Aaron Shapiro

Aaron Shapiro began writing for BladeReviews.com in 2017, but has been producing written and video reviews since 2012. Aaron is widely recognized as an authority on watches, knives, and other daily carry gear. By day he is a professional photographer, but you probably already know Aaron from his Instagram feed, YouTube channel, or from one of his past online projects. When Aaron isn't writing about some of his favorite things here at BladeReviews he also writes at A Blog to Watch.

Benchmade Bailout Review

by Aaron Shapiro 3 Comments

There has been something interesting going on at Benchmade Knife Co. I’ve said it a few times in recent reviews, but it’s worth highlighting here. They used to be the dusty old gun-shop knife brand. That’s not to say the old mini Griptillians were terrible, but just that I don’t think many people would have called them, “exciting.” Some of their newer designs from the last 2-3 years have been on a different level, and the Bailout is no exception.

Buy the Benchmade Bailout at BladeHQ
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The Benchmade Bailout is the companion to their also newish released Bugout. Both knives share almost every trait apart from steel, blade shape, and their vaguely prepper-ish names. I like these knives, but I’ve always had an affinity for tantos, so I opted for the Bailout.

Before we get too far into the review, let’s touch on some general specs…

(All Measurements are my personal measurements and may differ from manufacturers specs)

Blade: 3”
OAL: 8”
Thickness: .402” not counting clip .614” with clip
Blade Thickness: .93”
Steel: 3V
Weight: 2.1oz
Lock: Axis Lock

Blade and Steel

Before I get into the review too much, I want to address a potential elephant in the room. At the time of this review, there has just been a little scandal on Instagram regarding the Bailout.

Apparently, an Instagram account had one of these blades Rockwell tested by a friend. The knife came back with a mid 50’s Rockwell when it is advertised at 60 HRC. I have no real perspective on this apart from saying this: A single independent source is not something to base an entire opinion on. If ten knives had been randomly and all found to be lower in HRC than advertised, when tested by a reliable source, I would take a little more heed.

/rantoff let’s get on with it.

The Benchmade Bailout is a tanto shaped blade made out of 3V steel. The blade is then finished with a slick grey Cerakote to protect from corrosion and give it that “high-speed-low-drag,” appeal.

I’ve carried this knife in a lot of scenarios since first purchasing it. It was in my pocket when I built a fence around my house. It’s been in my pocket on river raft days. It’s also been with me whenever I’m doing something that I wouldn’t want to subject a custom knife to. In these contexts, it’s done a lot. I’ve split open Quik-crete bags with it, sharpened pencils, popped ties holding lumber together etc etc… It’s done all of these very well.

I’m not one to compare how something passed through a material or how many consecutive cardboard cuts it can do before failing. I am, however, someone that grabs for their pocket knife frequently and takes notice if it preforms the “real-world task,” the way I needed it to. The Bailout did this well, then stropped back to sharp easily.

The 3V steel that Benchmade has selected is a favorite of mine. I often request it on my custom knife orders. It’s also one of the nicer steels to sharpen, in my experience. 3V will take a fine edge with minimal effort and retain it for a long, long time. That being said, it’s not stainless. 3V has 7.5% Chromium, so it’s “nearly” stainless much like D2.

From what I’ve seen if you keep your knives cleaned and maintained you’ll avoid any staining and pitting. In the specific case of the Bailout, Benchmade has coated the steel, so you’re only really going to see any stain issues on the edges.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The Bailout’s handle is made from textured Grivory, a polymer based material. The handle slabs are thin and skeletonized with a consistent matrix of pockets milled out to reduce weight but maintain strength. The slabs themselves are a svelte .12” thick. They feel good in the hand with enough grip that the knife feels secure but not so much that it begins to cause hot spots.

Benchmade has flared the handle out near the pivot to reduce the possibility that you’ll slip onto the blade if you use it for a piercing task. This flaring also acts as a bit of a thumb ramp for me.

Moving to the back, we have an aluminum pommel. I suppose the idea behind this is for some last-ditch striking application. I would love to have seen hardened steel used instead, but I imagine it came down to a weight/strength type scenario.

The clip is excellent. It’s a short (in length) deep carry clip. It tucks right into the palm of your hand when you’re holding the knife and carry nice and deep in the pocket. I would love to see more makers take up the shorter clips instead of making them half the length of the knife itself. That being said, it’s a tight clip, so if you have thicker pockets, you may run into an issue getting it clipped on.

And speaking of pockets, the Bailout carries easily. At just over 2 ounces, this is a knife you will quickly forget you are carrying until you need it. The Bailout isn’t quite as discreet as the Bugout, as it has a has that slotted protruding pommel, but everything is blacked out for a low profile. Here is a picture of it in the pocket:

No complaints in the carry department.

Deployment and Lockup

The Bailout utilizes dual thumb studs and phosphor bronze washers to get the blade open. This is standard fare for Benchmade, and much like their other knives, the blade deploys smoothly and easily.

Ahh, the axis lock. I’ve talked about it before in previous reviews, but suffice to say I’m a fan. I like it when watch companies incorporate mechanisms that are ambidextrous. It opens the doors for left-handed users as well as potentials users that want to carry weak side.

