Klein^® 44001-BLK 1-Blade Lightweight Pocket Knife, AUS8 Stainless Steel Drop Point Blade, 2-1/2 in L Blade, Lock Back Opening, Yes

While most of my Klein Tools-branded knives are made in the USA, the 44001 is my first Japanese-made Klein. For most everyday tasks, a knife this size is just enough. While not marked "Seki", I feel Klein went to some of the best cutlers in Japan that they could get. The knife, fit and finish-wise, is at least (if not a little better than) on par with my Spyderco. Very smooth action, perfect meetup between blade and lock bar. Smooth machining of all surfaces. The modified drop point shape is perfect for all EDC jobs, both fine (like whittling or sharpening a pencil), to heavy (i.e. cutting of cardbard and rope). The edge on the knife was perfect, and has held through most moderate EDC tasks. On most mid-level Japanese knives, the steel will usually be VG-10 or AUS-8. VG-10 will hold an edge a bit more than the two, and while AUS-8 loses a bit of VG-10s edge retention, it is less resistant to chipping. Thus, I prefer AUS-8 of the two. My VG-10 Spyderco Dragonfly doing the same tasks (feed sacks, rope, cardboard, twine, mail opening--you know common stuff) as this knife got tiny micro-chips/dull spots in the edge, and had to be touched up. The Klein, on the other hand, good as new. I regularly strop my knives on a strop made from an old smooth leather work belt. The black finish tends to wear somewhat easily. WIthin the break-in period, I was finding black specks in just about anything I cut with the knife. There are quite a few scratches and scrapes now on the handle, despite light use. Thus, I recommend the silver model. The black version may look cool, but it won't be that way for long with heavy use. The thumb stud is my main issue with the knife. While it is reversible (I'm left-handed), it's a bit of a pain in the rear, due to having a thumb stud only on one side. Most knives at all price ranges on the market today have thumb studs on both sides of the blade. When I'm carrying the knife at home, in my sweatpants, I usually carry it on my left side. In my jeans, it usually is carried alongside a larger folder, and is carried in the watch pocket. Shouldn't add much to production costs to go with a dual thumb stud. I really recommend this knife as an EDC. Bit small for a work knife in my opinion, but it does all household and "out in town" jobs great. It's also priced at just a bit more than the somewhat too small Spyderco Ladybug (but the resin-handled version of this knife is cheaper than the Spyderco by $10) but less than the roughly similarly sized Dragonfly.