Recommendation? Buying my first real knife...

somniloquist said:
A word of advice from one Canadian to another; if you are planning to buy a knife that can be opened with one hand (like the Crooked River), be sure to buy it from a Canadian dealer.

You could have problems importing it from outside of the country unless you take some peculiar and unintuitive precautions. Much simpler to buy locally.
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Thank you very much for that reminder! I remember 10 years ago having issues with a balisong trainer lol.

sabre cat said:
Love my Benchmade knives!

Not a big fan of the Crooked River myself but, I do like that one!
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Any that you may recommend?

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Thanks everyone! Loving how the community is so helpful and friendly!
 
How stuck are you on wanting wooden style handles? Another option is to get a zt, benchmade or spyderco you like and put custom scales on it. It's a great look but you're limiting your choice if you stick to that only. There's even s craftsman here on the forums who makes custom wood scales, take a look in the "knifemakers" section on the exchange.
 
Branden O'Donnell said:
Thank you very much for that reminder! I remember 10 years ago having issues with a balisong trainer lol.



Any that you may recommend?

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Thanks everyone! Loving how the community is so helpful and friendly!
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I have four full-size Griptilians in my collection.

Also have a 531. It was dropped from production last year but you can still find them.

I also like the Volli model.
Great slicer. I miss mine.
Should never have sold it.

The 535 Bugout is very popular. So is the Bailout model.

The Crooked River is a great knife. Get it if you want. It’s just not my thing.

If I may suggest a set of two knives. Your desired Crooked River and the Bugout. This would give you the larger CR for field work and the Bugout for light duty carry.

Add a multi-tool and a fixed blade down the road and you would be set.
 
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I recently purchased this Spyderco Delica 4 with mahogany pekkawood scales and absolutely love it. I am a rather large man and this knife is plenty big enough for me I do own 3 crooked rivers and they are a great knife as well!
 

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Weasipoint said:
How stuck are you on wanting wooden style handles? Another option is to get a zt, benchmade or spyderco you like and put custom scales on it. It's a great look but you're limiting your choice if you stick to that only. There's even s craftsman here on the forums who makes custom wood scales, take a look in the "knifemakers" section on the exchange.
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Not really stuck to the wood itself, but I love that look. Reminds me of the knives my Grandfather and father used to carry. My wife calls it a "sophisticated look". I defaulted to buy the griptilian and she kind of (innocently) teased me about its look, so I started considering the other options.

I hadn't considered the knifemakers. I figured it would be way out of my range.

sabre cat said:
Add a multi-tool and a fixed blade down the road and you would be set.
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Thank you for your reply! This is what I would like to accomplish over time.
 
East side Fatty said:
I recently purchased this Spyderco Delica 4 with mahogany pekkawood scales and absolutely love it. I am a rather large man and this knife is plenty big enough for me I do own 3 crooked rivers and they are a great knife as well!
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Wow, 3 crooked rivers? That speaks volumes!
Would you prefer the spyderco 4 over the crooked river or are they on par with one another?
 
I can understand that, alot of us buy knives for the nostalgia and because we have fond memories of them. One thing to consider also is do you typically use 1 or 2 hands when using your knife? The different companies tend to utilize different locks and some of them are better for 1 hand use than others. I tend to avoid spyderco (but they are great knives so please no one get upset i said something about spyderco :))because of the lockbacks and it being more difficult to use 1 handed, which most of fhe time at work im carrying something so only 1 hand is available. Not a huge deal but if youre only going with 1 knife for daily use then what youre doing with it and the type of lock are things to consider
 
sabre cat said:
Am I the only person that does not care for that model?

I like Benchmade’s. Just not that one.
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I don't know man! Over the past few years ogling all the knives I have, the CR was the first Benchmade to catch my eye. Some others... just haven't handled many. I found an Osborne 940, super used, then lost it. Great knife. I must admit I'm a sucker for the orange in the CR. Like that wood/orange contrast. And orange is easy to spot.

$200+ does seem high for S30V.
 
Depending on what role you’re looking for this knife to fill, there are a couple of more budget friendly options I’ll mention:

Opinel makes very old school, inexpensive knives with wooden handles, and they come with very thin blades that cut well and are easy to sharpen - especially for a new learner. Only concern is that the blade could potentially open during carry in a pocket so you’d need to solve that. Edit: just checked their website and apparently they have improved their lock to enable it to lock the knife closed now... Nice.

If you’re looking for a knife to use in an emergency, consider the Cold Steel folders using the tri-ad lock. Currently, the tri-ad lock is one of the most durable locks on the market - for any amount of money...

For pure utility I love my Cold Steel Tuff Lite.
 
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If you are willing to drop that kind of money on a knife, spend some money on a sharpening system (like a Sharpmaker) so you can really maintain and appreciate the knife ... then spend the rest on a knife (keep the cheap knives to practice sharpening on).

I don't have a Crooked River but in 20 years or so haven't had any issues with Benchmade's QC that I couldn't resolve myself.
 
If you're not opposed to a belt knife, these are good and affordable.

Buck 277 Alpha Hunter in Oak S30V steel $100

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Buck 556 Open Season 420 hc steel $70

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Might I suggest the indomitable Spyderco Para 3? This version, with M390 steel and Micarta scales, is one of my favorites. I just can't imagine a better EDC, but that's just me.

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The Crooked River is a pretty knife. I've held the full size....way too big for me to EDC comfortably, but the Mini Crooked River is one I could see myself adding to the collection some day.
 
Buck 110, 119, &103. Covers every need, lifetime warantee, all three still under your budget.
 
Not wood, but if you're looking for a ~4" blade, check out the Cold Steel Recon 1. Can also look at the AD10 and AD15, but the blades are a bit shorter. All are rock solid and well below your budget.
 
psquared said:
spend some money on a sharpening system (like a Sharpmaker)
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This is actually what I am most nervous about. Never sharpened anything before. Ever. I don't want to ruin the knife. Reason I leaned heavy towards benchmade was their warranty. Lifetime cleaning, sharpening and parts replacement.
Sending back the Crooked River once a year would be easy for me to live with.

JPD1998 said:
If you're not opposed to a belt knife, these are good and affordable.
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I tend to wear a lot of dress clothes day-to-day so a belt knife may not work for me. Possible to purchase a clip for those knives?

CarsonWayne said:
Might I suggest the indomitable Spyderco Para 3? This version, with M390 steel and Micarta scales
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Perhaps you can help me when it comes to the steel. I heard the S90V blade that I was looking at is very high quality and long lasting. Is "M390" comparable?
I may need to find a chart to keep track lol.

eveled said:
Buck 110, 119, &103.
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I have seen buck knives before. Seem to been around forever. Is their warranty similar to benchmade where you can send it in for sharpening/cleaning/repair?

jlauffer said:
Cold Steel Recon 1. Can also look at the AD10 and AD15
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Thank you! Loving all the options to select from.

I originally came for a quick yes or no and now I have 15 options on the table, I love it!
I don't want to be narrow-minded or ignorant.
 
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