EOS Ti Shark Pry Tool Review

The EOS Ti Shark pry tool is a sweet looking tool. These OPMTs that resemble animals seem to be quite popular at the moment. While it looks cool, it hasn’t been my favorite OPMT. It’s still a good tool, just not something I’ve enjoyed that much.

Tools

Bottle opener

Pry bar/screwdriver

Quarter inch wrench which can also be used with mini screwdriver bits

All these tools perform as they should. The screwdriver is on the end of the pry bar, so it’s too thick for most screws. The pry bar and bottle opener work well as expected. The wrench is not that useful. I haven’t found any sort of use for it plus it doesn’t hold screwdriver bits well as there’s nothing to keep them in place. I do wish the pry bar had a nail puller like the Gerber Shard, but that’s just a personal preference.

For its size, the toolset is not that impressive. It’s bigger than most OPMTs at 4” long by 1” wide, but has fewer tools. Most OPMTs are keychain-sized which makes them more convenient to carry. This added size has made it more difficult for me to carry. You’d think they’d be able to fit more tools on it, yet it only has the bare minimum. The tool is comfortable to hold in the hand during use. The extra length does come in handy for that, but that’s about the only benefit.

Quality

This is a very solid tool. It’s not that hard to make an OPMT, so there’s not many ways they could have messed this up. It’s made out of titanium as the name suggests. I got the anodized version, and I must say the anodizing looks pretty cool. This tool will definitely last you forever.

Carry

As I’ve started to talk about, this tool is bigger than tools like the Gerber Shard or Leatherman Brewzer. This extra size hurts the tool in my opinion. If it had more functionality, it would definitely be worth it. The Shark does have a pocket clip, which both the Shard and Brewzer lack. It’s kind of a weird clip though. It doesn’t carry anything like a knife or pen. It sits weirdly when clipped, and I don’t think I would actually carry it with this clip. The use of titanium keeps the tool pretty lightweight. As I mentioned earlier, the length is what makes it a pain to carry. You guys with bigger pockets would probably have better luck.

Price

I paid around $20 for the anodized version. I wouldn’t pay that much considering the Shard is $5 and works better. Sure this looks cooler, but you lose out on a lot of functionality.

Other

The shipping took forever. I paid for shipping and it didn’t actually ship until a week or so later. I think that’s unacceptable considering I had to actually pay for shipping. If it was free shipping, then that’d be a different story. It did come in a custom Ziploc bag with the company’s logo printed on it and a vinyl sticker so that was pretty neat. You can choose between the anodized or non-anodized version.

All in all, it’s a cool tool that lacks a lot of functionality. I don’t think it’s worth the money or the extra space in your pocket. It’s more of a collector piece than something for EDC use. It works as it should but doesn’t get my personal recommendation. The Gerber Shard is a much better tool at a less expensive price. Thanks for looking!

Spyderco Dragonfly 2 Review

The Spyderco Dragonfly 2 is one of Spyderco’s smaller options. It performs well but isn’t my favorite. I think there are a number of better knives of this size out there on the market.

Specifications

Overall length: 5.61"

Blade length: 2.28" (cutting edge is only 1.88" though)

Handle length: 3.33"

Steel: VG-10

Weight: 1.3 oz.

Quality

My Dragonfly isn’t the best quality. There’s a major flaw with the pivot that has become very frustrating. I can’t loosen or tighten it, because the whole pivot screw spins as I attempt to unscrew it. I’ve tried a couple different ways to fix it with no luck. I have one more fix to try, but after that, I’ll just have to give up. I know that I’m not the only one that’s encountered this problem either. Spyderco really needs to figure this out. It’s pretty much turned me away from this knife. I can’t comment on the lock-up or centering because of the pivot issue.

