New Facebook Page

New Facebook Page Now Up!

I just wanted to post a quick blurb to let you know about the operable new Facebook page for EverydayArsenal Knife Services. You can search Facebook for that title, or simply click this link. There you'll find a link to a downloadable PDF of the knife service request form in the pinned post: as well as reviews, photos, and other information. While the page is operable, it still needs fleshed out. I plan to add helpful knife information, add a Q&A section, enter more reviews from other platforms, and more. 

Don't forget to send your knife in before May 15th to receive 50% off all services!

Carry on!

EverydayArsenal Knife Services Information

EverydayArsenal Knife Services Information

“Stoopid Sharp” Knife Services for Your EverydayArsenal

What people are saying about the freehand edge:

Props for the insanely sharp edge on my NYKM custom knife! Thanks again, Bob! -Paul V., Buffalo, NY

Bob put a crazy freehand edge on my Emerson CQC-15! Between his freehand skills and his Wicked Edge, he will not disappoint. Will definitely be sending him more of my knives in the future. It really is that good! -Joey R., Highland, MI

You're the best sharpener I've ever met. -Bryson S., Farmington, NM

I sent my Buck knife with a halfway decent edge to Bob for him to sharpen and tune. It took him a while to receive my package and he stayed on top of making sure it wasn't floating around in the mail. Once he received my knife he jumped on it and starting tuning because before I knew it my Buck knife was back in my hand. When I got it back oh man was this baby sharp. Smooth action and a fine edge made this knife get carried around by me way more often. I highly recommend shipping your knife out to Bob to sharpen. You will NOT be disappointed with the results! I will definitely be dealing with him again when my Boker or Brous Blades knife needs a tune and a sharpen. -Stephen A., Newark, NJ

If I could give more than 5 stars I would! It was an absolute pleasure to work with this man. I sent him my ZT0566 to be sharpened and tuned and when I got my knife back I couldn't be any more happy. My knife is now better than it was when it was new. It never operated so smoothly, my knife is on washers but it feels like it's on bearings! Ever since I got it back any paper in sight has no chance. It slices and makes wave cuts in phone book paper with ease! This man is a true professional. His sharpening service aside, he was kind enough to message me when he received the knife and also when he shipped it out and made sure I received my knife. I will definitely be a returning customer! -Dylan A., Newark, NJ

(@offthewallpaul)

What people are saying about the mirror polish Wicked Edge:

EverydayArsenal Knife Services did a superb job on my Zero Tolerance 0561. Not only did it come back with a mirror finish and hair popping sharp, but Bob tuned it up and the action is smoother and snappier than before! The turnaround time was fantastic as well. I am completely satisfied with the services at EverydayArsenal. I will be sending more blades there in the future! -Ian C., Albuquerque, NM

To get your knife serviced, please fill out the following information and send it in with your blade (you can copy the form below and paste it directly into Word and print it from there, or I will happily email you the PDF at your request).  

Service Request Form

Contact Information

Owner’s Name: ___________________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________________________

City:___________________ State: _____ Zip: __________

Phone Number: (_______) ________-___________

Email Address: ________________________________________@__________________

Services Requested (Please fill this portion once for each knife you are sending and include it in the package!)

Knife Model: _____________________________________________________________
□ Freehand sharpening (up to 5 inches)………..…....……………………………….$10.00
□ Mirror polish Wicked Edge (up to 5 inches)……...…....………...………………..$20.00
□ Blade spa* (folding knives only)......................................................................$5.00
       Please select your lubricant:   □ Fluorinated Grease     □ 5WT Nano-Oil
□ Heat anodizing……………………….......…………………….………..…………$10.00
□ Acid wash blade……………………………...…………….………………………$10.00
□ Stonewash blade……………………………..…………….………………………$10.00
□ Copperwash blade……………………..…………………….…………..…………$10.00
□ Acid stonewash/acid copperwash………….……………..…………………..……$15.00
      Please select your wash:    □ Acid stonewash     □ Acid copperwash
□ Scotch-Brite satin finish (handle or blade or both)………….………….…………$10.00
□ Scotch-Brite/stonewash/copperwash over heat anodizing….…….…..……………$15.00
           Please select your finish:    □ Scotch-Brite     □ Stonewash      □ Copperwash
□ Add a lanyard (color: ______________________)…………..….………………….$3.00

