Doctor, Doctor!

 

What knife do you carry during the Covid-19 pandemic?

There are a lot of options to choose from.  I’m going with Steel Will’s Plague Doctor!

The Plague Doctor is a tactical level knife from Steel Will

Steel Will offers three levels of pocket knives.  First is their EDC.  Up a notch is their Outdoor line followed by their Tactical line.  I don’t know the difference.  I’m cynical enough to know “Tactical” products are usually black and cost more.

The Plague Doctor is a product of the fertile mind of the mysterious designer Vaeringi.  At least he is mysterious to me.  I was unable to find a first name or any kind of bio. 

The knife is a frame lock, with G-10 scales available in OD green and black.  I went with green G-10.

Who says photos don't lie?  The lighting conditions produced a black blade and not the silver satin steel blade it should be.

The blade is made from D2 steel, a high carbon, high chromium die steel and is the highest carbon alloy tool and die steel in production.  The steel contains 1.5% carbon, 12% chromium, 0.75% molybdenum and 0.9% vanadium and a smattering of other elements.  It is the chromium and vanadium that is of interest.  Both form hard, tiny carbides that pin the grain boundaries, and provide strength and edge retention.  The chromium forms a thin, tough transparent metal oxide that protects the steel from rust.  D2 is right on the edge of being stainless, so it benefits from an occasional wipe with oil.  D2 was popularized by Jimmy Lile and later by Bob Dozier.

The knife blade sports a flipper that rotates to form a deep guard for the index finger.  The top of the blade has a riser with jimping providing a friction surface for your thumb.  A depression in the handle feeds your thumb into the jimping. 

There is no opening stud on the blade.  This knife was designed to open with the flipper.  Not enough of the closed blade is exposed to grasp it and open the knife slowly and politely.  Politeness be damned, it’s a fighting knife.

The clip is reversible, but not interchangeable.  Steel Will gives you a second Clip.  All you need is a T-6 torx and a drop of loctite.

I went with the OD green because it wasn’t black.  There is a fine texture on the G-10 to help with grip but not so much you’ll sand the inside of your pocket.  Steel liners support the scales and one side forms the liner lock.  The lock takes a pretty solid bite out of the back of the blade.  The blade pivots on what appear to be bronze washers.  I’d put tiny drop oil on them too.

Let’s summarize the knife specs:

• Blade Length: 3.43" with a cutting edge that’s 3.54"
• Closed Length: 4.96"
• Overall Length: 8.31"
• Blade Material: D2 Tool Steel
• Blade Thickness: 0.14"
• Blade Style: Drop Point flat grind
• Handle Material: OD Green G10
• Handle Thickness: 0.51"
• Weight: 5.4 oz.

The liner lock engages its full thickness on the back of the blade.  The steel liners make this a solid knife!

You can get you own Steel Will Plague Doctor for just under $80.00 at

https://steelwillknives.com/our-knives/tactical-series/plague-doctor-f16m-02.html

It’s a lot of knife for a reasonable price.

Steel Will is a division of Sports Manufacturing Group (SMG), an American company located in Huntington Valley, PA.  The knife was manufactured in China and despite my feelings about China due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a quality knife.  I would have no trouble carrying this to a knife club meeting or taking it off the pavement. 

Tactical Folder part two

Few people have the same insights to tactical knife as knife maker Ernest Emerson.  His early knives were almost tactical art knives.  Evolution and his personnel interest drove him to form his company specializing in hard use tactical knives.

Shadow Tech's Karambit may have a curved blade, but it isn't what you would call a utility knife.

In 2012, Ernest Emerson addressed the tactical knife largely from the police user point of view.  To a large degree their needs are not too different from the civilian.  Here’s Ernie.

1.  Design:  When the US Navy asked me to design a rescue knife for their special boat units (SBU), they gave me a list of tasks the knife would be required to perform.  I designed the knife specifically to address those tasks. 

2.  Purpose of the knife:  The purpose of the knife will dictate what knife you should get.  Is the knife a weapon?  Is the knife a utility tool?  Is the knife an emergency rescue tool?  Is the knife an entry tool?  An undercover officer going into a potentially hostile environment will have completely different requirements than a SWAT officer.

3  Ergonomics:  Ergonomics is one of the most important aspects of Tactical Knife design.  It must feel comfortable when you use it and handle it under stress.  There must be no pinch points, sharp corners or unnatural feel to the handle.  There should be a place for the fingers that do not force them to a specific location.  In addition, the knife should not be too large or too small for your hand, but should be just right.  The bottom line is that your knife should feel like it fits you, in size, shape and weight. 

4.  Size:  As I have already stated, any design must be purpose driven.  Therefore, the size of the knife should be reflective of the task it is designed to do. 

5.  Materials:  There are two categories, blade and handle.  Starting with the blade, I would recommend a good quality stainless steel.  The knife industry is so competitive that any reputable knife company is now using good to high quality steel.  If the knife is only $3.98, it’s made in Pakistan or China, no matter what it says.  The best knife steel ever used is plain old W1 tool steel and it’s been around for a couple of hundred years.  It’s the stuff your files are made of and they cut other steels.

