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

If you want a lot of timascus and mokume or a material like SM-100 or Nitinol, then I understand the price point.
Otherwise if it's a user you have no intention on holding onto until the resale value is high, things like action and functionality don't really get better after you get to near perfect.

Anodized titanium in fancy colors and patterns doesn't really hold up to edc, that oxidation layer that makes up the anodizing scratches easily.

There's some crazy mosaic damascus that's not super expensive from Suchat Jangtanong and Rike. I wouldn't call something like Rike's Alien 4 the best design for every task, but it's certainly interesting.

I've owned a lot of the knives mentioned and felt they either just weren't for me (CRKs) or couldn't imagine using for edc (Rockstead).

There are so many options that have become available, I feel like for edc there's no longer any reason to justify $1000 knife - look at this mirror polished ZDP Katsu for under $400, this would have been over $1000 10 years ago for sure.

That said, Olamic offers pretty much anything you can dream up as far as scale materials, carving, etc. They have a proprietary damascus that is more like mokume (copper and gold hues in it).
 

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DMG said:
$1k probably won't buy something better than a Sebenza. It will buy something shinier or prettier.
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I disagree. However, it should be noted I dislike CRK.

You can get something at $1k with something other than titanium handles that IMO will be infinitely better.

I agree fancy ano does not make a good user, as my ZT0470 shows.

If you are just collecting and not using, go for one of those pretty knives. But know they scratch quickly if used.
 
K.O.D. said:
I disagree. However, it should be noted I dislike CRK.

You can get something at $1k with something other than titanium handles that IMO will be infinitely better.

I agree fancy ano does not make a good user, as my ZT0470 shows.

If you are just collecting and not using, go for one of those pretty knives. But know they scratch quickly if used.
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I learned that Mokume Gane bolsters wears over time. I never knew that Mokume would fade or lose color by opening the knife or pulling it in and out of the pocket. So now I put several layers of Renn wax over my Timascus, Mokume, and Damascus. It slows or halts the routine wear.
 
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.

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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You need a new Talos in your life. Flickable washer action that is butter smooth and bank vault lockup with zero lock stick. Here's a new and original comparison shot. New is the morph handle.
 

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K.O.D. said:
I disagree. However, it should be noted I dislike CRK.

You can get something at $1k with something other than titanium handles that IMO will be infinitely better.

I agree fancy ano does not make a good user, as my ZT0470 shows.

If you are just collecting and not using, go for one of those pretty knives. But know they scratch quickly if used.
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It is hard to beat titanium scales unless we go back to the prettier or shinier criteria.
 
Terry M. said:
This. With some searching you can find custom Tighes for around 1K. He also makes a heck of a knife.
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(With regard to Brian Tighe)

Yes, another great option! I love his knives. I have one folding Tighe Fighters and had (sold) a Tighe Fighter Auto.

Great knives and what appears to be a great guy as well.

Unless OP really likes his stuff though I would suggest you revisit BT later down the road. The Tighe Fighter at least is a bit bulky and heavy and while does flick open it does so in a more hydraulic way - so not so fidgety. Also, it should be noted his knives take a huge hit in the secondary if bought new and they don't pop up all that often. His designs and growth in the industry are from "yesteryear" - 15+ years ago. What is considered "in" right now does not resinate with what he has on the market. Brian stays in his lane and I love him for that. His designs are iconic. Brian Tighe and Todd Begg are both from this era and their legacy is etched in stone as far as I am concerned.

OP: I suggest sticking with some of the more well known hyped ones for a few rounds. That way you can get out of it for what you paid. You buy a DUK for 850 to 950 (close to table) for a more PJ one in the secondary and you sell it for the same more or less. Same goes with the others I mentioned.

VorpelSword said:
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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Love Randall! Had one and sold it and regret it.

