Look at all those fancy customs!
Overview
The czars that run Kalifornia make it real hard on those who wish to exercise our Constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms. I know, I lived there for almost a decade.
Thankfully, though, there are more than a few product developers in the firearm and knife industries that find workable solutions to go around the asinine laws that govern the Golden State.
CA residents have bullet buttons and 80 percent lowers and now, the Pro-Tech Calmigo, a California-legal switchblade! It’s legal because it sports a sub-2” blade. Apparently, in California, you’re a criminal if your auto knife is over 2 inches just in the same way you’re a criminal if your magazine carries anything over 10 rounds.
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Beautiful!
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What do you think?
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Anyways, I digress. The Calmigo is a super compact automatic knife that is designed for every day carry. Replete with a drop-point blade with a rather innocuous-looking point the knife gives off more of “I’m a tool” vibe as opposed to “I’m a self-defense implement.” This non-threatening look was not an accident.
“It’s not a stiletto, it’s not big and tactical,” Pro-Tech President Dave Wattenberg told KnifeNews. “This is a great crossover knife. I think it will help newcomers to autos get over the switchblade stigma.”
The steel on the Calmigo is 154 CM. The handle on the basic model is black anodized aluminum with jimping on the spine and a shallow finger groove for improved grip. Rounded out with a deep-carry pocket clip and a sliding safety lock the Calmigo is a solid little package.
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Fully extended.
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I really like the deep-carry pocket clip.
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Specs
- Overall Length: 5.49″
- Blade Length: 1.99″
- Blade Thickness: 0.11″
- Blade Material: 154CM
- Blade Style: Drop Point
- Blade Grind: Flat
- Finish: Satin
- Edge Type: Plain
- Handle Length: 3.50″
- Handle Thickness: 0.45″
- Handle Material: Aluminum
- Weight: 2.17 oz.
- Pocket Clip: Tip-Up
- Made in USA
- MSRP: $160.00
Impression
The Calmigo is a really nifty knife. It is small, almost a bit too small for my liking. And, I’m a no-safety kinda guy. But, I’ll tell you what, if I still lived in Cali, I’d definitely have one not only because it’s a handy EDC blade, but also because it’s a way to stick it to the authoritarian elites that run the state, a way to call attention to the fact that their laws make absolutely zero sense!
In full disclosure, I already own two Pro-Techs, a Magic and a Godson. So, you can say I’m a bit of a fanboy.
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What it looks like in the hand. It is, indeed, a small knife.
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You can see some of the jimping on the spine.
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Price and Availability
The MSRP for the Calmigo is $160.00. Though, I’ve already seen them listed for significantly less on BladeHQ with the base model starting at $114.95. If you wanted one with the flashy American flag design, well, I guess you had to be here at SHOT — Or you can try your luck by contacting Pro-Tech directly.
would own one if it was free
I was expecting to see a pocket comb but this is just as silly and way overpriced. You want something small? Might as well tape a single edge razor to the back of a credit card.
F that thing you californicationers and your laws…….my spyderco opens faster …will cut deep and penetrate further
Neat knife and the price for made in the USA is fair. I’m a BenchMade auto knife owner and their prices are about the same more or less. If you buy a knife at Wal Mart, well you get what you pay for.
$160 LMAO
Good frigging luck. My spring assisted is just as fast and it was $15 and larger.
What a joke!
$160???? Hahahahaha! Yeah, no. & Editor, it’s “Their laws”, not “There laws”.
whats for us lefties?
What about us lefties who cut our
Cartoonishly small, but infinitely more useful that the Libbrulz favorite Safety Pin to get to their Safe Space.
Gimmicky. Just buy a Kershaw at WalMart. Equal or better functionality at a fraction of the price.
MKM, Kershaw makes many different knives and uses different steel, according to use and price.
The Kershaws made from S30V and from 14C28N are very good. These metals keep a good edge and are corrosion resistant.
If you find a Kershaw knife at Walmart that identifies one of these two steels as being the blade metal, go for it.
The Kershaw knife price points are all over the place. Expect the S30V and 14C28N blades to be in the higher price range.
Where can I purchase the knife???
The expression of extreme silliness often produces a wonderful Fart , except in Calif were things fall through the enormous size holes !
Would make a good EDC for Chicago, or any other jurisdiction with blade phobia/restrictions. Like the grind on the blade. Looks like it would be a good slicer.
S.H. Blannelberry neglected to inform the readers that the 154CM, now called the S90CM, blade metal is the hardest metal that you can find in a knife blade. It is so hard that one must use a diamond, or ceramic sharpening device to restore the edge.
However, the edge keeps its scary sharp condition much longer than any of the other knife blade metals.
There is a caution though, the metal is not as forgiving as some of the other knife blade metals. Forget about using it as a pry bar.
The Crucible Metal, (CM) people use a powder mix under high heat to form a metal that is just as strong across the blade as down the length of the blade. There is no “grain” in the resultant product. Nevertheless, when hardened to RC 59/60 it should not be dropped onto a hard surface because it might shatter.
I’m frankly surprised that the price is as low as reported. 154CM metal is difficult to machine, as you can imagine. I have a drop point, 5 1/2″ fixed blade camping knife made by Phil Wilson of Seamount Knifeworks. It cost me $300.00 in the year 2000 and the edge is just as sharp as when I received it, albeit I have only used it on soft tissue, etc.
If sharpened properly, a 154CM knife blade will cut better and longer than any other knife made of a different metal.
First let me say I have nothing against Californians, I have many new neighbors because of their communistic laws! If businesses will quit relenting to their anti constitutional behavior and laws, giving in to the anti freedoms they impose then maybe those who live there will stand up and fight them to gain their freedoms back! Stop recognizing their laws which restricts laws abiding citizens and catering to those laws just to make a dime! All you companies are making it harder on the citizens by helping commiefornias czars laws be seen as legitimate, when they are not!
very very well said
What a bunch of pu**ies living in a state like that…….move.
I did move! 2003 after over 35 years there. GREAT state in so many ways. Most non Californians think of L.A. and S.F. and S.D. when they think of CA. They do not recognize things like driving off road for 8 hours and never crossing a property line (way better than where I live now where the entire state is privately owned). The staggering beauty of the Sierra Nevada Mountains or the Mojave Desert or the Northern Cal coastline and redwoods (some most favorite places there and in my top 10 anywhere). The very conservative conservative people that populate those places and the Central Valley (did you know it is not all that hard to get a CCW in many areas?). Do I miss L.A.? NO! Do I miss California? Everyday.
Bwaahahaha! It’s too small to be away from its mother!
I happen to like small knives. Most people pick blades that are WAY TOO BIG for the intended purposes. What do most of us use our knives for most of the time? Opening boxes. Cutting line or rope. Normal around the house or business stuff and this size blade will do all of that easily. My EDC is a Kershaw Ken Onion designed “Leek” with 3″ blade and for most things it is over kill but I carry it as a back up to the Kahr 9mm that is also EDC. For many years as a Quality Manager a knife with a 1.5″ to 2″ (usually also a Kershaw) was all I needed to open many boxes and general use.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iQrLPtr_ikE Knife? Thats a knife.
If its only good as a gentleman’s pocket tool, you don’t need it to be a switchblade though you may impress a Lady cutting the foil from a bottle of bubbly.
Buy one to stick it to CA authorities, their not the ones being stuck at $100+. To each his hone. Lol.
The expression of extreme silliness often produces wonderful art.
Nicely executed Pro-Tech.