The Tyrant Design T.D.C. 002 Folding Knife has a 2.75-inch Tanto blade that is 0.13 inches thick at the broadest part of the spine. It has a black nitride finish and is made of D2 steel. The blade opens smoothly around a ball bearing pivot point using nicely textured thumb studs. It is secured in the open position by a liner lock. Jimping on the spine of the blade gives better control during delicate cuts.
The grip of the handles is enhanced by textured EPDM rubber panels with a decorative chevron pattern. Chevrons on the accent spacer on the back of the handle harmonize nicely with those on the panels.
The knife is nicely machined and beautifully finished. The overall length of the knife when open is 7 inches. It weighs 3.2 ounces.
The deep carry pocket clip allows the knife to ride a little more discreetly than many everyday carry (EDC) knives.
The knife is designed and assembled in the USA. The blade is made in Germany. The rubber sides and clip are from Taiwan (Free China). The aluminum of the handle, the liner lock, and the hardware are all machined just outside of Chicago, where final assembly also takes place.
At the time of this writing, the TDC 002 cost $79.95. This represents a good value for a high-quality, American-built knife. If you are looking for a good EDC knife, this one is definitely worthy of consideration.
(Full Disclosure: Tyrant CNC is an affiliate advertiser of SurvivalBlog.com. SurvivalBlog earns a modest commission on the sales of any items that are derived from visits to the Tyrant CNC site from clicks on the affiliate ad link at SurvivalBlog’s Affiliate Advertisers page.)
Background
In December of 2024, SurvivalBlog published my review of the TDC 001. The TDC 001 is the slightly bigger brother of the TDC 002. I enjoyed testing the TDC 001 very much, so I was eager to test the TDC 002 as well. I contacted Tyrant Design, and they were kind enough to provide me with a sample for testing and evaluation. Before long, a 9.25 x 5.5 inch black plastic padded envelope was delivered to my home via UPS Ground. The envelope came from Tyrant CNC, 1001 N. North Branch Street, Chicago, IL 60642.
First Impressions
The shipping envelope contained a packing list, a warning decal, and a product box.
I thought the warning decal was going to be a California Proposition 65 (CP65) warning. Instead, the decal stated, “Warning: This product contains freedom and all sorts of [crude anatomical reference redacted].” Patrick F. McManus mentioned on more than one occasion that his neighbor, Al Finley, was prone to crude anatomical references like “you no good, dirty elbow.” Although I personally try to avoid the use of crude anatomical references, I infinitely prefer them to a CP65 warning that basically tells me that a product contains something other than unicorn hair or pixie dust.
The product box is 6.38 x 2.38 x 0.94 inches. Inside the box, the knife rests within a cardboard cutout.
The knife opens extremely smoothly around the ball bearing pivot point. The only feature that I can think of that would make blade deployment any smoother would be an assisted-opening mechanism. But such a mechanism is not legal in some jurisdictions. If you live in one of those jurisdictions, The TDC 002 would be a good alternative to an assisted-opening knife. Moving to a different (more free) jurisdiction would be another solution.
I prefer drop point blades to tanto blades, but that is purely a personal preference. During my testing I did discover, however, that the spine of tanto blades can be highly effective for opening cans of log and siding stain.
The knife came out of the box nicely shaving sharp.
The thumb studs are among the best that I have ever used. But if Tyrant Designs would create a TDC 003 that utilizes a thumb notch instead, that might be even better. Thumb notches are less likely than thumb studs to snag while being removed from a pocket.
The liner lock works reliably. It could possibly be made of a slightly heavier gauge metal.
The handle shape fits my hand very nicely, and the durometer rubber panels provide excellent grip. The knife also balances extremely well.
The TDC 002, like other Tyrant Design products, has a lifetime warranty against defects.
My Testing
I carried the TDC 002 daily, for more than a month. During that time, I used the knife for a wide variety of different tasks:
Opening a box of protein bars.
Opening a package of large print Our Daily Bread devotionals for distribution in the church foyer.
Opening mail on many occasions.
Cutting dill pickles to put on hamburgers for lunch.
Opening bags of dog food to be emptied into storage containers.
Opening a box with a splitting maul to be tested.
Cutting sandpaper for a quarter-sheet sander while preparing the side steps for staining.
Using the spine of the blade to open cans of stain. The shape of the spine is highly effective for this task, perhaps better than any other knife that I have used. In fact, I think it works even better than a screwdriver. I had occasion to stain the side steps, a piece of siding, and the woodshed during the course of the testing period. While staining the woodshed, I raced the gathering darkness and the increasingly numerous and voracious mosquitoes to finish the task. I thought that would be my most unpleasant task of the month. I was wrong. Later I found myself reassembling the side steps while rainwater from a valley on the roof poured down my back. I need to treat my current work jacket to make it more water-resistant.
Prying a knot loose on a rope that was used to pull a tree branch to a more convenient location for bucking.
Cutting a piece of cake to eat with my lunch.
Cutting off a six-foot sapling that was growing in front of the pole barn door.
Cutting off a sapling near where I was building a retaining wall with chunks of broken concrete.
Removing the seal from a gallon jug of bar and chain oil.
Cutting the base off of a beverage can so that I could fill it with oil. I used the oil to quench a dogging key that I was case-hardening. The goal was to extend the effective service life of the dogging key. About 10 years ago or so, I purchased a dozen dogging keys. I soon discovered that the steel that the keys were made from was too soft. The keys wore out quickly, especially when used by careless and inexperienced volunteers. I refurbish a worn dogging key by cutting off the tip and then case-hardening the new tip. To case-harden the new tip, I heat it red-hot with a propane torch and then quench it in motor oil. Then I heat the tip blue hot and quench it again in motor oil.
Cutting a hole in a sleeve of Sawzall blades so that I could hang the sleeve on the pegboard over the workbench in the pole barn.
Cutting pizza so that I could have part of it for lunch (on several occasions).
Opening the dog’s monthly flea and tick treatment.
Cutting small branches that I had missed with the chainsaw from rounds that I was splitting.
Opening a package of mozzarella cheese to shred for pizza (note: I wash the knife before using it for food preparation).
Cutting the wrapper off of a piece of log siding. I was preparing to fit the siding under the sliding door that leads to the living room.
Cutting open a box of Keys for Kids devotionals for distribution in the church foyer.
Opening a case of paper to refill the copier/printer while preparing agendas for the monthly Mission Team meeting.
Opening boxes of steel stair stringers.
Cutting cable ties off of bags of ear corn.
Cutting a section of plastic wrap to cover a stain brush so that I could use the brush again the next day.
Cutting open bags of salt to be added to the water softener.
Cutting open the seal on the lid of a bottle of multivitamins.
Peeling the label off of a zinc strip package. The zinc strip is to keep moss from growing on the roof of the woodshed.
Cutting the tape holding unused targets to perforated targets so that the perforated targets could be replaced with fresh targets.
Opening a box containing another knife from a different maker, for review.
The TDC 002 did an excellent job on all of these tasks and more.
Conclusions
The Tyrant Designs TDC 002 is an outstanding folding knife for EDC. It is sharp, rugged, sharp-looking [pun not intended], reasonably-priced, and built in the USA.
Disclaimer
Tyrant Design provided me with a sample of their TDC 002 Folding Knife for testing and evaluation. I tried not to allow their kindness to interfere with my objectivity in this review, and I believe that I have succeeded. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.