Blade

It’s a simple blade shape that Spyderco always does well. It looks nice and is extremely practical for EDC. I’m a big fan of the VG-10. It may not be the fanciest steel, but it just works. It gets super sharp and retains its edge decently well. The Spyder hole is my favorite opening mechanism. Even though it adds a lot of width to the blade, I think it’s definitely worth it. There’s also some nice jimping that adds a good amount of grip to the blade. The Dragonfly is cool because it’s offered in a ton of steel variations. Some of the other steels the Dragonfly is offered in are H1, ZDP-189, etc.

Handle

The FRN is nice and grippy. Some people say it feels cheap, but I’ve grown to like it a lot. The orange is super bright. I love that Spyderco offers it in different colors. The Dragonfly even comes in stainless steel or G10 handles. The ergonomics are pretty good. They’re not the best ergonomics I’ve ever felt, but they do the job. Even though this is a small knife, I can fit a full 4 finger grip. I love the addition of the choil. It gives you a lot of extra control over the blade. The lockback is simple and just works. It may not be the most hardcore lock, but it won’t fail during basic EDC tasks.

Carry

The wire clip is awesome. It’s got great retention and carries well. The small size and light weight help this knife disappear in the pocket. It carries perfectly in the waistband, which is how I prefer to carry my knives. One thing to note is that this blade doesn’t carry the deepest. It’s not a huge issue but if you prefer blades that carry pretty deep, this may not be for you.

Price

It retails for around $50. I personally think that price is a little too high. I think $35-$40 would be a better value. This blade is a great performer and will last you forever. The VG-10 and FRN are a great combo.

I wouldn’t personally recommend this knife because of the pivot issue. I had an H1 version a while ago that didn’t have an issue with the pivot. It’s probably just bad luck, but it has still been annoying to deal with. I think a better small knife is the Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite. Its ergonomics are superior plus I didn’t have to deal with an annoying pivot. The Dragonfly’s not a bad knife by any means. I just don’t give it my own personal recommendation. It would work out quite well as an EDC knife. It's quite popular in the knife community, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. Give it a look if it interests you. Thanks for looking!

Knife Company Talk: Spyderco

quick note: I'd like to start this new series where I talk about different knife companies. I'll mostly talk about how I feel about them as a whole, their products, etc. As the title suggests, this first one will be about Spyderco.

Spyderco is in fact my favorite knife company. Of all the knives I've tried, the majority of them were Spydercos. Spyderco was the first knife brand I really heard about. I was watching a video on YouTube and stumbled on a Spyderco Delica video. I looked up the brand online, found out they sold something called the Ladybug, and eventually fell in love with all their knives.  To this day, the Ladybug is by far the best knife I've ever tried.

Spyderco is very popular and that's for good reasons. They've got great quality products and customer service. I've never had to deal with their customer service personally, but I've heard nothing but positive things about it. Their Spyder hole is the best opening mechanism in my opinion. I almost feel like Spyderco is often overhyped though. They have such a large, dedicated following. I don't think there's a single other brand that's more well-known for their knives and company as a whole. Sure companies like Gerber, Kershaw, or Cold Steel are decently popular, but in my experience, those are all more of a hit-or-miss type companies. They either put out a fantastic product or one that's an absolute fail. I used to be really into all the new knives that Spyderco put out. That isn't really the case so much anymore.

I feel as if they're mostly focusing on the higher-end type blades or various sprint runs. Those are cool for some people, just not my cup of tea. It gets pretty boring to see the same old designs over and over and over again. They discontinued a lot of their unique designs, like the Balance or Junior. I'm sure they didn't sell very well for one thing. The second thing though is figuring out why. With crazy designs, people will either love them or hate them. Most of them aren't really suited for actual carry. They're mostly collector type pieces. There's also the problem of price. The weirder the designs, the more money they'll usually cost you, look at the Dodo for example. I think this is Spyderco's Achilles heel.

