Gear in some ways jumped the shark, with enough designer produced blades to choke a horse and enough sprint runs and special editions to fillet said horse. Enough with those trends already. Add to that huge supply chain issues, resulting in pretty common knives like plain Sebenzas, being unavailable. But there was also reason to believe that things are getting better. Upstarts like Quiet Carry and TRM continue to kick field goals from ever-increasing distances. The Neutron II and the Drift in G10 really embarrass a lot of the knives out there. But the upstarts face competition from an even newer upstart—Tactile Knife Co. Will Hodges makes some of the best EDC pens in the world and now he has added knives to his growing stable of products. Between Tactile Knife Co, TRM, and Quiet Carry brands like Spyderco, which produced new versions of the Delica with—brace for it—red and blue liners, in the dust. Such is the logic of capitalism. And we, are the Smithian beneficiaries.

Best Overall: Tactile Knife Company Rockwall

For a full generation we have been waiting for a domestically made knife that did was the Sebenza did, but better. It is a hard act to improve upon—any additional adornment tends to make the knife gaudy and too plain a knife begs the question: why bother? Then there is the vault like feel of the Sebenza. The fit and finish and timeless design are hard to beat and why, even more than 30 years later, we still refer to similar knives as “Sebenza Killers.” Alas, none of the pretenders were able to dethrone the king.

But the first offering from Will Hodges of Tactile Turn is the Sebenza Killer we have all hoped for. It is simple but different, exceedingly well built, and as eye pleasing. But it also offers real improvements: the clip is better, the knife opens—aghast—with a flipper, and knife carries better. This is a better knife than the Sebenza for less money. Consider the Sebenza killed.

From any perspective, the Rockwall (which is also available with a thumb stud) is a triumph. As the first knife from Will, it is a stunning achievement. For all these reasons, it is the Best Overall winner in the most crowded field since I started doing Gear of the Year.

Nominees: Giant Mouse Riv, TRM Neutron 2, Fraz Labs Tiny Nugget SL, Quiet Carry Drift G10, and Survive Knives GSO 4.5

The nominees all deserve mention. For the Neutron 2 and the Tiny Nugget, see below in their respective categories.

The Riv, however, only gets a spotlight here, so let me indulge. Giant Mouse has held a lot of promise for a long time, but was held back by Italian OEMs that do a decidedly B- job in a field full of A+ manufacturers. It was painful to buy a beautiful design and having it ruined by gappy liners or overly stiff action. Giant Mouse, however, swapped out OEMs and went to Reate where they do things right (except for grinds on their in-house knives—they still stink). The Riv is the best knife Giant Mouse has made and my favorite knife Reate has made. It is a stellar little blade.

The Survive Knives GSO 4.5 is probably my favorite production fixed blade ever, edging out the old stalwart Bravo 1 LT in 3V thanks to a better handle, a better sheath, and a better lanyard attachment point. It is, simply put, a better knife, making it probably the best production fixed blade available. Of course Survive Knives has never had a problem with product design, it is product production that is an issue. It does seem that they have turned things around and are releasing products on a regular basis now. I know that there are lot of people out there with unfulfilled orders, so how that situation is handled will probably decide the fate of the company. The designs are absolutely top notch.

In the first two iterations of this list the Quiet Carry Drift G10 won. Its that good. When I took some of the gear out of storage to do a photoshoot for this article, I slid the Rockwall back into my pocket and it made a compelling case. Ultimately, these knives are both so good and the competition is so close it came down to lock bar disengagement. The Drift is just not great at that, while the Rockwall is. It is a minor difference, but a big enough issue to separate the two knives.

Biggest Surprise: Benchmade 945

How can something be a surprise when you have been waiting for it for 20 years? The question, I guess, is why now? Whatever the answer, when the 945 dropped, everyone was stoked. Its the best knife that Benchmade has made in terms of design and fit and finish. I am hankering for an S90V version, but until that arrives the stock version without the coated blade is a great carry. Its a Mini Bugout with more substantial handles (and only a smidge more weight), no exposed rear tang, and a better blade shape. Surprised? You shouldn’t be—the 940 has been one of the most popular knives Benchmade has ever made for more than two decades now. Making a folder more pocket friendly is never a bad thing.

