Best $1K folding knife (blade length of 3 inches or less)

Craig Brown FSD Mini, OZ Roosevelt, SPK Lamia

Flipper only: Andre Thorburn knife of some flavor. Imo represents the best value - especially in the used market. Hand made and one with engravings - the engravings are meticulously done by his wife who from what he said to me in person might be done doing them sooner than later do to her hands giving up on her.

Functional, fun to play with, retain their value (top three specifically with regard to value retention)

It should also be noted that the top three are near impossible for the casual purchaser to buy new. Your best bet is to be a hawk in the FS section here, reddit or FB and pick one up that way. They come up frequently enough that purchasing one is "easy" with a little patience and persistence.....I never had any luck buying them new, and lord knows I tried!
 
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Don_Logan said:
Craig Brown FSD Mini, OZ Roosevelt, SPK Lamia

Flipper only: Andre Thorburn knife of some flavor. Imo represents the best value - especially in the used market. Hand made and one with engravings - the engravings are meticulously done by his wife who from what he said to me in person might be done doing them sooner than later do to her hands giving up on her.

Functional, fun to play with, retain their value (top three specifically with regard to value retention)

It should also be noted that the top three are near impossible for the casual purchaser to buy new. Your best bet is to be a hawk in the FS section here, reddit or FB and pick one up that way. They come up frequently enough that purchasing one is "easy" with a little patience and persistence.....I never had any luck buying them new, and lord knows I tried!
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In regards to the top 3 you mentioned as well as that they seem to be readily available on the secondary, I’ve often wondered if that they popped up so often for sale because people tried them out and realized they weren’t worth the money they have tied up in them.

I’ve never handled any of those primarily because I just don’t find them visually appealing but I have no doubt they are extremely well made. But I also don’t see how they’re worth almost double of a crk, Hinderer, LG etc.

Just to be clear, not a dig on those 3 companies, just curious of your thoughts.
 
Don_Logan said:
Craig Brown FSD Mini, OZ Roosevelt, SPK Lamia

Flipper only: Andre Thorburn knife of some flavor. Imo represents the best value - especially in the used market. Hand made and one with engravings - the engravings are meticulously done by his wife who from what he said to me in person might be done doing them sooner than later do to her hands giving up on her.

Functional, fun to play with, retain their value (top three specifically with regard to value retention)

It should also be noted that the top three are near impossible for the casual purchaser to buy new. Your best bet is to be a hawk in the FS section here, reddit or FB and pick one up that way. They come up frequently enough that purchasing one is "easy" with a little patience and persistence.....I never had any luck buying them new, and lord knows I tried!
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My wife and I chatted with Thorburn for quite a while at a show. She said "he seems like a great guy, why don't you buy one?". Not sure how to recreate that magic, but I didn't hesitate.
Incredible knife.
jAhvzcr.jpg
 
mitchnola said:
In regards to the top 3 you mentioned as well as that they seem to be readily available on the secondary, I’ve often wondered if that they popped up so often for sale because people tried them out and realized they weren’t worth the money they have tied up in them.

I’ve never handled any of those primarily because I just don’t find them visually appealing but I have no doubt they are extremely well made. But I also don’t see how they’re worth almost double of a crk, Hinderer, LG etc.

Just to be clear, not a dig on those 3 companies, just curious of your thoughts.
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IMO it is because they are heavily hyped knives and people who really had no intention of spending such money on a knife got caught up in it to see what it was all about. Count me in that group too to some degree. They realize it will never be carried because of the price paid, they fondled it and 6 months later they want their 800 back for other things or they want to try another hyped knife...the cycle repeats. Simple as that imo. In the end, a CRK etc is just fine and I do not care about scuffing it up etc. It is a slippery slope, soon you have a nice new car sitting in your Nalpak.
 
Rockstead as others have mentioned is a tier 1 option. I have a Higo II and an SAI. Between the two, I suggest the Higo II as it has a pocket clip. The SAI does not, but I got it just to stare at TBH. It has a crazy looking purple/blue handle and is just wild to look at. I had a Shin and sold it. It was a bit bulky and the profile of the Higo II were better suited for me. That said the Shin is another great option, and does have a better "solid grip" in hand between the two because of the bulkier profile. Just depends on your preference.

Also, while they are great knives, their action is very hydraulic and therefore the least exciting to play with. In addition to that, it should be noted that imo, their hype is around the crazy blade polish, which will slowly lose its luster and get scratched up after normal use. While this is normal and nothing to worry about, you have to ask yourself if once you receive such a beautiful blade are you really going to want to use it? Only you can answer that.

My Higo II gets pocket time, but if I am honest, I will cringe if put into a position where I have to cut something serious with it. The blade is a work of art and no one else does it like them.

Lastly, because of the blades unique high polish you have to send it back to Japan to get redone if you want it back to OEM spec. Shipping cost/potential duties/ package theft/lost package / time in que to be worked on etc - all play a roll and does run through my head when I carry it and pull it out to use it.

^ my .02 on Rockstead.
 
