly the same size as the HDS, which is also a very large single cell light). There is a moderate size difference between this light and a 2xCR123a light, but the body is not so small that it is hard to manipulate or use. Here is a size comparison between a standard Mag Light 2xAA and the EB1:

Weight:lumens is 60.60. Total lumens output is 260 (200 lumens on high for 1.3 hours). High mode actually gives you the greatest number here, something that is unusual.

Fit and Finish: 2

Surefire's designs are stout and their fit and finish is equally impressive. This is an immaculately well made light. The emitter and the entire TIR unit is beautifully finished with amazingly clear optics. The anodizing is incredibly thick. The clip is sturdy. All of the lines are evenly cut and the lettering is clean and without chipping, color bleed, or mis-stamping. The rubber boot on the clicky is thick and well textured. There is nothing on this light that turned out poorly and the consistently high level of fit and finish on the Surefire products I have owned over the years proves to me this is not a fluke. Surefire NAILS fit and finish.

Grip: 2

With the larger body tube and the raised tailcap and head, the EB1 is amazing in the hand. These are the advantages of a bigger body. Reviewing this at the same time that I had the Aeon Mk. II made this comparison pretty stark. The clip also aids in grip as well. Finally, in a great ergonomic move, the clicky is easily reached from the normal position your hand would be in when holding this light. Overall, great grip.

Carry: 1

On the flip side of the larger than normal body, this light does not carry anywhere nearly as nice as other more traditionally sized 1xCR123a. Compared to an ultra compact light like the Aeon Mk. II, the EB1 is huge (but almost all lights are huge compared to the Mk. II). Additionally the TIR head is very heavy for its size, making the light both heavy and very unbalanced in your pocket. On its own, the light would get a 0 here. There are quite a few 2xCR123a or 18650 lights that aren't much larger.

However, this is the superior pocket clip on the market for flashlights. Even the vaunted McGizmo clip, an old personal favorite, pales in comparison to the utility and versatility of the two way Surefire clip. Here it is, in all its glory:

Output: 2

Alright, the high is not the best in the world, on paper. 200 lumens is sort of yawn inducing in the current marketplace. But the TIR head really makes that 200 lumens AMAZING. It really punches above its weight and another example of why lumens counts aren't that important. It held its own quite easily against my MAG-TAC which is rated at 320 lumens.

Runtime: 1

My beef here is not with the high, which is fine at 1.3 hours, but the low. At 5 lumens we need more than 40 hours of runtime. My Aeon, which is cheaper in the AL version, runs for 40 hours at 30 lumens. The Mk. II on 3-5 lumens will run for days. This is just a matter of tuning the emitter and current regulator. Surefire, get on that. I want to see something like 80 hours at 5 lumens or 120 hours at 2-3 lumens. That would work well and make the runtimes equivalent to the best lights on the market and equal in quality to other aspects of this extraordinary flashlight. I have noticed that a lot of folks with light meters have found the regulation on this light to be lacking, but I did not have the chance to figure out if this was the case. It worked fine for me, a little short, but fine.

Beam Type: 2

TIR destroys the old beam type paradigm of flood v. throw. It used to be that on EDC lights I liked floody beam types as I was more likely use the light up close than spotting stuff in the distance. But here, the TIR gives you a good hotspot and excellent spill. You can use the light to throw and to flood. The hotspot is very intense, but the spill is excellent. The bar has been raised by this:

TIR is a winner and the beam type is custom amazing.

Beam Quality: 2

No artifacts, no dark patches or rings, again the TIR kills it. This light's output looks like the Haiku's and the price tag is less than half of Don's jewel. I love this beam. The tint, a concern during the first wave of EB1 releases, is, to my eyes wonderful. It is not Hi-CRI, but it is pretty darn neutral. Here are some beam shots.

Reference:

Low:

High:

Note the distinct hotspot and lack of artifacts. The colors are rendered very well, with the red bodies of the Bessey Revo clamps (upper right) popping. Additionally, the white scale is good, as the true white of the pegboard is distinct from the off white of the band saw body (upper left). The spill is good, even though in the low picture it seems non-existent. It is so faint it is hard for my cheapo camera to pick up, but it is definitely there in person.

UI: 2

The dead simple clicky is very nice. The UI is great, but be aware this is a tactical set up (high first). I am biased against this, but I recognize that if you are in the market for a Surefire, the tactical set up is probably what you are looking for. Given its intended use I am not going to dock it a point for the high first set up as everything else is very easy to access and requires zero amount of Morse code-like bullshit.

Hands Free: 1

D'oh! Surefire, seriously, how did you miss this? Why bother with the shrouded tailcap if you aren't going to make it be able to tailstand with ease? I know the company has a heritage of tactical lights which eschew tailstanding in favor of easy access clickies, but if they are going to make the effort to offer a different tailcap, make it work. The clip is an excellent anti-roll device though and the light works well in the teeth or on a cap (thanks to the awesome two-way clip), so the net is a 1.

Overall Score: 17 out of 20

One concern or problem with my scoring system, like all scoring systems, is that a fix upper limit does not accurately reflect something that is truly and distinctly great. This is a product that demonstrates that problem perfectly. The EB1 is not just a good light, it is one of the best 1xCR123a lights in the world, production or custom. It hangs in there with my Haiku in terms of beam quality and that is something I just couldn't believe. TIR is the future and the beam here is so brilliant, so well-balanced, and so good at throw that this light sets a new standard. In the same way that the Eiger set a new standard for versatility in production lights, the EB1 sets a new standard for beam quality and beam type. The old scoring method for beam type--a balance between flood and throw--is completely thrown off here. The TIR allows the EB1 to do good on close up work and still hit treetops a 100 yards away with ease. This is a 17, but one of the best products I have ever reviewed. It is a quirk in the scoring system, but having a score and text allows me to account for those quirks. If you are in the market for a 1xCR123a light, this has GOT to be something you consider. Using it will change the way you look at lights.

Benchmade 300SN Review

2013-04-19T04:46:00.000-07:00

The Benchmade 300SN was a surprise. One day it was nothing and the next day it was on retailers' doorsteps, dropped there overnight like a baby from the Stork. It is part of what Dan at Blade Reviews and Andrew at Edge Observer have called the Flipper arms race. The idea of a brown/earth colored flipper knife is pretty familiar by now, having been done before by both ZT (the ZT561) and Spyderco (the Spyderco Southard). The Benchmade iteration on this theme is very, well, Benchmade-y. It has superb fit and finish. It runs 154CM steel. It has an Axis lock. And it has a few design quirks that are classic Benchmade pitfalls. At least Benchmade is consistent. When it falls down, it does so the same way almost every time. This is a decent knife, just not a very good or great one. Thus, when the competition is so fierce and so similar, it seems worse by comparison, if for no other reason than the comparison is so easy to make.

Here is the product page with specs for the Benchmade 300SN. Here is a review of the Benchmade 300SN from podcast cohost Aaron. Here is a video review from Nutnfancy. Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find the Benchmade 300SN, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:

Blade HQ

Finally, here is my Benchmade review sample (sorry about the uneven quality of the photos, the first was taken outside and the rest were taken inside with new, less effective lighting; I have since modified by lighting set up):

Design: 0

The design of the 300SN has a few flaws, two of which are major. This is not to say the knife is a failure. It is actually a decent hard use blade, but as an EDC it is less than ideal and as a hard use blade there are many better options.

The two flaws are simple to explain: 1) the flipper is pathetically slow; and 2) the overall size of the knife is just too big for what you get. The slow flipper has to do with the fact that the Axis lock pin rides against the tang of the blade (as it does on all Axis lock knives). This places pressure on the knife as it swings open, slowing down the blade. The Axis lock also impacts the detent, altering the normal flipper mechanincs and requiring you to approach the 300SN differently. The flipping motion and action are slightly different form a normal flipper and the blade is worse for it. I know why this is an Axis lock knife (it is Benchmade's go to lock format and a very good one), but in this case, Benchmade should have abandoned its efforts to squeeze the lock into this kind of knife. After reviewing quite a few flippers, including the Twitch II, which also uses an lock not normally seen on flippers, I can safely say that if you want a knife to flip well it needs to have either a frame lock or a liner lock (I think a compression lock or Nak lock would also work). Any lock that puts pressure on the blade as it opens really screws with the fundamental mechanics of the flipper.

But if this was merely a slow or awkward flipper, I could overlook the problem. After all the Surefire Jekyll has a weird flipper and I still very much liked that blade. The second problem with the design of the 300SN is more acute. This is a massive knife. Look at the shot below under "Carry" and you will see how thick this knife is. I just don't get why it has to be this thick in the first place. The blade is 3 inches long. That is not enough to make this a true "tactical" folder (though I am wary of even using that word). Compared to similarly sized hard use folders this thing is a chunk. The Paramilitary 2 weighs more than 2 ounces less and has an extra .40 inches in blade length. There is no need for full steel liners here. I recognize that the Axis lock requires some kind of liner, but something around the pivot would work as would milled out liners. But the weight is just part of the size problem. More so than any other knife I have carried or reviewed this knife seems much thicker than necessary. It is like carrying two knives stacked on top of each other. It is just too thick for what you get.

There are other flaws here as well. I dislike the scalloped handle scale, with finger grooves. It feels okay, I would imagine, if you had hands that size but it forces you to grip the knife in a particular way and if your hands aren't the right size the grip can be uncomfortable. Finger grooves like these are a beginner's way of making something SEEM ergonomic. Another small flaw is the flipper itself. I like its shape and texture, but the channel cut into it to allow for it to pass around the Axis lock pin can collect lint, making the knife difficult to close properly. This also screws with the detent, which is already problematic.

Then, there is the price. This is a very expensive knife for what you get. I don't normally mention price, because money means different things to people, but here the price is completely out of whack with its market competitors. The knife sells at Blade HQ for $148.95. The PM2 sells for $119.95. You get a better knife with a better steel (154CM v. S30V) for $30 less. The full sized Griptillian has the same steel and same lock from the same maker and comes in at $109.25. The G10 scales (which are quite ugly) and the flipper are not worth the additional $39. Compared to the Cold Steel Mini Recon 1, this knife is exorbitantly priced, more than double the cost of the Cold Steel blade. The upgrade from AUS 8 to 154CM and the addition of the flipper are not worth the cost. This knife should retail for the same price as the Griptillian. If it did it would be a significantly better value.

Lastly a quick work about aesthetics. I have already mentioned that the handle scales are ugly and boy are they ever. But the cluster of pins, levers, flippers, and screws around the pivot are especially distracting. It looks like the knife has acne, a problem I noted in the aesthetics of the Emissary. This is a natural occurrence on Axis lock knives but there are things that Benchmade could do to lessen this effect like coloring the metal pieces or hiding the screws like they do on the Griptillian (again a cheaper knife). The pattern on the handle is purely aesthetic as the grooves are not deep enough to add traction. They are also ugly. This is, simply put, a hamburger of a knife--a massively thick, bespeckled, brown handle (the silver metal pieces are the poppy seeds).

As you can imagine the ratios are not good. The blade:handle is .74 and the blade:weight is .64. Compared to the recently reviewed Chill and the upcoming Enticer, these are both very bad numbers. Compared to more conventional designs, the blade:handle is okay, but the blade:weight is bad no matter the comparison. Here is a shot of the knife next to a Zippo for scale.

Fit and Finish: 2

For all of the garish bolts and hideous coloration and fat size, this is a Benchmade and no one in the production world does fit and finish like Benchmade. Every knife they made that I have handle is utterly superb. The 300SN is no exception. The surfaces are finished well and the blade itself is nice and centered. The Axis pin is well textured and nice to use and the flipper is finished very well. The 300SN does nothing to dent Benchmade's well-earned reputation in terms of fit and finish. Great, as always.

Grip: 1

This knife has, as mentioned above, a series of finger grooves. They happen to work for my hands, but in other, different sized hands they can be a problem. My Dad recently came into town and I handed him the knife and he did not like the handle at all. The finger grooves are a cheap and easy way to make something FEEL or SEEM ergonomic when it really isn't. The G10 was good as was the jimping, but I just couldn't get over the fact that this knife tells you how it MUST be held, instead of suggesting a number of ways it COULD be held.

Carry: 0

Have you ever put a hamburger in your pocket? It isn't comfortable, is it? Oh, wait you haven't...well, have you ever tried to carry one of those so called pocket dictionaries in your pocket? Its like that, but instead of soft flexible paper, this knife is made of unforgiving steel. I love the clip, more on that later, but I hate the knife's size and weight. Only an actual hamburger would be more conspicuous in the pocket. This picture says it all:

The knife is just too thick. It also happens to be wide, in part because the blade is wide, but also because the flipper adds width. This is not a fun knife to carry.

Steel: 2

I like 154CM. It is a very good steel. After a few anomalous experiences with it, I have come to realize that this is a very solid steel--it holds an edge well and is still quite easy to sharpen. I like it a lot, but at this price, it is slightly below par. The Buck Vantage Force Pro has S30V steel and it is $88. There is nothing wrong with this steel at all, but for the price, I would expect a little more. I am not willing to ding the knife a point here, as the steel, without consideration of price, is very good, but you get my point.

Blade Shape: 2

Okay, I have been pretty hard on this knife, though deservedly so, but here, at the all important category of blade shape, the 300SN hits a home run. This is a great blade shape with a classic look, plenty of belly, a great ricasso (one of the things that Benchmade kills Spyderco on; fanboys FIGHT), and a good swedge.

The knife performed well on my cutting tests (paper, cardboard, paper, arm hair) and did not need sharpening at all. For all of the blah, blah, blah in the design section, the blade shape and the grind save this knife. This knife thanks to these two things, is a very good cutter, and that is, after all why you buy knives, right?

Grind: 2

With a high price tag and great fit and finish you are bound to get good grinds and here is no exception. I loved the cutting bevel, as it was wide enough and perfectly consistent. I liked the flat grind as well. The swedge is excellent as is the main grind. This knife has thick blade stock and the grinds really taper everything down to a nice cutting edge quickly. Great job Benchmade.

Deployment Method: 1

The flipper is lazier than a pig on a hot day. It just won't flick out. It is smooth, make no mistake, but it is just SLOW. I like the shape of the flipper here, it is quite good, but the Axis lock puts too much pressure on the tang of the blade. I have labored on this point too much already because while it is slow it does work. It is merely not as nice as I would want for this price.

Retention Method: 2

This is the same clip as the Emissary and I loved it then and now.

This is definitely the best clip Benchmade makes and is in the running for best production knife clip overall. I really, really like it.

Lock: 2

I love the Axis lock. I really do. It screws with the flipper here, but as a lock it is great. There is no blade play whatsoever and the lock up and disengagement is clean. Excellent job by Benchmade, of course. I think this knife would be much cooler and faster with a frame lock, but that is because they play nicer with flippers, but as a lock irrespective of deployment method, the Axis is about as good as they come.

Overall Score: 14 out of 20

This is a competitive marketplace for knives right now, especially given the Flipper Arms Race. In that marketplace, the 300SN is a merely okay option, a me-too design released at a time when other, better blades are out there. Those knives, the ZT 56X and the Spyderco Southard, are more expensive, but they are better blades. The materials are under par for the price and the flipper would be slower only if the pivot was made of tar, but this knife is a good, solid cutter. If you knew nothing of its competitors, you'd probably be happy with it, until you had to lug it around. But given that you do know about the competitors I would search them out or opt for a PM2, a full sized Griptilian, or probably a Cold Steel Mini Recon I. They are similar hard use folders that are lighter in weight with longer blades and all are cheaper. Nice try Benchmade, but after the Griptilian and Mini Grip, we all expect a little more. A flipper with the same size and shape as the Mini Grip would be really amazing. Hint, hint.

Thomas W.'s Comments and the Cryo Revisited

2013-04-15T03:54:00.003-07:00

The Kershaw Cryo review lives on. No other article has spawned as many substantive comments as this one, but one in particular is pretty important. When Thomas W. comments, you listen. If you browse knife forums at all, you know that Thomas W. is an active and outstanding member of the knife community and he also happens to work for one of the Big Three--Kai USA.

