folding knife advice

The Kershaws often have recurved blades (an S shape), and as such cannot really be sharpened adequately on a flat bench stone (like my ceramic Spyderco stone). I won't buy recurved blades; I simply don't like them, specifically because of the sharpening issue. Also, some Kershaws have these weird serrations that are IMPOSSIBLE to sharpen. They look like rounded teeth, and have a very fine angle between each of them. No stone I know of can get in there. I have no idea why they designed the serrations that way. "Disposable knife"? Once it's dull, you throw it away and get a new one? Same thing with the really tiny serrations on some Cold Steel knives. Forget about it.


Spyderco's serrations CAN be sharpened, but it's a bitch.

I am opting more and more for what is long tried and true: PLAIN blades.
The newfangled $#!t is not worth it -- all fluff and no real reason for it except to 'keep it fresh" with new ideas. The best new ideas in the last few decades regarding knives have been the Spyderhole (and other one-hand-opening innovations), neck knives, the liner lock, the frame lock, the Ball-Bearing Lock, the compression lock, and maybe the Spyderedge serrations.

All these fancy Gil-Hibbenesque recurves on blades, I can do without. All they boil down to is needless complication of a very very simple tool. They're nothing but marketing.


-blackmind
 
Thanks for posting the link to that Kershaw -- it is indeed a good-looking knife. I'd even buy one, seeing it now. (But I'm saving up for the new disassemblable Delica...)

So I agree, not all Kershaws would necessarily fail to fit my tastes. :)


-blackmind
 
Agree with previous guy who obviously knows more than me BUT there are simple and modest priced kershaw almost strait plain OR serrated blades. the leek is one. 4"closed with 3" blade. Slender and simple. There are other manufacturers of course.
Click to expand...


I first bought a regular Leek. I liked it so much, I bought a designer-looking Rainbow Leek. It's got a nice cool effect. And you can wear it with your business suit as it's less intimidating for sheeple. :cool:
 
+1 for CRKT (I'm with Blackwater Ops)

I have ColdSteel, Gerber and CRKT. I've become very fond of my CRKT knives. They are dis-assembl-able (is that a word), very rugged and fit my hand well. Their locking mechanisms are second to none. I also like them because they don't look like a cheap knockoff. Many of their models are made in the USA. I just bought the small 14k model for my son and gave it to him at deer camp. http://www.crkt.com/14ksummt.html

My ColdSteel and Gerber knives get used and are excellent knives. But one of my CRKT's is always with me.

Good Luck,
AJ
 
Humm I dont see why some of your dont seem to like Buck knifes, I once bought a 200$ knife at a gunshow because the guy was offering them cheap on special (it was some new model forget the make) he gave it to us for 100$ I saw it a few weeks later at a few stores for up to 250$ so I decided I got a good deal and used it for a while. It broke down faster then my cheap Buck knifes doing pretty much the same stuff. Using it to cut wood, gut salmon, and do anything else you can think of with a knife.

That was 100$ to waste :( But hey my 40$ Buck knife I bought right after it broke on me has and keeps lasting on me and I have owned it now for 3 years :p

Best knife I ever got was a East German Bayonet you can find them around the net for lik 20$ US. It has yet to even need a good sharpening and I have had it for about 2 years. :D

Dimitri
 
Buck is a nice cheap knife. I even have a couple. I'd rather have one that:
1) has serrations to keep your hand from sliding up
2) will dis-assemble for cleaning
3) will stay locked, even while being used 'harshly'

My CRKT's have all been less than $50 and they all have the above.

AJ
 
If you have a Big 5 sporting goods in your area, check out their sales.
I picked up a Smith & Wesson folder with a 3.38 blade for $12
a month or so ago and it has held up great for such a cheap knife.
Easy one hand opening, liner lock, titanium coated blade.
Holds a nice edge and I have used it a lot cutting thick cable ties.
 
Like the CRKT

I carry the M16-13Z daily and on duty. Holds an edge well, has the serrations, not too big. Heavy clip that doesn't slip, opens easily with one hand....everything I need!
 
+1 on the columbia river m16-14le thats what I carry. the "carson flipper" is good for a quick open. I don't like switchblade or spring assist because you gotta rely on a spring and may run into probs with the law. You also want to check on the legality of a 4" knife completly concealed in your pocket. I wear mine clipped onto my pocket leaving 1" exposed, but it is navy in color and blends in well with some pants. come to think of it I could m-nu the clip to re blacken the worn parts.....
 
I have bought Gerber, Kershaw, CRKT, Cold Steel, Benchmade, and Spyderco. The only brand of folding knife I still own is Spyderco, except for 1 Benchmade Mini Stryker that is unused in box and I will sell for $50. I have 1 Serrated Delicia that is my work knife and is abused on a daily basis. I have been using it for 5 or 6 years in my mowing company and it's never been sharpened, but still is quite sharp. 1 more Delicia thats green with black coated blade. 1 Kiwi with Jig bone handle, 1 Mini Dyad (my favorite), 1 Jester and a Copilot (that I also wouldn't mind selling, still in box).

Although there are many quality folding knive makers out there, Spyderco has proven their products superior time and time again. They are light, easily opened with one hand, relatively inexpensive, and virtually indestructable. I will carry some model of Spyderco for the rest of my life, along with Surefire flashlights.