The knives discussed for the most part have no dealer network. Drops are announced via email updates or through social media. You then go to their site at said time. I have had zero luck with this with both a Mini FSD, Rosie and Lamia. The second I added to cart all were "sold out" - tried multiple times. No more than 5 seconds went by from the drop time. Others have success (obviously), bots may be used(?) not sure.
DMG said:
$1k probably won't buy something better than a Sebenza. It will buy something shinier or prettier.
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To some degree, yes. Its subjective.

I will say that you will - for sure - get a knife that deploys in a more "fun" way without sacrificing function. Once deployed though, we are talking about some Ti and a blade sticking out....thats it (PJ models and its subjective). Once deployed, how does it feel in the hand to you? I would argue a $50 knife might feel better than a $1000 one to some people. Feel is subjective.


----

Some of the guys above are bringing up material used. That drives the price up, for sure but will not make the knife inherently better functionally than your CRK.

I really do think deployment is the only thing that makes these things stand out besides their design and marketing.

I will say, the machining on some ARE really cool though and will be like nothing else you've seen or is available on the market. More specifically Craig Browns stuff and Skiff. All that takes more time in the machine and wears the parts down quicker.

----

The one knife that really sticks out with doing vastly "different" from the rest is the VC Edge Interface. That knife is a true engineering marvel. Not a suggestion for OP though.
 
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norcalAF said:
You need a new Talos in your life. Flickable washer action that is butter smooth and bank vault lockup with zero lock stick. Here's a new and original comparison shot. New is the morph handle.
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Thank you for the suggestion!

I had an MK3 and yes, the action is great and flicks open nicely. Les George is another option OP if you want to try something else in the CRK price range with a more flickable action.
 
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that diminishing returns kicks in real quick at this price point and most certainly after!

The rabbit hole is near never ending and we have only discussed the tip of the iceberg in this thread. There are makers whose knives are true unicorns that never see the open market and can only be enjoyed on your screen through the makers IG, if at all. If they do change hands, it's done in closed chat groups, which in some cases are global, meaning they leave the US market altogether and are off into the abyss (China or HK usually). I have a buddy who dabbles in this a bit. WAY out of my league and I have no desire playing that "game" regardless.
 
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Don_Logan said:
(With regard to Brian Tighe)

Yes, another great option! I love his knives. I have one folding Tighe Fighters and had (sold) a Tighe Fighter Auto.

Great knives and what appears to be a great guy as well.

Unless OP really likes his stuff though I would suggest you revisit BT later down the road. The Tighe Fighter at least is a bit bulky and heavy and while does flick open it does so in a more hydraulic way - so not so fidgety. Also, it should be noted his knives take a huge hit in the secondary if bought new and they don't pop up all that often. His designs and growth in the industry are from "yesteryear" - 15+ years ago. What is considered "in" right now does not resinate with what he has on the market. Brian stays in his lane and I love him for that. His designs are iconic. Brian Tighe and Todd Begg are both from this era and their legacy is etched in stone as far as I am concerned.

OP: I suggest sticking with some of the more well known hyped ones for a few rounds. That way you can get out of it for what you paid. You buy a DUK for 850 to 950 (close to table) for a more PJ one in the secondary and you sell it for the same more or less. Same goes with the others I mentioned.



Love Randall! Had one and sold it and regret it.

The knives discussed for the most part have no dealer network. Drops are announced via email updates or through social media. You then go to their site at said time. I have had zero luck with this with both a Mini FSD, Rosie and Lamia. The second I added to cart all were "sold out" - tried multiple times. No more than 5 seconds went by from the drop time. Others have success (obviously), bots may be used(?) not sure.

To some degree, yes. Its subjective.

I will say that you will - for sure - get a knife that deploys in a more "fun" way without sacrificing function. Once deployed though, we are talking about some Ti and a blade sticking out....thats it (PJ models and its subjective). Once deployed, how does it feel in the hand to you? I would argue a $50 knife might feel better than a $1000 one to some people. Feel is subjective.


