tirantedit
Is the Spyderco round file (130x6mm afaik) actually as fine as the Sharpmaker rod 204F , or could you tell an ever slight difference in fineness or performance?
I have 204F and 204UF, and i should use them more often, but I'm wondering if the 400FR would be an improvement to my system
Summary:
Two words best describe what makes this knife special and superior to "all" other EDC knives: #likable, and #realedc.
My decade-long search for the imho best EDC knife, let alone an EDC-able utility knife, has come to an end here. For EDC, I have always preferred and wanted a small, compact folder, so the viral hit of the CRKT Pilar led me to buy both SPYDERCO Techno versions, several FOX Suru versions, the The Utilizer 2.0 and the GIANTMOUSE ACE Riv, all premium titanium minifolders designed to be carried every day. However, none of them managed to stay in my pants pocket for longer than the initial love and test phase of a few weeks: they were light and short enough, but still too bulky and or wide for my liking. Their form factor per se was beautiful and likable, but not likable enough for true EDC, i.e. 365/24/7 carry (except for sleep hours). Well, this one is, and take it from someone who is the most critical and finicky shopper among us private end consumers! I carry the Tirant Razor V3 all the time, even when I'm not allowed to (legal concerns re national knife carrying laws/restrictions) or when I'm sure I won't use it, because I enjoy having a premium feel titanium knife on me and its slim form factor makes it disappear in my pocket; most of the time I'd really forget its presence, clipped unnoticed close to my hip. Btw, there's a popular competitive(?) WORKPRO utility knife that might invite comparison, but for my reasons you'd never see a preference for carrying it outside of work hours, so that piece wouldn't even qualify for #realedc. As I also appreciate/use/carry a high quality steel ruler, the availability of a STARRETT-based titanium ruler scale was not only the tipping point but an absolute killer feature for me: now I can leave my super expensive STARRETT steel rule in a safe place at home, never misplace or lose it again, and enjoy using my #realedc knife even more! I am so thankful that the company has improved the product after it was released 3.0 years ago and refined it to truly be the best EDC utility knife, if not the best EDC knife. And the initial cost? Very few on Amazon even mention the price. Sweetness of great quality lingers long after bitterness about high price is forgotten.
advantage of textured scales: scratch-resistant, you cannot make out scratches at the peak lines.
Modding suggestions (as done by me):
Mod#1. the titanium lock bar has three grooves (two ridges) and their edges can grab the fabric of your pants when you clip/unclip the knife; this is a common issue with all frame-lock knives which bear those cut-outs on the outside, which most frame-lock knives interestingly do. To eliminate this issue, i filled hotglue into the three grooves and … erh done! The hotglue looks transparent and, if you gave the knife to a friend, he wouldn't even think twice if there was any hotglue or if it wasn't original by the factory: the hotglue looks totally inconspicuous! On the one hand the hotglue adheres very well to the smooth titanium (better than other glues, pattex, or tape), on the other hand it can(!) be removed effortlessly with a single slow rip-off movement, residue-free. Being an effortlessly reversible mod is an important property because after 2.0months of 24/7 wear'n tear in your warm pockets, it comes the time when one of the three fillers will have popped out and you'd want to renew the mod from scratch. Happened to me. No big deal, so you renew the mod, a matter of minutes, with no frustration. I totally recommend this simple mod and absolutely accept the recycling period of 2 months. If your hotglue mod doesn't hold up for as many hours of pocket-time (2.0×4.333×7×24h) AND you get annoyed by the renewing frequency, then feel free to test other filler substances such as silicone mass, epoxy glue, waxxx, etc.; they might hold up for a longer period but also be messier to work with and unrealistic to reverse/renew, which is why i would not go down that road. I really appreciate the advantages of my hotglue, so I accept the 2 months period of renewal ymmv.
