Q3 2024 Carry
As 2024 starts to get colder again, I am sort of stunned that it is about to be 2025. 2025 seems so far in the future. I remember being a kid thinking that we would have personal jet packs and robot assistants. The Jetsons is set in 2062. That’s not that far away and we have long way to go.
This year’s weather was resplendent. There have been multiple weekends where both days with domed with sapphire blue skies. As a result, we got a lot of stuff done and that work meant my tools were doing work too.
We moved in November of 2021 and the house we came to had a play structure. It was old, but the boys were still a little bit into it, so we bought a new slide and rehabbed some stuff. But then, pretty quickly they stopped playing with it. Being sad about that is a whole topic on its own, but the structure just sat there getting gross and dangerous. At the same time I have a double pallet rack that served as my wood pile. It lacked a roof and so the wood was covered in a tarp system with tiny concrete weights, but the floor of the rack were metal grates and they were starting to rust away. So we took down the play structure, harvested the larger pieces of wood, and then used them to refurbish the wood rack.
This process was exceptionally slow (we removed every rusted nail and screw), but the end result is a really great wood rack that we upgrades basically for free. The total was about $400–5 10 foot pieces of corrugated metal roofing, three 12 foot 2x4s, about $40 in hardware and screws, and $9 in green oops paint. As per tradition, I am not counting the tool I purchased for the project, an angle grinder, because I can use it again on other projects (I want to do some wood carving with it). All this building gave me plenty of time for outdoor pocket knife lunches and cutting, marking, and shaving wood. It also gave me the chance to make some food on the camp fire, as our fire pit is right by the wood rack and the play structure. Here is the final product (I also made the stick bin, the chainsaw cutting stand, and the tire wood splitting station):
Here is a sampling of the gear that was with me:
L to R: Giant Mouse Riv and Dawson Machine Craft Hoku Clicky
When do you upgrade gear? Both of these items are pieces of kit I already owned, but chose to upgrade for various reasons. If I didn’t write about gear I would not have upgraded, but since I need new content and, well, I am a bit OCD with gear, the upgrades here were not tough decisions. First, the knife. I loved the original Riv, it was one of my favorite knives ever, but I did not like the micarta. Usually I am sucker for good micarta, but here, it was too rough and fuzzy. As a result it just felt wrong. Plus I am not a fan of frame locks. And the knife’s steel—Elmax, while good, isn’t Magnacut. So when a linerlock with G10 and Magnacut was announced, I was all in. The original was Reate made and this is Viper Technocut made, but that small downgrade in fit and finish was not enough to keep me away. This knife has been one of my two most carried blades. The other is also in this article. The light is a clicky version of the twisty I originally bought. Both are great, but a clicky always trumps a non-staged twisty and so when Dawson announced the clicky version I was ready. As it stands, this is the best EDC light available in 2024. It does everything well in a very compact form and unlike the CWF Micro Acadian, it can tailstand all day long.
L to R: Grand Seiko SBGA211 “Snowflake”, Thys Meades Dino, Dawson Machine Craft Hoku Clicky, Tactile Turn Compact Side Click
If I was grabbing a pic with my best stuff, this is probably it. I might trade out the pen for a fountain pen, but if I wanted a ballpoint, this is it. The Grand Seiko is the only “expensive” watch I have ever wanted and I got it for my 25th Wedding Anniversary, but it will get a post all on its own, so I will leave it alone. The Dino is so watch-like it is precision and design that it fits well with the Snowflake. At one point or another I have flipped basically every knife out there, apart from some five figure art knives, and none flip better than the Dino. If you think a Shiro or a Rosie is the peak flipper, this knife will prove otherwise. It is just so good. I love the TT Side Click—it has been with me forever, including in all sorts of sad, scary, and otherwise weird meetings.
L to R: Muyshondt Aeon Mk. 3 and TRM Holy Nerd in Full Titanium
Two years ago Nick came to visit and we went to TRM for an in-person tour (my second). When we arrived we received matching dress Nerds. Given that we were both wearing jeans and a t-shirt, the gift of matching Nerds was an incredible pun on Marianne’s part, one I only just got two years later. This knife is super special, up there with a bunch of other “never sell or trade” special knives. And, if you want to totally geek out, there is nothing better than going to one of the best production knife makers in the world and seeing Les’s machining batcave while they work on new stuff including the Comet with Nick Shabazz. Meeting Nick in person and going to TRM ranks up there with some of my best days in the Gear World, and that includes going to Washington DC and meeting the AKTI folks.
