Recommendation? Solid and Durable Folding Knives

At this point I'm leaning towards the Marksman. Even though the Code 4 seems awesome after rethinking things and reading the comments you guys left I have decided that it might just be better for me to use a fixed blade for jobs where a lot of extra meat is needed. I also think that the Marksman looks a little less 'scary' and less overkill as a EDC, even for camping. At the beginning I thought I wanted a knife like the Code 4 but after some thought I think I may want something less beefy with a smooth opening mech. Still not going to buy the knife yet though, so keep leaving recommendations :) Thanks again!
 
I have the marskman on my list. I don't like buying online so I'm waiting for one locally. I believe it runs on bearings and the lock is adjustable for wear.
 
Snoow said:
I did some reading and the lock on the Marksman is called the "Strong Lock System" (What a name lol) They say it is the strongest lock out of any knife they have and can withstand up to 600 pounds of force.
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Interesting. I think I have seen it on some G & G Hawk with it. It reminds me alot of another one of their locks, the Ti-Lock by Chris Reeve.
 
Dang it! I was trying to help OP find a knife, now I'm convinced I have to have a marksman! $90 might just be the straw that broke my budget right now, but I'm an addict so it can't be helped
 
The code 4 is a great knife. I have the Speer point one and it's very tough. Handle is thin but for camping and edc it's a great option in the price range you asked about.
 
I like the marksman, the only thing I would caution you about is the lock. If you somehow drop it or something impacts the backstrap straight on, it will knock the lock back and make it unusable until you are able to use tools to adjust it back. It's the only real shortcoming, but in my mind a significant one. It happened to me and at least one other person here. Unfortunately that knocked it out of an edc role and relegated it to be a knife I just keep inside to cut things occasionally with.
 
cut it out said:
The code 4 is a great knife. I have the Speer point one and it's very tough. Handle is thin but for camping and edc it's a great option in the price range you asked about.
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If only they had it in a smaller option... I feel that it is just to big and scary for other people. This is a hard choice :(
 
unwisefool said:
I like the marksman, the only thing I would caution you about is the lock. If you somehow drop it or something impacts the backstrap straight on, it will knock the lock back and make it unusable until you are able to use tools to adjust it back. It's the only real shortcoming, but in my mind a significant one. It happened to me and at least one other person here. Unfortunately that knocked it out of an edc role and relegated it to be a knife I just keep inside to cut things occasionally with.
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That is a really major shortcoming... Nothing worse than a unreliable knife. I'll have to read more about this. Thanks!
 
Snoow said:
That is a really major shortcoming... Nothing worse than a unreliable knife. I'll have to read more about this. Thanks!
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Yeah I was pretty bummed when it happened to mine. Basically the strap is connected to a carrier sandwiched between the scales that is held in place with a small allen screw. So enough force against the lock will push the strap and carrier backwards not leaving enough room for the blade to lock open. I happened to drop mine whole pulling it out of my pocket and it fell and hit the kitchen floor just right to make in inoperable. I think if the backstrap was fixed in place without the ability to adjust it, the knife would be much more reliable.
 
unwisefool said:
Yeah I was pretty bummed when it happened to mine. Basically the strap is connected to a carrier sandwiched between the scales that is held in place with a small allen screw. So enough force against the lock will push the strap and carrier backwards not leaving enough room for the blade to lock open. I happened to drop mine whole pulling it out of my pocket and it fell and hit the kitchen floor just right to make in inoperable. I think if the backstrap was fixed in place without the ability to adjust it, the knife would be much more reliable.
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Bummer... I did some research and couldn't find much info on this though. Was the knife open or closed when it fell? Also when you say, "enough force against the lock will push the strap and carrier backwards not leaving enough room for the blade to lock open" what direction and position is this force. Thanks again for bringing this to my attention.
 
It was closed and dropped straight down, so the front end of the back strap, the part you would lift to unlock, hit the ground. That forced the whole locking mechanism backwards and meant there was not enough clearance for the blade to catch though the hole in the strap to lock. So the blade just flopped around and would not lock. I just don't think any other lock type would not work if you dropped it. Certainly not a framelock, axis or back/triad lock. Other than that its a great knife.
 
Both the Code 4 and Marksman are great knives, I would lean toward the code 4 because of how robust it is, that said the marksman is a very nice lighter use knife and unlike most Buck's the regular 830 doesn't seem to have the QC issues. I do want to add that I didn't see anyone talk about the American Lawman which is a truly great knife (the lock can be a little stiff) but it's not very scary great general use blade shape a little smaller than the code 4 and very good ergo's better than both knives currently up for consideration.
 
unwisefool said:
It was closed and dropped straight down, so the front end of the back strap, the part you would lift to unlock, hit the ground. That forced the whole locking mechanism backwards and meant there was not enough clearance for the blade to catch though the hole in the strap to lock. So the blade just flopped around and would not lock. I just don't think any other lock type would not work if you dropped it. Certainly not a framelock, axis or back/triad lock. Other than that its a great knife.
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I see now. Thanks for the clarification :)
 
clearkevin said:
Both the Code 4 and Marksman are great knives, I would lean toward the code 4 because of how robust it is, that said the marksman is a very nice lighter use knife and unlike most Buck's the regular 830 doesn't seem to have the QC issues. I do want to add that I didn't see anyone talk about the American Lawman which is a truly great knife (the lock can be a little stiff) but it's not very scary great general use blade shape a little smaller than the code 4 and very good ergo's better than both knives currently up for consideration.
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Yeah I came across the Lawman but I'm not really a fan of its looks... Not sure about it
 
unwisefool said:
I like the marksman, the only thing I would caution you about is the lock. If you somehow drop it or something impacts the backstrap straight on, it will knock the lock back and make it unusable until you are able to use tools to adjust it back. It's the only real shortcoming, but in my mind a significant one. It happened to me and at least one other person here. Unfortunately that knocked it out of an edc role and relegated it to be a knife I just keep inside to cut things occasionally with.
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Thanks, You just saved me ~$90!
 
clearkevin said:
Both the Code 4 and Marksman are great knives, I would lean toward the code 4 because of how robust it is, that said the marksman is a very nice lighter use knife and unlike most Buck's the regular 830 doesn't seem to have the QC issues. I do want to add that I didn't see anyone talk about the American Lawman which is a truly great knife (the lock can be a little stiff) but it's not very scary great general use blade shape a little smaller than the code 4 and very good ergo's better than both knives currently up for consideration.
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Are you saying the above mentioned issues only happened to the tanto version, not the uncoated one?
 
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