The best tool is the one you have. And a lot of cyclists don’t have a knife. Travis usually does, but his quest to downsize brought him to the Derma Safe knife. It cuts well above its weight … and cost.
I’m not a knife guy. I don’t walk around civilized society with a blade in my pocket. If I ever have to open a blister package, I might face a brief struggle. Thankfully, it never takes long for a knife guy to come to my rescue. The sound of crinkling polyethylene is like the Bat Signal to these people. They’ll swoop out of the shadows and unsheath a dagger from their utility belt faster than you can say, “What are you?!”
It’s a whole different story out on a ride. I won’t be opening any fresh packs of AAAs, but I might need to improvise a bag repair or even slice some skin to help remove an embedded yucca spine. The nearest knife guy may be miles away, so I have to cosplay as one. The problem is, these situations are still quite rare. I’m taking up valuable space in my every-ride essentials kit for something that I may only use once every few months, or even years. I’ve found smaller is better, and the Derma Safe knife is definitely smaller. But it took me a while to get here.
Back when I wore a full-sized hydration pack on every ride, I had a nice, comfortable folding knife that I could get all four fingers around. Even though I knew I’d mostly be using it for those small precision jobs I mentioned above, I also figured it could be useful if I ever had to do any crafting. But this isn’t The Witcher 3. I’ve never had to whittle mid-ride, or even on a campout. And at the time, my essentials kit was filling up with more practical items. So, I downsized.
This little three-finger guy almost disappears into my kit. It’s 5 mm thinner and 30 mm shorter than its predecessor. It was ideal for the small jobs I’m most likely to encounter. This very knife once helped me access an inch-long buckthorn that had broken off in my forearm. And I could actually get a pretty decent grip if I ever needed to put any amount of force into it. I’ve never needed to, but I didn’t think I could go any smaller. That is, unless I integrated my knife into something I was already carrying.
The Topeak Tubi 18 includes a tubeless plug storage dock and insertion tool. It’s also got a little serrated blade to cut off the excess plug material after insertion. It’s of course helpful for other knifey tasks, but I use this tool a lot. It’s constantly rattling around in a pack alongside a lot of grit and grime. And a tubeless plug is a grit and grime magnet. I wouldn’t perform surgery with this blade. And while the serration keeps it useful for its intended purpose, it’s not as sharp as it used to be. Even my dedicated knife was getting a little dull. So, I looked into going even smaller.
The Derma-Safe Folding Utility Razor looks like the kind of knife Ikea would include in a DIY wallpaper kit. It’s mostly plastic, with its non-locking blade held in with a single hollow brass rivet. I can barely get two fingers around it. But it’s the size and weight of a stick of Doublemint Gum. Its footprint isn’t that much smaller than the compact folding knife I used for years, but it’s so thin it’s almost two-dimensional. It’s significantly easier to tuck it into the corner of my tool pouch and forget about it. I do have to be careful while using it, though. The awkward shape, short handle, and non-locking blade feel a little unstable. But I’m not using it for dangerous tasks. In reality, the things I’d do with a knife on the trail are precise, gentle, and brief.
I haven’t yet needed to MacGuyver any fabric items on the trail, but I can confirm the Derma Safe knife will slice through thick webbing without much force. I did once use it to flush-cut a zip tie when my fork’s brake-hose clip broke, and it was a simple and safe process. It helps that this knife is really really sharp. The above photo is a re-enactment, and I had to do two takes because I accidentally finished the cut before I hit the shutter. A new Derma-Safe knife will slice through limp paper like it’s in a Ginsu infomercial. So, the awkward handle never felt awkward because I never had to get rough with it. It kinda just light-sabres through stuff. Again, we’re talking about a brand new Derma-Safe knife. These things are definitely not built to last. But they are priced to move.
It’s best to buy these things in bulk. I bought ten of them from a site called bestglide.com, where they cost $1.75 each. You can buy them straight from derma-safe.com for only $0.79 each, but you have to buy 100. Find three friends to go in on it with you, and you’ll be set for life for $25. I’ve got one in each of my essentials kit, and they’re all still laser-sharp. If one gets dull, I can just replace it. But that’ll take a while. I’m not a knife guy.
