EDC XIII Which knife or knives are you carrying today?

Little pissed at myself right now. My family and I are in New England for a long weekend, smack dab in the middle of autumn and about to head out to one of the most beautiful wedding venues in CT. I’m always bitching about not having any great scenic backdrops for knife pics, and what’d I go and do?

Yeah, of course….I opted not to bring a frikkin’ knife. Had two picked out for the trip, but I panicked at the last minute because I’ve had my share of items go missing from checked bags over the years. It was one of those “put ‘em in, pull ‘em out…put ‘em in, pull ‘em out” pack jobs that ended with “pull ‘em out”.

Also a bit surprised at just how naked I now feel without a blade in my pocket. Honestly didn’t think it would be an issue. Apparently it is. Didn’t see that one coming.

Anyway, apologies for the wall-o-text. Just thought I’d share my thoughts, you know…since I can’t share any frikkin’ pics.
 
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yoko said:
You sir are making want one more and more lol

Is it similar in size to a spyderco military?
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OK, here ya go, my friend, as I know you're very fond of the Military.

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I lined these up against a couple deck boards for comparison's sake. As you can see there's just the slightest blade length advantage to the Millie, though the Tolk actually has more usable cutting edge, the greater belly of the Spydie notwithstanding (and probably not adding much to that length anyway). Overall they look pretty close, though this second pic shows how very much larger the Military's handle is. The Southard takes up way less room in pocket and is set up for tip-up carry (my preference) though I've always been comfortable with and understand the Millie's tip-down only configuration.

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A few thoughts on the comparison then, both for size and otherwise...

I've never been a great proponent of close blade-to-handle ratios as my old, arthritic hands yearn for plenty of grip length (as well as shape) to hang onto. That said, there's also the concept of usable grip length to consider, and, while the Millie is certainly a favorite of mine in hand--I currently have three (knives, not hands)--there's nothing beyond the point where its handle turns downward toward the butt that's of any advantage other than being a stop for one's pinky.

On the other hand (actually the same hand) the Millie has a great forward grip in the typical Spyderco choke-up position with its generous index finger choil and one's thumb locked up against the elevated jimping. The Tolk is much more comfortable than the Millie in the rear grip position with the lock release even with the showside finger choil, though the blade jimping in that position is a bit of a stretch. The sharpening choil on the Tolk's blade is definitely too small to be a forward index finger choil, but the knife does have a nice pinch grip forward position with middle finger in the handle choil, thumb on the pivot, and index finger on the blade spine where it drops forward of the jimping.

The Tolk's blade is definitely more TBE than the Military's both by my forefinger/thumb gauge and comparing them with the sized fixed gaps on my Shiro hedgehog tool. Though they're both flat grinds, the Tolk somehow oddly presents as a shallow or large radius hollow. Blade stock seems close in thickness by eye, with the Spydie a distal grind and the Southard not tapering 'til the blade spine drops well toward the tip. I've not substantiated this, but my feeling is the Millie's the better slicer and Tolk the better cutter.

The two knives do provide some similarities as well as differences both obvious and less so. I like them both for what they have in common as well as for what they offer in their own ways.
 
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Zeroedin said:
Little pissed at myself right now. My family and I are in New England for a long weekend, smack dab in the middle of autumn and about to head out to one of the most beautiful wedding venues in CT. I’m always bitching about not having any great scenic backdrops for knife pics, and what’d I go and do?

Yeah, of course….I opted not to bring a frikkin’ knife. Had two picked out for the trip, but I panicked at the last minute because I’ve had my share of items go missing from checked bags over the years. It was one of those “put ‘em in, pull ‘em out…put ‘em in, pull ‘em out” pack jobs that ended with “pull ‘em out”.

Also a bit surprised at just how naked I now feel without a blade in my pocket. Honestly didn’t think it would be an issue. Apparently it is. Didn’t see that one coming.

Anyway, apologies for the wall-o-text. Just thought I’d share my thoughts, you know…since I can’t share any frikkin’ pics.
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PM me your login info. I’ll get some pics up for you. 😀
 
Zeroedin said:
Little pissed at myself right now. My family and I are in New England for a long weekend, smack dab in the middle of autumn and about to head out to one of the most beautiful wedding venues in CT. I’m always bitching about not having any great scenic backdrops for knife pics, and what’d I go and do?

Yeah, of course….I opted not to bring a frikkin’ knife. Had two picked out for the trip, but I panicked at the last minute because I’ve had my share of items go missing from checked bags over the years. It was one of those “put ‘em in, pull ‘em out…put ‘em in, pull ‘em out” pack jobs that ended with “pull ‘em out”.

Also a bit surprised at just how naked I now feel without a blade in my pocket. Honestly didn’t think it would be an issue. Apparently it is. Didn’t see that one coming.

Anyway, apologies for the wall-o-text. Just thought I’d share my thoughts, you know…since I can’t share any frikkin’ pics.
Click to expand...

I always put them in my socks, no one wants to go through my dirty socks, Luggage has always made it ok.
 
Zeroedin said:
Little pissed at myself right now. My family and I are in New England for a long weekend, smack dab in the middle of autumn and about to head out to one of the most beautiful wedding venues in CT. I’m always bitching about not having any great scenic backdrops for knife pics, and what’d I go and do?

Yeah, of course….I opted not to bring a frikkin’ knife. Had two picked out for the trip, but I panicked at the last minute because I’ve had my share of items go missing from checked bags over the years. It was one of those “put ‘em in, pull ‘em out…put ‘em in, pull ‘em out” pack jobs that ended with “pull ‘em out”.

Also a bit surprised at just how naked I now feel without a blade in my pocket. Honestly didn’t think it would be an issue. Apparently it is. Didn’t see that one coming.

Anyway, apologies for the wall-o-text. Just thought I’d share my thoughts, you know…since I can’t share any frikkin’ pics.
Click to expand...
I know how you feel about having stuff stolen from checked bags and I've gone through the same sort of feelings/fears with air travel. You should find yourself a couple not-too-expensive, easily-replaceable knives to put in your checked bag. The other thing you can do is put your knife/knives in your checked bag toilet kit along with other metallic objects. I've not had any issues with anything purloined when checking bags on planes, ships, or trains, though I certainly do think about it.

Edit: What Yo Mama said--I put 'em in socks in my shoes too.
 
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