A few knives I need suggestions on.

C

Cohtram

Joined
Mar 27, 2004
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2
I've started looking for a new knife to use for work and around the house. Right now I use a Klien tools Small hook knife, and another that is larger. Right now I have picked out a couple that have caught my eye, and I was wondering how you guys would rate them vs each other. Heres the list:

Kershaw Rainbow Leek

Buck Strider Spear Point (Plain)

Gerber Spectre (Plain)

Xibar 188 Extreme Teflon Blade Cocobolo Handle (Plain)

Columbia River Corkum First Strike (3.12" Plain)

Thanks for the help ahead of time.
-steve-
 
The only one I have is the Kershaw Rainbow Leek. It's truely a gorgeous knife, and a definte conversation piece. Besides being pretty, the rainbow Ti coating is extremely durable. It resists scratches very well, and hides minor ones. You could leave it in salt water and it wouldn't rust. It also has the benifit of not looking as menacing as a shiny ****-off knife or a black mall ninja blade. That is, if the Speed Safe opening doesn't scare the sheeple. It's a good gentleman's folder, but I can't reccomend it for hard work. The 440A steel is soft (but easy to maintain...just gotta do it every day), and it's very smooth and gets slippery if your hands are moist.
 
I have the Buck Strider Spear Point the knife is over built for everyday type of chores. If your looking for a very solid folder then this will be a great knife for you.

I can't comment on the ATS-34 model, I have a limited production model in BG-42. Paul Boss does the heat treating on both so it should be a great blade. The handles are W I D E and have very aggressive g-10 which I would say is not the most comfortable in hand.

I really like the knife and it goes with me for camping duty. I like big folders I rotate between a REKAT Sifu, Camillus Max, Lg SOG Pentagon Elite, and a Cold Steel XL Voyager all of which have atleast 5 inch blades and are large then the Buck Strider. The strange thing is they all carry better than the Buck Strider for everyday carry. Im not trying to talk you out of the knife, just be aware that it is wide and you will notice it in your pocket compared to the others you mentioned.
 
I too also only have the Rainbow Leek and it's a gorgouious frame lock knife. It has it's flash appeal with both it's colour and SpeedSafe feature. Of all my knives people always say "Ohhhh, that one's nice!" I just got a Spectrum Swirl Zippo and it goes nicely with the Rainbow Leek.
 

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I have a Buck Strider Spearpoint ATS 34 and there's hardly any blade that I've seen that will be as rugged for all edc and very heavy cutting tasks. Handle is grippy in all wet work that I've done.

Here's a pic of The Buck Strider in hand
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Pic of lock and with mini strider as comparison. Note bronze washers for smooth opening
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Pic of Strider and mini strider
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I like this workhorse. It's not a slight knife by any means :)

RAINBOW LEEK, I've seen 5p0's and it rocks. I'm gonna have to get me one :)
Tom
 
Steve,

What do you intend to do with this knife? The reason I ask, is that work and house use is pretty general and the knives you are asking about appear to be different enough that a comparison against each is tough.

Personally, I don't consider a Strider or Buck Strider folder "pocketable". They are overly square which even in the small model makes them impractical in that role. That being said, I try to carry everything on my belt in good quality pouches and sheaths. When I wanted the strength and security of a fixed blade in a folder, I got a Strider. I have two Bucks and one AR in CPM S30V. For really hard use, the AR is tops. I would use a large Buck model the same way. Its thick edge geometery makes it perform well cutting (not prying ;)) packing staples, and wire in general. This durability comes at a cost though. Cutting thin plastic packing tape and paper is not very efficient with this blade.

I really like my Striders when I have job for which they were designed. Outside of this role, they are like a sharpened prybar and do normal cutting chores in a similar manner to a prybar. I should note this is not a fault of the knife, just a design element that you should be aware of.

I now compliment the Strider AR with a Tim Wegner/Blade-Tec Pro-Hunter in CPM S30V. This knife is a wonder to behold. It is a very efficient cutter in the "real" world I live in on a daily basis. It is a very practical blade for my everyday needs and I highly recommend it.
 
I can't speak for the Kershaw, Xibar or Gerber Spectre (although Gerber does make an excellent knife overall) but the Buck Strider is definately a "built like a tank" knife. I wouldn't reccomend the First Strike, unless you want a dull knife. I have been nothing but disappointed in the one I have.

Another suggestion along the Buck Strider line would be their new Tarani Police folder. It's quite a bit lighter, thinner, and it too has a Bos heat treated blade. I've been carrying and using mine for a few weeks now and it has impressed me so far.

Just my .02,

Jubei
 
Well I work in a warehouse so about anything to do with boxxes, cutting tape, slicing twine, prying stuff loose, ect. I really do not like exacto knifes and I won't use them unless I have too. So I need something thats gonna hold an edge and be versatile. Thanks for the reply's so far, I've narrowed the list down to the buck, Xakir, and spectre.

-steve-
 
i have one of the spectre and i would not recommend it.the blade bounces against the backstop in the grip,the black finish wears off to fast.and mine didn't stand the whack test.plus the pivot screws are easy to strip out.of course mine was a first edition,so they might have changed their pivot screws. goodluck on your selection.
 
Just a thought, but how about a SuperKnife? Basically it's a utility blade made into a folder. Uses cheap, common, replaceable utility blades (and if you're really cheap, you can easily resharpen them once or twice before they're unusable).

You say you don't like exacto knifes, but I'd think that this would serve your purposes quite well (and cheaply too). A good, high quality folder would be good too, but for common, potentially damaging work (like boxes with staples you're unaware of). Use the "real" knife when you need it, but use the cheap one for when you don't.
 
At my shop we use Superknives alot they are quite handy. The one thing we have experienced with the is lock problems, they wear quite fast and become sloppy. I have handled some other designs similar to the Superknife and like the one by Sheffield the best so far it is a lockback design and you can change the blades without any tools. If you are opening alot of boxes I would definitely reccommend you look at one of these designs, SEARS sells them.
 
I can not recommend the Kershaw Leek. I have one and snapped the tip of the knife off trying to free a plastic golf tee from a piece of soft pine. The Tee was broken off in one of those toys at a Cracker Barrel restaurant table and when I went to apply a little pressure to free the Tee the tip of the knife snapped. It is not covered by warranty since it was the result of "abuse such as prying". If all you want to do is slice apples go for it, otherwise skip the thin bladed Leek.

I went back to carrying my Camillus EDC with 154CM blade.

My ideal EDC is 4" closed and less that 3 oz, both spec's cause the knife to disappear in your pocket.

You may also want to check out the new Buck Rush with ATS-34 blade.
 
smithph said:
You may also want to check out the new Buck Rush with ATS-34 blade.
Click to expand...

Has anyone tried out the Buck Rush yet? Any reviews on it? I'm stongly considering picking one up.
 
Sid Post said:
I now compliment the Strider AR with a Tim Wegner/Blade-Tec Pro-Hunter in CPM S30V. This knife is a wonder to behold. It is a very efficient cutter in the "real" world I live in on a daily basis. It is a very practical blade for my everyday needs and I highly recommend it.
Click to expand...

Ditto.

Don't let the name fool you. It may have been designed as a hunter, but I have found the design to be very versatile. Tim Wegner designed a great knife and Blade-tech did an outstanding job in production.
 
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