Caswell EDC folder

[STR]

My friend Joe Caswell and I have been talking a lot lately. We met a while back here on the forums and one of the reasons I contacted him of course was because of the article in Tactical knives covering his wonderul little folder the EDC which is has a neat pocket clip invention incorporated into it which Joe came up with. After congratulating him on the article being published we got to know each other a little and in the end I ended up snagging one of the EDC folders for myself. I kind of knew already that he had a lot of the same ideals in what the most useful handle shape was as well as a few other things since I saw similarity in the way we each separately designed and built our own folders.

This is a liner lock the way they should be made folks! .080 thickness titanium liners, and no lock cuts to spring the lock! EDIT: I just removed the lock side scale for the first time to check out the inside of my EDC. Turns out there are 'unconventional' lock recesses milled into the lock side at the end of the long cut for the lock but they are nothing typical of what you see in most thicker frame locks or liner lock folders. The visible portion is left untouched. There are two milled out circular spots to different depths on the outside of the ti lock side at the end of the lock long cut which would be covered up by the scale. It would be more accurate to say there are no 'visible' lock cuts on the .080 lock the way Joe does this one. I am not sure how deep the deepest end mill goes but the higher milled out spot goes down deeper and the one below it goes down just about half the depth of the first one with the visible end full thickness up to about 1/8" or so plus or minus. Just thought I'd better correct that statement. I bought mine just like the one I saw in the centerfold in the Sept. 08 article from Tac knives. I loved the look of the handle scales in that article and now that I have one of my own I love them even more! This is flat out without a doubt the best texturing of anything I have ever handled on a folding knife! I like it so much that it alone makes putting the folder down something that I have not been able to do since buying it. I must say though, I also love the blade Joe did here in damasteel. The stainless damascus is a great idea anyway, but with the Bos heat treating I'm sure it steps it up a notch.

I have not really used mine much to speak about edge keeping but I am sure its a great blade with the experienced hand that created it and the science master that heat treated it.

Here are some shots all around for you guys that have not seen this. I can't say that I have taken to the clip completely just yet but its for sure a great idea. I do like it a lot and the clip is certainly tolerable for me. Its just different is all but once you get used to it I think its about like anything else. It grows on you.

Joe, great folder man. I gotta hand it to ya. You knocked one out of the park with this baby!

My example of Joes fine work weighs in at 4.2 ounces, has a 4.5" closed length and a 3.25" blade. Overall the folder is flawless through and through. I cannot say enough good about these textured micarta scales. Just simply the best I've ever handled. I'd love to have lots of it in multi colors and both in Micarta and G10 in my shop as something I could offer my own customers and use for myself.


STR

 

[STR]

Here are a couple other shots for you of the pocket clip and how that functions best I can zero in on it.

STR

 

[2brothers]

That is a WOW knife. So, the clip is incorporated into the spine.
The ribbed section on the end, is that what you push to protrude the clip out?
That just looks really good. The damasteel is looks great sitting in there.

Thanks for sharing this sir.

mike

 

[STR]

Yes. Joe's design has the rear 'spacer' or stand off set up to work on a bearing sort of like a detent ball type latch that allows the user to pop it out and clip it conveniently causing two right angles to bend the pocket. It holds quite well this way. Personally it takes some getting used to and I have noticed on my snug fitting jeans that they feel a bit more snug carrying this folder and its a bit difficult for to get my basketball palming hands in my pocket without having to take the knife off my pocket to dig deeper but in the clip's defense my hands are big and I have to work them in with nothing on my pocket at all.

The real advantage is not so much the way the clip works in use on the pocket to secure the knife. The real advantage is the way it pops back in one handed after the folder is out and the blade is opened and you can use the knife as if it were one set up that didn't have a clip on it at all. I have always prided myself in making as invisible a clip as you can make on a folder but this this clip gives new meaning to invisible in the hand. Its gone in use and not even an issue at all.

STR

 

[Broos]

Nice review - I love mine!

 

[Keith_H]

Nice folder! The texturing (to me) looks like a potato sack, in a good way, I like it. How does the lock bend with no cuts?

 

[Steven Penner]

Besides the Damasteel, what other steel options are available?

