Help for a total newcomer, and a chance for nostalgia.

E

evilspyperson

Joined
Dec 31, 2006
Messages
7
So, as you can see by my profile, I am a complete newbie to this site, and except a pocket knife from my cub scout days (two blade swiss army, as far as I can tell not very good, and I haven't actually carried it outside of a camping trip) and a very shoddy butterfly knife (not my purchase) I have no knife experience. I have been looking around the forums for a while, and I see a lot of great general use knives that I am looking into, but my question to all of you is this:

What was your first good or memorable knife, and do you think it was a good first good knife? What would you recommend to a complete newbie like me? (Remember, this isn't going to be just my first quality knife, for all intents and purposes it will be my first knife at all).

To give you an idea of where I am, I am looking for a folder that I can carry every day and open boxes with (I work at my uncle's warehouse on weekends, lots of boxes to open) but that will stand up to some heavier work if the occasion arises. From what I see both the Leek and the Blackout look very cool, and the BM 710 seems to be fairly well respected. Also, since Christmas just rolled around I am looking for about a max of $150, but I don't want to spend more of it than you think I should. (also, I am in FL, if that matters at all)

Thank you for any advice you can offer me.
 
So you got two questions. 1) my first good knife 2) an EDC recomendation.

1) My first good knife was a Buck Folding Hunter, now called a model 110. It was a good first knife for me. Things were a bit more open in '69 and I could carry it openly on my belt all over the place. It's probably not what you would want for your use.

2) I think a Benchmade Griptilian might be a good first knife for your usage. It's about a 3 1/2" blade. Very comfortable in the hand. Good steel. Secure lock. But I'm sure you will hear lots of recommendations for lots of different knives.

Welcome to Bladeforums.
 
My first good knife was a Victorinox Climber. Great knife and I still have it.
As for your edc question, the best way to pick a EDC is to handle some knives. Go to a sporting goods store and play around. You can buy a lot of knife for $150. Some good brands to consider:

Benchmade -makes the Griptilian, which is a superb knife for the money
Spyderco
Kershaw
Buck has a few good ones
CRKT has a few good ones

Look your potential edc over. Is it well made? Does it feel nice in your hand? Can you open and close it easily? Does it ride well in your pocket? Is it pleasing to your eye? Only YOU can answer those questions. Many people will offer their advice, but you make the decision. Oh, and be sure to write back and tell us what it was:D

Welcome to Bladeforums!
 
Almost any knife will work for opening boxes. A midsize Opinel with a carbon blade would be great. You can buy a mountain of them for $150.

In answer to your question, my first quality knife was also my first knife ever, a Schrade Old Timer 34OT. I still have it.

I suggest that as a new knife person (welcome, by the way), you not spend the $150 on one knife; spread it around and get some exposure to different knife styles, brands, and materials. Three $50 knives. One $60 knife, one $40 knife, two $20 knives, and a $10 knife. The possibilies are endless.

-Bob
 
My fist good Knife was a camillus boy scout three blade.

My first Tactical type was a small spyderco Rigid Which i believe later became known as the delica. I have carried spydercos almost exclusiveley since.

My latesd EDC is an Endura partially serrated, I keep a Delica and a Native around for times when something smaller seems more appropriate and highly recomend all three.
 
Welcome to the madness! There are tons of good knives out there to choose from. All you have to do is filter them out of the megatons of crap knives :D

The knife I still think of as my first "real" knife was an Al Mar Falcon I paid $79 for back in 1981. I had had a number of other pretty good knives before, including Gerber (before they sold out), Buck and Schrade, but that Al Mar was a real eye opener. Fit and finish better than anything else I had ever owned, razor sharp and held an edge great.

These days, I seem to be sticking with Spyderco. The last one I bought was the new British Racing Green Delica4 with ZDP-189 blade steel. One of those will certainly massacre a bunch of boxes before it needs to be sharpened.

