Recommendation? 1hand ambi EDC?

Other thoughts:
a small fixed blade like an ESEE-Izula, Becker BK-11 or BK-14 can be adapted to pocket carry quite easily. I carried an Izula lashed to the back side of a multitool sheath for a couple years. It worked quite well, and they are easy to sharpen with simple tools, the sandpaper-mousepad method works well.

Folders, concrete dust is a nasty one, so I'd go with any of the mid-lock FRN handled spyderco knives, Native5LW, Delica, Endura, or even an Atlantic Salt, depending on how the size works for you. The midlock will handle more abuse and crap than will an Axis lock. There is nothing wrong with an axis lock, I really like it, and its very ambi, but they do like a little more care and attention.
Personally I think disassembly is over-rated, just because you can doesn't mean you should. It adds wear to components that were not designed for it.

Ultimately though, it comes down to what you can get that won't cause you any buyers remorse if you end up not using it the way you thought you would. Its one thing to have a nice knife, and its another to have one that has been all beat up by a week on a job site that now you don't want to carry in your off time because its scratched up and dirty. Without knowing you, I can't say if that would be a factor for you at all, some guys don't mind in the slightest.
 
vanadium said:
I'm not really seeing a one-handed knife with a 4" handle that's fit for cutting heavy duty hoses and zip ties all day.
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And why not? It opens easy with either hand and can be opened with one hand while wearing gloves. It can cut hose or zip ties no problem and they do come 4". The blade is a standard pattern used as a military knife by the hundreds of thousands (more knives in this type pattern were issued by the US Army between 1930 and 1960 than most companies today have even made). You can even find them with wire strippers, screwdrivers (the very common "Electrician's knife is a variation), bottle openers, etc. Nice thing is you can find a good used one cheap.

The best hose cutting knife (and rope, etc) is what's commonly called a "Navy" or "Rope" knife. They look old fashioned too, but they work real well.
 
gadgetgeek said:
Personally I think disassembly is over-rated, just because you can doesn't mean you should. It adds wear to components that were not designed for it.
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I agree that people do a lot of unnecessary disassembly, but I can't see spending $200 on a tool with moving parts that can't be serviced.

Disassembly puts wear on non-wearparts? Example?
 
vanadium said:
I agree that people do a lot of unnecessary disassembly, but I can't see spending $200 on a tool with moving parts that can't be serviced.

Disassembly puts wear on non-wearparts? Example?
Click to expand...
Screw-holes into materials without sufficient strength to handle repeated removal/replacement. Even the drain plug on the bottom of your engine has a design life. Maybe its a job/industry thing, I'm very comfortable with "non-user servicable" parts in very expensive equipment. High pressure projector and moving light fixture bulbs, as well as height access equipment. I can maintain it, and look after it, but if the manufacturer says there is no need to take it apart, I'm okay with that. I'm also very pro right-to-repair, but to me disassembly is repair, not service. Not everyone makes that distinction.
 
A Para 3 in 52100 might be right (or left ;)) up your alley. I find the compression lock easy to use left handed. At least on my Yoji 2.
 
Thanks for the input everyone.

As far as the fixed blades, I'm not interested in them for this application.

I was able to get out and handle a few knives this weekend and hopefully a few more today. I haven't found a place that carries the Buck Marksman any more and the Cold Steel AD15 is to new to be out in the wild. But boy, do i like the look and concept of the AD15. More on those two later.
I again tried the Benchmade 300 and it is a shame that the handle is such ergonomic crap.

I mostly fondled some Benchmade's and Spyderco's. My favorite knife to hold by far was the new Benchmade super Freek. Ergos were perfect for me and that M4 should hold a working edge for a long time. Looks good, not to big or heavy. A little pricey but still within my range. To bad it doesn't have a flipper because I did find that I really enjoy the flippers.

Speaking of flippers; one surprise of the day was the SOG Terminus XR. Thumb stud, barring based flipper, axis type lock, carbon fiber over G10 scales and good ergos for a small knife for $70? If it was larger with better steel it would be in competition with the others. I might get it just to fill my flipper want.

