“Make it Small – Make it Useful – Make it Work!”
True Utility
UK based True Utility have been producing mostly small minimalist products for over twenty years. Many of these have found favour as Everyday Carry (EDC) items and Three Points of the Compass purchased a few of them over the years. Designed in the UK, most of their products are made in China.
True Utility introduced the TU580 Bare “skeleton style minimalist knife” in September 2017 and it has been available in a variety of packaging. That shown here is the simplest, though still has a degree of plastic waste.
The Bare is advertised on the packaging as weighing 16g. This hides a fact. It weighs 18.19g (18g) of which 1.91g is the quick release pin. So it weighs the advertised 16.28g (16g) without the quick release pin. That said, it doesn’t really require the pin and admittedly, the website says the knife weighs 18g. I would be inclined to leave this pin at home as I am not hanging this knife from a bunch of keys on trail and the blade stays sprung closed without the pin.
A well-made ‘free’ keyring is also supplied with the knife. I am less interested in this quite large accessory and do not carry or use it. For those interested in the stats however, it weighs 8g and has an OD of 38mm and ID of 31mm.
This is a ‘naked’ knife, without scales. The blade folds down adjacent to the curved handle, which protects the user from unintentional cuts when it is folded. There is the lightest of tensioned snaps when it closes. As it opens, the tensioned handle springs open to act as a liner lock, behind the blade, preventing it closing. Therefore this is a lock knife, which, strictly speaking, places it outside UK knife law for just hanging with a set of keys day-to-day. If it didn’t have the clever frame lock design, it would have been a legal knife to carry. It is a good stable design with no floppiness, though that might change as the nylon washers on the pivot wear.
The knife is made of 420 stainless steel with just a bit of black coating to both sides of the blade. This is a fairly average Chinese steel and while it won’t hold an edge particularly well it is easily sharpened. Due to its minimal construction this knife is not up to any sort of hard work and should only be used for light tasks. The easiest way to open the blade is to rest a thumb tip against it and slide it open, pinching with the forefinger as it clears the frame, which isn’t difficult. The blade is chisel grind, i.e.- on one side only, which makes it a little safer when folded, though this type of edge is anathema to many. I especially appreciate that no fanciful design cut-outs have been included as this type of handy blade will frequently be used for cutting food, the type of stuff that lurks in crevices and harbours bacteria.
Specifications:
- Overall open length: 110mm
- Closed length: 61mm
- Handle length: 57mm ( from pivot centre to end)
- Width: 15mm
- Depth: 10mm (maximum, across pivot)
- Blade cutting edge: 46mm
- Blade thickness across spine: 2mm
- Weight: 16.28g, without 1.91g quick release pin
This is a small tool and the short handle length means that only part of the hand is grasping it in use, with my large hands, only two fingers will close around it
The quick release pin has a tiny sprung domed button that helps keep it in place once inserted into the hole in the frame of the knife but I wouldn’t like to rely on it too much. The pin can be used in two ways. Either insert it through the hole and close the blade on to it, or remove the pin, close the blade then replace the pin. The second way locks it in the closed position and acts as a blade guard.
The TU580 Bare “skeleton style minimalist knife” from True Utility is a very well-priced knife and worthy of consideration by those looking for a simple little blade, at a decent price. It shouldn’t cost you more than a tenner from anywhere and as I write this it is available on Amazon for £7.84. There are a few alternatives to the True Utility Bare if looking for a simple lightweight blade. Those from Opinel are another cheap and simple product. The Gerber Paraframe Mini SS FE is another single blade option and a good deal sturdier, however that is over twice the weight.
Three Points of the Compass has been using a Deejo 15g for the past couple of years while backpacking and has found that similar open frame knife to be perfectly adequate for most tasks. In truth, a small pair of scissors are of most use on trail, so a small pair of titanium Westcott scissors live in the First Aid Kit too. I found the Deejo 15g so good in fact, that I thought it prudent to buy a spare, just in case the first wore out, got damaged or lost. I am all too aware how manufacturers will mess around with a perfectly good design and the minimalistic naked frame Deejo 15g was all that I wanted. However, I am a UK based hiker and when I went to order one, found that as a result of Brexit Deejo will no longer ship to the UK. Hence my looking for an equally small alternative and settling on the True Utility Bare offering. Interestingly, I see that True Utility are still stating that as a result of Brexit- “we have currently stopped shipping to Europe from our warehouse in the UK due to the large / disproportionate customs fees”. So, those outside the UK might struggle to find this little knife.
Having compared the True Utility and Deejo knives, I actually prefer the Deejo 15g as it has a better design, is very slightly less weight than the True Utility Bare, but has a fractionally longer blade, a slightly longer handle that is easier to hold, and has no need for the quick release pin. As mentioned, the pin isn’t an essential component with the Bare, however if I string it together with my little ferro rod, the tip of the blade cannot pass the cordage without cutting it. So, for now, the Bare will remain as a spare in the gear locker to be dug out should I have to replace the Deejo.
Three Points of the Compass has looked at quite a few knives and multi-tools that may, or may not, be suitable for backpacking, day treks or Every Day Carry. Links to these can be found here.
Three Points of the Compass 
Found a Deejo, it was almost double the normal retail price! Is this not an excuse for a long walk in France ending in Paris?
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Now THERE is an idea! Where did you find your Deejo?
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https://www.basecampgear.co.uk/naked-37g-pocket-knife/ – £49.99 so at least they will post it to whoever free.
I am saving my pennies for something a little or a lot more Bushcrafty.
I did have a moment when I thought I had an option as the Real Steal Heinnie knives look light however 50g and over. They need to do a titanium version.