The Axis lock itself is pretty great. It operates by moving a hardened steel bar along the curved tang of the blade until it reaches the open position. Once it does two springs, snap it in place blocking the knife from closing. The bar itself extends across the length of the knife’s handle allowing you to open it from either side, thus ambidextrous. The Axis lock has been historically proven to be a reliable and robust locking method for a good portion of Benchmade’s catalog.

Competitive Offerings

For the sake of argument, let’s look at some competitive options:

We have the Spyderco Para 3 Lightweight, priced around $40 less than the Bailout. Same FRN style handles, somewhat ambidextrous compression lock, but the steel is where you’re making a compromise. The Para 3 uses CTS-BD1N, which is new to me, but it seems like it wouldn’t outperform 3V.

Or we could look at Zero Tolerance 0450. I like this knife, but it costs roughly $40 more than the Bailout, and due to the Titanium construction will weigh significantly more. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the Bailout is trying to fill a specific need in a folding knife. I doubt the 0450 would be a knife you’d literally throw in a Bailout (or Bugout) bag due primarily to weight and cost.

Benchmade Bailout Review – Final Thoughts

When I opened this review, I touched on the fact that Benchmade has been creating some incredibly fresh and cool designs that fit a little better into the landscape of 2019’s knife collecting. The Bailout (and it’s Bugout twin sibling) are perfect examples of this. Benchmade has taken tried and true materials and molded them into a configuration that the EDC community values greatly. It’s thin, light, and durable. Benchmade has selected top-tier steel that will take a beating and keep on cutting. On top of all of this, the knife looks cool! The Cerakoted blade with an aggressive tanto tip is primed and ready for some Instagram pocket-dump cred.

The best part, however, is the price: Currently, BladeHQ has the Bailout priced at $144.50. That’s a lot of value for your money in my opinion.

Sale

Benchmade - Bailout 537GY EDC Knife with Black Grivory Handle (537GY)

ULTRALIGHT DESIGN: A slim, sleek stealth knife that adds confidence to your kit; Lightweight design for optimal strength-to-weight ratio
CPM-3V STEEL: A powder-metal tool steel engineered for high stress and extreme force; Exceptionally tough with good edge retention; Requires a little extra care to keep the rust off. Factory in Oregon City, Oregon.
6061-T6 ALUMINUM HANDLE: Originally developed as a premium aircraft grade aluminum it offers a solid handle and form at nominal weight.
AXIS LOCKING MECHANISM: Ensures safety and a smooth open and easy close; Mini tip-up reversible deep-carry pocket clip for ultimate accessibility

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Benchmade Bailout from Amazon or BladeHQ. Thanks for reading.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Review

by Aaron Shapiro Leave a Comment

Watches, for some of us, become mementos of something we’ve done or somewhere we’ve been. Today it seems painfully appropriate that I am writing about this particular watch; It’s April 15th, 2019 and my afternoon was interrupted by the news that the magnificent Parisian cathedral of Notre Dame had caught fire and was burning.

< Buy the Tudor Black Bay Chrono at JomaShop

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The reason this is applicable here is that I purchased this watch while I was on vacation with my wife in Paris just a few months ago. Something that I have learned is: you can’t force something to have significance, but the time you spend, the places you go, and the people you’re with can all help imbue something with memory and importance to you. This Tudor Black Bay Chronograph will always remind me of those flying buttresses, and that giant rose window.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me introduce you to the Tudor Black Bay Chronograph, released at Baselworld 2017, this watched marked a big step for the Black Bay line that until now was comprised of just time-only watches. The Black Bay Chrono also marked an exciting partnership between Breitling and Tudor wherein the two brands exchanged some movement technologies with each other. I’ve always found this partnership to be one of the more interesting things about this particular watch—and it’s what attracted me to it. (that and my voracious appetite for chronographs)

Before we get too far into the review let’s go over some specs:

Case Width: 41.4mm
Case Thickness: 15.3mm
Lug to Lug: 50.1mm
Depth Rating: 200m (660 ft)
Weight: 6.4oz on Bracelet
Movement: MT5813 based on the Breitling B01
Lug Width: 22mm

(All measurements are my personal measurements and may differ from the manufacturer’s specifications.)

Fit

I’ve always found Black Bays to wear and fit very well. My wrist is roughly 7” depending on how warm it is and if I’ve recently consumed MSG…but that’s always been a pretty versatile wrist size and I’m comfortable with watches that range from 38-44mm’s. That being said, the Black Bay Chrono is a comfortable-if-chunky watch on the wrist.

I would say the chunkiness is mainly due to its thickness. The in-house movement increased the thickness of the Black Bays slightly, but I would assume that the chronograph complication only exacerbated that. It’ll be up to you to decide if it’s too much for your arm, it isn’t for me.

Movement

As I stated in the intro Tudor was involved in a movement exchange program with Breitling. In this exchange, Tudor received the B01 movement for use in this watch. Breitling, on the other hand, took the MT5612 movement and renamed it the B20 after modifying it for use in the SuperOcean Heritage II.