Their prices have gotten more and more out of reach in the past few years. The knife market in general is moving more towards the high end market. You can see this on the majority of the popular feeds on Instagram. I feel as if Spyderco is neglecting the budget blade fans. They've put out a few less expensive options, but nothing with even as close to an impact as the Delica for example. Obviously, it's not viable for every knife they make to be as successful, but none have gotten even close to its notoriety in my opinion. The increased prices are keeping me away from buying any of their newer blades. All of the Spydercos I have bought recently have all been ones released several years ago. The new ones don't really seem like a good value to me personally. I for one don't think the Manix 2 LW is worth the $70 to $80 it sells for.

The new knives they've been putting out don't really excite me anymore. Like I mentioned earlier, they all just blend together. There's no wow or unique factor. I respect that they're producing what the majority of people are looking for. I really wish they reverted back to the old Spyderco occasionally and brought out some cool designs for affordable prices. I think another company could easily step into that hole and bring themselves to a whole new level. I will continue to always love Spyderco, but I think they need to step up their game a lot. Thanks for looking!

Packaging Matters Too

I keep most of the packaging that my gear comes in. This helps when you want to sell stuff down the road, and honestly I'm just a little bit of a hoarder. Every piece of gear should at least come in decent packaging. I get that it adds to the cost and takes away from a company's profit. However, if you've got memorable packaging, you would expect people to feel more obliged to buy more of your products in the future. Packaging alone doesn't sell a product, but it certainly helps. Who doesn't love getting those sweet red and black Spyderco boxes? It just makes it feel like you're getting a great product from a company that really cares. It doesn't matter whether it's clam shell, boxes, pouches, etc. At least those companies put thought and effort into how their products are presented.

I never, ever, think that products should come in plastic ziploc bags. They look terrible and don't protect the product at all. One company that does this is Hinderer. They ship their Investigator pens in crappy ziploc bags, and that really pisses me off. For the high price you pay for that pen ($60), you should be getting some decent packaging. I bought a $10 pen that came in a nice box. How difficult would it be for Hinderer to do the same thing? I don't respect them as a brand because of that packaging choice. I know it ultimately shouldn't mean that much, since the product is what really matters. Hinderer is a highly esteemed brand though, so they should do something special for their packaging.

When you buy something, it isn't just about the product. There are different factors involved that impact you, the buyer. Some of these factors include customer service, presentation, ethics, etc. I try not to support companies if they've got shady stuff going on. A company has to be the whole package. You can't overlook some awful business practices just because a product is good. This is kind of an unrelated ramble, so maybe I'll make a more in-depth blog post about it later.

Back to the packaging issue, I wish all companies used nice packaging. While it seems like a small, insignificant part of getting new gear, it really can make the difference between a good or bad company. Thanks for looking! How important do you all think packaging is?

Things I Hate About Instagram

I really enjoy Instagram, but like all things, it's not perfect. There's a lot of things about it that annoy me. I'd like to talk about a few of the things that I hate about Instagram. Of course, all these are just my opinions. I am in no way trying to offend anybody.

First off, those annoying repost giveaways are quite popular. Sometimes my feed is just picture upon picture of those stupid giveaways. The likelihood of winning these giveaways is quite low, so it seems kind of pointless to enter them. There's nothing more to them than posting whatever picture the giveaway requires, which makes them quite easy to enter. I would prefer if giveaways required unique pictures instead. I find reposts just really annoying in general.

Obviously the whole follow-for-follow or like-for like-thing is annoying. People are so desperate for followers and likes. It honestly makes no difference what number of supporters you have. Also, never like your own pictures. It's a given. There's no point to it at all.

I've always noticed that people overuse hashtags. Some people's captions with hashtags will be longer than the photo itself. That's pathetic if you ask me. I get using a few, but there's definitely a limit.

People also like to post pictures of their bloody fingers. I'm not squeamish when it comes to blood, but again, it's just kind of pathetic. Who cares if you cut yourself? I certainly don't. Put a band-aid on it and move on. You don't need to share every aspect of your life on social media. That reminds me. I don't need to see pictures of you sitting on the toilet either. It's common sense. We're all into the same hobby, just post photos of gear or something.

