Recommendation? Battle of the Ultimate User for Minh

[Wowbagger]

.

 

[Quiet]

First off you obviously haven't used one as I posted.
Do you ACTUALLY use these ? Much ?
and
you sure read a lot into my post. Busted ? Where did you get that ?
I said old because they don't manufacture Ti Lites in CTS-XHP any longer.
I bought that knife brand new and did the mod before it was a week old. It was the plan before I ordered the knife. Sounds like you are a bit new here. Or avoid the Maintenance, Tinkering and Embellishment forum.
Bunch of modification ? ""
A regrind ?
Piece of pie for some of the Pros here who would be glad to help. Regrinds and thinning behind the edge is a VERY common mod. (for performance USERS )

and finally well two things :
Did you start the tread ? I was thinking I was talking to Minh762.
One very desirable Mod to the Spyderco Nirvana is just that . . . to grind it much thinner.

Perhaps I misunderstood :

Does "Minh" mean intelligent ?
Are we talking about a superior knife to actually use ?
Anything that is overly thick sucks.
anything that has big slots in the blade that catches dirt and goop and hangs up on things being cut . . . sucks.
Wide blades can't cut curves in stout material
Wide flat handles do not lend them selves to dextrous manipulation.
?? ??

Yeah, listen. Read the room. If someone posts a selection of high end quality knives and asks "Which of these do you think would fit my needs", it's pretty clear that a cheap used Cold Steel with a regrind is not going to be what he's looking for. I mean, really?

I've used knives for many, many years, and your opinion is just that, your opinion. Thanks.

"Sounds like you're a bit new here, despite having been a member here longer than I have." LOL

 

[Wowbagger]

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[RBid]

Wowbagger not trying to start a fight, but it’s important to consider context when we determine how well a user works. I use my knives often at work, on things like zip ties, cardboard, plastic straps, etc. I don’t need an especially thin blade for these purposes, and find .12”-.14” thick stock to be efficient with a good edge on them. My Wayfarer 247 (.14” thick, with a hole in the blade) has been to work with me and did very well.

On the flip side, it wouldn’t be a knife I’d carry if I were the kind of guy who did food prep with a folder. I’d likely prefer a thinner blade if my common use included long cuts where the thickest part of the blade plunged through hard rubber or similar material, as well.

Again, not trying to start anything. I simply prefer to be a champion of slowing down and objectively looking at these things.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

Bunch of modification ? ""
A regrind ?
Piece of pie for some of the Pros here who would be glad to help. Regrinds and thinning behind the edge is a VERY common mod. (for performance USERS )

I've never had a single knife reground in my life and all of mine are "performance USERS" (whatever the hell that means).

 

[Quiet]

He said under $600.

Is that what NIB means . . . I bet they are not so cheep now that they are getting more scarce.
CTS-XHP is high end (it's about the blade in this post . . . as in "user")
How is it, after being here all this time, you have missed the brilliantly obvious.

Siigghhh, not worth it. I see why so many people have you blocked. The brilliant obliviousness of your posts is just tremendous.

Minh, sorry man. Didn't mean to drag your thread down. Good luck with your search for a high end knife, you've chosen some winners. Can't go wrong with any of them, really. All will be better than a cheap used Cold Steel with a regrind, as I suspect you know. LOL All of them have blades that will stand up to hard use without any need for a regrind.

 

[Wowbagger]

Gee after your first post I was going to say "Sure Blues Bender I respect your perspective. I'll chill. Then came the "what ever the hell that means".

Slowing down . . . indeed.

 

[Minh762]

Siigghhh, not worth it. I see why so many people have you blocked. The brilliant obliviousness of your posts is just tremendous.

Minh, sorry man. Didn't mean to drag your thread down. Good luck with your search for a high end knife, you've chosen some winners. Can't go wrong with any of them, really. All will be better than a cheap used Cold Steel with a regrind, as I suspect you know. LOL All of them have blades that will stand up to hard use without any need for a regrind.

I do appreciate your effort in clearing things up for me in this thread.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

Gee after your first post I was going to say "Sure Blues Bender I respect your perspective. I'll chill. Then came the "what ever the hell that means".
Slowing down . . . indeed.

All one has to do is follow Ankerson's cutting tests and glean the basics and one sees that . . . for instance when he HAD HIS MANIX reground . . . thinned behind the edge by quite a lot I might add the number of cuts in rope it was able to add was considerable. I would go as far as to say the performance skyrocketed.

Performance . . . as in cutting things . . . performance in number of cuts / ease of cuts.
I still haven't heard from the OP.
It will be enlightening to find out if he is looking for a good user or a Boutique art object that cuts things.

