May 30, 2020 by Anthony Sculimbrene
When you get that knife, the one really works for you, you know it right away. It slides out of the box and lands in the palm of your hand with a subtle but certain choir-of-angels-singing-in-the-background feeling. You know it instantly. And if it is something that you have been waiting for for a long time, the volume of that singing is higher.
With the Sharp by Design Micro Evo 2.0 (“ME 2.0”) I had tried twice before to hear the angels singing and missed both times. The first Micro Evo was quite good but had two flaws—the not-so-great clip and a blade that was super close to the spine when the knife was in the closed position. It was the right size, it had that spectacular Nadeau action, and it had very good steel. Then I went down the Sharp by Design road again with the Void and while an excellent knife, it was not a knife that spoke to me. It was too big, too heavy, and the grind, while good, fought against a massive base thickness for the blade stock. The Void was probably the most Reate-y of all Reate knives: well-made, excellent action, but not so good as a slicing knife. Undaunted and with faith in Brian’s abilities, I bought another Sharp by Design knife, this time the Micro Evo 2.0 and…bang…the angels sung.
This is one of the best production knives available right now. It is a splendid tour de force in terms of design, innovation, and fit and finish. This knife shows the kind of innovation that should have showed up in the Sebenza 31. And strangely enough in the world of high end production knives, the Micro Evo 2.0 is a good value. They were snapped up on the primary, but they are easily worth the hunt on the secondary. Go find one. You won’t be disappointed.
Here is the product page. Because the product page has no specs, here are the specs as I got them:
OAL: 6.75” (Starett rule)
Blade Length: 2.96875”
Handle Length: 3.78125”
Cutting Edge: 3” (tailor’s rule)
Blade Height: .84375”
Blade Thickness: .375”
Weight: 2.44 ounces (3x 2.44 ounces on kitchen scale)
Handle Thickness: .9375”
Handle Thickness with Clip: .625”
There were eight variants: a tanto and a drop point with either a carbon fiber or green micarta insert and two titanium versions: a vented handle and a textured handle. I would assume but do not know for certain that the titanium versions are slightly heavier. There are no video review yet. Alas, there are very few written reviews nowadays and none of those either. Here is my review sample (purchased with personal funds to keep):
Twitter Review Summary: This is Nadeau and Reate firing on all cylinders and the result is one of the best knives available.
Design: 2
With no egregious mistakes and some devil-in-the-details refinement, the ME 2.0 is a truly spectacular design. This is not just an update to the ME 1.0 or a thinner Void, this is what happens when you take the good stuff from ME 1.0 and the good stuff from the Void and mash them together. Part of me is also really happy with the fact that this knife is not an off-the-wall design, its staid but superbly executed. In many ways, the ME 2.0 feels like the Sebenza 21 felt when I got it—just a damn good all-around knife with no major drawbacks.
Its funny, but in some ways making a superb knife isn’t that difficult—just don’t make mistakes. Which is, of course, the knife designer equivalent of Michangelo’s advice on sculpture (in what appears to be an apochryphal story, one of Michaelangelo’s assistants asked how be could sculpt something as perfect as David and he said: “Its simple—just chip away the rock that doesn’t look like David.”)
The performance ratios are very good. The B:H is a very good .785 (which is in the same territory as the SOG Flash I) and the B:W is 1.217.
Fit and Finish: 2
Finally all that fetishizing fit and finish pays off. Reate has long been a premiere maker of knives, but their fastidiousness was restricted to knives that looked good instead of knives that cut. The cutting part and the fit and finish part are now in synch and we are all better off for it. I’d love to see a mainline Reate with this combination. As for the knife itself, it is, of course, perfect in every way.
Grip: 2
With an impeccable balance and a lovely river rock feel, the ME 2.0 is a dream in the hand, moving and cutting through material with ease. The knife is the perfect size for an EDC and the point never seems to get away from you. The clip has been rounded off at the attachment point making it less pokey in the hand. And the inlays provide just the right amount of texture for grip. I wouldn’t slaughter a pig, given that grip, but just about every EDC task is performed quite well with the ME 2.0.
