New to the knife game

[kenpo333]

You cannot go wrong with Kershaw and CRKT. Have used both for carry purposes for years.

 

[TxAggie]

To OP, here's a nice article I found today. The rest of the site, from what I've seen so far, seems pretty well thought out.

http://www.knifeup.com/finally-i-found-the-best-pocket-knife-in-the-world/

 

[MikeTF]

Pretty much in love with my SOG Flash II.

Love mine too!

 

[gjohnsonoc]

Thanx

I ordered 2 the blur and m16

 

[NickZac]

Do you want a knife for utility, self-defense, or utility AND self-defense? How heavy do you want for performance? What about size and weight?

The best performing folders in your price range will be used. Something like a Zero Tolerance 0550 or Spyderco Paramilitary 2 or Benchmade Ritter Griptilian (in S30V steel) are going to all give excellent performance (with the ZT being the toughest).

In your price range, a steel such as 154, VG-10, S30V, S35VN are going to be the upper performance limit and give you good-to-excellent edge retention, excellent toughness, and excellent stain resistance.

All of the above knives are pretty large. If you are looking for smaller, the Spyderco Delica or the Benchmade Mini Griptilian will satisfy. There are other knives available but I mention those two because they are among the most popular of designs, they offer the best steels in their respective price range, the ergos and handle materials are excellent, the hardening done by each maker brings the steel to excellent performance without chipping issues, and the locking mechanisms are patented systems developed by each of the respective makers. They also have good warranties I have used personally and can speak to...in addition to the warranty, they refurbish knives for free. There are a few other popular makers and models, but the biggest issue is that the standard models do not have very good steel. One of my favorite knives, the Kershaw Leek, uses very soft steel on their standard models...you have to buy a limited edition to get a steel with good edge retention (if you do like the Leek, they make a composite Leek using D2 tool steel which one can now purchase as a factory blem model for a very good price)

If you are looking for a pure cutting tool, check out the Spyderco Delica or Endura in ZDP-189.

Also, what do you have as far as sharpening tools go?

 

[joppaj]

Spyderco Endura. Figure out if you want full serrated, half serrated or non-serrated, be happy.

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=208

My new Endura just arrived the other day. It's a 3.75" blade made of VG-10. I bought it through an ebay shop for $61 shipped. Maryland's own Knife Center has them in full serrated, half serrated or plain edge for $69.95 plus tax and shipping.

 

[NickZac]

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=208

My new Endura just arrived the other day. It's a 3.75" blade made of VG-10. I bought it through an ebay shop for $61 shipped. Maryland's own Knife Center has them in full serrated, half serrated or plain edge for $69.95 plus tax and shipping.

I love the Endura It's worth noting that for those looking for extreme edge retention, the Delica and Endura in ZDP-189 is serious business with a hardness in the ballpark of 64-65 HRC. My ZDP Delica can go about 3-4 times as long between sharpening than most of my premium stainless blades, and the $75 knife will keep its edge longer than any of the 100 or so folding knives I own in many different steels (and by a dramatic margin, at that). It's an incredible value and by comparison, it gives superior edge retention over almost every steel ever used on a cutting tool...

And interestingly enough (since it is the least expensive ZDP folder line), Spyderco did not cheap out and do a ZDP-189 layer over a cheaper core to save money like most other makers...and while the ZDP D4/E4 are the cheapest ZDP folders on the market, I personally think they are the best and outperform other ZDP folders costing 4x+ as much, and that Spyderco has become the real leader in working with this and other exotic steels.

I guess that's all well-fitting given the Spyderco Delica and Endura series are really what every modern folding knife traces its lineage to?

http://www.bladehq.com/item--Spyderco-ENDURA-Green--6646

 

[gjohnsonoc]

Great knife i think im gonna get a rambo next. Hows the gerber survival kit?

 

[joppaj]

Great knife i think im gonna get a rambo next. Hows the gerber survival kit?

My personal opinion is that most "survival knives" are junk.

 

[Dave11]

Try to find the Benchmade 585 Mini-Barrage. On sale it might be in your price range.

 

[NickZac]

Great knife i think im gonna get a rambo next. Hows the gerber survival kit?

My personal opinion is that most "survival knives" are junk.

I agree!!! The Gerber kit is overpriced and of mediocre quality. A Spyderco Delica/Endura (or Salt if you are in a marine environment as it uses rust-proof steel), Victorinox SwissTool Spirit, United Cutlery or Ontario Axe, Cold Steel carbon Khukri, and generic magnesium firestarter or wind-proof matches, will accomplish everything in the Gerber Survival Kit for about the same price, but with significantly greater capability (just the SwissTool, an Endura, and a fixed blade more or less accomplishes all of the same tasks and more).

Plus, if you are using a knife in a condition in which rust can develop easily, H1 steel is an incredible advantage as it will not rust due to nitrogen being used to replace carbon, giving the first TRUE stain-FREE steel!

