Spyderco Atlantic Salt, what's the deal?

I purchased my first H1 knife a few years back, it was a serrated Dragonfly 2 and it was a great knife. I since then gifted that one to my brother in-law and bought a plain edge Dragonfly 2 in H1. After another year and a half I started eyeing the Atlantic Salt but I wanted that straight razor edge and all I saw were the serrated but at last finally saw the discontinued plain edge on eBay for the same price as the serrated and without hesitation pulled the trigger.

BLAM. One week later, straight from Poland came the plain edge Atlantic Salt. It has grippy 'Volcano Grip' FRN scales which I think I like more than the bi-directional FRN on the other Japanese made Spyderco knives. The construction was tight enough but easy enough to flick open and close the blade. It is riveted pin construction so taking apart the knife is impossible which I don't like as I can't order custom scales although I may end up ripping it apart anyway and making new pivots for the blade and lock.

H1 steel is very soft. It sharpens with very little effort. Also it is completely rust proof. The hardware used to assemble the salt series is also coated to help reduce the chances of corrosion as well. I can totally see how amazing the serrated version would be for divers or nautical uses. As a matter of fact the next version I get will be the serrated as the plain edge although razor sharp, loses that edge rather quickly in comparison to other steels I'm familiar with. Not saying it's a bad steel, it will still do what you need it to while you need it but I suggest the serrated as it seems to last much longer as I've experienced with my Dragonfly 2s. H1 is one of my favorite steels just for the fact it is razor, hair popping sharp in a minute and they're not too bad to look at.

The knife is rather large but very light in the hand, fitting great bare hand or with glove. I decided to add an anchor shackle through the barrel screw as a way to easily attach a lanyard I've made with a bobber when fishing just in case.

I've also tried it out in similar fashion to the Spyderco Assist. If it was serrated it would cut rope against the handle easier but I was able to cut through paracord simply with the plain edge closing against the handle. I've also ordered a glass breaker tip and pre drilled a hole for it in the butt of the handle. This is turning into a rescue EDC knife more everyday.

Should you pick one up? If you're looking for something different, yes. Odds are you'll only find the serrated which I may pick up one of in the long run anyway. It makes for a killer water knife with real grippy scales and rust proof steel. Worth it for a tackle box knife at the very least. Again the sheepsfoot blade isn't for everyone either so another alternative is the Pacific Salt or Salt 1.

CRKT 4030 Folding Razel, beast mode.

I wanted a hard use bash 'em up knife for a while, nothing too expensive and great functionality. I came to the awesome Graham design Razel from CRKT. It's been discontinued for a few years now but scored one on eBay for under $35. This thing looks amazing. I'm not a CRKT design fan but the Razel won me over. It's a chisel, it's a razor, boom.

I've been scraping asphalt off of steel with it for weeks now and it's just a beast, it truly fits in the tool category for knives.

It has a chisel tip and a slight belly cutting bottom edge. I tend to like the straight or slightly curved belly knives as of late. Hollow ground on both edges for superior cutting power! The chisel tip I've let dull as I use it for scraping but the cutting edge is fantastic. 8Cr13MoV steel makes for a ln easy razor sharp affair. A few passes on the sharpmaker and it's good to go for the next day.

The construction for a China made knife is outstanding. Far superior (and cheaper) than the Spyderco Tenacious. For and finish with great weight. The only thing, they are nice to look at are the micarta scales as there isnt much grip to them. If you look at the pictures you'll see where I carved the scales a bit to provide grip for scraping and chiseling tasks.

It also has a manual LAWKS system, a CRKT method of keeping liner locks locked up! It slides behind the liner lock when engaged and prevents the liner lock from being closed.

It came with a great low ride tip down carry which isn't my flavor so I installed the butt clip for an ultra deep carry tip up. This knife is big and beefy but disappears when slid into the pocket. I did find with the smooth micarta scales it was hard to take the knife from the pocket quickly so I put a pull lanyard on it. Works great now.

This is a cheap knife but actually found its way into my everyday carry. If you can get one, do it as soon as you can.

Casio G-Shock GW9400, a total package.

Within the last year I went G-Shock nuts to G-Shock none and back again with the recent purchase of a modified GW9400 from eBay. The reason I bought a mod? I wanted the olive drab green, I love it, the military colors look great on these watches but I HATE the negative display. It's not calling me fat or telling me I'm stupid, I just HATE the black background with white numbers. It takes that extra .4 seconds to read the display if you're not in great light where the standard display seems so easy for me in almost all lighting conditions.

