Best large(3.5"+) gentleman's knife under $600?

Check out a Jason Clark. Thin and classy, great actions, and a deep carry clip. I'm extremely happy with mine and it's my go to gentleman's knife.
 
holdanedge said:
William henry are my favorite production knives. just understand they are like a new car, sell them and you lose. there are so many they just don't have much resale value. I don't think they make one that big either. how about a bench made gold class? I think those are very nice. I will give you a word of advice though. if you deploy a 3.5"+ blade in public you might be explaining it to someone. unless you live in the alaska bush. I do live in a comparable rural area but in the lower 48. so I don't have the problem. any urban area I would not do that. in fact most places like la,chi,ny that is not even legal and could get you in serious trouble. I did not mean to be a jerk I am just pointing out in case he does not know this.
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I do actually live in chicago! I haven't had any problems. I just make sure to be discrete. I normally wear a suit for work so I don't really attract the kind of suspicious attention that would lend itself to me getting in trouble.
 
SurpriseGoat said:
Check out a Jason Clark. Thin and classy, great actions, and a deep carry clip. I'm extremely happy with mine and it's my go to gentleman's knife.
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WOW those are fantastic. I wonder if He could make something similar to my grail burger folder, but with an even better blade shape. I am definitely going to contact him. How would you say the f&f and action are compared to say a sebenza?
 
I am picking up my new Gayle Bradley flipper in two weeks. I got to handle the model that Mr. Bradley had with him at Blade and was immediately sold. I have never been a fan of flippers but this knife is something special. It falls just within your price range. I will have some photos soon. :)
 
I like my Benchmade 890 Torrent for gentleman's carry. It may not measure up to $600 folders though.

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i'm in rural Illinois. about 130 miles from Chicago. perhaps at your work people are cool with that. just keep in mind if you are outside peeling an apple you can be arrested for that. most leo's take that very seriously even in the loop or streeterville. even if you get pulled over on the way out of work not good. I don't mean to be a party pooper but I would hate to see you spend the night in jail for no good reason. if I go to Chicago unfortunately I carry a wm kestrel. yes, it is stupid for people that wear a suit but they can't make different laws for different people. burger is close to your price and that is real nice if you are going to disregard this. that boker I got a year ago that I posted here is very nice. msrp is like $1,200 but you can get it for $875. something many don't know about mark nevling in hume il makes very nice knives that are usually just under $800. a million choices. still, I urge you not to do this. up to you though. what would one do in a suit that they need a 3.5"+ blade for? just curious. for all I know you are the ceo of a box factory! honestly I did not understand how big 3.8" was until I compared it to a 2.5" blade. it is not just the length but the belly combined can scare the wrong people. even in a pretty Norris Damascus. btw, did you see that gentac on wm's site lately? wow. 22 grand to boot. that, might not be well spent on a wm unless you are a rock star or something. bd, that does look nice but I prefer axis from them.
 
holdanedge said:
i'm in rural Illinois. about 130 miles from Chicago. perhaps at your work people are cool with that. just keep in mind if you are outside peeling an apple you can be arrested for that. most leo's take that very seriously even in the loop or streeterville. even if you get pulled over on the way out of work not good. I don't mean to be a party pooper but I would hate to see you spend the night in jail for no good reason. if I go to Chicago unfortunately I carry a wm kestrel. yes, it is stupid for people that wear a suit but they can't make different laws for different people. burger is close to your price and that is real nice if you are going to disregard this. that boker I got a year ago that I posted here is very nice. msrp is like $1,200 but you can get it for $875. something many don't know about mark nevling in hume il makes very nice knives that are usually just under $800. a million choices. still, I urge you not to do this. up to you though. what would one do in a suit that they need a 3.5"+ blade for? just curious. for all I know you are the ceo of a box factory! honestly I did not understand how big 3.8" was until I compared it to a 2.5" blade. it is not just the length but the belly combined can scare the wrong people. even in a pretty Norris Damascus. btw, did you see that gentac on wm's site lately? wow. 22 grand to boot. that, might not be well spent on a wm unless you are a rock star or something. bd, that does look nice but I prefer axis from them.
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I wish I was a box opening ceo hahaha. I am a software engineering consultant for a pretty large firm downtown. I don't often bring the knives to work with me but since I'm almost always in a suit it is important to have a knife that doesn't look out of place with one. After doing some more extensive research, I think george muller might be the man for me. Beautiful knives, similar to the burger designs, and at a somewhat reasonable price point. I think I'm going to pick up one of his and a zt0452cf.
 
