Bestech Tonic Review
The lockback gets a lot of bad press.
“It’s slow.”
“It’s boring.”
“If you make it out of Zircuti it doesn’t look flashy.”
All of these things are fundamentally irrelevant to how a lock functions, but we live at a time when knives are all so good that great functionality is a baseline assumption. For reasons other than function, the lock back is persona non grata in the IKC, especially if you exclude those infatuated with traditional knives. Find me a single custom maker that produces non-traditional lock back designs.
The complaint that lots of folks make is that you can’t flick them out (NOTE: our grandparents owned and used knives and I can’t recall any folks from that generation complaining about a knife’s lack of “fidget factor.”). While silly, this complaint is true. CM Knife Designs decided to fix that. CM Knife Designs (the business run by Colin Masonpierre), in case you are unaware, has released a few self-published blades along with the help of the great Lefty EDC. The Tonic is a collaboration between CM Knife Designs and Bestech and it uses a clever design feature to make a lock back every bit as fidget friendly as the silkiest framelock. That alone is attention-worthy. But even without the innovative lock design, the Tonic is a really great folder. Read on for more.
Here is the product page. There are a few variants all of which are mix and match of carbon fiber handles, coated or uncoated blades, and some variant of micarta. The micarta versions ($286) are less expensive than the carbon fiber versions ($306). I have no idea if this price difference is warranted by differences in materials prices, but this stratification is customary. Here is a video review. There are no written reviews. Here is the review sample:
Quick Review Summary: A very solid design that happens to have a worthwhile and well-executed innovation.
Design: 2
The Tonic is a pretty knife with its titanium bolsters, multiple well-executed grinds, and a bit of style in the pivot and clip. None of it is over the top, but in the carbon fiber version, the handle does get a bit busy visually, but nothing too much. Its between a plain jane Sebenza and a Brian Nadeau custom, which, it seems to me, spans the entire gamut. Here those visual flourishes don’t negatively impact function and as a result, this is a knife that does a lot of things really well. The handle invites the hand, the blade is pointy without being fragile, and the clip has tension without generating hotspots. In all, this is a good looking and nicely functioning knife.
The real trick is the lock. For all its boredom-inducing problems, the lockback is very good in three senses. First, it is intuitive to use. Pretty much everyone that has used a pocket knife has used a lock back. Second, it is fully ambidexterous. Third, its easy to make and assemble. Functionally speaking, I have never had a problem with a lock back. So the idea of making a solid design sexy has a lot of appeal. What CM Knife Designs did, fundamentally, is reduce the area of contact between the lockbar arm and the rear tang of the blade dramatically, by including a small, ultra-hard bearing on the tip of the lockbar arm. This bearing, and not the entire arm, rides on the rear tang. With much less surface area there is much less friction. As a result the Tonic can be popped open and snapped shut like a linerlock.
The execution of the design is good, but there is one quirk. Because of how the lockback works, there is a “pre-fire” span in the blade opening path, that is, there is a small distance, about 1/5 the entire opening arc, that you have to go through before you hit the bearing and blade flies open. With a bit of practice you can provide enough momentum to pass over this “pre-fire” area, but it makes the design different than any other knife on the market.
The ratios are solid. The B:W on the carbon fiber version is essentially 1 (2.89 inch blade; 2.88 ounce weight); the B:H is .72. These are pretty good numbers, but not records.
Fit and Finish: 2
A lot of people on IG noted that this is an exceedingly expensive Besetech. That is definitely true. It is, however, equally true that this is not even close to the most expensive knife Bestech makes. This fun fact is true because like Reate Bestech also produces knives for others. The Vero Engineering knives are made by Bestech. I believe, though I am not sure, that the Terrain 365 knives are made by Bestech. I would not be surprised to learn that other self-published blades were made by Bestech. So, yes, this is an expensive Bestech, but lots of people have already bought expensive knives made by Bestech with virtually no complaints.
Setting aside provenance explanations, this knife is impeccably well made. The handle is nicely contoured and sculpted. The fit between parts is tight and even. The carbon fiber is nicely finished and void free. The clip is tensioned well but virtually invisible from touch. Throughout the knife there are great touches that prove that Bestech can hang with the very best in the world. Sure, they sell budget knives, but they make high end knives too, even if this the first they sell with their on label on it.
Grip: 1
There is something awkward about the handle. I can’t quite put my finger on it, literally. If you use the choil it seems perilously close to the sharpened edge, which is not a good idea. If you don’t this is an awkward three-and-half finger knife. There is grip that feels “just right.” That sort of hand position vertigo is a shame because the handle itself and the clip are both really well done and conducive to knife retention. It is also possible that this is my hand. I have medium hands based on my glove size and maybe a smaller or bigger hand would do better. Of all the stuff that is subjective in my reviews, grip tends to be the most subjective because of variable hand sizes. There are som objectively bad designs, but a lot of them fall into the category that the Tonic does—not perfect for me. In other words YMMV.
