I’ve been preaching the gospel of the EDC utility knife for years now. Not because it’s trendy or tactical or whatever the hell people are calling it this week, but because it works. Disposable blades make sense when you actually use your tools. Over the last decade, I’ve probably burned through 20 or 30 different setups chasing something that didn’t annoy me.

For the past five years, that something has been the Chaves Knives C.H.U.B. flipper, the black G10 bruiser sitting up top in the photos. It’s been flawless. Not “pretty good.” Flawless. It opens, it cuts, it disappears in the pocket, and somehow, against all odds, I haven’t lost the damned thing.

The problem? It’s a $200 knife. I bought mine in 2021, and since then they’ve been selling out like contraband and vanishing from shelves with no promise of return. That kind of scarcity makes a man nervous.

So the market did what it always does. First, Chaves rolled out a “Blue Label” version, same bones, cheaper suit, about $100. Then the wolves showed up. Enter the OKnife U1 at a laughable $25.

When I first saw it, I figured it was just another cheap imitation. A photocopy of a photocopy. But curiosity got the better of me, and I ordered one anyway.

And I’ll be damned… it’s not bad.

Not great. Not even close to the Chaves in terms of materials or refinement. But for the money? It’s a scrappy little survivor. Stainless guts, Micarta scales, light in the hand, tight in the action. It flips open with a twitch and locks up with a simple rail system that doesn’t try to impress you. Blade swaps are handled with a thumb screw that actually works, which already puts it ahead of half the junk out there.

The weak link? That pocket clip. Bent stainless. The kind of thing that looks fine until it doesn’t. It hasn’t betrayed me yet, but I don’t trust it. And in this game, trust matters.

They’ve got a few flavors. The standard green Micarta model in the middle (see Photo), and the slightly pricier U1 Pro down below in Ultem, which throws in a tiny magnetic bit driver for good measure. I haven’t put the Pro through enough abuse yet to say anything definitive about it.

But after spending real time with the standard U1, I can say this: it’s a solid, no-nonsense utility knife that punches way above its price point. Not perfect, not heirloom quality, but absolutely capable. And for most people, that’s more than enough.

Get yours here:

The OKnife U1

The OKnife U1 Pro

Speaking of utility knives… the one that first pulled me away from traditional pocket knives was the Maker Knife I. Small, light, deployable in a flash, and just as easy to stash away – the mechanism was damn near genius. Smooth, clever, and completely intuitive.

The downside? It was tough to get your hands on, didn’t hold up all that well, and the customer service from the merry band (or lone wolf) behind it left a lot to be desired.

Now that same crew… or maybe just the same guy… has dropped the Maker Knife II. No idea if it’s worth a damn, but it’s definitely worth a shot.

Details here.

I ditched traditional pocket knives years ago and haven’t looked back—utility knives only. No stressing over blade steel, no sharpening rituals, just simple, effective, and ready to work. For the past couple of years, my go-to has been the C.H.U.B. flipper, and it’s held up like a champ.

That said, I’m always sniffing around for alternatives. Recently stumbled onto a Kickstarter for a utility knife called the Zero-G, and it stopped me in my tracks. Killer design, solid-looking build, and the price was spot on. The campaign’s over, but you can still check it out here.

Keep an eye on their site – restocks might be coming.

The problem with most multi-tools is simple: they get greedy. Too many damn tools crammed into one awkward chunk of steel, half of which you’ll never use—just dead weight rattling in your pocket while the few essentials get buried in the mess.

But the Gerber Armbar? This thing’s on the right track. Just the basics: blade, saw, driver, opener, and pry bar. No fluff. No gimmicks. Just the core tools you actually need to survive the daily grind without feeling like you’re carrying a cinder block in your jeans.

Exchange the blade for a box cutter and I’d carry it…

More details here.

Spyderco and Lionsteel joined forces to crank out this little EDC scalpel with some serious steel under the hood. Instead of the usual MagnaCut, they went with Böhler M398—a shift that, for those not buried in metallurgy textbooks, means you sacrifice a little toughness in exchange for absurd edge retention and corrosion resistance.

But who cares about the science? Bottom line—it looks dope.

More details here.

I’ve stumbled across these little bastards at antique stores more times than I can count, always dismissed them without a second thought. But as it turns out, they’re still in production, and Christy is cranking out replacement blades—all made and shipped right here in the USA.

Call me a sentimental fool, but suddenly I’m smitten with the idea of this scrappy little pocket gadget. It’s got a certain romance to it, a stubborn refusal to fade away. I can respect that.

Details here.

To be honest, cam straps don’t usually make the cut in my chaotic dance of ratchet straps and bungee cords. They sit somewhere in the murky middle ground, neither here nor there, and that’s a limbo I rarely find myself stumbling into.

But these new high-end cam straps from Austere? They’ve got the swagger and the substance—more secure, more convenient than the run-of-the-mill crap you find at the big box stores. And damn, they’ve got the looks to boot.

Might be worth a roll of the dice. Details here.

MetMo blasted an email my way, asking if I’d take a gander at their latest concoction. They’ve christened it the Multi Drive—a multi-tool masquerading as a marking tool. This cunning little gadget morphs into a knife, pencil, scribe, drill, file, and even a micro driver.

It’s strutting its stuff on Kickstarter, and you can throw your cash at it here.

But the plot thickens: MetMo didn’t send me a Multi Drive. Oh no, they sent me a Pocket Driver (see above for the eye candy). And let me tell you, I’m grateful they did. The Pocket Driver is less of a tool and more of a desktop diversion—a ratchet driver that moonlights as a fidget spinner. Precision-machined and aesthetically pleasing, but don’t mistake it for a workhorse. It’s just too damned pretty for that… and way too addictive to fiddle with.

Is it worth $130? Probably not to most… but it’s one hell of a gift for the right kind of lunatic and if you judge it by its craftsmanship alone, you can justify the price easily. Tool, fidget toy, art… take your pic I guess…

Dive into the details here.