Shipping.....................………………………………….......………………..$_________
Surcharges (______________________________________________)..........$_________
Applicable Discounts (______________________________________).........$_________

Total……………………………………………………….……………………$_________

Additional Notes: _________________________________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Information

Surcharges

• For knives with more than a 5-inch blade length, an additional $2 will be added per inch of blade for freehand sharpening, and $4 will be added for mirror polish Wicked Edge sharpening. I can do nearly any blade length freehand, but only up to 7 inches on the Wicked Edge.

• For knives with blades made of certain “super steels,” there will be an additional $5 surcharge. Those blade steels include the following: CPM S90V, S110V, S125V; Elmax; M390; ZDP189; and CTS 204P.

• For knives with tanto points or compound ground edges, an additional $5 will be added. If a knife has both a tanto point and a compound ground edge, $10 will be added.

• For knives that require extensive re-profiling work, an additional $5 will be added. Due to the nature of this charge, it may not be in the original price on the form that you send in.

• Return shipping is via USPS Flat Rate Express, and is $6 as long as the knife (or knives) will fit into a Small Flat Rate Box. This comes with $50 standard insurance. If the knife is too big for the Small box, the cost to ship it back in the Medium is $13 with the standard $50 insurance provided. I will happily insure the package for its return trip for whatever amount you would like, but please note that that will increase the cost of return shipping. While the USPS Express service is very reliable, in the event a knife is lost and you did not choose to insure it, I am not liable for that loss.

Payment

• I use PayPal for online transactions; and one payment may be made for the entire balance, including return shipping. Once the final price is determined (for example, once I know the knife will not require extensive re-profiling work, and how much insurance you want on the return shipping), I will send an invoice to your email via PayPal, which you can pay even if you do not have a PayPal account.

• If you wish to use some other form of payment, please contact me to see if we can work something out.

• Knives will be shipped back once the total balance has been paid in full.

*Blade Spa Service

• Please note that the spa service WILL void the warranty for some folding knives. Please see your warranty information to find out if disassembling your knife will void the warranty. I am not responsible for any warranties voided by fulfilling requested spa services.

Turnaround Time

• Turnaround time can be anywhere from a day after I receive the knife to a couple of weeks after, depending on how many other knives I have in queue and what is going on in my life at the moment. Sending multiple knives will also extend that time frame. I enjoy working with knives and do the best I can with time: but in addition to sharpening knives, I work a job that is more than full time; go to school part time; and am a full-time husband to my beautiful wife, and full-time father to my two vivacious daughters. Please be understanding, as I will do the best I can and keep you updated on when I am finished and ready for payment.

Additional Information

• Knife care is something that is near and dear to my heart. I take a great deal of care with the knives I handle. I love knives, and it would drive me crazy if someone messed up one of mine. Hence, I am very careful to make sure I do not mess up yours.

• Freehand sharpening is one of those things everyone thinks they can do, but very few can do well. It is a skill I have been honing for over a decade (no pun intended—ok, that’s a lie. The pun is totally intended). The hair on my arms is usually patchy and prickly due to testing my edges after freehand sharpening. It is a razor sharp edge on a budget! I use diamond stones, working my way down to a very fine stone. Then I touch up the blades with super fine ceramic rods at a 20º or 25º angle, and finish on a leather strop. This results in an excellent edge for user knives. I can adjust the angle to be steeper (to maintain a working edge longer) or shallower (better at slicing) upon request.

• Wicked Edge Precision Sharpeners have a great reputation for making knives so sharp they will bite into a hair that is dragged across it. Getting a mirror polish on a knife is a laboriously painstaking job, but nothing else compares when it comes to looks and sheer cutting ability. Unfortunately, the blade limit for a Wicked Edge is 6 inches.