Sonnydaze said:
There is not a nice gentleman's knife available...anywhere...IMO...than this one, and I just reduced the price...

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-TYD-gt-gt-gt-550-net?p=15000492#post15000492
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Damn! That is indeed one beautiful knife, SonnyD :) . The Gareth Bull Shamwari is a folder I've just recently become infatuated with, but man, it sure seems like the perfect blend of gentleman's folder and tough EDC. That hand-rubbed M390 blade is a thing of beauty, as is the silver twill CF and decorative pivot. By all accounts, a brilliant little custom for a great price -- which is probably why it sold so fast. I'm sorry I missed out.

[It's also part of the reason why buying directly from Gareth Bull has been such a risky and infuriating endeavor; the sudden spike in demand was more than he could handle, resulting in some justly upset customers left hanging for completely unreasonable periods. If I pick up a Shamwari, it'll certainly be second-hand; I don't have the patience to wait 6 months for a knife, let alone 1 or 2 years. :eek:;) ]
 
Not custom, and not that expensive, but if you are going to carry it while wearing a suit and tie and not use it to split firewood, make a shelter, skin & quarter large mammals or survive in the wild for months - I would look at some of the Al Mar offerings.
 
If it were me I'd buy a Paramilitary 2 CF/S90V but for under $500 getting two knives Luke the 940-1 and ZT 0452CF looks appealing too.
 
bdmicarta said:
I like my Benchmade 890 Torrent for gentleman's carry. It may not measure up to $600 folders though.

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I like mine too. It's a whole lot of knife for not a whole lot of money. And it only weighs 3.5 ounces too . . . just right for a gentleman's carry. The only thing some people might object to is the Nitrous assist (AO). But it's not overly aggressive . . . just enough to open the blade reliably without trying to rip the knife out of my hand. PS: I love Ken Steigerwalt's work. The most expensive knife I own is a Steigerwalt custom. :thumbup: :D
 
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that makes sense. I am a c#,vb,web programmer. most software engineers are not phased by that type of thing for some reason. they like us tend to think anything mechanical, tool is cool. good crowd. that still is notwithstanding law enforcement. just do not pull that out at the bus stop. I could drive but I am just too damn cheap for chicagos parking. the new(er) meters are a joke. made it just as expensive as the garages. I am basically retired but my last contract was at ibm in Schaumburg anyways. well good luck with whatever you choose. hard to go wrong with any $600 knife really. even $200 knives like the al mar linked are nice but "only" aus8. I really like Damascus but otherwise I try to go for zdp189. I can't deal with rust on d2 or whatever.
 
According to the guys at Northwestern Cutlery in downtown Chicago, the legal limit for a knife blade is 2" in Chicago. I don't go there anymore (Chicago).
 
I'm going to somewhat echo Sonnydaze's opinion.

Gareth Bull Phantom. He's getting back into the groove as of late, and the package of materials I sent out to him (CF & Ti) took 6 months to get there which was a major factor that snowballed his delay situation. Not meant as an endorsement by any means, in light of the situation that caused a lot of trouble regarding his knifemaker status here, but just thought I'd mention that he hasn't disappeared, given up, nor compromised the quality of his work. He truly is a good guy.

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nw cutlery is a nice shop. you will be surprised what you find there. not only if you cook but his folder selection at times is very nice. he does a lot of bm gold class, some customs and a lot of nice stuff. you just have to catch them at the right time. at other times there is not much noteworthy. I am just saying to the op he can check them out. corrado is good too but it is all the way in Evanston. there is opticsplanet whom only do business online now but they are in northbrook. you would be surprised what you will find on their site too. some very high end bokers amongst others. there is really no one that has a bevy of high end knives in Chicago save for stores that carry wiliam henry. you guys are going to hate me but recently I went to a gun shop to buy what else a gun. he had a very old walker. I collect walkers. I said how much he said $1,000! just to be a jerk I offered him $900 and he took it. I am not kidding about this. you occasionally run into the fellow that has no clue. otherwise you could looking all over the suburbs. I got a few deals on wm. abt blew them out at one point. nothing like that walker though. you would think a city as big as Chicago would have a high end knife shop. mostly you find this stuff at gun shops. oh, gat guns and some place by Statesville the name escapes me. I get around. just throwing out places one can get knives since the op is from here. heck, just get a custom lol.
 
If you'd like to have $400 plus change left over a Spyderco Gayle Bradley could fit the bill. Maybe pop for some nice aftermarket scales for pizazz.





Of course as mentioned a (D/A) Vallotton is a nice option too:
 
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