İntegral folding knives?

[whereismyknife]

What do you think about integral folding knives? Are they worth their money? Are they hard to clean? What are their advantages and disadvantages. What are the models you recommend?

 

[badmatt]

I have had a couple and currently have two. They’re not hard to clean, disassembly is easy as it’s usually just one screw.

Are they worth the money? That’s up to you and your tolerance of spending.

The only advantage that comes to mind is the lack of hardware.

Currently I have a Spyderco Paysan and a James brand Barnes. Both excellent knives. The WE synergy line up is also very good.

Matt

 

[gooeytek]

I've had this Rassenti Druid for about almost 10 years now, and I have never had to lube or disassemble it. I just blow it out with canned air. I've used it to score and cut sheetrock, strip cable insulation, and in a pinch, cut ethernet wire. It's perfect for me, except for the wider lockbar cutout compared to slab framelocks, but I believe that's an inherent compromise with integrals.

A lot of what makes this knife awesome is attributed to the maker's skill I think. I have and had other integrals that are nowhere near as good.

 

[Olumin]

Only integral I own is a Ti Lionsteel Thrill, which was certainly worth the €180 I spent on it. I still consider it one of the coolest knives I own, its damn unique & very comfortable in the hand (that's really more due to the hidden clip). If it was on bronze washers & had 2mm blade stock, with maybe 0,2-0,3 BTE, Id consider it the best slip joint out there bar none.

Ive never dissembled it, but that's due to it being a slip joint, not an integral.

I like integrals, but I don't think Id pay too much of a premium for one. Certainly nothing close to what the US brands ask for them.

 

[Insipid Moniker]

Are they worth the money from a practical advantage standpoint? IMO, absolutely not. Are they worth it from a, "Wow, that's cool," standpoint? IMO, depends on the model, but they are pretty damn cool.

 

[Monofletch]

If you want easy maintenance WE uses a system that allows access to everything at the pivot. Parts fit together so we’ll you would never know!

 

[whereismyknife]

I have had a couple and currently have two. They’re not hard to clean, disassembly is easy as it’s usually just one screw.

Are they worth the money? That’s up to you and your tolerance of spending.

The only advantage that comes to mind is the lack of hardware.

Currently I have a Spyderco Paysan and a James brand Barnes. Both excellent knives. The WE synergy line up is also very good.

Matt

This answer helped me a lot. Böker.de It shows a paysan in stock but 900 Euros. Do you think it's worth it?

 

[badmatt]

This answer helped me a lot. Böker.de It shows a paysan in stock but 900 Euros. Do you think it's worth it?

No. Not at that price.

I paid 950 Canadian taxes in, for mine at a dealer. Which works out to be 665 euro.

Try and find one secondary or from the US at that point. Be aware the Paysan (new one) suffers from lock stick.

 

[whereismyknife]

If you want easy maintenance WE uses a system that allows access to everything at the pivot. Parts fit together so we’ll you would never know!View attachment 2212691

Does this create any weakness in the blade?

 

[Olumin]

This answer helped me a lot. Böker.de It shows a paysan in stock but 900 Euros. Do you think it's worth it?

I wouldn't buy anything off Bökers website. Rule of thumb for me is that they always have the worst price. Litteraly any other online store will have better prices.

 

[FullMetalJackass]

I have one. What puts me off are the prices that are a bit over the top for these builds.
Anyway, I'm very happy with my Anthem, overall a great knife at a great price.
It was so good Benchmade phased it out, if course.

 

[Glenn Goodlett]

I like integrals.

 

[Monofletch]

Does this create any weakness in the blade?

Not one bit!

 

[Locutus D'Borg]

They are expensive because when Scott Cook made the first Lochsa (the first integral), they were really difficult to make, which is why they were expensive. Cook, and then Rassenti and Raymond started making them. Cook's are unique because of the way the scales are contoured. I owned a Michael Raymond integral, and it was a great knife.

Nowadays, integrals may be easier to CNC, IDK.

 

[whereismyknife]

I wouldn't buy anything off Bökers website. Rule of thumb for me is that they always have the worst price. Litteraly any other online store will have better prices.

Thanks a lot for the warning. Unfortunately we don't have many options in Europe. Some things are just out of stock there. Prices are too high.

 

[whereismyknife]

I have one. What puts me off are the prices that are a bit over the top for these builds.
Anyway, I'm very happy with my Anthem, overall a great knife at a great price.
It was so good Benchmade phased it out, if course.

If you get a chance, can you share a photo?

 

[whereismyknife]

I have one. What puts me off are the prices that are a bit over the top for these builds.
Anyway, I'm very happy with my Anthem, overall a great knife at a great price.
It was so good Benchmade phased it out, if course.

If you get a chance, can you share the photo?

I like integrals.

This thing is so damn cool.

 

[Alberta Ed]

I suspect that integral designs are stronger than conventional knives in theory, but offer little practical advantage.

 

[Kmikaz3]

The drawback of an integral is if your blade is off centered, there’s no way to fix it unless you know a workaround like machining thinner/thicker washer to compensate. Other than that, its fairly easy to disassemble and maintain since there’s only one screw ie the pivot to take care of.

 

[awjones]

WE Knives did a fantastic job with the Synergy