My rapidly inflating two cent's worth:

At $1,000 USD, any folder better be a damn good knife. There will not, cannot, be one "best knife" at that price point. The category of "best" blade steel alone will never be settled, not in my lifetime anyway.

The deal makers will all be preferences . . .yours. It all just depend on you and what you want in terms of design, materials and embellishment.
 
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VorpelSword said:
My rapidly inflating two cent's worth:

At $1,000 USD, any folder better be a damn good knife. There will not, cannot, be one "best knife" at that price point. The category of "best" blade steel alone will never be settled, not in my lifetime anyway.

The deal makers will all be preferences . . .yours. It all just depend on you and what you want in terms of design, materials and embellishment.
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Exactly....this applies to anything - let's say guns.

A 1911 is a 1911 a Colt or a Springfield will do just fine...buuuut that does not mean I do not want to try out and own Wilson or some of the other custom makers all at the same time. Same with AR's.....and many others

OP: The point is, there is no right answer in all of this and there is high probability, you will own them all at some point just to see what each one brings to the table. It's part of the fun.
 
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JTR357 said:
Another option would be to take your favorite Benchmade knife & get the Gold Class version. They have some really sweet ones out there.
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Wolverine666 said:
For me , $1000 would buy a new Large Inkosi or Sebenza and a Spyderco Vallotton Sub-Hilt.

But $1000 on one knife would send me to Rockstead offerings or a custom.
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that's the thing I already own a sebenza and am now looking for something "better". Many said a custom is the best choice for that price
 
nikshichu said:
that's the thing I already own a sebenza and am now looking for something "better". Many said a custom is the best choice for that price
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After being in your shoes and then taking the leap and owning many of these 800+ knives that are touted there several things to me that stood out

1) exclusivity - they are hard to get new. See my above post on that.

2) this is the biggest difference imo of all - Deployment

Many people are hunting down knives that can easily flick or reverse flick open, but the lockup is to be a like a bank vault. Whereas with a CRK etc, you have to fold it open. That is really it for me in the difference - they are fidgety yet do not sacrifice centering or lockup.

Oh and hey, if you like your CRK Sebenza, you should look into a Kody Eutsler DUK....similar vibes as a Sebenza, but the deployment is vastly different and is along the lines of what I describe here. That might be the ticket for you right there albeit another impossible one to just haphazardly google and buy like a Sebenza.

Beyond that TBH, you will be pretty disappointed with any of these "custom" 1000 knives if you're goal is to come away thinking they will be vastly superior to your CRK or others in that vein. Going from a CRK to knives we are talking about is not like going from a nice Honda Accord to a Rolls Royce. There simply is not that much these guys can do to make a margin that wide in the knife world imo.
 
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VorpelSword said:
My rapidly inflating two cent's worth:

At $1,000 USD, any folder better be a damn good knife. There will not, cannot, be one "best knife" at that price point. The category of "best" blade steel alone will never be settled, not in my lifetime anyway.

The deal makers will all be preferences . . .yours. It all just depend on you and what you want in terms of design, materials and embellishment.
Click to expand...

Don_Logan said:
After being in your shoes and then taking the leap and owning many of these 800+ knives that are touted there several things to me that stood out

1) exclusivity - they are hard to get new. See my above post on that.

2) this is the biggest difference imo of all - Deployment

Many people are hunting down knives that can easily flick or reverse flick open, but the lockup is to be a like a bank vault. Whereas with a CRK etc, you have to fold it open. That is really it for me in the difference - they are fidgety yet do not sacrifice centering or lockup.

Oh and hey, if you like your CRK Sebenza, you should look into a Kody Eutsler DUK....similar vibes as a Sebenza, but the deployment is vastly different and is along the lines of what I describe here. That might be the ticket for you right there albeit another impossible one to just haphazardly google and buy like a Sebenza.
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that's a great analogy 👍👍 and by the way, I can't find the regular models anywhere, they sell for double, triple the price on the bay. Exclusives are worth even more but they are worth the price unlike these hard to find regular models.
 
nikshichu said:
that's a great analogy 👍👍 and by the way, I can't find the regular models anywhere, they sell for double, triple the price on the bay. Exclusives are worth even more but they are worth the price unlike these hard to find regular models.
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Welcome to the "game". Most things mentioned here will have to be hunted down, unfortunately. Drops on their sites sell out in seconds.

Your best bet is to be vigilante here in the FS section, both custom and regular folder. Reddit is another good one. Stay off eBay, way overpriced.
 
JTR357 said:
Another option would be to take your favorite Benchmade knife & get the Gold Class version. They have some really sweet ones out there.
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I think crk and the other ones at that price range were built to a much higher standard. And for that price, performance matters the most, to me at least. Benchmade are still great knives but they can never outperform chris reeve, hindered etc..
 
Hard to get one new from Mfg at MSRP . . . .sure.

Had that experience when looking for a high-end combat quality fixed blade for our son before he deployed to Iraq. Had to wait four years for a factory fresh Randall back then. It finally came but I/d already gotten him a CRK Green Beret from a retail gun shop.

Yet, many Randalls are available on e-Bay from "dealers" who get some sort of bulk-buy front of the line treatment from Randall Made.
 
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