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Yep, I saw that site, however of the six variants of the Deejo15g, the one I want, they are sold out of all of them. Having now used the smallest Deejo across many hundreds of backpacking miles, I am convinced I require nothing larger, certainly not blade length
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Thanks for this post and forum as I just found out something really useful.
The law has been altered in that the 3″ non-locking edc style knife must now have a blade length of 3″ or less. This is changed from the sharp part of the blade being measured for 3″ or less.
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“Therefore this is a lock knife, which, strictly speaking, places it outside UK knife law for just hanging with a set of keys day-to-day.” This is terrible advice because the judge is not even allowed to take mitigating circumstances into account as this is an offence that in most circumstances carries a minimum offence – in other words, automatic jail time. STOP ADVISING ON THE LAW.
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OK, OK, calm down! Pretty sure all I did here was put up a red flag for those in the UK, most of my readers are overseas. As you know, I write from a backpackers perspective. Nothing wrong with including this in a little cookset in the UK when backpacking as you can show a good reason for carrying it if it is packed away within the pack. This would be defined as ‘good reason’, have a glance at this: https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives
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I have the greatest respect for your knowledge about backpacking as well as your energy in putting out the newsletter. But you know sod-all about the law. That is well illustrated by your sentence: “… I write from a backpacker’s perspective.” Not about the law, you don’t. The law only has one perspective that counts, and that is the one from the Bench. And do please take my word for it – what I am telling you here is hard-and-fast law, and no longer open to interpretation, discussion or argument. Then you continue: “Nothing wrong with including this in a little cookset in the UK when backpacking as you can show good reason for carrying it.”
Now get this: Good reason is totally irrelevant, does not come into it and cannot be argued in Court as either a defence or in mitigation for the simple reason that a lock-knife of any size is by definition an offensive weapon. THE MERE POSSESSION OF AN OFFENSIVE WEAPON IN A PUBLIC PLACE IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE and it does not matter if you are a backpacker with the best of intentions or that you keep the offensive weapon hidden in a cookset. It is an offensive weapon per se, as we lawyers like to say.
This is the law, so you are not entitled to have your own opinion about the interpretation of it – that is what we have judges for, and the Appeal Court when the judges slip up. But please stop misleading your readers, who can get prison sentences for listening to you on something you just don’t know about.
Regards,
Fred
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Thanks Fred for your full and vehement protestations. All noted. All I can really add, before drawing this discussion to a close, is my own experience. I have twice been pulled up by the police when carrying a knife. Once due to a metal detector at a London Underground station. On both occasions I calmly explained to the police what I had it for, as evidenced by my pack, contents and garb. They listened, agreed, understood, were content to let me go on my way. There was no issue, because I had good reason. Quoted from the Gov.uk site I provided a link to-
It’s also illegal to: carry most knives or any weapons in public without a ‘good reason’
Best
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Jools,
There are a couple of things you cannot do, and you have done them;
you have arbitrarily curtailed my reply to you, thereby changing its tenor * you have preferred to tell a meaningless anecdote of your own * you have drawn insane conclusions from that story * still without having even the vaguest understanding of the applicable law.
I carry several knives almost all the time including Leathermans but either they are exempt or they have been deliberately modified to make them exempt. If you were found to have a knife on you and you were allowed on your way, there may have been several reasons for this:
the knife was not an offensive weapon and you had a good reason * the knife was a folding knife with a blade not exceeding 3 inches which is exempt and does not require good reason * the knife was a lock knife and therefore by definition as illegal as all Hell but, just like you, the cops did not know the first thing about the law and let you walk
It is unfortunate that you refuse to listen to an expert. Please take my name off your mailing list – I cannot stand pigheadedness..
Yours,
Fred Karno
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Thanks for your reply Fred, do please note that I have not curtailed your reply. I do have a vague understanding of the law, hence my saying from the outset that the True Utility Bare does not comply with UK law. A statement that you agreed with, then argued with. You don’t seem to like the government advice on the law, on their website, regarding ‘good reason’, fine, that is very much your prerogative.
When I was pulled up at Debden Tube station carrying a knife, it was a bunch of coppers deliberately checking up on knives being carried (there is a college nearby) resulting in recent knife crime (at that time), they were therefore well aware of what they were looking for and the law. I would actually call them, in that instance, ‘expert’. My knife was a sub-three inch folding locking blade, carried with my backpacking gear- a ‘good reason’, hence them letting me proceed on my merry way, still carrying my ‘illegal’ blade.
But, sad to see a voice of dissent go, I have complied with your request, best wishes
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Minimalist knife, maximalist packaging.
I like the Opinels. My No. 6 weighs 25g, perhaps enough to have it rejected by weight weenies but for me it is a thing of use and beauty. However, in taking it out just now to weigh it, I found that after last using it a fortnight ago, I must have put it away very slightly damp; I’ve caught it just in time, only the lightest bloom on the surface of the walnut handle, which I’ve wiped off and given it an oiling. Looking further, it wasn’t the knife itself that was damp nor the pot and mug it was in, but the washing-up sponge that was with them. A lesson learned; washing up is decadent and dangerous, don’t do it!
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Yep, one of the points to remember with the Opinels, that wood does swell if it gets wet and can lock the blade in the closed position until dried out. No. 6 and up (in size) have the Virobloc , which make them locking knives so outside UK legal. It can be easily prised off if you want, which makes it slightly more dangerous to use and a little more care is required to stop it closing on your fingers, but does then make it ‘UK legal’. The Virobloc can be easily replaced too. Sizes up to five don’t have the Virobloc
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I cannot find it however I am sure I have seen something about modifying a lock knife not being good enough. I miss British Blades.
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