Custom CNC EDC parts, sourced from shops that actually run small batches
Knife scales, titanium pen bodies, flashlight hosts, pocket hardware. Send one drawing — we match it to a vetted Vietnamese CNC shop and come back with an itemised quote within 24 business hours.
We are a sourcing desk, not a factory — and we do not pretend otherwise.
The parts that make up an EDC order
EDC work is small, tight and finish-critical. It is the wrong job for a shop geared to 10,000-piece automotive runs, and the right job for one that has spent years holding a fit tolerance on a hundred pieces at a time.
Knives
Titanium and G10 scales, frame-lock liners with lockbar geometry, pivots, standoffs, backspacers, pocket clips, thumb studs.
Flashlights
Hosts, heads, tail caps, bezels, pill and driver retainers. Thread pairs cut on the same setup so heads swap without binding.
Pens & tools
Titanium and brass pen barrels, tips, clips, bolt-action parts, pry bars, key tools, bottle openers, beads and worry stones.
Small-run hardware
Watch case parts, tripod and camera accessories, fidget hardware — anything precision, pocket-sized and released in drops.
What the network can hold
Use this as the sheet you check a quote against. Anything outside it we will tell you is outside it, rather than quoting it and finding out later.
| Materials | Titanium Grade 2 and Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V) · Aluminium 6061-T6 / 7075-T6 · Stainless 304 / 316L / 416 / 440C · Brass C360 · Copper C110 · Tool steel D2 / H13 / SKD11 · Zirconium and Damascus on request · PEEK, POM, G10 and Micarta |
|---|---|
| Tolerance | ±0.01 mm typical across the network · ±0.005 mm from the shops running CMM inspection · ISO 2768-fH as the default when a drawing carries no callouts |
| Surface finish | Ra 1.6 μm typical as-machined · Ra 0.8 μm where the drawing calls for it |
| Finishes | Stonewash · bead-blast · satin brush · mirror polish · titanium anodize (purple, blue, bronze, gold) · Type II and Type III hard anodize · black oxide · PVD · fibre laser marking · vibratory tumbling |
| Batch size | 1–10 pcs prototype · 10–500 pcs small batch · 500–5,000 pcs production. Shops that will not touch a 25-piece job are not in the network. |
| Lead time | Quote within 24 business hours · prototype 2–4 weeks · small batch 4–6 weeks · hardened tool steel adds 1–2 weeks for heat treat and grinding |
| Processes | 3-, 4- and 5-axis milling · CNC turning with live tooling · wire EDM · surface grinding · heat treatment through managed sub-suppliers |
| Files | STEP (.step / .stp) preferred · DWG · DXF · IGES · dimensioned PDF with GD&T |
| Incoterms | EXW default · FOB Ho Chi Minh on request · DHL and FedEx air for samples and small batches |
| IP | NDA before any drawing leaves our inbox · your file goes only to the shops you approve · no public photos of your parts |
What experienced EDC buyers specify, and why
Titanium Grade 2 vs Grade 5
Grade 2 is commercially pure and anodizes into deeper, more saturated purples and blues — the reason premium pen barrels and show-face scales specify it. Grade 5, Ti-6Al-4V, is the alloy to use anywhere a thread, a screw boss or a lockbar takes load. If the part carries force, specify Grade 5 and accept the slightly flatter anodize colour.
Aluminium 6061 vs 7075
6061-T6 is the default for flashlight bodies: it machines cleanly in thin walls and takes an even Type III hard anodize. 7075-T6 costs roughly twice as much and earns it only where stiffness matters more than weight — high-end pocket clips, some scales. Name the one you want in the RFQ; shops will quote the cheaper one if you leave it open.
Stainless and hardened tool steel
304 and 316L cover general hardware. 416 machines fast and heat-treats well, which is why pivots and detent parts use it. D2, H13 and SKD11 get machined soft, hardened to 58–62 HRC, then ground or wire-EDM'd to final dimension — budget one to two extra weeks, and get a part that will not gall or peen after a thousand pocket cycles.
Brass, copper and tolerance callouts
Brass C360 is where most pen and lighter projects start; copper C110 machines beautifully and tarnishes fast, so spec a sealant or accept the patina. On drawings with no tolerance block, shops default to ISO 2768 medium — fine for cosmetic faces, not fine for a liner that has to drop into a frame. Call out the three dimensions that actually matter and leave the rest general.
Three steps from drawing to quote
- 01
Send the drawing
STEP or DWG, plus batch size, material and the finish you want. Ask for an NDA and you get one before we open the file. If you only have a sketch and a reference photo, send that — most first EDC projects start there.