It’s my understanding that the movements are modified by Tudor to include a tungsten winding rotor, variable inertia balance wheel, and a silicon balance spring. Lastly, Tudor changes the minute register to 45mins instead of Breitling’s 30 minute counter. This last modification is due to a historical reference, Tudor’s chronos have used 45mins since the Reference 7031 “Monte Carlo,” Chronograph.

My experience with this movement has been nothing but exceptional. All of Tudor’s in-house calibers come COSC certified these days, meaning that you can expect excellent performance. While I have not timed my watch to the second (I don’t own a timegrapher) I can say that it been right on the money every-time I’ve checked it. The chronograph pushers have a great action, as one would expect from a column wheel chrono like this. One other thing to note, the silicon balance spring means that this movement should resist a good deal of magnetism—this is a valuable quality to have in today’s magnetic-field-rich-climate.

Case and Crown

By this point in my watch-collecting practice I have owned four or five Black Bays, and one thing I love about them across the board is the case. Tudor, being the little brother of Rolex, benefits from their bigger brother’s case finishing capabilities. The watch is brushed on the tops of the case and polished on the slab-like sides. Tudor has also included some really lovely polished details along the bevel on each side of the case as well as the edge of the bezel where it meets the case. The effect these small details create is a subtle sparkle on the wrist as the watch moves through the light.

The Chronograph has the standard large Black Bay crown with Tudor’s rose printed on it, as well as two screw down pushers. My experience in the past with screw down chrono pushers has not always been the best, but Tudor’s nailed it with very smooth screw down action, which is easily used on wrist. One thing Tudor has stubbornly retained is the anodized aluminum collar around the crown tube, I would personally prefer a crown sitting flusher to the case, but it’s a minor gripe.

Dial and Crystal

The Tudor Black Bay Chronograph, like other Black Bays, has a boxed sapphire crystal. This is a pretty firm nod to the “heritage-yness” that Tudor is drawing from for these watches; It also looks great. The dial itself is a textured matte black that in the bright sun can almost look grey or charcoal. The hands and hour indices are a bright silver color with white lume filling the centers. I much prefer this over gilt dials used in other variations.

In terms of readability, Tudor has always excelled. The “snowflake” hour hand was designed for precisely that. It allows you too quickly too differentiate between the two hands and orient yourself on the dial at a quick glance. The choice of colors and materials also creates a helpful contrast. The Chronograph hand is a simple thin silver hand tipped with an arrow, I personally love the way it catches the light.

Not to pander to the internet forumites, but one issue that I have seen regarding the hands used on this watch is simply that the snowflake can obscure the sub-dials. That’s valid, and I suppose true; however, it’s never been something that bothered me.

The lume Tudor uses on the Black Bays is very effective, glows bright when you walk into a movie theatre and is easily seen for several hours. It’s green lume, so Tudor isn’t using Rolex’s proprietary Lumibrite.

Lastly the date window sits at six o’clock. It’s a rather stark contrast a from the textured black dial to the white back date wheel, but I generally prefer to have a date than not.

Bracelet

The Tudor Black Bay Chronograph comes on the standard steel bracelet available to most of the Black Bay collection. You can also purchase the watch on a leather or nylon strap, but honestly, I wouldn’t suggest that. Tudor, like its parent Rolex, has a reputation for making excellent bracelets and this is no exception.

The bracelet is an exceptionally well-executed steel bracelet with a fold-over clasp. It has been stylized to some extent with faux rivets on the links to emulate old-timey bracelets that were actually riveted together. These links, on the other hand, are screw together making adjustments simple and quickly done by the end user. The clasp features three micro adjustments to really dial in the fit.

I think in a perfect world there are several great strap options for the Black Bay Chrono. The first being, obviously the OEM bracelet, the second would be an Everest Rubber Strap, and the third would be either the OEM NATO strap or Crown and Buckle’s adjustable Chevron Strap.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Review – Final Thoughts

Well, what can I say? I bought it…This is one of the few watches that I walked into an Authorized Dealer and left with it new. I think these are healthy options for those that like the Tudor Aesthetic or are interested in the movement exchange from Breitling. It’s a little weird to talk about a $5,100 sticker price to be a good value but considering AD discounts (and in my case VAT refunds) they can pan out nicely. You get a lot for the money.

I think these are also solid options for those that are looking for a chronograph but don’t really want to go down the Speedmaster route—the Black Bay Chronograph has a lot of ties to some nice watch heritage but is also not super expected. I think it would be rare for you to run into someone else with one.

Tudor Heritage Black Bay Chrono Chronograph Automatic Chronometer Black Dial Men's Watch M79350-0001

Editor: If you would like to buy a Tudor Black Bay Chrono, I recommend purchasing it at Amazon or Jomashop. Thank you.

Casio G-Shock GMW-B5000D-1 Review

by Aaron Shapiro 6 Comments

A watch never attracted and confused me as much as the Casio G-Shock GWM-B5000D-1 hereafter referred to as the “Heavy Metal G.” On the one hand, you have the legendarily well-built G-Shock built into an all-metal case with a nicely finished steel bracelet. On the other hand, you now have a “beater” watch that’s encased in a shell that will show wear and tear much faster than it’s rubber forefather. So, as this review begins, I want to pose a question to the reader: Does the all metal construction of the Heavy Metal G change the use-case from what it was initially intended to be?

