Thys Meades Dino Review
What lies beyond the walls of the production knife world? What is something that simply cannot be done by Reate, WE, CKF, or Chris Reeve? The truthful answer is: “Not much.” But this, this is something that is beyond production. Its refinement, its precision, and its attention to detail are beyond what is done. I don’t think it is beyond what could be done, but is certainly beyond what could be done to scale or done profitably. Think of this as more of a tour to what you get when you step away from knives made en masse to knife making as craft. The Dino is an extraordinary piece from an extraordinary maker. And it is a reminder of why custom knives are worthwhile. Sit back and enjoy, this is one hell of a knife.
Here is Thys’s Home Page. Here is his IG account. He has no regular dealers, instead finishing knives one at a time, by hand, for one customer at a time. There is no product page. There are no other reviews, video or otherwise. Here is my review sample, purchased with a year’s savings of Space Bucks, and mine to keep until the heat death of the universe or until I pass away whichever happens first:
Availability Note
This knife is a full custom, hand made in South Africa by Thys Meades (IG account here). His first name is pronounced like “taste” without the second “t,” Meades is pretty straightforward. From the day I asked for a knife until the day I got it was over a year. Closer to 18 months. I DM’d Thys over IG and he told me in second quarter 2021 to DM him in 2022, as he had a bit of a backlog. I did and from then until delivery was about 4 to 5 months. The knife options in terms of design and materials was 100% my choice, but priced accordingly. I opted for the full sized Dino as the Mini was basically the same size as the Small Shamwari 2.0. I also opted for simpler materials as I did not want another safe queen custom, as I already have one of those—the Sawby Swift. I wanted an exceedingly well made, but easily carried custom. Thys delivered exactly what I wanted. Thys was also responsive and good to deal with, among the better makers I have dealt with over the years. I also recognize that I am getting close to having a type, what with owning two South African made front flipper customs. All told this brings my custom folder collection to a population of four: the aforementioned Swift, the Dino, the Small Shamwari, and the Wilkins Leafstorm. I like my stable of customs—all pretty different and all wonderfully interesting designs. Also, despite my insistence on minimal packaging, if you are going the other route, Thys does it does it right:
Quick Review Summary: Functional splendor.
Design: 2
With a bevy of pleasing curves and polished surfaces, the Dino is one visual treat after another. The best part, however, is all of this visual grace is in service to a truly great folder, one that makes sense in the hand, in the pocket, and when cutting. But let’s push beyond the normal and dive into some truly insane details that you will only find on a custom knife. For example, the up turn on the pocket clip not only tracks the profile of the handle, it also fits your pinky perfectly when your hand is in the open position, giving you enough to hold on to, but not forcing you in anyway. It took me a few months to realize that this worked and given how well it works, it seems hard to be a coincidence.
The measurements are as follows:
Blade Length: 2.875 inches
Handle Length: 4 inches
Weight: 2.9 ounces
Handle Thickness (without clip): .5 inches
Blade Height: .75 inch
The BH is .71. The BW is .99.
Fit and Finish: 2
This knife is significantly better finished than the best production knives out there with touches that are simply too expensive to work on a production scale—an orange peeled clip, a mirror polished swedge, and a handrubbed satin main grind. In many ways this knife is verging on art knife territory and certainly some of Thys’s more elaborate work is art knife quality, but I wanted a knife I could use and carry so I opted for simpler materials in the hopes that the blue G10 would invite regular carry and use. The backspacer is 100% flush with the liners and the entire knife feels rock solid with no jiggle, slop, or play. Spending about five minutes with the knife will make clear why this is better than a production knife.
Compared to my other three custom folders, this is better finished than the Small Shamwari and the Wilkins Leafstorm 9, but not as nice as the Sawby Swift. The difference between the Dino and the Swift however, is not that great at all. It doesn’t hurt the Swift that it is fully engraved. As it arrived, it was not that much nicer than the Dino, which is a complement to Thys, as Scott Sawby is a master of the knife form.
Grip: 2
This knife is not a small knife and the back end is pretty substantial allowing for really great grip in the hand. I am not batonning with it, so it is probably grippier than need be, but because of Thys’s superior design and finish, that additional grip is not a problem like it is on something like the ZT350 or the Cold Steel Recon. This is a knife where the grip and the design complement each other. Mark that as another reason why the Dino is better than a production folder. The exceedingly low profile pocket clip is about as anti-hotspot as a clip can get. More on the clip later. Its special.
Carry: 2
As low profile as the clip is, it is still easy to get the Dino in and out of the pocket. The G10 and the chamfered edges make for a great tool to slide into the pocket. It is a bigger knife, right around 3”, but it is so nice and clean that it is relatively invisible in your pocket, even in shorts.
