Even more knives

[Big Frank]

Monday I got 2 of the The MILSPIN Magnus Utility Knife 2.0 (Aluminum) knives. I already had 2 of the original MILSPIN Magnus Utility Knives in Brass, but they just came out with the new Version 2.0 in Brass and Aluminum, so I bought 2 more. I'm giving the 2 old ones to my friends, one of whom carries a folding knife that uses utility knife blades. They made the original in aluminum, then one of the guys in the shop knocked one out in brass, and everyone liked it so much they quit making the aluminum version. But I love the new one in aluminum. It's practically weightless when you stick  in your pocket, and the brass one was a touch heavy when I wore it on a lanyard around my neck. Plus I kept getting poked until I put a heavier spring in it. Here are the old, and new TOOL-LESS DISASSEMBLY/REASSEMBLY versions. After taking it apart and putting it back together a couple of times it's second nature. It's so easy a grunt could do it. <-- patent pending   And it seems to lock into all 3 positions more solidly. I forgot to mention it carries a spare blade, included, in the handle!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WUCAvFZqtQQ



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48FRKmMpVWs


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG2c0Ei5WMk 


https://milspin.com/products/milspin-utility-blade

[Big Frank]

I also got 3 knives from Olight Monday, an OD Green Spurdog Everyday Carry Folding Tool, a Rubato 2 Folding Tool with OD Green Micarta Handles, and a Rubato 2 Folding Tool with Carbon Fiber Overlay. The weight of the Carbon Fiber over aluminum is halfway between the Micarta and solid aluminum versions. The Rubato 2 has a 2.93" blade length, and the Spurdog is 2.99".  The Spurdog is also available in Gunmetal Grey, which looks almost black in the pictures. The D2 steel drop point blade boasts a HRC58 hardness and is coated with black titanium nitride for a matte finish. The 6061-T6 Aluminum Alloy Handle has a "grenade pattern" grip that feels really good in the hand and should be secure. It has assisted-opening and flicks right open with the flipper. The 2-postion lock that's only on one side was stiff to operate at first, but okay after I worked it back and forth for a minute. I'm not using the lock anyway.  It's my new EDC knife for now. The Rubato 2 is so slick, all you have to do to open them is point them up or down and pull back on the double-sided rail lock. The blade will just flip open and closed by gravity. The blade is made of 154CM stainless steel. For anyone unfamiliar with Micarta, it was the wonder material of choice for knife scales and gun grips before G10 came along. It's made of linen or paper, etc. and thermosetting polymer resin. The carbon fiber Rubato 2 looks really nice but polished carbon fiber is too slick. It's better to look at than carry.

I got the OD Green Spurdog and OD Green Micarta Rubato 2, along with a Warrior Mini 2 Compact EDC Tactical Flashlight - Black, all for 40% off as members only special offers. And got the carbon fiber Rubato 2 as a tier gift for buying so much merchandise. I didn't know if I would get the carbon fiber model or the Micarta version that sells for the same price, $5 more than the aluminum one. I'm glad they didn't give me a Micarta knife like the one I bought, instead of the carbon fiber. I would have made a stink about it if they did. All 3 knives came with a cleaning cloth and a nylon case with a small pocket inside it. The Spurdog came with a Velcro patch, and the Rubato 2s came with a challnge coin in the pocket inside the case, each one in a different color metal. Photos to be posted later. I folded the cleaning cloths into thirds, then in half, and tucked them into the little pocket of all 3 cases.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micarta

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-10_(material)

https://www.olightstore.com/spurdog-everyday-carry-folding-tool

https://www.olightstore.com/rubato-2-small-folding-knife

https://www.olightstore.com/warrior-mn2



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHoJPy5sF3s

[Big Frank]

And I got 2 Otacle EDC Utility Tools - Doughnut color. I got one for a dollar extra when I bought the Warrior 3S High Beam Tactical Flashlight- Stars & Stripes Edition on sale, and got one in a package deal with a Warrior Nano 1200 Lumens Tactical EDC Flashlight - Black that was on sale. it works out to getting it free and the flashlight for over 37% off, or something like that. The Otacle EDC Utility Tool is shaped like a lion with its mouth serving as a bottle opener, and the utility knife blade coming out of its mouth too. And it has a mini pry bar/slotted screwdriver, and 1/4" hex wrench you can use as a lanyard hole when you're not driving bits with it. I have 2 pouches for them on order, which left Washington, D.C. a few hours ago. The Otacles and their pouches and spare blades will be gifts for my friends. That's not what they expect for a baby shower gift but it's what they're getting, along with a couple packages I already have wrapped up, and a bunch of diapers.

https://www.olightstore.com/otacle-utility-edc-knife

https://www.olightstore.com/otacle-pouch

https://www.olightstore.com/warrior-nano-small-tactical-flashlight

[Big Frank]

I bought a Rubato 3 EDC Pocket Tool to go with my pair of Rubato 2s. This one has a 30Cr13 stainless steel handle. It weighs 3.60 oz (102 g) and the aluminum handle ones I don't have are 3.17 oz (90 g). That's only a .43 oz difference between steel and aluminum, and it's $40 cheaper. The blade is 2.96 in (75.1 mm) long, compared to the 2.93 in (74.4 mm) length of the other two. I also got a Otacle Pro Titanium Pocket Utility Tool and a Otacle U1 Carbon Fiber Small Folding Tool, and a bunch of other stuff. To change the blade you have to loosen the locking screw and open the blade holder cover. Changing blades on the Otacle Pro Titanium Pocket Utility Tool is completely tool-less and only takes a matter of seconds. You just push the button to get the blade beyond the fully open position and it comes out. It has a losk button to keep it from opening by accident and came with a leather case.

