One of the few benefits of being me (and there are very few!) is that occasionally someone will design something cool and contact me to have a closer look at it. This happened recently when Adrian from damneddesigns.com contacted me and asked me to have a look at some of his designs. Naturally, I was intrigued- read on to see what I got and what I thought.
It wasn’t long before they arrived- and I say “they” because Adrian sent along three items- the Tag, a dog tag shaped multitool, the Pound and the Gram, two different knuckle dusters. I warn you in advance, I don’t know a lot about knucks, and I couldn’t find anyone willing to help me test them properly, so my info on them might be a bit vague!
I’ll start off with the similarities of each though- they all come with a neat zippered case with the Damned EDC logo and website on them, and I have to say, it’s a very cool logo. The case is also cool, so if nothing else, you get a cool looking case to stick your earbuds in.
All three are made from titanium making them nice and light despite their size. The Tag is 10mm thick, 35mm wide and 62mm long, so it is a sizeable piece despite being the smallest of the bunch, and yet it weighs in at only 29 grams, or less than half of the weight of a Victorinox Compact.
The Tag also has 4mm, 6mm, 9mm and 10mm hexagonal wrenches cut into it, and while I haven’t tried them all, the 6mm (standard ¼” slot) fits a standard bit with no amount of play. Like all one piece type tools, this one will require you to hold the bit with your thumb to keep it from going all the way through during use. What’s cool is that the 4mm slot also functions as a lanyard/chain hole so you can wear it just like a normal dog tag.
Last up for the Tag is the bottle opener. This is always an interesting challenge (whether I use it on an adult beverage or not!) as almost every tool has a bottle opener, and yet so many bottle openers, even from major manufacturers, are absolute crap. The Tag doesn’t suffer that problem though, and it fired off a beer cap with almost no effort at all.
I think that what I like best about all of these is that, unlike so many small makers, the Tag (and indeed the Pound and Gram as well) seems like an actual, finished product. So many of the Kickstarter type tools that you se nowadays really suffer from production marks and seem raw and unfinished, but the Damned EDC products are stone washed as part of their post milling. The edges are all smooth and have a fantastic tactile feel, like something that you have been carrying for years, even though they are brand new. As someone who has tested tools from big names, small names and everything in between, I can very much appreciate that.
This makes the knucks quite comfortable. Both the Pound and the Gram have edges that are slightly rounded, and the smoothness of the titanium make these almost a joy to slip over your fingers. I have seriously considered wearing the Pound as a regular ring, although it is a bit bulky for that, at least on my slim fingers.
This leads me to a bit of a concern regarding these- I have small, almost lady like fingers and I find that both the Pound and the Gram seem to fit me quite nicely, which makes me wonder how many others out there would find them comfortable? There’s a bit of play in them when I slip them on, but I know guys with fingers much larger than mine, and I will have to see how comfortable they are to them.
On a “tactical” type note, I’d like to suggest that if you should ever get either of these, please note that there is a side with the logo milled into it and a “sterile” side- make sure you know which side you are using should you ever be required to put the Pound or Gram into service- your lawyer will appreciate it!
All in all, they are extremely high-quality tools that are a joy to own and play with, and I am quite fond of them. They are a great choice for anyone wanting something cool and tactical, but also functional.
Pros:
• Excellent feel
• Great Carry case
• Lightweight
Cons:
• Remember to use the “sterile” side
• Size may be an issue for some
• Limited functions
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