TRM Nerd Review
Sequels are always tough. The original was new and so even if it was a bit uneven, the newness carried it quite far. The Godfather was incredible because it was both new and great, and so the hype for Godfather II was exceedingly high. And, surprisingly, it not only lived up to the hype, in many ways, it surpassed it. Other than a few winding scenes in Cuba, it was a movie every bit as good as the original. Even the maligned Godfather III is quite good (especially the kitchen scene in Italy between Michael and Kate). The series is notable because each iteration was excellent despite the last two not having the advantage of being new.
TRM is in the same spot with the Nerd. The Neutron was an attention grabber because it was new and great. The Atom was a perfect analogy for Godfather II—similar lines and tropes as the Nuetron, but now with extra size. The knife was excellent, even without the advantage of being new. And so we come to the Godfather III of the TRM knives—the Nerd. It is a different kind of knife, like GFIII is a mob movie but really a movie about aging. Its not trying to be a lot of things to a lot of people. Instead, this is an unabashed small knife. Cold Steel fans looking for folder they can skin elephants with need not apply. But even when stripped of being the new hotness—TRM’s first real mass market folder—it is a superb blade. Design greatness lives in Palmer, Massachusetts (I know because I have been to the TRM mothership, see here) and the Nerd is a product of that greatness. Let’s take a look at all that is the TRM Nerd
Here is the product page. There is one knife with a myriad of handle materials. Most handles result in a knife that costs $189. Marbled CF bumps the cost up to $209. There is no written review yet. Here is a video review. Here is my review sample (purchased with my own money):
Twitter Review: A unique, excellent small folder—an ideal EDC.
Design: 2
This knife is basically a high end Dragonfly—small, light, easy to carry but with premium handle materials, contoured handles, and nested liners. That combination of features and design traits is nothing short of beguiling to me. This is a knife that wants to be in your pocket every single day. This is a knife that wants to be used and to look nice at the same time. And this is a knife that makes you happy to carry it. Its a great design and it is made right here in the US. For me, these things alone make the Nerd a bona fide hit, which why I said as much in my TRM Shop Tour post. But after a month of use and almost exclusive carry, I go a bit deeper than just making an opinion based on specs and handling the knife for a few minutes.
The decision to make this a knife of curves was a good one. The contoured handle scale makes for a knife much, much easier on the pocket and better in the hand than slab scaled blades. It seems like we are finally getting to the point where contoured handles are the norm (heck even ESEE has contoured scales on their famously slabby mainline blades). The choil and the handle itself have a very curvy profile, see more on this below, and the blade has a nice little belly towards the tip. The curves here work and make the knife great during carry and use.
The performance ratios are good, especially for a knife with liners, one of the few in this ultralight carry category (the DF II, the SOG Flash I, and the Al Mar Ultralight Hawk).
Fit and Finish: 2
As with everything I have handled from TRM, this knife is impeccably finished. The carbon fiber has been left with a distinctly matte finish for grip, the blade is tumbled, and the clip is as well resulting in a handsome yet not blingy knife. The blade is dead center, the logo is beautifully lasered, and the pivot is nicely tuned. If you have had a TRM, you know there is nothing to complain about here.
Grip: 1
This is the place where the Nerd is controversial. Its curvy, contoured, and without finger scallops so its already ahead of the pack. But the choil, for some reason, doesn’t fit my hands perfectly. Its not bad, its just after thirty minutes of processing boxes for recycling, I kept thinking that my finger didn’t fit. Its not so bad as cut my finger, but it just doesn’t quite fit. In short bursts or in cutting less tough stuff, no issues every arose. That said my two other favorite small knives—the DF and the Strider PT CC—never have an issue at all. One small tweak would be to make the choil a true arc instead of an angled one. It might chew up a bit more blade length so I am not sure it is a tradeoff people would be willing to accept.
As I write this paragraph I can hear the obvious retort in my head—I am doing things with this knife that are beyond its intended capacity. This is not supposed to be your “work-through-a-stack-of-Christmas-package-cardboard” knife. I think that is a fair response. But the reality is I have done these tasks with with the DF and the PT and I was fine both times.
I am on the fence as to the score here and after some thought I have settled on a 1. This is a review where I really wish the review scoring system was a bit more nuanced, as I would have no issue awarding this a 1.4 or something like that. Anyway, it wasn’t great in hand after a long time, so it gets a 1, but there is a lot to quibble with in my evaluation on this front.