• The blade spa service is something I strongly recommend to keep your folder in tip-top working condition. After sharpening, I will disassemble the knife and thoroughly clean it to remove any dust, lint, and metal particles from sharpening that may have gotten into the knife. Once it has been cleaned, I will polish any surfaces that need it and remove any burrs I find, both of which will help improve the action of the knife. After that I will lubricate the action with either the fluorinated grease or the Nano-Oil, at your request. The knife will then be reassembled and adjusted. Finally, I will use blue Loctite on any screws that require it to keep them from coming loose during normal use. At the end of the process, your knife will be in its peak operating condition—whether it is a Gerber or a Chris Reeve. Please note that the spa service WILL void the warranty for some folding knives. Please see the manufacturer’s information to see if disassembling your knife will void the warranty. I am not responsible for any warranties voided by fulfilling requested spa services.

• If you are requesting the spa service, you may want to remove any lanyards that run through both scales of the handle. Otherwise, I will remove it and send it back with the knife (but it will not be reinstalled unless you choose to pay the $3 lanyard fee). If you do wish for me to reinstall it, I unfortunately cannot guarantee it will look exactly the same as before removal. For lanyards attached any other way, they can be left on and will incur no fee to reinstall.

• The two lubricants I use are both top-of-the-line, but have very different properties. Fluorinated grease is much thicker than the Nano-Oil, but lasts a very long time and is very slippery without attracting dust and lint. This is especially great for knives with washers and knives that do a lot of hard work, because it will not evaporate away like oil eventually will. The Nano-Oil contains nanospheres which act as microscopic ball bearings. The benefit of these nanospheres is that they stay behind and continue to keep the knife operating smoothly long after the oil itself has evaporated. It is a penetrating oil, which means it will seep into all the crevices of the knife’s action to thoroughly protect and lubricate it. This makes it ideal for knives with bearings. Each is an excellent choice for almost any folding knife.

• Last but not least: every knife I send out is extremely sharp! Please practice safe knife handling!

Carry on, EDCer!   

Contact:

Bob Oswald

2200 Sullivan Ave.

Farmington, NM 87401

(505) 793-5147 – everydayarsenalknifeservices@gmail.com

 Instagram @EverydayArsenal  –  Facebook @EverydayArsenal Knife Services

These Are Not the Pens You're Looking For: The Pelikan M100

The Stormtrooper.

I call it my Stormtrooper pen. I can't help it. It's just so...Stormtrooper-ey. To normal people, it is probably going to be better known as the Pelikan M100. When I saw the pen available for less than $60, I could no sooner pass it up than Luke Skywalker could fly by a Death Star without destroying it. I tend to be a sucker for the unique (and for Pelikan, who just so happens to be my favorite manufacturer). 

What do you mean you guessed Pelikan was my favorite brand? Cheater!

It is, I believe, the smallest and lightest fountain pen in Pelikan's M series. I included some photos of it next to the M400 and M800 in an effort to help show some scale. The closest pen I have to compare to is the TWSBI Mini, which has a significantly larger girth and is noticeable heavier. The M100 is 4 and 13/16 inches (121mm) long capped and 5 and 7/8 inches (147mm) long posted. The mid-body diameter is a meager 7/16 of an inch (11mm). It's not exactly a heavyweight, either: weighing in at only 0.4 oz (11.3g) when it's been freshly inked up. 

The Sovereign (M800), the Master (M400), and the Emperor (M100).

What really gets me on this pen is the black nib and trim, but especially the nib. It just ties it together way better than a silver or gold nib would. Even the smokey gray ink window turns black once it's full of ink. It all just works for me, although my wife is less than a fan of the colors. 

Speaking of the nib, its size is different than that of the 18K gold nibs I have experienced. The gold nibs run about a size larger. The black medium M100 nib writes more like my gold fine nib than the medium gold nib. Also, the steel nib is much much more flexy than its gold cousins, though I'm doubtful that it qualifies as a true flex nib. 

A nib comparison.