When an email alert told me that he had commented on the Cryo review, I knew I had to take a peek. What he said was really interesting and given how well respected he is in the community and how much I respect his opinion, I thought it warranted its own post and a response from me. If I were a movie critic, this would be like Stephen Spielberg sending me a note about my review of Lincoln.

Here is what Thomas W. wrote:

Hi Tony

This is Thomas from Kai USA. Sorry to hear of your disappointment with the Cryo.

I'm not really looking to argue with you about your review, although it seems exaggerated.

Just wanted to drop in to let you know that the Cryo is the most popular new item our company has seen in a long time. It's numbers have shown it to be our biggest volume sku in our current line-up. I'm not sure how that could happen if the Cryo is as bad as you advertise. There have been multiple requests for variations of the Cryo (black and bead blast), and the pre-orders on the larger Cryo have been very, very, solid.

Suffice to say, calling the Cryo junk is just not accurate, not even as an opinion. We know knives. We know execution. I own a Cryo. It's far from junk, and I find your claim distasteful and disrespectful.

I'll assume you are here as an advocate of the knife community. Please remember as good as it felt to write this, you have a responsibility to the community, not just your viewers here.

Throwing out the word junk in the easy fashion as you have here is just not responsible. I'm unsure why Blade HQ would utilize you for reviews when you self admit bias, and there is an obvious lack of industry experience/understanding, but little surprises me anymore.

I appreciate the ability to respond here, and would like to shout out to the readers that the overwhelming percentage of Cryo owners are very much satisfied with the knife, as are we.

The Re-Review Policy

This is not a comment I can brush off and it contains points that really made me think, not just about my opinion of the Cryo, but what I am doing writing about gear in general.

In response to Thomas's comments I have decided that I am going to amend my review policy. At the prompting of a maker, I will, at my discretion, re-review a product. The re-review will take place no sooner than six months after the original review is posted. This will be an appeal of sorts (as a lawyer I am familiar with the complexities of an appeal). The purpose of one my reviews is to inform you the reader. It is not to be a smug jerk. I want, above all, to get the review right. I want to make sure my reasons are clear and my opinions are based on facts. I want to make sure that my opinions are defensible as well. But I am convinced, based on 35 years of errors, that even a well-reasoned argument based on facts, can be wrong and so, I am going to re-review the Cryo. This time I will purchase the Cryo and keep it as long as I need to do the review, but I am going to use it for at least a month and I am going to do my new cutting tests with it to standardize the review of its cutting performance.

A more formal statement of the re-review policy will be added to the Contact page up at the top.

Counterpoints

I do want to response to Thomas's points. If Spielberg tells you you got it wrong, you owe him a response.

First to general points. Thomas W.'s comments come when my review of the Cryo is the first hit on a Google search of "Kershaw Cryo Review." Perhaps that is what brought it to his attention. It has not always been the number one hit, but it is now. I mention this because some of Thomas's criticism seems most pointed if you read the Cryo review in a vacuum. If, however, you read it with other things I have written, like other reviews of Kershaw knives, some of the things he says make less sense. The Skyline got an 18/20, the OD-2 a 17/20, the Zing SS an 18/20, the Chill a 16/20, and the ZT 350 an 18/20 (the Scallion got a worse review than the Cryo with a score of 8/20). KAI USA's products are the second most often reviewed gear on my site, only Spyderco has more product reviews (7 reviews v. 12 reviews). I am not a Kershaw hater and these scores indicate that I know they make good knives. But these are general objections to his points. Let me be more specific.

I'm not really looking to argue with you about your review, although it seems exaggerated.

He stated that he felt my review was a bit "exaggerated". I am not sure what this means, but I think he means that I was exaggerating how bad the knife was. I believe that there certain facts that are simply unavoidable, facts that show the knife to be subpar. As facts, these can't be exaggerated (though their impact can be). First, the weight of 4.2 ounces. I am not a weight maven, but for a knife with a 2.75 inch blade, the weight is just too much. In Episode 4 of Gear Geeks Live Aaron and I hashed out the debate a little and I gave him this list:

Benchmade Griptillian
Spyderco Paramilitary 2
Kershaw Blur
Kershaw Cryo

Then I asked him which was the heaviest. The answer is the Cryo. And here is the more surprising fact--all of the blades in the other knives are significantly longer, around a half inch longer. So based on objective facts--weight and blade length and a ratio of the two--the Cryo falls behind the crowd pretty substantially. That is something I can't exaggerate--it is all facts, inches and ounces.

Then we talked about the Cryo in terms of similarly priced knives. After all, all three of the knives in the example above are more than three times the price of the Cryo. So I pointed Aaron to the Kershaw Zing SS. It shows just how below par the Cryo is in terms of objective measures. The handle material is the same, the blade material is the same, the lock is the same, the country of origin is the same, the company is the same, but the Zing weighs less and has more blade than the Cryo. Additionally, the blade to handle ratio on the Zing is better than the Cryo. You get more blade length for roughly the same handle size and 1.2 ounces less in weight. Again, these are facts, and I can't really exaggerate them. And to bring this home even more, the Zing SS and the Cryo are basically the same price, so this is not a matter of one knife benefiting from a higher budget and therefore better production quality than the other. These two knives are very readily comparable and the Zing SS just gives you more.

As far as other facts, the fit and finish, especially the blade centering, on my knife was bad. It was so bad that I got the scissor effect when I closed the knife as the blade contacted the handle and slid past it. There is no exaggerating how bad my sample was, but perhaps I should not attribute these problems to the whole line. That may have been an exaggeration. I will get another Cryo and find out.

Just wanted to drop in to let you know that the Cryo is the most popular new item our company has seen in a long time. It's numbers have shown it to be our biggest volume sku in our current line-up. I'm not sure how that could happen if the Cryo is as bad as you advertise. There have been multiple requests for variations of the Cryo (black and bead blast), and the pre-orders on the larger Cryo have been very, very, solid.

First, let me say I am so glad that the knife is selling well. I like Kershaw as a company. They won me over with blades and then again helping me prepare a case when a client of mine was charged with possessing a switchblade because of owning a Speed Assist knife (the law banning switchblades in New Hampshire has since been repealed). But liking Kershaw aside, I have a few thoughts about Thomas W.'s comments on popularity.

First, when a knife is brand new good sales numbers are not an indication of quality design or product, but quality marketing. It can't be anything else because no one has the knife in their hands to use. If the sales are this strong ten years from now and/or the Cryo undergoes the CQI of a blade like the Delica, then the sales numbers and longevity will be an indication of quality. Strong sales out of the gate is an indication of a fantastic marketing department, something Kai USA certainly has, not of product quality. After all one of the worst reviewed movies of last year had one of the highest, if not the highest opening weekend grosses (Twilight Breaking Dawn, Part 1 grossed $290 million). Initial sales are not indicative of quality.

Popularity is also not a great judge. After all, quite a few people believed the world was flat and that turned out to be wrong. If popularity or sales numbers were all that was needed to prove quality then this:

would be the third best knife in the world right now as it is really killing it on the Amazon Top 100 folding knives chart. Obviously, popularity cannot a direct indication of quality. Quality items are often popular, but popular items are not necessarily quality items. Over time popularity tends to correlate with quality, but the Cryo is less than a year old and so popularity, right now, at least, is not helpful in evaluating quality.

Requests for variation could be a sign of quality. I asked for a variation of the Cryo in my review. There are things the Cryo does very well. I said it in the review and I said it on the podcast--this knife has good bones. With a few tweaks it would be amazing. But calls for variation can also be a sign of problems. People wouldn't ask for changes if they liked what they already had. They might, but they also might not. Requests for variations does not, in my mind, necessarily correlate to quality. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

Finally, if the Amazon reviews are any indication (and usually they aren't but with as many as the Cryo has they start to be statistically significant), this is not a knife of universal acclaim. The knife has 243 reviews with an average of 4.37 stars, which is good, but not close to great. The Dragonfly 2, with 53 reviews (an admittedly much smaller sample size), has an average of 4.8 stars. The Skyline, with 208 reviews, has an average of 4.7 stars. If the Amazon reviews are even somewhat helpful, the knife is liked or well liked, but not beloved. The difference of half a star on a 5 star scale is 10%, a sizable thing. I don't think this is the strongest counterpoint, as Amazon reviews are notoriously fickle or silly, but it is all we have to go on in terms of objective metrics.

Suffice to say, calling the Cryo junk is just not accurate, not even as an opinion. We know knives. We know execution. I own a Cryo. It's far from junk, and I find your claim distasteful and disrespectful.

Calling the Cryo "junk" is disrespectful. I don't think it is or should be, but Thomas W. obviously took offense, so I can't really tell him to not be offended (especially given the fact that the "I am sorry you were offended" style apologies are one of my pet peeves). The reason I called it junk was twofold. First it is a clear and concise summary of my experience. The Cryo I got flipped poorly, had poor grip, and was really off centered. It was a junky version of the knife. Second, it calls attention to the main problem I had. I didn't call the knife ugly, I was taken aback by its seemingly cheap fit and finish, materials, and production choices. The design itself is a great one, and with a few tweaks it could be a great knife, but the production issues make it a lesser knife. It might be offensive, but I see my purpose as informing people and the word "junk" was both clear and informative. My intent was not to be disrespectful, though I was aware at the time I wrote the review that could be a consequence. As between being disrespectful to KAI USA and misleading my readers, I would obviously choose being disrespectful, though this is almost always a false choice. My "customers" are my readers, not the folks that make the products. I don't do this for knife companies and I don't do this for money or stuff (I give all of my review stuff away). I do this for the readers and their interests come first.

Thomas's point that calling it "junk," even as an opinion, is not accurate is confusing to me. It is an accurate summary of my opinion. I used facts to back up that opinion. That, it seems to me, is enough to say that my opinion is accurate. You might not agree with it, but there is no doubt that "junk" accurately summarizes my opinion at the time. I should know, after all, it is my opinion.

I also agree with Thomas that Kershaw and KAI USA know how to make knives. They really, really do. They make some of my favorite production blades of all time. I know, right now, that two are on the top of "to buy" list (the 556 and the Injection 3.0). Also also wholeheartedly agree that Kershaw knows execution. If I didn't believe this I wouldn't bother re-reviewing the knife. There are certain things that are fixed, like the size and weight, but I believe, given Kershaw's long track record, that I could have received a very rare Kershaw lemon. So I will re-review the blade. I also think that some of the best knives I have used, for the money, or cost no object, have been KAI USA products. They make fantastic knives. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

I'll assume you are here as an advocate of the knife community. Please remember as good as it felt to write this, you have a responsibility to the community, not just your viewers here.

I also have to take seriously what Thomas said about being an advocate for the knife community. I realize that what started out as me writing for a few dozen folks has transformed into something bigger. With that bigger megaphone comes more responsibility. Going forward I will take that into account in writing reviews. For the record, I took no pleasure in writing a bad Cryo review. I wanted that knife to be awesome from the day I saw it on a SHOT Show video. If anything the review was written and fueled by a sense of profound disappointment.

Throwing out the word junk in the easy fashion as you have here is just not responsible. I'm unsure why Blade HQ would utilize you for reviews when you self admit bias, and there is an obvious lack of industry experience/understanding, but little surprises me anymore.

I didn't throw out the word "junk" easily. The review took over a month to write and the product took as long to test. The whole reason I use a 20 point system is so there is some order to my opinions. None of these reviews are easy. They all take quite a bit of work, all of which is unpaid.

Thomas also pondered why Blade HQ would sponsor me. I think I do a good job reviewing products and getting the word out. I think I provide lots of content for them for almost nothing. I know, based on commissioned sales, things are going well. But I have no idea why they choose to sponsor this site. I am incredibly grateful, but their motives are their own.

The one thing Thomas W. said that I most strongly disagree with is his idea that bias makes someone a bad reviewer. Bias or subjectivity is the very heart of a review. It is one person's take on something. It is, by its very nature, biased. I even wrote an article on what my biases were and how to account for them in reading a review. I AM BIASED. So is everyone else. The reviewer that tells you they are not is lying. They are the folks you need to be worried about because they are biased and they either don't know it or won't admit it.

I am also going to confess further. I am a huge Kershaw fan. I am always interested in what they put out. I don't follow Gerber or Cold Steel like I follow Kershaw (check my Twitter account, I follow Kershaw and Knife Jen, but neither Gerber or Cold Steel). There is a difference between being biased and being fair. I think that I am fair. I strive to be fair. I bend over backwards to be fair. I try to be transparent as well. I try to ensure I benefit in no way from any review. I reviewed the Tom Bihn Cadet and decided I liked it a lot. But instead of keeping the review copy and sending them my money, I paid for it to go back to Seattle, then once it arrived, I paid for it to come back my way. If I was trying to be slanted in some way, if I was not fair, I wouldn't go to all these lengths. My reputation is all I have. I don't have money or prestige, just people believing I am fair and honest. Everyone has a perspective and so everyone has a bias, but I can recognize those biases and work around them to review things I wouldn't necessarily like or buy and still give them good reviews if the product deserves it.

As for the lack of experience I am the first to admit I have ZERO experience in the knife industry. I don't have any clue whatsoever what makes a knife company profitable or a design good for business. Thomas W. is absolutely right on this account. But I don't think that, on its own, invalidates my opinion. Bill James had no clue what made a ball club successful when he started writing his Baseball Abstracts. He had an idea--the numbers contained crucial information that IN THE INDUSTRY OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL were missing. Twenty five years later, the guy that worked as a night security guard at a baked bean factory while writing the Abstracts, has been proven right again and again. He has a World Series ring to prove he is right.

I am not Bill James. I am not as smart as he is. I am no where near the writer he is, but the notion that only those inside the knife industry have meaningful things to say is hard to accept. Maybe I don't understand how the price point of the Cryo requires certain compromises or how the branding shapes the product. But I don't care about this stuff. I have one focus--how good is this piece of gear. It may take an engineering degree to design the knife (though I don't think that is a requirement either) and a business degree to market and sell it. But anyone can use a knife and anyone willing to think about it for a while and write stuff down can speak meaningfully about how well it works.

Conclusion

Thomas W. I am incredibly grateful for your comments. They will change how I write reviews going forward. They were insightful in a fundamental way. We disagree on a few things, but in general, I think you were right. So, for the first time in two plus years, I am going to do a full blown re-review. The Kershaw Cryo gets a second chance.

Budget Blade Shootout

2013-04-12T04:19:00.002-07:00

This has been a long, long time coming. I wanted to do this shootout around October of 2012, and I purchased a commonly recommended budget blade, the Ka Bar Mini Dozier, for this purpose. But after I received the CRKT Drifter I realized that the Dozier, while a good little blade, didn't really stack up to what the Drifter had to offer. In the end, these shootouts make little sense unless all of the products score within a few points of each other. With that figured out I moved on to the Byrd Meadowlark, the Delica sized knife from the Spyderco budget brand. Both those knives retail for around $18, so I decided that whatever the third entry in the Shootout would be, it had to be under $20. After some searching I found the Kershaw Chill. It was significantly different from the other two knives, but was roughly the same size and price. That was the final competitor and the shootout could start to take shape.

There are a lot of knives that come in under $20. A lot. But many of them are small knives, like the Gerber LST. I have owned and LST and actually gave it away in a trade as a special bonus. It was a good knife, but it was too small, lacked a pocket clip, and took two hands to open. In my mind it was not sufficiently functional to be an EDC knife. It might be the perfect blade for ultralight backpacking (weighing roughly half what the Baladeo does, with a substantially better lock), but for everyday use, it wasn't up to snuff. Then there are the horde of Chinese brand knives. Note I did not say "Chinese made" knives because every single knife in this shootout is Chinese made. The difference between these knives and the Bees and Elans of the world is that these knives come from reputable companies and if something goes wrong you know who to contact. That, in my mind, is worth the extra two to eight dollars you will spend upgrading from a Bee or an Elan to one of these knives.