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I write about G-Shocks a lot here on Bladereviews, but for those of you new to the show here’s a brief course on G-Shock history. The G-Shock was first designed and brought to market in 1983 by Japanese engineer Kikuo Ibe. These watches were designed to resist shock and water as well as remain painfully accurate over their 10+ year battery life. Since then these watches were widely adopted by anyone that needed a timepiece that would never fail them.

My Dad, a 30+ year firefighting madman, wore one daily for 10+ years on the job. On his last day, he gifted his still perfectly functional G-Shock to the chief of the department. I never forgot that and what a testament that was to the quality of the timepieces.

G-Shock has adopted atomic timekeeping, with their watches syncing to the Atomic Clock daily to ensure the tightest timekeeping possible, as well as solar charging making sure that their watches are basically self-sustaining for years and years. If you are even remotely into watches, you need to experience a G-Shock at some point…but is the GWM-B5000D-1 a good place to start?

But first some specs:

Case Width: 43.2mm
Case Thickness: 13.2mm
Lug to Lug: 49.2mm
Depth Rating: 200m (20 bar)
Weight: 5.6oz on Bracelet
Movement: Casio Module 3459
Lug Width: Not really applicable here although NATO adaptors may exist

Fit

Casio has, in my opinion, hit some sort of golden ratio voodoo with these square G-Shock cases. They fit so well. By the numbers, the GWM-B5000D-1 is large and heavy however once you get it on the wrist it wears nice and trim, even with the addition of a steel bracelet (which is a first for G-Shock).

When you lay the watch down flat on a table you’ll notice that that the lugs descend dramatically from the case itself holding the case back off of the tabletop. I believe these lugs are the most significant contributing factor to the comfort on the wrist, it allows a 43mm x 49mm case to really hug my 7” wrist.

Movement

Man, there’s so much that can be said about each of the G-Shock modules. These are movements that are designed to do so much, but the 3459 has Casio’s Bluetooth connectivity features incorporated. In brief, this movement can: Tell the time, tell 5 different world-time zones simultaneously, track 4 different alarms, run a stopwatch, keep track of countdown timer, and connect to your phone helping you find it if you’ve lost it.

All of these functions are accessed by the four buttons on the case. Pressing the lower left will cycle the modes, the lower right cycles between timezones or alarms, the top right turns on the excellent backlight, and the top left interacts with the different modes.

Accessing the functions of the watch is simple and straightforward in its own right, but with the inclusion of the Bluetooth features, it’s even simpler. Now you connect the watch to your phone via the G-Shock App, and set up those alarms, world timezones, and other settings from the app and just sync the watch from there. It takes a little bit of fiddling to get it right, but once you have the hang of it, it couldn’t be simpler.

Another feature worth pointing out is the time syncing. You are able to do this via two methods—the first being via radio sync from the atomic clock like a lot of other G-Shocks have been doing for a while now. The second is to sync from your phone via Bluetooth. I think the benefit of doing it via Bluetooth would be for traveling. Once you hop off a plane quick press of a few buttons, the watch connects and syncs to the local time, and you move on, no need with fussing to get it to sync after you arrive at your destination.

I also want to point out that I am sure I am leaving out some functionality of this module—with the Bluetooth syncing and phone connection features there is so much that this watch can do I only scratched the surface wearing it.

Case/Crown

The case is where I believe the Heavy Metal G diverges from other G-Shocks. Casio has given this particular watch an all steel case and bracelet with a variety of well-applied finishes. All of the flat surfaces on the case are vertically brushed, whereas the rest of the case has a surprisingly nice polish applied to it. The bracelet is brushed with small polished details throughout.

The debate I have been having with myself is this: The Casio G-Shock is stereotypically a watch meant to stand up to literally everything. They are generally designed in a rubber housing that can both absorb abuse and from my experience not show evidence of it. Making the watch from steel and applying the polished finishes and accents that they have, however, makes it show a LOT of wear. The example that I have was purchased used and showed all of the wear it’s seen. Even the really lovely brushed bezel around the face has a good sized ding in it (I got a good deal, I can’t complain).

Dial and Crystal

G-Shock’s excel in their readability, especially the digital versions. The Heavy Metal G has a positive digital display, meaning that the background is light and the numerals are dark. This is my favorite, I find negative displays to be harder to read (although not impossible). Surrounding the display is this a brick wall lookin’ area—this is the solar cell that charges the watch while you wear it in the daylight.

The crystal is made from mineral glass, that’s fine. It’s not ideal, and it could be better. At this price point, I would expect sapphire, if Hamilton can deliver sapphire in their similarly priced Field Khaki’s Casio should be able to here.

Bracelet

Some months back I wrote a review on the Casio Square G that featured their Combi-Bracelet—that bracelet, in my opinion, is a work of functional art and really makes that watch. Does the steel bracelet of the GWM-B5000D-1 do the same? Kinda… It’s built well and still utilizes spring bars construction; making it very easy to adjust.

On the negative, as with the case, the steel bracelet will and in my case does show a lot of wear. The black combi-bracelet hid wear, even desk diver marks, very well but that is not the case on the brushed stainless steel. While this is something that’s shared amongst all watches with steel bracelets if you think about the abuse a G-Shock is designed to hold up against I’m not sure if it’s the most sustainable, your mileage may vary.

