When I opened the package, the first thing I noticed was how well it fit my hand. The balance point of the knife is about 1 1/2 fingers in from where the edge starts. This makes handling it effortless. The Micarta scales swell into the palm and fit my hand like a glove. The texture of the grips (even when wet) give positive non-slip control without feeling like you are holding on to a rasp.
The blade is about 4 1/4 inches long and about 5/32" thick. This is gives a very robust feel without being overly heavy. The scales are attached by 3 screws and are beautifully mated to the full tang.
The blade right out of the package is scary sharp.
The steel is Elmax. It is not something I have seen before, but it is supposed to be corrosion resistant while having good edge retention.
My knife arrived on the Thursday before the start of Hunting Season. The size and balance of the blade made it seem perfectly suited for field dressing a deer.
I have to say that I was not disappointed. The razor sharp edge had no trouble whatsoever slicing through hair, skin, or connective tissue. It is not of a size and weight to be a chopper, so I still used a small hatchet to split the sternum and pelvis.
After I finished dressing the deer, the blade was still shaving sharp.
As can be seen in the photo, the Micarta scales do darken when wet, but go back to their original shade when they dry.
Cleanup of the knife was no problem. The scales rinsed off easily and were not stained by the deer blood. I really like that the scales are removeable using the screwdriver tip of my Swiss Army Knife. When I took the scales off, deer blood had inevitably seeped under them. I don't see any way that this can be prevented, so it is a major plus that the disassembly and cleanup is so easy.
Here is a link to the hunting report.
Any good blade should be properly accessorized.
I find that the laminate stock of the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle provides a nice accent to the black Micarta scales of this knife.
The EDC-4 is a very functional general purpose knife. To paraphrase Ruger's slogan, "The one knife to have if you could have only one."