Here are the three competitors:

The Drifter G10 (Score: 18 out of 20):

The Meadowlark Lightweight (Score: 16 out of 20):

The Kershaw Chill (Score: 16 out of 20):

Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find all three knives, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:

Blade HQ

The Drifters came from CRKT and the other two blades came from Blade HQ. I will be reviewing the G10 version of the Drifter because I think it is the better version and since they are the same price, it would be the one I would buy.

Methodology

The rules of the shootout are simple: I will use all of the same categories as the normal scoring system, but the products will be ranked, using a weighted rank system (like the baseball MVP voting; this prevents mere inclusion from being a huge bonus). The best product in a given category will get 5 points, the next best 3, and the worst 1. After that I will tally the points and then divide the points by the average price of the product. The product that is the best value (most points per dollar) will be the winner. There will be no ties. If there is a tie, some how, in the value calculations, I will break the type based on my own opinion of which product is better.

Design

The design of the Drifter is solid. Nothing flashy, nothing unconventional, but no glaring weaknesses either.

The Chill is simply too long and narrow to be a great slicer. The Meadowlark is, frankly, the McDowells to Spyderco's McDonalds (or the Big Mic to the Big Mac, whichever you prefer). Everything about it is slightly worse than a real Spyderco. It seems to me that Spyderco spent too much time making sure there was a difference between the Meadowlark and the Delica and not enough time focusing on whether the Meadowlark is a good knife on its own. This is a case of one clearly inferior choice, as both the Drifter and the Chill are good to very good and the Meadowlark is yawn inducing or just a genericized version of "your favorite knife."

Drifter: 5
Meadowlark: 1
Chill: 3

Fit and Finish

None of these blades had bad fit and finish. Honestly I was a bit surprised by this. The Ka Bar Mini Dozier was just wobbly all over. It didn't work well at anything closely resembling a heavy duty task. But here all were pretty darn close. Two things makes the Meadowlark fall to the back of the pack: the uneven nature of the blade itself, seen best in the "that's good enough" finish to the ricasso:

Second, there is the really annoying and totally unnecessary ridge around the handle of the blade. I am not sure what it is for or even what it is meant to do, but it surely is annoying when using the knife.

I need to be candid here: none of these knives are completely perfect. Choosing the best fit and finish on a $20 blade is very much like picking the smartest Kardashian sister--someone has to win by default. There is a hint of blade play, side to side, in both the Chill and the Drifter, but nothing that is worrisome and really, when you are at the $20 or less price range, there are things that just cannot be avoided. A little slop in the product is part of what you have to accept. If this bothers you your going to have to increase your budget. There is no way to get around it. That said, the Drifter was a smidgeon better. With a good amount of tinkering you can get the pivot flicking smooth and still have a reasonably solid blade. The same cannot be said with the Chill. It is not the pivot, which is fine, but the thin blade stock over a longer run.

Drifter: 5
Meadowlark: 1
Chill: 3

Grip

What the Meadowlark lacks in looks and fit and finish it easily makes up for in grip. Both the Drifter and the Chill are significantly behind the Meadowlark and there is also significant spacing between the Drifter and the Chill as this Chill is pretty much grip free, by comparison. None of the knives are bad, at all, but the Meadowlark is the clear winner here. The handle's texture helps, as does the thumb ramp created by the hump and the jimping. The choil is also a big bonus. The Meadowlark is one grippy knife.

Drifter: 3
Meadowlark: 5
Chill: 1

Carry

Again there is some significant spacing here. The Chill is really slim and discrete, making it an excellent pocket passenger. The Drifter is a bit wider and heavier, making it not exactly perfect, and the Meadowlark, for all its grippiness is just too wide, the Spyderco problem on steroids.

Drifter: 3
Meadowlark: 1
Chill: 5

Steel

This is a no brainer--both the Meadowlark and the Chill have 8Cr13MoV steel. The Drifter has the slightly but consistently superior 8Cr14MoV. I did like the finish on the Chill's steel better than the uneven satin finish on the Meadowlark, so that is why it bests the Byrd blade here. See more on this issue below in the conclusion section.

Drifter: 5
Meadowlark: 1
Chill: 3

Blade Shape

Again this is an imperfect choice. The Drifter is closest to perfect as it has a nice conventional blade shape.

The only drawback here is the unnecessary recurve. It looks cool, as almost all recurves do, but they are all--uniformly--a pain to sharpen. The recurve here is not crazy, so I am not too worried about. The Chill's blade shape is a problem for a different reason. As I mentioned in my review, it is just too long and too narrow to be worth the effort. The slim profile really does impact cutting performance making this a surprisingly weak slicer, especially given the blade stock. The Meadowlark's blade shape is not so bad for cutting, but the hump, which is even larger than a hump on a Spyderco, is exceptionally wide making this knife a pocket choker. It can slice though, even with the crude and uneven grind, so it comes out ahead of the Chill.

Drifter: 5
Meadowlark: 3
Chill: 1

Grind

Here we have distinct clumping again. The Drifter and the Chill have pretty darn good grinds, especially for a knife of this price, but the Meadowlark, well...take a peek:

The grind is just messy. The grind lines, which I usually find pretty cool when pronounced, are uneven and swirly. The cutting bevel is wide, which is good, and somewhat wavy, which is not. This is a clear example of saving money through an inferior grind. It is funny though, it doesn't really impact cutting. It will make the knife harder to resharpen and less likely to hold an edge, but with its toothy, rough grind, the Meadowlark sliced well at the beginning of my testing. Not so much as time (and grind) wore on.

Drifter: 5
Meadowlark: 1
Chill: 3

Deployment Method

RJ Martin-designed flipper:

You win. Automatically.

In all seriousness, the flipper here, as I mentioned in the Chill review, is outstanding. The thumb studs on the Drifter are also very good, which, along with both knives' silky pivot, makes them both a joy to unfurl. The slow lockback on the Meadowlark coupled with the pinchy thumb hole means that it finishes last. The Chill just ran away with this one, though because, again, RJ Martin-designed flipper.

Drifter: 3
Meadowlark: 1
Chill: 5

Retention Method

Okay, if you are going to shamelessly pilfer Spyderco's design, one place to definitely not screw around to make things look different is in the clip. The classic Spyderco spoon-style clip is really quite good. It is probably the benchmark for excellent. If you are better than the Spyderco spoon clip, you are in rarified air. Here the Chill's simple clip is nice, but loses out because of a lack of mounting options. It is a shame to have a wonderfully ambidextrous flipper and pair with a lefty hating pocket clip. The Drifter's clip is awfully wide. It doesn't have any mounting options. And it is just a bit snaggy in the pocket. None of the clips are terrible, but some are better than others.

Drifter: 1
Meadowlark: 5
Chill: 3

Lock

Two liner locks and a lockback. Exotic company this is not. Lockbacks are slow. They almost always come with some kind of blade play (including here). But they are cheap and easy to make. Liner locks are the other cheap way to make a lock. Both are good liner locks, but the Chill's was slightly easier to disengage.

Drifter: 3
Meadowlark: 1
Chill: 5

Total Points:

Drifter: 38
Meadowlark: 18
Chill: 32

Value Calculations

Prices at BladeHQ as of 4/7/13:

Drifter: $20.95
Meadowlark: $19.25
Chill: $20.95

Points per dollar:

Drifter: 1.81 points for every dollar you spend
Meadowlark: 95 points for every dollar you spend
Chill: 1.53 points for every dollar you spend

Conclusion

This was one of the closest of the Shootouts thus far and for good reason--the Drifter and the Chill are both excellent knives and have the same price. The Meadowlark is no where in the ballpark, but all three are very good values for the money. There is no slouch here, just better choices. To use baseball scout lingo--all three knives have a high floor.

In the end, the difference comes down to, no kidding, the steel and the blade shape. It is the 8Cr14MoV that put the Drifter ahead of the Chill's 8Cr13MoV. As weird as that is, it does match up with reality. My cutting tests the 14 steel does just a smidgen better than the 13. If it was once or one blade, I would chalk it up to weird variation, but I have now used three blades with 14 steel in my cut tests (the McGinnis Tuition, the SS Drifter and the G10 Drifter) and they all held a better edge than the Chill at each stage in the tests. At some point there is a enough experience to say that the experience is significant and demonstrative of something. With three knives and hundreds of cuts in multiple mediums, I think I am there. 14 is better than 13 and that is the difference in this Shootout. The blade shape is likewise better on the Drifter. The shorter wider blade gives you a more gradual approach to the cutting bevel allowing for better slicing.

Wait...one...second, you might be saying. It was only a few points. Yep. Six points. But at this low a price, each point, each design decision and production choice makes a difference. Six points is important when you have so little money to spend. But again, this confirms my experience. The Drifter is a very good knife. Not for the price, but in general. CRKT has done a remarkable job with a pittance of cash for a budget. The Chill is very good, very, very good, but not quite the same. It is been a long time coming, this Shootout, but after months of testing and using these blades I feel confident in the conclusion above. There is no doubt in my mind:

The CRKT Drifter is the KING OF THE BUDGET BLADES.

What about the...

I have reviewed quite a few knives that could have been in this Shootout, including the Kershaw OD-2 and the Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite. Both are a bit smaller than the smallest knife in this shootout, so they didn't exactly fit, but they are all good budget options. I guess I'd look at it this way--if I had no hard tasks to do, the OD-2 would be a good competitor to the Drifter. If I had hard tasks to do, the Mini Tuff Lite would be a good competitor to the Drifter (I tested the Mini Tuff Lite last year doing yardwork including cutting open bags of fertilizer and mulch some in fabric sacks). But the Drifter, even amongst this competition would still be in the running and probably a little ahead. It is not as svelte as the OD-2 but it can handle a lot more tasks. It is not as roughed as the Mini Tuff Lite, but it is a much better slicer (the ricasso on the Mini Tuff Lite was a huge problem).

With these knives thrown in, and using them for general EDC only, the rank would probably be something like this:

1. Drifter
2. OD-2
3. Chill
4. Mini Tuff Lite
5. Meadowlark

It is just a guess, but that seems about right.

Why being a Gear Geek CAN save you money

2013-04-06T16:46:00.004-07:00

When you think about what you use and what you do on a daily basis, you change your habits and your purchases. For example, if you are prepared person, you are rarely the person raiding the office supply cabinet at work for pens. You know that the pens in there are garbage. You also know that the pen you have is simply better. You also prepare for things that make these raids entirely unnecessary. You have a pen and a backup.

They are conveniently located. They are loaded with refills that are ready to go. In all likelihood they write longer and better than the office supply cabinet pens.

Being a fan of gear, means that you are prepared. You are ready to go. This is one thing you don't have the to worry about, one less task to distract you, and one less thing to waste time on. No one wants to raid the office supply cabinet. They do it because they have to. But you don't. That's five or ten minutes you have that other people don't. And, of course, we all know time is money.

SAVINGS #1

Let's play a game. I'll explain what the point is in a minute.

Which would you prefer?

1. Gerber Instant v. CRKT Drifter
2. Retro 51 v. Zebra F-701

3. Mini Mag v. Olight i1
4. Tumi Alpha Briefcase v. Tom Bihn Cadet (or Empire Builder)
5. Split Ring v. Mechanics Cable

In each of the questions, there is an expensive option and then probably the option you chose. In all likelihood, you never picked the expensive option, or if you did, it was only more expensive by a dollar. Each of these comparisons was chosen to illustrate a point, one we all know. If you are careful, if you look around, you can find great deals--high performance with a low price.

Being a gear person can be expensive. There is no doubt about it. I type this with over a grand in flashlights behind me despite the fact that there are only 6 lights included. At a certain point being a gear geek is just flat out expensive.

But there is something more basic to being a fan of EDC than spending money. The mark of a true fan of EDC gear is that they spend money wisely. The mentality that pushed me to start this website, something that came out of reading Bernard's posts and thinking about this stuff on my own, is the notion that spending money wisely is both cheaper and more fun. At the heart of being a fan of EDC gear is the idea that there is always something better out there, something that provides you with more utility and more performance. You know this and I know this. And we all know this for one reason: research.

Research makes you a smarter and more interesting person. You probably know what delrin plastic is and you probably have an idea of what you use a CNC machine for, while your hipster friends might not. If you really go down the rabbit hole you become obsessed with design itself. The history of the Bauhaus is fascinating and now occupies a healthy portion of my bookshelf. I have found that research also spurs me to be creative. I want to make things and make the stuff I have better. But the real value of research is that it gives you options. You know that you don't have to settle for a Mini Mag. You know that there are better options that also happen to be cheaper options.

SAVINGS #2

There is a saying in woodworking that applies to gear as well--buy your last tool first. Here is the typical knife upgrade treadmill. You decide you want to carry a pocket knife so you do some research, you find the Spyderco Tenacious and buy it. Then a little while later your tired of resharpening the 8Cr13MOV steel and you decide to upgrade to a Delica.

Then after a little more research you realize that you probably should have gotten the exceptionally good buy that the Caly3 CF represents. A few years later you realize that you just want to end the upgrade treadmill and you drop $350 on a Small Sebenza. If you would have taken the woodworking maxim to heart you would have bought the Tenacious as an entry into the pocket knife market and saved until you could afford the Sebenza. The resulting savings is approximately $150--the price of the Delica and the Caly3 CF.

I have found that the longer I do this the more I tell people that email me for EDC suggestions to save up until they can buy exactly what they want. There is a huge premium in getting not just something good but EXACTLY what you want. Folks like us do lots of research. It is part of the fun. We know that the Sebenza is a great knife and the Delica is a good one. But the price difference seems huge, especially in the beginning so you do this rationalization calculation and you convince yourself that the difference between the Tenacious and the Delica is worth the money, but the increase from the Tenacious to the Sebenza is not. But the difference is not that big, if you save. The difference between the Delica and the Sebenza is saving $25 a month for a year. That's right. If you skip a soda a day or eating out once a week and put that money towards a Sebenza, you will be there in a year. A year is a long time, but it is not that long.

Save and buy exactly what you want. Buy your last tool first and avoid the costly and ultimately unsatisfying upgrade treadmill.

SAVINGS #3

Being a Gear Geek is expensive, but if you do it right it is actually quite economical. You will end up with better stuff that lasts longer and does more, both overall and on a per dollar basis. Eventually you get to the point where you can pass up the latest and the greatest. You can wait. You can save. And when you do spend the cash, you will have that satisfied feeling of getting that thing you want, the thing you really, really want. You will ultimately realize that it is not so much about the gear or having lots of it, but about having good stuff. I'd rather have two nice things ten crappy ones.

Kershaw Chill Review

2013-04-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

When you take the work of a custom maker, a high end custom maker, and introduce the design to a line of production knives there are always compromises. If nothing else, you lose the refinement of a hand ground edge. The best production versions of custom knives, things like the ZT560, take the custom bones and add a few features that are better suited to production manufacturing like bearing pivots and 3D CNC machining. The production process giveth and taketh away all at the same time. And in the case of the ZT560 you get a knife that is quite simply excellent. It may not have the exclusivity of an XM-24, but it is a pretty spectacular blade.

But when you take a custom knife and make it a production model AND you drop the budget to entry level, it is always a challenge. The Cryo is a perfect example of a failed conversion. It is a Hinderer design, to be sure, and it has good bones, but the execution is so lacking that the knife is something of a drag on the overall Hinderer brand. I know folks disagree with me and I know there are a lot of them, but: a) this is my site; b) none of them have taken me up on my offer to publish a counterpoint Cryo review using the 20 point system; and c) lots of people thought the world was flat too and that didn't turn out so well for them.

When I saw that one of my favorite custom makers, RJ Martin (read a bit more about Martin here in the Zing review), had designed an ultra budget knife I was worried. My soaring expectations for the Cryo made its ultimate failure that much harder to take. So I tempered my expectations and hoped for the best when I got the Chill from Blade HQ. The Chill arrived and I was surprised at just how slim and how light it was. Both of those things were good points, but the Cryo made an okay first impression too. Then I went directly to the most telling part of a knife--deployment. The flipper was thin and precise, a push more than pull design, and strongly echoed its RJ Martin custom heritage. Nothing, in my opinion, flips better than a Martin and, thankfully, the Chill flipped incredibly well, especially given its very modest price point. Its not a custom blade, but for a production model, this thing flipped like a winner. Phew...let down avoided. But after carrying the knife for a while, the assessment is complex. Its a good knife but there are some drawbacks. Read on for more.

