Cold Steel Twistmaster Knife

I recently bought this knife, as it was being closed out by Cold Steel. It is a modern version of the classic Opinel wooden handled pocket knife. The Cold Steel version has a Carbon-V blade and a Zytel handle. Like the Opinel, the handle is roughly circular in cross section and the lock is a curved piece of steel that rotates at the end of the handle to lock the blade in place. I have the drop point version with a a 4.75 inch long blade. The lock isn't as robust as a modern lock, but it is quite simple. It is vastly superior to my Opinel knives.

Cold Steel Medium Voyager Knife

A pocket folding knife. Mine has a plastic clip that is molded into the body. Under heavy abuse, these can break, so now the knives are sold with stainless steel pocket clips. It has a reversable thumb stud to open the blade. It has a 3 7/8 inch blade in VG-1 stainless steel. The blade is half serrated in the cold steel serration pattern. The handle is made out of Zytel. The lock is quite robust. I have the Clip Point as well as the Tanto Point knives. I think the tanto point is a superior shape for blades. The blade serrations are scalloped on one edge of the blade, and the other edge is smooth. Cold Steel sells a diamond sharpener with their serration pattern, but if you don't have one, you can sharpen the smooth side of the blade. The blade is very tough and stays sharp a long time, so this has to be done only rarely.

Columbia River Knive and Tool Kiss 5500 Spectra

The CRKT Spectra K.I.S.S. (keep it super simple) knife is a folding knife. It has a 2.25 inch chisel ground part serrated tanto blade. The knife and body is made from 420J2 high carbon stainless steel with a corrosion resistant mirror polished Spectral Titanium Nitride coating that appears in a rainbow of colors depending on how the light is hitting it. All detail hardware, including thumb stud, blade stop screw, pivot screw and pocket clip are plated with 24-karat gold. It has a very large money clip on one side of the body. The blade is Chisel-Point grind on the front and flat on the backside so that when the blade is closed onto its handle/frame, the precision fit effectively "seals" the cutting edge to the frame, even though it's exposed.

I bought this knive because someone was upset at my Cold Steel Voyager knive (its black), and this one was very pretty.

Gerber Multi-Plier

I have the original Multi-Pliers. It will open with one hand, unlike any other pocket tool. The pliers are quite robust. The knife blade is very odd, because the shape is a straight taper to a point. This makes the blade weak, compared to a clip point or tanto point design. The pliers tend to pinch your palm. Overall, the tool has had no problems, though the black finish is showing some wear after more than 15 years.

Leatherman Micra

Perhaps the smallest of the multi-tools. This has a great sissor. It is a masterpiece of mechanical engineering. When I first saw one, I played with it for hours, opening and closing it, and marvelling at its design. The tweezers are pretty small, and almost useless. It is part of my everyday carry gear.

Leatherman Charge TTi

A very modern tool. It has nice thick, lightweight titanium handles. It has 4 blades accessible from the tool while closed, each of which has a locking mechanism. The needlenose pilers have a crimper, which makes the plier tip very thin in that area. I bought the tool at a used sale, and the tip of the plier broke at the crimper point. I sent it back to Leatherman, and they said they will repair it, as it is covered by their warranty. It is much more comfortable to use than the original Leatherman PST.

Leatherman PST

This is the tool that started the multi-tool crazs. It is very robust, and all stainless steel. The handles are made of folded steel, and when you use the pliers, the edges of the handle dig into your hand. If you wear gloves, it isn't a big deal. It's mechanical design is superb. The knife blade is a conventional clip point, and the end of mine broke off. I should send it in someday...

SOG Pocket Power Plier

I have an old Power Pliers. It has the geared pliers which are very nice. Mine has more tools inside than the current ones. I have had no problems.

Victorinox SwissTool

I have an old SwissTool. I think it is the heaviest tool I have. It is quite robustly made. I have had no problems.

If you have comments or suggestions, Email me at turbo-www@weasel.com

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