https://www.olightstore.com/rubato-3-edc-pocket-knife

https://www.olightstore.com/otacle-pro-pocket-utility-tool

https://www.olightstore.com/otacle-u1-small-folding-tool

[Big Frank]

Now I have all my car keys and other stuff on an Otacle R2 Utility Multi Tool Keychain instead of a key ring with a small carabiner. It's made of titanium alloy and has a 3 position locking lever to control the locking and unlocking of the hooks. You can lock or unlock both hooks, or put the lock in the center position to lock the small hook while the big one is unlocked to put on a belt loop. And SURPRISE, it has a No.10 Carbon Steel scalpel blade that can be replaced with any other scalpel blade. Too bad the 100-pack of X-Acto knife blades I bought won't work. You can put a scalpel blade in an X-Acto knife, but the blades they normally have in them doesn't have the big slot to fit scalpel handles. They just have a small slot in them.

[Sponsor]

[Big Frank]

I got a Rubato 3 with an orange 6061-T6 Aluminum handle, to go with my Rubato 3 30Cr13 Stainless Steel Handle and 10Cr15CoMoV Steel blade. The one I got today has a 154CM Stainless Steel with black titanium PVD coating. That's the same steel used in my pair of Rutato 2 knives. Those have Micarta and Carbon Fiber Overlay handles. I don't have one with an  Aluminum handle, but if you compare the specs of the aluminum handle Rubato 2 with a Rubato 3, there isn't much difference other than the blade shape. Thee R 2 weighs 3.87 oz. and the R 3 weighs 3.60 oz. The blade lengths are 2.93" and 2.96", and the blade thickness is 0.11" on both. Handle length is 4.22" with a lanyard hole, and 3.81" without a hole. That .41" difference is the only big difference besides the blade shape.

Both knives in all materials and finishes come with a challenge coin, except for the cheap steel handle knife. It came with a morale patch instead. The microfiber cleaning cloth is like a lens cleaning cloth you should all be familiar with. I folded it up and put it in the coin pouch of all 4 knives. I did the same with my Spurdog. It's an Assisted Opening Flipper with a 2.99" D2 steel blade with a black titanium nitride finish. Too bad it's no longer listed on their site. I like mine better than most of my knives of any brand. The protruding squares I refer to as a grenade texture is really good and it flips open so easily.

[Big Frank]

Speaking of challenge coins, and the Spurdog, here they are. I didn't know if Spurdog had any real meaning and why the patch has a shark on it. I looked it up and Spurdog is a genus of dogfish sharks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spurdog

Rubato is also a real word. It has nothing to do with rubbing one out.   And if you're singing to yourself Domo Arigato Mr. Rubato, you may be as screwed up as I am . Tempo rubato (Italian for stolen time) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. You end up with the same tune, but different.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo_rubato

Other words that Olight uses for their flashlights are mostly Norse gods and heroes. A notable exception is Arkfeld, which is an old family name meaning someone who lives near arable land. In other words a farmer, from way back when a lot of people's family names came from their occupations: Smith, Miller, Cooper, etc. 

[Big Frank]

Last month I got a Parrot Folding Knife from Olight. It has Grey G10 handles and a 2.6 inch 154CM modified sheepsfoot blade. It feels like a bigger knife, with a blade longer than 2.6". The blade has a front flipper on it. I tried using my index finger to flip it open but it didn't budge. I have to use my thumb to flip it open instead. I have to hold it in an awkward position to do it. If my hands weren't always stiff and aching it might be a different story.

https://www.olightstore.com/parrot-folding-knife-grey

[Big Frank]

The Parrot knife came with a pouch, cleaning cloth, and challenge coin. Here's the coin with the one from the Arrkfeld Pro and Oclip Pro Christmas Gift package, and the coin that came with my blue Arkfeld Pro.

Now I'm waiting for my Military Armament Corporation MAC MK II Knife, a copy of the Gerber Mark II. It's the one in the middle. The one on the left is a Tisas Raider KB Knife, a copy of the Ka-Bar combat knife adopted by the Marine Corps during WWII, but with G10 instead of a stacked leather handle. On the right is the Inglis Fairbairn Sykes Knife. John Inglis and Company was a Canadian manufacturing firm which made weapons, like copies of the Browning Hi-Power, for the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth military forces during the World War II era. All 3 knives are sold by SDS arms. Besides Tisas USA pistols, Inglis Hi-Powers, and Tokarev USA shotguns, they have Spandau Arms sporting shotguns, and MAC 1911s, like this JSOC .45 ACP for $749.99. That's a good looking pistol IMO, and set up quite nicely.

https://sdsarms.com/mac-mk-ii-knife/

https://sdsarms.com/tisas-raider-kb-knife/

https://sdsarms.com/inglis-fairbairn-sykes-knife/

https://sdsarms.com/mac-1911-jsoc-45/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerber_Mark_II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka-Bar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbairn%E2%80%93Sykes_fighting_knife

[Big Frank]

I got a Ledge Slipjoint Knife from Stat Gear today. It's the red one. They call the blade a modified sheepsfoot, but I've seen other blades of similar style called reverse tantos. It's cute little thing. When it's closed, the tip of the blade is just barely inside of the handle. That gives to plenty to grab onto. Good thing because the spring is really stiff. The 2.5" blade is D2 steel and the handle is G10 composite. When you open it, it has a soft stop at about 140 degrees until you pull it the rest of the way open. When you close it, it wants to stop there like in the 3rd pic. I don't know if that's to keep it from snapping shut your fingers or what. So far I like the Pocket Samurai Full Size Edition better than the Ledge. I'll have to oil it and play with it a lot to get it working smoother.

https://www.statgeartools.com/ledge-slipjoint-knife/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvYCvN2IzeY