In a weird turn of events, April was significantly colder this year than March. It snowed at the beginning of the month and closed out at 46 degrees. There were some warm moments in between, but unlike most of the time, the weather had little bearing on what I carried. The reason was simple--the production Aeon Mk. III arrived. To say it is splendid is like saying the Bugatti Veyron is fast, it's true, but vastly underrates that truth. This is not just a great light, but a great piece of gear. Who else does near space testing? That kind of test makes Cold Steel Proof videos look like they were for preschoolers.

My knife carry was rather stale, as two knives that I am waiting for are well overdue. The Darriel Caston Kadima and the DPx Urban, both Kickstarter blades, are more than a month past their predicted release date. It's not surprising, given how KS projects usually go, but the Urban was supposed to ship in February. I can wait, of course. It's not like I have zero knives, but it is a bit frustrating to see DPx release another knife, the Chop, between the close of the Urban's KS and the Urban's actual shipping to customers. I am sure that was not the plan. Given when the Chop was announced, DPx likely had them staggered so that the Urban would ship and a month later, building on the momentum, the Chop would release, but alas the Fates have conspired against us.

I also had something of a sale on my knives. The Indian River Jack fell victim to the Canal Street Cutlery Boy's Knife. Both are superior tools, but I like the Boy's Knife better and the IRJ sat in my knife chest. It had to go. I also let go of my beloved Gedraitis Pathfinder. This was something of a hard choice, as the knife is simply amazing, but I realized that for the vast majority of people a flipper is inherently threatening, even if looks all purdy. Finally, I got rid of the Paramilitary 2 in Elmax. Nothing against the knife at all, it's spectacular, but I just wasn't carrying it all that often. When I need hard use I usually go for my Jarosz JFS, which, in sheath, is the same size as the PM2 is closed.

Anyway, here we go (note: there is a lot of Aeon):

Even though the Pioneer X is out I still like my custom SAK from SAKModder. The clip is awesome and the anodizing is quite good:

SAKModder Pioneer and Aeon Mk. 3

When I am not sure what the day holds--whether it will require a repair to a toy or the door to my car, or just beers, the Pioneer is a winner. And the fact that it is very similar in color to the Aeon Mk. 3 is a huge bonus.

Here was a common set up--lots of clean, awesome gear.

Gareth Bull Shamwari, Aeon Mk. 3, and Sinn 556i

Not having a Sebenza and being a knife guy is strange, but it is hard to justify a Sebenza when I have the Shamwari which I think is just a better design. The steel, N690, is probably worse than S35VN, but I couldn't tell the difference. This isn't a beater, so steel doesn't matter that much. I still dislike the pocket clip.

Here is a funny EDC, beauty and the beast:

ZT0909 and the Aeon Mk. 3

It is hard to find a knife that is bigger than the ZT0909 and still useful. I liked it a lot and I was surprised at how good the handle was and how capable the grind is. Thanks Jonathan for the recommendation.

And finally, a bit of palette cleansing:

MBI HF-R and Ver Steeg Imp

It is really important to me that I don't just become a "flavor of the month" reviewer. With gear there is so much out there and stuff comes out so quickly that even great stuff can be forgotten. As good as the Aeon Mk. 3 is, I want to make sure that it stacks up to other historically great stuff and the MBI HF-R is still uber competitive in the market, more than a year after its release. The Imp, is, simply put, one of my three favorite knives I have ever owned. Front pocket fixed blades are great. Thanks Kyle!

May looks like a good month--I have a Mnandi coming (the Pathfinder's less aggro replacement) and a Busse second gen Battle Mistress coming. Talk about two diametrically opposed knives. I can't wait.