Help me find my “for life” $300-500 “overbuilt” folder

daniel.lowrie said:
It's funny, everything about the 0909 screamed that I wouldn't like it, but my instincts told me that it would rock. Let me tell you, it did not fail to deliver on being the best hard use knife I own.
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+1 on the ZT 0909. It looks boring on the screen, but the blade is beautiful in person, and I can't put it down. I never would have bought it if I hadn't handled it at a dealer and been blown away.

Moreover, +1 to all things Les George. Great midtechs in the OP's desired price range.

SharpieB said:
So what should I be looking at? Hinderer? Strider? What others?
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I'll spare you my take on Hinderer and Strider, only to say that you ought to handle them yourself before you conclude that they're quality knives.

As for others, the list I compiled here may help you:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/small-high-end-production.1545189/

Besides the Les George midtechs, look at the CRK Large Inkosi. It's definitely overbuilt and you will cherish it for a lifetime.

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i have to agree that hard use is relative term.
i do have a hoback and it's extremely well built but hard use? erm, it would be my go to murder knife as it's exceptionally stabby. it's tactical awesome and feels like a tank.
sebenza. ahem no way can handle hard use by my vocabulary but that's relative.
hinderer. i do believe that the double lug to the frame is one of the most durable design. you would see this on strider, hinderer, zt hinderer, medford. but it's not the most durable.
i'll have to go with other recommendations of the 4 max. i decided on that knife rather than a hinderer because i'm more likely to hard use my knives. one of the funniest threads on BF is the hinderer action shot thread and they are all laying on stumps with no indication that the blade has even sliced anything lol.
even with the pivot screw loose, you will be challenged to even find blade play on the 4max. the lock is so crazy thick. it's really rock solid.
ok now you decided on the 4 max. Cold Steel fit and finish is crap mostly and sometimes even functional problems. my advice is to buy from a dealer that you can see in hand as the first choice. 2nd, an online dealer with good customer service(refund/exchange policy) and better yet if they can cherry pick.
the specific 4 max you will be looking for in the Gen 1 usa made and the italian made variety. honestly, no reason to pay a premium on the usa made so i would get the gray italian 4 max. the price you want to pay is under 300usd(cheapest i've seen is 250usd but that went very fast).
If you get a bum specimen it's better to just exchange than deal with CS customer service. trust me.
 
jill jackson said:
So, according to this the top folders tested are the ZT0550 with no steel insert and the Strider SMF?
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That's what the numbers say. The videos paint a richer picture. There's are long-form videos on YouTube most/all of the tests, linked from the spreadsheet. The video of the 0550 testing is impressive.
 
jill jackson said:
So, according to this the top folders tested are the ZT0550 with no steel insert and the Strider SMF?
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i suppose the chart is a bit dated. for example the cold steels are using the aus8 when most of them have been replaced with the premium steel cts-xhp and the 4 max is using the super steel 20cv. the scores would have been much more different with those blade steels. the important criteria on that chart would be batoning and chopping for the OP. i'm assuming his needs is feathering, batoning, and some chopping.

if the OP is using this in the woods and camping, honestly i think you should consider fixed blades, then you would have a lot of choices.
i have jammed a tri ad before with wood debris and developed blade play with a loosening pivot screw after a multi hour hacking session. a locking mechanism may be troublesome if you are not willing to do maintenance on it. no locking mechanism will be as strong as a fixed. but for camping tasks honestly there is no other choice for a folder besides a tri ad lock if you have to have a folder for that use.
 
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Low_rez said:
I am about to save you a lot of money and disappointment. Ignore Medford, Benchmade, Hinderer, Strider and move on. You will be disappointed and will not find what you are looking for with them in the long run.
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In my experience, you are just plain wrong.
I have knives from all those companies, as in I still own them.
And I am not feeling at all disappointed, either. ;)
 
There's a video of a Chinese Sebenza clone on youtube holding up to some hard use. So, yes if a clone can hold up the real framelocks certainly will.
 
Another vote for the Cold Steel 4 Max.
Lighter, cheaper and a great value is the Cold Steel Recon 1. Also, look at the CS Ultimate Hunter.
Strong, durable knives with great steel.
 
broken record, but Cold Steel 4max, it is as sturdy a folder as any, and better knife (tool for cutting stuff) than the vast majority of tank-like folders. The only thing it can't do well is fine tip work, cuz it does not have a narrow, pointy tip. I also like the SR1. Triad like is great, but that is not sufficient to define a hard use folder, you also need a strong blade, pivot, scales, etc. I like the Recon for example, but it is not in the same class as the 4max or SR1 otherwise (as an "overbuilt" folder).
But there are lots of great choices out there. Just depends on how well you want it to function as a knife, and not just an extremely durable folding object.
 
OP, there are simple mechanics involved with knives and locks on folders, and they are surely not all created equal. Everyone has a different definition of "hard use", some people think its just hard cutting and taking a few knocks, some think it's batoning through chunks of hard wood, so everyone will have a different opinion.

The thing is, a higher budget does not always equal a tougher knife, you're usually paying for flashy cosmetic attributes or a name. An affordable Cold Steel Recon 1 in XHP steel will outlast some $1200 knives easily under hard use, because usually a knife is only as strong as it's weakest links - usually the tip, the cutting edge and the lock. Can frame locks take some abuse? sure they can, but you can't be reckless, batoning with a frame lock or liner lock with the lock engaged is just asking for trouble and will only degrade the lock bit by bit until one day it fails. also torquing twisting cutting can sometimes cause the frame lock to disengage.

If a fixed blade is not an option i would personally stick to a Tri-ad lock, because i know from personal experience that by design they are simply engineered to handle more stress than any other, plus I value my fingers. So my personal opinion and pick would be the 4max or Recon 1 spearpoint. I've examined every single mechanical piece of all my folders and the Tri-ad just cannot be beaten for strength, the last time i took my 4max apart i took some pics of internal pins and hardware, it's just purpose built. Plus one pic of my satin Recon 1 since it's probably my favorite folder for a balance of strength, size, cutting ability and weight.






 
Pretty much anything that starts with the letters ZT...also Hinderer, Emerson and Strider are easy picks for your price range. I know nothing about Freeman folders but that earlier post is a beauty!

All that being said, I got a 0562 last month and feel like a could sell most of what I own and not look back. :thumbsup:
 
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