Being in Florida, you might also want to consider Spyderco's Salt series knives, with H-1 blade steel. The entire knife is built to be completely rustproof, even around salt water ;)
 
Benchmade Griptillian or a 710 would make a great first knife. The 710 will have a sleeker handle made of G-10 and it carries a little nicer in the pocket. This was one of my first good knives and I carried it daily when I worked in retail and I used it everyday to open all kinds of packaging, boxes, etc. You'll probably also want to learn how to maintain the edge with something like a Spyderco Sharpmaker so you can get the most out of your knife.
 
There is a lot of knives for this price. I think you may enjoy as a first knife Spyderco Military, you may have BG42-CF for this price or bit bigger in NewGrapham.

But keep in mind that having knife pointless wihout good sharpening device, so think about Spyderco Sharpmaker. I think this combination will be realy good. You may choose regilar Military for less price and have it both with Sharpmaker for around $150 in Internet.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
My first good knife was a Buck 303 then I got a 110. Now I carry benchmade. A Griptilian or Mini Griptilian would be good to start maybe a 14210 or 520. I carry a 710.
 
My first good knife was a Buck 110.
You can get a Buck 110 and a Spyderco Native at Wally world and have enough left from your $150 to buy a Benchmade griptilian and a set of crock sticks. That would give you an excellent starting set of knives that are different from each other, but each excellent in it's own way.
Welcome aboard. Sit down, have a virtual beer, and enjoy!
 
Welcome to Bladeforums! :)

My first knife was so long ago, we used chipped flint in those days .. .. .. and we had to chip our own flint.
I still have the scars on my fingertips. :p

I suggest you get a SuperKnife for those boxes. It's made for that sort of work and will do it more safely and cleanly than many more expensive knives.

There are so many choices for an EDC, it's hard to know where to begin. Try something standard, either the Spyderco Endura or the Delica, which are the same knife in large and small versions, or the Spyderco Native. These are all good working knives, which would actually do well on those boxes, and general utility cutting besides.
 
My first memorable knife, about the age of 10, was a Case scout pattern given to me by my father, who carried a similar folder. I still carry one, have a small collection of them, rotate it with my Swiss Army Knife. I still like scouts and recommend them.

For opening boxes, I would say just get a box cutter/utility knife/sheetrock knife with replaceable razor blades, and save your real money for some of the nicer blades mentioned above.
 
I grew up around knives and guns. My Dad always worked on guns and made knives so I really had no first knife as they was just a part of life. For your first knife that is decent, I'd buy the one that looked right to me in your price range. It's not going to be your last and if you pick it out its going to mean more to you than if you get what someone else thinks. Certainly Spyderco, Benchmade or Kershaw will have something you will feel just looks right, in that price range.
 
Welcome! My first good blade was a Schrade Old Timer Stockman. It's a good knife, but not for your purposes. The knife I've carried for most of the last year now is a Spyderco ParaMilitary. The name is misleading, it should be "Ultimate Utility Knife". This thing has held up better than any knife I've carried in the past 15 years. The pivot has not come loose, the lock hasn't failed or loosened up, the blade has only a few scuffs, the handles aren't worn or loose, the clip is still tight, plus it's very comfortable in the hand and it takes a nice edge. It's well under your max budget if you shop around. True, it's not the prettiest knife in the world, but Spyderco's looks tend to grow on you once you've used one. Best of luck in your search. :)
 
Roadrunner said:
The name is misleading, it should be "Ultimate Utility Knife". [...]

True, it's not the prettiest knife in the world, ... :)
Click to expand...

Sorry, Laci Szabo has "UUK" locked up !! :p

Whaddaya mean it's not the prettiest knife in the world !?!? :eek:
I think it looks real good ... but then I'm carrying a fullsize Military these days.
 
First of all welcome to Bladeforums! Great to have you as a new member. If you have a local knife shop in your area, go down and handle the knives. There will be that certain one that just looks and feels right. Actually there will probably be a couple you like. The Benchmades, Spydercos, Kershaw, and many other brands are all great knives. Use caution though, knives are an addiction!
 
My first good knife, like many here, was a Buck 110. I still have and still love it, but I don;t carry it anymore. My 2nd knife was a Buck fixed blade.... I don;t know what ever happened to that knife....