So the guy got the modules swapped and I'm reaping the rewards.

After a week of wearing it I really found out how bad I hated the G-Shock metal strap keeper. I bent it off and tossed it in the tin and replaced it with a Kijiji find of a GW7900's black resin keeper and it works great and I don't even feel it.

I do wear my watches 24/7 so comfort is king. I found even the case back had good leverage to keep it from sticking or getting annoying against my skin.

I got the version without the carbon fiber reinforced band and I find it's more comfortable than a standard G-Shock. I don't know if it's the bumps to keep the keeper in place that lifts it away from my skin just enough or what, but it's as if it isn't there half the time! I will say this, if I left the metal keeper on I'd go crazy, it pinched my arm hair a lot and it drove me crazy. Comfort rating with standard metal keeper is 3 but if you swap out to a resin one I give it a 5.

The next part of the watch I want to touch on is the functionality. It's pretty loaded. ABC (or ACB for some reason they put them in this order) which is solely based on air pressure for the two (Alti/Baro) which gets really off as time goes by, so don't bother with it too much or it'll drive you mad. I can set it three times in a day just sitting at home. The compass on the other hand works great and has stayed calibrated for the last month hassle free. We also have a 1000 hour stopwatch... Why? Because fuck it, that's why. The package also has what seems to be the standard above low range specs of G-Shock nowadays: 4 alarms and snooze alarm, world time, blah blah blah.

You can commit logs to memory as well so you can, uh, like remember when you were like, uh, you know, 7844 feet above sea level at some, uh, place? Of course if the Alti has changed based of air pressure before you left, it's probably off by a bit or a bunch, uh, whatever.

This watch is atomic and solar and seems to sync better than my last atomic G-Shocks the GXW56-1B and GW7900. Maybe it's because the Rangeman doesn't have as thick a shock absorber as the King? Who knows why the GW7900 wasn't as good... I find it'll even sync when I'm up late playing video games on the main floor, this Rangeman never ceases to amaze.

One feature I don't want to forget is the shortcut button to the stopwatch. Neat, innovative but not innovative enough. Make it a bindable hotkey! That's next level shit right there!

As you will notice as well and I figure I'd put this under functionality is the screen display. I bought this modded with a module swap so the readability is 100% being positive. The negative would drop this score drastically. The functionality gets an obvious 5. If it were negative it'd be a 3 for sure.

Build quality. Yeah, it's a G-Shock. No problem here. The watch feels sturdy, no creaky bits or anything of the sorts. It's a tank on your wrist. If anything, but I haven't had too many accidents, I'd say start putting sapphire crystal display glass. I only ever scratched on watch screen and luckily it was off to the side. Took a good chomp from my boxer to do it too. So I got some cheap China screen protectors just for the hell of it. Still this build, like any other G I review will be getting a well deserved 5.

Coming up last but certainly not least is style. It looks good, not great though. There's always minor things I'd change on every G-Shock I own and this one I would rather the button labels be black as well as since the light button is black, why not black out the sensor and other buttons and decorative screws? Either way that's a very minor issue that I'd have to really think over to pick anything I'd change with this watch (other than the ABC order of ACB) because I can easily live with this watch the way it is. I'm giving the style to be fair a 4. It's always subjective as are all my scores.

So in the grand scheme of things this version, with my strap keeper swap and positive display gets a big 19 out of 20. If this was negative and metal keeper we'd be dropped down to at least 16. So go buy one!

Zero Tolerance ZT0620CF, sharp, pointy.

I've posted a few reviews of knives up here before and have had a chance to broaden my horizons in the way of knife makers and steel selection. Today I have my third Zero Tolerance knife, a tanto, something I'm not too in to but in this case the elongated tanto seems to work. I give to you the ZT0620CF. The M390 steel and carbon fiber scaled version of the ZT0620.

I was eyeing this offering from ZT for half a year before seriously thinking of it and before long I made the choice. I am not disappointed in my purchase at all. The build quality is that of a tank. Solid lock up and smooth action with an outstanding blade steel.

This not only my first tanto blade but as well my first M390 steel blade and first Emerson wave opening knife!

The first point, and well the main point, the point. It's mostly to me a self defense knife and at it's core it is. But I am going to use this as an EDC knife to handle the every day in the most part as no one really wants to mess with me.

Secondly this is a super steel. It has a solid feel, tough, heavy and badass. The edge feels like that of no other I've felt. It's hard to describe the sensation of how it dug in to my nail.

