Wanna Buy 2 Knives - Advice, Please?

[workinwifdakids]

I usually stay out of this part of the forum, but I've had a nasty smile on my face since member whirlibird mentioned Cold Steel's Recon knives and I followed his link to the Recon Tanto.

Yummy.


So, I've carried a pocket knife my whole life. All have cost under $25. My happy knife right now is a Leatherman Kick. As an aside, I've never had a knife that stayed this sharp, or as sharp for this long. I love it!

I'd like to get two knives now, and because of my woeful ignorance on the subject I dunno what to get! First, I want a fixed-blade replacement for my Ka-Bar. It needs to come with a sheath, and I think $100 is a nice ceiling. For looks I like the Black Ka-Bar Tanto at $96, and Cold Steel's SRK at $120.

Second, I want a folding knife. I want a clip so it can ride on the inside of my pocket, and I want it to lock in place. I'd have it as a last-ditch thing because I can't carry a concealed firearm and I feel naked without something if something goes sour while I'm oot and aboot. Oh, and I live in Cali, so it has to conform to state law. I'd prefer not to spend more than $75, I spose, but I'd be happier with $50 if I could get away with it.

[ZeroGravitas]

The best quality/price deal for a folder right now is the Spyderco Tenacious. I paid $31 + $5 for shipping and it is a very good knife. Period. For the money it's an outreagous knife. Google says $30.44 at Walmart. The steel is high quality and the axle and liner lock are smooth. It's got steel liners so the plastic is not structurally important like other models. I prefer the plain blade, but that's me.

The kabar Tanto truly looks badazz but I think the SRK blade shape is a lot more useful than the the US style tanto (with two blade angles coming to a second point near the tip instead of a rounded blade). Here's recent advert for fixed blade that got my attention, a Boker Timber Wolf for $85, add $20 for the stag handle.

[SleepTech7777]

I usually stay out of this part of the forum, but I've had a nasty smile on my face since member whirlibird mentioned Cold Steel's Recon knives and I followed his link to the Recon Tanto.

Yummy.


So, I've carried a pocket knife my whole life. All have cost under $25. My happy knife right now is a Leatherman Kick. As an aside, I've never had a knife that stayed this sharp, or as sharp for this long. I love it!

I'd like to get two knives now, and because of my woeful ignorance on the subject I dunno what to get! First, I want a fixed-blade replacement for my Ka-Bar. It needs to come with a sheath, and I think $100 is a nice ceiling. For looks I like the Black Ka-Bar Tanto at $96, and Cold Steel's SRK at $120.

Second, I want a folding knife. I want a clip so it can ride on the inside of my pocket, and I want it to lock in place. I'd have it as a last-ditch thing because I can't carry a concealed firearm and I feel naked without something if something goes sour while I'm oot and aboot. Oh, and I live in Cali, so it has to conform to state law. I'd prefer not to spend more than $75, I spose, but I'd be happier with $50 if I could get away with it.

A knife for SD in Cali?
Woudn't you get in less trouble if you just shot them with a Warthog (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-10_Warthog )?

As for a camping/hunting fixed blade under $100, there are literally thousands to choose from.

As an aside. I've never broken or worn out an Ontario. And they're damn near cheaper than dirt.

[Rich Jordan]

I don't know if kali has gone off on assisted opening knives, but I love my Kershaw Leek (model 1660 in my case). 3" blade, assisted opening, very sharp and holds its edge pretty well. Kershaw has a great rep for support also. If 3" is too long for the pantswetters there, they also make the 'chive' in a shorter blade length. They are quite flat and thin, and don't look threatening.

I used to carry a Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn Mini Covert, which was also nice, but unassisted, a bit thicker, and a lot more 'tactical' looking. Had to be the 'mini' because of ill-annoy's abject fear of blades longer than three inches.

[BadgerAZ]

WWNK,

Get all the advice you can about knife construction, steels, things to look for or to stay avoid, etc. But in the end you should not even consider buying any knife without evaluating a bunch of them in your hands first. The fit and feel of a knife in your hands is as individual as the fit of a pair of shoes. Something perfect for you may be terrible for me and viceversa.

Go to a knife shop and see what looks and feels good to you, then come back to this thread and I'm sure several people here would be glad to give you the technical pluses and minuses of what you're considering.