Here is the product page for the Kershaw Chill, with all of the specs. There are no variations. Here is a video review of the Chill from Nutnfancy. Here is a written review of the Chill. Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find the Chill, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:

Blade HQ

Finally, here is my review sample.

Design: 1

This blade has some truly outstanding features and design points. It is amazingly taut, the flipper acts like an ignition switch, and there are no extraneous parts, like vestigial thumbstuds. Kershaw should also be commended for skipping both the serrated edge and the assisted opening "features" both of which appeal to newbies and mall ninjas and, for the most part, are disliked by folks with a bit more experience with blades (though Kershaw does have good serrations and serrations are all but required for folks with rope tasks, like ranchers and folks on ships). Design, again, is as much about what you include as what you exclude and here Kershaw made a series of good omissions.

But this is a complex blade to review. It is the epitome of a mixed bag and unlike the Cryo, which had a series of problems, the Chill has only one design drawback--the blade is prohibitively narrow. This thing looks like a folding steak knife. The long slender profile makes carry great but cutting less than ideal. I am all for slender knives, I love the Al Mar Hawk, but this one takes things to such an extreme that for the first time in reviewing knives I found the overall package too slim. The grind and blade shape don't help, but the problem really starts at the blue print (or really nowadays the CAD drawing) page. A little less length, a little more width (even as small as a 1/4"), or a grind and blade shape that worked with the thin design all would have made this knife a better cutter.

Here is a size comparison with the standard Zippo:

The ratios are excellent, simply excellent. The blade:handle is .81, the second best of any knife reviewed thus far, displacing the Flash I as runner up behind the Hawk. The margin was very close too, as the Hawk scored a .84. The blade:weight is 1.56, very good, also ranking second (though well behind the Hawk, which was a 2.81). This is really impressive, especially when you consider the cost difference between the Hawk, a more than three digit blade, and the Chill, a barely two digit knife.

I thought about this score long and hard. In fact, I actually bumped up the Native 5 review because I kept going back and forth and in the end I settled on a one because no matter how elegantly simple the design is or how amazing the ratios are, this is a knife and cutting performance is paramount.

Fit and Finish: 2

One benefit of a simple, barebones design is that you can focus on the few parts included and do a bang up job on those without worrying about cutting corners elsewhere. The flipper, which I will talk about more below, is a testament to just how good the fit and finish is on this blade. The blade was roughly centered, though if you slapped the side of the knife you could here a click indicating that it was not perfectly centered. The G10 was nicely finished and though seemingly ubiquitous in Kershaw's pre-2013 SHOT Show line up, the bead blasting was nice. Very good job for a very cheap knife.

Grip: 2

All that slim length was put to good use here (insert terrible sex organ joke here). It is a good four finger knife and the flipper makes a nice guard and the lock disengagement cut out makes a nice choil. The G10 is definitely not high traction and the lack of jimping is a bad thing, but in an EDC knife there is plenty to work with here.

Carry: 2

You knew was going to be a good score looking at the images and ratios alone. Pictures don't lie here. This knife utterly and completely disappears in the pocket. I loved carrying it. It never fought with its pocket siblings and it was never too much of a pocket block.

Steel: 1

8CR13MoV is the very definition of blah, par for the course steel. I would like to see better steel as the entry level, maybe 14C28N, but as long as people buy this steel (or knives that use it) makers will keep giving it to us. Simply put, my new cutting tests indicate that this steel doesn't hold an edge all that well, especially when you cut material more abrasive than plastic blister packs.

Blade Shape: 1

The clip or drop point design is not the end of the world, but the length is just not necessary.

It makes the overall knife too narrow and that, in turn, makes the grind steeper than it needs to be. If this knife was a 2.80 inch blade, shrunk down proportionally, it would be amazing.

Grind: 1

So the testing regime I talked about before claimed its first victim. Nothing I did could help the barely average steel and the awful grind hold up to the amazing custom edge of the EDMW or the fine flat grind of the Native 5. Those knives are monstrously more expensive, but even the humble Drifter bested the hollow ground Chill. The first paper cutting demo revealed weaknesses in the Chill's steel, blade shape, and grind. Switching to cardboard just about killed the knife. The subsequent shaving test proved that the blade steel, grind, and blade shape just aren't what they should be. The grind is okay, but that is it. The blade shape is okay, but that is it. The steel is okay, but that it is. Combined you have a distinctly mediocre cutter. Bland more than bad, but pretty darn bland.

Deployment Method: 2

As bland as the Chill is as a cutter, it is a resplendent pleasure to open and close. Of all of the things that make an RJ Martin knife an RJ Martin knife, the flipper is perhaps the most important and thankfully Kershaw got this not just right but almost perfect.

The Chill flipped with the ease and grace of a micro-sized gymnast. This is not a "for the money" good flipper, this is good flipper regardless of price. In the production world you have to go to something insane, like a bearing pivot flipper to find something openly and clearly superior.

Retention Method: 2

Remember the weirdo curly cue clip on the Zing? This is nothing like that. The Chill's simple barebones clip rocks.

It works well. It stays out of the way. It is tight but not ridiculously so. As with many thing, simple is best, and this clip proves that maxim once more. It is not "quad mounting" to use Kershaw jargon (which they seem to make up at an astounding pace), so lefties take heed.

Lock: 2

Liner locks get a bum rap. A good liner lock is an amazing thing to behold. The custom Howard Hitchmough liner locks are simply indescribably good. This is not that, not by a long shot, but for the money and for the intended use, this lock is very good. There was no blade play in either direction after fidgeting with the pivot a little and even when the blade was wiggle free it still sprung from the handle like a gazelle.

Overall Score: 16 out 20

I went back and forth and back again on this knife but in the end I think this score is right. If this blade were a bit shorter or if the grind was a flat grind or if both were the case, this would be an awesome, all-time great EDC knife. As it is, the Chill is a good but not great knife. The price is super appealing and the flipping action is inspired, but cutting performance is okay. You can, at this price, expect nothing more than okay, but sometimes if you look hard enough you might find a bit more.

For complete details on more, hang in there for the Budget Blade Shoot Out coming. Its this blade versus the Meadowlark and the Drifter. It will be a good close contest.

Spyderco Native 5 Review

2013-03-31T17:31:00.002-07:00

When you review gear, you worry about covering all different kinds of stuff. You want to get a good, representative sample of a company's product line. So a product's placement within a product line is important. You never want to cover too much of the same or similar thing. With that goal in mind Spyderco's non-sprint, non-rotating product line is just baffling. Why do we need, for example, both the Cat and the Ambitious? Do we really NEED two budget friendly, G10 handled, flat ground knives with 2.5 inch (or thereabout) blades? Do we really need the Superleaf, the Manix 2, and the Paramilitary? Why the Gayle Bradely Air and the Centofante Memory or the Air and the Chapparal? There seems to be so much overlap. But Spyderco certainly knows better than I do when it comes to what the market can bear. Its just that sometimes I am at a loss as to what to cover.

This point, however, misses the fact that for most people, product lines don't mean much. They just want a good knife. It is just hard for me to focus on that. When I got and reviewed the Paramilitary 2 I was so taken with the knife that I didn't feel the need to review other hard use folders from Spyderco like the Manix, Superleaf, and Military. Likewise when I reviewed the Caly3 CF I didn't feel the need to review other higher end 3 inch knives like the Sage and the Native 5. But that is a dumb reason. You might want the Native 5, so I decided to stop worrying about product lines and dumb stuff like that and just try the Native 5 out.

Here is the Native 5's product page. The Native 4 is still being made, oddly enough, and there is a special edition of the Native 5 with Moonglow scales for EDCF. Here is the Spyder Source page on the Native 5. Sal Glesser designed the Native 5. Here is an excellent Nemo Knives written review of the Native 5. Here is a video overview of the Native 5. The Native 5 is, right now, available only in the S35VN version. There will be a sprint run later this year with CF scales and an S110V blade. Additionally, the Native 5's lines are significantly different from those of the Native 4, but are virtually identical to those of the sprint run Native 4 with CF scales. Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find the Native 5, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:

Blade HQ

Finally, here is the review sample of the Native 5.

Design: 2

The specs and the scale I used show this is a 3.75 ounce knife, but it feels much heavier thanks to the stainless steel liners, the closed construction spine, and the lockback. This is a brick, but thankfully the liners are drilled out providing substantial weight savings. The humpless design an amazing variant on the classic Spyderco shape. The cut outs in the handle not only afford good (though not great) access to the thumb hole, but also work well as choils for your finger. The thing that I kept thinking using this knife was: boy this looks and feels a lot like a Strider. The spear point, the flat ground blade, the pronounced finger choil, it all seems similar. Then you realize that it is not the same thanks the clunky lockback. It is a very good design, but probably not the best or most clever.

Here is a shot of the Native 5 compared with the Zippo.

The blade:weight is .80. The blade:handle is exactly .75. The blade:handle is in the middle range of the knives I have reviewed. The .80 is also in the middle range.

Fit and Finish: 2

Once you get beyond the entry level and mid level knives (like the Tenacious and Delica respectively) Spydercos actually have very, very high end fit and finish. The Native 5 was no exception. This is a very polished and refined blade. The rear spine with its sandwich of G10, steel, and G10 is very, very smooth, so smooth in fact it is difficult to tell where the liner ends and the spine for the lockback begins.

The G10 is radiused to provide a good feel in the hand and the thumb hole is perfectly sized and cut. The front lock pivot is positively massive, providing a good deal of shock resistance, something like the stop pin in a Tri-Ad Lock. All of the screws are perfectly flushed to the body and the blade is remarkably well-centered. This is a remarkably finished knife for the price, especially when compared to the PM2, a similarly priced knife but with a more rugged design.

Grip: 2

The jimping is very good. The G10 is moderate coarse. These make for a good knife in the hand, but nothing makes this blade sing like the curves and cuts and choils for your fingers. This is one hell of a knife in hand and it is because of the amazing profile.

Sal really hit a home run with this one.

Carry: 1

Its not so much that the blade is heavy, but it is very dense. It does feel like a brick and drops to the bottom of a pocket like a sack of rocks. There is some banging around, in part because of the dispersion of the weight but also because the clip is nothing special.

Steel: 2

I mentioned this in the EDMW review, but I'll say it again here--S35VN is quite an impressive technical feat, despite the moaning on the internet. Read about the steel, do some research, but really make up your mind only after using this blade. As the fourth knife with S35VN that I have reviewed I can say this with confidence--this is a top tier, all-round amazing steel.

Blade Shape: 2

You never need a complex shape to make a knife a good cutter. It is, in my opinion, universally true that simpler is better. The Native 5 is an example of this. The choil is good and the ricasso, a usual problem for Spyderco knives, is decent here.

Grind: 2

Whoa baby. This knife's thin full flat grind makes the blade one of the best production knife slicers I have ever used and the stock is not exactly thin. I ran it through a battery of cutting chores, paper, cardboard, paper again, and arm hair, and it did very well. In the group I was testing the Native 5 hung in there with a custom blade (an excellent one at that) and though it didn't surpass the custom edge, it didn't embarrass itself at all. The cutting bevel is good as well, wide but not so wide as to promote rolling or chipping.

Deployment Method: 1

The pivot is smooth but slow, as most nice higher end lockbacks are. You can't really flip it open, but it does roll out pretty darn well. The thumbhole is great, but the humpless design means that it is partially blocked when the knife is closed.

It is not a major issue, but it is not exactly user friendly for knife newbies. Not one of my favorite Spyderco thumb holes

Retention Method: 2

The Spyderco spoon-style clip is a good design. It is not an absolute top tier design, but it really does work well. Sometimes its probably best to just leave well enough alone and go with what works. That is the story of the spoon-style clip.

Lock: 2

As far as lockbacks go this is a exceptionally smooth one. The front pivot for the lockbar is huge, helping disperse shock throughout the lock. I really don't like the weight the lockback adds here, but in the grand scheme of things it is not all that significant. The knife still weighs less than 4 ounces. The lock itself is superbly crafted and introduces no blade play in any direction, a rarity for lockback designs which can have significant issues with this kind of problem.

Overall Score: 18 out 20

Don't worry that the PM2 is more rugged or the Caly 3 is more refined, the Native 5 is an amazing knife. It is a thunk in the pocket, but not as heavy as it seems. It is amazing the hand and slices exceptionally well. I don't love the partially occluded thumb hole, but it still works. The lockback is smooth and upgraded over a standard version. The steel is great. This is a very good, but not great knife, but if the Caly 3 is too snooty and the PM2 too rough, it is the Goldilocks choice for Spyderco fans.

CORRECTION: Okay, this gets confusing, but here goes. I got the nomenclature on the Native line wrong. The Native 3 is the knife still being produced along side the Native 5. It has S30V steel and FRN handles. The Native 4 was a sprint run and came in CF scales only. I had mistakenly thought that it was a variant on the Native 3, something like the FFG version of the Delica 4 (which could have been called the Delica 5, but isn't). The Native 4 is not being produced anymore. If you want to buy a Native, you can get the cheaper Native 3 or the Native 5, the knife reviewed here. The Native 4 with CF handles has the look and shape of the 5 without the G10 handles and the S35VN steel. The Native 3 has a different, and worse, grind on the blade and the front choil is not as refined as it is on the Native 4 and 5.

Thanks to Reed for bringing this issue to my attention.

Steve Karroll EDMW Review

2013-03-29T04:09:00.000-07:00

Custom knives are difficult to review because it is hard to get a review sample, but they are also hard to review because of biases we develop when making decisions and spending money. I have written about this before, but it is worth repeating, especially when evaluating customs knives: we as human beings have a STRONG attachment to our decisions, right or wrong. It is one of the things that gives rise to the fanboy phenomenon and it is so widespread that there is a psychology term for it--Post Purchase Rationalization or the sexier name, Buyer's Stockholm Syndrome. In the invocation of the name "Stockholm Syndrome" can be appropriate. People, having laid out a huge sum of money, identify not with their captors, but with their purchase. Otherwise how can you explain the fact that there are fans of Saabs?

Getting my EDMW has undoubtedly blinded me a little. I am telling you this up front because it is important for you to know going in to this review. I have wanted this little folder for ages. About 18 months ago I attended a knife show, the Northeast Cutlery Collectors Association Show. At the show I met Steve Karroll. He had a few fixed blades on the table and in front of him, in the very center, two small folders. They were titanium framelocks. Both were around 3 1/2 inches closed and both were beefy. One was still a work in progress as the lock bar was VERY tight. He let me flick one open and play around with it. I was really surprised by just how unique it was. The grinds were immaculate, the blade shape was unusual, and the over all feel in hand was surprising, given its size. I contacted Steve later and was in the process of ordering one when finances got a little tight and told him to hold off. Fast forward a year of saving pennies and I placed an order. Less than three weeks later I had this in my hand:

Steve has a Facebook page, found here. There is no written review out there, but there is a video review found here. Because there is no product page, and because this is a custom with significant variation between versions, here are the specs of my knife:

Weight: 3.56 ounces
Closed Length/Handle: 3 15/32"
Blade Length: 2 9/16"
Blade Thickness: 3/16"
Handle Scale Thickness: Just under 1/8"
Total Thickness (including pocket clip): Just over 3/8"

This is a titanium framelock. The blade steel on my EMDW is S35VN. I paid $360 for mine, included in that price was $10 for shipping. Here is another shot of my EDMW:

Yes, I know I could clean it up a little. I was in the process of lubing it up and cutting stuff for testing when I took these shots. Right now there is only one source for these knives, Steve himself. He can be found at soulpatch at cox dot net (in the usual format).