The nib alignment was a bit off when I got it, but a tiny bit of careful alignment improved the performance by a leap and maybe two bounds. I'm not convinced I have it perfectly tuned, but it's pretty stinkin' close. It's not as glassy smooth as the gold nib and has a whisper of friction as it glides across the paper with Lamy Turquoise acting as the lubricant, but it is pretty smooth and I rather like the sound and feel of it. 

It's really a black-and-white issue.

There are really only two things I wish Pelikan had done differently with this pen, and they are both purely cosmetic. The firsthand more minor thing is that I think a black band at the base of the plunger screw would have completed the looks of the pen and helped look more visually balanced overall. The second and more important thing to me is that I wish they had put a black paint or resin in the impressed Pelikan insignia at the top of the cap. That would really make it pop, especially when it's peeking out of a pocket or something. The way it is it's pretty difficult to see. 

The boring Pelikan logo.

Aside from those two things, the only thing that could be a pain - depending upon how OCD you are - is that the threads are white and show every bit of debris and might need cleaned out regularly. That's not really a design flaw though. It's pretty unavoidable in my opinion. 

Those pesky white threads.

Oh, and also, if you like to be able to write to infinity and beyond (wait - that's a completely different space story) without refilling, this one won't quite do it. It holds plenty of ink for me and I think it's great for a daily user, but others may disagree. But really, those are the only negative things I can say about the pen. I like it that much. If I had the choice to buy one at a good price, and if I were you, I'd do it.

Unless these aren't the pens you are looking for. Then you can go about your business.

Move along, move along.

Price: 10/10
Durability: 8/10 (It's not built to take abuse.)
Function: 10/10
Form: 10/10
Overall: 38/10 = 95% for an A

I Like to Move It, Move It! The Move Mini EDC Bolt-Action Pen by Oliver Sha

There is an eternal march toward more useful and more durable EDC (Every Day Carry) items. One of the more recent items to appear on that march is the Move, a miniature bolt-action pen that runs on the Lamy M22 ink refill. And by "miniature," I do mean small. It's even smaller than the standard Fisher Space Pen when the pen is capped. Oliver Sha (link to his Kickstarter campaign page here) set out to make a small, lightweight, rugged, keychain-compatible, capless EDC pen. 

I would say he succeeded. 

The Move in Dark Charcoal Gray, by Oliver Sha

Fisher Space Pen, the Move

Birdseye view.

I put $52 behind Oliver's project, and I'm glad I did. I wasn't initially sure what I was going to do with this pen once I had it, but I was a little Kickstarter-happy at the moment and it looked like a unique project (plus I've always been a sucker for miniature things). Now that I've had the pen a few days, I suspect will be using the pen quite a bit more than I expected. And the finish thus far seems as though it will hold up pretty well.

Always a sucker for miniature things, 

Let me say this early on though: if you have large hands, you're wasting your time. I have medium hands and I can just barely use the Move with relative comfort (although it still may work for jotting an occasional quick notes even with large hands).

At first glance, this doesn't even look like a pen. It just looks like a little black metal...thingy. A nose picker, maybe; or a not-so-tactical pokey stick. It's quite skinny, but thicker at the grip section (which is good because otherwise this thing would be just about downright impossible to use). This is one point where I think there could have been a design improvement. Rather than leaving the grip slick, machining a series of grooves or a spiral along the grip would made this pen go from not-very-grippy-especially-if-your-hands-are-bone-dry to pretty-stinkin'-grippy-regardless. I suspect this wouldn't have affected production costs much and would go a long way toward making the Move more usable (maybe a second version could arrive on scene later?). However, considering that this pen is designed to sit unobtrusively in your pocket or purse until you need it for a quick note rather than for writing a treatise on war and politics, this probably isn't a deal breaker for most people though it probably would be for some. 

A rOtring Lava, Move, and TWSBI Mini sandwich.

