When he first made a folding knife into something roughly the size of a dog tag, knife designer Serge Panchenko showed the EDC world there’s nothing too small to be useful if it has the right design. The original Spyderco Dog Tag featured an unprecedented form factor that made for an excellent and unique EDC knife. In its latest iteration, Spyderco takes Panchenko’s fourth-generation design and takes it to the cutting edge of the dog tag form factor.
The Dog Tag’s key feature, of course, it its compact sheepsfoot blade. The shape not only takes up a smaller footprint (making it ideal for this knife in particular), but also helps in strengthening the blade’s tip when the cutting gets tough. The 1.18” blade comes in USA-made CTS BD1 steel, with the trademark Spyderco round hole for easy deployment. New to the Gen4 is the double-beveled, saber-ground edge, giving it a symmetrical edge angle compared to its chisel-ground predecessors and allowing for better control during use.
Since the Dog Tag isn’t designed to be a locking folder, an integral spring bar and ball-bearing detent secures the blade both in and out of use. This is built into the knife’s aluminum handles, which keeping it as light as possible when carried—or worn—just like its namesake.
The Panchenko Dog Tag remains one of the most innovative knives for EDC, and the Gen4 keeps up its heritage of being one of the most useful compact folders you can carry. Pick up one from the link below.
