Hi DaveK14,
I’m a knife guy too, check this out (http://chineseknives.proboards.com/) it’s moderated by a fellow BLF member.
For birthday/holiday gifts I purchased a handful of these AAA Bronte BT01( Introducing the Bronte BT01 - full review), sweet little well made light available in various colors.
My current/favorite edc is the new AA/14500 Manker E11 ([Review] Manker E11 XP-L AA/14500)… very compact and super bright. The only thing it needs imo is a lockout feature… maybe V2.