Having written these updates for a few years now, I realize that they always start with a weather report. That is a good reminder, of course, that EDC is context related. Well the weather in New England this spring has been pretty crappy—cold until June and then persistently rainy. As a result, there has been significantly less trail time than I would like, unless we are talking about our backyard RC “trail” in which case, it has been extra muddy.

One interesting trend I noticed when looking back through this stuff is a focus on smaller brands. If you are in the content business, then new content is king, and so recycling gear, like is happening right now in the big production companies, ain’t great. Do you really need to see the same knife in the umpteenth different color of G10? Prolly not. Do I want to write about it? Definitely not. So enjoy the Q Firearms, Bridgeport Knife Company, and Lau Lima stuff. Hey, there is are two Spydercos here…

Pictured Above (L to R): Thys Meads Dino and Lau Lima Hoku Clicky

If someone came up to me and said show me your best carry, it would be this pair. Thys Meades makes art knives that regular folks can afford. Only the Swift has fit and finish above this and that knife is an extreme rarity. I have handled a ton of stuff and not much is even close to Thys’s blades. Its great and in this imminently practical set up, it is my best carry knife. The light is similarly great. I have written extensively about why the 1xAAA format is the best format for a light and I love clickies. But getting those to things to converge has been a real challenge. The CWF Micro Arcadian fits the bill but it can’t tailstand. And if I am looking for the best light possible that little issue becomes a big concern.

Pictured (L to R): Spyderco PM2 Ultra from Blades We Love and Prometheus Lights Titanium Beta

Do you have a list of gear you intend to purchase? Does that list get regularly reshuffled by new releases or random stuff coming up for purchase? Do you have issues coordinating Space Bucks and gear releases? Me too. One thing that had been on my list for years was the BladesWeLove modded PM2. I love the PM2 but I am not a huge fan of the compression lock. What I am a huge fan of is the button release version. Frankly, this is what this knife should look like from the factory—both the button release AND the deep carry clip. Since I can’t get it that way, I waited for these to come back into stock and then I jumped on one. Its as great as you might imagine. And, well, when I can’t think of what to carry in terms of a light, this baby is my default. I love the Ti Beta so much.

Pictured (L to R): Spoke Designs Roady Gen. 1, Q Firearms Sabotuer, and the Ti Beta

The Spoke Roady is so easy to carry and use that it is one of two pens I EDC daily (the other is the Lamy 2000). Why two pens but one of everything else? Well, first, I am a lawyer, so taking notes is just a thing that happens. I take notes all the time. I take a lot of notes. Like probably 20 pages everyday no matter what I am doing. If I am at trial or at a hearing, that number doubles or even triples. As a result of taking so many notes, I will regularly run out of ink in the Lamy 2000. Its not an exaggeration to say that I go through a bottle of ink in a month or so, obviously size dependent. This year I have used an entire bottle of Iroshizuku Con Peki and one bottle of MB Pacific Blue and those are big bottles. I am working my way through a more normal sized bottle of Bay State Blue I got at a Commonwealth Pen Show a few years ago. Its more than halfway finished, so as you can see, I take a lot of notes. This is where a back up pen comes in handy. Often I will go into restricted places like a holding cell in a court or a jail and going back out to my car to get a pen is just not productive, so I carry a spare. Second, because I have folks sign stuff all the time and quite a few people don’t know how to use a fountain pen, the Roady is a great “sign this” pen. The other new item here is the Q Firearms Sabotuer. I have a friend that works at Q and she and I were talking about the fact that they expanded into knives. I looked it up and to my surprise it didn’t look like the classic “gun company” knife, but instead a real, quality piece. She gave me one and I have carried it a good bit and my intuitions were right—it is a quality piece. 20CV blade steel, a nice milling pattern on the handle, and impressively good action on the front flipper. Don’t try that thumb plate, it is there for looks alone. Great showing for a first try. Then there is the obligatory default flashlight.

Pictured (L to R): Bridgeport Knife Co 395 v.2 and Maratac Mini Cosmos LEP

Speaking of newcomers, Bridgeport Knife Co. is a new brand that has, at the moment, only one design—the 395. The first version was in 14C28N and sold quite well. This version, which is just a smidge more, is in 20CV and is truly excellent. There are lots of subtle touches and things you don’t really get until you carry the knife. Its not just good, its really, really good. I love the design, how slicey it is (thanks to a pronounced hollow grind), and it looks nice—useful but not threatening. The true surprise for me, though, is the clip. This is the best sculpted clip and one of the best clips of any kind on the market. Its so low profile and really nicely rounded over that you can’t tell it is there when you have the knife in hand. And then there is the LEP. Oh man if you haven’t had one, you need one. They are crazy fun to play with. Not terribly practical, but who cares about that? Light up that hillside two miles away and tell me that’s not fun.