Casio G-Shock GMW-B5000D-1 Review – Final Thoughts

So when I first started this review, I asked a pretty simple question: Does the all metal construction of the Heavy Metal G change the use-case from what it was initially intended to be? I think the answer is up to the owner. On the one hand this watch is gonna show a lot of the wear that it’s subjected to; however, it will continue to work as it should and will absorb that abuse like a champ.

So, as a potential buyer here, are you cool with some wabi-sabi on your timepiece? Some real honest wear marks from your adventures? Or would you prefer to keep your watch looking nice all the time? If you’re in the latter camp, I’d suggest one of Casio’s Rubber G’s, like the DW-5600E. Luckily for us, G-Shock makes a lot of different watches in a lot of different configurations so we can pretty much get all of this functionality in several different shells.

With all that said, I have to keep myself honest and point out: The steel and surface finishes are what really attracted me to the watch in the first place. I loved the vertically brushed bezel. I’ve always been a fan of really directional brushed finishes like this on watches. So if this metal G-Shock blows your hair back just by looking at it, I can assure you that you’ll be impressed in person.

GMWB5000D-1

Editor: If you would like to buy a Casio DW-5600E, I recommend purchasing it at Amazon or Jomashop. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Spyderco Native 5 in Fluted CF and S90V Review

by Aaron Shapiro 2 Comments

Several years ago I watched a Nutnfancy video while I was trying to research a new firearm that I had purchased (I did this backwards back then). This led me to the realization that my life wasn’t complete without a pocket knife. My first purchase was a Spyderco and that led to nearly a decade love affair with the brand.

Buy the Native 5 in Carbon Fiber at BladeHQ

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Spyderco as a brand started in 1978 in Golden Colorado by Sal Glesser, over the last forty years the brand has explored many different steel combos, opening methods, locking systems, and more. Recently, it seems like Spydero has been ratcheting their game up in order to compete with the KAI brands (Kershaw, ZT, etc) and Benchmade by adopting super steels, exploring more complex finishing methods, and partnering with notable custom knife makers/designers.

Today we are looking at the Spyderco Native 5, first introduced in 1997 as the Native, but not just “any” Native 5, the [easyazon_link identifier=”B0199VGG7Q” locale=”US” tag=”brdfkdfk-20″]Fluted Carbon Fiber/S90V[/easyazon_link] premium version of the knife. The Native has been in Spyderco’s catalog forever, and is arguably one of their best EDC blades. This special edition is like cranking the amp to 11. However, before we go any further let’s review some specs:

Blade: 2.875”
OAL: 7”
Thickness: .436” not counting clip .623” with clip
Blade Thickness: .127”
Steel: S90V
Weight: 2.8 oz
Lock: Lockback
Made in the USA

All Measurements are my personal measurements and may differ from the manufacturer’s specifications.

Blade

The Spyderco Native 5 is one of the brand’s famously leaf shaped, flat ground blades. I’ve always loved these because they simple excel at most daily EDC tasks. In my case that’s generally relegated to slicing some fruit for lunch, opening packages, and the like and it has been a joy for that.

The Native’s blade tapers to a sharp and delicate tip that will fulfill any and all of your puncturing desires. Aesthetically the flat grind is accented by a small but well placed swedge that runs the majority of spine but doesn’t interfere with the height of the grind.

As for the steel, I think this is where it really gets interesting; S90V is a powdered steel from crucible that’s known for its fantastic edge retention and stain resistance. In my experience I have found that S90V prefers a toothy “utility edge” if you will, which Spyderco happily provides from the factory—the nice thing is you won’t need to sharpen it for a long, long time.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

Spyderco wanted to make this particular Native 5 to be as agile and unobtrusive as possible. To do that they made the handles out of two solid slabs of CF and opting to not use liners at all. The clip screws directly into a larger portion of the backspacer/spring assembly as opposed to a liner. This has resulted in a knife that weighs less than 3oz. Spyderco then went and added this starburst style milled texture to the handle scales which offers an excellent grip when in hand.

Grip texture aside, the shape and flow of the handle allows you to get a solid full hand grip on the knife—there’s a solid choil towards the front that will prevent you hand from sliding at all, or you can jump it with your index finger for a more “choked-up” grip if needed. The result is a great working knife that is comfortable in a variety of grips.

The clip is Spyderco’s their regular spoon style three screw clip. I feel like this is a fairly known-quantity at this point. They use similar clips all across their production line from entry level (think Tenacious) to high-end as you see here.

Not much that I’d really critique here. I like this clip and I feel that it does its job well. Some folks prefer deep carry clips, I do not, but I believe there are after market options available to you if that’s something you’re after.

Deployment and Lockup

Being a Spyderco the Native 5 makes use of a 12.6mm hole opener or “spydiehole.” I’ve always been a fan of these and this one is no exception. The “action” of the knife however is different than most Spydercos in that it’s a lock back, and because of that it has tension from the lock across the blade then entire time it’s opening. It’s not really a “flickable” knife in the normal sense.