Comparing the Marksman, AD15 and super Freek(SF):
From looking at them online; the Marksman is smaller and cheaper. The AD15 is over 6oz but most certainly the most heavy duty of the three with the thickest blade. It may just be to overal long though. The SF is the most expensive and has a thicker handle which is good in the hand but not necessarily in the pocket. I've read reports that the ad15 handle texture maybe real rough on pockets.

I like the concept of the pull up back locks. It basically forces your fingers to be out of the way of the blade. I think i prefer the ad15's implementation. It looks cleaner and I prefer the spring system over the bent metal. The jumping on the Marksman looks like it would be annoying in the pocket. If I lent my knife to somebody I think the axis lock is far more intuitive then the pull up locks.

The thumb studs on the SF and ad15 look much easier to use with gloves on then the whole on the Marksman. The Marksman and ad15 have the advantage of the flipper but the Marksman uses bearings which I think I need to avoid. The SF is using bronze phosphor washers as opposed to the nylon washers on the ad15.
 
Sounds like you would benefit from a fixed blade knife.

Check out the knife makers part of the exchange. There are some skilled makers here offering knives at very reasonable prices.

https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-fixed-blades.754/

Edit
I just scanned through the first page of the sale thread. There were a few knives that would make good EDC <$200, even one in 3V.
 
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Doesn't matter which lock you choose because a folding knife is always difficult to open/close with gloves on unless your gloves are paper thin. I am with some of the posters above - a small fixed blade would be a better choice.
 
Spyderco's Manix 2 is the most ambidextrous knife I've handled, and seems like it could handle all of your stated work-related tasks. 3.38" CPM S30V blade and 8" overall length. Definitely think you could work it one-handed with gloves.
 
SPBTooL said:
Thanks for the input everyone.

As far as the fixed blades, I'm not interested in them for this application.

I was able to get out and handle a few knives this weekend and hopefully a few more today. I haven't found a place that carries the Buck Marksman any more and the Cold Steel AD15 is to new to be out in the wild. But boy, do i like the look and concept of the AD15. More on those two later.
I again tried the Benchmade 300 and it is a shame that the handle is such ergonomic crap.

I mostly fondled some Benchmade's and Spyderco's. My favorite knife to hold by far was the new Benchmade super Freek. Ergos were perfect for me and that M4 should hold a working edge for a long time. Looks good, not to big or heavy. A little pricey but still within my range. To bad it doesn't have a flipper because I did find that I really enjoy the flippers.

Speaking of flippers; one surprise of the day was the SOG Terminus XR. Thumb stud, barring based flipper, axis type lock, carbon fiber over G10 scales and good ergos for a small knife for $70? If it was larger with better steel it would be in competition with the others. I might get it just to fill my flipper want.

Comparing the Marksman, AD15 and super Freek(SF):
From looking at them online; the Marksman is smaller and cheaper. The AD15 is over 6oz but most certainly the most heavy duty of the three with the thickest blade. It may just be to overal long though. The SF is the most expensive and has a thicker handle which is good in the hand but not necessarily in the pocket. I've read reports that the ad15 handle texture maybe real rough on pockets.

I like the concept of the pull up back locks. It basically forces your fingers to be out of the way of the blade. I think i prefer the ad15's implementation. It looks cleaner and I prefer the spring system over the bent metal. The jumping on the Marksman looks like it would be annoying in the pocket. If I lent my knife to somebody I think the axis lock is far more intuitive then the pull up locks.

The thumb studs on the SF and ad15 look much easier to use with gloves on then the whole on the Marksman. The Marksman and ad15 have the advantage of the flipper but the Marksman uses bearings which I think I need to avoid. The SF is using bronze phosphor washers as opposed to the nylon washers on the ad15.
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As a left-handed warehouse worker who has carried in my left pocket quite often my personal opinion is that a Benchmade with an AXIS lock is the best option for one-left-handed use. I see you've considered the Super Freek so you're already considering it but I'd toss out other options like the Griptilian, Rift, or Triage as affordable and very useful knives that won't break the budget and are a breeze to use one-handed even with gloves. The Spydie-hole in my opinion is the best opening mechanism with gloves on, but the thumb studs on most Benchmades are quite good as well, and the AXIS lock makes for a smooth action that can often be opened with a flick of the wrist skipping the thumb studs entirely.