In terms of quality, there are some brands you can assume will always turn out a high-quality knife; a few of those are Spyderco, Benchmade, Chris Reeve, Emerson, Zero Tolerance, Alaska Knives. Less pricey but (usually) nearly as good are Kershaw, CRKT, Cold Steel stainless models, Buck, SOG, Gerber, Case, Fox (the latter made in Italy but worth seeking out in the U.S. & U.K.). Companies that make rather rough but very serviceable knives include Ka-Bar, TOPS, Ontario, the Cold Steel high-carbon (non-stainless) models. Makers I'd approach with some caution include any of the United Cutlery brands (Camillus, Ridgid, myriad others) and any knife made in China or Thailand, including all Smith & Wessons (all Chinese-made).

That is no means exhaustive. There are myriad other knife companies great, good, bad, or in-between, but those are the ones who first come to mind.

[MarkD]

I can't comment on the fixed-blade knife, but a Kershaw Storm has ridden in my pocket every day for the last couple years, it holds an edge really well, and it's easy to take apart to clean the pocket-lint out. It has a clip for the pocket which can be turned around depending on whether you want the hinge up or down and a lock that's never failed me. It has a thingy on the back side of the blade so you can push it part-way open with one hand then flip it the rest of the way open.

Here's a link to the knife at the fine folks I bought it from, they even included a little pack of band-aids: http://newgraham.com/store/product/496/ ... PE-KS1470/

There's also a slightly larger model called the Storm II, it has a 3.5 inch blade as opposed to my 3 inch, and both models are available with smooth or half-serrated blades.

[Greg]

If you're interested in the thought of being able to buy LOTS of inexpensive but good value knives so you can put one or two into every one of your packs and bags, look into Mora and Opinel, for fixed blades and folders, respectively. Hard to say no to good knives for around $10 apiece, especially if you're as cheap as I am.

For a general-purpose fixed blade there are so many good choices. To keep it production and under $100, I've heard nothing but good things about the RAT Cutlery RC-4. If you want a prybar that looks like a knife, try the RC-5. Or look at Bark River, Fallkniven, any of the Busse family companies... (How is Ranger holding up after being bought by Ontario?)

For folders, my personal preference is Kershaw. The Blackout is a good place to start, it's good and reasonably inexpensive. Or try the Leek, it's a little smaller and lighter and comes in seemingly infinite varieties. Personally I've been sorely tempted by the NRG and NRG-II.

[SeekHer]

Look down about a dozen slots and you'll find COMMERCIAL KNIFE MAKERS and COMMERCIAL KNIFE MAKERS - TACTICAL - Primarily...for a list of makers...

I really like CRKT, SOG, Grohmann, why I've collected them completely...

Check out the CRKT Ultima 5" fixed blade MSRP $109 street $84 or the 7" for $10 more--you'll love the handle and the blade shape is a very subtle tanto--won't scare the beejesus out of little old ladies if you flash it by accident, a great street blade...For a folder anything of their M4 ($75) M16 ($45), M21 ($53) series is a good choice but the one I've fallen in love with is the new Crawford Natural, Large or 2 3.88" & 3.25" - Bone Handle, finger grooves, around $85 and $75 street...A little smaller and super sleek and sexy is the Gallagher Glide Lock 2.875" $38 street for the Coral scales which is my wife's new favourite and she's had it now for about four months, almost a record!

Cold Steel is making a lot of their knives in China now so watch out...The super expensive knives, IMO aren't worth it as they're not that well made and the steel isn't something unique to them...That said, I have lots of their early knives and they're pretty good and the models Recon, SRK etc. are all good knives but watch out for imports...

Bark River, a little over your price point, is a great company and I've only got 10 models of theirs...

I've always been impressed with Boker especially their Argentinean made knives and just lately, 3, 4 years ago, re-discovered Puma and started buying Katz knives as well...

Fallkniven is another good company that I've started on and their "survival models are damn fine knives...H1-Hunter, F1-pilot, HK1-Hunting Knife, and the WM1-Woman's knife (great design)...

[Grendy]

Hunting Knives and Trench Knives are my favorite knife! I've got a lot of collection of this knife! so i advice to collect some of this kind of knife!

[Cybrludite]

A Kershaw Blur is my daily carry knife, with the Leek as my "Sunday Go To Meeting" type knife.