Ron's Utility Pocket Knife 3.0 for Keychain and Carabiner with Magtrak Technology Stainless Steel

To be part of my every day carry, something really has to be worth its weight and bulk. I have used various knives (both with replaceable blades and with fixed blades) and I think this is my favorite solution so far.Criteria for a useful EDC blade:==================================1. I like replaceable blades better because I am just not that good at sharpening and I don't like having to think about whether it is worth dulling my blade on this packaging (I used to use the spyderco bug and it was absolutely perfect except that I was always scared of dulling it). Realistically, most of my use for an EDC blade is opening packages and packaging.2. Bulk is a huge problem in the pocket. Everything I carry from my wallet and keys to my pen are as minimal as possible to avoid being uncomfortable while sitting and moving around.3. Low cost and/or high durability is also necessary in an EDC item4. Safety is a high concern. The blade can't come out easily. Not ever. This is so much more important than being able to open one-handed. I'm never in a situation where opening one-handed is critical, but I am always in a situation where accidental deployment is a deal-killer. Keychain jingle is also a deal-killer.This obviously accepts standard utility blades, of which I have a zillion including some that are much higher quality than the included blade. You can get smaller utility blades as well as the snap off kind in some knives and I was tempted, but I often cut things with a lot of resistance, so I prefer the full sized blades (which are also cheaper and easier to find).Positives of this knife:===========================+ The magnet is just the right strength and location. If the blade is deployed and you open the lock, it sucks the blade back in. It keeps the blade from jiggling around (and dulling itself). It would prevent the blade from accidental deployment if the lock failed. But it doesn't stick to keys or other metal items in the pocket. I have the version 3.0 and it is perfect in this respect.+ I was afraid the lock would open easily--I feel like it could use a detent--but it doesn't open on accident. At least, not yet. It takes a little effort to open the lock and then you have to slide out the blade. No accidents here.+ The overall knife is pretty robust but not terribly heavy. It is not as minimal as I would prefer, but it's pretty close. The quality and durability appears to exceed my expectations for a minimal tool of this sort.Negatives:==============- There's no reason for a bottle opener here. Bottle openers are on every tool ever, and most of them are better than this one. This "bottle opener" is just a little hook that will catch on your clothes. The design would be better if the metal just went all the way across to maximize strength instead of giving you a half-baked bottle opener. I'm probably going to grind the bottle opener off.- This is longer than it needs to be. It doesn't need such a huge round hole at the top and it doesn't need as much length as it has either. As it is this is longer than any of my keys, and that's too long. A smaller hole/hinge mechanism would be a big improvement, and then length should be minimized as well.- Although friction holds the lock in place well right now, I can imagine that it may not always do so after some use. A little detent would be an improvement in the design. I have thought of putting a small, fat rubber band (like the kind you get on broccoli) around this for extra security and to reduce the noise of it banging on my keys (primarily while I drive). At the moment it's probably not worth it yet, but this design could indeed be improved.- There is too much side-to-side play here when the blade is being used. The metal is curled under to hold the blade but should be curled tighter. I'm half tempted to try squishing it with pliers to tighten up the tolerance. No reason for all that extra space when we know what thickness standard utility blades are.Final Thoughts================Overall this is worth carrying every single day as I do. I use it often and have not yet had big enough complaints about it to drop it from my EDC, as I have so many other knives. That's actually pretty high praise. Not to say a few tweaks couldn't improve this, but it comes very close to perfection.

I found everything about this box knife to be perfect!* I always carried a pocket knife, but grew weary of keeping it sharp. With this knife, I merely change blades when needed. It's always sharp.* I was concerned about the blade opening during pocket carry with other items like keys. That has never occurred because this knife has a super strong neodymium magnet that keeps the blade drawn back.* The four notch blade is wonderful. "Irwin" makes these four notch blades with a ridge allowing you to snap off a little section, making the blade last much longer.* Have you ever had a key with a key ring hole so small that you had trouble hanging it on your key ring? No problem with this knife. It has a wonderfully large hole for that.* For such a perfect knife, the price is unusually low!* I don't have much use for the bottle opener. But it is smooth and does not snag on things in my pocket.

Very economical price on something so nice. My staff gets those cheap metal tubes that are always gritty and stiff to use. I figured I could spare the money to personally buy a bunch of these and if they work they work but if they don't no major loss. I need to now buy more because I only bought enough for each of them. One of the bunch I got was a LITTLE gritty initially but I worked it for 10 minutes before giving it away (I inspected them all just in case) and whatever little burr was causing issue went away.I have 3 Snecx Mono(s) of my own...aka...stupidly expensive things that are not at all practical...but basically function the same and in a similar form factor. I wouldn't HATE carrying one of these instead. Google them if you wish.To note...They don't seem flimsy in 2024 (November) as it seems a few reviews state they have become more cheaply made over the years.

With standard blades you can use 2/3 of the blade. Good value, but fully extended standard blade has three quarters of an inch exposed (.75") not a deal breaker