2023: A Knife Odyssey

[d.2.the.p]

3/22
Today we have a 17 cm Sfilati from Rocco Petrunti of Frosolone, Italy. The Sfilati is a traditional Italian folder that originated in Frosolone and was commonly carried by citizens as a working knife once a ban on fixed blades was put into place. It is characterized by the tapered handle, straight spear blade, and non-locking backspring slipjoint mechanism. This particular version comes in 1.4116 stainless steel and thuja burl handle covers. Mr. Petrunti builds these by hand and offers them at a very reasonable price (aside from shipping), and they come in an array of different sizes with a wide variety of handle materials.

 

[d.2.the.p]

3/23
Here we have another Spyderco Kiwi. This one comes with nice dyed red bone inlays. These Kiwis are super small, classy, and are as functional as they are gorgeous.

 

[d.2.the.p]

3/24
Happy Fixed Blade Friday, folks! Today we have another Bird & Trout model from Stoil Manchev out of Bulgaria. This version is guardless with a slightly different blade shape whose edge is a consistent curve from tip to heel. Mr. Manchev does his own heat treating, and this is sporting a AEBL blade with some very nice dyed maple scales.

 

[d.2.the.p]

3/25
Here’s or next entry in the comfy pants carry category. This featherweight fellow is a small Blakiston’s Fish Owl Lockback from Moki out of Japan. This being the smaller version of this knife, it comes in at 3 3/8” closed and a whisper light 1 oz in weight. Comprised of a satin finished AUS-8 blade and linerless black linen micarta covers, this little guy is as classy as it is functional and makes for a superlative sweatpants pocket companion.

 

[d.2.the.p]

3/26
Another soft panted morning saw the donning of a classic - the Spyderco Dragonfly 2. The Dragonfly 2 was my first decent knife that I picked up 12 or so years ago. I had always had some crappy cheap lockback knives and SAKs from my days in Boy Scouts, but it wasn’t until many years later that I grew up and purchased a knife that could actually perform if called upon to do so. This particular version is in ZDP-189 and is rocking British racing green FRN handle scales. Do not let the plastic fool you - this knife is all business and is built for peak performance.

 

[d.2.the.p]

3/27
Happy Micarta Monday, my damies. Today’s entry is a Rogue Wave Trapper slipjoint from Rhaidian Gatrill of Canada. The RWT is a pattern by Mr. Gatrill, and he has used it for lockbacks, multiblades, and single blade iterations similar to this one. At 3 5/8” closed, it is that Goldilocks size, and it is rocking a beautiful hand rubbed satin CPM-154 blade with burlap micarta covers over coyote tan G10 accent liners.

 

[d.2.the.p]

3/28
Happy Taco Tuesday, party people. Today’s sidekick is an always awesome Pocket Bowie by Tom Krein. This particular one is rocking a satin D2 blade with some delicious vintage Westinghouse butterscotch linen micarta over black liners and silver hardware and mosaic pin.

In terms of design, while the PB isn’t necessarily my favorite Krein model, it is probably the most secure feeling 3-finger fixed blade I have ever handled. Due to the index finger scallop up front and the parrot beak at the butt end, the Pocket Bowie locks into your hand and will not budge. For those with larger hands, it likely will be a tight fit, but for the rest of us, it is like a warm hug for your hand.

 

[drawkcaB]

Spectacular!

 

[d.2.the.p]

3/29
Happy Westy Wednesday to you all! In case you were deeply concerned that I stupidly blew my Westinghouse wad yesterday on a Tuesday, fret not! I saved a good one for today - a small Dino by Ricardo Romano. This beauty comes decked out in vintage ivory Westinghouse micarta covers over white liners with a micarta shield. Topped off with a super slicey hand rubbed CPM-154 blade, this thing can cut and looks amazing while doing it.

 

[d.2.the.p]

3/30
I had this little guy in the pocket today - a GEC 68 White Owl in cowhide jigged bone covers and polished 1095 blades. The 68 is a favorite of mine with its small 3 1/2” closed length, slim profile, lack of half stop, pinched & fluted bolsters, and relatively lengthy clip main blade they managed to cram in there. I was happy to see them do another run in 2021 since it had been quite some time since the last one.