Design: 2

This is a knife that has similar shapes and sizes to a good but flawed knife the Spyderco Leafstorm. The blade shape is similar to the Leafstorm--a pronounced drop point or a modified wharncliffe. Both are frame locks. Both have thick blade steel. But this knife fixes a lot of the problems the Leafstorm had--clip is straight, there is no stupid beard to the blade, and the handle is very comfortable in the hand. It really does melt into the hand, even the pinky is not out there on its own as it works nicely behind the rear of the knife, clearly a design feature Steve had in mind when making the EDMW.

A great deal of thought went into the rear tang of the knife too. It is hidden nicely the handle and does not collect lint or debris at all. Furthermore, Steve crams the pivot as far to the edge as possible without any weird stuff. Finally, the design makes for a nice lock engagement. The thick steel and Steve's taut lockbar mean there is plenty of space for break in over the years. All of this works with a positively massive stop pin. The overall design is a superbly thought out framelock design.

It stunned me when I pulled this guy out of his bubble mailer and felt the thunk. It is a huge, thick piece of steel. The blade, glorious S35VN, is truly massive in width, very close to 3/16 inches thick, but the length, in my mind is perfect for EDC use. This is borne out by the ratios. The blade:handle is .74 and the blade:weight is .72. The blade:handle is actually quite good, closer to the SOG Flash I's very nice .78 (close to the record held by the Hawk at .84) than the Delica's .68. The blade:weight is about par, nothing close to the Hawk's insane 2.81, but close to the Cold Steel Mini Recon I (which was .83). Steve manages the first by tucking in the blade neatly to a unique handle shape and the second by saving weight on the pocket clip and the handle scales, both are made of titanium.

Fit and Finish: 2

One thing that concerned me a little when I first got the knife was some up and down blade play. It was very slight, very slight indeed, but still there. This is my first locking custom knife and I thought that it might be because of the really sticky lock, which barely engaged. But after incessant (like wife-telling-me-to-stop-it incessant) opening and closing the knife, a miraculous transformation took place. First, the lock bar got less sticky. Second, the lock face engaged more of the blade tang. Third, the blade play vanished. With more of the lock pushing on the steel and an angle involved in their interaction, the blade was pushed forward by a thousandth of an inch or so and suddenly this thing felt as solid as any locking knife I have ever owned. After perusing the web I found that this does occasionally happen. Custom knives do need a bit of a breaking in period. Now this thing is like a bank vault door--solid.

Other touches evince the work of a true craftsman. The edges are nicely finished and the grinds are spectacular, of course. The thumb studs, which are a new design just for my knife (how cool is that to write?), have a bit of texture to them, allowing for easy "coin flip" opening. The pivot is gliding smooth and this, coupled with the textured thumb studs, makes for one hand, no wrist action opening. Still more touches betray a fastidious maker--the ridge between the two cut outs on the lockbar has been smoothed out; the jimping is grippy but rounded over making for an inviting feel, and finally, the back spacer is perfectly flush with the handle scales. Superb.

Grip: 2

This knife is a three finger grip that handles like a four fingered one. Steve's handle shape gives you the ability to lock in your ring finger and the curve on the rear of the blade creates a nice refuge for your pinky. I would imagine it would be even better with a lanyard, which comes standard (I hate lanyards so I declined, but I just might make one myself).

The jimping is outstanding, without question the best I have ever had the fortune to use. Here it is:

The rounding provides a smooth in pocket feel, but when oriented properly in the other direction they simply do not let your fingers move forward. This is perfect jimping.

Carry: 2

I bought this knife because I wanted something smaller than the small Sebenza. Mission accomplished. It simply hides in the pocket. It fits in a coin pocket in even the skinniest of my jeans, which, admittedly are not too skinny (I am a Dad after all and we all know what Dad Jeans look like). The knife is a bit heavy for its size, but nothing noticeable at all, especially because the clip is amazing. More on that below.

Steel: 2

Don't buy the hype or the hate, S35VN is a great steel. This is the third knife I have had with it and it always performs very well. It doesn't chip or roll, and it is not a monster to sharpen. It is as rust prone as plastic. A great deal of the anti-S35VN backlash is very similar to what happened when CRK switched from BG-42 to S30V. This is a natural by product of the dethroning of a king. Sure S35VN is different, but it is not worse. It is, in my experience, equal to or better than S30V, which was pretty darn good as a starting place.

Blade Shape: 2

The modified wharncliffe is a perfect work blade shape. Enough belly to do roll cuts and a good strong tip for piercing and starting cuts in the middle of material. The swedge is effective and does shave off a few tenths of an ounce. It also happens to be pretty aesthetically pleasing. Here is the blade in profile:

Grind: 2

This is thick hunk of steel. That means you need a pronounced hollow grind to get a fine cutting edge. That's exactly what Steve did. The result is a stout blade that can still slice. How good a slicer is it? Well, in an effort to standardize my cutting tests I have started doing batch cutting tests. The first thing I cut is some paper--10 cuts from an edge. Then I cut some cardboard (I saved some scraps from the Christmas box overload)--10 cuts again. Then I do some arm shaving and back to the paper. I do this with three or four knives at a time.

In this batch I had the EDMW, the Native 5, and the Kershaw Chill. The EDMW, despite the thickest blade and steepest hollow grind cut the paper most easily. The Native 5 and the EDMW were virtually indistinguishable on the cardboard. The shaving part was easy as well. The final paper pushing was, again, better with the EDMW. The Chill, unfortunately, finished in last place on everything. More on that in the Chill review.

All this tells me one thing--Steve's grinds are masterfully done. They made this thick steel cut like a flat ground thinner stock which is really amazing. They look great, sure, and the cutting bevel is a nice size, but they actually work very, very well. The Native 5 is a good test because it is the same steel in a thinner stock with a flat grind. It should, in theory, cut the cardboard better, but it is hard, if not impossible, to match the quality of the grind on a custom, hand ground blade. Its something that no matter how good the production quality is, you simply can't match in a mass produced good. This is one truly large difference between a custom blade and a production blade--the grinds are sweeter than honey. The EDMW proves this in spades. You get the beefy stock with superior cutting performance.

From Steve, I have never had a knife this sharp and the grind coupled with the steel has kept it that way for about two months of very frequent use. I'd give it a 3 if I could.

Deployment Method: 2

Thumb studs, it seems, aren't bad per se, I have just never had a good set. I have changed my tune on battery choice over the years and the EDMW shows me why I was wrong about thumb studs. The studs here, which are textured or roughed at the end on purpose, offer superior traction and allow for the knife to be flicked open one handed with absolutely no wrist action at all. Using the coin flip method (placing your thumb finger nail under the stud, between the stud and the handle slab, and then flicking up like you were flipping a coin), you can pop this knife open as fast as any flipper or assisted opener. The detent is excellent, helping quite a bit in this process. Overall, I am extremely pleased with how well this knife deploys and I think it might be time to reverse course on the thumb stud hate. Good thumb studs, it appears, are actually more than merely acceptable.

Retention Method: 2

There are pocket clips that stink, pocket clips that are non-entities, and then there are truly great clips.

This is the latter. It is wide and flat with no weird angles or abruptly up turned lip. Instead it is incredibly tight to the handle of the knife and excellent during use. It grabs on tight but still allows for quick retrieval in part because the clip itself is positioned on the knife perfectly, unlike, say the crooked clip on the Leafstorm. I like it a lot.

Lock: 2

This is post-break in lock up:

That is a lot of room left for wear in and a good sign of how durable this knife will be over time. The stickiness scared me at first but after a few days and some feverish internet research (and asking Aaron) I found out this was normal and that it would go away in a few days. After it did the lock up is perfect--solid, no lockbar wiggle, and still easy to disengage. Excellent.

Overall Score: 20 out of 20

If you want a great small custom blade you don't have a lot of choices. JB Blout makes a few nice ones, as does the much more established Chuck Gedratis. After that, the list is thin. But this knife's size is on the start of the treats. The fit and finish is amazing, the grind is lightsaberish, and the handle design is brilliant. The price is great and this is a perfect place to start your custom obsession. Steve's production capacities are limited, his workshop is actually about a half hour away from were he lives, but if you can, hit him up. The blades are sweet. In the end, this is why you buy a custom knife. You get the size you want, coupled with innovation and immaculate fit and finish. This is a tool that I will cherish and one that I will use for years to come.

One last note though. I think Steve stole this design from someone and I wanted you to be aware of that.

Compare this, the Tyrant's Tooth:

and the actual Tyrant's Tooth:

Steve might need to pay some royalties to a certain giant theropod.

Curtiss Nano Review

2013-03-25T04:01:00.001-07:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: This week will feature two reviews, this one and the review of the Steve Karroll Everyday Modified Wharncliffe, both of which are custom knives. This is a happy coincidence, but really both are nice entries into the world of custom blades. If you have listened to the podcast, you know that Aaron and I both have a thing for custom blades and once you are bitten by the bug, it is hard to not be at least interested in the hand made side of things. You can get a custom blade for less than you think and doing so supports small craftsmen, people that often drive the tastes and innovation of the entire market. Things you see in the custom world have their way of finding a home in production knives sooner or later. With that said, enjoy Custom Knife Week. I'll try to do the same thing for flashlights down the line. Also, if you are a custom maker looking for some additional exposure, contact me at anthony sculimbrene at comcast dot net (in the normal format), and we can arrange something.

Custom knives seem to come in two varieties--big and ginormous. The celebrity knife makers, for reasons unknown, make products as if no one will touch a knife under 2.5 inches. I guess it is an issue with scale--it is harder to charge $500 for a 2.5 inch knife, but honestly you rarely, if ever, need more than that. So when the Curtiss Nano was released I thought it looked exceptionally interesting, neat because of what it wasn't--silly stupid big.

It is very hard to review custom gear. There is never any extra stock, as most makers are small time producers and anything made must be sold. So when a reader of the blog offered to send me a Curtiss Nano for review in exchange for touch ups and sharpening, I leapt at the chance. A few emails later and the Nano was on its way. It was the reader's wife's knife, stowed away in a purse for a while. The clip was loose as the screw was removed and the scales were loose as well, again due to a missing screw. Finally the blade and pivot were coated in some surface rust. The reader told me all of this and also told me it needed to be sharpened. All of this was a small price to pay for a chance to review such a nice knife.

Here is the product page. Here is a video review of a special edition Nano. Here is a written review of a Nano. The review sample I received was a gen 1 Nano, missing Curtiss's SPOTs pivot (the pivot acts as an over travel stop for the lock bar, similar to Warren Thomas's pivot over travel). As a custom knife it is available from Mr. Curtiss directly or from one of his resellers.Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find the custom Curtiss Nano, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:

Blade HQ.

Here is my review sample (thanks Seth):

Design: 1

After about an hour in my workshop I got the knife into very good shape, razor sharp and tight as a drum. There is no word that better describes this knife than solid. It is a small, curvy folder that locks in your hand resting between your ring and middle finger on one side and your thumb on the other. The frame lock thunks into place with car door like authority.

There are a bevy of nice touches. The lock bar has a raised and jimping spot for your thumb to disengage the lock bar. The clip is a bit of whizz bang water jet cutting. The G10 has an Anso pattern that really locks in the hand. But the nice touches give way to a fundamentally solid and tiny design. The Curtiss Nano Custom is, perhaps, the finest backup blade of all time, perfect for handling utility tasks while not scaring anyone. The gentle S-shape to the entire blade is simply perfect. Here is a good shot of the knife closed:

The ratios are hard to overlook, they reason this knife gets a 1. They clearly demonstrate the big boned nature of this little blade. Here is a size comparison to the Zippo:

The blade is 1.75 inches and the knife closed is 3.00 inches for a blade:handle of .58, the worst of any knife reviewed so far. The blade:weight is equally bad, as this knife tips the scale at a bulky 2.8 ounces, giving it a blade:weight of .63. Hardly the Al Mar Ultralight. But you know this going in. You know this is a chunky hunk of metal. Still, if one or the other were better ratios I wouldn't be so critical, but both being bad is tough. Certainly not a deal breaker, but just a little lighter would have been nice.

Fit and Finish: 2

It is one thing to feel solid right from the factory. It is another thing entirely to still feel solid after being rebuilt from a state of relative dissasembly. Once I put in all of the screws, torx BTW, and tightened them down the Nano was a brick, a tiny hunk of tight, taut steel. Everything is precisely cut, a given in light of Curtiss's waterjet business, and the blade was finished nicely. I really liked the vaguely Anso pattern cut into the G10 scale.

Grip: 2

The knife is small. You know that. The name tells you that, but what you might not know is that this thing locks into your hands like it was glued there. Sure you only have a two finger grip, but the curve of the handle coupled with the sizable and effective jimping and the G10 pattern means that this little blade ain't goin' no where.

But in case you thought that was it, there is more. The pronounced indentation on the spine of the blade is a perfect rest for your thumb in real power cuts (which are easy, given the knife's heft) or your pointer finger in precision slicing.

Excellent and versatile grip all on such a tiny knife. Quite the achievement.

Carry: 2

The knife is short but wide and it weighs a lot for its size. You know that going in. This isn't a Hawk Ultralight. But it can handle tasks you'd never conscript your Hawk into doing. It slides into a coin pocket on jeans with NO complaints. It's clip puts it snug against your leg. This is a beefy knife, a hard use folder that happens to be less than two inches long. That is a positive most of the time, but when you are on a hike and this thing is banging into your leg, the almost 3 ounces will feel excessive. Very good, but not the best ever.

Steel: 2

This is my first experience with CPM 154, the powder metal version of 154CM. The experience has been an overwhelmingly positive one. The knife came to me with some rust and after some cleaning and buffing I got all of the rust out but the blade was marked. I don't know the conditions it was in when it acquired the rust, but it cleaned up well and held an excellent edge. Furthermore the rust didn't spread and new rust didn't show up during my review period.

Blade Shape: 2

There is no other knife that looks or cuts like the Nano.

It is a testament to Dave's design chops that this little blade can do so many different things. I cut paper, cardboard, twine, plastic, and lots of tape (wife's bday was March 3). It handled everything with simple grace. There is plenty of tip and plenty of belly. None of it goes to waste. The shape and size are amazingly efficient in every task I put before the Nano.

Grind: 2

This is a simple grind on a unique blade shape. It works well and it is a flat grind. Additionally the swedge does save weight as this is a thick blade. Finally, the swedge makes stabbing a bit easier. I also like the wide, pronounced cutting bevel, which allows for easy sharpening.

Deployment Method: 1

The thumb oval works, but it is neither fast nor comfortable. In part the deployment might be slow because of how tight the knife was after I touched it up. In reality thought the thumb oval was merely okay. It was too narrow, it caught a good portion of the thumb pad, then bunched it up. A thumb disk or a thumb notch (like on the Mnandi) would work better. The disk would have the added benefit of giving a wider spot for you thumb to rest on in high pressure cuts.

Retention Method: 2

Curtiss's pocket clip is something a polarizing thing. Some people thing it is gauche and over done, more complicated than needed. Others love the machining talent that the clip evinces. I don't think I need to resolve this split to tell you that the clip works very well--great tension, smooth going in and coming out, and not a snag magnet.

Lock: 2

Oh I love the Curtiss version of the frame lock. I especially love this:

Lock disengagement is wonderful, actually. Easy and fluid. Engagement is about 25%. This is an excellent rendition of a beloved lock.

Score: 18 out of 20

This is a stout blade, but in the end you can overlook the weight because this knife can do virtually anything short of batonning wood. I am so grateful for the opportunity to review this knife. It is a excellent knife, absolutely worth the money. Dave Curtiss also has an amazing reputation. Among knife knuts few makers are seen as being as accessible and prompt with custom blades. His waterjet abilities give him the capacity to make a TON of stuff in batches virtually eliminating the wait associated with other custom knives, making his stuff the PERFECT first custom blade. The broad utility and clever shape of the Nano make this a great place to start among Curtiss's wide array of great knives. Version 2, with the SPOTs looks like it makes a good knife better.

The Boker version, a production blade, has cheaper steel (440C) and certainly lacks the level of refinement you'll find in a custom. The Boker, however, keeps the overall shape and that is the thing that makes this knife a winner. I haven't reviewed the Boker version, but it seems like only the fit and finish could derail it from being at least a decent knife.

