State of the Union

The knife market is a bit strange. Good stuff is coming from everywhere and bad stuff is coming from everywhere. While I love the genius in the wilderness designer trope as much as the next person, the reality is there aren’t that many geniuses. This is when an editor really makes a difference. A lot of the self-published blades out there are a few tweaks away from being a good knife, but if you are a solo or part of a “design house” firm that does not make knives, it might be impossible for you to spot the problems. Iteration is not a bad word. Collaboration is not a bad word. And, as a lawyer, I can tell you that juries do an excellent job. All of this is a way of saying what should be obvious—we work better together, especially when it comes to product design.

The other thing that has happened is that steel has really become standardized. American and Italian made knives tend to top out at Magnacut. Chinese knives top out at M390. I am not sure if I am thrilled with the standardization, but the two steels at the top end are both pretty darn good. I do miss the spread of exotic steels. We could be between generations or it could be that the steels at the common top end are so good there is not much incentive to innovate. Either way, I miss a new steel every few months. After all, are you really a knife knut if you don’t get your head turned by a new steel?

I’ll admit that these two things have tempered by enthusiasm for the knife market this past year. I still purchased new knives, but the number of knives I was genuinely excited for has diminished significantly. You’ll noticed quite a few repeat winners. There just has been that much to get excited about. Second, I am just not a believer in production knives that cost more than a Sebenza. If its in the ballpark, like $450 and it is special, then I’ll consider it, but with my stable of customs setting an exceedingly high bar, I am just not sure what I am getting when I buy a production knife that costs a grand. Is it better than my Thys Meades custom that cost the same? Is it better than my Sawby that cost LESS? These knives sate the appetites of people that WANT custom quality but don’t want to a) wait; or b) pay 300% more on the secondary market. Trust me, waiting is worth it.

I do think that my lack of enthusiasm is a temporary thing. TRM has a pair of new knives. Tactile Knife Co. has the Archer and the Chupacabra. Benchmade released a higher end version of the Mini Adamas (which incorporates Magnacut). Kershaw has a few new knives with nicer steel, like the Bel Air. I really do think we are on the cusp of a bunch of new and interesting knives. I just wish the tidal wave of meh production stuff that costs a kilobuck or more and overwrought self-published blades would slow down a little. Its too much and it is making the knife market boringly homogenous.

Best Knives

Best EDC: TRM N2 (Review)

Let’s be clear—the N2 is the best knife out there by a country mile. Here is why: if you consider its design, price, and country of origin few knives can stand toe to toe with it. The Sebenza is a great knife, probably a little more polished, but not a lot. But the N2 is less than half the price of a basic Small 31. Compared to something like the Native, this is a bit classier, a bit more refined. But its not that much more money, if at all. And then there are the comps to a dozen or so knives made overseas. They tend to be slabby and expensive. But in the $180 price range you won’t find something better. Add to that the Made in the USA label and its just hard to find something that beats the N2. There are a few other arguments like this—why Walter Johnson is the greatest pitcher of all time. He lasted long enough to rival the stat complier pitchers, but he had a peak as good as the Koufaxes and the Martinezes of the world. When you do well in two radically different categories, you tend to have few rivals and the N2 is just that knife.

Best High End EDC: Tactile Knives Archer

I picked a knife I haven’t even held in person. That might sound like a dumb idea, but let me explain. I generally think that production knives that sell for more than $400 are a bad idea. They need to be really, really good to be worthwhile. Many of these knives get their higher price tag not from innovative features, high levels of polish, or new, rare steels. Instead there are lot of gimmicks—integral designs, Mokuti accents, and other similar gilding. I am just not interested in that garbage. So a lot of high end knives are off the table. Then there is the Sebenza. I like it, but at $425 for the small plain Jane model, I am not super stoked. It goes this way for a few knives—Grimsmo, Holt, Koenig, and Oz all make excellent knives but they are exceptionally expensive, some over a $1,000 for titanium framelock flippers. And so, by process of elimination I arrived at the Archer. The Archer does appear to have that special pixie dust sprinkled on it, compared to the rest of the market. I guess this means I need to buy one and test it out.

