REVIEW – If you’ve been looking for a tiny, incredibly sharp and usable blade to add to your EDC, you have to check out the Nitecore NTK05. Let’s check it out.
What is it?
The Nitecore NTK05 is a key sized titanium folding knife with a replaceable scalpel blade.
What’s in the package?
Nitecore NTK05
1 no. 11 scalpel blade
Design and features
The Nitecore NTK05 is tiny. It’s made of a TC4 Titanium alloy and when folded it’s only 2.17 inches long.
The end of the knife has a large opening so that you can easily attach it to your keyring or a lanyard.
When closed, the NTK05 is so small, thin, and lightweight (.169oz) that you could easily lose it in a pocket.
The knife opens easily to reveal the ultra-sharp blade.
Companies who make knives always claim that their blades are super sharp, but in this instance, Nitecore isn’t just saying that to say it. This time it’s true because the stainless steel blade used with the NTK05 is a real scalpel blade.
This little knife can easily slice through box tape, cut cardboard, score the peel of an orange, sharpen the lead of a pencil, remove tonsils, aid in an emergency appendectomy, and other light-duty everyday tasks.
Replacing the Nitecore’s blade after it has become dull is just a matter of unfolding the knife blade to 90 degrees, lifting the bottom edge of the blade and then sliding the blade up and off the blade holder. Adding a new blade is just as easy.
Although the blades resemble X-Acto knife blades, X-Acto blades are not compatible with the Nitecore NTK05. You have to use no. 11 scalpel blades.
The only “problem” I encountered while testing the NTK05 is that it’s possible to flex the blade in such a way that it doesn’t close correctly if you’re not paying attention. This happened to me a couple of times and although I didn’t cut myself, that would have been a possibility if I had been in a hurry and hadn’t noticed the problem and slid the knife in my pocket in that configuration.
What I like
Tiny
Sharp!
The blade can be replaced with a no. 11 scalpel blade
What I’d change
I’d include 1 or 2 extra blades with the knife
Fix the blade flex issue
Final thoughts
If I ever decide to add a sharp blade to my keychain, the Nitecore NTK05 ultra-tiny titanium knife will be that knife. It’s so small it won’t add much bulk to your keychain and the fact that you can replace the blades when they become dull is a great selling point.
Price: $29.95 Where to buy: Nitecore store Source: The sample for this review was provided by Nitecore.
Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.
NEWS – The AtomXS is a tiny backup battery that offers 800mAh of juice for your phone. That’s not a lot of battery capacity, but it’s enough to provide around 2hrs of usage when you need it the most.
This keyfob styled charger has a retractable tip and is available in USB-C, micro USB, and Lightning connector versions. Charge it up and hang it from your keychain so you’ll always have portable power right when you need it. The AtomXS charge will last up to 3 months and you can find more info at AtomXSmall.com and buy one of the USB versions for $29.95 or the Lightning version for $39.95 from The Grommet.
Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.
REVIEW – I have been using a product called the OrbitKey since June of last year to organize and hold my car keys. I was recently given the opportunity to review the next iteration of this key holder. It promises to do a lot of nice things in addition to what the original OrbitKey does. Let’s see how it worked out for me.
What is it?
The Jibbon Key Organizer is exactly what it states it is. It is an organizer for your keys. It wraps them in a nice leather sleeve and keeps your keys from scratching anything else that happens to be in the same container (pockets, purse, bag) as your keys.
What’s in the box?
In the pictures above you can see the actual box the Jibbon came in and then the individual items were taken outside of it. You can see the box is very minimal, but everything is nicely packed and contained in its own pocket. In the box I received:
A leather Jibbon Key Organizer that was engraved with my initials. The color I was sent was tan.
Two different sets of screws to hold the actual keys.
A USB key accessory made to fit the key holder. My key was 32GB.
Design and features
I want to start off by saying I was given a preliminary version of this key holder. The Kickstarter for this key holder has just started and a few changes have been made since then. The picture above shows a close up of the embossing of my initials in the key holder. They did an excellent job on this. I love the way it came out.
This next set of pictures show the inside of the key holder. On the top left, you can see one of the screws that have been screwed into one side of the organizer. That top head of the screw snaps into a metal holder on the other end completely flush with the leather. The top middle picture is the D-ring that can hold additional items like your car remote. The inside of the holder is stamped with the Jibbon name. You can also see the stitching which is very clean and neat.
The Jibbon Key Organizer is made to hold three to nine keys. I currently have 3 keys in my OrbitKey holder. I have them pictured above. These keys fit very nicely in my current key holder. I chose the smallest screw and attached them to the Jibbon.
