Don’t do it… don’t do it… don’t do it…
Just found a Wicked Edge pro gen 3 on FB marketplace for less than half of the msrp… “slightly used” but pics look good - some stones untouched. Will have pics next week when I pick it up hopefully.
This is certainly my son’s motto. He’s sitting outside right now talking to himself or yelling at loud cars, I’m not sure which. He’s learned how to use keys in padlocks (he’s 4), so the world is much more open to him now. Wait until I teach him how to pick locks…
As for you people, you’re terrible, terrible influences. I now own 3 different Kershaws, and it’s not like I will ever put more than one in my pockets to carry around at any time. But they’re so inexpensive and so nice! Sigh…
The Adamas on the left is awesome. Weighs a ton but balanced nicely and is definitely a workhorse. The Axis automatic action is stiff, but they always require some breaking in. Tried and true action and I have no doubt this thing will survive an apocalypse. The straight blade is nice for home sharpening too.
The Claymore is… strange. Will take some getting used to the plastic handle after always having metal. It’s super light, almost like a toy compared to the Adamas. Balanced poorly too, but not terribly - kind of what you’d expect from a plastic handle. The action is very smooth and I like the new lock much better than the old style they used.
I’m going to umm and aah over this for a few days before inevitably buying it.
I keep seeing the Provoke and while it’s not really an option because I’m a lefty, it’s still always on my mind.
Oh, I like that!
I’ve got the minimalist bowie, which seems to serve the same funtion, but I like the styling on that Tailbone better, as well at the ring.
The clips that come on these sheaths aren’t by favorite but I have some Tek-Lok clips around for kydex sheathes. With these minimalist knives, the clip is almost bigger than the sheath, but they can help you scout carry if you want.
Looking at this lately. Straight blade, serrated edge. Essentially free as I got some unexpected money. Perhaps I should just get another Salt…
I almost always prefer straight edge unless I really think I’ll be sawing away at something. Most often it is rope.
This may be the best thing I’ve seen all week.
Because I have been a very good boy I allowed myself a little bit of kit, as a treat.
No, you fool, not the ginger beer, the torch! Mainly because it was under £20 delivered with battery, a Wurkkos HD20. Wurkkos is vaguely Scandinavian-sounding, all fresh air and long walks in the woods, but it will not surprise you to learn this electronics company is in fact Chinese. I’ve got a few torches, most of which run on 18650s, but I’ve been hearing a lot of big talk about the 21700s, so I decided to check one out, not least because it also has a dual-emitter set up, one a honeycomb optic for floody, close-range illumination, and a bigger spotlight for more intense, longer range light.
Here it is next to my workhorse now my Skilhunt has been permanently ‘borrowed’, a bog-standard Wowtac A2S. Noticeably heavier, and especially weighty around the head, like all the best gadgets, it arrives pre-lubed, and has reverse polarity protection, so if you do happen to put the battery in the wrong way round, nothing untoward will happen.
Battery instructions and USB-C charging port line up nicely at the rear, and the cover is thick so I actually have some faith in the IP68 rating for a change.
18650s are a massive step up from AA, and while 21700s aren’t a massive increase, they’re still a good bit more powerful, lasting about 90 minutes, theoretically, on full power, or alternatively a silly 900+ hours on moonlight mode for those of us with some shreds of night vision. For practical usage, rather than blinding people or banishing shadow demons, you can easily get 20+ hours of moderate use out of it at practical light levels. This is good because if you forget to charge it between uses, it’s not going to die on you.
Magnetic tailcap works.
Even horizontally, which is surprising given how head-heavy it is. It is a bigger, weightier torch, and quite frankly given the milling at the top and base, it’s an absolute pocket destroyer when it comes to jeans, and for once I might actually find a use for the pocket clip.
Next to my Spyderco Matriarch, it doesn’t look that bad, but it’s more than twice the width, which combined with the ribbing means it’s very east to retain a grip on, but difficult to wedge in to tight pockets.
It comes with a lanyard, which is fine for occasional use, but I find if I actually use the lanyard I destroy it, and go through 3-4 of them a year, the lanyard loop is simply too thin to stand up to any kind of wear. This is a fault to all standard issue torch lanyards, they really need to be some sort of steel wire, although I then wonder at the cosmetic damage wrought on the aluminium body of the torch. The pocket clip is solid. The battery sleeve means you can use an 18650 if you wish, or if like me you’ve got handfuls of spares around. The charging cable is USB to USB-C, and as a bonus, you can use the torch as a power bank if needed and you’ve got the right cable for it.
I know the table is dirty, I did wipe it with a sock. Shut up.
Flashlights are something I have yet to dive in to, though I have intended to for a long time. I e this far relies primarily on off-the-shelf lights from my local sporting goods stores. Somewhat recently I was given one branded as a “tactical” light and was blown away by how bright the beam was. Since then I’ve wanted to learn/bug more but haven’t moved around to it. That one you have there looks pretty great.
It’s not cutting edge or anything, but it’s a decent first light of that battery type. It’s also approximately 3 million shades brighter than I expected it to be. Thought it was going to be more of an olive drab!