Mod#2. I used a generic marker (Sharpie, Edding, etc; a Staedtler whiteboard marker Lumocolor to be exact) to paint the MM-ruler graduations, then used tape to clean up the uber-painted graduations, and finally applied a clean layer of see-through tape to complete the mod. The tape serves three purposes: to protect the marker's paint (in the graduations) from getting rubbed off, to protect the titanium ruler finish from getting scratched up, and maybe to improve the grip of the smooth titanium finish. I've been testing 3M Scotch Magic Tape 810, which is semi-transparent with a matt finish, and some no-name budget tape (similar to Tesa film) which is clear with a reflective finish. I'd renew the budget tape after 2 months because the very tape edges curl up minimally after so many hours of pocket-time, and it'd be the start of delamination, even though the tape adhesive has become even more sticky (gooey) by then. Again, the tape is hard to make out and not a disturbing factor, and therefore a must-have on my unit ymmv.
Mod#3. The third and final mod, and optional. The internal application of tape in the blade holder. I placed a tiny stripe of T-REX duct tape where the blade edge would sit (it doesn't lit. ride) in the assembled blade holder. This stripe of tape fulfills two purposes: to protect the blade edge from touching any titanium or steel, and to reduce the blade play in the blade holder to virtually zero in any direction. While it is very possible to exchange and switch the blade with the tape installed and the blade holder (plate) assembled —it's a tighter fit now—, the blade edge still gets damaged accidentally during your efforts of inserting or extracting it, even though there's a layer of duct tape in place (namely at the corner of the holder). So, personally, I don't really mind opening the blade holder (2 screws SHEK torx T7, 1 steel plate) and inserting/switching the blade carefully; this way i really get two full(!) uses out of my one razor blade. Isn't the disassembling of the blade holder a hassle? Well, if i were in a hurry, didn't have tools on me but a bunch of replacement blades, then i'd simply extract and insert a new blade the normal way and wouldn't bother about wasting half of the old blade. Otherwise, for EDC purposes with the emphasis on "carry", no it's not a hassle imho. Nothing which I feel bothered about. It's an optional reversible one-time-mod, i do the disassembly regularly like that, appreciate the advantages, and it's imho an acceptable workaround for killing two birds with one stone: eliminating blade play within the holder (if you cared), and getting two 100% full uses of one razor. As you recall, these two bullet points were mentioned under neutral's or con's, depending on your view.
Is the Spyderco round file (130x6mm afaik) actually as fine as the Sharpmaker rod 204F , or could you tell an ever slight difference in fineness or performance?
I have 204F and 204UF, and i should use them more often, but I'm wondering if the 400FR would be an improvement to my system
Summary:
Two words best describe what makes this knife special and superior to "all" other EDC knives: #likable, and #realedc.
My decade-long search for the imho best EDC knife, let alone an EDC-able utility knife, has come to an end here. For EDC, I have always preferred and wanted a small, compact folder, so the viral hit of the CRKT Pilar led me to buy both SPYDERCO Techno versions, several FOX Suru versions, the The Utilizer 2.0 and the GIANTMOUSE ACE Riv, all premium titanium minifolders designed to be carried every day. However, none of them managed to stay in my pants pocket for longer than the initial love and test phase of a few weeks: they were light and short enough, but still too bulky and or wide for my liking. Their form factor per se was beautiful and likable, but not likable enough for true EDC, i.e. 365/24/7 carry (except for sleep hours). Well, this one is, and take it from someone who is the most critical and finicky shopper among us private end consumers! I carry the Tirant Razor V3 all the time, even when I'm not allowed to (legal concerns re national knife carrying laws/restrictions) or when I'm sure I won't use it, because I enjoy having a premium feel titanium knife on me and its slim form factor makes it disappear in my pocket; most of the time I'd really forget its presence, clipped unnoticed close to my hip. Btw, there's a popular competitive(?) WORKPRO utility knife that might invite comparison, but for my reasons you'd never see a preference for carrying it outside of work hours, so that piece wouldn't even qualify for #realedc. As I also appreciate/use/carry a high quality steel ruler, the availability of a STARRETT-based titanium ruler scale was not only the tipping point but an absolute killer feature for me: now I can leave my super expensive STARRETT steel rule in a safe place at home, never misplace or lose it again, and enjoy using my #realedc knife even more! I am so thankful that the company has improved the product after it was released 3.0 years ago and refined it to truly be the best EDC utility knife, if not the best EDC knife. And the initial cost? Very few on Amazon even mention the price. Sweetness of great quality lingers long after bitterness about high price is forgotten.
advantage of textured scales: scratch-resistant, you cannot make out scratches at the peak lines.
