I've been spending as much time outdoors as possible for as long as I can remember. I tend to gravitate towards all manner of outdoor recreation with hiking, camping, backpacking, kayaking, and mountain biking topping off the list. I've been camping all my life, summer vacation as a kid was a week's worth of car camping at the beach.  Friends of my parents used to take us hiking in the mountains with an occasional overnight trip. Since then I've been hooked. I'll hike or camp in any weather, in any season. Temperatures can range from 10 below zero F (-23 C) in the snow to 100 F (38 C) plus heat. That's the beauty of living in New England. I try to hike at least twice a week, more if I can make time for it.

At just over 4" (10 cm) closed, the Xikar Xi 138 is a small, lightweight cutting instrument. The folder has a locking blade for safety and ease of use. To quote the company's website, "Xi knives are intended for use as gentlemen's tools, and therefore will withstand normal everyday use for a tool of its size and cutting purpose." The Xi 138 looks and acts like its much larger cousins but at a fraction of their size and weight, making it a perfect match for everyday use.

Over the course of the test period I've been carrying the 138 as my everyday every use knife. The little knife has been called upon to open countless UPS and Fed-Ex packages, and cut everything from plastic, rubber, carpet, sheetrock, wires, and cloth as I had mentioned in my previous reports.

With so much use the Xi 138 did lose some of its razor sharpness and, due to my own foolishness, the blade had developed a small bend at the tip. I'm not expert at sharpening my cutlery, but with what little skill I possess, I managed to get the small bend removed and restore an edge to the blade. It's nowhere near the same sharpness as from the factory, but it's sharp enough to keep up with my demands. The method I chose to employ to sharpen my 138 was a handheld device with two carbide inserts set at opposing angles. The process is simply to drag the tool from the handle to the tip. After a few minutes the bent tip was gone and the edge was noticeably sharper, but again, not as sharp as a factory edge.

As a curious person by nature, I decided before writing this final review it wouldn't be complete without completely disassembling the 138 using the included Torx tool. Something I noticed regarding the tool, it seems to me the two sizes would be better served if they swapped ends of the tool. The smaller size requires less torque to use, so it'd be better suited to the longer end, and vice versa. I once again was impressed with the workmanship of this knife when I had all the parts laid out in front of me. Well, almost all the parts. I did manage to strip the head out of one of the screws along the back of the handle. Once apart I noticed a high amount of grime, lint, dust, and debris collected in the areas I normally couldn't reach to clean. After a wipe down with a clean rag (my shirt) I reassembled and the blade regained its silky smooth operation. I hadn't noticed that it developed a slight grinding feel to it until I had cleaned it up.

The fit and finish of the 138 has remained as good as the day I took it out of the box. The edges are a little softer on the plastic handle inserts, but there has been no tarnishing of the handle or the blade, and the plastic inserts show no signs of wear.

Overall the Xi 138 gets two thumbs up in my book. The size makes it perfect for being discrete, yet fully functional when called upon. The only suggestion I could make would perhaps be the addition of a half serrated blade. I make it a practice to buy my knives this way because I think it adds to their utility. The only other 'con' I could come up with gets cancelled out because it's also a 'pro'. I'm referring to the size and weight of the 138. A 'pro' because it is so light and easily concealed when not in use, but a 'con' when I forget it's there and leave it in a pair of pants and turn my house upside down for days looking for it.

Beyond that, it's a great item that I consistently get compliments on.

Josh Dunning