- Joined
- Jul 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,678
TAD...or TRIPLE AUGHT DESIGN is a higher-dollar outfitting company formed by Patrick Ma and opened their first retail space in the San Francisco area about three years ago. They sell lots of high-quality hiking apparel, knives, hatchets, tools and equipment and the prices reflect the quality of goods. Their website also features custom blades by some of the finest knife-makers in the business.
The "triple-aught" designation stands for three zeros (000), and serves as a type of shorthand meaning excellence in manufacture...strict tolerances. For instance, the nicely stone-washed S30v blade thickness of this Mark 3 production is 0.140" ("one hundred forty" thousandths of one inch), or 3.5 mm if you like metric measure. It's a nice sturdy thickness, equal to the more harsh tasks occasionally encountered in EDC, and the identical thickness employed by CRK in their outstanding Umnumzaan and model 25 Sebenza offerings.
As an aside, EVEN the pocket-clip is stonewashed, eliminating one of the first grip parts which seems to show the early annoying scars of pocket EDC. It's certainly notable that the pivot can be tweaked with a thin-bladed screw-driver...no special tool required. Small points, perhaps, but very impressive. TAD seems to care about the consumer.
I've noticed the lack of a LBS...lock-bar stabilizer. Do I miss it? Is it necessary? No, it never was, IMO... Perhaps a newer, younger knife-carrier will still be protected, as the pocket-clip provides positive pressure on the lock-bar should unintended "over-extension" occur.
I received my TAD Dauntless in the mail yesterday. It's still in the box. It's nice and I'm reluctant to carry it. But I will. Very impressive wrapper.
Nice box...with a top like a jewelry box, that slides into a different open cardboard cover.
It comes with a "Presentation" envelope, containing a blueprint of the folder, listing all critical dimensions.
I've been waiting to pick up this folder for quite a while. This 3rd production model was just released, in very limited numbers, and sold out within a very few minutes... according to one TAD salesman/representative I spoke with. Of course, I missed it then, but bought it here a few days ago, for a decent mark-up over the $300 list price.
It's nice...very nice. S30V blade-steel with a very useable finger-choil, allowing me to get up close and personal on the blade if necessary. Even without the choil, the grip is long enough to allow my large hand full access on the grip.
This version of the TAD signature knife will be sold in Ranger Green G10, Black G10 and Titanium. It’ll be in S30V Steel and will run approximately $300 ($400 for the one in Titanium). It will be the first ever TAD Dauntless they design and produce exclusively themselves.
Specifications of this Triple Aught Design, Model 3, follow:
Material
• Blade: S30V with Stonewash Finish
• Handle / Scales: Ranger Green and Black
• Hardware: Stainless Steel Bolts
Dimensions
• Overall Length: 8.00" (20.30 cm)
• Blade Length: 3.40" (8.60 cm)
• Cutting Edge Length: 2.90" (7.40 cm)
• Handle Length: 4.60" (11.70 cm)
• Spine Thickness: 0.14" (0.30 cm)
• Width of Handle (without clip): 0.50" (1.30 cm)
Weight
• 5.12 oz (145.15 gm)
Features
• Blade Type: Bayonet Grind Style: Flat
• Stonewash Finish Deep Front Finger Guard
• Blade Fuller Three Fullers in Handle
• Forward Choil Three-quarter Swedge
Made in the USA
Here is a selection of pics that show the major aspects of this knife.
http://s246.photobucket.com/user/Sonnytoo/library/TAD Dauntless
I am very pleased with this folder. It fits my hand very well; it is mid-point between the handle sizes of the small and large CRK Sebenzas. Although I have owned quite a few small Sebenzas, I cannot carry them. I just admire them for a while and then sell/trade them out, as the grip-size is too small for my hand, and I lose control of the grip when I attempt to close the blade. Of course, I therefore carry a large Seb or the Zaan.
A series of pics showing all three of these great folders follows...
http://s246.photobucket.com/user/Sonnytoo/library/TADbyCRK
I received the TAD Dauntless very recently. I have cut nothing with it at this point. I haven't even carried it out of the house yet...but I will.
It is not my intent, in showing these side-by-side pics, to pick a favorite company. Certainly, both companies have a sterling reputation, although TAD production folders are quite new on the market. I do include the CRK pictures as I normally carry a CRK...either a large Sebbie or Umnumzaan.