Steel: 2
RWL34 is a very good steel, chemically similar to one of my favorite steels, CPM154. Here is a Knife Steel Nerd article on the 154CM family of steels. RWL34 was designed with the help of a famous knifemaker—Robert Waldorf Loveless—hence the initialism in the name. As one of the first powder steels available (Loveless passed away in 2010 and worked on the steel’s formulation until its release in 1995 by Damasteel). Apparently Loveless really liked 154CM and began using on knives in 1972. He switched later to using Aichi Tool Steel 34 (ATS34), importing it from its country of origin, Japan. Some folks claimed it was a cleaner steel than 154CM, but the chemistries look virtually identical. If it was choice because of availability and/or price, I would not be surprised. Later, Damasteel and Loveless worked together to make a powder version of ATS34. The result was RWL34, which, oddly enough, was first introduced as one of the constituent steels in a pattern Damascus. Only after it caught on there was it introduced as a non-Damascus steel.
Overall, I really like RWL34 and CPM154. They are, apparently, easy for makers to work with, taking a nice polish and being free of voids or blemishes that could ruin a nearly finished blade. They also take a very nice high polish, something that cannot be said of steels like D2. I find RWL34 to be about as good as S35VN, which, for me, is plenty good enough. It does seem to polish out nicer, but that could be because both my samples of steels from this family are customs.
Either way it is a good choice and sufficiently historically interesting to capture my attention. Its performance, however, is the thing that keeps my attention. Its very good, especially here where it is ground to perfection.
Blade Shape: 2
In many ways this blade shape, the Dino, is an iteration that many custom makers including Jared Oeser use. My cursory research shows that John Lloyd was the first to use the term “Dino” in describing this blade shape. David “Dr. T” Taber could also be the first to call this blade shape a Dino.
To me, though, it bears a striking resemblance to the Loveless Gent’s Lockback folder, a design produced by Loveless for AG Russell and finally made after Loveless’s death. Here is a sample knife with beautiful black lip pearl on The Cutting Edge. If you are using a Loveless design as a blueprint, its not a bad place to start.
The blade shape itself is a great one with a decent tip, nice belly, and an unthreatening appearance. I really like how this particular knife has a polished swedge. Oeser’s iteration makes his with a bit more of a point, like a reverse tanto, but I prefer the swedge here to add visual interest.
Grind: 2
Thys’s grinds are incredibly precise, clean, and crispy. In particular the plunge line is one of the best I have seen—it is very sharp and absolutely perfectly even from side to side. The main grind is nice and does a very good job of reducing the thin-ish stock to a very fine cutting edge. That bevel is immaculate and totally wobble or wave-free.
Deployment Method: 2
This is the best flipper I have ever used. It is kinetic, liquid smooth, and fast. This is not some cheap solution with a loose pivot or other cheats. The blade locks up dead solid (more on this later), but the blade still snaps out with authority and closes with the grace of a prima ballerina. No other knife I have handled that is close to the Thys Meades Dino in terms of deployment. I even prefer it to the few RJ Martin knives I have handled. Great detent, smooth action, and snappy.
Retention Method: 2
Pocket clips are, inevitably, a compromise between carry and grip. You choose convenience or grip. Most of the time, I am carrying a knife and so I prioritize that. But imagine if you could make a clip that was so perfectly contoured that it was virtually invisible in the hand, but still good enough to allow for a knife to be easily stowed. That clip is the clip on the Dino. There is no better I have ever seen and this is one of the reasons I really like this knife. It is absolutely superb with enough flare at the end to catch a pocket pretty easily.
Lock: 2
This knife’s lock is wonderful. While there is no access path, it doesn’t need one thanks to absolutely surgically precise tolerances. The liner engages and doesn’t budge at all, but a swift thumb press undoes the entire lock in a second. Its brilliant and probably not something that can be implemented on a production scale, but again, with a custom you are paying more for precision that allows you to do things differently. Its lovely to use and beautiful to see.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: Very High
No knife I own has action like this. No knife I have handled has action like this. It is positively addicting and wonderful.
Fett Effect: Low
I guess the mirrored swedge could gather marks, but I purposely asked for user materials so I could…um…use the knife. Strange notion, I know.
Value: Moderate
Custom knives are never good values. But among customs this is a marvel for what I paid, around $1300. It is much more refined than the Shamwari or the Wilkins. It is equally nice in terms of action to the Swift, although the Swift is more refined in terms of appearance and the degree of difficulty in implementation. If there is something like a good value in the custom world, Thys’s stuff represents just that. If you took this to a show and left it next to some of the best custom tactical makers, it would not be the slightest bit out of place, other than the fact that it costs about half as much.
Overall Score: 20 out of 20
I am absolutely smitten with this little cutter. It is a beautiful knife that is impeccably well made and cuts like a demon on meth. Its fun to carry, fun to flip, and fun to use. It has the best action I have ever seen and the best clip I have ever seen. In many ways this is a showcase of what you can get once you leave production scales behind and allow a master craftsman to go all in. Thys was a joy to work with and his process was transparent, predictable, and quick. South Africa is a hotbed of custom designs right now and even in that crowd Thys stands out. He may not be the best known, but notoriety often lags behind skill (e.g. Immanuel Kant). This is a great knife from a master maker. I wouldn’t change a thing about the knife or the process.