The lockback itself is very well executed; smooth while opening, and pop’s into place with a resounding click. The tension on the spring isn’t too tight when releasing the lock, however closing the knife, for me, is a two handed operation or maybe one hand and the back of your leg—you get the idea. As you’d expect there’s zero play in any direction, the knife as a whole feels extremely solid.

Spyderco Native 5 in Fluted Carbon Fiber and S90V Review – Final Thoughts

In my mind there are two real competitive options when it comes CF/S90V production knives. The first is the Benchmade 940-1 and the second is this one. Before I wrap this review entirely, I want to give a little compare/contrast of the two and offer a personal opinion if you’re trying to choose.

BladeHQ currently has the Benchmade priced at $267.75 vs the Native at $233.97. The Benchmade is a larger knife in a slimmer profile, offering around half an inch more blade than the Native. Due to the Benchmade’s thinner handle it’s going to present a better profile in pocket than the Spyderco will. The Native, however, feels rock solid in every way once opened whereas I am able to muscle some movement out of the Benchmade’s lock when opened. This doesn’t mean that I’d expect the Axis lock to fail, but it will come down to personal preference as to whether you’re okay with some wobble. The two knives are the same thickness and roughly the same weight.

Basically I think it’ll boil down to a few things: The first and most obvious will be cost, the Spyderco is ~$30 cheaper, this might matter to you, and if it does there’s no need to go any further. The second is lock preference. While I think the lock back on the Native feels tighter then the Axis, I do prefer the Axis from a usability standpoint; it also allows you a knife that you can flick open and closed. The third and final thing to consider is just the overall appeal.

Personally, I love the finish to the Benchmade’s CF with the faux milled bolster and how it tapers towards the top and bottom. The Spyderco’s sunburst fluting is cool, but much more subtle and it gives the CF more of a matte quality dampening down some of the dimension in the weave. For those reasons, I think if I had to pick one, I’d still get the Benchmade… but that’s just me. The Spyderco, as my above review has shown, is an excellent piece and a capable tool.

In the end, I think either knife would be suitable for two people primarily… a newer collector that’s looking to branch into higher end materials but isn’t quite ready to make the jump to CRK or customs yet or the seasoned collector that’s looking for a piece to use around the house in the place of some of their more expensive knives. Just my .02.

Spyderco Native 5 Knife - Black Carbon Fiber Handle with PlainEdge, Full-Flat Grind, CPM S90V Steel Blade and Back Lock - C41CFFP5

An Improved Classic: The Native model has been a mainstay of Spyderco's product line for years as a result of it's Superior Quality and affordability. The state of the art Native 5 is available in an array of handle choices and colors.
USA Made: Spyderco takes tremendous pride in every knife we make, but the ones crafted in our Golden, Colorado factory are special because we invest a piece of ourselves in every USA-Made knife we create.
Superior Quality: This Carbon Fiber handle is made of graphic fibers woven together then fused with epoxy resin. This solid, yet lightweight handle is intricately machined with a fluted sunburst patern.
Dependable: If you are looking for control and precision, look no more. This knife features our PlainEdge grind which is known for creating a smooth and exact cut.
High-Strength Lock: The Back Lock mechanism is known for it's high-strength and ease of use. The locking system is positioned on the back of the handle.

I recommend purchasing the Spyderco Native 5 in Fluted Carbon Fiber at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Editor’s Note: The original Native 5 has grown on me steadily over the past few years. It is at the point where I prefer my Native 5 over my Sage 1 for daily carry (gasp). I like it more than the Sage because it is lighter, and the pocket clip is sturdier. The fact that it’s a USA made piece doesn’t hurt either. It’s a great size for EDC and has proven itself to be a tremendous work knife. To me this upgraded version of the Native 5 looks excellent and I’ll look to snag one for myself.

Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Review

by Aaron Shapiro 2 Comments

Formed in 1892 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Hamilton Watch Company was one of the more notable American watch manufacturing companies, cutting their teeth on pocket watches designed and targeted at the railroad industry they developed a well known and respected business.

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When World War 2 started Hamilton retooled and began creating wrist watches, effectively paving the way for the watch company we know today—That is until 1966 when Hamilton acquired Buren Watch Company which ultimately led to them moving their entire watchmaking operation overseas to Switzerland. In 1984 Hamilton was acquired by Swatch Brand, leaving us where we are today.

Hamilton still produces a wide range of high quality, Swiss made, timepieces and in this review, we are focusing on the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical (ref H69429931). This particular piece is modeled after their original 1969 field watch, however, the brand has modernized it to appeal to a more contemporary customer—more on that later, for now, let’s go over some specs:

Case Width: 38.26mm
Case Thickness: 9.95mm
Lug to Lug: 47.21mm
Depth Rating: 5Bar (50m)
Weight: 2.2oz on one of my NATO straps
Movement: ETA 2801-2
Lug Width: 20mm

(All Measurements are my personal measurements and may differ from manufacturers specs)

Fit

There are two primary factors that I believe contribute directly to comfort when you’re looking for a watch to wear. The first is case thickness and the second is the lug-to-lug length. The Hamilton really excels in both of these areas, measuring in at less than 10mm thick (handily the thinnest watch in my collection) and around 47mm lug-to-lug it’s easy to simply forget that you’re wearing the watch at all.

