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Best starter knife at 100$?

Revival29 said:
What is your reasoning behind this?
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I know! I know!

It's becUse young people don't know quality and because they still have the mall ninja mentality. Coincidentally, these are also the ones that "bushcraft", "tactical" and "hunting" knives are marketed to
 
jobasha11 said:
If you could take a guess at the target audience for most of cold steel's products what would that be?
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So I guess when people ask for a knife recommendation, the first thing we should do is question their age so we can determine what company they should go with? Hey OP, if you are between 27-38 go with a spyderco, between 25-47 go with ZT, between 35-51 go with CRK. Did I do that right?
 
Another vote for spyderco resilience. Also, the cold steel voyager line has different blade shapes and sizes.

I own the resilience and a few of the voyagers, and have given them as gifts as well.

If your friend is wanting to get into knives, there's a good place to start.
 
you might try surfing over to knifecenter.com with him b/c you can narrow a search to just "production folders - US made - $50-100" and then narrow by lock type.
 
Revival29 said:
So I guess when people ask for a knife recommendation, the first thing we should do is question their age so we can determine what company they should go with? Hey OP, if you are between 27-38 go with a spyderco, between 25-47 go with ZT, between 35-51 go with CRK. Did I do that right?
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Look I was just talking about cold steel's appeal to a younger crowd. That makes sense. Your other comparisons have no reasoning behind them. He is also a first time buyer so "cool" is gonna be a factor in his decision. Or maybe Loctus was thinking aus8 would be the best steel in that category for someone with not a lot of sharpening experience.
 
jobasha11 said:
Look I was just talking about cold steel's appeal to a younger crowd. That makes sense. Your other comparisons have no reasoning behind them. He is also a first time buyer so "cool" is gonna be a factor in his decision. Or maybe Loctus was thinking aus8 would be the best steel in that category for someone with not a lot of sharpening experience.
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What I don't get is just because its his first knife, what makes you automatically assume that he is "young" and wants a "cool" knife? No where does the OP say his buddy's age. Only info he gave was that he was in the army for 6 years. Bottom line is that the OP asked for suggestions within a certain price point, it had nothing to do with age.
 
Revival29 said:
What I don't get is just because its his first knife, what makes you automatically assume that he is "young" and wants a "cool" knife? No where does the OP say his buddy's age. Only info he gave was that he was in the army for 6 years. Bottom line is that the OP asked for suggestions within a certain price point, it had nothing to do with age.
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Yea and he is 25 anyway. Not that that really matters since i see people in their late 40's carrying cold steels.
 
Motivated said:
Yea and he is 25 anyway. Not that that really matters since i see people in their late 40's carrying cold steels.
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Sorry for going off topic, I just didn't understand the reasoning behind the age thing. So you buddy interested in any of the recommendations so far?
 
Revival29 said:
Sorry for going off topic, I just didn't understand the reasoning behind the age thing. So you buddy interested in any of the recommendations so far?
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He likes some of the spydercos, he is going back and forth with the made in japan on the endura because he wants usa but associates japan with expensive kitchen knives that we have in a local kitchen supply store. He also likes the para 2 but feels more comfortable looking at back locks because his dad to this day still carries a buck 110 and old schrade lb7.
 
Money's a liquid asset... He'll have another $100 to spend again later I'm sure. I'd say, for a beginner, buya few cheap chinese blades off of that big auction site (you know the one) of different shapes and sizes. Aesthetics are only one facet of a knife. You'd hate to drop that much on a good looking blade only to find you hate carrying it(like my benchmade torrent). Use the cheapos: enlan, ganzo, sarenmu, etc. to figure out what you like carrying then invest in a high quality knife that ticks all the right boxes. Bladeshape, length, serrations, locking mechanism, handle material, ease of sharpening, pocket clip, thickness... There's a lot to consider and you'll have to carry them a bit to figure out what you like.
 
jobasha11 said:
Look I was just talking about cold steel's appeal to a younger crowd. That makes sense. Your other comparisons have no reasoning behind them. He is also a first time buyer so "cool" is gonna be a factor in his decision. Or maybe Loctus was thinking aus8 would be the best steel in that category for someone with not a lot of sharpening experience.
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Im 22 and i have never thought cold steel was "cool".... dont group me with Tacticoolians just because im young.
 
Well, if Benchmade's prices hadn't jumped so much recently, I'd have said save another $20 and get a Benchmade 710. That was my first real knife and it is still my favorite. It's big, slender so it rides in the pocket well and has one of the best locks in the business.
 
If he's all about USA, and in that price range, and a good, quality knife, I must go with a Benchmade Grip. IF he can get over the foreign made issue, then all day, every day, a Spyderco Delica or Endura. BTW, I understand and don't disapprove of the USA thing, just saying that some awesome knives come from over seas.
 
If it just has to be USA made and sub $100, then a Manix 2 or a standard Griptilian are the models that come first to mind.
 
Cold Steel american lawman or recon 1, he will be pleased. Big comfy handle, great blade shape, strong lock...what's not to love?
 
endura and delica are my favorites in that range. that is, if we are talking one handers.. some great case knives in the 40-70 range, and everybody needs a decent fixed blade, mora has some good value

just remembered the us made bit. I really think the seki and taiwan made spydercos will give the nicest production folders a run for their money.. but otherwise, there are some nice kershaws. can't go wrong with a skyline
 
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