Pictured (L to R): FourSevens Mini Turbo Mk. 3 Ti, Tactile Turn Small Clicky, and Hogue Deka in Magnacut

I get an email probably once a week asking “What’s the best production knife?” Finding an answer is MUCH easier than finding the knives mentioned in that answer. The answer, right now at least, is the Neutron 2 from TRM. But finding one is an exercise in patience. I’d also recommend the Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 31 with no inlay, but that too is a rare beast. Finally, I recommend the Dragonfly but there is no steel I currently really like. So the answer to the question is really the best READILY AVAILABLE production knife. In that case the answer is the Hogue Dekka in Magnacut. Hogue has been nibbling on the edges of greatness for a while with stuff like the Ritter and Mini Ritter. With the Dekka they have finally hit the target. This isn’t just an incremental improvement, it is a huge leap forward.

It also happens to be an excellent argument in the intellectual, legal, and economic debates about the value of patents. While some contend that patents incentivize innovation by protecting the innovator, two things no longer make that true. First, there have been huge abuses of the patent system with patent trolls and a lower standard for getting a patent (this is best seen in the “Extended Release” patents for drugs). Second, in the Internet Age, where the jurisdiction of patents is not global but markets are, patents simply stymie US innovation, as overseas producers can copy what US inventors patent and sell it with relative ease.

But the real strike against the modern patent system is that it actually disincentivizes innovation. The Axis lock is a perfect example of that. When Benchmade had the patent on the Axis lock they produced knives that while very good almost always had some form of bladeplay. The tolerances need to make a smooth but solid Axis lock are fine and without competition pushing them there was no need to go that extra step. But the minute the patent expired everyone and their brother was ready to make a knife with a sliding bar lock, and they did. Not only did the market get a flood of excellent sliding bar lock knives, which, by the way, is a truly superior lock in terms of safety and ease of use, Benchmade stepped up its game and now routinely makes snappy yet solid Axis lock knives. Note the release date of the Benchmade Bugout. Finally, as the market pushed producers, we got sliding bar locks that were really really good. The Dekka’s is one of them. This is a great knife with a great lock and an amazing steel. And it weighs two ounces. Its a winner.

Pictured (L to R): Spyderco Jester Sprint Run in 20CV and Sofrin SC01

There were a FEW sweltering days and for them I carried this. Now I can’t do a smidge of food prep with the Jester, but it does everything really well. In fact, this is the best box and package opener on the planet. And the torch, oh my, I love this little light. It is SO useful, bright, and the staged twisty is just the best. More on the review coming soon, but this is a light literally everyone on the planet should own and have on their keychain. Its universally good.

Pictured (L to R): Knafs Co Lander, Cloud Defensive Chicro, Spoke Designs Roady

The Lander is great. I love the form factor and the blade shape. I don’t like the steel. As a result I have been on the fence about buying a higher end version for a while. Still sitting as of now. The Chicro is a fundamentally solid design held back by two things and a concern that might bother some people. First, the name is just not great. I get why they did it, but it sounds a little like they are poking fun. The fact that it arrives in a box that looks like Chinese takeout only furthers that sentiment. I am not holding that against the light because it could be a well-meaning but poorly executed joke and because people are too sensitive these days, but you should know that going in. My first beef with the light is the low is too bright. Second, the tint is pretty wretched. Like just short of dance floor illumination bad. That said, a good high and on-board USB-C charging is a pretty appealing package. A review should be coming soon and I will suss all this out then.

Pictured (L to R): Zebralight SC05 LE, Civivi Elementum 2

Is it showing my age to talk about the fact that button locks used to the exclusive territory of high end custom and production knives or autos? Does anyone remember in the late 90s early 2000s when Matt Conable at William Henry figured out a way to regularly make blade play-free button locks. While I was in the knife periphery at the time, I still knew it happened because it was so unusual. Now they are a dime a dozen on budget blades. If there is a better indication of the improvement in machine than this, I don’t know what it is. Once the tolerances get fine enough, making button locks is really simple and really fast. The Elementum 2 is an example of that. And while it is unnecessarily thick, it is an excellent budget blade. My only problem is that for the general knife buying public there are too many versions of this knife to figure out which is the right one to buy. To cut that process off, let me say this—this is the right one to buy. As for the torch, well, given how bad UIs have gotten, the Zebralights befuddling UI is actually not that bad and the light’s form factor is hard to beat. I often carry this light when not testing another because its just the right size and plenty bright.

Amazon Links

Spyderco Paramilitary 2

Hogue Dekka

Tactile Turn Side Click

FourSevens Mini

Sofrin SC-01

Knafs Co Lander

Cloud Defensive Chicro

Zebralight SC05

Civivi Elementum 2