Boyfriend's birthday coming up - looking for a heavy duty but small folder

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recordaras

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Jun 3, 2011
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Hi everyone,

My boyfriend's birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and I've spent the last couple of days trying to find the perfect EDC knife for him. This has resulted in frustration, aggravation and finally the realization that I need help with this if I don't want to end up just getting him a tie or something.

Here's a little bit of background:
- his current knife is an inexpensive semi-serrated Gerber that is now dull and full of sand after his deployment to Afghanistan. So I want something that comes in combo edge
- he isn't really knife-crazy (hence the state of his current knife), so I'm looking for a heavy-duty knife that he would actually use every day (so much for that Sebenza) and that wouldn't need too much special maintenance, and a steel that wouldn't be too soft or prone to stains/rust
- he has small hands and prefers small to medium-sized folders
- my budget is around $100, I could push it to $150, but something tells me that he'd be more careful with a $150 knife, and I just want something he'd use without thinking too much about it, like he does with his current one

So to sum all that up, I was hoping you knife gurus could recommend something that would fit comfortably in a smaller hand, be heavy duty and low-maintenance and within my price range. All your suggestions would really help me out!
 
You might try getting him a Spyderco Stretch II in ZDP-189 on the higher end, or even the regular VG-10 edition (both are great knives).
 
Thanks for your ideas everyone, it's incredibly helpful. Now just two questions:
- would liner lock be better than lockback in this case, or does it make no difference?
- does the Para Military come in combo edge? (My googling only brought me to plain edge options)
 
You can get him the Kershaw RAM with coated blade for under $70 and it is a heck of a knife for that, just the right size too!
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Take a look at the Spyderco Gayle Bradley. Price is about 130-150. Excellet steel, very strong liner lock, it's a little heavy but just a little more than the ZT 0350.
The GB is a very strong knife. cpm 4 steel holds a sharp edge a long time.
 
shaving sharp said:
This would be my vote also. I have one and it is a strong knife. If you really want to go heavy duty get the 0300 it is bigger and has metal handles.
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i believe OP said under $150 & preferably 100

Plus 1 on ZT350/ZT350ST for comboedge, very sweet deal for its price tag:thumbup:
 
Thanks everyone, I should have come here for advice before I started searching - that certainly would've saved me a lot of unnecessary frustration.
 
I can def. recommend the ZT350, gayle bradley, and para-military 2... but for my money.... spyderco manix 2 is one of my favorites, fits my (small-ish) hands incredibly well.
 
If you're willing to spend $150, my vote goes for a para and a sharpmaker. The lock back, in my opinion, might suffer from getting dirty, but then any knife will.

The sharpmaker is a nice easy way to maintain a good edge, and as long as you don't get a sprint run of the para in a more exotic steel, you won't need diamond rods I don't think
 
Cynic2701 said:
You might try getting him a Spyderco Stretch II in ZDP-189 on the higher end, or even the regular VG-10 edition (both are great knives).
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I've never owned a better "hard use" folder than the zdp stretch. I know that they exist, of course, just not that I've found at the Stretch's price point. I'm not sure but it may be a little big if his hands are really small though.


Edited to add: Its just one guy's opinion, and this might be opening a can of worms, but a lockback is better than a liner lock for a hard use knife.
 
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I think that the 0350 would be the best option if you want something heavy duty that still is pretty small. they can be had for about 110, so they are around your optimal price range, they are very chunky, the steel is very good, and the liner lock will be plenty strong for anything short of things that would make a fixed blade cry.
 
Just to second what everyone else has said, my vote is for the Para Military 2 or the ZT 0350. Para 2 carries a little easier and would look great with the black blade if you want to get him a more tactical looking "duty knife". The ZT0350 is a beast and is probably the toughest smallish folder you can buy in that price range. Both have excellent S30V and tough G10 scales.
 
If he's in the sandbox, frame lock would be a good idea. Linerlock would be your next best bet. Under normal circumstances, I'd recommend an AXIS or BBL or Tri-Ad. But simple is much better if there's sand.

Instead of the 0350, I would recommend a ZT0300 or 0550, which use a framelock. It's a simpler design lock, and will hold up very well, being much easier to clean. Suggest you contact kershawguy; he's got blems (models with VERY minor, nigh unnoticeable blemishes), for a nice price.
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
If he's in the sandbox, frame lock would be a good idea. Linerlock would be your next best bet. Under normal circumstances, I'd recommend an AXIS or BBL or Tri-Ad. But simple is much better if there's sand.

Instead of the 0350, I would recommend a ZT0300 or 0550, which use a framelock. It's a simpler design lock, and will hold up very well, being much easier to clean. Suggest you contact kershawguy; he's got blems (models with VERY minor, nigh unnoticeable blemishes), for a nice price.
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone!

Thank heavens he returned a couple of months ago, so hopefully sand won't be that much of an issue anymore. How much bigger are the 300 and 550 compared to the 350?

PS - the 550 is just such a gorgeous knife...
 
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