Carry: 2
A thin, contoured river rock, this knife just slides in and out of the pocket with ease. It dwells nicely in a coin pocket and it plays nicely with screens. Personally, I tend to carry the knife in the coin pocket with a light, usually my 47s Mini Mk. III or the Surefire Titan Plus, and I never have a problem, never notice they are there. This is a really great knife in the pocket.
Steel: 2
20CV, as I have said before, is my jam. It just such a good all-around steel and I have noticed that it is a bit more strop-friendly than the other steels in the M390 family (M390 and CTS 204P). I think it is because it has bigger carbides, but I am not sure. Either way, it holds an edge, fights corrosion, and isn’t impossible to sharpen. All good things.
Blade Shape: 2
The so-called reverse tanto is a great blade shape as it allows for a strong tip AND some real belly. It also is much easier to sharpen than a true tanto. Which leads me to a point about blade shapes—other than for looks why would you ever choose tanto over a reverse tanto? Personally I think the Americanized tanto is a absolutely stupid blade shape, especially on a folder. There just aren’t that many occasions when you need some real penetrating power with a folder. At most you are jabbing open boxes, piercing tape, or starting some cuts during food prep. I have never encountered a situation that could justify the lack of slicing, the inability to do rocking cuts, and the difficulty sharpening that a tanto represents. It just seems like a blade shape designed to appeal to mall ninjas or IG poster.
Grind: 2
”Let’s make it thin.”
This is a good thing to say when making knife grinds, pizzas, and smartphones. I love the Nerd’s slicey, paper thin grind. The stock is thing and then they taper it down over a comparatively tall blade (see, that is what you do when you have tall blades), and then they cap it off with a wide cutting bevel. The end result is a knife that fits well in the TRM line. Like is blade brothers, the Nerd is an incredible slicer. It is in the truly elite end of slicing with the Perceval, the Chaparral, and the Neutron. If you haven’t tried a super slicer, give it a go and you will never go back to chunky grinds again.
Deployment: 2
Going with an indentation instead of a hole or a thumb stud, the Nerd is different, but here, thanks to good texturing, it is not worse for being weird. The fact that it is the TRM logo is both cool and pretty clever. This is not a knife you pop open given the lack of a flipper or a snappy deployment method, but the knife opens smoothly and easily every time.
Retention: 2
The Nerd’s clip is a shortened version of the Atom’s clip and that is a good thing. The deep carry, over the top style clip is both discreet thanks to some media blasting, and it is effective, holding the knife in place, but being easy to pull out of a pocket.
Lock/Safety: 2:
This is a liner lock, which, in case you haven’t noticed, is all the lock you ever need. Here the small grip is masterfully designed to allow access to the lock bar.
Engagement is easy, as is disengagement. The lock is exceptionally stable as well. It is so frustrating to deal with high end knives from acclaimed companies that have incredibly janky lock bars—Reate I am looking at you and the T2500 and Void. The lock bar here cares not where you finger is during deployment and it doesn’t require surgical precision to disengage. Simple always works.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: High
With it is river rock shape, this is a knife that is fun to handle even if it is not as snappy and poppy as a flipper.
Fett Effect: Low
Marbled carbon fiber and blasted/tumbled steel just doesn't show wear or scratches. If you want that battered river barge look, this isn’t your knife.
Value: Moderate
Compared to other small batch USA made knives, the Nerd is a staggeringly good value. Compared to the King of Small Knives, its more than twice as much. That is a tough spot to be in value-wise as not everyone is willing to pay for American made. I am and I don’t regret it a bit, but objectively speaking I can see why some people might hesitate.
Overall Score 19 out of 20
The somewhat cramped grip is the only drawback on an otherwise truly phenomenal piece. TRM keeps the hits coming and its hard to argue with any design choice on this entire knife. The bones are simple and effective. The high end touches are all done exactly right. If you are looking for a USA made small folder with high end steel, this is hard to beat. In fact, sitting here now, writing the review I can’t think of another knife as good.
Competition
The Nerd clearly aims at the King of Small Knives—the Dragonfly. Its the same size, it has a choil, and it premium steel. But there is a big difference and a small difference that separate the two. First, the Dragonfly is less than half the price of the Nerd. That is a big deal. Especially when the only real difference in terms of materials is the handle scales. But for me, and this is my opinion only, the Made in USA label is worth all of the price difference. Knowing that the company AND the people that make the knife are my neighbors, literally, is a big deal. The second difference is a bit smaller—the choil here is not as good as the choil on the Dragonfly. Here, its a bit more cramped. In the end the difference is not enough to really matter to me. I can see both sides here. I love the DFII, but I also really like the Nerd. Given the times we live in, the IKC is fortunate enough to not have to chose between the two.
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