Best and worst knife right now

The list has to do with knifes I handled I've tried around 10 of each from each brand I know what's good I have had problems with Ozark boker gerber frost mtech tac force
I have not had any issues with kershaw spyderco buck I'm
Just trying to share my experience I'm not a fan boy
There are some knifes from boker frost gerber that might be good I have had a single knife from the bad list that worked or function long they last about a month where
The good knifes will last a lifetime
 
I agree but still most of the gerber made today are made cheaply I had a parafram from 2004 it was good but I had one made in 2013 it was horrible in comparison it's just my experience so far
 
I have had luck with every brand except......Buck. I love my Vantage Pro....but the few knives I have bought in the last year from Buck like the Vantage Pro, Spitfire and Marksman....all three had to go back for repair or replacement. There base models like 110...I have never had an issue.
 
I'm not a fan boy I just know what I like a well made product I have owned a lot of knifes made by multiple brands and out of 300 knifes I've owned or traded away
I have seen a patern of the defective knifes keep poping up 90 percent of the defective knifes come from the brands I list as bad it's just my impinge everyone has there impinge thanks for taking interest in my post have a nice day
 
Now none of the ones I like are perfect by any means. And the ones I dislike make some very good products but I am just not happy with certain aspects and wish they would change. But its personal opinion of which no one is wrong.

Best:
Microtech - I like otfs and unfortunately they currently make the best in regards to price, features and style.
WE- Their machining is on point. They offer lots of color and bang for the buck
Other Chinese brands I personally enjoy - I cant really elaborate because they aren't well received here.

Worst:
CRKT: I just really think they are behind the times. They have good designers but I think the materials and fit and finish could be greatly improved given their cost and what we know can now be done in china and Taiwan. Mind you I'm not asking for M390 and 6al4v but I don't really care for the steels or the overall finish quality.

Kai: This is a double edge sword for me. What they do they do really well. I just haven't been liking what they are doing. I would say my biggest gripe is that to me they make the same knife over and over but with a different outline. Same materials, same color, same machining texture just a different design with the same treatment applied to most. Again for those who like it, awesome. But I like diversity and diversity within the same brand. And I just found their older knives to be more interesting and each knife seemed more unique. Still they have great quality, customer service and staff.

Bear and sons: mostly because their fit and finish is stuck between 1989 and 1997. Everything seems to be made on archaic equipment not capable of modern designs. And I strongly question the claims that their balisong line with zinc handles are produced here in the states.

Qrtrmstr Or however its spelled: Nothing needs to be said we all know why.

microtech: Yes I love their knives. But I hate their coatings, and I see way too many quality control issues for a knife that costs this much.

benchmade: IMHO completely out of touch in the balisong market. Behind the times in most advancments. Poor quality control being a current issue. I also dislike their MAP pricing and taking cheaper knives, relabeling them as benchmades and charging another $100 each knife.
 
Best: Custom Knives

Everything else ranges from excellent to outright garbage.

If I HAD to recommend a factory brand, I might suggest Spyderco, Benchmade, ZT or Cold Steel.
 
I love my buck 110s
Here's a list of the defective knifes
Gerber fast draw
Gerber bear grills
Gerber o6 fast
Gerber dmf
Gerber 06 auto
Gerber torch 2
Boker a Stan
Boker Kalashnikov folder
Boker Excalibur
Boker nano
Boker Titan
Frost cutlery everything I ever tried
Mtech everything I ever tried
Tac force everything I ever tried
And this is just a small amount of the ones Ive tried
All of these knifes had issues lock up fit finish
Ease of operation some I fixed but they broke eventually

Here's a list of the knifes that were great
Kershaw leek
Kershaw blur
Kershaw cryo
Kershaw wildcat
Kershaw shuffle
Spyderco paramilitary 2
Spyderco delica
Spyderco endura
Spyderco cat
Spyderco native 5
Buck 110
Buck 112
Buck bantam
Buck 301
Cold steel voyager 2 gen
Cold steel rajah 3
Cold steel code 4
Cold steel hold out
Crkt ikoma fossil
Crkt mount reaner