Carry: 2
A knife has to be pretty thin before I don’t like it. This knife is REALLY thin for what it is. The picture above is the Tonic next to one of my very favorite knives ever—the TRM Neutron 2. They aren’t that different in terms of thickness and the Neutron 2 is famously thin. The rounded handle edges make a difference as does the clip, but a knife carries well largely because of its size and here, the size is just right—thin.
Steel: 2
M390.
Blade Shape: 2
I am a sucker for a good reverse tanto blade. They tend to deliver a lot of thickness to the tip yet still have a belly and are easy to sharpen. Compared to the actual Americanized tanto, the reverse tanto is way, way better.
Grind: 2
Yowza! The grind lines on the Tonic are both complex and well done. The result is a truly beautiful blade with perfect symmetry, excellent plunges, and a steady, thin cutting bevel. I both love the look of the Tonic and how it performs.
Deployment Method: 1
Okay, so let’s get this out of the way—the knife is fidget friendly and the innovation does exactly what it is suppose to do. It is as smooth and as fun to open as a good linerlock or framelock. The one issue I have is the “hitch” in deployment. As mentioned above there is a spot in the opening arc where the blade wants to stop. Overcoming this is both novel in the knife world and not something I anticipated having to deal with. Its not a big deal, but it does alter how you open the knife. I suppose this is natural given how a lockback is designed, but there it is pretty noticeable and made moreso by the smooth deployment elsewhere.
Retention Method: 2
Clips have become so much better over the past three years. In particular sculpted clips are no longer the hotspot-generating pocket hooks they used to be. They now both function as clips AND cause minimal hotspotting. This clip is right there at the cutting edge of what is offered. It is stylish, functional, and stays out of the way when the knife is in use.
Lock: 2
The lockback here is better than any other lockback I have seen. It is stable, easy to engage and disengage, and is free of play in any direction. Other than the “hitch” mentioned above, I have no complaints.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: Very High
A flipping friendly lockback is a true achievement and the action here is great.
Fett Effect: Low
None of these materials wear in any way that is appealing or interesting.
Value: Moderate
A $300 knife is always going to do poorly in terms of value, but here the innovation is a bit of an offset. I actually really like the knife, but I would LOVE if it were $50 cheaper. It would look much better compared to similarly priced knives. As it is, we are within striking distance of the Sebenza Barrier and that results in tons of competition. See more on this below.
Overall Score: 18 out of 20
I love the knife’s looks, its carry, and its cutting performance. I am not a huge fan of the awkward handle and the hitch in the opening arc of the blade. The innovation scores big here and off-sets these small issues. Bestech and CM Knife Designs have a real winner on their hands and this is an easy to recommend blade for lots of people. One issue is that it is in the most packed segment in the market right now, so there is that.
Competition
The Pena X Series is clearly a competitor with a host of different blade shapes all in this size range. Similarly the Sebenza is a clear competitor, again given the size. I also think that a few higher end Spydercos, like the Spyopera or the , and Benchmades, like the Mini Freek in S90V, are competitors. There are a lot of newer brands that are in the same mode—the Drift, the Rockwell, and the Neutron 2 are all similarly sized knives with similar roles. Suffice to say this is a PACKED and STACKED part of the market. This could be said of virtually every knife, but the Neutron coming in at UNDER $200 really puts the pressure on virtually everyone else, including the Tonic which is OVER $300 (though just barely).
It is also worth pointing out that this knife is a few lunches out away from a Sebenza and while I think the Tonic is well made and beautiful, it lacks the classic lines and simplicity of the Sebenza. It is also not BETTER made than the Sebenza, especially right now, as Tim and Co. did a lot of retooling to really dial in the fit and finish on the most recent run of knives. If you want something different the Tonic is an easy choice, but it is not a better knife than the Small 31. It is also not better than the TRM Neutron 2.
Just a side note on the market right now. The Sebenza 31, with its upgraded steel, better fit and finish in the most recent runs, and huge price jumps by other high end knives not only performs exceptionally well but is actually quite a value. One rung below it on the market ladder is the Neutron 2 which may very well be the best EDC folder ever made for the money. In a head to head comparison (see the “Is it Better than a Sebenza” series I am doing over on YouTube), its awfully close. These two knives make it VERY hard for someone to make something outright better. Only the Tactile Knife Co. Rockwall seems to be able to hang with these two. The Sebenza angles out the high end crowd with a classic design, modern materials, and superior fit and finish, while the Neutron 2 crushes the middle of the market. This is a tough spot to release a knife. Yet despite these two amazing blade, I can see a reason to buy the Tonic. That is a sign of a really solid knife.
Amazon Links