And I did cast my vote within the confines of the question (with some comments) :

OK I looked 'em all up
spyderco paysan
Yes that's getting there . . . grind it thin though.
Spyderco Nirvana
OH HECK YES ! ! ! !
Grind it thin though (much thinner).

We all know that geometry is what cuts things, that's a given, and obviously a good regrind can make knives a better slicer. However, some of us don't need laser-like cutting performance by regrinding the blade down to a piece of tinfoil.

My Socom Elite would certainly cut better if the grind was higher and thinner, but there's no chance in Satan's Playpen that I'm sacrificing the aesthetics of this DLC coating and aggressive looking grind. I use this knife and it performs every time so I guess that makes it a "performance user"?

OP, don't discount the Socom Elite either. It's not on your list, but it's certainly a great knife. It's kicked knives out of my pocket that cost 3-4x as much, they are great! Yeah, I know it's tip-down, but it actually feels right for this knife.

The Olamic was my vote, great knives made by great people. I met the two main guys behind it all at Blade this year and they will always be on my go-to list. I handled a ton of 247 at the show and almost walked away with one, but I got a Busker instead (almost got both). I have an old Wayfarer from when they first started out and it's also a great piece. You certainly cannot go wrong!

 

[Minh762]

We all know that geometry is what cuts things, that's a given, and obviously a good regrind can make knives a better slicer. However, some of us don't need laser-like cutting performance by regrinding the blade down to a piece of tinfoil.

My Socom Elite would certainly cut better if the grind was higher and thinner, but there's no chance in Satan's Playpen that I'm sacrificing the aesthetics of this DLC coating and aggressive looking grind. I use this knife and it performs every time so I guess that makes it a "performance user"?

OP, don't discount the Socom Elite either. It's not on your list, but it's certainly a great knife. It's kicked knives out of my pocket that cost 3-4x as much, they are great! Yeah, I know it's tip-down, but it actually feels right for this knife.

The Olamic was my vote, great knives made by great people. I met the two main guys behind it all at Blade this year and they will always be on my go-to list. I handled a ton of 247 at the show and almost walked away with one, but I got a Busker instead (almost got both). I have an old Wayfarer from when they first started out and it's also a great piece. You certainly cannot go wrong!

View attachment 1007368

I do like the Socom Elite and you are right about the grind. I really wish it’s closer to FFG. Great tactical blade though

 

[SharpieB]

Yeah, listen. Read the room. If someone posts a selection of high end quality knives and asks "Which of these do you think would fit my needs", it's pretty clear that a cheap used Cold Steel with a regrind is not going to be what he's looking for. I mean, really?

I've used knives for many, many years, and your opinion is just that, your opinion. Thanks.

"Sounds like you're a bit new here, despite having been a member here longer than I have." LOL

I didn’t know what the hell you were talking about until I unblocked blocked users.

Yup... same old same old.

 

[ShannonSteelLabs]

We all know that geometry is what cuts things, that's a given, and obviously a good regrind can make knives a better slicer. However, some of us don't need laser-like cutting performance by regrinding the blade down to a piece of tinfoil.

My Socom Elite would certainly cut better if the grind was higher and thinner, but there's no chance in Satan's Playpen that I'm sacrificing the aesthetics of this DLC coating and aggressive looking grind. I use this knife and it performs every time so I guess that makes it a "performance user"?

OP, don't discount the Socom Elite either. It's not on your list, but it's certainly a great knife. It's kicked knives out of my pocket that cost 3-4x as much, they are great! Yeah, I know it's tip-down, but it actually feels right for this knife.

The Olamic was my vote, great knives made by great people. I met the two main guys behind it all at Blade this year and they will always be on my go-to list. I handled a ton of 247 at the show and almost walked away with one, but I got a Busker instead (almost got both). I have an old Wayfarer from when they first started out and it's also a great piece. You certainly cannot go wrong!

View attachment 1007368

I agree. Performance is in the eye of the user.
I'm building some knives in CPM S110V that are 0.080 thick. They will cut and slice extremely well. But if you try prying with them they will snap, especially being near or at 65HRC.

Conversely I've made a chopper out of Z-Tuff PM that was 0.325 thick and full convex ground with a super thick tip. It chops wood like a chainsaw. And could probably pry the doors off an APC. But it's no kitchen slicer. It still cuts well and has decent cutting geometry but it was designed for maximum toughness and chopping. And prying was a big point for the client.

I'm not sure what the OP is fully looking for but something tough with good cutting geometry would be one of the Hoback Midtecs. About 525ish.

If he wants a fixed blade instead of a folder my books open next month. I can make something kick ass for half his budget depending on size.