Instagram is a great place to sell stuff. This leads people to attempt to sell their stuff for extremely high prices. If you bought something and used it, it's not going to be worth what you originally paid. Sell it for a reasonable price, and it will sell quickly. Trust me. If your stuff doesn't sell, you don't need to repost your sale post a hundred times without any kind of price drop.

Last one, because this post is getting kind of long and rambly. I hate people that post like 5 or more photos in a row. I don't need you spamming the crap out of my feed. At least wait a good amount of time before you post multiple photos in the same day. I don't need to see every angle of some knife you got.

Don't take too much of this post to heart. I get annoyed really easily, and I thought it was time someone talked about the obnoxious things that people do on Instagram. If you do any of these things, maybe consider stopping. It would make our knife community on IG a much better place. Thanks for looking! Again, I in no way meant to offend anybody.

November 2015 Updates

I'm not that happy with how little I've been posting lately. Sure I've been busy, but I'm a firm believer that you can always make time for something if you really enjoy it. Honestly, I just haven't felt like doing any knife stuff lately. I've been doing YouTube for a while now, and every so often I get into these funks where I don't really feel like posting anything. I miss talking to all the cool people I've met, so it's really time I kill this funk I'm in.

I think my lack of motivation also has to do with the unrealistic goals I set for myself. For example, I've been wanting to review every single piece of gear in my collection for a few months now. My initial goal was to get it all reviewed before the end of the summer. That turned out to be impossible, so I just kept pushing it back a month and here we are now. I don't think I've completed a single one of the reviews. There were so many reviews to do that it was almost overwhelming. I would still like to review all my gear, but I need to be more realistic with when I get those reviews posted. Now my goal for this month is to get one really good review up. I should have the time, plus this post is kind of a little pep talk for myself. I don't want to rush any reviews, so just focusing on one should help a lot. I'm thinking I'll either review the Spyderco Endura or the Cold Steel Mini AK-47. I can always post more than the one, but I'd rather meet a low goal then miss a high goal if that makes any sense.

Other than that, I'm also going to try to get more posts up on here. I've had a huge list of ideas to talk about, but I haven't been motivated to write any of them up. That's pretty much it for my updates this month. It's crazy to think that it's almost 2016. Thank you all for all of your support! I will be getting up some more videos and posts soon. Thanks for looking!

New Gear October 2015

I wasn't expecting to get any new gear this month, but I received an odd package a few days ago. Basically, I ordered a piece of gear from Amazon that I never ended up getting. The package was undeliverable according to USPS, so I got a refund and moved on. A completely beaten up package arrived 3 months later. So now here I am with these cool Slip-N-Snip scissors.

They're pretty neat thus far, and I really like the shade of purple. They're pretty compact as well. I'm not sure if they'll end up being better than the Victorinox scissors, but I guess only time will tell. I've only cut one thing with them so far, so I still need to get a ton more use out of them. I'll keep you all updated on how I like them. Thanks for looking!

14 Days, 1 Blade

So I was recently challenged by a guy on Instagram to pick one blade to carry as part of my EDC for the next 14 days. Since I would only be able to use this one blade, I had to choose smartly. This probably comes as no surprise to many of you, but I chose my Spyderco Ladybug.

(sorry for the kinda crappy pic, it's from IG)

I chose the Ladybug for a couple reasons. Its small size makes it easy to carry and people friendly. I don't really need a huge knife on a day to day basis, so it made sense to just have this as my one blade. I don't expect these 14 days to be to difficult. I will miss carrying my Endura, since I've been pairing it with the Ladybug as of lately. The Ladybug is still going strong 5 days in. I've also been going pretty light with my carry, just a knife, pen, and flashlight. I'll try and get a EDC picture up on Instagram soon. Thanks for looking!