$50-$100 knife

K.O.D.

K.O.D.

Sell your cloak buy a sword
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Aug 21, 2013
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For the first time in a very long time, I'm looking at a "budget" knife. All but one of my daily rotation knives is under $100. I'm rather finicky about the features of my knives, so here are some of the "restrictions."

No metal handle knives, period, end of discussion. That means no frame locks.
I prefer flippers and/or spydie holes, but for the right knife, I'll do a thumbstud.
I'm looking for a light to medium duty use, and lighter weight knife.
Not a fan of assisted knives, but if it can be de-assisted and still work well, I'll consider it.
No AUS-8, 8cr, or any of that kind of crap. 154CM, Sandvik 14C28N, VG-10 or better.
I'm willing to go as high as $110

What has caught my eye recently:

Kershaw Skyline, both the damascus and BHQ CF versions specifically, just for something different. Not sure what the difference in edge retention is, but both interest me, a lot.
Spyderco Delica and Stretch
H&K 14715

Here is what I own currently, to guide you in the direction of what I like, though I have a few metal handle knives, I'm done with that, no more.

Spyderco's:
Dragonfly 2 ZDP-189
Gayle Bradley
PM2 Digicam
Manix 2 Foliage Green CTS-XHP sprint

Brous Bionic (working on seeing if someone can make me wood or ctek replacement handles)
TSF Beast
Kizer Ki423
Southern Grind Spider Monkey (My favorite knife so far)


Thanks y'all for your help
 
I hear CRKT makes a fine knife :rolleyes:

But seriously, the Delica or strech sound good but that H&K hits on so much value. For other spyderco options how do you feel about the salt series? I can't remember if you would consider a CS or not? Any of the newer Recon or American lawman series Mini or fullsized also make an excellent value. I have the Recon 1 Spear point with the new steel.
 
Viper Dan with burgundy micarta scales is an extremely nice modern slipjoint that slides in just under your budget cap.
 
What about a manix 2 s110v?

Insipid, thanks for pointing that knife out, it was just added to my (ever growing) list...
 
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craytab said:
I hear CRKT makes a fine knife :rolleyes:

But seriously, the Delica or strech sound good but that H&K hits on so much value. For other spyderco options how do you feel about the salt series? I can't remember if you would consider a CS or not? Any of the newer Recon or American lawman series Mini or fullsized also make an excellent value. I have the Recon 1 Spear point with the new steel.
Click to expand...
I have an old recon 1 that's retired. I like CS, but many of their knives are too heavy and bulky for me. If they come out with a g-10 ti-lite in xhp I'd be all over it.

I've considered the salt series, but rust isn't that much of an issue up here.
 
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Check out the Kershaw link great USA made knife like 30 bucks it's found its way into my edc rotation.
 
Light to medium? Spyderco Centofante 3.

I've yet to find a knife that suits my needs better. You are welcome to try mine out if you'd like. It's got a lot of miles on it but yours will too if you get one.
 
You've got some pretty good choices in mind already. The HK 14715 is a bit on the hefty side though, for light/medium duty you might prefer the 14716. The only other one I can think to throw out there for ya is the Benchmade 530, it's super light weight and ultra thin, but the low profile thumb studs and "dished" axis bar make it a bit rough on the thumb. I never really warmed up to the Delica much, but I do love the thin ffg blade, it's an excellent slicer. The drawbacks for me are that it's a lockback that takes 2 hands to close and it also takes quite a bit of thumb tension, and sometimes a slight wrist flick, to get a good deployment. I don't guess I have any complaint about the Skyline...it deploys smooth and easy, liner lock so it can be closed with 1 hand if needed, reversible clip, nice thin blade. For some reason I still don't find myself carrying it very often but it's a great knife all around.


Left to right: Delica, 14716, 14715, Skyline, 530
SAM_1112.jpg


SAM_1119.jpg


SAM_1120.jpg
 
Thank you for the pics, very helpful. I owned a 530 and didn't like it.

I think I will go with the skyline. The question is, Damascus or cf?
 
It can be had for about $75

Just a thought!
Thumb disk and flipper.
S30V Stainless Steel Blade
Blade Length: 3.75"
Weight: 6 oz
 
K.O.D. said:
Thank you for the pics, very helpful. I owned a 530 and didn't like it.

I think I will go with the skyline. The question is, Damascus or cf?
Click to expand...

Let us know which Skyline you end up with. I know I'm late to this party also, but of those listed above, my fave is the HK Axis (full size, but would really like to try the mini). I think it's a good combination of size, strength, smooth function. And I really like D2, mine keeps an amazing edge. Don't know if that's the steel or the heat treat.

While I do like g10, I saw some work of someone here on the forum that made some amazing wood burl scales for that model, and dang, I really need to track him down. Doh, I think it was Keyman. If mine looked like the pics I saw, I'd be showing it off daily.

So while the Axis is just a tad thicker and maybe a touch heavier than some others, my opinion is that it's an amazing bang for the price.

Ok, after pretty scales, it's a bit beyond the $100 mark. But dang, an HK Axis with rich burl. I can't stop thinking about it now. I think my spending priority list just got reordered. [emoji12][emoji41]
 
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Id look very hard at cold steel newly redone lineup of the mini ak47. And mini recon 1... Theyre both thinner than the old version. The mini recon 1 in cts xhp is one of my favorites. Thin behind the edge so fine stuff. But with a strong design. Xhp is about as good as any steel in that price range imho.
 
Manix 2 Lightweight in blue or black...I've owned a blue one and prob will pick up the newer all black soon. Good ergos and capable blade that you can get coated if needed.
 
K.O.D. said:
Thank you for the pics, very helpful. I owned a 530 and didn't like it.

I think I will go with the skyline. The question is, Damascus or cf?
Click to expand...

I own the Damascus I found that it's prone to rusting a bit more than I like from the limited time I tried to EDC it. For a user I would go with the CF in S30V or the normal Skyline for the ease of maintenance and that any amount of rust just looks bad on the Damascus and takes away from it's good looks.
 
KOD, have you held a benchmade 530? One of the most nuanced knives I've owned. It's a bit over your range at $130, but very worth it. Light, flat grind, sexy g10, axis lock and is designed so if you pull the axis lock it deploys the blade, but no spring, so not auto.
benchmade-530-1301-limited-edition-pardue-damascus-5.JPG


Mines not Damascus tho.

Crap, saw you don't want 154 CM...
 
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