From time to time, we delve into the world of Every Day Carry (or EDC), the last time being a great little bag from Nutsac. Well, today we’re back with another very fun entry into that category, and one that actually manages to being some watches (or watch parts, in a sense) to the table – the semi-custom knife from Deejo.
I call the Deejo semi-custom as, when you create the knife (with an interactive, 3D builder on their page), you get some choices to make:
- How big do you want it? They list things in terms of weights (15g, 27g, 37g) which translates to 7cm, 9cm, or 11cm (when closed)
- What finish do you want? Mirror-finish, plain steel, or a dark titanium
- What sort of inset do you want on the handle? There are 5 wood choices, 8 colorful (I presume plastic) insets, or you can opt to have it “naked”
- Do you want it “tattooed”? A variety of designs can be etched into the blade
- Do you want any text on the handle? You get to choose the words and the font
For purposes of the review, I didn’t want the giant knife (already have one of those for camping) and the smaller one you can’t get the blade tatted up, so it was the medium one for me. For the handle inset, I went with juniper, which is in a raw/unfinished state. This means it smells quite lovely, and one presumes will pick up a patina over time from being handled.
The real fun part of the Deejo configuration process – for me – was going through the tattoos. The first time I went through, there was an art deco one I was leaning towards. That was, until I discovered this watch parts one. You can see it’s a movement shot (not sure which one) sort of split in half and put side-by-side. This of course is totally unnecessary on a knife, but it makes for a fun carry, particularly how much of the blade is exposed even when folded.
For the etching, this is more than just a simple silk-screen job. This seems like it’s laser etched, and it has some depth to it, which means your Deejo should keep it’s pattern for a good long while, even through sharpening. Speaking of – the knife is not anywhere near dull when you get it in (the pointy bits are, well, pointy). However, a quick set of passes on your kitchen knife honing steel will get things much, much nicer. I also hit my on a sharpening stone a bit (nothing fancy) but it sharpened up even more. Quite well enough for opening packages and cutting strings, that sort of thing. I could not get details on the specific type of steel they use (just that it’s stainless), so there’s not much I can say about durability or edge longevity (at least, that specs would indicate).
In terms of carry, I’ve never quite been a fan of pocket clips (except on my larger camping knife) for day-to-day carry. I’ve preferred to carry a smaller knife and tuck it away in my pocket. Well, that’s changed with the Deejo. Given how thin it is, it tucks into a pocket easily, and the clip keeps it right at the ready, instead of banging around with the keys. So, a-plus there. If you’re the sort to remove clips (which I normally am) beware, because it looks like the fasteners are at a length that require the clip there to be able to get snug.
With pricing ranging from $29 to $89,the Deejo is an affordable, and customizable fun, way to get a new knife into your regular carry. Oh, and for the impatient out there – these knives come quick. Configure it, pay for it, and a few days later it’s showing up, just in time for you to use. Perhaps not for a venture into the backwoods, but for having a blade for day-to-day situations (opening packages, cutting off tags, etc) this one gets the job done for me. And yes, I do envision this Deejo sticking by my side for a good long time to come. my.deejo.fr
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Brand & Model: Deejo semi-custom knife
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Price: $29 to $89 (as configured, ours ran $69.90)
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Who’s it for? You want a knife for regular, every day life, and want it to look a bit different from what you’ve seen out there
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Would I carry it? Indeed I would!
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What I’d change: There were rumors of a “lefty” version (reverse assembly, basically) but that was a limited run on the smaller size knife, and no tattoos. Being able to choose the reverse build in any config would be sharp!
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The best thing about it: Aside from the build itself, it’s got to be all the blade tattoo options