If anyone is interested in the two knives I want to sell just shoot me a pm.
 
I own many knives. I currently carry a cheap little plastic handled Gerber knife that I bought for under $20 as my everyday knife. It literally gets used in some fashion every single day.

I have looked at the Spyderco knives and find them well made but a little too trendy for me. Can't see myself using one of them for hunting or as a skinning knife.

During deer hunts these days, I carry a Remington bullet knife, the little Gerber (because it is always in my pocket), and a fixed blade sheath knife that seems to change from year to year. This year it was a Kershaw, but have since bought another Gerber for that purpose. I own many expensive knives, but I still find myself going back to basic knives such as Case, Remington, Boker, Schrade, and Gerber. Knives are tools and although I love custom knives, I can't bring myself to actually using one to cut something.
 
I just purchased a Cold Steel TI -Lite. can be operated one handed and comes sharp as a pimp on payday night. I alo like it because it has the guard lie a stilleto does, in fact this knife is a stilleto type knife. The guard is serrated and could rip quite a bit of skin of if used on the face or the arm with some pressure without even opening it.
 
SPYDERCO for me

Ever since the 1980s when I was in Golden Colorado for for some AT&T systems training, and I stopped in a new little factory outlet knife store –- that I had never heard of -- called “Spyderco,” I have been carrying a Spyderco knife. My first Spyderco was called the WORKER and I still have it. Since then I have bought about 40 Spyderco knives for myself and for others. I like the Spyderco’s clip and its ability to be opened very quickly with one hand. They also have good steel that holds an edge and is not too difficult to sharpen. In the last 20+ years I‘ve become very proficient at quickly “deploying” my Spyderco knife with one hand. The Spyderco I now carry the most is a DELICA with a straight edge, or if I need a longer blade I carry my ENDURA.

Ed
 
Spyderco is a great knife and they stand behind them. I once gave my Spyderco to a knife sharpener at a gun show. I asked if he knew how to sharpen a serrated blade. “Of course!” he said laughing. He then proceeded to grind a 45-degree angle on both sides of the blade and ruined the knife! I sent it back to Spyderco with a letter explaining what had happened. They sent me a brand new knife with no questions asked. They also offer free knife sharpening for life as well.
 
Gotta agree with Dragun on this, my S&W SWAT Special Tactical is my everyday workhorse pocketknife. Mine varies in the tanto blade, half serration, and has a belt clip. It's available through MSC, so I got work to pay for 25% and it was under $50 to start with. I carried a similar S&W while in the grunts, same blade style, but all black, with thicker scales. I think it was the 'Spec Ops' or somethin. Gave it to my buddy when I left, as he was off to The 'Stan and I was off to WI. He said he still has it because it works great. Those were available at the Army PX for $36, dunno why the MC PX never carried them. Neither ever showwed any rust, despite the saltiness of Hawaii. I remember having the Spec Ops taken away in training "because a tanto blade will go through soft body armor" and some kids flip in grunt school, I guess. Come to think of it, the guy I gave it to tried to bayonet some ****bird in SOI... Issue bayonets are hard to get through a flak, but they won't let us sharpen them. Maybe 'cause we can't stop fighting amongst ourselves...
 
Smith and Wesson and Cold Steel and CRKT are not knife manufacturers, they are sellers. They buy and resell knives that they have had private labeled for themselves.

That said, Benchmade has different levels of knives, unless you buy the more expensive lines, they too are outsourced. Buckknives labeled Made in USA as well as Gerber knives similarly labeled are made by the company, but those labeled as made in china or taiwan are outsourced too. Hard to believe but true.

As far as i have been able to discover all spyderco knives labeled made in japan are in fact made by them, the less expensive knives labeled on the blade as taiwan are not.

Al Mar and SOG have a lot of trouble with counterfits. look carefully at the knife before buying, I found a counterfit Al Mar at a national store just the other day.

The key to a good blade has for more to do with temper and heat treat than with blade steel. A great piece of steel with a crappy heat treat will be a crappy blade, a decent servicable steel with a excellent appropriate heat treat will be a good blade. What made Bucks so good for years was the quality of the heat treat. It was done by eye and it was done right. Now the company has relocated and I do not know howmany of the artisans that did that heat treat moved with the company. Same with the old "Portland, USA" stamped Gerbers, those were truely great knives. But big box retailers have killed the american knife business by insisting on namebrand knives for $16 on sale. A really good knife steel is ATS 34, tough hard and long wearing, it takes and edge that will last for a long time. Buck made some that were stamped made in USA and those are to be treasured, I found a couple at Gander for $23.00 each and bought them. Buying a knife that does not come apart is not that big a deal, just drop it in boiling water and then blow dry with an air hose and then drop into a can with a little solvent and work the knife wet with solvent wrap in a paper towel adn let it sit for a hour then oil lightly. works everytime. I really like the old buck odyssey pattern and wish it was still available, I keep on the look out for the ATS 34 ones, even have bought a serrated blade model and sanded off the serrations. serrations have no purpose on a EDC knife unless you are a EMT or likely to face a lot of spectre or kevlar, otherwise, plain edge is far superior.

A good blade for trial is the ATS 34 ez out from gerber, often found for about 25 bucks. good blade, thin grips, usable clip.
 
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