Modding suggestions (as done by me):
Mod#1. the titanium lock bar has three grooves (two ridges) and their edges can grab the fabric of your pants when you clip/unclip the knife; this is a common issue with all frame-lock knives which bear those cut-outs on the outside, which most frame-lock knives interestingly do. To eliminate this issue, i filled hotglue into the three grooves and … erh done! The hotglue looks transparent and, if you gave the knife to a friend, he wouldn't even think twice if there was any hotglue or if it wasn't original by the factory: the hotglue looks totally inconspicuous! On the one hand the hotglue adheres very well to the smooth titanium (better than other glues, pattex, or tape), on the other hand it can(!) be removed effortlessly with a single slow rip-off movement, residue-free. Being an effortlessly reversible mod is an important property because after 2.0months of 24/7 wear'n tear in your warm pockets, it comes the time when one of the three fillers will have popped out and you'd want to renew the mod from scratch. Happened to me. No big deal, so you renew the mod, a matter of minutes, with no frustration. I totally recommend this simple mod and absolutely accept the recycling period of 2 months. If your hotglue mod doesn't hold up for as many hours of pocket-time (2.0×4.333×7×24h) AND you get annoyed by the renewing frequency, then feel free to test other filler substances such as silicone mass, epoxy glue, waxxx, etc.; they might hold up for a longer period but also be messier to work with and unrealistic to reverse/renew, which is why i would not go down that road. I really appreciate the advantages of my hotglue, so I accept the 2 months period of renewal ymmv.
Mod#2. I used a generic marker (Sharpie, Edding, etc; a Staedtler whiteboard marker Lumocolor to be exact) to paint the MM-ruler graduations, then used tape to clean up the uber-painted graduations, and finally applied a clean layer of see-through tape to complete the mod. The tape serves three purposes: to protect the marker's paint (in the graduations) from getting rubbed off, to protect the titanium ruler finish from getting scratched up, and maybe to improve the grip of the smooth titanium finish. I've been testing 3M Scotch Magic Tape 810, which is semi-transparent with a matt finish, and some no-name budget tape (similar to Tesa film) which is clear with a reflective finish. I'd renew the budget tape after 2 months because the very tape edges curl up minimally after so many hours of pocket-time, and it'd be the start of delamination, even though the tape adhesive has become even more sticky (gooey) by then. Again, the tape is hard to make out and not a disturbing factor, and therefore a must-have on my unit ymmv.
Mod#3. The third and final mod, and optional. The internal application of tape in the blade holder. I placed a tiny stripe of T-REX duct tape where the blade edge would sit (it doesn't lit. ride) in the assembled blade holder. This stripe of tape fulfills two purposes: to protect the blade edge from touching any titanium or steel, and to reduce the blade play in the blade holder to virtually zero in any direction. While it is very possible to exchange and switch the blade with the tape installed and the blade holder (plate) assembled —it's a tighter fit now—, the blade edge still gets damaged accidentally during your efforts of inserting or extracting it, even though there's a layer of duct tape in place (namely at the corner of the holder). So, personally, I don't really mind opening the blade holder (2 screws SHEK torx T7, 1 steel plate) and inserting/switching the blade carefully; this way i really get two full(!) uses out of my one razor blade. Isn't the disassembling of the blade holder a hassle? Well, if i were in a hurry, didn't have tools on me but a bunch of replacement blades, then i'd simply extract and insert a new blade the normal way and wouldn't bother about wasting half of the old blade. Otherwise, for EDC purposes with the emphasis on "carry", no it's not a hassle imho. Nothing which I feel bothered about. It's an optional reversible one-time-mod, i do the disassembly regularly like that, appreciate the advantages, and it's imho an acceptable workaround for killing two birds with one stone: eliminating blade play within the holder (if you cared), and getting two 100% full uses of one razor. As you recall, these two bullet points were mentioned under neutral's or con's, depending on your view.
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