A guide to EDC blades to accent your style.
It’s like an endless sea. Have you noticed? In the last few years, “tactical” folders are flooding the knife market. As a result, it doesn’t seem there's much taking place with the tried-and-true gentleman’s knife. It’s always a relief to see a simple, sleek design that you can put in the pocket of your blazer and carry during the day, open your letters with, and even use to cut your steak that evening.
Sometimes referred to as “traditional,” or even as a “dress knife,” this category still has its place bumbling around in modern pockets. These blades don’t necessarily have to look like grandad’s three-blade Stockman that he kept in his tackle box all those years, but they are definitively simple, stylish, and downright functional.
We’ve tracked down some of the newest, most handsome designs that are sure to charm the eye of one who appreciates an interesting, yet basic approach to the classic pocketknife.
Spyderco: Advocate, by Gayle Bradley
Designed by renowned knife maker and cutting sports professional, Gayle Bradley, the Spyderco Advocate displays sleek and smooth lines, boasting solid titanium scales finished with an orange peel texture that feels very kind, yet secure to the hand. Only on the second look around the knife, does one notice the intricacies that Bradley meticulously incorporated into this production version of one of his proudly made custom knives. Other than the obvious physical features, the Advocate uses wisely designed friction-reducing ball bearing washers to ensure a speedy open, regardless of whether you’re using the flipper, or Spyderco’s Trademark Round Hole cutout design.
This story is from the July-August 2017 edition of Knives Illustrated.
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This story is from the July-August 2017 edition of Knives Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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I have a confession to make. See if this sounds familiar. I take meticulous care of the knives I use for everyday carry, hunting, and general woods wandering. I wipe them down with an oily cloth after use and I never let them get too dull. Seldom do I have to restore a damaged edge. Most of the time I simply touch up the edges of my pocketknives with a few careful strokes across the rough bottom of a ceramic coffee cup. That’s usually all that’s needed. I don’t use my knives as screwdrivers or pry bars. As a matter of fact, I still have the very first knife I ever owned, an old Boy Scout knife that was handed down from my older brother. The blades have a deep patina that comes with using carbon steel over the years, but the knife is very usable still.