I'm sher there are some good knifes from gerber boker
But I have not seen any yet just my experience
 
Amoo said:
I'm counting 39/40 new KAI knives for 2017 between both Kershaw and ZT and that's not even getting into their Shun stuff. I'm not really a fan boy of either one of them, but man the Spyderco kool-aid is real with some folks it seems. When you see a sypdie, you know it's a spydie. They are all slightly different, but that are all also extremely similar, mainly because of that Sypdie hole. This doesn't mean they don't have a great selection of knives, or I don't like the company, I just think the rosies are too strong for some people. They make a good knife, a great knife even, so do a lot of other companies. I do find it kind of silly though when people start putting Spydies on the same level as CRKs.
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Have you not seen a KAI/ZT thread?

I'm no fan of only one company. I hate knives from all companies and like some knives from most companies. Just look at the facts you have provided. Over half of those new knives are made with the same inexpensive Chinese steel and are not very different from each other in other respects. Spyderco has about the same new knives but they are very diverse. Different locks, different steels, different blade shapes, folder/fixed. Then you look at the rest of the lineup and it is even more staggering how much Spyderco as a brand is offering. Like I said, I don't love or hate based on brand (except the scummy brands). I like a knife based on the knife itself. The facts are what they are though. Spyderco just offers more options. And at this point in time those more options appeal more to me...

Just trying to explain why you aren't seeing the huge amount of love for KAI.
 
`br4dz- said:
Big issue with a lot of people (myself included) are how their frame locks function. Instead of locking up solid like CRK, Kizer, Spyderco, etc., their frame locks like to slide over to the non-lock side when any force is applied to the lock bar, leading to big questions on reliability and lock wear. Obviously sliding to the non-lock side is better than sliding off the tang and closing the blade, but when minimal force is required to do so....yeah, just not good. Not to turn this into a debate. Had to give up on my 0450's because of that, and I've been wanting a 0804CF, but I'm not spending that kind of money on said lock issues.
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I've had quite a few ZT framelocks and not one of them had this issue you describe.
 
knives

On topic - I don't have a problem with any of the brands I have owned.

Buck, Case, Queen, Great Eastern Cutlery, Canal Street (RIP), Victorinox, Kershaw, Spyderco, Benchmade, Zero Tolerance, Boker, Rough Rider, Taylor Brands. There may have been some individual kniVes that may not have been perfect out of the ones I have owned, but overall the brands themselves have been fine.
 
craytab said:
I've had quite a few ZT framelocks and not one of them had this issue you describe.
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Every framelock zt and framelock kershaw I've owned has the issue. That's a grand total of 6 for 6. I'm not the only one with the issue either, multiple threads and countless people have the same issue, including a couple better known YouTubers. I didn't discover it until I tried actually using one for a change, and had to bear down on the handle to cut through cardboard, and all I felt was the lockbar slide until it hit the other scale. I was so shocked that I thought it was a faulty knife, and checked all of my framelocks to see it was only a KAI problem
One of my spydercos moved a touched, but no where near as bad, and admittedly, my 0566 didn't do as bad as some other models, like my two 0450's which slid over with very little effort. Like I said, not trying to start arguments over the subject, since I'm sure there are some models and some of the same knife models I tried that do not have the issue, but 1 knife was bad enough for me. 2 was obvious enough to be a design issue, 3,4,5,6 is a brand issue.
 
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`br4dz- said:
Every framelock zt and framelock kershaw I've owned has the issue. That's a grand total of 6 for 6. I'm not the only one with the issue either, multiple threads and countless people have the same issue, including a couple better known YouTubers. I didn't discover it until I tried actually using one for a change, and had to bear down on the handle to cut through cardboard, and all I felt was the lockbar slide until it hit the other scale. I was so shocked that I thought it was a faulty knife, and checked all of my framelocks to see it was only a KAI problem
One of my spydercos moved a touched, but no where near as bad, and admittedly, my 0566 didn't do as bad as some other models, like my two 0450's which slid over with very little effort. Like I said, not trying to start arguments over the subject, since I'm sure there are some models and some of the same knife models I tried that do not have the issue, but 1 knife was bad enough for me. 2 was obvious enough to be a design issue, 3,4,5,6 is a brand issue.
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This is really interesting and I'm not doubting you one bit. I just pulled out my 0450 which is relatively new. Looking at the base of the blade there appears to be a very slight taper going towards the opposite scale. With no pressure on the blade no matter how hard I try I can not move the lock any further. If I push the edge of the blade into my desk as hard as I can and push extremely hard with both thumbs I can get the frame lock to move, but when it does it centers on the knife and the knife is locked more solidly and I am unable to unlock it without use of a screwdriver to pry the locking side back out. Makes me wonder if this is one of those type of things that got silently adjusted on their recent models.
 