6  Handle:  Handles can be made of a variety of materials from plastic to G-10 and from Titanium to Stainless Steel.  What you want in a handle is something that is stable.  What I mean by stable is: It won’t shrink, check or crack.  Stabilized materials are generally waterproof.  They shouldn’t absorb sweat, water, gasoline, or oil.  Checkering or a textured surface of course will always give you extra traction, especially if the environment is wet.  Bare in mind though, materials do not make the knife.  Design makes the knife.  A bad knife with good materials is still a bad knife.

7.  Blade Design:  The blade should have a cutting edge and a point.  It’s really that basic.  More specifically, I like a good strong thick point.  If I have to poke or dig into something, that could damage or break a delicate needle-like point as found on some knives.  A couple inches of cutting edge is plenty.  Curved cutting edges cut cloth and webbing very efficiently, i.e. seat belts.  Blades should be a minimum of 1/8 inches thick up to 3/16 thick, for lateral strength; I recommend a hardness of 57-59C Rockwell.  At 57-59 C Rockwell, the blade has some inherent flexibility.  After all, a dull knife is still a knife.  A broken knife is . . . well, expensive crap.  One last word on blades.  Always, repeat always, get a serrated blade.  They always cut, even when dull and they blow through a seat belt like something vulgar through a goose.

Spyderco's Dominio has almost all the desired attributes of a tactical/utility knife except for price!

8.  Locks:   I don’t get too spun up about locks.  A folding knife folds.  Get it?  Never depend on the lock.  It is not a fixed blade!

9.  Fixed Blade or Folder:  A fixed blade is inherently stronger than a folder (no moving parts).  So it comes down to this: What are you going to use the knife for?  Some cops who prefer fixed blades carry a much smaller version.  These knives which are the same size as an opened folding knife are very usable, efficient and are compact enough to be carried on a daily basis.  The choice between a folder and a fixed blade should be driven by use first and preference second. 

10.  Carry Options:   Pick a place to carry your knife and always carry it there.  There is no right or wrong about how you carry your knife.  It must be easy and clear to access and it must be in the same place all the time.

11.  Reputation:   This is one of those intangibles that’s hard to describe, but I’ll give it a try.  Your knife may break or need service at some point.  Will the maker of your knife guarantee their product and honor their guarantee?  Get your knife from a company that cares about its product and takes pride in what they make.  They are out there – you just have to look.


I have a slightly less verbose set of defining principles for the tactical knife that differ from both Bob Terzuola or Ernie Emerson.

The perfect tactical/utility knife should:

• Fit the individual and be comfortable to hold when open and in use.
• The blade should be between 2 and 4 inches, but equally important, legal to carry.
• The blade locks open and remains that way until we decide to close the knife.
• Knife can be opened with one hand, either hand.
• The knife should be stay were we put it, not calling attention to itself.
• The blade should have a strong general purpose, partially serrated blade and be able to perform functions from sharpening a pencil, preparing dinner and opening a package.  None of these functions should preclude self-defense.  The blade should be able to stab and cut with efficiency.
• The handle should be a durable material, resistant to solvents, water, mild acids and bases and robust enough to hold the blade securely when open or closed
• All metals have a heat treatment that produces the best compromise of strength, flexibility and edge retention. These conditions should be met.  You should be able to sharpen it with a stone you can buy at Wal-Mart.
• The knife should be manufactured by a reliable company and be of a reasonable cost and good quality.  I may have to lose the knife and it shouldn’t cost me a days pay.
• The knife should be capable of assisting me with my daily chores so I have it on me when I need it.

Summary: The primary task of a tactical knife is dealing with the mundane chores of daily life, opening items, cutting cord, ties, and tape, cutting food, brush and all the impediments we deal with.  It is only the seldomly used reserve function of physical combat or survival that the knife manufacturers address their marketing and design. 

The Hinderer 0550 Misses the Mark

I just got a ZT/Rick Hinderer 0550.  It’s a lovely knife.  


 

What a great looking knife, a great handle and a very nice blade.  Too bad for ZT.

At least I thought so until I went to open it. 

I thought I was going to bust my right thumb pushing on the opening stud.  I changed to my left thumb.  Still no joy.  The knife remained sealed shut.

No, there’s no lock.  Just grab the blade anywhere and it pops open.  But you’ll snap the bone in your thumb if you try to force it open using the opening stud.  I am so surprised about this considering the reputation Zero Tolerance has for quality knives.

  

It’s hard to sell a tactical knife you can’t open with one hand, so I called my distributor.

They didn’t want to believe me.  They sell a lot of ZTs and they never had opening trouble before.

“Tell you what,” Bob said.  “I’ll go out to the warehouse and get one and call you back.”

Five minutes later my phone rings.

“You know what the problem is?”  It was Bob back from the warehouse.  I expected to be told I was holding the knife wrong, or it just needed a touch of oil, or I didn’t use the super-secret unlock feature.

“Damn stud is in the wrong position!  I can’t get it open either if I hold the knife in the regular grip.”

The ZT 0550 is a tactical knife that can't be opened tactically.... NYC would love it!!

At least it wasn’t me. 

“If I hold the knife low in my hand and come at the stud from the 6:45 pm position and press sideways while I jump up and land on my left foot, assuming you’re right handed…..”  I kind of zoned out on the rest of the opening ritual.

Huh,  no.  This isn’t going to work.  It’s going back.  So if you’re thinking of buying a Zero Tolerance Hinderer 0550, make sure you can return it.  Unless you like jumping onto your left foot to open a knife.