So Bernard on the Carried Away podcast had an interesting comment about the OT knife. He wondered whether or not the hype is because people just want a cheap thing or if the knife is actually worth the time and energy. Having used and reviewed one I can confirm that the knife is worth having. It is a good knife. Not a great knife, not an enthusiast-grade knife, but a good one. This got me thinking—how good is a sub-$50 EDC? While an enthusiast would notice the difference, the real question is whether a non-enthusiast would. For this thought experiment, I am going to consider only those items that complement people’s regular carry (wallet, keys, phone).

The Slice Write Lights

This limits me to three items: a knife, a light, and a pen (slice, write, light). Can you get serviceable stuff for under $50? The answer is an emphatic yes. Here they are and I still have $16.14 to spare.

Ozark Trail 7.5 inch knife: $9.95

Convoy S2+ with clip: $16.00

Zebra F-701: $7.91

Total: $33.86

Additionally, two thirds of these are available at Wal-Mart. And while the S2+ has shipping costs, they are well under $16. Even with shipping and tax, the set up is still under $50. And I recently saw a MaxLVLEDC video that noted upgrades to the OT.

For comparison’s sake here is an enthusiast set up that is similar:

TRM N2: $210.00

Zebralight SC54c N: $89.00

Tactile Turn Side Click: $119.00

Total: $418

The enthusiast grade set up is more than ten times as much. But it is important to remember—gear is not a commodity, like milk or wheat. Each thing is not simply a lesser version of a more expensive thing and twenty one OT knives is not equal to one N2. This makes dollar-for-dollar comparisons very difficult.

NOTE: I do not own the SC54c N. It is out of stock as I write this. I am using my own Zebralight (which is almost identical in shape and size) plus the emitter performance experience from other lights (I have a few lights with the same emitter) as a base line.

General Observations

First, a word about lights. The flashlight market is really strong right now. If you want a gizmo light with lightning storm mode, you can find it. If you want a high end light with a robust build quality, you can find it. If you want a mini-Sun with perfect color rendering, you can find it. And, unlike with the knife market, a lot of this can be found pretty cheaply. By in large, I find that flashlights are a better value than knives and these two comps prove it. First, the S2+ is not just a great light for the money, its just a great light. The choice of emitter, switch cover, body tube makes the S2+ a formitable option. You can get a 519A emitter and select the color temp for $16. That’s nutty. It is also substantially more performance per dollar than the D2 OT. There is another sign that lights are a better value—even at the enthusiast grade, the light is the cheapest item. The SC54c N is a truly superior light that you could carry everyday and be very happy with for a long time. Traditionally Zebralights have been hailed by flashlight fans as great lights with questionable tints. The SC54c N fixes that with a very neutral very good emitter. And it does so for under $100. Additionally, supposing the SC54c N was not available there are quite a few other lights in the same price range that are also world-class. The Reylight Mini Pineapple v.3 is cheaper (its not really a fair comp to the S2+ as it is significantly smaller). A 47 Mini Turbo Mk. 3 is also similarly priced. All three are great lights for even the most discerning gear snob. And all three would still be the cheapest item. Simply put, even at the lowest price bracket, flashlights are a better value than knives. The S2+ IS an enthusiast grade light, while the OT is a simulacrum of an enthusiast grade knife.

The second thing I think is borne out by this comparison is that our notion of machining costs impacting price is probably mistaken. It used to be that things that were more complex machinining-wise meant an increase in cost. And that is still true at the high end. If you are doing a dozen different things to the surface of a knife handle, that will add cost. But with the advent of newer, more powerful, and more automated machines, things like cross bar locks (I give up—call them something that is less clear and not in the patent) that are precise and repeatable are no big deal. Look at the number of button locks. When Matt Conable of William Henry repopularized the button lock they were still a daunting task to machine. Now, you can find button locks that are budge- and wiggle-free on knives that cost $30. There is a simple explanation—machining costs used to be a relatively equal proxy for labor costs. It took time to switch tools and fixtures. That time, which was spent by a human being, is expensive. Now with CNC’s that switch tools themselves and other automation, the cost of batching out complex steps like machining the cross bar locks is less labor intensive and therefore less expensive overall. I think, as a community, we have understood this for a while. Button locks are commonplace, after all, but it took the OT really drive home the point—machines can do a lot for very little.