Thirdly the Emerson wave opening hook is new to me but instantly I'm loving it. I can't stop playing with this knife. I keep popping it in my pocket just to draw it over and over again!

When I first saw this knife it looked thin, maybe I compared it to the 0770, a little less heavy duty than the other ZTs but after playing with it for a few days this sits right up there as one of those beefy tanks. This knife has a rock solid but buttery smooth lockup and the action feels as beautiful as KVT bearings when it's just washers!

For a knife full of firsts I am not disappointed where ZT delivered on every front and I feel as if this knife will last a lifetime even with heavy use. The carbon fiber scale is smooth and doesn't feel like it'll wear in the pocket at all unlike g10. All in I'd suggest you take that step if you were hesitant towards this piece. An instant classic and EDC for me.

Spyderco Paramilitary 2. Just another review.

Well this isn't the first written review for this knife and I know it won't be the last. It's short and sweet and let's you know how this beast really feels.

We're talking about one of the most popular and named by some as "Spyderco's headline knife".

We're of course talking about the Spyderco Paramilitary 2. A CPM S30V steel beast with reckless intent on being a quality blade for a reasonable price point.

I picked up a silver/digi camo from eBay just recently off a great "local" seller from Caledon. Super fast shipping in a nice package. A+ experience from the seller (Caledon2).

First impressions were of a solid, and I do mean solid, constructed knife. A great weight to it's handle size which is a bit larger but fits the hand perfectly no matter what position you hold the tool at. The G-10 handle feels so grippy in comparison to the Tenacious. The clip as well is just as solid as any other Spyderco with the spoon form. Beautiful, I love the clip, love love love the spoon clip from Spyderco. Of course it is ambidextrous and tip up/down optional. I tend to keep them whatever way from factory now which is tip down but keep them in my left pocket with the blade facing the outside of my leg. I'm not obsessed about tip up/down or speed to deploy as it works fine from that position in that location even with being right handed. This is as of the time of writing this review. Things always change!

ANDREA 'ACTION' JACKSON. Sorry. The action. Open. Close. The process. One word. Butter. This has the most solid, smooth and perfected hinge I've ever felt on a folding knife. One thumb open is a breeze, closing is just as easy even without touching the blade!

That brings me to the compression lock. Much like a liner lock but on the back side of this knife and has a pin to sit within a notch on the blade. You can hold it down and flip the blade open and closed with a bit of practice. I'm not a knife showboater so I tend to thumb my blade open. Either way this is a beautiful mechanism and it was done very well.

The steel. This blade feels like a man's blade. I first off tested it on the back of my thumbnail like I so often do with every knife and it stuck. I couldn't skin my nail immediately. It stuck to my nail. I could tell the steel was heavier and better quality than other knives I've used. The way it feels when I skin the nail is heavy. It's a good thing, don't get me wrong. It feels like a quality made steel that will handle whatever can be thrown at it. Now the blade itself has a full flat grind which is perfect and looks as good as it performs. The jimping is tight and won't allow any slips to be had on its watch.

Value: People these days want the most for the least and here you get it. One outstanding knife that delivers on all levels and doesn't break the bank. I'd gladly drop $400+ for the M390 version as that steel makes it even better! But for the money you pay for the S30V you cannot go wrong.

Update: Bought a second Black/Satin PM2. Bought a third in brown with S35VN steel, outstanding. The best yet. Hunting for one in M390. The grail.

Update again: Got that M390 sumabitch!

Casio G-Shock GW5000. G-Shocks icon.

Hey folks, this is a long time coming. Well sort of? I've had The Icon, the GW5000 for just over 6 months and it has only left my wrist to wear my GW7900 and GXW56 for short spurts. I've given my wrist a new square from the ever so reliant GWM-5610 which by the way was fantastic! I however can't take a break from solar and atomic features. Enter the GW5000. The iconic G-Shock for collectors and enthusiasts alike, not a real head turner but when you wear this model you feel like a boss. I chose to put the resin and stainless steel combi bracelet on it which is outstanding.

Hands down the most comfortable watch I've ever worn. No lie, no stretching the truth. There are no hot spots, no rubbing, chafing or anything. The DLC screw back of this model makes me weak when I think about it. It is incredibly comfortable, although the GWM-5610 had a standard back it was as well very comfortable but nothing compares to The Icon. I haven't tried the strap which came with it as I immediately swapped it for the combi bracelet which adds a ton of sex appeal to a square watch but as well miles of breathing room with pin and link adjustments to really custom fit this bad boy to your wrist. I highly recommend picking up the combi bracelet from a Casio dealer near you. It retails for about $50 USD but is worth every penny for comfort and fit.