- 02
We shortlist and quote
We read the part, flag anything that will fight the process — thin walls, deep pockets, threads too close to an edge — and route it to the two or three shops that actually run your material and your batch size. Quote back within 24 business hours, itemised: material, machining, finish, packing, freight.
- 03
Prototype, then production
Approve the quote and the shop cuts a prototype in 2–4 weeks with a measurement report. Once it fits, production runs 4–6 weeks. From the second order you deal with the shop directly if you want to — we are not trying to sit in the middle forever.
Send your EDC part drawing
STEP, DWG, DXF or a dimensioned PDF. The more you tell us about batch size, finish and deadline, the closer the first quote lands. Answered within 24 business hours.
- Free DFM read before anything gets quoted
- Itemised numbers — material, machining, finish, packing, freight
- NDA on request, signed before the file is opened
- Your drawing goes only to shops you approve
Prefer a full page for this? Open the RFQ page.
Questions buyers ask first
- Are you a factory?
- No. We are an independent sourcing desk based in Ho Chi Minh City. We keep a working list of Vietnamese CNC shops that take small EDC batches seriously, and we match your drawing to the right one. That means you get honest DFM feedback instead of a shop talking its own machine list up, and you are not stuck if the first quote comes back wrong for your budget.
- What is the minimum order for custom EDC parts?
- One piece for a prototype. Ten to five hundred for a small batch. Most knife makers and pen brands start at 25 to 50 units to prove fit and finish before committing to a real run. Shops that gatekeep behind a container minimum are not useful for EDC, so they are not in the network.
- Which materials can the network machine?
- Titanium Grade 2 and Grade 5, aluminium 6061-T6 and 7075-T6, stainless 304, 316L, 416 and 440C, brass C360, copper C110, hardened tool steel D2, H13 and SKD11, plus PEEK, POM, G10 and Micarta. Zirconium and Damascus are possible but material lead time drives the schedule. Mill certs traceable to the heat lot are available on request for the metals.
- Can I get stonewash, bead-blast or colour-anodized titanium?
- Yes — those three are the most requested finishes in EDC and every shop we shortlist either controls them in-house or manages a finisher it has used for years. Colour anodizing is the one to watch: ask for a batch sample before production, because voltage control is what separates a uniform bronze from a streaky one.
- How do you protect my design?
- NDA before review, signed by us and by any shop that sees the file. Your drawing goes only to shops you approve, not broadcast to a list. No photos of your parts are published anywhere, including here. Knife and pen designs are intellectual property and the network treats them that way.
- How fast do I get a quote?
- Every enquiry is answered within 24 business hours of receiving a STEP or DWG file. That is a real quote with numbers on it, not a request for a call. Prototype lead time is 2 to 4 weeks, small batch production 4 to 6 weeks, and hardened tool steel adds 1 to 2 weeks for heat treat and grinding.
- Do you work with one-person shops, or only established brands?
- Both. A solo knife maker ordering 25 scales and a flashlight brand running quarterly drops go through the same process. The network is built around small-batch precision, so a small first order is normal rather than an exception.
- What does this cost me as a buyer?
- Nothing on top of the shop quote for the sourcing work itself. We earn from the supplier side of the relationship. You see one itemised quote covering material, machining, finish, packing and freight, and you decide whether it works.
Working notes on EDC manufacturing
Why 25 pieces costs more than a quarter of 100
Small-batch CNC pricing is dominated by setup, not cutting. What actually drives the per-piece price on an EDC run, and the four changes that move it most.
EDC finishes that survive a pocket: stonewash, bead-blast, anodize
A machined part with a sloppy finish looks worse than an average part finished well. What stonewash, bead-blast, Type III and PVD each do, and which to specify for EDC.
Titanium Grade 2 vs Grade 5 for EDC parts
Grade 2 anodizes into deeper colour, Grade 5 holds threads. Which titanium to specify for knife scales, pen bodies and flashlight parts — and what each costs to machine.
Run a CNC shop? Join the network
We are a sourcing desk, not a factory. Buyers send us drawings for EDC parts — knife scales, pen bodies, flashlight hosts — and we route each one to the shops that genuinely fit. If you run precision CNC in Vietnam and small batches are a business you want rather than a favour you tolerate, join the network.
No listing fee. You receive RFQs matched to your machines and materials, you quote the buyer through us, and you keep the customer relationship once the first order ships.
Send a drawing. Get matched with a supplier.
One RFQ, routed to the shops in the network that actually run your material, your finish and your batch size.
Every enquiry is answered within 24 business hours. Prefer email?