 

[d.2.the.p]

3/31
Happy Fiddleback Forge Fixed Blade Friday, my friends! Today’s entry is this sexy little beast - a Fiddleback Forge Runt in vintage white and red paper micarta with natural micarta liners and pins with a 5/32” stock Magnacut blade with a skeletonized full tang. While the stock thickness is a bit stouter than I usually prefer, like all FF knives, it is ground deliciously thin and slices quite well. I have been very happy to see Mr. Roy using more stainless steels such as Nitro-V and Magnacut. This little guy has some heft and some junk in the trunk for such a small knife, but it is wonderful in-hand and is extremely easy on the eyes.

 

[d.2.the.p]

4/1
Happy April Fools’ day, folks. My original plan was to post a silly picture with my daughter’s plastic toy SAK, but I wasn’t able to dig it up, so you fine folks are stuck with a real knife on this day of days.

That said, the Nemesis Knives Imp is the smallest folder in my collection. With a closed length of 2.8” and an OAL of 5” even, this little guy is ready to roll wherever you are. With its kingwood scales, full length wooden backspacer, anodized titanium liners, and razor sharp VG-10 blade, it is a wonderfully useful little thing and looks great in the process.

 

[dman62]

1/3
GEC 99 Wall Street with a polished 440C blade and bolsters and American Elk covers. The 99 is my favorite model from GEC. It is the perfect size, and I love the straight lines of the handle couple with the big thinly ground wharncliffe blade.
View attachment 2034065View attachment 2034066

Those scales are a lot better than mine!

 

[d.2.the.p]

4/2
Today’s installment of Sebenza Sunday brought out this oldie but goldie. Sporting bocote inlays and a Devin Thomas raindrop damascus blade, this is my oldest Sebenza, age-wise. Born in 2012, you can see it has the old thumb stud with a flat lock side surface. Many CRK fans prefer DT’s raindrop due to the distinct pattern as well as a higher HRc which presumably means better edge retention. I personally don’t care about any of that and like both versions since they both look amazing and cut stuff.

 

[d.2.the.p]

4/3
For this Micarta Monday, I have this small trapper from Bret Dowell with me. At 3 5/8” closed with a hand rubbed satin CPM-154 blade and vintage linen micarta covers, it doesn’t get much better than this in terms of a small simple EDC that does what you need when you need it.

 

[d.2.the.p]

4/4
Happy TK Tuesday! I have with me a Tom Krein TK-1 today, and this one is really something special. Rocking a deep etched stainless ladder damascus blade and koa handle scales over black liners, it doesn’t get much sexier than this. To me, Mr. Krein’s TK-1 is the gold standard for small EDC fixed blades.

 

[d.2.the.p]

4/5
Happy Wharncliffe Wednesday, knaf frens! Here we have the last of the trifecta from GEC’s 2018 run of the 99 Wall Street, this one sporting Burnt Orange Springfield Bone covers. As I said somewhere else in this thread, these are hands down my favorite GECs ever produced. The full sized stainless 440c wharnie blade is super useful and super classy and makes for a marvelous choice for EDC.

 

[d.2.the.p]

4/6
It just felt like a Sebenza kind of day today. This small 21 comes decked out in Devin Thomas stainless ladder damascus with some impeccable striped platan inlays. Not much to say other than dayum, she fine.

 

[d.2.the.p]

4/7
Here’s to another Fiddleback Forge Fixed Blade Friday. Today’s entry is a Petit Oiseau with a 7/64” Nitro-V blade and skeletonized full tang and curly walnut scales over natural pins & liners with lime green pin stripes. This design is compact but super handy for all your EDC tasks. It has just enough blade to handle most things you could throw at it.

 

[d.2.the.p]

4/8
It was a long week for me, and since the weather decided to go back to being cold and cloudy, it is a soft pants kind of morning. Today’s companion is the GEC 13 Whip in rust red jigged bone with a satin 1095 blade. Speaking of blade, they managed to jam a TON of it into this thing. For such a compact knife, there is loads of utility to be found in the full sized wharncliffe blade. My only complaint is the extremely light pull - maybe a 2-3 out of 10. While I tend to prefer a stronger pull and snappier action, it doesn’t detract from how classy and handy this little guy is.