Giving away my only knife (EDC since November 2009) and need something new

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Brutus013

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I've been carrying my Case Swayback Jack in CV since November 2009, but after a recent giveaway I am going to be left knife-less. I had a decent collection at one point but with money being tight I sold all but one, my favorite, the SBJ. My plan, sometime in the future when I have the funds, is to have a new, spiffy SBJ custom made by one of the fine makers on this forum, but until then I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive ($65 or less) to hold me over. I've found a few options and am looking for any experience any of you have with them, and I'm also very open to suggestions.

I don't like black very much, I don't want a blade much over 3", I only want steel that's at least 440C equivalent, and other than that I don't really have any requirements. So far he's what I've found:

Traditional:

AG Russell 3.0 Titanium Lockback - $35
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Queen Teardrop Linerlock - $57
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Kabar Dog's Head Trapper - $64
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Case Humpback Whittler in Dark Red and CV - $45
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One handed/pocket clips/"tactical':
Benchmade Lonewolf Swale - $64
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Buck Vantage Avid - Small - $30
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Boker Plus Exskelimoor II - $42
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Spyderco Delica 4 - $52
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(I put prices to put everything in context for you guys)

Any thoughts? I'm just going to be using it for pretty general EDC stuff around the house: Cutting food, opening boxes and mail, trimming strings and nails, etc.
 
I believe that Boker also makes a Titanium lock back. I've been considering one.
Also, since you don't mind a non locking blade, I would consider a SAK. I'm partial to the Alox models. Maybe an Electrician or Farmer.
 
Chris Pierce said:
I believe that Boker also makes a Titanium lock back. I've been considering one.
Also, since you don't mind a non locking blade, I would consider a SAK. I'm partial to the Alox models. Maybe an Electrician or Farmer.
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I used to carry a green Alox cadet and have been eyeing the alox Electrician, but their inox stainless just...isn't quite satisfactory for me. I mean they work, but this is going to be my only EDC for the forseeable future so I want some relatively premium blade steel.

A titanium lockback on that Boker sounds nice, though, I'll have to look into it...
 
I'm a Spyderco guy, but that Benchmade Swale looks sweet. After reading reviews on the Traditional thread, I drank the Kool-aid and ordered some Rough Riders. With the sales and a deal on shipping, I got five knives for about $55.00. Haven't arrived so I can't give an opinion. If you're looking for something to tide you over to the custom, you could try some different patterns to see what floats your boat. Probably not premium blade steel though.
 
I daily an endura with green scales. I have a change jar that now has around $200 in it, that I earmarked for a knife. I can't justify spending it. And I LOVE the thought of a higher end knife. But the endura just DOES it.
 
i love the delica however since you arent big on black i will throw in my other edc. take a look at a chive, i love the ss version.
 
Coyote3855 said:
I'm a Spyderco guy, but that Benchmade Swale looks sweet. After reading reviews on the Traditional thread, I drank the Kool-aid and ordered some Rough Riders. With the sales and a deal on shipping, I got five knives for about $55.00. Haven't arrived so I can't give an opinion. If you're looking for something to tide you over to the custom, you could try some different patterns to see what floats your boat. Probably not premium blade steel though.
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It is indeed to fill the gap until I can afford a custom, and that custom is probably going to be a fair ways away. Moneys is tight.
 
Coyote3855 said:
I'm a Spyderco guy, but that Benchmade Swale looks sweet. After reading reviews on the Traditional thread, I drank the Kool-aid and ordered some Rough Riders. With the sales and a deal on shipping, I got five knives for about $55.00. Haven't arrived so I can't give an opinion. If you're looking for something to tide you over to the custom, you could try some different patterns to see what floats your boat. Probably not premium blade steel though.
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I've had my share of cheap slippies, and while there's definitely nothing wrong with them I prefer a little bit of a nicer slipjoint nowadays. As far as I know the Rough Ryders are nice for the price but still a noticeable downgrade in quality from, for instance, the Case Swayback Jack (and, I excpect, the whittler I'm currently eyeing). And it is just to tide me over to the custom, but the custom is going to be quite a while. I'm a college student so I don't have a lot of spare cash. I'd rather have a quality knife that I will still enjoy using once I get my custom (after a while...probably a long while). The bonus is I won't mind using it for a little bit longer than I would had I saved the cash on the Rough Ryder.

thatotherguy said:
Coyote:
It's 440a. Decent user steel, sharpens very well.
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It sharpens well, but in my experience it doesn't hold an edge long enough to satisfy.

