Best Folder?

R

Redford Lyle

Joined
Apr 8, 2012
Messages
17
Hello all,
Tell me your opinion of the best folder over all. Best Sharpness, easy to sharpen, best edge retention, best carry ex. Any suggestions under $500 is great. Thanks for your help!
 
A little more specifics as to what you'd use it for would be nice. That said I've good things about the ease of sharpening and edge retention on the M390 Paramilitary 2.
 
A lot of people are going to say Chris Reeve sebenza, you pick which size. I personally don't own one yet but they get rave reviews.
 
$500 sounds like a steal for a folder that does absolutely everything better than any other knife at the same price or below. Once I find that knife, there goes almost all of my collection.

A few that I have and like for different reasons, though, are the CRK Umnumzaan, ZT 0551, and Spyderco Gayle Bradley.
 
Redford Lyle said:
Hello all,
Tell me your opinion of the best folder over all. Best Sharpness, easy to sharpen, best edge retention, best carry ex. Any suggestions under $500 is great. Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

Best Sharpness: Depends on how good you are at sharpening, any steel can be made shaving sharp if the sharpener is skilled enough, thinner edges slice better though, I suggest high hollow grind or FFG (the thinner the blade the better it will slice, but also the thinner the blade the more toughness it loses for things like prying, go the opposite way make it a thick saber grind than can pry open doors and it will cut as well as pry bar)

Easy to sharpen: That would be carbon steels probably such as O1, 1095, A2, followed by lower edge retention stainless steels such as AUS-4 though 8, 420HC, 8cr13mov, also the softer the easier it will be to sharpen

Best Edge retention: Basically the exact opposite of the above: S90V, M390 (though its not too bad for a super steel), ZDP-189, CTS-20CP, CTS-204P, high hardness steels and/or high carbide steels.

Best Carry: completely subjective, some people like low rider clips to have the knife more concealed and secure in the pocket, some people like something sticking out of the pocket to grab on to, some like a nice hefty knife such as a ZT 300, while others won't carry anything over 4oz.

That's why there isn't one best knife, everything is give and take, Gain ease of sharpening (sometimes toughness) lose edge retention and hardness or gain edge retention and lose hardness and ease of sharpening. Everybody likes different weights, ergos, and clips.
 
Ah, there's no such thing as a perfect folder for everyone. There are so many good options, different uses for knives, and everyone has a different style of what they like. When I first got into knives I thought I wanted some expensive knife, thinking it would be the best. I came to find out "for me" that I can get a quality knife for under $100 that will do everything a super expensive knife will do. Plus, I wouldn't have to worry about ruining something that I paid hundreds of dollars for. Sure a $500 dollar knife might have a little better fit and finish (it better for that price!), but I've never seen a knife that has had such an increase in quality and function that it justifies spending and extra $400-$450 dollar on. To be honest, I can take an Ontario Rat-1 and do anything and everything a $500 knife can do. And if I do break it, big deal. I just spend $30 and get another one. For me, at this point, I carry either a Buck Vantage Pro, Select, or Avid. The Buck Vantage Pro is the most expensive of the three at about $60. It comes with s30v steel and is super smooth. For the money, you get a lot of knife. Those are the type of knives I like. Those are the type of knives that keep me from wanting to spend more on something that isn't that much better and something I wouldn't want to break! Just my personal opinion.
 
For great EDC ---- Any Spyderco ParaMilitary 2, Standard S30V / Sprint M390 / Sprint CTS-204P

For hard usage/EDC -- ZT > 0561 / 0560
 
Get a chris reeve that appeals to you. I personally love the sebenza but i need to get my hands on an umnumzaan.
 
Um, so you have a $500 budget, but sound like you have absolutely no idea what you want. That's a recipe for disaster. Or at least for blowing lots of dough.

What knives do you have now? Any? Do you know how to sharpen? Do you know the difference between different grinds or edge bevels? Different locks?
 
I have several Benchmade's and Spydercos. I like the BM 710, and 940, and the Spyderco Military, Para-Military and the Manix line. However, with the more recent releases of the Zero Tolerance 0551/0550, and 0560/0561, for all around use, these get my vote. Well under your price range in dollars, but right there or close in quality/value.
 
Best all around.. tough question. I'd prolly say save some money and just get a Spyderco Paramilitary 2.. they rock.. there's really no way you can be dissappointed.. If you like bigger/beefier hard use folders, grab a ZT (whatever one you think looks best, they're all hard as nails)..
 
Redford Lyle said:
Hello all,
Tell me your opinion of the best folder over all. Best Sharpness, easy to sharpen, best edge retention, best carry ex. Any suggestions under $500 is great. Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

For regular ol' every day utility, it's tough to beat a Swiss Army Knife. With $500, you could buy a whole mess of 'em...
 
I know everbody has one but I'm incredibly impressed with my CRK LG 21 Sebenza. I do wish that I'd have gone with the small 21 instead.

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Get either a Umnumzaan or a Large Sebenza 21 with micarta inlays, it will fall just short of $500. I just got a Strider SNG today and I am very much impressed with that one to but I can't see it cutting anywhere near as nice a a CRK.
 
I just got a CRK sebenza carbon fiber, looks slick and is a little lighter than any other sebenza which is great for EDC.

Also just got an sng, and like roughneckrob said im really impressed. Nicer than I thought and worth the 400$ I paid. It's more heavy duty than the sebenza but the finish isn't like the sebenza.

It really comes down to taste.
 
What knife is "best" is going to be difficult to proclaim. CRK's are pretty good--they've been around for a couple decades, and have garnered some consistently high praise. There are some other midtechs that might be worth looking into as well.
 
For under $500, NOTHING beats a Sebenza. Picking which one to get first is the problem.

The thing is, to really appreciate a Sebenza, I think you almost need to own a whole bunch of other knives first. What makes CRK so special is not apparent at first, second, or even fiftieth glance. You might own one for a while before you finally "get it". They are understated, and truly elegant tools.
 
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