The Move, which is machined from hard-anodized 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, is only 3.3 inches (83mm) long and weighs a mere 0.36 ounces (10.3g): although I'm not sure if that is with or without an ink refill in it. The ink refill weighs maybe a fifth of an ounce, so it probably doesn't really matter. It disassembles into four parts: including the body, the refill, the spring, and the tip. 

The only refill that is compatible with the Move is the Lamy M22. It's kind of an expensive refill, considering that it's half the size of a Parker-style refill and costs three times as much. But from what I've read it lasts quite a while and there are multiple ink color/tip size combos to meet whatever needs or whims you might have. 

Exploded view.

Note: I do have a theory that a Parker-style refill or something similar could be cut down, plugged, and used in the pen because the diameters and lengths look very similar: but that theory sounds pretty messy and I'm honestly not sure it's worth attempting. Maybe you're feeling brave and adventurous. 

A big Lamy and a little pen with Lamy juice.

Other note: The spring is very small (but surprisingly robust - my fingers quickly became sore from fiddling with the bolt action so it needs broken in). And the spring is difficult to locate if you are to lose it (I lost it). It took twenty minutes of diligent searching with a flashlight to find it hiding in one of my wife's cosmetic bins. I had been looking for some Vaseline when it fell out, which brings me to the second and last problem I had with the pen. If you look in the photo with the exploded view, there is an O-ring visible at the base of the threads. The pen came with the O-ring dry, which would eventually result in the O-ring being destroyed by friction as the pen is disassembled and reassembled; and thus my search for the Vaseline. It would have been nice for the pen to come with the O-ring lubed up, but I needed to lube up my flashlight's O-ring anyway. So if you have one of these, I recommend putting some Vaseline or similar petroleum-based lubricant on it to keep the O-ring from rotting and/or getting torn up. Then it should last a good long while.

Where all the action is.

Overall I'm pretty impressed with this pen. It does well what it was intended to do. It's light-weight, durable, and has a rock-solid mechanism. It takes a quality refill (Lamy makes good stuff). I'm looking forward to forgetting it's in my pocket until I need it. The key ring hole is plenty large enough for any conceivable needs.

I think this pen is a great contender for an EDC pen, and will probably just trade places back and forth with my KarasKustoms Retrakt for a backup pen. I'd love to get the titanium version at some point. Well done, Oliver!

An EDC setup I started toying with today, partly inspired by Huckberry.

Price: 9/10

Durability: 10/10

Functionality: 7.5/10

Form: 10/10

Overall score: 36.5/40 = 91%

The Move and friends.

The Lamy Safari: Reliable and Robust

It's the fountain pen of college students and frugal people. It's rugged, light, and comfortable to use. Of all the fountain pens I have used, it would be a top contender for an EDC pen without even stopping to consider what one's days may hold and how rugged the conditions might be.

Lamy was a little less subtle with the branding on the Safari when compared to the 2000.

There are quite a few aspects of the Safari that are really quite attractive. In addition to the aforementioned qualities, other smooth-writing nibs are cheaply and easily obtained and swapped out. The pen has an iconic ink window so you can keep track of how much ink you have left. The cap snaps firmly in place, held by a plastic O-ring, and has a nice, strong clip.

The ink window, back-lighted for your viewing pleasure.

It comes in multiple colors: a veritable plethora of colors in fact. It should be noted however, that there are different models that have the same basic form but do not each come in all the same colors. The Safari is made of durable ABS thermoplastic with a pleasantly pebbled texture. The Vista is basically just a demonstrator, but is marketed as its own model. The third and last is the Al-Star, which is made of smooth aluminum. The Al-Star is a little more classy but dents and dings a lot more easily. The Safari, by contrast is very difficult to scratch or gouge and it would crack or shatter before it dented. I suspect it to be the sort of pen that could well survive a drop of a story or two, though I have no intention of personally testing that theory. I'm sure others could provide personal testimony from drops and accidents.

Sometimes a top-down approach is best.

The Safari (as well as the Vista and Al-Star, I believe) can take either an ink cartridge or push-in converter. I've been using the blue Lamy ink cartridge that came with the pen, and I quite like it. It's very purply-blue when wet, but definitely dries blue. I'm hoping my Waterman ink works as well.