Amoo said:
This is really interesting and I'm not doubting you one bit. I just pulled out my 0450 which is relatively new. Looking at the base of the blade there appears to be a very slight taper going towards the opposite scale. With no pressure on the blade no matter how hard I try I can not move the lock any further. If I push the edge of the blade into my desk as hard as I can and push extremely hard with both thumbs I can get the frame lock to move, but when it does it centers on the knife and the knife is locked more solidly and I am unable to unlock it without use of a screwdriver to pry the locking side back out. Makes me wonder if this is one of those type of things that got silently adjusted on their recent models.
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I wish I had your luck, I loved the 0450 until I came to use it. I have heard others say they updated it, and others say their recently brand new ones exhibit the same problem. Mine would definitely push to the opposite non-lock side and stay there, making it hard to open, but not as hard as some people have claimed as to where they needed to pry it open. My biggest guess is the way it was made and designed lock up like mine did, and any tolerance issues lock up more solidly, but that is a pure guess without any backup facts.
 
It is difficult for me to rank best and worst brands... after all brands have target markets and depending on wether or not we are in their target it may be impossible for us to warm up to their products and marketing

Based on my experience :

Brands I trust: CRK and Spyderco, Bradford, ESEE, Victorinox, Opinel
IMO they stay true to their quality standards and concepts

Brands I trust for some designs : Benchmade, ZT
IMO they can provide very good quality but it may be some huge discrepancy from one model to another

Brands that have interesting designs but that I don't trust: Kershaw, Buck, Boker, CRKT
IMO their quality standards/designs are quite unpredictable and if I cannot have a knife in hand before buying it I won't buy it

A brand I won't buy: Cold steel
Good product but I am opposed to their marketing campaigns
Again it is based on my personal (good or bad) experience and also on my personal perception of the brands and their marketing
 
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My current best is Spydiechef.
In my collection, the worst is Spyderco Vallotton, which is too bulky for my taste, or GEC #73, which is just an alligator.
Outside of my collection, any folding knives of which blades are thicker than 0.14" would be worst for me.


Miso
 
Mitchell Knives said:
Best: Custom Knives

Everything else ranges from excellent to outright garbage.

If I HAD to recommend a factory brand, I might suggest Spyderco, Benchmade, ZT or Cold Steel.
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I would respectfully disagree with this. I contend that the quality level of a majority of custom knives does not reach the level of a Zero Tolerance production knife. And it is a rare custom knife that meets the level of a Shirogorov production knife.
 
CornSyrup said:
I would respectfully disagree with this. I contend that the quality level of a majority of custom knives does not reach the level of a Zero Tolerance production knife. And it is a rare custom knife that meets the level of a Shirogorov production knife.
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You can't be serious. EVERY custom I have ever owned, blows production knives out of the water.
 
worst knives are mostly Boker and CRKT's from china (yes all models) most SOG' too. clones, and ganzo's etc.
quartermaster knives also worst ever.

id like to add benchmade to the worst list but the only really bad thing about them is the fit and finish, so they are the worst for the money in that respect but otherwise good materials.
 
Best:
Gerber Strongarm 420HC
Discontinued Outdoor Edge folder Aus8
Swiss Army Fisherman
and an old Malboro limited SAK I found in a river and was later stolen from me


Worst: The Boy Scouts of America knives that the only make in China with the exception of the SAK's. The SAK's are pretty sweet.
 
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