Whenever I think of magnets I think of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Raw Deal exposing a rigged gambling table. “Magic?” he asks, using ball bearings to show the table isn’t straight. “Or magnet?” He then upends the table. This is entirely irrelevant to this brief review, but I hear him say it every time I pick up Delta2Alpha‘s TheDOMINO.
TheDOMINO is a razor-blade holder that can accept standard razor blades. It has magnetic sheath (really a blade cover) that leaves the entire package magnetically sealed until you pull it apart. The added benefits of the magnets that hold the blade in place and keep the cover on is that you can adhere this tool to any suitable metal surface. here it is on the leg of my workstation:
Now, as someone who grew up as part of Generation X, I have a healthy fear of magnets. Magnets anywhere near your computer media or bank cards were something we were trained to avoid at any cost. My first concern, then, was whether dropping this into my pocket would cause problems, such as if it brushed up against my wallet.
Realistically, I don’t think the magnets are powerful enough to do any damage to your phone or your bank cards as long as you’re not carrying this in direct contact with either one of them in your pocket. I’d give it its own pocket if you do choose to tote it. It’s a handy little utility knife that could also be used for expedient slashing.
The blade inserts straight in and removes straight out. Any pressure you put on the cutting edge helps push it in place in the handle housing, so I don’t think you’re likely to yank it free while cutting (even if cutting under extreme duress). The applications for utility chores should be obvious. Razor blades are cheap and you can discard them as fast as they go dull, so you’ll always have a razor-sharp cutting tool handy when you have theDomino.
More importantly, because nothing about this is a locking blade (and the utility blades are widely recognized as working tools), this tool should prove to be relatively travel friendly. You wouldn’t be able to carry it into an airplane, but checking it would be no problem, I’d think, and most municipalities laws should be reasonably tolerant of it (unless you find yourself in an area that specifically targets razor blades, as some have in response to street crime).
I think this makes a great daily carry EDC utility tool and emergency defense weapon… but I also think its “sleeper” quality is that you can stick it out of sight anywhere a magnet will stick. Check it out on Delta2Alpha‘s website while it’s still available.