----

Some of the guys above are bringing up material used. That drives the price up, for sure but will not make the knife inherently better functionally than your CRK.

I really do think deployment is the only thing that makes these things stand out besides their design and marketing.

I will say, the machining on some ARE really cool though and will be like nothing else you've seen or is available on the market. More specifically Craig Browns stuff and Skiff. All that takes more time in the machine and wears the parts down quicker.

----

The one knife that really sticks out with doing vastly "different" from the rest is the VC Edge Interface. That knife is a true engineering marvel. Not a suggestion for OP though.
Click to expand...
Good points.

I like that with full custom you can pick blade and handle materials. My R&H Tasca 2 is phenomenal. To me well worth $930. Green fat CF with Odin's eye damasteel it is frequently chosen as a carry knife.

Though large, Biryukov makes a hell of a knife for $4-$600.
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
....

There's some crazy mosaic damascus that's not super expensive from Suchat Jangtanong and Rike. ....
Click to expand...

There's a reason mosaic Damascus is super expensive.

I looked at at a rike S05 on a couple websites. They don't say what the blade is actually made of.....just "custom "mosaic" Damascus". Looking at the pics, there are ay few things that seem off to me. The whole knife is only around $550.

I'd personally be super leary of buying that.
 
Since John just commented I will mention that he is one of a very short list of makers I would approach for a custom project. (I don't know his current pricing)
He excels in hamons, mossaic, inlays including MOP, checkering, and classy touches like gold screws. The biggest challenge would be deciding on a configuration. You can see many more photos on Instagram, but here's a taste.
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Richard338 said:
Since John just commented I will mention that he is one of a very short list of makers I would approach for a custom project. (I don't know his current pricing)
He excels in hamons, mossaic, inlays including MOP, checkering, and classy touches like gold screws. The biggest challenge would be deciding on a configuration. You can see many more photos on Instagram, but here's a taste.
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Click to expand...

HAVE MERCY those are gorgeous.........
 
Richard338 said:
Since John just commented I will mention that he is one of a very short list of makers I would approach for a custom project. (I don't know his current pricing)
He excels in hamons, mossaic, inlays including MOP, checkering, and classy touches like gold screws. The biggest challenge would be deciding on a configuration. You can see many more photos on Instagram, but here's a taste.
View attachment 2634165
View attachment 2634166
View attachment 2634167
Click to expand...
Those are crazy gorgeous!
 
I have written this here before,. I'll try to keep it brief and non controversial.

Our son went to Texas A&M with the intention of entering the USMC on graduation in 2002. I committed to buying a Randall Made #16-1. Their "Special Fighter" based on the blade stock and construction or their beefy #16 "Diver's zKnife", but with the blade profile of their iconic #1 "All Purpose Fighter". Delivery daste was four years later. To keep the story short, I'll just say that I also got him a CRK "Green Beret". He took them both on deployment in 2004-'05. The CRK did not come home. He won't say, but he may have dug a shallow fighting position with it.

When he came back I asked him and he said the CRK had his confidence and seemed more robust. I got him another one. Next deployment, the Randall stayed home. The Breen Beret went on his plate carrier.

Today, the Randall is in a display case in his office. The CRK lives in the gun safe at home.
 
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RE deployment: Another knife I gave our son was a Camillus Cuda Maxx. This was a licensed productikon version of Darral Ralph's semi custom Madd Maxx 5.5 inch folding dagger. The difference in price was about a grand in 2003 or 04. It opens if you just think about it, locks up tight as afixed blade (it feels like that) and closes nearly as easily.

Looks agressive and as butch as a knife can be, but the young Lt. left it at home. It is OK here in Texas, but I understand that in some jurisdictions, this knife may not even be legal to own let alone cry in public.
 
You've received a lot of knowledgeable input. Folks who don't necessarily agree, did so with class.

OP: make a choice based upon what you want.

'Do not confuse concensus with the sense of truth.' Pope John Paul II.
 
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