It's my opinion that TAD and CRK may exist within the same category of excellence. It is rather a scary statement, based solely on preliminary data, but should be fun trying to figure it out.
The "triple-aught" designation stands for three zeros (000), and serves as a type of shorthand meaning excellence in manufacture...strict tolerances. For instance, the nicely stone-washed S30v blade thickness of this Mark 3 production is 0.140" ("one hundred forty" thousandths of one inch), or 3.5 mm if you like metric measure. It's a nice sturdy thickness, equal to the more harsh tasks occasionally encountered in EDC, and the identical thickness employed by CRK in their outstanding Umnumzaan and model 25 Sebenza offerings.
As an aside, EVEN the pocket-clip is stonewashed, eliminating one of the first grip parts which seems to show the early annoying scars of pocket EDC. It's certainly notable that the pivot can be tweaked with a thin-bladed screw-driver...no special tool required. Small points, perhaps, but very impressive. TAD seems to care about the consumer.
I've noticed the lack of a LBS...lock-bar stabilizer. Do I miss it? Is it necessary? No, it never was, IMO... Perhaps a newer, younger knife-carrier will still be protected, as the pocket-clip provides positive pressure on the lock-bar should unintended "over-extension" occur.
I received my TAD Dauntless in the mail yesterday. It's still in the box. It's nice and I'm reluctant to carry it. But I will. Very impressive wrapper.
Nice box...with a top like a jewelry box, that slides into a different open cardboard cover.
It comes with a "Presentation" envelope, containing a blueprint of the folder, listing all critical dimensions.
I've been waiting to pick up this folder for quite a while. This 3rd production model was just released, in very limited numbers, and sold out within a very few minutes... according to one TAD salesman/representative I spoke with. Of course, I missed it then, but bought it here a few days ago, for a decent mark-up over the $300 list price.
It's nice...very nice. S30V blade-steel with a very useable finger-choil, allowing me to get up close and personal on the blade if necessary. Even without the choil, the grip is long enough to allow my large hand full access on the grip.
This version of the TAD signature knife will be sold in Ranger Green G10, Black G10 and Titanium. It’ll be in S30V Steel and will run approximately $300 ($400 for the one in Titanium). It will be the first ever TAD Dauntless they design and produce exclusively themselves.
Specifications of this Triple Aught Design, Model 3, follow:
Material
• Blade: S30V with Stonewash Finish
• Handle / Scales: Ranger Green and Black
• Hardware: Stainless Steel Bolts
Dimensions
• Overall Length: 8.00" (20.30 cm)
• Blade Length: 3.40" (8.60 cm)
• Cutting Edge Length: 2.90" (7.40 cm)
• Handle Length: 4.60" (11.70 cm)
• Spine Thickness: 0.14" (0.30 cm)
• Width of Handle (without clip): 0.50" (1.30 cm)
Weight
• 5.12 oz (145.15 gm)
Features
• Blade Type: Bayonet Grind Style: Flat
• Stonewash Finish Deep Front Finger Guard
• Blade Fuller Three Fullers in Handle
• Forward Choil Three-quarter Swedge
Made in the USA
Here is a selection of pics that show the major aspects of this knife.
http://s246.photobucket.com/user/Sonnytoo/library/TAD Dauntless
I am very pleased with this folder. It fits my hand very well; it is mid-point between the handle sizes of the small and large CRK Sebenzas. Although I have owned quite a few small Sebenzas, I cannot carry them. I just admire them for a while and then sell/trade them out, as the grip-size is too small for my hand, and I lose control of the grip when I attempt to close the blade. Of course, I therefore carry a large Seb or the Zaan.
A series of pics showing all three of these great folders follows...
http://s246.photobucket.com/user/Sonnytoo/library/TADbyCRK
I received the TAD Dauntless very recently. I have cut nothing with it at this point. I haven't even carried it out of the house yet...but I will.
It is not my intent, in showing these side-by-side pics, to pick a favorite company. Certainly, both companies have a sterling reputation, although TAD production folders are quite new on the market. I do include the CRK pictures as I normally carry a CRK...either a large Sebbie or Umnumzaan.
It's my opinion that TAD and CRK may exist within the same category of excellence. It is rather a scary statement, based solely on preliminary data, but should be fun trying to figure it out.
Last edited:
+ keep us updated.