 

[cbrstar]

I picked the Holt. I just like the clean design and he has a great frame lock and customization options. I don't think too many people know Holt which I think is holding the knife back as people tend to pick what's more familiar. The two Spyderco's are nice but aren't they discontinued? So finding one might be hard. I think you can't go wrong with any knife you chose on this list.

 

[Minh762]

I agree. Performance is in the eye of the user.
I'm building some knives in CPM S110V that are 0.080 thick. They will cut and slice extremely well. But if you try prying with them they will snap, especially being near or at 65HRC.

Conversely I've made a chopper out of Z-Tuff PM that was 0.325 thick and full convex ground with a super thick tip. It chops wood like a chainsaw. And could probably pry the doors off an APC. But it's no kitchen slicer. It still cuts well and has decent cutting geometry but it was designed for maximum toughness and chopping. And prying was a big point for the client.

I'm not sure what the OP is fully looking for but something tough with good cutting geometry would be one of the Hoback Midtecs. About 525ish.

If he wants a fixed blade instead of a folder my books open next month. I can make something kick ass for half his budget depending on size.

Thank you for the feedback. I'm too scare for my wallet to start looking into custom fixed blades too. I'll be ready soon and def check out what you have to offer.

 

[Minh762]

I picked the Holt. I just like the clean design and he has a great frame lock and customization options. I don't think too many people know Holt which I think is holding the knife back as people tend to pick what's more familiar. The two Spyderco's are nice but aren't they discontinued? So finding one might be hard. I think you can't go wrong with any knife you chose on this list.

Hey CBR, I prefer Gixxers and SuperDukes

Thanks for the first vote for the Specter. The Spyderco Nirvana was discontinue. The Spyderco Paysan is to be released at the end of this year.

 

[Wowbagger]

I do appreciate your effort in clearing things up for me in this thread.

OK
Surprised he can't even talk to me directly.
I will delete my posts. Sorry to be so wrong; for all concerned.

 

[Minh762]

If you can afford to drop up to $600, go with the Wayfarer IMO.

I have always wanted an Olamic, Medford or Hinderer. I own almost 100 knives and have never spend more than $200 on one until today when I finally ordered a Medford. If I did it all over again, I would likely only have a handful of knives from Medford, WE, Olamic, Hinderer, Koenig and the usual Spyderco/ZT/Benchmade.

If you can afford the Olamic, that would be my choice.

I can relate. I've been collecting and carrying knives since the early 90s and at one time I had way too many knives in my collection. At this point, I would much rather have a smaller collection with nicer blades. A few traditionals, a few lightweight/smaller folders and a few full size folders. Simple is good for me.

 

[thegreatwhite]

Always biased to Koenig Arius..because I think it's the ultimate value. Especially for a 'true' user.

That being said...I think you should choose...the Arius!!

I really think this question should only be between the Arius and the 247. However, never handled a Holt before, so I'm going to omit that from my opinion. I don't think the other knives on your list even compare to the Arius/247.

Ergos - 247 has better ergos if you have small to medium hands. I think larger handed people don't find the same comfort. This doesn't happen with the Arius.
Slicey-ness - I do have an older 247 so I'm not up to date if olamic is doing hollow grinds, but the arius is standard hollow grind. This is not only good for slicey-ness but also good for longevity of sliceyness (meaning after multiple sharpenings).
Action - Don't even think there's a comparison; Arius is clearly better.

Again, this my opinion on a 'true' user. And I think there are a few things missing from your criteria
-Koenig
-non-spinning pivot
-more of a open construction for dust/water/etc
-personally - clip is better for in-and-out of pocket
-personally - i believe less invasive in pocket with other things
-disassembly - 5 screws/all same size (7 for complete)
247- 8 screws/2 are proprietary (13 for complete disassembly)
-247
-definitely better stabbing action
-more customization, or easy to achieve I should say
-more steel options
-better availability, cheaper

Koenigs are bit a more money but I think long run they are definitely the better choice. Unless you wanna buy ~16 Tenaciouses...which arguably would be the better option.

 

[RBid]

“A ‘true’ user”, as opposed to a not true user?

All told, about 100 feet of cardboard, much of it multi-wall, about 30 zip ties, 8-10 plastic straps, and a few plastic packages today.

Be well.

 

[thegreatwhite]

“A ‘true’ user”, as opposed to a not true user?

All told, about 100 feet of cardboard, much of it multi-wall, about 30 zip ties, 8-10 plastic straps, and a few plastic packages today.

Be well.

Haha subtle! The quotations were there because it's my opinion on a true user. My version of a user would not be the same as a bushcrafter's version. I guess it would have been better represented if i did 'true user' instead of 'true' user.