If you are looking to get into a custom knife or want an excellent backup blade, this is it.

Prometheus Alpha Pen Review

2013-03-21T17:11:00.004-07:00

Reviewing gear is really fun. I don't have to tell you that, as I am sure if you read this site you'd agree with that statement. But sometimes it is more fun than others. Reviewing the Alpha Pen was perhaps the most fun I have had with any review. Let's face it--the majority of the world is just not excited by the technical marvels of a XML emitter or the engineering genius of a Compression lock. People, generally speaking, don't care or notice these details, but it is impossible NOT to notice the Alpha. This is as bold a statement pen as I can imagine and still be practical.

I used this pen exclusively for a week, enough to kill a Montblanc Fineliner refill (more on that below), and in that week, in and out of court, around the office and around town everyone--every single person--that saw the pen commented on the pen. Jason's aesthetic is cohesive, clean, and when electroplated, as gleaming an example of the new craftsman gear movement as I can imagine. You want people to ask about your gear? You want to introduce people to stuff made by talented, small batch craftsmen? Carry the Alpha. It is all you'll talk about. And when they ask to borrow it so they can write with it, which they will do about 90% of the time, they will then ask you if the pen was expensive. And in comparison with other pens of this level of refinement the answer is a solid and convincing "no." Even people who find our multi-hundred dollar flashlights extravagant are pleasantly surprised at just how affordable the Alpha really is. This, folks, is a conversation starter of the first order.

The Prometheus Alpha Pen is a project from Jason Hui, aka DarkSucks on CPF. Jason is a truly great guy, nice, down to earth, and incredibly responsive. He also happens to be one of the people that really does push the envelope in terms of design, performance, and fit and finish. Jason gave me my first review sample product, the Alpha (formerly known as the MC-18), an 18650 light that was cutting edge a year or so ago when I reviewed it and still compares favorably to the market today. He also made an aftermarket clip for the Surefire 6P that happens to fit the G2X Pro and a bevy of other lights as well. Finally, he made the aftermarket clip for the Eiger, a clip I truly love. The 6P clip was my Accessory of the Year for 2012. After those ventures Jason started a crowd sourced venture capital project for a Preon clip and recently he started a Kickstarter for the Alpha, found here. There is only one source for the Alpha and, aside from this, no other reviews. Jason OVERNIGHTED two pens to me, the prototype aluminum pen and the prototype titanium (pure, CP2 grade Ti, not the 6Al4V ti-aluminum blend customary in knife handles) pen. Here are the twin jewels:

I am going to do a joint review, like I did with the CRKT Drifters.

Design: Ti: 2; Al: 2

The Alpha pen is very similar in appearance to the Alpha light. Here are the pens with the caps posted:

The large scalloped section in the center ends in the writing tip on one side and the posting section on the other. There are threads on both ends of the barrel and they are fine threads. The pocket clip is standard Prometheus--simple elegant perfection. It is capped off with a beautiful brass bolt providing a nice color contrast to either the titanium (which is tumble/satin finished) or the electroplated aluminum (which is as high polish as you can get before it becomes a mirror). The grip section is covered in hatching and the rear portion of the pen terminates in a makers mark--the only form of branding on the pen.

Nothing is excessive here, nothing is superfluous. All of the lines and shapes serve to make the pen nicer in the hand and/or nicer in the pocket. This is a tool that your hands crave to touch (insert dirty joke here).

Fit and Finish: Ti: 2; Al: 2

Jason's fit and finish on every single thing he does is incredible. Here the threads are beautifully cut:

In a week of screwing and unscrewing the cap they never once cross-threaded. The edges of the pen cap are clean and the pocket clip is smooth to the touch. Everything is as clean and as rounded as it looks. This is a statement in machining skill.

This pen takes only two refills, more on that below, but the result is a pen that is super tight and dead simple--no spacers or springs. Closing the pen with the refill in provides a bit of physical feedback, but once the grip is threaded to the body tube the pen seals up like a submarine hatch. It is amazing demonstration of just how fine the tolerances are on this pen. I am fairly certain there is no practical import to that demonstration, but it is pretty impressive nonetheless. And didn't Mercedes make a series of commercials about how awesome their car doors are? Some people are impressed with stuff like this and I am one of them.

Carry: Ti: 2; Al: 2

Some nice pens are heavy. The TuffWriter Ultimate Clicky (which is made of aluminum), is, for example, a beefy 1.70 ounces, while the Ti version of the Alpha is 1.76 ounces and the Al version is 1.20 ounces. The lack of a clicky mechanism certain saves all that weight (especially when you compare like materials). But neither Alpha is so heavy as to be difficult to carry. Add to that a superb clip, truly superb, and you have a pen that is an excellent pocket companion. Here is the clip:

I might be a little wary of the finish on the Al version, but you have a breast pocket for reason, right?

Appearance: Ti: 2; Al: 2

These are two totally different pens in terms of appearance. The overall look has enough personality and flair to distinguish itself from, say, the Fisher Space Pen or the Zebra F-701, but it is not so ostentatious as to look like a mere desk pen. This pen looks like it does work (because it does), especially the Ti version. The Ti pen as the burnished smooth feel of a piece of worn metal, something that has been buffed by years of carry and use. It makes an excellent EDC pen and you have little to worry about even with the most rowdy pocket companions, such as keys. The Al pen, on the other hand, looks like it belongs in a glass case next to a Meisterstuck. It is that nice. But after you use one or the other you'll realize--either version does work and lots of it.

Durability: Ti: 2; Al: 2

Beating up the Al version, with its lustrous finish, is very hard to do on purpose. The Ti version looks like it can soak up damage. Holding one of these pens in your hand tells you that both can take a beating. I am always worried about flair out on the ends of caps for metal pens, but in a week of use I have seen none. The clip is worthy of special mention--this thing is a beast. It is unlikely to be damaged under any normal circumstances and it is brilliantly simply.

Writing Performance/Refill: Ti: 2; Al: 2

The Alpha only takes Montblanc refills. That's kind of like saying you can pick any car you want so long as it is a Ferrari, but still. Here is a writing sample of the Fineliner. The top paragraph is written with one running out of ink and the other with a new refill:

The Fineliner is a very distinctive refill. It is a felt tipped refill with incredible bold lines. This is not, in the end, all that fine. It comes is blue and black and produces some really stunning lines. The problem is that the Fineliner allows for very little variability in the line, with almost no possibility of shading. Additionally when you are taking detailed notes, making drawings, or doing sketchnoting, all of which requires a fine line to cram everything in, the Fineliner fails. I am no fan of needle-like tips, rarely dipping below a 0.5mm, but this is simply too thick. For regular old notetaking the Fineliner is superb--fast drying and vivid. It is also excellent for signatures. For anything requiring a finer touch, it probably won't work well.

The roller ball refill should also work here and should fix a lot of these problems. I haven't used one, so I reached out to someone that knows more about pens than me (and probably most other people)--Brad Dowdy. He told me there is no finer version of the Fineliner, but assured me that the roller ball refill from MB was quite good. With this information, I can't do anything but give the pen a 2. Your limited in your choices, but your choices are all good. If you like the feel of the Fineliner, you'll love this pen. If you haven't tried it, give it a shot. It is definitely interesting. If you don't you can fall back on an excellent roller ball.

If you are committing to a single refill format I am not sure there is a better choice than the Parker format in terms of versatility. But in terms of quality alone, Montblanc is hard to beat. This is a Montblanc only pen. People that would buy it probably already like MB refills. If you aren't already an MB fan, make sure you aware of this before you buy the pen. If you are, or have an open mind, you won't be disappointed.

Balance/In Hand Feel: Ti: 1; Al: 2

This is the only place where the scores depart for the two Alphas. Both are balanced to the back end, probably around 3/5ths of the way up the body towards the posted cap, but not obnoxiously so. They don't give you that "crane boom" effect that a lot of too heavy pens do, like many of the Montblanc's I have handled. You know exactly what I mean. They have that feeling of being just out of your control, a bit wobbly, and a bit off.

The Ti is just a tad heavier, as you can see above, and while the balance is still perfect, it is probably too heavy for me. The Al version, however, sings in the hand. I have used a lot of pens over the years and none have felt as good in the hand as this one. The Ultimate Clicky is a beefy pen and going from that to the Al version is like taking the donut off a bat. I feel like I can write forever. I did a 5 hour hearing with the Al version and took over 20 pages of notes, all handwritten, and I did not crap up once.

Grip: Ti: 2; Al: 2

Whether it is the tumbled Ti or the polished Al, the grip is outstanding. Horizontal ribbing runs up the pen and provides ample grip without being obnoxious. Here is a good look:

There is also threading towards the very end of the grip and I was worried it would chaff in the hand, but it was perfectly fine. After the threading (which is for the cap), there is a raised portion for the main body tube, and again I thought it would be a problem, but wasn't. Even with the incredibly polish of the Al version, there was no slipping at all. Furthermore, the pen and the grip are not so fat that they feel like a caveman club or a plump cigar, but they are also not spindly in the least. Excellent size, shape, and traction.

Barrel: Ti: 2; Al: 2

Let's be honest, barrels don't do much. They should be like baseball managers and interfere as little as possible. At most, they should look good and not screw with you when your writing. The Alpha's barrel, with that visual reference that harkens back to "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age", is gorgeous.

It is not so jarring as to be outright "tactical" but it also doesn't just sit there either. It is part of Jason's aesthetic and I very much like the way his lights look, so it should come as no surprise that I like the barrel here.

Deployment Method/Cap: Ti: 2; Al: 2

Caps drive me crazy and I was worried that this pen, with its cap, would push me over the edge. But then something happened--I feel in love with the ritual of unscrewing the cap and screw it on to post it. It added an air of ceremony to the act of writing. In reality it is not that inconvenient to unscrew the cap and it adds a great deal of stability to the posted pen. I'd prefer no cap, but here, in this pen it works. I am glad it is threaded. Before this review I hated capped pens--more stuff to lose, less stability in the hand--but now I realize it was not the cap itself, but the designs was I was using. The threads fix many of my concerns.

Score: Ti: 19 out of 20; Al: 20 out of 20

Design is about choices and here Jason's choice to use Montblanc refills is an important one. If you know that going in and like the refills, then get ready because this is an amazing pen. I was worried about the lack of a clicky, but having the pen be well balanced and just the right size when the cap is posted covered over those fears. This is a sweet pen and a testament to Jason's skill and craftsmanship. If you are already a backer of the Kickstarter project, the wait will be too long as this is something you will enjoy using and owning. If your not, it is definitely worth the dough. Even if you don't like the Fineliner refill, the roller ball should be fine and the overall appearance of the pen is amazing. If you are the jobsite type, the tumbled Ti should be your weapon of choice. If you are the suit type, trust me on this one, the electroplated Al will be a showstopper. Truly an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.

I work on the final score a lot in a review and in this one I really focused on the last point. Awarding something a 20 out of 20 is an event. I don't want to do it. But sometimes the products demand it. I was using this pen on the last day of the review period when a judge and another lawyer both asked me about it. I gave it to the judge who seemed surprised at how nice it was. The other lawyer used it as well and was blown away. He is not a gear guy, but he instantly loved it. This thing is a showstopper, both in terms of appearance and performance. Some might not like the limited refill options, but both choices have their pluses. Others might not like the cap and prefer a clicky, but this is a very well designed and implemented cap. In short, this is a GREAT pen. Backers on Kickstarter this is a Tale of Two Cities: the best of times (when you get the pen) and the worst of times (the time spent waiting for it). In the end though, you will be pleased--this pen is truly wonderful to look at, use, and carry. Its a good thing too, as you will probably have this thing for the next 20 years.

Jason any interesting in making knives?

Pen Scoring System

2013-03-18T05:35:00.002-07:00

I have played around with this for a while and I think I have it down pat. You should note that I am not reviewing pens as a person on Fountain Pen Network would. I am not concerned, per se, with "exotic" resin barrels or rhodium nibs. As with all my reviews I am looking at pens with an eye towards practicality and use. I use my $500 flashlight and my $400 custom knife. I am going to use any pen I buy. I find collector's items to be a waste, especially if you are collecting something that is supposed to be used, like a pen or knife. Art is one thing, tools are something else.

Pens are significantly different than the other kinds of gear I have reviewed here. This is why it is has taken me so long to figure this out. Two big differences come to mind immediately: durability and appearance. Talking about durability on a modern flashlight or knife is really quite silly; they are essentially bombproof (comparatively speaking). Additionally, while looks are important for knives and flashlights, often times you will buy a pen SOLELY for looks, knowing that you can swap out a refill you like into a barrel that looks better. I would never specifically address looks in any other kind of product review, but with a pen, because it is quite often a statement maker, looks are critically important. Obviously looks are purpose dependent, as I wouldn't want an everyday user to look like a Montblanc Meisterstuck and I wouldn't want my high end, impress-people-pen to look utilitarian. There are some other differences between the scoring systems so I'll lay them out below.

Here we go:

As is the case with all of my reviewing systems, an item is scored 0 to 20. There are ten criteria or categories examined in each system, with a possible score of 0, 1, or 2 in each category. If a product does not perform in a specific category, it gets a score of 0. If it does okay, about par with the rest of the products in its category, it gets a 1. If it does exceptionally well, it gets a 2. A score of 20 out of 20 is a very good score, but it may not make something perfect. In order for a product to be perfect and get the EDC seal:

It has to both get a score of 20 out of 20 AND be something I would really care and use. For example, the TAD Gear Dauntless is probably the best or one of the best production knives I have ever handled, but it is simply too big for my tastes. Reviews are, in the end, always biased and subjective, and so, to get that perfect score seal, the product needs to both flawless AND match my tastes. In a rare instance, a product will be a total fail and still get a respectable score. In those cases I will note that in the review. This has happened only once, the Lighthound AA light, which did a lot of things right but had a completely busted UI, so much so that no matter the score, it was something I could not recommend. Finally, if you look at the review database, found here, you'll notice a very large number of products with scores above 10 (which should be the average, given the range of the scale), but since I am picking products that I am at least mildly interested in, you will see very few truly awful scores, like single digits. I am not bothering to review those things. On occasion something will look interesting and turn out to be TERRIBLE, but that is pretty rare (see Gerber Artifact). I do a good deal of research before I buy something for review, so most of the garbage is filtered out before I get a review sample.

The first three criteria are the same as on a knife or a flashlight and so I am not going to into detail on how I will approach these aspects of a pen. Here are the three common criteria. For definitions, see the flashlight scoring system here and the knife scoring system here.

Design
Fit and Finish
Carry

The next seven criteria ARE different and so I am going to break them down a little bit more and talk about them individually, and if possible, provide real world examples.

Appearance

Let's face it, a pen, in this day and age, is often used as much as a statement piece as it is as a tool. When you go to your doctor's office and he busts out a Montblanc, you take notice, especially if it is a Starwalker (image from Montblanc).

If you went to a financial advisory and they had only BICs you'd think twice. Maybe this person is thrifty because they are a financial advisor or maybe they are just broke. Either way a pen's appearance is important because pens are, like watches, often a statement. A barebones, get stuff done pen shouldn't be overly shiny and bejeweled, but a "deal signing" pen for a Fortune 500 CEO should probably be a little fancier. Use, as always, will determine what kind of appearance is appropriate. Ideally, you can find a pen that looks great in any setting.

This doesn't necessarily correlate with price, as this is a very good looking pen that sells for less than $30 (image from JetPens):

That is a gorgeous, simple black resin Retro 51. As pretty and as refined as this pen is and as nice as it writes it fails in another way. See the next category.

Durability

With flashlights and knives, the materials used are generally so tough that there is no real point in discussing durability. In 50 million years from now, when we are dinosaurs, our lights, or their body tubes will still be around. Not so, however with pens. These are precision instruments and the cost of that precision is durability. There are quite a few places to check--the knock (or clicky), the internal springs, the nib, and the pocket clip. The Retro 51 I had failed at the pocket clip, then the twisty failed as well. What do you expect for a $25 pen where all of the resources were spent on looks and sourcing a great refill?

