Everyday Carry

Spyderco Dog Tag Gen4

Authored by:
Mikey Bautista
Spyderco Dog Tag Gen4

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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.

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Mikey Bautista

Director of Everyday Carry Operations


About the Author
Mikey Bautista is an everyday carry (EDC) expert who has been working with the EverydayCarry.com team for nearly a decade, starting with an interest in EDC as a hobby and ending up as a writer for the site in 2014. Through the years, he’s led the site in editorial content and writing about products across every category, from knives to bags to flashlights and everything in between, as well as discovering, bringing exposure, and building bridges with many brands in the industry. Today, he is the site's Director of Everyday Carry Operations, leading the editorial team and managing day-to-day operations.

He has lived through many personal and professional lives, spending nearly a decade in the workforce management industry, a minor career in gaming, and has lent a hand with entrepreneurial efforts back home in the Philippines. He has also been an active participant and helped build a number of significant social communities online, both for EDC and his other hobbies.

Mikey has been at the cusp of gaming, technology, and the internet since the ‘90s and continues to lend his experience, expertise, and authority to all his pursuits. When not online, in a game, or watching movies, you'll find him in the gym, speedrunning his next hobby, or talking at length about EDC with anyone willing to listen.

Discussion (3 total)

ThreePercenter ·
is that a pocket clip or the locking mechanism? I hope the latter...
S.G. Skinner ·
Framelock of sorts, retained since gen one. Works really well for a cutting device of its size. I have the gen one, and I love this thing.
Please give us back the Spin :'(