The Icons face. The GW5000 has a very crisp display, subdued colors on the surrounding area. Let me speak to the crispness of the LCD display on The Icon, every number or letter has a great viewing range and I compared side by side with the GWM-5610 and just everything is flawless, no slight blur, no ghosting, but superb quality and compliments the build quality of this piece.

If you're looking for a subtle but real durability in a stylish package the GW5000 would be worth the investment. Although if you're looking just for a daily watch that still would do the job or just don't care the GWM-5610 would suffice in a second. The only thing I recommend is aftermarket watch bands for both. The more expensive combi bracelet or a cheaper Zulu or NATO band increases the comfort of both of these 10 fold. For the GW5000 I'd recommend that you get the combi bracelet as you wouldn't want to damage or rub against that beautiful screwback.

Lynch NW Titanium pry bar V1.2, you need it.

Recently, 2 months ago. I placed a preorder for a pry bar I've heard and seen good things about. Last week I finally got that pry bar.

The Lynch North West titanium pry bar V1.2. A beautiful piece of art inside wonderful packaging with a personal note from Casey Lynch as well. The box opens to contain an authentication card, a small thank you note and a small envelope containing the Allen wrench, lanyard and if you chose to remove the pocket clip, a cover for the opening. One thing you won't mistake is that this is "Made in the USA" proudly displayed on the bar, envelope, packaging! This is an all American quality made and finished pry tool.

I couldn't resist the first thing I did was pop a bottle top. Easiest tool to do it ever. All those "knuck animal pry bottle opener" gimmicks have NOTHING on this tool. It's so basic, two functions, bottle opener and pry bar with nail split. Bottle opener gets an automatic A+.

Secondly I had to use the pry to separate some old Ikea furniture and I reamed on it and it did its job! Casey says these are for hard use and guaranteed for life. I'll put it to the test!

The pocket clip is a great addition to a pry tool as if you're carrying light or have other things floating around in your pocket you can easily clip it inside the fifth pocket of your jeans. Having the option to remove it and still have a beautiful bar is even better if that suits your needs!

Downside? I can't name one right now. It does what it's supposed to do and it does it with 5 stars. A real class act from Casey. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a pry too that does what it promises and does it well. I'm not the kind of guy that needs an armadillo punch ring 1/4" bit driver flat screw driver pry bottle opener, so this is perfect. A grown-up toy for a real man (or woman).

Check out his site http://www.lynchnw.com and his Instagram for the most recent updates.

Fixed or Folder

This seems to be a frequent question asked by the EDC community, myself included. I had started collecting with folders and was completely against a fixed blade for a long time. I was in to the steels and locking mechanisms and so on and the fixed ones I saw were all high carbon rust boats if you forgot to wipe it once. Not my game. As well a knife is very personal as everyone says, what are you using it for?

I slowly was coming around to the idea of a fixed blade and started looking at the Izula in 440C but realized that it would be too short and too crap of a steel for my everyday use. I have always had great experiences with Spyderco and started looking up their Mule Team series.

So many great steels that I know and like. I ended up settling on the Elmax, lucky number 13 in the Mule Team lineup. A steel I wasn't fond of because I owned a Zero Tolerance 0561 and the steel was screwed up somehow, maybe the heat treat or something and the way the blade was ground didn't help it either but I wanted to really see how Elmax was. But the Mule Team is a beast, second knife to give me stitches. The other? The Elmax 0561 haha. Anyway I bought a fixed blade and haven't rotated it out of my pocket yet. A good size with enough leverage and great aftermarket Halpern Titanium black 3D G10 scales.

Now... Do I need a fixed blade? Not really. In my day to day life I need the most rust resistance while at work mainly, great edge retention and durability. I have that in almost all my folders as I try to only use better steels. I won't be batoning the folder but either way, they could stand up to it. I won't be prying, nothing too crazy at all. People have to understand, even with a small Izula neck knife it could take up less space with say a mini griptilian from Benchmade. I love my Doug Ritter M390 mini griptilian. Light, small and just as durable as a neck knife for daily use.

For a survival pack a folder would be just as sufficient as a fixed and take up less room in your bag. That as well as you can pack multiple folders or other tools for other jobs. Not counting a machete of course but for small work.

I'm not against fixed blades but for EDC they aren't totally needed although I love my MT13P I can safely rotate it with my folders and feel the same amount of confidence when using them.