Writing Performance/Refill Compatibility

There are four major types of pens: ball points, roller balls, gels, and fountain pens. There are, of course, other types of pens, but these are the major groups. Fountain pens, for all of their old school feel and design, are still the cutting edge in terms of writing performance. Ball points, roller balls, and gels merely improve the convenience and the performance of the ink, but in terms of actual writing, the Old Lady is still the premiere tool (image from penfountain.org):

The fountain pen can do it all, writing wise. It can vary line thickness with ease, it can provide significant shading (the difference between the writing at its darkest versus its lightest), and it provides unrivaled physical feedback. The down side is that fountain pens tend to be more messy, more fragile, and more expensive. But if writing experience alone is your top criteria, there is nothing better.

Ball points (and roller balls) disperse ink via a small ball at the type of a long cylinder filled with ink. The inks in ball points are usually oil based, allowing them to dry faster than other inks, and to go on more surfaces more easily. The problem from the perspective of pen addicts, is the feel and look of ball point ink. They tend to be much more muted than the inks found in fountain pens or gel pens. Additionally the high viscosity oil-based inks tend to dampen feedback, making it virtually impossible to have the same feel for the paper that you get with other pens. Roller balls are essentially ball points that use gel ink and gel pens are the traditional "needle tip" pens. These two pen formats have bold colors and better "page feel" than ball points, mimicking in some ways the best features of a fountain pen with less maintenance and care.

A good writing experience, regardless of pen type, focuses on a few things--a lack of skipping, good "page feel" without scratchiness, and the ability to vary line thickness and allow for shading. A fountain pen typically does all of this well, and good fountain pens are untouchable in terms of these traits, but good roller balls and gels can get close. Other formats, like felt tips (such as the Sharpie pen or the Mont Blanc Fineliner) also do well. Ball points, however, fall behind all other formats in terms of skipping, page feel, and variability of line.

That is writing performance.

But in some pens, you can swap refills making writing performance not dependent on the pen but the refill. In pens that have swappable refills, the brand or type of refill is important. The Fisher refill, one widely preferred in the gear community, is a ball point refill in the Parker format. Cross has a different and incompatible refill. Mont Blanc has its own refills as well. The most widely used refill format is the Parker format. You can find a huge variety of ball points and roller balls that work in pens that accept Parker refills. The Pilot Hi Tech C, a Pen Addict favorite, is a new, up and coming refill format, probably the favorite gel refill on the planet.

A good refill then is one that is flexible, one that has a lot of options or one that does something really well. A Parker-style refill is probably the most versatile, while the Pilot Hi Tech C is probably the best performing. A warning though, some refills aren't really compatible with anything other than their original pen, such as the Zebra F-701 refill. In order to make that pen compatible with Parker-style refills you have to mod the interior of the pen itself. Its worth it, but something you should be aware of going into the purchase.

Balance/In Hand Feel

The pen as a unit has a certain balance and feel. When writing a lot, you quickly learn that certain pens, while nice looking and great for the occasional signature, just aren't acceptable for long term writing. Its not just about being light or heavy, in fact, some of the most well-regarded pens are heavy, it is about how that weight is distributed. Thus, a well-balanced pen can write for hours without producing more than normal hand fatigue. As a trial lawyer that takes lots and lots of notes every day, I have quickly found the pens that do well and do poorly in this respect.

Grip

The first part of the pen body that is important is the grip, the area where your hand holds the pen. Some grips are covered in gushy rubber, others are nothing more than knurling cut into a pen's metal body. Here is one of my favorite grips, found on the TuffWriter Ultimate Clicky:

Neither rubber grips, specially shaped grips, nor knurling is inherently inferior. It is more about implementation than design. Ideally the grip will allow for a variety of hand positions and not cause any hot spots. Its also good if the pen isn't overly slippery.

Barrel

The barrel of the pen is the part between the grip and the tail (or knock on clicky pens). This part of the pen is usually just for aesthetics, having very little impact on the performance of the pen. A bad barrel can impact how the pen feels in the hand and screw up the weight. I can also impact how well the pen carries negatively interacting with the pen's clip, if there is one.

Deployment/Cap

This criteria looks at how well the actual writing piece comes out of the pen. I prefer capless designs, but I can see why some folks don't. Caps are another part that can be lost or break. A good cap should post (mount on the non-writing end of the pen) securely and click into place to protect the writing end. A good twisty should be smooth and require only a few twists. A good clicky should provide tactile feedback and work each time, every time.

I hope these categories or criteria make sense. I will be applying them for the first time in the Prometheus Alpha Pen review, coming on Friday.

Beware the Ides...

2013-03-15T17:34:00.002-07:00

It is time to get down to brass tacks and give away some free EDC gear.

Ka-Bar Mini Dozier: David Kraus
CRKT Drifter G10: Greg Price
CRKT Drifter SS: Sharp
Lighthound 1xAAA light: Cheryl
Lighthound 1xAA light: Adrian Rye

and now for the big prizes.

The winner of the Haiku submitted a review that was well photographed, well written and had an excellent choice of gear. The product was something a little off the beaten path, but still eminently useful. The product was a custom, but is now available as a production tool from Boker. The big difference from the other reviews, as all of the ones published were many of the things listed above, is that this one took no formatting. Lots of folks submitted reviews and the ones not listed either were missing some crucial part of the review or were so difficult to reformat that I had to abandon the effort or rewrite the whole thing. One even caused the site to crash (though I got it back up and running). The winner of the McGizmo Haiku is Tom. His guest review can be found here. He reviewed the JRP Toucan. This is a great little tool and his set up is dead simple. Great all around review, Tom.

TAD was super awesome to let me keep the Dauntless and I didn't want to squander that generosity (nor did I want to keep the knife, though let me tell you it was SUPER tempting...alas my reputation is worth even more than an unbelieveably awesome blade). So I decided to do a raffle benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps returning vets. We did this before as a site and raised about $125. But this time you guys and gals utterly killed it. We raised...drum roll please...$518.85. The winner, chosen at random, was Garret O'Donoghue.

Everyone that is a winner email me your address. Send the email to anthonysculimbrene AT comcast dot net (in the normal format).

For those of you that submitted reviews (even if they were not published), hang in there. I am going to do a second giveaway (once the treasure chest is restocked) and only those that submitted reviews will be eligible (though Tom, you aren't). Additionally, if you gave $20 or more to the WWP giveaway and didn't win, you too will be eligible for a second giveaway.

Thanks for two years of reading. Thanks for donating to the WWP. And good luck. More reviews are coming which means more giveaways are coming.

BladeKey Review

2013-03-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

If you care about the stuff you use everyday or if your the kind of person that is always looking for ways to do things faster, better, and more efficiently or if your the kind of person that likes to be prepared, your probably like a lot of other people that read this site. Those are all good reason to care about gear and good useful design. We strive to have better tools because we understand those tools make life a little easier and...hell...who doesn't like tools?

We search for a better light, a better watch, a better flashlight, a better pen, a better wallet, a better smartphone, a better water bottle, a better bag. We are constantly looking for these things, but in the collection of stuff, stuff that modern life requires or at least strongly suggests we use, there is one item that we all hate but none (or an exceedingly few) can do away with--the keychain. Even in my preferred set up, with a coated aircraft cable, the keychain is a wad of pokey, heavy, metal that sits in your pocket ready to abuse anything you stuff next to it. You can't really do anything about it. You have to have keys of some sort.

For a long time the approach was to minimize the keys and maybe throw a few tools on there, tacking on a bit of handiness to what is otherwise something you use for ten seconds a day and was inconvenient the rest of the time.

A few enterprising folks modded a small multitool and made this:

That is Bernard's Micra Keychain Mod. There are a dozen or so variations, but they all involve a substantial about of work. You have to take the Micra or other multitool apart, you have to grind the keys down, you have to fuss with the pivot, and then you have to put all of the pieces back together. You end up with a great looking, minimalist keychain, but the work necessary to get there is pretty complex, especially if you lack a grinder or a belt sander. I'd happily do all of that though to rid my pocket of the dreaded key wad if it weren't for one small (or not so small flaw): changing keys. All of us, at some time or other, need to add or take away key. We might need to give one to someone to work on our car or get into our house. And with this mod that is all but impossible unless you have a bunch of tools handy. If you are in a situation where none of that will ever happen, and I doubt many people are, then this is clearly the way to go. For the rest of us, this is a neat DIY project, but not all that handy, even if it does solve the key wad problem.

Then there is the Richy Rich solution, the Keyport. This is a small box that holds keys that slide forward for us. Imagine a deck of cards in their box sliding out the top, but instead of cards there are keys. Here is a picture:

Keyport also offers a series of accessories that can fit into key slots--memory cards and bottle openers. It certainly looks nice, but this whole product is very expensive. You have to send your keys away or go to one a handful of authorized dealers to get them modified to fit the device. And then there is the clearance issue. What happens if you do all of this and spend all of this money and the box prevents you from inserting a key into a lock or rotating the key once it is there? Eek. That would be awful. Then there are the problems I mentioned with the Micra Mod. In my mind this is an even worse solution than the Micra Mod because it has the same drawbacks and two additional potential problems. It looks cool, no doubt, but if you can't start your car because the Keyport is too big, cool looks won't be all that great.

So with all of this, I have, despite a constant search for alternatives, stuck with the coated mechanics cable keychain set up.

Then two weeks ago I was browsing around the Internet when I stumbled on this (my Google search was something like "coolest 3D printer products;" I am, like I am sure most of you are, fascinated by 3D printers and yearn for the day when I can print my own one piece multitools): BladeKey. I then searched around and found the Shapeways page (Shapeways is a "3D Printer Marketplace," think Etsy for 3D Printers). Finally, I found the Kickstarter page. I was instantly intrigued, but suspicious that it looks cool on the Internet and is a stinker in real life. In an effort to figure out if that was true, I contacted the designer James Busch and he sent me three review samples.

I could end here with this: The BladeKey is what we have been waiting for--a simple, elegant, lightweight solution to carrying a pocket full of keys. That would be boring though and frankly too short to give proper credit to a great design. I have carried the three key bolt version for more than a week now and it is great. So great, I totally ditched the keychain tools. If my carry is going to be this simple, light, and compact, I am not going to bother trying to improve what was a necessary evil by adding a few gadgets. The BladeKey converted my key wad into a quiet, discrete, handy keychain.

The BladeKey has two different designs each in multiple sizes. You can get a BladeKey Bolt or BladeKey Zip. The Bolt is based around a chicago screw, which is sold separately and available at any hardware store (you can even get ones with a slotted head wide enough to accept a US dime, allowing disassembly anywhere). Here is a random chicago screw image taken from Google:

The Bolt uses the chicago screw as both a pivot and a locking device. By fitting into the open end of the u-shaped BladeKey the chicago screw keeps the keys aligned and allows them to swing out for use. The Zip uses a zip tie to do the same thing and one side of the BladeKey has a special mortised square to accept the head of the zip tie. This mortised square also allows the zip tie to be threaded and locked in place. Both designs come in three key, six key, and nine key configurations. James has produced them using raw or anondized aluminum, but my review sample is a prototype made on a 3D printer using a resin or plastic material. Even that version has been pretty durable. The Kickstarter page offers a special gold anodized aluminum version for the $60 backers.

After a week of use, I am sold. The design is incredibly simple. It is one of those forehead slapping, why-didn't-I-think-of-that products. That's no slight. Those are the very best products and the very best designs. It takes a truly brilliant design to solve a common, long-lasting problem in a simple and elegant way. The pivot action is quite nice and the BladeKey body actually gives you a little something extra to hold on to (insert dirty joke here). The slot in the bottom allows you to push up smaller keys and the loop on the top makes it easy to attach to other things. The design is too small to use with large automotive keys, especially those that have remote operation features, but it can take all of those tiny brass keys and gather them into one compact and quiet space. I use mine with a Nite Ize size 0 S-Biner, seen here:

Together they make a nice, small and silent keychain. All closed up it is even more impressively slim:

It does take some getting used to. The old "coat feel up" that you inevitably do when you misplace your keys won't work anymore, they are too compact and tucked away for that. And the relate "coat frisk" is likewise stymied by your now silent keys, but not being able to do these two things isn't really a drawback because they are merely side effects of problems that we have used to our benefit.

In the end I think the Bolt is the way to go as you can swap keys at will with a simple penny or dime. If you have no real need to do that the Zip is an excellent option to as you can, if necessary, cut the tie and replace it later. The BladeKey has all of the advantages of the Micra mod, even the slim good looks, with none of the drawbacks. And it is CHEAP. The package deals on Kickstarter are the best buy, but even in ones and twos, they start at $12.99 for either model on the Shapeways page. It might sound like a lot for a keychain, but if your still in the split ring camp I can't really help you. No I take that back, I can. Go buy this. Try it. I guarantee you will like it better. Your pocket, your EDC gear, and maybe even your man- (or woman-) parts will thank you.

Its not often that I review something this innovative and different. This isn't a new version of a pre-existing product, but an entirely new thing. James even secured a patent for it. Its a great idea and great product. Even the u-shackle sold on hardware websites like Berkeley Point is nothing close to this elegant. This might be the EDC gadget that puts a smile on your face the most. It will also be the one you get the most questions about. Even non-gadget people will marvel. "Oooo, that is a good idea," they'll tell you.

Finally and perhaps the coolest of all, James has opened up the design to allow other 3D Printer folks to make tools for the BladeKey. All of the specs are readily available, so if you have a 3D Printer and want to, say, make a one piece multitool (ahem...anyone...ahem), it is totally possible and easy to do. I, for one, would love to see a OPMT made specifically for the BladeKey, something with narrower than normal dimensions and the thickness of two standard brass keys.

Trolling for Hate: Hinderers and the Secondary Market

2013-03-11T16:35:00.001-07:00

Thus far the opinion pieces I have written have been well received, but not controversial. Well, time to change that. I have my NOMEX suit on.

First, take a peek at this video from SoloKnifeReviews:

I think that the market for Hinderer knives is completely out of whack. Supply is artificially limited in a way that harms the people Hinderer tries to benefit. You see, Hinderer knives are available directly from Hinderer only to military, law enforcement, and EMT folks. A few occasionally leak out on to the market when Hinderer sells directly to a dealer and a few more leak out via B/S/T boards on forums and at knife shows, but the primary source is the stream of knives originally sold directly to service folks.

Hinderer's knives are amazing. Having handled, though never owned, a few, each is a real gem, both in terms of design and fit and finish. I am also deeply grateful to Hinderer for giving special preference to service folks. They are both the people that need and use the knife as well as people whose pay is most radically incommensurate with the value and service they provide. It is a very nice way to say thank you and give these folks some preferential treatment.

But like all things economic, the law of unintended consequences has powerful and sometimes exploitative consequences. From childhood, American kids learn about supply and demand. It is part of our cultural heritage and it is a good lesson to learn. The demand for Hinderer knives readily outstrips demand. They are, after all, among the finest hard use work folders ever made. But the prices are so high that they regularly sell on the open market for three or four times their suggested retail price. The only place I have seen them sold for MSRP is J.S. Burly's (which happens to be the store for EDCF). Hinderer gave Jon a few XM-18s and Jon, being the paragon of honesty, sold them for MSRP--around $387. Look on other sites and XM-18s rarely sell for anything less than $800, with $1000 being around the average.

But Jon is a rare individual. No other dealer, to my knowledge, has sold their direct-from-Hinderer knives at MSRP. Check other places and you see all of the Hinderers, regardless of source selling for four figures. This isn't a crime. This is how the market works. Low supply, high demand = high retail prices. My issue is that many of these dealers, because of the high prices Hinderers command, take advantage of the some folks Hinderer's policy seeks to benefit.

Suppose I am a police officer--I am not, but just suppose. Suppose I am not into knives, but I ask a buddy who is. He tells me that I should get a Hinderer. I see the price and I balk. Then he points to the Sig Sauer on my hip and tells me that you get what you pay for. Seeing the wisdom in that and trusting my buddy I decide I want a nice beefy folder and I sign up for and buy a Hinderer directly from the man himself. I pay around $387 and he ships me my XM-18.