I think the perfect knife for one-handed gloved use is the Benchmade 550HG Griptilian with the Spydiehole, the best opening feature and best ambidextrous lock combined in an affordable, simple, light, and comfortable package.

Having carried the Marksman briefly I did not find it really comfortable in the hand and the lock was quite annoying for me to use personally, it didn't engage consistently when flipping it out and was a pain to unlock. The AD15 looks quite nice and probably has a better unlocking action than the Marksman, personally I'd still think a good Benchmade with a nice heavy blade would be much quicker/easier to unlock and close one-handed with gloves on.
 
SPBTooL said:
Thanks for the input everyone.

As far as the fixed blades, I'm not interested in them for this application.

I was able to get out and handle a few knives this weekend and hopefully a few more today. I haven't found a place that carries the Buck Marksman any more and the Cold Steel AD15 is to new to be out in the wild. But boy, do i like the look and concept of the AD15. More on those two later.
I again tried the Benchmade 300 and it is a shame that the handle is such ergonomic crap.

I mostly fondled some Benchmade's and Spyderco's. My favorite knife to hold by far was the new Benchmade super Freek. Ergos were perfect for me and that M4 should hold a working edge for a long time. Looks good, not to big or heavy. A little pricey but still within my range. To bad it doesn't have a flipper because I did find that I really enjoy the flippers.

Speaking of flippers; one surprise of the day was the SOG Terminus XR. Thumb stud, barring based flipper, axis type lock, carbon fiber over G10 scales and good ergos for a small knife for $70? If it was larger with better steel it would be in competition with the others. I might get it just to fill my flipper want.

Comparing the Marksman, AD15 and super Freek(SF):
From looking at them online; the Marksman is smaller and cheaper. The AD15 is over 6oz but most certainly the most heavy duty of the three with the thickest blade. It may just be to overal long though. The SF is the most expensive and has a thicker handle which is good in the hand but not necessarily in the pocket. I've read reports that the ad15 handle texture maybe real rough on pockets.

I like the concept of the pull up back locks. It basically forces your fingers to be out of the way of the blade. I think i prefer the ad15's implementation. It looks cleaner and I prefer the spring system over the bent metal. The jumping on the Marksman looks like it would be annoying in the pocket. If I lent my knife to somebody I think the axis lock is far more intuitive then the pull up locks.

The thumb studs on the SF and ad15 look much easier to use with gloves on then the whole on the Marksman. The Marksman and ad15 have the advantage of the flipper but the Marksman uses bearings which I think I need to avoid. The SF is using bronze phosphor washers as opposed to the nylon washers on the ad15.
Click to expand...
The ad15 has super thin nylon washers against the blade along with bronze washers against the frame, seems like a good combo, super smooth but don't know how they will do in long term use. The scorpion lock is excellent and one hand operation is great. The g10 is a pocket ripper so will need smoothing in the future, that will be easy.
 
+4000 on the Manix 2. It's a stiff lock at first, but after 5 years of ownership it's great. Even after the stroke I can one hand it, even with gloves. I find it to be a stronger, more reliable lock than the Axis.

I believe the pm2 is available in a left handed version, though I've never hand an issue using the compression lock with either hand.
 
The Spyderco manix 2 looks like one I need to see if I can find to try. A little smaller that the BM super Freek but it has a usable finger choil. Better for the pocket as it is much thinner but I like the feel of the BM SF in the hand.
The M4 version looks like it will be hard to find do I will have to check into the other available steel.

I tried a BM 551 when I tried the SF and found its ergos not as good in my hand.
 
Reading your spec wishes I keep coming back to the Benchmade Griptillian. It’s a really good all around knife, and easy to operate with either hand.

You can draw it from your pocket, put your thumb and index finger on the Axis lock and deploy/close without moving around on the knife.

If your willing to go up to $200 there is an upgraded version with nicer scales and steel. I’ve had good experiences with the standard models.

*edit*. Just seen you tried the Grip and didn’t like it. Manix 2 would be another great choice.
 
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