converting non knife people, his first

V

Vilarenso

Joined
Jan 2, 2014
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hey all I was able to convert another guy to the community!!
So, about 2 weeks ago made a thread a bout my old roommate sawing through cardboard with my Benchmade. well sadly he is gone and a new shipmate claimed his rack. Earlier today he came back from the showers and was putting things away he asked me about my Burchtree i had laying on my desk because he was curious if i knew anything about knives, he is thinking of getting one but is on the fence about it.
Well, you all know the feeling you get when someone asks you about knives in general who barely know what CRKT is. so i spent a good hour or two explaining the basics, and i mean really basics, about what he should look for when hes getting his first EDC. while we were taking about this and showing him different production folders and such, mostly on here haha, i managed to stumble upon a youtube clip that sold him on needing one. it was a CS destruction test.
He isnt interested in doing that extreme of use to his knife nor is he interested in getting a CS, what sold him was the slicing ability a good knife has.



Now the meat and potatoes of this thread, I gave him a list of options ( listed below), but im interested to what all you fine folks would recommend
he doesn't want to spend more than $60,

my suggestions
Rat 1/2, zancudo
buck vantage, 110
spyderco, tenacious, persistance, kiwi, delica, pacific/atlantic, delica, endura
anything Victornox in the price range
ckt m16/21, drifter, swindle, ripple
benchmade minigrip, if he can find one for the price
a few Mantis knives, just for kicks
Kershaw, all with in price range (aka 90% of products*)



*ZT
 
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Buck Vantage Force Select. I got one of the Vantage Force Selects to try it out as a poor man's ZT 0566 replacement. For a $40 knife, it has held up well to light and moderate use. 420HC is an easy steel to sharpen too. Also, that knife is made in the USA, if that matters to you or your friend.

Some people have been critical of the Vantage series, but the Vantage Force knives have thicker liners. Granted, its a $40 knife, so don't expect the fit and finish to match various Benchmades, ZTs, and Spyderco's. If your friend doesn't like/looses this knife, he's only out around $40 too.
 
I have a decent appreciation for mantis knives. their MT-1 & MTF-4ti/b are surprisingly durable knives & their heat treat on their 42hc is as good as any buck knife
 
Well if he was impressed by slicing and thats what his main want is, delica/endura in FFG is the way to go.
 
Its too bad he doesnt want a CS. I stayed away from them for years and bought many many expensive knives. Then one day I bought a code 4 from CS and its been my favorite EDC since and I´ve picked up a few other CS folders as well which I also love. They really do make some excellent folder even if they got a bad reputation in the community.

That being said if he´s not interested in them there is nothing wrong with that. Personally I would recommend anything from spyderco with a flat grind. Their flat ground models are great for EDC tasks and many of these models would also function well in a self defense situation if that is something worth considering for him. Both the Tenacious and the Persistance should serve him well. The salt series is also awesome.
 
Utilitac II or Rat 1.

personally I would recommend a Voyager clip point for EDC even though he is not interested in CS.
 
I recommend the Tenacious. He'll love it and when you tell him that the Para 2 is ten times better he won't be able to resist getting one. Soon his collection will surpass yours. Anyway, my roommate knows nothing about knives, so when he asks me to borrow one, I make sure he knows how to disengage the lock. This is because the first time, he started pushing the liner the wrong way!! I almost decided never to lend it again, but I figured he can be taught.
 
Just got a Buck Vantage (whatever the base model is called) and it is great. The handle is very comfortable and is long enough to grip securely and slender enough to be un noticeable in the pocket. The pocket clip is great and can be taken in and out of the pocket easily. The flipper is unobtrusive but works just fine. The edge is great, easily the sharpest I have received from factory yet, I am impressed. Locks up great, the liner is thick enough to make me confident but still "user friendly" when disengaging. The only criticism I have identified thus far is that the inside of the thumb opening slot is very sharp, I will have to chamfer the edges with a needle file. I don't have long term experience with it yet, but enjoy it so far.
 
eb1118 said:
I recommend the Tenacious. He'll love it and when you tell him that the Para 2 is ten times better he won't be able to resist getting one. Soon his collection will surpass yours.
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Since you said he'd like a good "slicer" I have to agree on the Spyderco (Delica, Tenacious). He'll get to start with a knife with decent ergonomics, decent performance, easy to maintain.

Plus, Spydies have such a classic profile and blade shape that it'll get noticed by other blade addicts. The compliments he'll get will provide additional positive reinforcement thus helping to ensure the spiral of addiction takes hold - I mean hobby ;)

Elisabeth
 
Delica, Grip(if he can find on at his price point), Rat-1/2, would be my recommendations.
 
Did you really spend almost 2 hours talking about the basics of what to look for in an EDC? That immediately conjured up an image from the movie Caddyshack with Carl Spackler with a pitchfork. :)
 
Cold Steel Recon 1. Seriously. They are one of the best "bang for the buck" knives out there.

Failing that, I'd have to go with a Spydie Endura FFG or Rat 1.
 
What? no love for Kershaw?

Thermite
Emerson colabs
Cryo
Leek
Skyline
Blur

That being said. If he can get a Grip or Mini Grip, that would be top choice in my book. He'll spend hours flicking with that axis lock.
 
If the slicing ability of a good knife is what interest him it's hard to surpass a lot of traditional slipjoints. SAK's are an easy reccomendation, of them I personally like their smaller pen knives (Wenger Patriot, and Victorinox has a version as well) as well as the Cadet, Compact, and Recruit.

Sounds like your in the Navy or something along those lines so a stainless steel knife would be good. SAK's are quite corrosion resistant which is a plus. The carbon steel blades in traditionals I would personally avoid in that enviroment. Most companies put a stainless steel blade even for traditional knives. Personally my next pick would be a Buck Stockman in 420HC (USA made, not the 420j2 those are made in china and steel is inferior. You can find out which ones have this steel on their website as most sites have the steels mislabled.). The stockman pattern is very practical and will provide 3 good blades that suit a variety of purposes and from a pure performance standpoint it's hard to beat the versatility and the 420HC is a well rounded steel with a superb heat treat from Buck.

For a pure slicer there is the Opinel, their just hard to beat for their slicing ability there is no way around it. Pick a size and grab it in stainless steel an he be set.

Reason why I didn't reccomend any of the more modern knives is that you convinced him by the performance of a knife and from my experience a nice slim blade can slice through things far better than the thicker blades of a lot of our more modern knives. My Spyderco Mule Team 18 can't even come close to matching my $4 Victorinox paring knife, opinel, SAK's, etc when cutting up cardboard in terms of ease of use. The only part where that knife is superior is in edge retention due to the S110V blade and that knife is a good slicer.

Just teach him how to sharpen a knife properly, I have found that a lot of knives factory edges are lacking. My Wenger Patriot came as dull as a butter knife, and so did a lot of others but a quick reprofile will bring out it's true performance and make these knives shine :thumbup:.
 
LastRodeo said:
...and the Llama is leaving me his Sebenza, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
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'Big tipper'. Carl says the Llama was a 'big tipper'. Pretty sure.

Ted Knight was one of the most highly decorated (living) combat infantry vets of WW2. Came home after whippin' Hitler and took up acting.
 
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