One of the real benefits to having such a thin case is that when you pair the watch with a nato it still keeps the whole package incredibly thin. In terms of appearance some folks might turn their nose up at a sub-40mm cased watch, but I would challenge you to try one on if you get the chance—my wrist is around 7” and I find it very proportionate.

Movement

Ticking away inside the Field Khaki Mechanical is the ETA 2801-2. This is a hacking, manual wind, 17 jewels, movement that operates at 4Hz. In my time with the Hamilton, I’ve seen it keep really excellent time, for the price associated with the watch. This isn’t COSC certified movement, nor should it be for the $450 price tag, but it’s generally keeping within 10s/day. With its 46hr power reserve, it leaves you some margin to alternate it with another watch.

I will also point out, that while entirely subjective and not really applicable to performance; the winding action is very smooth and pleasant to use, for what its worth.

Case and Crown

I’ve already talked about its size, but I think the finishes are important on this watch, in particular. The Hamilton “GG-W-113” was originally a military field watch, issued to be worn by soldiers during the Vietnam era. The last thing that you wanted was for a shiny object on your wrist to catch the light and draw attention to you. So Hamilton solved this problem by finishing the steel case with a matte/beadblasted type finish. It looks good and accomplishes what it was meant to on this vintage reissue.

The crown is roughly a 6.5mm crown with very effective jimping around the exterior (for hand-winding). The crown does not screw down, and only have one position when you pull it out for hacking the seconds and setting the time.

Mentioning the non-screw-down crown brings up one important point to be made about this watch. The Hamilton Field Khaki mechanical is rated to 50m depth resistance, there are endless debates about how much depth resistance is “needed” for a daily wearer, I’ll let you decide that for yourself.

Dial and Crystal

In my opinion, the two things that make this watch in particular an excellent value is a. The movement and b. The sapphire crystal. There are a lot of competitive options at this price, but it will be difficult (not impossible) to find one that’s running a respected Swiss movement with a sapphire dome over it, just my .02.

Crystal aside, getting to the dial we start to really see the callbacks to the vintage Hamilton watches that inspired this one. Large Arabic numerals circle the dial in two distinct circles. The larger exterior being in the 12-hour scale, and the inner small circle being in the last half of the 24-hour scale. This allows you easily to see what time it would be in “military time,” if you will instead of having to add/subtract 12. This is all assuming you can separate AM from PM yourself.

The hands are bright white, and sort of a hybrid between sword hands and syringe hands. The bright white of the hands and hour/minute indicators really pop off of the black dial. Both hands, as well as the tip of the second hand, and triangular hour indicators are all lumed with Superluminova that’s been aged to look like an older tritium or radium dial.

Strap

The Hamilton Field Khaki Mechanical ships with a type of NATO strap that is accented with some leather embellishments. I’ll be the first to say that it looks to be a nice enough strap but didn’t fit my wrist well. I removed the OEM strap almost immediately and swapped it for a traditional camo nato I bought from natostrapco.

That’s the beauty of this watch, in particular, versatility, as I’m writing this the watch is on a Shell Cordovan Strap and looks just as at home there as it did on the NATO. It’s a common lug width, and due to the thinness of the overall package, it can wear many different straps very very well. I’ve even seen some folks source vintage styled straight end link bracelets for these watches. The options are endless, and those endless options are made easily accessible for swapping by the drilled lugs.

Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Review – Final Thoughts

When it’s all said and done what we’re looking at from Hamilton is their attempt to honor one of their OG models that have been a source of inspiration for watches for decades now. I believe they’ve done this successfully, primarily by modernizing it—increasing the case size to 38mm (from the original 34) and adding the sapphire over acrylic.

Field Khakis have always been good “starter watches,” and I don’t believe this one is any different, the price is a little higher than some of the other models in the line, but I believe you get what you pay for in this model even if just in terms of aesthetic. It’s easy albeit casual piece to wear, that’s at home in most normal situations. I like this watch, and it’ll be on my wrist for days to come.

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Editor: I recommend purchasing the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical at Amazon or Jomashop. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Also, if you like the watch reviews, here is a link to all our watch reviews.

GEC #15 Tidioute Boy’s Knife

by Aaron Shapiro Leave a Comment

I was just reading some statistics about Great Eastern Cutlery: in 2007 GEC produced approximately 7300 knives whereas in 2017 it’s nearly 30,000 pieces. This is remarkable in today’s hyper competitive EDC pocket knife market. That’s a 310% increase over ten years for a traditional knife company. Admittedly, these numbers are based on hearsay, but a glance at the production totals on GEC’s site show there’s some basis for them.

Buy the Boy’s knife at BladeHQ | KnivesShipFree | GP Knives

I’d like to think that the focus on traditional knives is born out of a perspective shift within the EDC community, perhaps away from the overbuilt tactical to the purpose-based smaller utility folders? It’s hard to say at this point, but just from observing the ripe secondary market it’s clear that slipjoint fever is on fire these days.