Carry: 2
Just like the rounded over handle helps in the hand, it also helps in the pocket. It also helps that this knife is positively light for a Sharp by Design knife. This is Brian’s Micro. The Mini has 3.5 inch blade. A full sized Evo is 4 inches.. But the ME 2.0 is a svelte dream and carries as such.
Steel: 2
M390, the practically perfect baseline steel for a premium knife. If you need more you are a diver or you are delusional. This is a great steel.
Blade Shape: 2
A modest drop point with good belly and a nice straightaway. Excellent and simple, like most everything on the ME 2.0.
Grind: 2
Reate can’t do good grinds. They do great everything else, but their grinds are beefier than a Whopper. That was my one hesitation that kept me off the Reate bandwagon (crammed full, as it were, of IG fanboys). Between this knife and the Pena Front Flippers, I can’t see a flaw in Reate’s abilities. Consider me a rider of the bandwagon. This grind is ideal—slicey without being so thin as to induce anxiety.
Deployment: 2
Nadeau’s ramped detent makes for the best flipping action in the knife game. The knife deploys smoothly, quickly, and consistently. It is virtually impossible for the knife to fail to open. And finally, noting that this is a small point, the opening is quiet—no clacking or pinging. I know some folks like that, but if you carry a knife and use it around other people, those noises are off putting. There is absolutely nothing I would change about this deployment.
Retention: 2
The ME 2.0’s clip is one of the best, if not the best, sculpted clip I have used. It has enough tension to keep the knife in place in slacks, but still loose enough to make it over the lip of the pocket in a pair of jeans. Furthermore, thanks to some detail work, it stays out of the way when you are using the knife.
Lock/Blade Safety: 2
With a raised access piece, perfect lock up with no blade play in any direction, and easy (but not flimsy) disengagement, the ME 2.0 has a complaint free lock. Furthermore, the inlay lets it function like a liner lock, preventing lockbar overtravel and making sure your finger placement doesn’t hinder deployment.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: Very High: The ramped detent makes for some seriously addicting deployment. If you need your knife to be a fidget toy, the ME 2.0 works in that role AND it happens to be a stellar knife.
Fett Effect: High: With a nicely frosted body from media blasting and a satin clip, the ME 2.0 will definitely show that you used the knife.
Value: High: This knife is a flawless piece of cutlery. That has some real value, even at $350. Compared to other $350 knives, the ME 2.0 never feels like it is cheap or cut corners and its graceful deployment and nice lines make it something that is likely to stick around. It doesn’t hurt that this knife costs what the Sebenza used to cost and it is well…see below.
Overall Score: 20 out of 20, Perfect
Its hard to find a flaw with the ME 2.0. It takes the best from Brian Nadeau’s knives and shrinks them down to a pocketable size. It fixes the close edge and clip issue from the original ME and it does so with the simple charm of a knife with zero mistakes. Reate’s proficiency with manufacturing and Brian’s skillful design make this one of the best knives on the market circa 2020.
Competition
I think this knife really presses all of the other high end productions knives into desperation mode. The Pena Zulu Spear comes out looking quite nice and the Boos Blades Mini Smoke offers a bit more blade at a lower weight, but the ME 2.0 just feels a bit more refined. The really stark contrast comes when you hold the ME 2.0 up to the Small Sebenza 31. If you want a micarta handled version, your looking at a knife that is easily $100 more and, frankly, you aren’t getting anything for that $100 other than Sebenza cred. The ME 2.0’s clean “knifey knife” lines really stick it to the Sebenza, which, is, as we all know, a conservative design that also harkens to the Platonic Ideal of Knife. Given that these two knives are both aim at the same target and one costs lest, the advantage from the ME 2.0’s superior steel really shows how silly it is that CRK didn’t release the 31 with a steel upgrade. A Sebenza 31 in S45VN would make for a better comparison. Then all we are debating is dollars. As it is the ME 2.0 is just a better knife.
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