Liquidm1980 said:
i love the delica however since you arent big on black i will throw in my other edc. take a look at a chive, i love the ss version.
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One good thing about the Delica in this regard is the variety of colors available nowadays, so this isn't really a problem for me.

Coyote3855 said:
I'm a Spyderco guy, but that Benchmade Swale looks sweet. After reading reviews on the Traditional thread, I drank the Kool-aid and ordered some Rough Riders. With the sales and a deal on shipping, I got five knives for about $55.00. Haven't arrived so I can't give an opinion. If you're looking for something to tide you over to the custom, you could try some different patterns to see what floats your boat. Probably not premium blade steel though.
Click to expand...

It is indeed to fill the gap until I can afford a custom, and that custom is probably going to be a fair ways away. Moneys is tight.
 
Brutus013 said:
It is indeed to fill the gap until I can afford a custom, and that custom is probably going to be a fair ways away. Moneys is tight.
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I've got a Benchmade 555 Mini-grip you can borrow until you get a chance to pick up something else. It's black, but a black knife > no knife.
 
Considering where you come from (meaning the knife you've been using till today), I would suggest the Case humpack whittler or humpback stockman.
Otherwise, I have handled the AG Russell 3" Ti Lockback and it's a great knife and extremely thin and light too, so that would be my second choice.

:cool:
 
Can't go wrong with Case CV if you like that style. If you don't mind the more modern design, that Spyderco is a really nice knife as well.
 
I don't understand why SAK's steel isn't good enough. It's been my edc over a year and I don't plan on changing anytime soon. Maybe you have different cutting chores.:confused:

Out of the ones you list I would go with the Delica. Light, ergonomic, and has good edge geometry.
 
Spyderco Stretch ?

slightly bigger than the delica i see you considered, its light, has superior ergonomics, and is indeed a true slicer, from general utility to kitchen use.
 
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Shotgun said:
I don't understand why SAK's steel isn't good enough. It's been my edc over a year and I don't plan on changing anytime soon. Maybe you have different cutting chores.:confused:

Out of the ones you list I would go with the Delica. Light, ergonomic, and has good edge geometry.
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It's good enough for EDC, it will get the job done easily. The blade steel is pretty significantly worse when it comes to edge retention than something like VG10 or even 13C26, though. At least in my experience. It's the same reason I went with the CV over the stainless with the Swayback Jack and the Humpback Whittler; the steel is just better.
 
The Buck Vantage makes a great EDC knife and is very affordable. there are many different kinds. The Avid you posted is nice, but feels a little bulky. For $19, you can get a slimmer lighter buck vantage. Check out some of the on-line retailers so such as Knife Center.
 
Brutus013 said:
It's good enough for EDC, it will get the job done easily. The blade steel is pretty significantly worse when it comes to edge retention than something like VG10 or even 13C26, though. At least in my experience. It's the same reason I went with the CV over the stainless with the Swayback Jack and the Humpback Whittler; the steel is just better.
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Well that's true but I guess I haven't really noticed it to be lacking in day to day tasks. I still like the Delica out of the choices so far. Good luck with the search.
 
I Would Go With One Of The New FFG Color Scaled Delica 4's.
Or A Buck Vantage Pro - Has s30v Steel.
Or A Spyderco Native - Has s30v Steel.

All Under $60 And All Wonderful Knives. Though I'm A Spydie Girl.
 
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