EDC Pens

If you look carefully in the stack o' pens shown in this previous post, you might see the four compact little pens in the picture to the right.  I bought these pens (coincidentally, all of them are Zebra brand pens) in an attempt to find a decent EDC item to keep with me in my pocket, on my keychain, etc.

Yeah, yeah, I know about the super popular Inka keychain pen, but have some reservations about it (after spending a few days reading online reviews of it, as though it's a luxury vehicle or a major appliance). Instead, I opted for the following, shown left to right in the picture: Zebra F-301 Compact ballpoint; Zebra Minna Mini ballpoint; Zebra SL-F1 Mini ballpoint; and Zebra Penpod ballpoint.

The F-301 Compact is based on the regular F-301, which is good for a ballpoint. It has a lanyard hole to accommodate keychain carry, but I think it's too long to keep with my keys in my pocket. When closed, the cap is very secure, but when posted on the end it is really wobbly and shaky. When the cap is posted, the pen is virtually a full sized pen. This makes it comfortable to write with, but an EDC pen for me will typically be used only for quick notes and reminders. All of these factors put the F-301 Compact in last place for me.

The Minna is super thin and compact, and I like the design even though it's a little feminine. It might be tough to see in the picture, but there is a very cool Japanese style graphic in a clear window section of the barrel.  The body is very thin, and most of the pen fits inside the cap when closed. I like how the ends are rounded and the thin body makes this easy to keep in my jeans coin pocket.

I'll take the SL-F1 Mini for the win here.  This pen is weighty (I believe it has a metal construction), compact, and sleek.  The gray color is nice, and it does come in other colorways.  The pen telescopes to reveal the tip and to extend the body.  The extended length is somewhat short, but still OK to write with for a quick note or two.  When closed, it fits perfectly in my jeans coin pocket.  Moreover, pen has a deep carry clip configuration, which I like better than the shallower clip found on the Minna.

The Penpod is a good option if you really want to carry something on your keychain.  I don't, and the girth and deployment mechanism of the Penpod make it less than perfect for pocket carry.  The pen itself is spring loaded and a quick twist releases it from the cap, which stays on the keyring.

So I wasted a few dollars and a whole lot of online research time to realize that the Zebra SL-F1 is nearly perfect for my needs.  It usually lives in my jeans coin pocket (or in some other pocket when I'm not wearing jeans) and it's so small that I don't even notice it.

New Pocket Knife: Cold Steel Tuff Lite

Payday = New Stuff! In this case, new stuff = new knife. I'm still searching for cool EDC knives to add to my meager collection. There are billions of knives on the market these days, which makes it rather difficult to choose only ONE to buy. Fortunately for me, there are loads of blogs and YouTube channels devoted to knives, EDC concepts, etc. Indeed, the awesome Everyday Commentary blog led me to investigate the Tuff Lite knife by Cold Steel. More specifically, this post includes a good review of the Mini version of the Tuff Lite. That review really piqued my interest, but I had second thoughts after seeing pictures that show the tiny size of the Mini Tuff Lite. Not to worry; my research flow path quickly led me to the larger sized Tuff Lite knife (shown in the picture).

Rather than "review" this knife, I'll just point out some features that led me to buy it. First, I wanted to try a different/unusual blade shape. This knife has a Wharncliffe blade shape (yes, I learned a new word) that is characterized by the straight cutting edge and the curved top edge. I like this shape because I often use my knife to open packages and unruly envelopes, and the blade works well for those applications. Second, I like the way it looks when the blade is open. Third, I wanted to try a different brand (I already have a Spyderco and a Benchmade).

The knife is somewhat portly when closed. It's probably the thickest knife I own as of today. I like the look of this knife when closed, but it really looks great when open. The curved "turtle shell" profile is different than any other knife I own.

Although impossible to tell from my pictures, the blade is hollow ground, and it is literally razor sharp. The straight cutting edge will be perfect for all of my extreme box-cutting chores lol. If I ever encounter a particularly menacing box, those super well-defined finger choils (yet another word recently added to my vocabulary) should do the trick!