Checked out some knives need opinions

T

twhman

Joined
Dec 7, 2006
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I am looking at for a folder for EDC carry to work and around the farm. I was looking seriously at a Spyderco or a Buck. On Friday I went to the local gun show and actually handled a number of knives for about 4 hours. I think I may have only confused myself. I was not that happy with the Buck and the Spyderco were okay.

BM Mini Griptilian = I was not even seriously considering a BM (I thought they were a little pricey for what you got), however, I have seen the MG listed here many times as a great knife. I handled one and thought it was a great knife - felt right in my hand and a nice size for EDC. Like the axis lock. The only issue was many dealers did not even have them and the ones that did had mostly 440C. One dealer had one 154CM but it was in yellow (not for me thank you). I know them made some in 154CM and a few in D2 from the posts on this site. I really think I would like the D2 plain edge in this knife. This appears to be a no risk pick here in D2 if I can find it.

Lone Wolf Harsey T1 Tactical = One dealer had this in the carbon fiber with a3 1/4" S30V blade. Dealer said it was superior to the Spyderco knives that I was considering close to a BM in quality. I liked this knife it seemed very well made. I was not familier with Lone Wolf at the time of the show - but I did some research over the weekend. Looks think there is some QC issues on some of these knives, however, I am not sure the issue was with the T1s. Wish I could check out at T1 now to see if I see the same problems. Don't have an issue with linerlocks but I know a lot of posters here don't care for them. Overall this was a great looking knife and a okay size for me to pocket carry. Good steel (maybe better than D2 but that could be aurgued all day).

Schatt and Morgan Mountain Man or Gunstock = These looked like very high quality knives I did not get a chance to spend much time with these. I guess I wasted to much time looking at other things - I could spend an entire day at these things. These were super looking with the bone scales and I believe are AUS-34 steel so very good steel and lockback seemed strong and secure. Did not seem very sharp but I should be able to take care of that. Made in PA were I grew up and close to where I went to college. These would be easy for pocket carry and I could put a layard on the MM. I think out of these two I would take the MM but not certain about that. From the posts here it looks like quality is hit and miss - blade wobble issues I believe. They also seem a little hard to find. Great looker though.

Queen Mountain Man = I did find one of these on-line but not at the show. Basically a entry level Mountain Man but in the good old D2 steel. Probably same QC issues as the SM.

Is it possible to go to a reputable on-line dealer and have them look at the knives they have in stock and look to make sure what they have in stock does not have quality issues? Or are most just interested in selling a knife so not much help in making sure you get a good one. I guess if you get a poor one you can always send it back to the company and have them try to fix it - but that could take time and really should not have to happen.

I would appreciate everyones input on these knives I am especially interested in the quality control issues on the Lone Wolf and SM/Queens. It seems like the BM is the no brainer practical choice here - but it is a little boring compared to the others. However, maybe for an EDC I should buy the practical knife - kind of like a good old reliable pickup truck that never lets you down.
 
Working around a farm, I think you would be best off with a slipjoint or a lockback, less of a problem with dirt getting into the works. A liner lock and axis lock have small parts inside the handle.

I don't believe you're likely to have problems with a Queen slipjoint.

You can always call a dealer and ask if they would check out a particular knife for you. There are a lot of reliable online dealers that people here recommend, like

www.1sks.com
www.knifeworks.com
www.newgraham.com
www.knifecenter.com
 
I have mini-grips in D2 (Cabelas) and S30V (Ritter), and they are great knives. You can't go wrong with either.

Which Spydercos did you handle? Some are definitely better than others. One of my favorites these days is the Paramilitary.

I also have a number of knives from Queen. QC hasn't been too much of an issue with them, although the two Mountain Man lockbacks that I have purchased did have a small amount of blade play. Get your Queen knives from Bill Horn at Cumberland Knife Works (www.cumberlandknifeworks.com), and ask Bill to look it over before shipping.
 
I would stick with the 154CM or S30V knives based on personal preference and style of knife you mentioned.

As to Harsey being able to top Spyderco in workmanship, thats speculative and hype, don't buy in. I have a Spydie military and you'd be very hard pressed to find a knife so capable for the money.

In your shoes I would give a long hard thought to a lockback the Buck 110 S30V out of Cabelas comes to mind as does a Spyderco Manix.

Good Luck either way.
 
Try the bm 710 in d2 its an excellent knife or the spyderco manix in s30v both are tough as hell and nice looking.
 
I've never had any QC issues with Queen/S&M. There are lots of patterns to pick from for what you want in blade size/profile.

The Griptilian is going to be the easiest to open and close with one hand of the models you mentioned. Depending on your daily work needs for using a knife, this could be a deciding factor.
 
If you are considering the BM mini grip, it would be worthwhile to at least check out a Spyderco Native in S30V at walmart. It might not be exactly what you are looking for, but it should be easy to check one out and its hard to pass up that quality steel for the price.

schiesz
 
Thanks for the responses so far. I thought there would be many more recommendations for the mini-grip.