 

[Rickman]

Here is a pretty good deal on a Kershaw Leek, $34.95:

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/KS...campaign=Kershaw Leek Sale Sept 2013&kcno=123

 

[NickZac]

If you are thinking about a Spyderco ParaMilitary 2, let me increase your desire. I own a lot of knives and despite being a full flat grind for added strength with heavier work, it is probably the sharpest I can get a knife to...I can get it to a point in which you could practically shave with it and for whatever reason, many others users report this as well. The blade has fantastic edge geometry and Spyderco has gotten very good at their CPM-S30V heat treatments. For sharpest out-of-the-box knife and for easiest knife to maintain a razor sharp hone, IMO this is one of the top...

[YT]yRdqIc6kC_w[/YT]

 

[xdwaiter]

I love my sog flash 1

thinking of superglueing the saftey into the off position permanently.

 

[Terpfan76]

I'm also new to the blade ring. I have a Remington fixed blade a friend gave me but I'd like a nice multipurpose knife. I'm a big fan of the tactical style and am curious at to what the consensus is on SOG knives. I'd also at some point like to own a kbar. Thoughts on them as well. Bug out bag, edc, just one knife for the zombie apocalypse, what would you choose?

 

[NickZac]

I'm also new to the blade ring. I have a Remington fixed blade a friend gave me but I'd like a nice multipurpose knife. I'm a big fan of the tactical style and am curious at to what the consensus is on SOG knives. I'd also at some point like to own a kbar. Thoughts on them as well. Bug out bag, edc, just one knife for the zombie apocalypse, what would you choose?

SOG has a very wide variation in product lines. Most of their mainstream knives are going to be of mediocre-to-reasonably-decent quality. Their higher end knives tend to be of very good quality, but they get expensive quickly. I personally prefer Spyderco and Benchmade for many of the mainstream knives, as I think you get a lot more for the money. In the budget class, I think the Ontario Utilitac absolutely dominates it's respective price class and I've never handled or used something I think compares ($20-25).

Many of the 'tactical' folders are largely fed more by hype than performance, and they tend to fall short in the real world usage. When used for heavier tasks, most simply do not live up to their hype (batoning is a great way to test how tough a knife really is, and few knives can withstand it). For reasonably priced knives that fulfill true tactical roles (i.e. you can use it as a knife and for things you should not use a knife for), Zero Tolerance is probably the best mainstream brand if your main goal is a stupidly tough knife. The 0300/1/2/3 and 0560/0561/0550 series are going to probably be the hardest use folders anywhere near their price ranges...Rick Hinderer XM-18, certain Striders, Tridents, and Chris Reeves, or Brian Tighes (among a few others) if you aren't worried about price and want simply the toughest of the tough. Of all the knives I have owned to date, the XM-18 is definitely the beefiest. The ZT 0560/0561/0550 are built from the XM-18 as the parent knife and designed by Rick...they are exceptional performers and IMO as tough as you can get with a production knife.

Ka-Bars are pretty good knives for the money (again there is a good bit of range in the brand). I personally think the Ontario RAT line is the best knife for heavier usage in that price class, which you can do damned near anything to without damaging.

I am also a big fan of the ZT0100 because the blade steel is CPM-3V. CPM-3V is one of the or possibly the best knife steel for a fixed blade. The difference compared to most steels is not subtle or a minor incremental improvement, but more of a gigantic leap of "holy crap this thing is tough!". It is widely favored by custom users, and similar to the steel used by Busse (INFI) which is, almost without a doubt, the toughest knife you can buy.

 

[Pale Ryder]

Another vote for Benchmade here. Picked up a Griptillian at the last HoCo gun show. Full size is a good bit bigger than the Kersaw Vapor it replaced, but that's what I was looking for.

 

[fd0816]

I just picked up a CRKT M16-14ZLEK for $65 at Cabelas today. It feels great in my hand, has some nice features and I like the "beefy" feeling it has.

 

[amoebicmagician]

I've got a couple BUCK knives that are great and hold an edge for a long long long time.

That said, I bought a knife for a friend, and was surprised to find that it was not the knife I had originally picked out, but a Ken Onion knife that had somehow been put back in the wrong box.

I was originally going to return it until I saw how much more expensive the Ken Onions were. I went back to the store, and they told me if I wanted to I could keep the knife since it was their fault, and that's what I opted to do.

The Ken Onion has been my EDC for almost a year now, and it's holding up great. It's a quick-deploy with a lever that allows you to deploy it kind of like a switch blade, but with no spring so it's MD legal.

I had never head of the brand before, but I'm a believer now. Usually when I sharpen a knife, it will stay sharp for awhile, but even when as sharp as I can make it, it will still require a little sawing action to get the blade to bite. Not so with the Onion- it razors through plastic, cardboard, rope, and even deer and rabit skin and retains an edge great.

That said, I still love my buck knives. My favorite has a gear-shaped gripping surface to open the knife with and a spring loaded locking button on the front side, and it's basically sold as a hunting/skinning/survival knife. I can't remember the name of the model for the life of me.

 

[amoebicmagician]

oh, and as has been said, Spyderco makes great knives- they're the only knives I don't sharpen first thing when I buy them since they're actually sharp enough for my tastes from the factory.