$50-100 general purpose folder. Your pick!

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I would be very surprised if you are going to get anything close to a consensus since so much of knife ownership, collecting, and using is preference based. Everyone has their favorite steel, blade shape, lock type, handle material etc.

If you are going to ask me; I recognize the utility and durability of Cold Steel knives but I really don't prefer a lockback or Triad lock for "general purpose" type of activity. When I hear "general purpose" I am thinking a do it all kind of like a "what is the best car for the money for daily driving" and people start recommending you go get a Ford F-150 Raptor. Its too much car/truck and a Cold Steel is too much knife.

For what you are looking for I would take a hard look at some of the Civivi offerings. The Brazen in G-10 or Micarta is a great knife. You get a very good looking drop point blade, 14C28N steel, ball bearing flipper/thumbstud action and a deep carry clip. In the same vein with slightly different blade is the Civivi Riffle also featuring 14C28N. For a little less money you can pick up a Praxis at around $40.
 
Do you prefer a larger blade? The Rat 2 is 3" but the others listed are 3.6" - 4".

CS Recon 1 is a solid choice. I love mine.

CS Lawman is also a nice knife. The handle is on the thinner side if you want a thin knife.

Spyderco Endura, Endela, or Delica depending on the blade size wanted. I own 5 or 6 Enduras myself.

If you want to try a premium steel, the Kershaw Link can still be had for $80 with a 3.25" of 20CV.

$100 get you a Leatherman Wave multi-tool too. 2 blades on it plus all the other toys. Granted, bigger then a knife and might not be ideal for pocket carry heh.
 
I have 4x Ontario Rats around... They are my GO-TO for all inexpensive, high risk (loss or damage), heavy duty folder work. Nothing better imo and they last forever if they are taken care of like any other solid knife.
 
There are so many awesome knives in that range today, personally I would be hard pressed to say my favorite sub-$100 knife is not my Kizer Activ Bantam. It isn't really a sub-$100 knife, it's an older design from Kim Ning that never got discontinued, just quietly updated like many of Kizer's older models. So mine has the flat conical pivot, lockbar insert, and a really nice milled pocket clip. The flipper tab looked foolish to me at first, but realistically it works extremely well and it's shaped that way because it's a knife themed after high-energy little roosters. If I ever see one for under $100 in the future I'm buying it and doing a flipper delete. Without the flipper it looks like the penultimate lovechild of Rick Hinderer and Ray Laconico.

I think the QSP Hawk is very high on the list too, mine is carbon fiber and damascus because I wanted a squiggly knife. It's got a great action, could be a hair thinner behind the edge but it is pretty well ground, it's got perfect neutral ergonomics, and there are lots of options for scale and blade material in your price range.

I also second the notion of browsing Civivi's lineup until you spot something that stands out to you, like the Ortis or Badlands Vagabond in carbon fiber did for me.
 
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I'd probably look at the numerous other threads that have asked this question to see if there were any ideas in there.
 
spyderco endura wharncliffe or spyderco delica, sub 100 cold steel knives with the triad lock are all good too like the voyagers, recon, lawman, ak47 etc......
 
Among the 3 choices - Recon 1.
If not limited to those 3 choices the world is your oyster as this is a great time to be into knives ... particularly in that price range.

In fact, for $100 I'd be thinking two knives, a RAT 1 (or RAT 2) and a Cold Steel SR-1 Lite.
 
Hackenslash said:
I’m not sure if you could get the disparate Knife Knuts here to agree that breathing air was a good thing!
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Everything bad that's ever happened to me happened while I was breathing air! :mad: o_O

Seriously, though, this is a good question. While I doubt there will be a consensus, there's already a good list emerging. Let me second/add to it. :)

- Cold Steel Recon 1 is hard to beat for a big, tough all-rounder. I don't love the ergos, but lots of folks do.
- Cold Steel American Lawman, the lighter, no-less-tough, more EDC-friendly choice. Alternately, go even slimmer with the Code 4.
- Spyderco Endura 4, light, slicey, easy to carry, and comfortable in-hand. If it's too large, the Delica 4 is a great alternative (and while I've never handled an Endela, that's a logical alternative, too).

I don't own any of them anymore, but if I had to re-purchase one it'd probably be a Code 4 or American Lawman. You're right about this being a funny price point.
 
Dadpool said:
0.35" vs. 0.39" inches, so it's not a huge difference. Part of it is the smooth scales on the Code 4; it feels even thinner than it is (and it's pretty danged thin!).
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Have been contemplating a Code 4 but do not have the opportunity to handle on in advance.

The Lawman really feels smaller in the pocket than it is, it's such a win design I love it.
 
Of the ones that I've owned I would say Spyderco Endura, Kershaw Blur, or find a used Spyderco Manix 2. I believe the RAT is a good choice but I haven't personally tried one.
 
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