A Folding Knife, Your Pocket Companion
Wanting a good knife in your pocket is nothing new. Archaeologists have found evidence that the earliest people not only had stone knives, but also were working to improve them. Ancient people on multiple continents would heat treat the stone in a fire before flaking it so that it was easier to produce better quality edges. Even the idea of the folding knife is nothing new, with Iron Age examples being found that date back over 2000 years. Quite surprisingly, the Romans had a multibladed folder. Today, a good knife is still one of the most useful tools that you can keep in your toolbox, or even better, in your pocket.
That said, the modern folding knife has advanced drastically in the last fifty years. New locking mechanisms are safer and more reliable. Advances in materials allow the creation of much stronger, lighter and more durable designs. Modern, computer controlled production machinery has brought the cost down and consistent quality up to the point that a mass-produced knife can be an excellent tool with a long lifespan.
The first real knife I ever bought was the Kershaw Black Gulch Boy Scout model from the late 80s. It was crazy sharp out of the box and clearly a quality tool to be treated with respect. That knife was in my pocket or pack for years, on many an adventure. Things have certainly changed. These days, Kershaw has a new high-end series of knives, the Zero Tolerance line. They are premium items, with titanium and G-10 handles, as well as ELMAX steel blades that run on a ball bearing assembly so they just glide open.
The ZT 0561 will set you back around $300, but it is a beautiful piece of work.
The blades are laser cut from premium steel.
The high end models are hand assembled in the USA. Even though the Zero Tolerance knives are top of the line tools, they aren’t something that everyone can just run out and buy one of today.
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