In the video above you can see how the keys are not held tightly in the key holder. Now, this could be due to the fact that the last key is a slightly thinner key than normal, but there was no way to tighten the key organizer to make it hold the keys solidly without making them swing. As I mentioned earlier, I was given an early prototype of the key holder. They may have a way to prevent this from happening. In the OrbitKey, they provided some flexi-washers that let you control how tightly the keys were held in place.
Since my house keys did not work, I decided to try out the keys I have for my motorcycle. One of the keys has a large rubber coating on the end. I used the longer screw in this case. I screwed them down until it felt snug and I was still able to move the keys easily. In the middle picture above you can see the screw holding the keys in place. Note that you have to keep the screw head centered so it can clip into the opposite side of the key holder. The third picture shows the key holder closed. I do love how the head of the screw pops into the metal snap on the other side to be completely flush. You don’t see any extra washers or the screw itself when you have enough keys to keep them in place.
The next two pictures above show the top of the key holder with the keys in place and with a single key extended. You can see that it is a very nice and clean look. I also want to mention that the metal ring at the end of the key holder is removable if you wish. You simply rotate it and it will slide out of its slot. You can see a video of the D-ring being removed here.
The shot above shows the new Jibbon Key Organizer on the left and my OrbitKey on the right. You can see that I use the D-Rings at the end to attach my car remote and the larger key for my motorcycle. The picture on the right is a side shot of the OrbitKey with my original 3 keys. You can see it makes a nice compact package, but it does have the metal button on the outside that can still possibly scratch items in your pocket. The OrbitKey also requires the use of a coin in order to remove or add keys. The Jibbon is designed to require no tools at all.
Another cool feature of the Jibbon is that they offer additional accessories for the key holder. In addition to the USB key, they offer a nice multi-tool device. The multi-tool has a bottle opener, box cutter, and nail file all in one.
Finally, I included a picture of the key organizer on my motorcycle. A lot of bikes are keyless now, but for those that require an actual key, you often end up with scratch marks from the other keys around the ignition switch due to the wind knocking them around. With my keys now in the Jibbon Key Organizer, I now no longer have to worry about scratches on my bike. Since it is leather it will be pretty weather resistant as long as I treat it with some conditioner.
What I like
I love that there are very few parts to this key organizer compared to the original OrbitKey. There is just the leather strap and a single screw. I also love that you do not need to use any tools to add or take away keys. The organizer is very elegant looking and will certainly not scratch my motorcycle or anything in my pockets. They use real Italian leather and it shows in the quality of the device. The materials are solid and well made.
What needs to be improved
The only suggestion I can make is to possibly have the smaller screw have a few extra threads on it so it can screw in a bit further. I really wish it could have held my original three keys solidly.
Final thoughts
I am really enjoying this key organizer. I can totally recommend it for anyone who is looking for an elegant and efficient way to hold their keys.
Price: $31 – Early Bird Kickstarter Where to buy: Kickstarter Source: The sample of this product was provided by Jibbon.
Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.
If you’ve been reading our EDC gear reviews for a while, you’ll know that I am a fan of Keyport gear. I recently reviewed their modular Anywhere Tools system which is worth a read if you like keychain tools. But today I want to tell you about a new product that Keyport is rolling out this year. It’s the OmniFob and it looks pretty awesome from what little details are currently available.
The OmniFob is an IoT (Internet of Things) remote for your smart home and your connected car. It appears to be compatible with their latest Keyport Slide and Anywhere Tool system but time will tell on that.
The OmniFob will let you control things like your garage door, smart logs, smart lights, remote start your car, pop the trunk, and it has a built-in BLE locator powered by Chipolo.
You can check for more teaser pics by visiting their blog and social pages:
Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.
NEWS – If you’re obsessed with EDC products like I am, you probably spend way too much time on Pinterest and sites like Best Damn EDC where people like to show off their collections of everyday carry items. I am always confused as to why some people like to carry multiple knives with them each day. Me, I only need one and I don’t want it to be too big or too small. I want it to be just right and I think the SOG KeyTron looks pretty close.
The KeyTron by SOG is a 3.5 inch long (closed) knife that has a stainless steel handle with a large latching keyring on the end that allows you to use the knife as your primary keyring or use it to clip the knife to other gear. Open up the KeyTron and you have a 5.3 inch long knife with a locking blade that’s a good size for most day to day tasks like opening packages, cutting twine, etc. The KeyTron even has a built-in bottle opener so you can pop the top on a cold one.
The SOG KeyTron is priced at $21.95 and is available from Sogknives.com and Amazon.
Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.
