It was only a matter of time before Taylor Martin came out with his own knife design. His YouTube channel, Best Damn EDC, is wildly popular. Since its debut, he’s reviewed countless knives, in addition to a myriad of other EDC gear. The Clingman is the first knife he has designed, though I suspect he has more in the works.
While I only discovered his YouTube channel a few months ago, I’ve become a big fan of his work. When I learned that the Clingman was available for purchase, I snapped one up. It’s available in a few different color options, and I went with the burgundy G10 handle. Other options include brown Micarta, green Micarta, or black G10.
The question comes down to this: Is the Clingman the Best Damn EDC knife?
Clingman Specifications
Martin partnered with CIVIVI to produce the Clingman. This is my first CIVIVI knife. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. I received a small box of different knives in a trade about a year ago. But those were all traded off fairly quickly.
Anyway, let’s take a look at the Clingman. It has an overall length of 7.01 inches. The blade is 2.99 inches. Closed, it’s 4.02 inches long. It features a titanium pocket clip. All told, it weighs 2.8 ounces.
The Clingman’s clip point blade has a hollow grind, and is made from Nitro-V steel with a Rockwell hardness of 59-61. The blade on this one has a black stonewashed finish. You’ll find Martin’s YouTube channel logo featured on the obverse side of the blade.
It opens via a thumb stud or front flipper. There’s a liner lock to keep the blade in place until you’re ready to close it.
As I noted earlier, I went with the burgundy G10 scales when I ordered the Clingman. The handle has a subtle checkered texturing.
Clingman Performance
I’ll say upfront that I can do a lot of things, and I can do a few of those things pretty well, but using a front flipper on a knife isn’t on that list. That said, using the thumb stud to open the Clingman is smooth and easy. The blade snaps open just about as fast as it might if it were an assisted opening knife. There is a thumb stud on each side of the blade, so you left-handers won’t feel left out. Likewise, users can swap the pocket clip from one side to the other as needed.
The liner lock engages the blade fully. No knife lock is to be trusted 100%, but this one gives me a good bit of confidence. It’s a little stiff to disengage, but I feel that will loosen up a bit over time. Open, the blade is rock solid, with no movement side to side or back to front at all.
The blade was razor-sharp right out of the box. It’s also held that edge very well through several days of regular use. The 90-degree spine isn’t quite LT Wright sharp (if you know, you know), but it strikes sparks from a Ferro rod easily enough.
The handle is very comfortable. It has a slight curve, which helps to lock the knife into the hand. The front of the handle is contoured to help with this as well. The Clingman is very ergonomic overall. The pocket clip is flat and doesn’t dig into the palm while the knife is in use. The handle is thin enough that you can pinch-grip the knife without it feeling awkward. It’s also just long enough to get all four fingers around it.
It’s light enough that it won’t weigh you down but not so lightweight that it feels cheap or flimsy. This is the kind of knife you take to work and beat the hell out of all day long without worrying whether it’ll hold up.
So, is the Clingman the Best Damn EDC knife? It’s definitely in the running, and it’s certainly worth the price, that’s for sure. Blade HQ has it on sale for about $63 right now. If you end up paying full price, that’s still just $72-74, depending on the handle material.