L to R: Hoku, Pilot Vanishing Point, Millit Knives Torrent v3
When I first got into EDC stuff, I found the Pen Addict, a stationary site published by Brad Dowdy. Since then, I have been on Brad’s podcast and he was on Gear Geeks Live. He and I have emailed back and forth. And when I needed to get started reviewing pens Brad lent me his matte black Vanishing Point. I later purchased a blue one that has since flown the coop, but I always wanted to get a VP back in the collection. So when the Space Bucks account and availability matched up, I got a new VP and this time I did what I should have done originally—bought the exact pen Brad sent me. When I think back on Brad’s act of kindness, I realize it was crazy that he was that generous. Brad sent me his favorite, and at the time, most expensive pen, so I could do pen reviews, too. There are very few people who have made their hobbies their careers as gracefully and authentically as Brad has and he made that transition so well because, at heart, Brad understands the core of the Enthusiast Mindset—enthusiasm is contagious. The knife here is one I was stalking for years. Millit’s production is spotty, but their products are insane. This is better than the v1 and v2, both of which I have owned, and this is still a titanic accomplishment in machining.
L to R: The “Ozark Grail” and the Surefire EDC1 DFT
I do have a long form review coming on this knife, but the initial impressions have been very, very good. I can’t really see a reason to buy something like the Kershaw Iridium, which is a similarly sized sliding bar lock knife with a roughly 3” blade of D2 steel, for $40 more. This is an excellent knife, price blind. When you include the $9.95 price tag, this is one of the very best knives on the market. And it came from Wal-Mart. The light is different, of course, because it is a Surefire, but like all Surefires it punches way above its rated lumens thanks to really superior optics. This is a weird combo, but I actually like it quite a bit, especially when we went camping in late summer early fall this year.
L to R: QSP Canary and the Skilhunt Mini EC200
If you were stepping up in price, the best “entry level” knife (here is my price bracket terminology again) currently in production is the QSP Canary. Now that the truly superb Civivi Lumi is no longer being made, the Canary is probably the best knife around $50. Its fully functional and runs 14C28N steel with great deployment. It lacks the Civivi’s needle sharp tip and almost transparently thin steel, so it is not quite the cutter, but very few knives stack up to the Lumi in terms of cutting performance. The Skilhunt is a pretty capable $50 light and but for the stupid charging port cover, this light is kind of low key awesome. The UI, while not the triumph that the UI is on the Synergy 3LT, is quite good.
L to R: Victorinox Compact with Prometheus Designwerx Scales, Prometheus Lights Ti Beta v3
No easy upgrade is as good as the SAK scales from PDW. They are not only incredibly effective, with a great clip and more durable surface than the red cellidor, they also look pretty cool, especially in the gray. The Compact is a great tool to upgrade, too. There is not a single overlapping implement, so every tool pulls its weight. Of course the light is great with truly luscious CRI. This is a really sterling kit—effective and still very people friendly.
L to R: Kershaw Bel Air, Pilot Vanishing Point, Reylight Ti Mini Pineapple v3
The Bel Air is spectacular. Its brilliance is made even more remarkable by the incredibly long draught between truly great new knives under the Kershaw brand. Its nice to see a Kershaw as one of the best knives on the market. The Mini Pineapple v3 is as good a flashlight as the Bel Air is a knife, hence the pairing here. All good stuff, all the time.
L to R: Pilot Vanishing Point, Wilkins Leafstorm v9 (I think), and Frelux Synergy 3LT
This is a very heavy kit, something I could never run in shorts, but with the change of weather it wasn’t a chore. I know that there are lighter knives with more bling, but I cannot help but love the Leafstorm. I loved the production and then hunted the custom for years and years. It is a permanent part of the collection. I just reviewed the Synergy 3LT and it is a great light. This is the UI King right now. Its a bit bulky, but boy is it a good light.
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