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What knife do you carry
during the Covid-19 pandemic?
There are a lot of
options to choose from. I’m going with
Steel Will’s Plague Doctor!
The Plague Doctor is a tactical level knife from Steel Will
Steel Will offers three
levels of pocket knives. First is their
EDC. Up a notch is their Outdoor line
followed by their Tactical line. I don’t
know the difference. I’m cynical enough
to know “Tactical” products are usually black and cost more.
The Plague Doctor is a
product of the fertile mind of the mysterious designer Vaeringi. At least he is mysterious to me. I was unable to find a first name or any kind
of bio.
The knife is a frame
lock, with G-10 scales available in OD green and black. I went with green G-10.
Who says photos don’t lie? The lighting conditions produced a black blade and not the silver satin steel blade it should be.
The blade is made from D2
steel, a high carbon, high chromium die steel and is the highest carbon alloy
tool and die steel in production. The
steel contains 1.5% carbon, 12% chromium, 0.75% molybdenum and 0.9% vanadium
and a smattering of other elements. It
is the chromium and vanadium that is of interest. Both form hard, tiny carbides that pin the
grain boundaries, and provide strength and edge retention. The chromium forms a thin, tough transparent
metal oxide that protects the steel from rust.
D2 is right on the edge of being stainless, so it benefits from an
occasional wipe with oil. D2 was
popularized by Jimmy Lile and later by Bob Dozier.
The knife blade sports
a flipper that rotates to form a deep guard for the index finger. The top of the blade has a riser with jimping
providing a friction surface for your thumb.
A depression in the handle feeds your thumb into the jimping.
There is no opening
stud on the blade. This knife was
designed to open with the flipper. Not
enough of the closed blade is exposed to grasp it and open the knife slowly and
politely. Politeness be damned, it’s a
fighting knife.
The clip is reversible, but not interchangeable. Steel Will gives you a second Clip. All you need is a T-6 torx and a drop of loctite.
I went with the OD
green because it wasn’t black. There is
a fine texture on the G-10 to help with grip but not so much you’ll sand the
inside of your pocket. Steel liners
support the scales and one side forms the liner lock. The lock takes a pretty solid bite out of the
back of the blade. The blade pivots on
what appear to be bronze washers. I’d
put tiny drop oil on them too.
Let’s summarize the
knife specs:
- Blade Length:
3.43″ with a cutting edge that’s 3.54″ - Closed Length:
4.96″ - Overall Length:
8.31″ - Blade Material: D2 Tool
Steel - Blade Thickness:
0.14″ - Blade Style: Drop Point
flat grind - Handle Material: OD
Green G10 - Handle Thickness:
0.51″ - Weight: 5.4 oz.
The liner lock engages its full thickness on the back of the blade. The steel liners make this a solid knife!
You can get you own
Steel Will Plague Doctor for just under $80.00 at
https://steelwillknives.com/our-knives/tactical-series/plague-doctor-f16m-02.html
It’s a lot of knife for
a reasonable price.
Steel Will is a
division of Sports Manufacturing Group (SMG), an American company located in
Huntington Valley, PA. The knife was
manufactured in China and despite my feelings about China due to the Covid-19 pandemic,
it is a quality knife. I would have no
trouble carrying this to a knife club meeting or taking it off the
pavement.
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