First Nice Folder - Assisted Opener

A

aveadams

Joined
Sep 14, 2006
Messages
1
Hello all.

I'm new to the forum and have newly discovered my fascination with knives. I have always carried a knife but its just been there - never really given much thought to it.

I've decided that I want to purchase a nice folder. My criteria for selection are:

-Assisted Opener - I had never owned an ao knife until the Gerber Presto. I love the ao feature, and I love my presto even though I recognize that it ain't the best knife. I definitely want an ao.

-Good steel - Goes without saying I suppose... I want a blade that will take a razor's edge and hold it fairly well. I also of course don't want a brittle blade.

-Non-Serrated - I don't care for serrated edges much. I don't think this will be a limiting criterion.

-Overall Quality - Yeah.

What other criteria should I concern myself with (assuming price isn't a concern - it is, but I'm willing to pay for the right knife)

I have sort of narrowed it down to a few knives. I say sort of because I haven't really discounted anything.

-Camillus Dominator
I have read good things about this knife. The only negative I have come across is that the blade can chip easily. Does anyone know if this is true, and if so is it a manufacturer defect that Camillus would fix if it chipped? It also comes in clip point and tanto style. Based on looks, tanto wins. What else should I consider?


-Kershaw Spec Bump
Again, I have read good things about this knife. I am a little leary of it because of the recurved blade. I have never owned a recurve, and have no first hand knowledge of the plusses and minuses of a recurve. I am a novice sharpener, and the recurve concerns me for this reason also.

-Randall King Phantom Reflex
I don't know much about htis knife. I read one reveiw where the reviewer said they loved it. I also read a review that said it came dull, and the manufacturer was unresponsive. That account turns me off from this knife, but I don't know enough about the knife to disqualify it. Based purely on looks, this knife wins, but looks definitely aren't my primary concern.

-Kershaw Leek
Read good things. Price is right. Price is so right it makes me wonder what it's lacking...

What other models should I be considering? I have done tons of research, but I think I am more confused now than I was before I read anything. Any assistance is greatly appreaciated.

Thanks,
-AA
 
If price isn't that much of an issue:

Camillus Dominator: Camillus is going through some issues and may shut down last I heard. Some people want to get them before they run out, others are avoiding them because if Camillus does go belly up there won't be any customer service if there's an issue with the knives.

If you like the Dominator and have a bigger budget, then you'll love Darrell Ralph's other knives (he's the guy who designed the Dominator):
DDR Gunhammer MT, TG or EDC-X http://www.darrelralph.com/1mainframe.htm
Combat Elite's Rapid Response Folders http://www.combatelite.com/1_mainframe.htm?about.shtml~main
Check out this thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=423840

If you like Kershaw's Spec Bump, you might like Kershaw Green or Blue Bumps (found on eBay) and you'll also love Ken custom knives:
http://www.kenonionknives.com/past_knives.htm
http://www.kenonionknives.com/index.htm
You may also like to know that Ken Onion is the inventor of the AO mechanism. He has other designs like the Offset at Kershaw and

The Leek: At this point, Kershaw has an excellent selection for the leek line. A lot of the cheaper Leeks you've seen are probably the less favored steel versions. The s30v and zdp-189 versions are considered premier steels and are priced accordingly. BTW Kershaw has excellent customer service. Thomas frequents these forums regularly.

Benchmade has the Apparition. I personally didn't like it, the blade was too hard for me to open. However it's gotten some pretty good reviews.

SOG has a few AOs, but I haven't tried them.

For AOs, I'd go with a Ralph or Onion design.
 
If I could have just one AO knife, it would be the Kershaw Leek in Polished G10

http://newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=5266
KS_1660PG.jpg
 
Go with a leek, don't matter what type. I have been edc a leek for the last year and love it. And the price is right.
 
The newer Leeks with S30V would be a good place to start for AO knives. If you want to go up a level, so to speak, the Ti handled Bumps are very nice.
 
My two favs in the AO world right now are the Blue (or green) Bump and Avalanche.