The last of the three takeaways is this—you should always pay for good design. The upgrade in performance between the cheap knife and flashlight and the more expensive knife and flashlight comes down to good materials to some small extent, but mostly good design. The emitter on the S2+ is actually pretty much identical (or functionally identical) to the emitter on the Zebralight. This is one of the reasons the S2+ is so remarkable. And the steel difference is legit, for sure. But it is the slim blade stock and evolved handle shape that makes the TRM N2 just a superior option. The clip is better, the grind is better, the in-hand feel is better, and it is better not because of machining ability or number of workers that touched the knife, but because the N2 design came from the mind of a truly superior knife designer. TRM made calls that were right because they understood on a fundamental level what makes a good knife good. Wal-Mart, of course, can copy those traits, but it can’t pioneer them itself (unless of course they hire a knife design master, which they could always do). In some ways this difference is the knife design equivalent of Searle’s Chinese Room thought experiment, but if you had to choose between an actual Chinese speaker and some guy in a room with no clue, go with the real thing (and yes, I know, this contradicts Searle’s point to some degree).

Performance Comparisons

The knife comp is pretty straightforward. The grind of a knife is the single biggest factor that contributes to performance and even non-knife folks can tell the difference. As a result, the N2 performs like a significantly better knife than the OT (because it is a significantly better knife). While the OT does have a decent grind and can plow through lots of material, very few knives are in the performance tier that the N2 is in. This is a fantastic cutter. If you have regular cutting tasks beyond opening Amazon boxes, you will instantly notice the difference. For those folks I think the difference between the OT and the N2 is probably huge, the N2 is twice the cutter the the OT is. If you carry the knife regularly you will also appreciate the N2‘S slimmer, more solid feel in the pocket and the hand. The OT feels a bit bloated because it is. There is a lot of room under the scales as they are contoured. I wouldn’t want Wal Mart to fill them in, because that would add weight, but slimming them down and making the contoured G10 would give the knife a better profile in the pocket and a better feel in the hand.

The lights here are pretty similar in terms of performance. I would say that the Zebralight is probably about 15% better as configured. This particular light opts for a very high CRI emitter instead of lumens and Zebralights always have good runtimes, so its not like I would ever choose the S2+ if they were the same price. That said, for the majority of uses—going outside in the dark, hunting under couches and car seats both of these lights will get the job done with minimal fuss. The S2+’s choice of UI is a good reason why. I still like Zebralight’s UI better, but the S2+ is not awful. The Zebralight is also going to be better in the pocket as the S2+ is a girthy torch. If you opt for the stock 18650 body tube it is also much longer. The 18350 option is a pittance, so choose it. If we were comparing the 18650 tube to the Zebralight, I would say the Zebralight is 50% better, as I think most 18650 lights are too big to carry regularly.

The pen performance is much closer as the refill and not the body tube contribute to performance. You can get a very similar if not idential refill for both pens, albeit with a small mod to the Zebra pen. The bigger gap in performance is found in the pen’s body and the nock mechanism. I like the TT’s body a lot, as the fine machining provides a perfect among of grip without being abrasive. The Zebra’s checkering is a bit shreddy. I also like the look of the TT body—it has a more refined appearance, which, with a pen, really matters. The TT is almost certainly as durable as the Zebra and the machining is really refined. The nock is amazing, like the fidget equivalent of crack.

Conclusions

In the end, the enthusiast-grade stuff is better. Obviously. But the knife is pretty clearly better than the cheap version. Its probably good enough that even a non-knife person would notice, but probably not enough for the non-knife person to pay the additional $190. The flashlight too is better, but probably not enough for a non-knife person would notice and certainly not enough for a non-knife person to pay $60 more. The pen, well, there is no writing difference, but the TT looks and feels significantly better. I also think that non-pen people are more willing to pay for nicer pens. After all, that’s how 1 in 3 people get Cross pens for graduation, or promotion, or Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day. The $50 slice light write is quite good, significantly better than a novelty. But for us, the crazy gear enthusiasts of the world, it leaves some room for improvement.

Amazon Links

Convoy S2+

Zebra 701