Nominees: Knife Joker Spyderco Jester Sprint Run, Fraz Labs Tiny Nugget SL, Tactile Knife Co Rockwall

Best Value: Civivi Lumi

For me, 2021 has been all about embrace the final frontier of design—value. Anyone can make a good knife with a budget of $600, just lard on nice popular materials, use a good OEM, and you are off to the races (which is, quite frankly, a description of virtually all of the self-published blades this year). Translating quality design into a knife that is 1/10th the price is much harder. But this year was replete with good values. While not a budget knife the ABW Model 1 v5 is an astoundingly good buy—a custom for $200 that fires like a rocket. The Solaris is a self-published blade that is value conscious and that is unusual these days. The CRKT Kith is about as basic a design as you can get and it is REALLY solid. Think updated CRKT Drifter. If you haven’t tried this out, you will be very surprised. An upscale version of the Kith would be irresistable. In the end though, it came down to two Civivis, the Baby Banter and the Lumi, and frankly both are worthy choices. I went with the more enthusiast-friendly Lumi. A front flipping Puuko is about as odd a mash up as you can think of, but Lundquist’s design makes it work and Civivi’s machining makes it delightful.

Nominees: Civivi Baby Banter, CRKT Kith, Lumintop FWAA, American Blade Works Model 1, Orion Knives Solaris

Most Innovative: Fraz Labs Tiny Nugget SL

Simply put—this is the most innovative piece of gear I have seen in years, maybe ever. Its completely modular and “obsolescence proof” design, which not only bucks trends in the “new emitter a week” flashlight world, it doesn’t even really make sense in a capitalist society. With no internal moving parts and swappable emitters, this is a light that won’t break or be outdated for years. If you wanted to buy only one light for the rest of your life, the Tiny Nugget is a good investment. And it is not just a good thought experiment, it is a damn good light too. It makes the HDS Rotary look complicated and under built. As a torch, you can’t ask for more, except if you want it to be smaller. The head is quite big and makes comfortable everyday carry difficult. As a BitN light or a backpack light, this is as good as you will find.

Nominees: No one is close, especially this year.

Best Knife: TRM Neutron II

Oh glorious, EDC perfection thy name is Neutron II. With its nested liners, contoured handles, and deep carry clip, TRM took a great knife and refined it even further. Now it is a slicey, well-made river rock of a knife, living discretely in a pocket until it is show time. The other refinements are more subtle but all make a truly great knife better.

Of course all of this is in theory for most as buying one is a daunting task, but when you make a state of the art knife in America, and sell it for probably at half what the market would tolerate, availability is going to be an issue. Again, the Drift G10 loses out there because of the lock bar disengagement issue.

Nominees: Civivi Lumi, Civivi Baby Banter, Drift G10, Survive Knives GSO 4.5, Benchmade 945, Giant Mous Riv

Best Light: Lumintop FWAA

For all those people that call me a grandpa because I hate Anduril, go try Anduril II. It is similarly function-rich but much, much easier to use. In 12 or so night hikes I have yet to have a flashlight muggle brick this light. So when you add a functional UI to a great body tube and design you get this light. It is the FW series light we have all wanted. It is even smaller than the Fw3A. Only the lack of dual fuel holds this gem back as its price tag is pretty small for what you get.

Nominees: FourSevens MXS, oLight Baton Premium, Fraz Labs Tiny Nugget SL

Best Pen: Spoke Designs Axle S in Aluminum

EDC and fountain pens usually go together like peanut and glass, but there are a few exceptions. The Kaweco Sport is one but it is not the nicest looking item and you are, after all, buying a pen at least partially for looks. It also FEELS cheap in the way that naysayers claim the FRN Mini Grip feels cheap. Alas, upgrading to a metal barrel is not inexpensive. The Lilliput, for example, runs over $200. I am avowed fan of Spoke Pens so their Axle S (as opposed to Axel F) really grabbed me. Its $79 in aluminum, which seems very decent.

Best of the Rest EDC Gear: KeySmart Mini

My keychain has been a work in progress for ten years and while I still have a fond spot in my heart for the BladeKey, alas, I have too many keys. Enter the stunningly simple and quite cheap KeySmart Mini. Its under $10 and it works incredibly well. I just hope it holds up.

Marshall Hoots/Derrick Bohn Community Leader: Will Hodges

I get that Will is a gear maker and not a reviewer or a Youtuber, but the reality is he is at the absolute top of the heap in terms of gear makers. His pens are dominant in the EDC pen space and his first three knives have all been among the best gear released this year. You can’t have a better year than that. But somehow Will managed to do so. When the Rockwall came in I was blown away, but the detent was a little mushy (I have a preference for super crispy detents). Unsolicited, Will asked for it back telling me that he improved the detent. Preemptive customer service is sort of like the reverse of pre-crime: seemingly impossible and really great.

Best Newcomer: The Home Slice

So, it is not often that someone says: “I think I found a new way to sharpen knives.” We have been doing this cutting edge tool thing for at least a dozen millenia, so new sharpening methods are pretty rare, but here we are in 2021 and Gabe breaks out the “dual grit sharpening.” I am kinda skeptical that it works, but it is certainly something I am going to try (once I unpack). More importantly, it got me addicted to Gabe’s channel and it is all the nerdy goodness folks that read this site like.

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