 

[STR]

You can bend titanium up to about .090 thickness without the need to cut into it. Buck did this on the 880 and 881 series of Buck/Strider folders but the locks are slightly thinner than this stock. You won't fold over the titanium or anything when this thick but if you heat it up a bit you can make it bend and its still thin enough to be easy to work in a lock. The length you make the lock's 'long cut' to mill it out plays into this also with the idea that the longer the lock the easier it will be to move side to side vs shorter would get stouter and stouter depending on the length of the lockbar. Hope that makes sense. Joe has engineered and designed it so well that the length of the lock cut allows the lock to be manipulated quite easily to release the blade and close it.


STR

 

[STR]

Joe told me he is going to be offering S30V soon.

STR

 

[flipe8]

I've been thinking of one of them for a bit now. Without putting you on the spot tooooo much, would you say the liner is as strong as the framelock on a sm Seb? I would think yes as there isn't any cut-out? Maybe I'm oversimplifying?

 

[STR]

Oh its certainly strong thats a given. .080 thickness titanium is no slouch in this application. The real diff is the liner lock frame lock build. You have the added reliability on the frame lock since your hand is there to block lock travel under heavy loads but in a free weight test of this lock vs one cut down thin to make the bends I'd give the edge to this one yes. Joe's pivot is a 3/16" diameter and his stop is a solid pin which makes that part of the system quite strong and when you add the Micarta scales on top screwed down in three places on each side this adds even more rigidity to the folder on top of that which is already there from the liners. The folder is long enough to accomadate any hand really but still short enough to not allow easy flexing or twisting of the handle body in use like you can see evident in thinner bodied thinner lined longer folders allowing even more leverage on the handle than this one does.

Joe is not promoting this as a super strong hard use folder like others out there that do with folders that pale in comparison to this one because they are promoted as something they are not when they are medium to light medium duty folders at best dressed up like tactical hard use knives. (sheep in wolf's clothes in other words). This is smart on Joe's part but its also realistic to some extent. However, I have no doubt after using the knife these last few days that it is certainly more capable of harder uses than a lot of the other knives I've bought that were sold as such. Strength is not going to be an issue with the EDC my friend.

STR

 

[alejandrino]

My friend, you make me feel bad (LOL)not buying on of these folders when they were not as expensive as now. I remember he was offering a few at one time and although they sold out, it took a few days.Well, just my luck!

 

[STR]

I understand and relate to that feeling. Been there done that myself on others.

I like the design. I saw so much in it that I liked and so many similar ideals put into it as my own folder that I decided on the spot I wanted one. Took me a while to act after that but I got around to doing it.

The Martin Bros. make one that struck me as similar to mine and Joe's folders also. http://www.martinknives.com/FOLDERS.html

I read somewhere that the Martins are not offering the folder any longer though. Mine did not work out too well from Martin; as I did order and recieve one but thats a story not for this thread.

STR

 

[audiopile]

Finally got to see and briefly handle on of these at the Badger knife show. Couldn't agree with you more - one of the most striking things about this folder is the really thick liner - hadn't noticed no relief cut - that is impressive! Have you looked at any of David Mosier's newer folders? These also have monster thick liner locks.
One suggestion and a question?
Steve - try borrowing the wife's seam ripper and pull the stitching out of the bottom back two inches of your jeans watch pocket. This creates something pretty close to a sheath you wear and will swallow pretty big knives very securely - yet only only a relatively small part of the handle sticks above the pocket edge.Currently I'm carrying a CQC-14 this way and it is both discrete , handy and it keeps the knife out of your way when you need to snag something out of your pocket.Wonder how the EDC would work in this kind of carry mode?
Question is this : How easy is the knife to un-latch while wearing light gloves?

 

[STR]

It flicks right open if you can't catch the thumb stud. Nice smooth as butter action too. The EDC fits right in my watch pockets without having to cut out the bottom at all. Course I've got OshKosh bib overalls on though. When they were discontinuing the adult clothing line I bought up a bunch of these brand new overalls at the tractor store and stockpiled em in my closet. Still have several new never worn pairs in stripes and solids with the original labels on them still crisp never washed. I wear em out and then move to my new ones. So far I haven't grown bigger than what I bought. I should be good for another 40 years for jeans unless I gain too much weight and can't get at least the lower button tied. Theys my fave so I need to stay fit to fit in them.

STR