Folder makers who focus on ultra high cutting performance

I've been shocked at how this thing cuts, and cuts, and cuts, and cuts, and cuts...

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Interesting thread - I’m always looking forward to seeing new ideas/designs/materials.

Have you heard of Rahven knives? They don’t have a folder yet (just kitchen knives), but if/when they do I’ll definitely get one.

They are an offshoot company done by Roman of Kase/KSwiss knives using “High Impact Ceramic”, and so far I’m extremely impressed.

I bought this utility knife 16 months ago and my wife and I have been using it occasionally (probably once/twice per week on some veggies) in the kitchen since then.

I sharpened it, once, when I first got it - just a touch up really - and got it pretty sharp but nothing crazy.

Haven’t touched it up at all for over a YEAR of normal kitchen use. Not QUITE as sharp now, but no edge damage at all.

Blows all my other blades out of the water in edge retention.

I just checked again and it’s still slicing newsprint fairly cleanly.

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scdub said:
Interesting thread - I’m always looking forward to seeing new ideas/designs/materials.

Have you heard of Rahven knives? They don’t have a folder yet (just kitchen knives), but if/when they do I’ll definitely get one.

They are an offshoot company done by Roman of Kase/KSwiss knives using “High Impact Ceramic”, and so far I’m extremely impressed.

I bought this utility knife 16 months ago and my wife and I have been using it occasionally (probably once/twice per week on some veggies) in the kitchen since then.

I sharpened it, once, when I first got it - just a touch up really - and got it pretty sharp but nothing crazy.

Haven’t touched it up at all for over a YEAR of normal kitchen use. Not QUITE as sharp now, but no edge damage at all.

Blows all my other blades out of the water in edge retention.

I just checked again and it’s still slicing newsprint fairly cleanly.

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A lot of people don't get that geometry counts for more than anything else when it cuts to things like edge retention. My parents kitchen knives that hadn't been sharpened once since they were bought at least 10 years ago were still roughly cutting printer paper when I tested them recently, now that's not to say they didn't benefit greatly from a sharpening, but a thin knife will always cut exponentially better than a thicker one and stay sharp far longer. That's why I always advocate if one must get a sharpened prybar type knife, at least put a thin edge on it, even something as simple as thin geometry at the edge of a thick knife can mean a night and day difference in cutting performance.
 
Here what I got so far, but it didn't help me for still being confused: high performance cutting is kinda not exactly slicing,and not even slicing AND push cut, but something broader/different. Seemingly this 'thing' is unclear not only to me, but to others as well since edge retention and toughness are involved in the discussion. Does the OP is asking for a sharp knife recommendation?
 
One that I haven't seen mentioned yet in this thread is Murray Carter. He's been focusing on straight cutting power using more traditional techniques for a lonnnnnng time. He's one of the pioneers of this genre in my mind. I suppose it's because he's not a folder maker. Nevertheless, if you haven't ever had a knife of his brancron brancron , you might be interested.
 
The original question is out of my league due to my budget restrictions but I would also add that if you have a knife you like, maybe just do a regrind so it cuts better?

Tom Krein and Josh at Razors edge do great work from what I've read here at BFs. I'm sure there are other makes that do it too.
 
An inexpensive knife that has im[pressed me in regards to performance is the Hogue Deka in magnacut. They heat treat seems really well done, and the blade is very thin and slicey. Being magnacut, it is tough enough to not be prone to chipping.
 
gazz98 said:
The original question is out of my league due to my budget restrictions but I would also add that if you have a knife you like, maybe just do a regrind so it cuts better?

Tom Krein and Josh at Razors edge do great work from what I've read here at BFs. I'm sure there are other makes that do it too.
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You are spot on there! Here are a couple of my ZTs with regrinds by REK and Krein:

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The 0450 has a polished vintage linen Micarta scale by Steve Ketchen, and a regrind, oxi-darkened scale, acid washed clip/clip hardware, and sand-blasted standoffs by REK. The 0235 has a regrind by Krein, green canvas micarta scales and a 3d-machined Ti clip by Ripp's Garage Tech, and a cerakote job by REC Custom Shop.
 
I only have 2 folding knives. One of them is a Spyderco Caribbean in LC200N. They ground it thin. Excellent slicer with respectable wear resistance. I’ve only had to touch up sharpen, never remove dings and waves. That’s a sign. I like LC200N for this application. Opening and closing is still smooth after all these years. I’ve never used it hard like I do with my field/woods knives. It’s not designed for that. So I can’t comment about real world hard use in the woods and trails.

You didn’t ask about fixed. I can say the thinnest and most durable knife I have was made by Big Chris. Custom ground to my spec. We took 0.080” M4 stock to 0.017 behind the edge with 17 degree primary bevels. It withstands hard use to this day while being able to slice. Outstanding wear resistance. I’ve never witnessed higher performance. Dude makes the best knives. I’ve been there since the B stamp era. He’s only gotten better. He’s going to be a knife grandpa, he’ll make it that long.
 
Folders - Nathawut (Custom), Spyderco (Production)
Fixed - Phil Wilson & Chris "Big Chris" Berry (Custom)
 
brancron said:
I guess I should have clarified that I meant for "general cutting" purposes. I know that's not much of a clarification but it's the best I can do.

But just to take one example, an SPK Lamia in CPM Cruwear with an optimized heat treat, with high hardness and high toughness, with a very thinly ground edge at a low edge angle, is going to out-perform the vast majority of knives at the majority of cutting tasks. Maybe there are certain special cases where you'd want something different, but in most cases thin, hard and tough is going to win the day. So for that reason I didn't feel the need to specify the use cases. And we're talking about folders specifically, so there's not as much variation (at least in my mind) in types of use as you'd get with fixed blades.
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Within your parameters a good hollow ground in a tough steel will beat anything else, in particular with a straight edge. In that spirit, my best cutting folders are my REK Kuros in Cruwear and my Spyderco GB[12] in M4.

For fixed blades I have a 6” hollow ground Seax from Hydra Knives in Sleipner, that should be an outstanding cutter, not used a lot so far though. Scary sharp (and impressive tip).
 
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