$50-100 general purpose folder. Your pick!

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David Mary said:
Thanks for the suggestions. The first is a flipper, and I can't stand flippers, the second has thumb studs, and I can't stand thumb studs. Both have sharpening choils. I can't stand sharpening choils. Neither one has a handle shape I care for either. And tip up only! Wow, no.

Obviously my suggestion of the Tenacious (and Resilience) is predicated on someone who shares preferences similar to my own. Full length cutting edge, handle that lets you get your hand right up next to it for maximum cutting leverage, opening hole and liner lock for the most hassle free deployment of any knives I've experienced as well as more than strong enough. the option of tip down carry, comfortable and neutral handle shape that fits perfectly in my hand.... And I'm sure I'm not the only one who desires at least one, if not all these features, and for whom the Tenacious nails them. So I get that your preferences are not the same as mine, and I will read your statements about the Tenacious in that light, and reiterate that for me the design is close to perfect, and I have yet to see another knife in that size and price range that I would rather own, carry, or use.
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Well actually the suggestions were for the OP that neither suggested nor stated any of these preferences. He was looking for a general purpose folder and I am sure that you will acknowledge that your preferences here are simply not the majority. Can you name another production knife company with several knives that neither run flippers nor thumbstuds? If that was the OPs preferences than sure...essentially all you have to look at is spyderco at that point.

If you like the tenacious thats fine its your money but the thread title is asking for suggestions on a general purpose knife in a given price range. My point was: if the OP is looking to spend 50-100 greenbacks, I think he can do a hell of a lot better than 8Cr edge retention and washers based action.
 
I’ll try and summarise the results of this little vote at some point, perhaps by brand and model, popular vote and members only vote. Could be interesting to a data nerd as myself, and others too perhaps. The unofficial BF medium budget folders of choice -21 🥇😊
 
Spyderco now manufactures Tenacious with s35vn blade steel for $98, so if all features of Tenacious click for the OP except the 8cr13mov steel, then the s35vn version can be a good choice. (With that being said, a nearly $50 price jump for improving from 8cr steel to s35vn steel while degrading G10 scales to FRN scales seems huge to me).
 
sharp_edge said:
Spyderco now manufactures Tenacious with s35vn blade steel for $98, so if all features of Tenacious click for the OP except the 8cr13mov steel, then the s35vn version can be a good choice. (With that being said, a nearly $50 price jump for improving from 8cr steel to s35vn steel while degrading G10 scales to FRN scales seems huge to me).
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Agreed. Not a bad knife format or design. It has just passed its hay day when it was in a competition with the Rat 1 in AUS8. If they changed nothing else about it but threw in 14C28N and charged 60$, I would buy one and recommend it from the rooftops.
 
sharp_edge said:
Spyderco now manufactures Tenacious with s35vn blade steel for $98, so if all features of Tenacious click for the OP except the 8cr13mov steel, then the s35vn version can be a good choice. (With that being said, a nearly $50 price jump for improving from 8cr steel to s35vn steel while degrading G10 scales to FRN scales seems huge to me).
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It seems big to me too. If Spyderco had left the g10 scales, the price jump might have been more acceptable.
 
whp said:
It seems big to me too. If Spyderco had left the g10 scales, the price jump might have been more acceptable.
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Especially when you consider this. The knife is still made in china and still features a liner lock. Nothing wrong with a liner lock but the fact is they released an American made Para 3 lightweight with a compression lock and FRN just a year or two ago for virtually the same price (its more now of course).
 
If warranty is something you take into consideration, Spyderco is definitely a winner.
 
DMG said:
I like Spyderco a lot but their warranty and service isn’t great. No reblades. No free sharpening, knives with fragile tips that they won’t warranty when they shatter like glass.
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3 things I don’t worry about lol
If I wear a blade out I got my money’s worth, I prefer to sharpen my own knives, and am cautious with the tip of almost all my knives. In fact, I prefer thin needle tips.
 
If I must spend another $50 on a knife, it'll be something like a very nice Buck 112 so I can use the remaining $50 to take my wife out for dinner (which I will have to do when she sees I've bought another knife!).
 
Dog chasing tail.jpg

Glad we got that out of the way. ;)
 
c7m2p3 said:
Well actually the suggestions were for the OP that neither suggested nor stated any of these preferences. He was looking for a general purpose folder and I am sure that you will acknowledge that your preferences here are simply not the majority. Can you name another production knife company with several knives that neither run flippers nor thumbstuds? If that was the OPs preferences than sure...essentially all you have to look at is spyderco at that point.

