Archive | Knives

The-Knife-Connection continues to add to their line of custom knife handles for ESEE Knives. Their latest addition is the new IZULA Custom Handles and they look excellent.

These handles can be bolted directly to your ESEE IZULA with no modification. They improve the usability of the knife by improving your grip. The handles feature a rounded, palm swell shape to fill the hand. The handles are tapered at the end closest to the cutting edge. This allows for a pinch grip that I find very useful on a small knife like the IZULA. The large lanyard hole of the IZULA is covered slightly by the handles which creates a more usable grip while still providing plenty of room for a lanyard.

The IZULA Custom Handles from T-K-C come in a ton of different colors including the ever popular and highly visible blaze orange and a really attractive ranger green. They come with all the hardware necessary to mount them. I would consider using a dab of thread locker, like Loc-Tite, when installing the handles.

While these may cost considerably more than the OEM IZULA handles, they are also a much more refined solution. You can check out the new IZULA Custom Handles on The-Knife-Connection.com.

Spyderco’s newest addition to their Salt line is the Dragonfly2 Salt. The Salt line consists of several Spyderco classics and some knives unique to the Salt line, all of which make use of a “rust proof” steel called H-1. The rust proof properties of H-1 come from its extremely low carbon content and it makes these knives ideal for extreme environments like saltwater.

The rust resistant properties of the Dragonfly2 make it very resistant to the problems that come from a lack of maintenance. That, coupled with the compact size, make the Dragonfly2 a great choice for a knife that will be kept in a small survival kit, car kit, or any other kind of kit that will be carried often, used once in a while, and maintained infrequently.

The Dragonfly2 is one of my favorite small knife designs. It isn’t the smallest design on the market but it very compact without sacrificing ergonomics. It is very ergonomic, much like most Spyderco designs. Features like fine jimping on the finger choil and thumb ramp help lock the Dragonfly2 in your hand (a very nice thing for a knife that may be used around water).

You can read more about the new Spyderco Dragonfly2 Salt at Spyderco’s website.

Knife users everywhere should be thankful that the Boker Plus brand has given Chad Los Banos (CLB) a venue to show his knife design prowess. The collaboration of CLB and Boker Plus has resulted in several excellent high value knives, and the new MICROCOM seems to be more of the same.

CLB has stated that the MICROCOM is an homage to Fred Perrin. It is very easy to see the influence. Like many Perrin designs, the MICROCOM features compact dimensions, a chisel ground edge, and a deep finger groove to maximize retention. The Perrin influence is certainly visible if you read between the lines, but even a cursory glance leaves little doubt that this is a CLB design.

The MICROCOM is ground from 440C steel. It features a compact 2″ blade and a 4″ overall length. The scales are skeletonized G10 with a checkered texture. It comes with a Kydex sheath that is set up for neck carry but could easily be adapted to other methods of carry.

This would make a phenomenal EDC fixed blade and last ditch defensive tool. The price is excellent considering all of the the features. I have seen these at various sellers for around $20.

You can read more about the MICROCOM and other CLB designs at the Boker website.