My first "real" folder was a BM-Emerson 975-S that I bought in 1996 for about $140 I think, or thereabouts. BM doesn;t make it anymore, of course, but Emerson still does... it's the CQC Super 7, although now it has some kind of "wave" thing on the blade near the handle.

I'd recommend a BM Axis model, whether it's a Griptillian, 710, or Presidio, or any other Axis model that suits your fancy. My 975S opening action is so smoooooth even after 10 years of constant carry and thousands of openings, that my friends want one "just like it". I tell them, "You like that "action"? Really? Go to the knife shop and play with an Axis. See what you think then!"

Good luck and welcome to the forum :)
 
I had many Victorinox SAKs... but the first knife I SAVED up for and bought was a Leatherman... I was in 7th grade, and it was 1990. I still have it. I still use it.. it is my backup for my WAVE, which lives in my manpurse, a Timbuk2. In High School I bought a Boker Canoe, which is when I learned about SHARP knives, and quality steel.

my .02:

Man if I was in FL, I would own a Mictorech Troodon... maybe even a scarab. BUT sticking with the $150 budget... I MUST say that I recently bought a Benchmade 426 Snody Hybrid, and coming from an owner of FIVE Sebenzas, It is an EXCELLENT buy. I have owned MANY knives and THIS is one of the best. Benchamde was my "first Love" of knives, and in the late 90's-2003 they prodiced a LOT of crap. I am a knife dealer (not BM), and sometimes travel 8 hours to gunshows to get hands on experience with man-toys. BM disgusted me time after time. I don't wanna pick on any other brands, but. IMO BM has cranked it back up several notches and is the leader in production knives again.

In 1999, I posetd the same questions you are asking here. I WANTED A BEMCHMADE. Then I learned about the Sebenza. Like I said above, I traveled to a gun show to "fondle" one. I brought a customized Taurus revolver as backup should I fall in love. It happened. I sold a $500 gun for $300, and bought a Sm Seb. At that time I could barely afford to put gas in my car, and I still dont regret the trade.

So, I'm sitting here, a TOTAL knife dork, holding and inspecting the BM 426 Gravitator Hybrid ($125), and a Large Sebenza w/ double thumb lugs and swedge ($420). I see two knives WORTH what they cost. I believe it is 100% true that the Seb's VALUE is equal to THREE BMs. Seeing is believing.

I went from EDCing a CRKT KISS to carrying a Sm Sebenza. To justify the cost, all it really takes is an observation of every day living. You may already own an ipod. That $300 device will be totally useless and worthless in 2 years... when your Sebenza is an INVESTMENT GRADE item. Meaning... if you don't totally EFF it up, then you wont loose your ass upon the decision of selling. You probably paid 1-2 grand for your computer... which will be useless in a few years... you spend $500 a month on gas.. One night at the bar costs $20-$100... $100/month cell phone bill... $40 for a bottle of Glenlevit... on and on... Just prioritize... where there is a will there is a way!

ALL THAT SAID... if you want a GOOD knife... pay attention here at the forums... BM is a GREAT start. (personally I HATE the axis lock). If youre going into a buy less than whole hearted, consider buying used, so your potential loss is minimal.

TITANIUM is a good material. If a company is gonna spend the bread to work with ti, then you can bet that they don't wanna scrap this costly material.

Not sure if any of that helps... Gravitator is a GREAT knife... acceptable by any knife enthusiast. Sebenza will make you giddy! But BOTH of them unnecessarily find their way into my hand time after time!
 
oh... and buy a spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker too... you DON'T wanna let any knife that anyone will recommend here get dull... you'll NEVER be able to put a decent edge on it again!

KEEP IT SHARP!!!!
 
Wow, I didn't expect such prompt and plentiful feedback. I will put special interest into all of the models that you mentioned, but most of all I plan to spend a long time looking and feeling at the store today. Actually, I am heading out now, so most likely in a few hours I will reutrn back with the good news :) .

Thank you again, this is clearly an amazing community.
 
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