By Tim Stetzer

My old friend and writing mentor Terrill Hoffman used to say that a folder is just a pre broken knife. He was a believer in carrying a fixed blade for EDC use as there’s no lock to fail, and nothing to go wrong when deploying them. While I do still like folding knives, it’s hard to argue with his logic. If you think the same way, you might be interested in the Pocket Tango series from MKM Knives.

The Pocket Tango

The MKM Pocket Tango was designed by my buddy David C. Anderson, the face and voice of Knifecenter.com’s YouTube channel. David has a been designing knives for a number of years now, including his own line of Nordsmith Knives, and collaborations like the CJRB Maximal folder that I reviewed earlier this year. He’s also working with Ethan Becker at Becker Knife & Tool now as well. The Pocket Tangos we’re looking at today though are done in conjunction with MKM Knives of Maniago Italy.

The Pocket Tangos are a series of small fixed blade knives designed for EDC use. They feature a 2.91-inch blade crafted from CPM-MagnaCut stainless steel with a 0.120-inch thickness, and a Rockwell hardness rating of 61–63 HRC. It sports a Nessmuk, Reverse Tanto, or Sheepsfoot style blade with a flat grind and a stonewashed finish.

The handle measures 3.78 inches and handle scales are available in a variety of colors and materials including Olive wood, various types of Micarta, and Carbon Fiber. With an overall length of 6.69 inches, and a total weight of just 2.54 ounces, the Tangos are compact and lightweight. They come with a leather sheath featuring a magnetic pocket tab for secure carry. While they’re designed here in the USA by David C. Andersen, they’re manufactured in Maniago, Italy, by LionSteel. Lionsteel is part of the group of Italian knifemakers that make up MKM.

I ended up trying out a Nessmuk pattern blade with an Olive Wood handle and a reverse Tanto blade with a Green Canvas Micarta handle.

EDC the Fixed Blade Way

I’ve had my two Pocket Tangos for around six months now and have carried them off and on, rotating them with my usual folders. First let’s talk about the sheath. Sheaths are often the weak point with fixed blade knives. A bad sheath can be the difference between a knife you actually use, and one that sits in the drawer. I’m happy to say the pocket sheaths for the Tangos are excellent.

They’re very well made, of high quality leather. They aren’t just pretty either, they work. Rather than a metal or plastic clip, they use a leather flap with a magnet. The flap easily slides over the lip of your pocket and then the magnet sticks to a metal plate in the flap to keep it securely in place. There’s no wear and tear on your pocket either, like can happen with steel clips since it’s just leather touching the material. Another added bonus is that the magnet keeps the knife in place in the sheath as an extra level of retention. There isn’t enough resistance to make drawing the knife difficult however.

The magnets do a good job of keeping the sheath in place in your pocket, but I did find it’s easy to draw the sheath out with the knife. That’s simply rectified though by using your thumb or index finger to push down on the sheath as you draw the knife. Much like you’d do when drawing a pistol from a pocket holster.

David and MKM knocked it out of the park with this sheath. It’s classy looking, but more importantly performs perfectly. You can slide the knife into it in either direction to, so it can easily be used in the right or left pocket. This is probably the best designed fixed blade pocket sheath I’ve used.

Carry and Use

The Pocket Tangos are very comfortable in hand. The fit and finish is excellent. There are no gaps or raised edges to cause hot spots during use. The edges on the tang and scales are all rounded off as well. The spine is also rounded, so these aren’t going to be the best choice for striking a ferro rod. I’m good with that though, since that isn’t really what these are designed for.

The blades all have jimping on the spines to assist in control during use. The nearly three-inch blade is sized just right to rest your index finger along as well, allowing fine control. Basically when you choke up on the handle and rest your finger along the spine, the knife goes wherever you point your finger. Another nice thing about that blade length is that being just under 3 inches, it should be legal in all but the most repressive districts. I’m looking at you Chicago.

For EDC use the Pocket Tangos carry much like a folder. They sit deep enough in the pocket that they’re pretty discreet. The leather flap on the sheath is actually less of a tell than a typical pocket clip too, if all someone sees is that part showing. It could easily be mistaken for a glasses case or something similar. The trim profile and two and half ounce weight make it easy to forget you’re carrying the Tango as well.

For daily use the Pocket Tangos have plenty of blade for most any chore you’re likely to encounter. From opening boxes, to cutting up apples for lunch, you’re good to go. The Magncut steel from MKM came with a great factory edge and nothing I did to it seemed to have any negative impact. It should hold an edge for a long time, as long as you aren’t doing anything abusive with it. I didn’t notice any degradation of the edge over the months I used mine. Being MagnaCut, it’s extremely rust resistant and cleans up well too.

Hiking and Field Use

While the Pocket Tango is great for EDC, I think it would also be a great light knife for hikers or backpackers. I know some backpackers will think 2.5 ounces is too much, but if you aren’t that extreme, the Tangos offer a solid choice. They’re certainly much more capable than a small folder. If you get one of the Micarta handle models, it’s going to be pretty impervious to weather. You could clip the sheath inside the waistband, in a regular pocket, in a cargo pocket, or even just to a pocket on your pack.

Although I didn’t use it as such, the Nessmuk Tango should make a great small game knife as well. Heck, my old Solingen hunting knife didn’t have a blade much longer than the Pocket Tango and that worked great on whitetail deer, so the Tango could probably pinch hit there as well.

The Last Tango

Both Tangos I had were equally functional, so it really comes down to blade style preference and aesthetics when you pick one. Personally I give the nod to the Nessmuk of the two I tried. I find the slightly upswept blade and drop point to be extremely versatile, and I love the look and character of the Olive Wood.

The MKM Pocket Tangos make for a classy, elegant option to a folding EDC knife. Their light weight and trim design make them just as easy to carry as a folder too. And as my friend Terrill used to say, they aren’t pre-broken, so they offer strength and simplicity as well.

MSRP on the Pocket Tango is $219.90, which isn’t cheap. If you shop around, you’ll find street prices closer to $170. You’re getting a great design, made with Italian precision, from top end materials, though. If you like your EDC tools to be one-piece, and want something to class up your carry, it’s worth checking out the Pocket Tangos from MKM.