The nib itself is very smooth: one of the smoothest I own, in fact. In comparison, the medium nib on my Pilot Vanishing Point seems to be a fine or maybe even an extra fine. The German nibs definitely run larger than their Japanese counterparts, so buy accordingly. Although even if you are not pleased with the size, the other nibs can be easily obtained in black or silver. The medium nib, even though it's a little bigger than I like for my writing style, glides smoothly over the paper and puts down a nice even line of ink and hasn't skipped or blotted on me at all.

I can't say how much the ink converter holds, as I have yet to get a chance to use it, but it appears to hold a medium amount of ink (refilling is half the fun anyway, right?). For the person who does copious amounts of writing, purchasing the ink cartridges or refilling empty ones with a syringe may be the better option.

I generally prefer to write unposted to minimize hand fatigue, but the Safari is so light that it didn't really make a lot of difference either way. The grip is contoured and very comfortable, though someone with an oddball way of clutching their pen may find it awkward or uncomfortable.

I love everything about this pen: from the way the nib glides across the paper to the look of the skeletonized cardboard box it came in (which for some reason reminded me of the velociraptor cage in the first Jurassic Park). I love everything about this pen except for one thing: the pocket clip. It's unique, but I wouldn't expect it to win any beauty contests (maybe a couple of ugly contests!). However, as ugly as it is, I must say it seems pretty robust. While it's very wide, it also has a pretty low profile and seems to be very strong. I have no issue with clipping it in my jeans pocket for the day. It seems pretty unlikely to hook on anything when squeezing through tight spaces or hopping out of the car.

The cap in all its un-beauty.

The Velociraptor Cage

And although it is unsightly, I obviously don't consider the cap to be a deal breaker since I'm planning to buy an Al-Star soon. It detracts from the form of the pen but not the function. Overall, the Safari is hardy, light, inexpensive, and comfortable. It's great for students, those who want to test the magic of fountain pens without breaking the bank, or someone who knows they are going to be using it in an environment that might not be very ideal for a $300 writing instrument (the best location to use those is in a locked vault that have been completely covered in velvet on the inside). Well done, Lamy. Well done.

Price: 10/10

Durability: 10/10

Functionality: 10/10

Form: 10/10 (body), 3/10 (cap) = 6.5/10

Overall score: 36.5/40 = 91% for an A-

A Harmless Obsession(?)

Some addictions are quite understandable and almost an unnoticed pandemic: things like fast cars, video games, funny memes, and Nutella. These things are quite socially acceptable and no one really thinks twice about them. You want a nice car? So does everyone else. Nutella? Duh. Video games? They can suck your life away and you don't even notice. And everyone likes a funny cat meme now and then.

Some people are obsessed with a little bit less mainstream things: like name-brand clothing, $10,000 watches, or rare antiques. "Give me Armani or give me death!" some will say. Still others won't even bother to look at a watch that costs less than $500. 

Then there is that occasional person that owns way more fine writing instruments than one human could ever possibly need: and the average person looks at them as if they were in possession of multiple noses and an extra leg, generally unable to comprehend the idea of having any writing utensil that is not disposable.

In retrospect, I think I was always destined to end up like this. I can remember rooting around in my parents' drawers, looking for nice pens, before I was eight. I was fascinated by them. My dad used to have a couple old fountain pens (Parkers, maybe?) that I would love to get my hands on now, and he has always had a bit of a taste for nicer pens as well.

My own pen collection has grown like an overfed weed in the last few months, and as I remember each of those purchases, I find myself able to easily identify with this feline (speaking of cat memes):

Then I like to justify my...excessive appreciation...for fine writing instruments with thoughts like, "Cocaine is way worse," and, "At least I won't get pulled over for driving while impaired because of my new fountain pen."

In fact, I don't even really like to acknowledge my condition because doing so implies that there is a problem.

I don't have a problem.

I can stop anytime I want to.

Really.

I just don't want to.

And such is the life of a penaholic.