Heavy duty folder for ~$160 and under

Blade-fiend said:
I dont know what gen is it but amazon is selling the 0550 for 155
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I've heard bad things about Amazon.
CWIN said:
For your price range, I'd go with a Benchmade 810 Contego. Also, if you look in the exchange, ZT 0550/0560's are going for around $185.
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I hope 0550's aren't going for $185

But yeah, Dave (kershawguy) is a member on here, and almost everyone in the Kershaw/ZT subforum swear by him.(me included. Have had about 10 transactions with him) He ships super fast, and has great CS.
 
I havent had a problem with amazon yet I just got a lionsteel sr-1 from there but I agree for total piece of mind kershawguy is hard to beat
 
Got my Blur from Amazon, not one problem. Will get any Kershaws and ZTs from kershawguy now. But help, ZT 0550 or Adamas? They both seem like great knives but I just can't choose.
 
Having had most of the knives discussed in this thread I would say go with the 810 Contego. CPM M4 is tough as nails (they use that steel for competition choppers) and takes a great edge. Sure it's a carbon steel and not very rust resistant, but it comes with Cerakote which is a tough coating (much better than BK1.) When people talk about lock strength most of the time they forget that they have a better chance of snapping the blade or shearing the stop or pivot pin. I feel like CPM M4 is just a great steel for hard use applications. Not to mention it is pretty easy to sharpen and it keeps its edge VERY well as well as taking a very fine edge. With The Cerakote coating I feel it's the best choice for hard use. As for the knife itself it has good ergos (good with gloves) and you get a glass breaker which is always a plus in my book. Some might say it has some "hot spots" when cutting, but it never bothered me. Hope this helps!
 
I think it basically comes down to axis or frame lock which do you prefer? They both have great warrenties and very high level of quality and materials. I would inevitably get both but Id start with the ZT
 
Alphy said:
Having had most of the knives discussed in this thread I would say go with the 810 Contego. CPM M4 is tough as nails (they use that steel for competition choppers) and takes a great edge. Sure it's a carbon steel and not very rust resistant, but it comes with Cerakote which is a tough coating (much better than BK1.) When people talk about lock strength most of the time they forget that they have a better chance of snapping the blade or shearing the stop or pivot pin. I feel like CPM M4 is just a great steel for hard use applications. Not to mention it is pretty easy to sharpen and it keeps its edge VERY well as well as taking a very fine edge. With The Cerakote coating I feel it's the best choice for hard use. As for the knife itself it has good ergos (good with gloves) and you get a glass breaker which is always a plus in my book. Some might say it has some "hot spots" when cutting, but it never bothered me. Hope this helps!
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Ah a glassbreaker would be very helpful, currently an Explorer for my local FD so while I probably won't be smashing windows on a call anytime soon unless some asshat parks in front of a hydrant, but if I'm involved in a car crash or need to break a piece of glass then it'd be very helpful.

Still can't decide though, they all seem like great knives.
 
Don't get me wrong the 0550 is also a great knife. FANTASTIC ergos. In fact out of the hundreds of knives that I've owned it's second only to my Umnumzaan. However, when you griped the knife tight to open it it would make the blade hard to deploy because it would hold the lock bar (and therefore the detent ball) in. They may have fixed that in later versions of that knife though. Also the lock bar was "mushy" and sticky because it wasn't carbidized or treated. Also the grind was kind of thick for my liking and made slicing a problem. The knife was tough though and would take whatever you threw at it.
 
Alphy said:
Don't get me wrong the 0550 is also a great knife. FANTASTIC ergos. In fact out of the hundreds of knives that I've owned it's second only to my Umnumzaan. However, when you griped the knife tight to open it it would make the blade hard to deploy because it would hold the lock bar (and therefore the detent ball) in. They may have fixed that in later versions of that knife though. Also the lock bar was "mushy" and sticky because it wasn't carbidized or treated. Also the grind was kind of thick for my liking and made slicing a problem. The knife was tough though and would take whatever you threw at it.
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Don't grip it tight to open it then :confused: Or put the clip at tip down carry.
 
Another vote for ZT 0550!
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I trust Rick Hinderer's design for the Fire Service a bit more as he is a volunteer firefighter and his knife designs seemed more geared towards Fire/EMS work. I just started looking into his knife designs a bit more recently as I wanted a good knife for my firefighter 1 academy and work knife latter on and his designs fit the bill for what I wanted. Than looked into his designs more and it seems he thought through things far more than I ever did. Between the 2 I go with the ZT 0550.

Personally don't think the glass breaker is a deal breaker for me, we always have some type of tool on us to break a window if the need arises.
 
Yeah, all of our engines have dedicated glass kits so the glass breaker is kind of a plus. I didn't know that Rick was a volunteer, I keep seeing the recommendations for the ZT 0550 so I'll go with that. Also good look with FF1, one of the Explorers just got voted in as a Probie and will be going through it this summer. I'll hopefully go through Junior Firefighter school next year and then in 3 years I'll go through FF1.
 
Alright Blade HQ has the 0550 for $165 while Kershawguy is selling them for $199.95. Should I advise Kershawguy of that or just go with Blade HQ?
 
Thanks I am going through it at my local college, was going through it a few months ago but I got injured. Slight mistake on lifting a ladder which I never had the time to let heal so it just kept getting worse. My advice is master your Essentials of Firefighting book (if you don't own one, pick one up), everything is built up off of the knowledge you gain from that it seems.
 
Urdnot Wrex said:
Alright Blade HQ has the 0550 for $165 while Kershawguy is selling them for $199.95. Should I advise Kershawguy of that or just go with Blade HQ?
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Looking at the 0550 on Kershawguy's website it seems you have to contact him to price match, from a quick glance the only new 0550 it doesn't say that on is the limited edition one which mentions a repeat customer discount.
 
Bob6794 said:
Thanks I am going through it at my local college, was going through it a few months ago but I got injured. Slight mistake on lifting a ladder which I never had the time to let heal so it just kept getting worse. My advice is master your Essentials of Firefighting book (if you don't own one, pick one up), everything is built up off of the knowledge you gain from that it seems.
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My Explorer advisor gave us that book and the workbook as well, I'll be getting qualified to ride soon so I'm definitely gonna make sure I go over it again. I just contacted him about the price difference.
 
So the main differences between the adamas and 0550 are:

1)size: adamas is 8.7" w/ a 3.82"blade. 0550 is 8.125" w/ 3.5" blade.

2)weight: Adamas @ 7.7oz vs 0550 @ 5.8oz

3)steel: adamas d2 vs 0550 s35vn (adamas also has thicker blade stock; 0.16 vs 0.15)

4)lock type: axis vs. Frame lock

Good luck with whichever you choose!
 
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