Best Fixed Blade: Survive Knives GSO 4.5 (Review)

Set aside all of the drama that seems to follow Survive Knives. Just look at the knives they make. If you can find a better knife for the price in the fixed blade market, let me know. This is a gem of a blade with great features, excellent handle ergos, and tight sheath. Nothing here is bad and nothing essential is missing. If you need a knife to traverse the wilderness or help with yardwork, your going to be hard pressed to find something more capable. I feel like all of this gets missed in the associated fury that surrounds the brand.

Best Value: CJRB Mini Pyrite (Review, Buy Link)

Alas the Civivi Lumi is OOP. So what to do? Who lands in the same spot? Its tough, but in the end, the Mini Pyrite is the winner. The knife is imminently flickable and runs a good steel. The fact that it also comes in under $50 is a bonus. I could be convinced of going in other directions here, but for now, this is it. The Vosteed Chipmunk is also in the running as is the 14C28N Lander.

So You Wanna Make a Custom: KaBar Becker BK16 (Review, Buy Link)

Much like the Mitsubishi Evo or the Subaru WRX or a handful of other Japanese cars post Fast and the Furious, the BK17 is a knife that is good on its own, but beloved for what it can become. KaBar might want to seriously consider making a kit of out of the knife—with handles that you can shape and kydex you can press yourself. Its a brilliant little blade, a abuse-absorbing tool like no other and it is so very easy to take apart, customize, and put back together. If you are an aspiring knifemaker, this is a good place to start. You won’t be sad even if you never fully finish your build. As shipped, the knife is pretty amazing.

Best Modded Knife: PM2 Ultra

The stock PM2 is a really good knife. The compression lock is a bit pinchy, but not a dealbreaker. But if you are like me, small things result in disproportionate expenditures of mental energy. So when I found the Blades We Love mod that switched the PM2 from a compression lock to a button-activated compression lock, it was a no-brainer. The knife is truly excellent.

Best Knife that Needs to be Released Again: Northwoods Knives Indian River Jack (Review)

Like that one Onion headline, I am going to keep listing this in the Best Knives article until something is done about it. Few knives are as classy or as useful as the IRJ. Its slim cigar profile and thin, thin, thin `1095 spearpoint blade make it one of the best knives on the market when it comes to carry and cutting, which, if we haven’t all forgotten, is the only two things a knife should do well. The fact that it is beautiful is a bonus for those that have knives primarily for Instagram (which, by the way, has pretty straightforward rules about posting knives—if you run afoul of them I am little worried).

Best Knife You Might Not Have Heard Of: Indiana Knives EDZ (Review)

There are so many knives out there—mainstream brands, overseas brands, subsidiaries, self-published blades. As a knife reviewer, I find it hard to keep up. As a consumer of knives, its got to be impossible. And while a majority of the wave of new stuff is just meh or outright rebadges, there are a few things that slip through that turn out to be really outstanding. The Indiana Knives EDZ is quite good. Of course its fidget friendly but the real star here is the ultra slicey blade. Making thin cuts into apples and cured meats makes for a great test of a knife’s proficiency and ehre the EDZ just hits a home run. The tall, thin, ultrahard and ultracorrision resistant blade makes for a Slicer Supreme. If the action got your attention, the cutting ability will keep this knife in your pocket.

Best Knife for Non-Knife People: Victorinox Bantam (Review, Buy Link)

The Combotool is the star of the show. Of course, the pen blade is good—its a Victorinox. But there are a lot of knives with that pen blade. The combo tool, an 85/91 mm implement, is just superb. It does a great job with both common types of screw heads AND it opens bottles with ease. If you can only choose two Vic implements it should be these two. If you add third, go for the scissors. But bare minimum—this is a great set up. If you want nothing fancy, start here. You won’t be disappointed.

Best Knife Accessory: Prometheus Design Werx SAK Scales (Review)

I had a friend that was a lawyer for a gun company. We talked about law stuff and then got around to the fact that both gun and gear companies are really about the Pokemon effect—grown men have a desire to collect ‘em all, to deck out and accessorize. The scopes and rails and suppressors all prove that. The sprint runs and new steels and upgraded scales also prove that. But of all the accessories I have had for knives, none has hit me as hard in the feels as this one. I love a SAK to begin with and this upgrade just gives it that smidge of class it was missing. For a $100 you have a good looking and well functioning tool that no one freaks out about. Plus it has a clip.