EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – For the past couple of years, fixed-blades knives have been gaining popularity in the everyday carry community.
To me, I have always questioned it. Sure, a fixed blade can be super useful on a camping trip, a cookout or even keeping one in your car or pickup just in case.
But the size of most of these knives has been a drawback as far as carrying one every day.
Just putting this out there: I live in a semi-rural area of El Paso’s Upper Valley.
I have a fantastic custom-made fixed blade from Red Beard Knife and Tool. It is super useful out in the yard and putzing around our property.
But I rarely strap it to my side when I am out and about in town.
I have also had the privilege of being able to check out some of RoseCraft Blades’ new offerings of fixed blades as a member of the company’s pass-around group.
Again, they are super well-made, blending craftsmanship and functionality.
But again, I question whether they are true EDC knives, simply because of their size.
I recently have been able to check out the Tiny Dancer from Tenable Knives.
This little fixed blade just might make me change my mind.
This knife has a 3.17-inch black-washed, drop-point blade. Oh, the blade is made of D2 steel, which has a reputation for being a good budget-type steel.
The knife also features a full-tang construction (the blade runs through the entire handle) and gorgeous green micarta handles with lots of texture for extra grippiness.
The knife also has a “ramp” where you can place your thumb on the spine of the blade and choke up. The handle also has a slight curve or bend inward near the blade that allows your hand to really get a natural grip on this knife.
But the thing that really stands out – it is small. It lives up to the Tiny Dancer name with an overall length of less than 7 inches.
It weighs just a touch under 4.75 ounces, giving it some heft for a knife of its size.
Overall, it just feels good in hand and seems small enough to be practical to carry every day.
It comes with a molded Kydex sheath that has a clip that is 180-degrees adjustable, allowing you to horizontally carry this knife along your waist if you want to.
For several days, I have carried it almost everywhere, in the car, at work and around the house. Often, I find carrying a fixed blade to be a little uncomfortable, that the top of the handle can poke into your side.
I got a bit of that, but most of the time I didn’t even realize I had it on my side.
My verdict is: I like this knife. It’s small enough to be a true EDC knife. It is also well made and uses one of my favorite types of handle materials – micarta.
The Tiny Dancer comes in six different flavors and ranges in price for $49.89 for G10 handles, $54.89 for black, brown or green micarta and $64.89 for rose-gold-coated blade and a black-and-red G-mascus handle.
Here is a link to Tenable’s Tiny Dancer with a black-washed blade and green micarta handles, the one featured in this column.
Here is a link to the company’s home page.
Tenable is the budget brand for Kansept Knives, oftentimes offering the same designs with less pricey materials.
Here are some YouTube channels that I watch and enjoy on knife and EDC gear.
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