I was able to check out the Spyderco Native at Wally World last week. That is a very nice knife for the money. I was really leaning toward that knife becauseof the bang for the buck. Then I looked at the BM Mini-Grip and thought the BM fit the hand better and I liked the axis lock - of course it is almost twice the money. Gotta agree that the Spyderco is tough to beat a the WW price.

I am glad to see that the MM is getting good feedback some I had read earlier was mixed.

I am still curious about the Lone Wolf.
 
There's another Lone Wolf thread currently in this forum. Take a look there. I also had a Lone Wolf thread from a few weeks ago as I'm also looking to pick one up. From what I've found, the QC issues seems more associated with Lone Wolf's old auto models and not their Harsey line. It seems we share the same preference in size of EDC folders. My friend has all the Mini-Grips (555, 556, 557). Action, as you know, is super smooth. Handle shape feels good in the hand and grippy, but the handle feels cheap to me (but that's a matter of preference). Because I've been able to experience the various MGs from my friend, I felt the slight additional cost of the Lone Wolf T1 isn't too much more to try out a hopefully nicer feeling handle and from what T1 and T2 owners have told me, the handle ergos and feel of the materials is very nice.
The Native is a nice knife also, especially for the price. Again, the handles feel cheap and do flex (no steel liners, but even Delica handles flex and those have steel liners). Great steel and the Native is actually one of the few Spyderco designs I like because it's much more compact and not nearly as wide as most other spydie designs. That's one thing I look at for my EDC, width, as it takes up real estate in my pocket. They also tend to be thicker than most of my other folders which takes up more real-estate. The Spyderco VieleII is a very nice folder that can be had for <$100 now with a nice G10 scale on the inside and a Micarta scale on the outside. It's also less wide than the typical Spyderco like the Native and is very smooth (liner lock).
You might also want to look at some Kershaw folders. The Avalanche is very nice, with a longer handle (4.5") made of G10 to fit larger hands and an S30V blade. It feels quite nice in the hand, but it's bigger than I want to carry. It has assisted opening which you may or may not like. The Mini-Cyclone also feels quite nice, but has aluminum scales. It's also assisted, but has a feature to turn off the assisted open.
Oh, last note...for the MG, don't discount the 440C. My friend's 557 is 440C and it's sharp! It came out of the box sharper than either of his 154CM ones and you can't really tell a difference in use between the two.
 
I got a Lone Wolf T1 in the mail yesterday, and it is sitting in front of me right now. Seems to lock up very solidly, the CF looks very nice, and the blade came sharp, but toothy. I stropped it some last night, but I feel that the bevel is a bit conservative (i think about 25ish deg per side) and I might just convex the edge and see how it performs.
for the fact it is over a 3" blade, the knife when folded is very compact, not much of a difference between it and my Benchmade 14210. The cf is smooth on the surface, but due to how it is shaped and the texture cuts along the edges, it grips remarkably well. I eviscerated a few soda cans that were laying around at work this morning, and a carboard box, and the blade didn't chip or scratch.
So far my impressions are very high!
I also have a 556mg.. and would highly recommend that line as well.
David
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Working around a farm, I think you would be best off with a slipjoint or a lockback, less of a problem with dirt getting into the works. A liner lock and axis lock have small parts inside the handle.

I don't believe you're likely to have problems with a Queen slipjoint.

You can always call a dealer and ask if they would check out a particular knife for you. There are a lot of reliable online dealers that people here recommend, like

www.1sks.com
www.knifeworks.com
www.newgraham.com
www.knifecenter.com
Click to expand...

I would tend to agree - I married a farmer's daughter:) This was before I really got into knives, but in thinking about this a bit and the work I did out there, a slippie or lockback, fixed blade in the truck/combine/whatever. I guess it would depend on the farm, but my experience was that crud gets into everything......:) Probably something that's easy to sharpen too. Cutting bale string/fertilizer bags is one thing, but scraping engine grease, manure, etc - edges tend go to pretty quick. IIRC, my father and brother -in-laws used the Shrade equivalent of the Buck 110 on their belts and some sort of an old kitchen knife (knives) in the truck. Couldn't tell - it looked like about an 8 inch chef's knife, but had been sharpened so many times, it looked like a boning knife:) Somewhere in the mix, there was a Buck 119 or something like it there - pretty rusted but just got sharpened and used - "tools" as the saying goes:D

- gord
 
JSR - You and I do seem to look at the same type of knives. I am seriously considering a T1 now. I did check out the other post. Very positive - had I saw that post a few days ago I probably would have purchased the one in CF at the gun show.

gordonk - Funny I do have a couple old steak knives laying around in the tractor shed and a beretta fixed blade hunder in my truck (but I don't abuse it) that I like.
 
I have many of the knives you mention and like them all. The mini-grip gets the most pocket time and the longer I have it, the more I like it. Mine is 154CM, but I tried to get a 440C too before they quit making them. I like D2 as well, but I don't think you can go wrong with this knife in any of those steels. If it was me, as hard as it sounds like you'll be using it, I would probably stay away from S30V- but I'm sure there's plenty here you would argue with that!

Enjoy your shopping and let us know what you get and how it holds up!

Mike
 
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