The Blue Bump is probably my favorite, but cost twice as much as the Avalanche.
It's got a real custom feel to it, what with its shiny anodized titanium in alternating bands of color. The ribbing on the titanium makes it much grippier than other titanium knives I've had too. It's extremely comfortable, has an extremely thick framelock, and I really like the flipper. Its got an S30V recurve blade that, weirdly enough, is very practical. You can pick these up online for about 170ish. It's a little too big for me, that's my only real complaint.

ksbump.jpg


The Avalanche is a much more affordable knife, offering G10 and S30V for about 85 online. The G10 is some of the best textured I've ever used, and I've used quite a bit....it's very rough and attractive. It's got tip up and down carry options. I really like the one sided thumbstud, although I understand that this would drive lefties insane. This knife is a much more reasonable size at just over a 3 inch blade. It's quite a bit more plain than the Bump, but you know, I like having a good all black understated folder. While I'm a very big recurve fan, you mention some concerns about them, and this guy has a conventional drop point. Although I still recommend recurve knives where you can get them.

Kershav-Avalanche-D.jpg


I also rather like the Benchmade apparition.
 
aveadams said:
Assisted Opener - I had never owned an ao knife until the Gerber Presto. I love the ao feature, and I love my presto even though I recognize that it ain't the best knife. I definitely want an ao.

-Good steel - Goes without saying I suppose... I want a blade that will take a razor's edge and hold it fairly well. I also of course don't want a brittle blade.

-Non-Serrated - I don't care for serrated edges much. I don't think this will be a limiting criterion.

-Overall Quality - Yeah.

-Kershaw Spec Bump
Again, I have read good things about this knife. I am a little leary of it because of the recurved blade. I have never owned a recurve, and have no first hand knowledge of the plusses and minuses of a recurve. I am a novice sharpener, and the recurve concerns me for this reason also.

-Kershaw Leek
Read good things. Price is right. Price is so right it makes me wonder what it's lacking...
Click to expand...

The Leek lacks nothing IMO. I carry the Spec Bump and the ZDP Leek daily.

P8292364.jpg


The SB cost me a little over $100 on Ebay, and I got the ZDP Leek on the forums here for $135. Great investments!
 
so guys u'd recommend the leek over the onion? the last one is prettier and more good looking to me.

what would you buy,what would u suggest me?

thank you!
 
ive got the sog flash II, leek in g10 s30v steel and a camillus heat and i love them all.
if i had to pick one for an edc... it would have to be the leek with the s30v.
the blade geometry just works really well for everyday use.
 
I have the Kershaw Chive, the Kershaw Scallion, and the SOG Twitch II. I like the AO on the SOG better than the Kershaw AO, and I like the SOG framelock better than the Kershaw linerlocks. Plus I think it's a classier looking knife. Of course, if you are looking to spend more money, you have some really nice options in several brands.
 
I absolutely hate Kershaw knives.
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(jeff), I'm a bit confused with your hate, as you have posted these comments in the past. :confused:
I have a Storm II and I really love it.
Click to expand...
Good work Kershaw
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Look into a Kershaw Blackout. I have one and I love it.
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I have a Kershaw Blackout and a Vapor that I like very much.
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strangely enough you have also said things like this :confused:
I've held a Storm, Vapor, Chive, Leek, and some other sort of Kershaw, and every single one of them were absolutely horrible. The lock-up on all of them didn't even seem safe, they all felt poorly made, and just appeared "cheap".
Click to expand...
Not to mention Kershaw knives are complete ****..........
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As a fairly new member to the forums, I would look to be a bit more focused on what and how you post around here. With the above statements you have made, it makes it difficult for anyone to take you serious.
Bi-Polar postings like yours usually draw a lot of attention, and can get you put on an unflattering forum list set aside for a chosen and deserving few.
I guess there is such a thing as a love/hate relationship:cool:
 
I got a sogII and seemed to enjoy it.The safety on it is a joke to use but other than that its a quality kinfe for around half a bill.:)
 
You can't go wrong with any Kershaw AO in my opinion. I now own 9 different versions and am very happy with each every one of them. Depending on what use you have for the knife I would highly recommend the Leek in any of it's various forms or a Whirlwind/Avalanche/Blackout.
 
(jeff) said:
I would go with an SOG Flash II. I absolutely hate Kershaw knives.
Click to expand...

That is sort of a gross generalization, sort of like saying "I absolutely hate food".:confused:

What models do you hate, and why?

Do you hate the company itself, for specific reasons, and why?

Kershaw has always been an innovative company, and have just completely been ramping up the new creations, processes and designs in the last few years, and HAVE NOT been shipping everything off the China to get the cheapest deal. That in itself is notable, don't you think?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
You would do good with a Zero Tolerance knife.G10 and titanium framelock with s30v steel.They are on the large side though.
zt0300tad_main_72.jpg
 
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