Last fall I wrote;

Ideally, I’d like one knife which combines the slicing and edge retention of the Dragonfly with the abuse-ability of the Candiru.  The Bark River Micro-Canadian has been the number one candidate for some time, but it violates my no-knives >100 dollars policy.  A year from now I’ll probably have purchased one, and will hopefully have glowing things to write about it.

Ask, and it will happen.

My parents were clever and kind enough to read that post, and a Micro-Canadian appeared under the tree in Baltimore this past December.  It is indeed a combination of the Candiru’s toughness and the slicing and rust resistance of the Dragonfly.  It is also dead sexy, one of the prettiest tools I’ve owned, of any type, as well as the most capable.

The blade is stout, with an emphatic convex grind.  That it can be .125″ thick, barely more than 2″ long, and still slice with precision is impressive.  In five months I’ve found little it can’t do, and all of those things have done remarkably little to dull the edge.  As can be seen, it looks brand new.  The knife is tiny, comically so in a way anything other than holding it cannot capture, but the handle provides a solid and comfortable grip.  I appreciate the classy looks, and I especially appreciate the total lack of any corrugations or texturing, which makes the Micro-C easy to clean without loosing any substantive function.

The only limitations are those inherent to sheath knives as such, namely size, and to a lesser extent (depending on setting) a more aggro public image.  It is difficult to imagine how the Micro-C could be smaller, or more benign in appearance (without thinking I took it to the Smithsonian over Christmas, and security let me bring it inside; the world is not Montana).  I bolted a pocket clip to the leather sheath, and it is just short enough to hang inside with acceptable security.  This has proven to be a fine arrangement, though down the road I intend to get a thinner plastic sheath.  As is the knife looks a bit bulky in slimmer fitting pants.

Compared to the Candiru and Dragonfly the Micro-C is the epitome of getting what you pay for.  The only flaw other than size is the extent of my paranoia about dropping it.