OHUB Review: Carved Unique Damascus EDC Pocket Knives
Nicolas Lenze 02.08.24
I’ve gone through a lot of knives. Some fell behind furniture, many had to be thrown away at TSA, and most simply fell apart. When it comes to knives, I tend to avoid the “buy one, cry once” mantra, since they just don’t last. Recently, a company called Carved reached out to me, asking me to evaluate one of their knives. With a tinge of skepticism, I accepted. I’m often wary of companies that appear to focus on the way a knife looks, but I’d be terrible at my job if I didn’t give them a chance. This is my review of the Carved EDC pocket knives.
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Carved EDC Pocket Knives: Specifications
- Folded length: 4.13”
- Extended length: 7.13”
- Blade length: 3”
- Steel: Damascus stainless steel
- Weight: 3 oz
- Price: $99.00
Carving Out the Time
The person who reached out to me is the CEO of Carved. Thankfully, John is a patient man. Companies looking for coverage sometimes expect a quick turnaround because they’re using articles as marketing. Carved, however, continued to reach out to support the writing effort, never once telling me to hurry up. This told me that they were confident in the quality of their product.
It’s clear that the knife’s aesthetic is important. The handles are all unique, even within the same model. They’re all made from a mixture of wood and resin. While this leads to some truly beautiful designs, what’s really important are the bones. Beneath the shiny exterior is a bed of titanium, making the knives both lightweight and strong. The titanium keeps its cold and sleek gray appearance, creating a cool contrast with the decorative portion. The look is completed by the topographic-esque lines on the damascus blade.
Cutting It Up
As the name of the knife states, this is intended to be an EDC, or everyday carry, knife. That means I didn’t baton it into a log or use it to defend my family’s honor. This knife is made for daily tasks, which is exactly what I used it for. I carried this knife around for at least a month…before my wife stole it. The company she worked for for the last three years moved to another state, which meant breaking down the warehouse. This means cable ties needed cutting, boxes needed opening, and these tasks fell onto the Carved blade.
The EDC knife uses a flipper to open, which has always been one of my preferred methods. While a traditional thumb stud works, I find that after prolonged use with opening boxes, the adhesive from the tape starts to affect my ability to reliably open the knife with one hand. With the flipper, I get a lot of leverage, allowing me to push past that stickiness.
A lot of cardboard boxes were dismembered as a part of the warehouse closure, yet as I’m writing this, I can still cut paper at a severe angle. The blade has retained its edge to an impressive degree. It’s not the cleanest cut, but it’s definitely capable.
The liner lock is far from flimsy and none of the torx screws worked their way out or loosened. Overall, the knife performed far above what I was expecting.
Not A Dull Experience
I admit I was expecting the knife to be less-than-impressive. Color me surprised when it more than fulfilled the needs of an EDC blade. I wish my wife hadn’t commandeered it, but I also can’t blame her. As someone fairly new to everyday carry, this knife has a lot of appeal for her. It’s lightweight and low maintenance and carries easily in her purse. In fact, it sits right next to her Carved phone case.
The phone cases are made in the same way and with the same wood and resin look. On other cases, the portions covering the volume buttons can be too stiff, but that wasn’t my experience with the Carved phone cases. There was some interference when plugging the phone in to charge, but it’s pretty easy to just pop the bottom of the phone out. Carved also sells a wireless charger.
The only place where the knife could use improvement is the clip. For standing and walking around, it’s plenty adequate. However, with repeated bending, squatting, and sitting, there were times where it worked its way up and out of my pocket. It just needs a bit more tension.
I don’t personally use a lanyard on my knives, but the skeletonized portion just above the clip would be great for you if you do. Regardless, it aids in lightening the handle. The operation is smooth and easy to activate, and the liner lock gives the right amount of resistance when folding the blade.
I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll admit that my assumptions here were wrong, too. If you’re looking for a solid EDC blade with a unique look, I’d give Carved a look. If you have someone in your life who’s into the outdoor or prepared lifestyle, this could make a great gift. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Don’t forget to follow along with Carved on social media. You can find them on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