Today, we’re looking at the GEC #15 Tidioute Boy’s Knife, a well rounded and sized EDC slip-joint at a very accessible price point. Based around the traditional “Sleeveboard” pattern, these are sometimes also made into barlows with full steel bolsters. A “Boy’s Knife,” is generally characterized by their diminutive size (generally between 2.75″ and 3.25″ closed), the idea being these could be a child’s first pocket knife. These were most often spearpoint bladed pieces, but we’re seeing a lot of variety now in the modern iterations. But, before we get too far into that, let’s hit some specs:

Blade: 2.5”
OAL: 6.187”
Thickness: .43”
Blade Thickness: .09”
Steel: 1095 Carbon Steel
Weight: 1.8oz
Lock: Non-Locking Slipjoint

(These are my personal measurements made with my calipers and my faithful (pink) ruler. The manufacturer’s published numbers may vary.)

Blade

The #15 pattern by Great Eastern Cutlery is an amalgamation of several different knives they offer in the same size. I’m aware of a Wharncliffe version (Navy Knife), Wharncliffe with a cap-lifter/prybar type tool (Crown Lifter), Special Run Barlows (TC’s), and then the Spearpoint (Boy’s Knife) featured here. There are very likely other versions that I am not aware of out there, the world of GEC’s is deep and wide.

In my opinion the Boy’s Knife in spear point offers one of the more versatile blade shapes out of the GEC offerings. The blade has a straight back for nearly three-quarters of the length before descending into a fine point. GEC has also opted for a small swedge running nearly the entire length of the blade. I think that this offers a little dimensionality to what would otherwise be a very simple blade shape. In practice what I have found is that most of the knives that Great Eastern makes have very nice, thinly ground blades. Case in point, the #15’s blade I have has been taken down to .012 behind the edge… this thing screams through paper.

In practical use, I’ve found the #15’s blade to be a generally good fit for most of what I do. I think the spear point works well for piercing tasks and the thinness of the edge really excels for slicing. I wind up breaking down a lot of boxes at work and it only takes the lightest touch to break the tape.

As for steel, 1095 is a tried and true performer, high carbon, generally taken to 58-60HRC, I’ve had great experiences with it both in cutting and sharpening. It will stain or rust, so I’d suggest oiling the blade and spring with mineral oil or something similar (but not too much, some good use patina is cool.)

Handle and Ergonomics

The Boy’s Knife handle is a simple teardrop shape with micarta scales and a short steel bolster over steel liners. Construction is pinned. There are many options for scale material, but I opted for a micarta handle.

The handle offers a full grip for me, which is surprising to me since the knife appears to be so small on paper. The small teardrop shape doesn’t offer what I’d call a “secure grip,” but in the use case scenario for a small slip-joint, I tend to think this is more than adequate. When the #15 gets put to work cutting up cardboard boxes I’m careful with it as this is a smaller handle and the grip is not as secure as a full size knife.

I’d recommend a full size GEC if you intend to use the knife routinely for harder tasks like breaking down lots of boxes, but this knife is fine for light EDC use and the occasional package.

There is no pocket clip on this knife, so no need to comment on that. Often these knives are carried in leather slip sheathes. Either way this will be a small and slim carry.

Another option with this knife is to pick one up with a bail and chain. This is kind of like a wallet on a chain. It won’t walk off on you. Traditionally these bail knives were for sailors, and they continue to practical for marine applications and other times when you want to keep your knife on you.

Walk and Talk

Talking about the “lockup” on a traditional folder like this always presents a challenge, but I think it might be more applicable to talk about it’s fit and finish since those will directly relate.

The areas that are often talked about with traditionals generally are flushness of the spring and centering. I would expect a handmade custom Slipjoint to be flush in all three positions and perfectly centered, whereas I give a little grace to production knives.

The #15 is flush in the open and closed, but the spring does stick up a little at the half-stop. This would only become apparent if you stopped mid opening or closing to look at it. Centering, however, is right on the money.

Since this is a non-locking slip joint, we don’t talk about deployment and lockup. Instead we talk about “walk” and “talk”. The walk is the feel and tension of the blade moving against the spring, while the talk is the sound of the knife snapping open/closed.

The walk and talk on most GEC’s I’ve handled is pretty decent. My only gripe is that I don’t think that nail nicks are a viable method to open knives. My only interest in a nail nick is if it allows some portion of my finger to “stick” to the blade so I can pinch the knife open, and it barely functions as such on the #15. I’d love a more pinch-able blade.

GEC #15 Tidioute Boy’s Knife Review – Final Thoughts

All in all, my experiences with the GEC #15 have been very good. It’s a solid knife that performs well in the context that I think it was designed for. I think that most traditional knives perform pretty light duty tasks for everyone. Slice an apple here, open some mail there, maybe break down a few boxes as the need arises, but most of us won’t be carrying a GEC for a survival knife except perhaps as a tertiary backup to other gear. GEC’s have also maintained a good collector base, so if you’re the “Gotta Catch’em All,” type you will do well in this world.

If you are looking for a small and simple GEC slip joint, the #15 Boy’s Knife is well worth considering.

GEC #15 Boys Knife
From: BladeHQ

Editor: I recommend purchasing the GEC #15 Boys Knife at BladeHQ, KnivesShipFree, or GP Knives. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.