Outdoors

The James Brand's newest multitool carries slimmer than a pack of gum

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The James Brand Ellis slim is a new standard in minimalist everyday carry
The James Brand
The James Brand Ellis slim is a new standard in minimalist everyday carry
The James Brand
The Ellis Slim can be specced with a fully straight or a half-half straight-serrated blade
The James Brand
The James Brand Ellis Slim with serrated blade
The James Brand
The wire clip adds a little extra thickness but makes for convenient carry
The James Brand
The Ellis Slim loses 4 mm as compared to the standard Ellis and drops below the thickness of a pack of gum
The James Brand
At under 2 oz, you'll barely remember The James Brand Ellis Slim is there ... until you need it
The James Brand
The Ellis Slim has a 2.6-in steel slip-joint blade and a pry bar/scraper/screwdriver on the other end
The James Brand
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The James Brand has released several iterations of its Ellis knife over the years, and they've all been about as slim and minimalist as multitool pocket knives get. But the new Ellis Slim bests them all as the thinnest full-length knife in the lineup. While it does lose some functionality as compared to the traditional Ellis, it still packs a few handy extras in addition to its Swedish Sandvik steel blade. Even for a company that prides itself on minimalist design, this one is sleek.

To create the slimmest knife in the Ellis family, The James Brand removed the scissors that it added to the standard Ellis just a year ago, shaving 4 mm off the knife body thickness. That doesn't sound like much, but the company reckons it makes the 8-mm (0.31-in) Ellis Slim a few millimeters thinner than a pack of gum, estimating the thickness of the gum pack at 11 mm (0.43-in).

The James Brand's estimate is in line with the 9.7- to 11-mm (0.38- to 0.45-in) range we're seeing on retailer web pages, and one proper tape measuring, for modern 14- or 15-stick cardboard packs from Orbit, Extra and Trident. We measured the Trident 14-pack at 3/8 of an inch (9.7 mm), for what it's worth.

The Ellis Slim loses 4 mm as compared to the standard Ellis and drops below the thickness of a pack of gum
The James Brand

If you carry a different type of gum, you might just have to pull out the measuring tape to see if the Ellis Slim is in fact thinner than what's in your pocket. But it's certain to be slimmer than the average pocket knife, and it manages to earn light multitool credentials with an integrated flat-head screwdriver, scraper and pry bar.

Surprisingly enough, there's no bottle opener rounding things out, but you could always grab a titanium Halifax for that – and you'll still walk away with plenty of pocket space left over for a wallet, phone, keys and even some actual gum.

The James Brand Ellis Slim with serrated blade
The James Brand

The Ellis Slim handle measures 3.5 in (8.9 cm) long, and the 2.6-in (6.6-cm) blade opens with help from a slip joint for a total deployed knife length of 6.5 in (16.5 cm). The Swedish Sandvik 12C27 steel blade can be specced in either straight or half-serrated styles, and the handle finished in scales made from aluminum or G10 composite.

At just 1.8 oz (50 g), the Ellis Slim is as lightweight as it is sleek, making for barely-there everyday carry. It can be dropped in a pocket or clipped on via the integrated wire clip, which does not appear to be included in the thickness measurement. The new knife is available now for US$99 or $109, depending upon style selected.

Source: The James Brand

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6 comments
JeJe
Its not much of a multitool... its a very basic penknife with one fold-out blade and a huge price tag...
Uncle Anonymous
Hey Jeje… On the butt-end of the knife is a scraper/flat-head screwdriver/pry bar combination, thus the multi tool designation. As for the “huge price tag,” I recommend that you don't visit any sporting goods stores because when you see the prices for good knives, you'll faint. 🙂 These days, the only knives you can get for under a hundred bucks are cheap Chinesium crap with blades that will not hold an edge and will break under the slightest force.
Rick O
I agree with JeJe. This barely qualifies as a multitool. I carry what I call a pocket knife, that has a flat blade screwdriver tip on the body (not the knife blade), that I can also use a a "scraper" and "prybar", but I certainly don't call it a multitool, and I can even open bottles with it. For way less. I disagree with putting one tool on a knife and calling it 3 different tools. You may be able to use it for multiple purposes, but by that argument you could call a regular flat blade screwdriver a multitool.
Mike Williamson
I've been making and selling knives, and now importing, for 40 years. Son of Lester has not the slightest clue what he's talking about. A functional pen knife about that size is perfectly feasible at a $10 price point. "Chinesium" is an entirely racist statement, since the Chinese manufacturers source the same steel from the same foundries as everyone else. There are certainly good and bad mfrs, but the good ones have contracts with most of the name brands, including Boker.

But he's a perfect customer for boutique sellers marketing very basic knives, produced for $5, for over $100, because it has a dongle sticking out the rear.

A second blade would allow for a bottle opener, wrench, line cutter, screwdriver in quality steel with decent length, and the butt could have a glass breaker. In fact, knives like that exist for $20 retail, and I've carried and used one in my car for about 15 years. It has never broken "under the slightest force."
ljaques
James Brand is cheekily advertising a knife as a multitool. While it's a nice little knife (love the tan with black half-serrated blade), THAT ain't no multitool. Just like my Victorinox Classic isn't much of a knife @ 1.35", but the nail file, blade screwdriver, tweezers, toothpick, and scissors make it a real multitool.
Marco McClean
By that measure a fingernail is a multitool. You can use it for a scratch-off scraper and a screwdriver. Or a dime: scraper, screwdriver and also money for three minutes on a parking meter. A real multitool should have, at a minimum, pliers-and-wirecutter, both kinds of real screwdrivers, and a knife. The knife could have a can opener on the end. And the frame could be magnetic, to dangle it on a string to get a screw out of where you let it fall down a hole.