All is well so far, Hinderer's policy is working.

Now suppose, for whatever reason, I want to sell my XM-18 (yes, I know heresy, but some people don't care quite as much about their knives as we do). Again, I am not a gear geek or a knife guy, so I figure, here today gone tomorrow. I decide to sell it to a dealer as they can give me cash the quickest (absent a forum exchange, but again this is not someone as obsessed with knives as we are). The dealer, being a dealer, wants to make a profit so they offer the law enforcement guy $600. More than what he paid, almost double in fact, but about half of what they will sell it for. You see the problem, right?

Admittedly the guy that will lay out even $387 for a Hinderer or the guy that knows about Hinderers is unlikely to be completely disinterested in knives, but I imagine that there are quite a few service folks that match up with my hypothetical person. It is hard to imagine, but not everyone is as obsessed with knives and gear as we are, even folks that have a better excuse to own them than those of us that dwell in the office and cut open packages most of the time.

The secondary market's insane prices are not being passed on to the people Hinderer's policies are designed to support. It is not the case that a person that paid $387 for a knife that will now sell for $1200 is getting proportionally more. The increasing prices on Hinderers, by in large, are simply more profit for the dealer. There are, of course, dealers selling to dealers, and in these cases, who cares. But for the folks that Hinderer wants to help, they will likely see very little increase in the price a dealer pays for their knife. And why would the market ever have that happen? If the unsuspecting LEO/Military/EMT is getting twice what they paid for the knife, will they be aware that the dealer is getting even more profit? Probably not.

The person that is being taken advantage of, the guy or gal that can get a Hinderer but doesn't really care all that much about knives, is not the kind of person that will seek out the highest bidder on ebay. At MSRP, the Hinderer looks like a Strider or a CRK to these folks, at least price-wise. And so if they get a surprise bump when they go to sell the knife, they are probably all the happier for it.

Absent those knives sold directly by Hinderer to honest dealers like Jon, or those that leak out from knife shows, all of the XM-18s and XM-24s on the market got there because of dealers lowballing folks that serve and happen to need a little extra cash OR by getting them from Hinderer and jacking up the prices. The dealers aren't doing anything immoral. It is just the way the system works--they need to turn a profit. But Hinderer's limitations on who he sells to, as many things in economics are want to do, creates an unintended consequence that HARMS the exact people he is trying to give (deservedly) special access to.

As a side note I can say that having dealt with BladeHQ's custom guys, that the Hinderer price gouging doesn't happen there. If you see one on their site for a load of money, they probably paid a slightly smaller load of money for it. My personal experience tells they operate on smaller margins than most dealers. I am not saying this because they are a sponsor, but because it is true. Other dealers might do the same, I just don't have personal experience with them.

If I knew I was buying a knife from a law enforcement person, a military person or an EMT person I would have no problem whatsoever paying the going market price of $1000 for them. None whatsoever. I think of it like a small thank you for people that do not get thanks enough for what they do and the sacrifices they and their families make. I refuse, however, to pay market rate for these knives from an untrusted dealer. If the dealer is selling them like Jon did, again no problem, but those folks out there that are asking for $1200 for an XM-18 they bought off a guy returning from Iraq looking for money for a wedding ring make me ill.

Then there are the dealers that get the knives from Hinderer himself and STILL mark it up. Those folks are robber barons too, but somehow they are just price gougers and not people taking advantage of others. I have less hostility towards them, but I am still not giving them a dime of my money because it only perpetuates the cycle of taking advantage of those that serve.

This is pretty basic economics and logic here. Supply and demand. Mr. Hinderer has indicated that he is trying to ramp up production, so I would imagine that a lot of this will fix itself. SoloKnifeReview's comments about the "bottom falling out of the market" seem prescient. Hinderers are great knives, but, as SoloKnifeReview points out, they aren't especially rare. If you go to an even smallish knife show you'll likely see a few.

Additionally, the economic pressures to change the policy are HUGE. Rick Hinderer himself is leaving a lot of money on the table and the policy that was designed to benefit service folks is probably, in many cases, leaving them in the same position they were in before prices spiked, while dealers reap the reward of the insane secondary market. Why not ramp up production, sell the blades to service folks for $387 and directly to everyone else for $500 and roll in the cash? This seems like an upgrade over the current system where unscrupulous dealers treat service folks like strip mines.

For now though, be wary of the $1000 XM-18. It might have come from someone that served this country, that was in a bit of a jam, and had to sell low and fast to a knife dealer. If it is Jon or Blade HQ or someone you trust to pay a fair value for the blade, that's one thing. If it is some price gouger out there, taking advantage of Rick's service only policy, then beware.

Peak Solutions Eiger Oveready Edition Review

2013-03-08T16:32:00.004-08:00

Stephen Jay Gould, a famous evolutionary biologist from Harvard, postulated that Darwin's model of evolution, while generally correct, missed the fact that sometimes evolutionary changes happened suddenly. His theory is called punctuated equilibrium. His idea is something like this: perhaps instead of a slow transition from monkey to ape to man, there were a few generations of large and quick change spread out between millennia of relatively slow change.

Innovation happens much the same way. Only a few years before the Wright Brothers flew scientists in France claimed that it would be thousands of years before powered flight was possible. Before Dick Fosbury, most elite high jumpers took the bar as simply a very high hurdle. After him and his famous Flop, records fell at a staggering rate. Sometimes innovative changes happen all at once and reshape the landscape.

The Peak Solutions Eiger is that kind of change for flashlights.

With the release of the Oveready Edition of the Eiger, you can now throw out more than 200 lumens with a CRI of 93, all in a light that can take a common battery. Of course this peak performance requires the Li-Ion equivalent of the AAA battery, the 10440, but when you drop one of these bombs inside, watch out. The flashlight cognescenti over on CPF have known about the allure of the Eiger for a while and it has been slow to spread, in part because of Peak's notoriously bad website and customer relations. But this is a niche that drives the market and this fascination with the Eiger spawned a series of upgrades and aftermarket parts. There is a momentary on switch for the tiny Eiger and a Prometheus pocket clip for the little light platform. Thus when fully upgraded you get what is probably the best EDC light for under $100 on the planet. It is so good, it might just be the best EDC light for under $200. Here is the list of features:

1. 1x AAA size compatible with all battery types
2. Infinite variable brightness via a QTC pill
3. Max output of roughly 200 lumens
4. Min output of roughly .5 lumens
5. CRI of 93
6. Long runtimes on low
7. Long runtimes on medium with NiHM batteries
8. 10-15 minutes on high with Li-Ion batteries
9. Durable, attractive pocket clip
10. Multiple, swappable tailcaps--one for momentary on (it too has infinite variable brightness) and one for keychain carry
11. Body compatible with other Eiger heads for future upgrades and different beam profiles
12. Heads compatible with other Eiger bodies for a wide variety of sizes and battery types

(As a cool bonus, the Preon 1 clip fits the light as well, but not as tightly as the Prometheus clip.)

That is an incredible list of features, performance, and flexibility. The Eiger, in my opinion, is approaching EDC flashlight perfection and is so amazingly versatile and well-equipped that it has redefined what we should expect out of our lights. I don't normally review a light with add-ons and aftermarket editions, but they are readily available and so good that its silly to buy this light without them. Fully equipped, this light could be your chief illumination tool for years.

Here is the Peak Eiger product page. There are many options on this light allowing for many combinations. There are brass, stainless steel, and aluminum versions. There was also a small, non-QTC run in Titanium. There are four tailcap options: 1) a flat end; 2) a lug end that allows for keychain attachment but is not removeable; 3) a keychain end that is removeable; and 4) a momentary on switch (there are two versions of this, a long stroke version and a short stroke version, the difference is to accommodate the redesign of the QTC pill). If you want to run a clip you should get one of the last two tailcaps. You can also specify the emitter and the beam profile. There is the Eiger X edition that has a higher output and a throw head and the Ultra X with an even HIGHER output and throw head. The Ultra X requires Li-Ion batteries and cannot use anything else. Finally there was the Oveready Edition that allows for a Hi CRI emitter and the tuxedo contrast of a stainless steel head and black aluminum body. Since the Oveready edition, Peak also offers a Hi CRI version without the tuxedo look. Here is the Oveready Eiger page. Here is the Prometheus clip page. Here is a written review of the regular Eiger with the 10180 body tube. Here is a video of the regular Eiger with the momentary on switch. Here is my Eiger, loaded up:

Design: 2

The complexity of this design, coupled with all of the features and flexibility of the Eiger, makes this a watershed moment for flashlights. We now have a light that can easily hit 200 lumens that can take virtually any battery chemistry and does all of this is a tiny package. I like the contrasting colors of the head and body. The head is faceted to aid in grip and the body is covered in knurling. The body it is significantly longer than most 1xAAA lights and this is a good thing. It gives you plenty of room to hold the light even when twisting it.

The ratios here are a little weird, noting of course that the total lumens output number is going to be doubly wonky, first because of the QTC and second because of the wide range of batteries. I will use the outputs from the Li-Ion battery for these calculations. The lumens:weight is outstanding, at 166.67 (200 lumens:1.20 ounces, or 166.67 lumens per ounce). The new 320 lumen G2X Pro from Surefire scores 72 lumens per ounce (320 lumens:4.4 ounces). This might be the Al Mar Hawk Ultralight of the flashlight world and another sign that this is a watershed, game changing light. The total lumens output is 2000 (200 lumens x 10 minutes). The G2X Pro is 38,400 a significant improvement, but you know going in that this is not your all night barn burner. Here is a size comparison shot with the Zippo:

Fit and Finish: 2

Peak makes super solid super simple shapes. No weird angles or bizarre materials. But in this simplicity they achieve a sort of machinist Zen. There is nothing to slight here at all. The emitter is centered. The head is nicely cut:

The knurling is just grippy enough, but not shreddy. The threads are smooth, which is especially important with the QTC pill. Everything is finished very nicely. This is not decorative or aesthetically complex, like a Gunner Grip Spy 007, but it is still well made.

Grip: 2

One my pet peeves with smaller lights is the lack of grip. Sometimes it feels like you are trying to turn on a button or grip a needle. There is, as I have referenced before, a magic ratio and a lot of these small lights don't have it. The Preon 0 for all of its simplicity and solid features is just a bit too small for my liking. Many 1xAAA lights have this problem. But the added length the Eiger has is just right. It is significantly longer than most 1xAAA but that extra length and weight makes it awesome in the hand. The knurling as mentioned before is quite good.

Carry: 2

Without the Prometheus pocket clip it is a solid pocket companion. With it, I don't think I have any light that is better. Some are as good, but none are better.

Sometimes you stare that these pocket clips and wonder. Why are they so complicated? Why are they so difficult to use? Why are they so snaggy? But here you get Jason's simple excellent design. I awarded the aftermarket clip for the Surefire 6/G2 series of lights the Accessory of the Year a while back and the beauty of that design is carried over here. One warning: follow Jason's installation instructions exactly. The fit is very tight (as it has to be to make the clip work).

Output: 2

If you discard the junky "emitter lumens" ratings from crazy overseas 1xAAA lights, which you should because they are garbage, you won't find an 1xAAA light brighter than the Eiger. The Ultra X version can hit something like 500 lumens for an incredibly short period of time while this light hits 200 lumens for 10-15 minutes AND the light is 93 CRI. Pretty darn good.

The lows are equally special. With the QTC pill you can drop WAY down. It is a bit finicky, more on that below, but you can reliably hit something that, to my eyes, looks to be like .5 to 2 lumens a perfect moonlight low.

Runtime: 2

If you want long runtimes grab a NiHM battery. If you want a light bomb grab a Li-Ion battery. If you are in a pinch use an alkaline. With so many options you can essentially pick your runtime. On high with the Li-Ion is a paltry 10-15 minutes, but these batteries can charge in under 30 minutes, so it is not an issue. Lots of options means excellent score.

Beam Type: 2

Yo. All flood. Seriously, like Noah and the Ark all flood. This thing can't light up stuff 50 feet away, let alone stuff down the block. But, again, the Eiger platform gives you options. Both the Ultra and the Ultra X have a long throw head. I didn't try it but it has to be better. Even the regular head works fine as this is not supposed to be a throw light. Again, options=good score.

Beam Quality: 2

Mmmmm....only the Hi CRI Haiku, which will be given away next week, has a better combination of beam pattern and tint. Glorious, 93 CRI light is a perfectly round, artifact free beam. There is a nice spill and hotspot. For a light this size and price, you'll be pleased. Try the Nichia 219, its worth the extra few dollars.

UI: 1

Game changing innovation has a cost and here it is. The QTC pill is worth this cost, but you need to be aware of it to make a fully informed decision. The pill can be finicky. On low it can jump up to a higher output every once in a while. A good knock can also bump it up high. Finally with alkalines it takes a lot of pressure to high hit, which means a lot of twisty. This in turn means less precision in dialing in those low lows. With a NiMH the problem is better and with a Li-Ion the problem is all but gone though the finickiness remains.

Its not a killer and once you get use to it is no problem at all, but there is a learning curve here. The reward though is easily worth the work--an infinitely variable brightness light with the best UI on the planet (here are the instructions for using the light: Twist for on, twist more for more light). Dead simple UI with a bit of a learning curve equals a 1. If the QTC was a smooth as that found on the 40DD, this would be a perfect light.

Hands Free: 2

With four tailcaps, an aftermarket clip, a clip borrowed from a Preon 1 or 2, and other options on the way (according to an email Peak sent me), this is another case of options=good score. The Prometheus clip is an excellent anti-roll device and I can pop off the tailcap for candle mode. Excellent overall performance here. Note that the tailcap might need some fidgeting with after removal in order to "reseat" the clip, but once you get the hang of it is not a big deal.

Overall Score: 19 out of 20

For the first time since the Incendio there is a reason to go out and buy a new flashlight. It took me nearly two months of use to figure this out. I have never tested a light like I did the Eiger. But the testing proved to me that this is the next "best EDC light". The selector ring lights are good, but neither is substantially better than the Incendio, a benchmark single cell EDC light under $100. But with the Eiger, the benchmark has changed. If you had $100 to spend on a light I couldn't recommend anything else before this light, provided it was for general EDC use. The stock model is decent, but the Oveready Edition or the Hi CRI stock model is perhaps the best light out there for under $100. This is it--the new benchmark in single cell EDC lights.

Additionally, this light is a good example of why you probably don't need a CR123a light anymore. You can finally get good lumens counts out of a 1xAAA form factor. Its rare to need more than 200 lumens in a typical EDC application and now AA and AAA lights, with a little help from rechargeable batteries, can deliver this performance. This light and a few others like the Zebralight SC52 have persuaded me that CR123a lights, while nice, aren't the best EDC choice anymore. The difference in lumens is still big, but both can now hit highs that are very useful. This ability to produce merely "enough lumens" instead of "insane lumens" is a tradeoff, but one I am willing to make because these lights can run on more readily available alkaline batteries makes up for it.

Make no mistake, this is where lights are headed--flexible platforms with a tremendous array of options and performance improving features. This is the lego light like the Surefire E series taken to the next step. You get head options, tailcap options, output and tint options, battery options. There is virtually nothing the Eiger platform can't do. Tricking this light out like I did makes it a superb, perhaps unmatched EDC light under $200. This like also proves that the US can still make gear, even in the face of very competitive offerings from overseas, that destroy the competition in terms of performance and flexibility while still maintaining a decent price.

The folks at Peak have an awful website and slow customer service, but there is a reason why. They are focusing on making lights that raise the bar for what we expect light to be able to do. My only regret is that Doug from the old Flashlight Reviews never got a chance to score this light and write a review. I still remember that first Surefire LED review and this is just as much a game changer. The Oveready tuxedo look and the Hi CRI emitter are, in my opinion, worth the price premium, but no matter what Eiger you buy, you'll be happy. It can do most anything.

That is 2.3 ounces of pure utility and in EDC gear, that is exactly what you want.