If you like the tenacious thats fine its your money but the thread title is asking for suggestions on a general purpose knife in a given price range. My point was: if the OP is looking to spend 50-100 greenbacks, I think he can do a hell of a lot better than 8Cr edge retention and washers based action.
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Most definitely, if there is a need for such a, well, 'disposable' knife then Baxtrom does not need to spend over forty dollars, and can still do a lot better than that, though the name recognition prestige may not be the same. Whatever, if that's the need I think many of us would amend our recommendations to reflect the extreme budget focus.


I actually wanted to amend my suggestion, it may or may not appeal to you but I just got a micarta and brass Grazioso, a new Kizer model, and I have to say it's outstanding. It's flipper only, but has a nice compact profile and I like that. The first Kizer I bought was a Velox2, and I wanted it specifically because of its low profile tab that blends in with the frame when the knife is open. I just thought it was a lovely way to do it and didn't create an unnecessary guard that would mostly interfere with cutting against flat surfaces. I cut up a box for a fan and they did a great job with the blade, I think it's a winner for a good-looking user knife. They have a copper and G10 version as well as an all-micarta for N690 liner locks, and later in the year they have a titanium bolster lock with S35VN and carbon fiber overlays.
 
Lee D said:
3 things I don’t worry about lol
If I wear a blade out I got my money’s worth, I prefer to sharpen my own knives, and am cautious with the tip of almost all my knives. In fact, I prefer thin needle tips.
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So their warranty isn’t great, it just doesn’t impact you, which is reasonable. I really like being able to reblade a knife. I own and work in an auto repair shop, aka torture chamber for knives.
 
NG VI said:
Most definitely, if there is a need for such a, well, 'disposable' knife then Baxtrom does not need to spend over forty dollars, and can still do a lot better than that, though the name recognition prestige may not be the same. Whatever, if that's the need I think many of us would amend our recommendations to reflect the extreme budget focus.


I actually wanted to amend my suggestion, it may or may not appeal to you but I just got a micarta and brass Grazioso, a new Kizer model, and I have to say it's outstanding. It's flipper only, but has a nice compact profile and I like that. The first Kizer I bought was a Velox2, and I wanted it specifically because of its low profile tab that blends in with the frame when the knife is open. I just thought it was a lovely way to do it and didn't create an unnecessary guard that would mostly interfere with cutting against flat surfaces. I cut up a box for a fan and they did a great job with the blade, I think it's a winner for a good-looking user knife. They have a copper and G10 version as well as an all-micarta for N690 liner locks, and later in the year they have a titanium bolster lock with S35VN and carbon fiber overlays.
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Have never heard of this. Does it have a recurve as it appears to in the pictures?
 
c7m2p3 said:
Have never heard of this. Does it have a recurve as it appears to in the pictures?
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Yes, and the choil is sized for fingers. The designer said he went with a recurve for its practical and aesthetic benefits and didn't think that the sharpening differences people knock recurves for are actually a problem beyond requiring a little technique and finesse.

I'm going to snap some shots of it and a few other recent acquisitions tomorrow, hopefully I can capture what I like about it because it feels like a knife that should get a lot of attention at the $70 price point.


It's got a two-tone satin finish, not exactly rare but it looks nice up close. When a knife works like this one did on that poor box and looks nice, I'm pretty much going to keep it, because I am three magpies in a trenchcoat. The markings don't look bad either, given that there are five separate things marked.

The one flaw I've found is the brass is slightly proud of the micarta on the show side, not too badly but you can feel it. The lock side is perfectly mated up, so I think it's just the reality of production knives that there may be imperfections that don't affect functionality.
 
baxtrom said:
Hi,
In this thread I would like your opinions on what I would like to call the medium price range, say between $50-100. I did search the topic and found a similar thread but it doesn’t hurt to ask again.

The inexpensive range, order-of-magnitude $20-50, is sort of occupied by SAKs and Opinels I guess. But the next level go to folder, if you would pick one, what would it be?

Buck 110?
Cold steel Recon 1?
Ontario rat 1/2? (Edit: they are less than $50?)
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Probably something like a Civivi Praxis which would run you a bit more than 40 bucks if you were willing to go that low...
 
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