Holding it is, well better, than ogling it online

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LawyerSam

Joined
Jun 25, 2010
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As a newbie, I was told that I really needed to go to a knife store and view them and hold them before trying to decide what knife to get as a first knife and only looking here or online. Walmart locally, or the one by my house, did not have a great selection and they were in sealed boxes. So next up, today, was Bass Pro Shop.

I liked the Kershaw line. Tried a Leek and liked it. Spring assist was very nice. Did not like the stainless handle, too slick and, well, not enough visually to differentiate the blade and handle. Maybe down the road.

One that suprised me: Benchmade Mini Griptilan. I liked it. Loved how the blade locked into place, loved the handle, loved the blade. I think I like that size over the regular Griptilan. Seems like for me, it might be easier to carry and, well, maybe I might get the advise to go the regular one, but I liked it.

Too bad they did not have Spyderco as I wanted to compare the Persistence and the Tenacious to it directly. They did not have a Blur or Scallion to compare.

So in the $40 or under range (and the JD2 that is for sale in composite blade for about $45 on the boards), can someone compare and contrast the knives I have looked at with the Spydercos as far as pros and cons? The Benchmades were sold there for $84 for the mini, and so that is gonna be out of what I want to spend on a first knife, and the Persistence might come in under $30 shipped, so I need someone's observations that have held and used these. I do like the Kershaw look, oh, and it also happened that the servicemen at the shop where I picked my car up flipped their Kershaws open and they were also on the smaller size like the Mini and they said they use them all the time and the spring assist busted on one and Kershaw sent a new one.
 
The mini Grip is a fine knife, and available for closer to $55 online. A number of forumites express their preference for the mini over the full size Grip. The mini is more solid feeling, and less bulky in pocket.

You are correct that nothing beats hands-on experience for assessing feel of a tool. I find myself carrying a Delica more often than the mini Grip because the Delica is flatter in pocket and the longer handle provides me a better grip than the shorter handle of the mini Griptilian. I also like jimping and nobody does jimping better than Spyderco, IMO.

Kershaw makes a staggering array of fine knives, many of them quite economical, and their customer service after the sale is among the very best. The Leek is a gentleman's knife, not intended for rugged tasks. The smooth steel handle is easy on dress pants, and it is both elegant and affordable. You may want to look at an OD-1 for an elegant Kershaw with a better grip than the Leek has. Or the OD-2 is a very affordable, smaller version of the same design, under $15 online.

I do not own a Persistence or Tenacious, so cannot offer a detailed comparison to them.

Bill
 
Regarding comparing a Tenacious to a Mini Grip, you will be blown away by the size difference. Everyone that handles the Tenacious is amazed by how small it looks on the net.
 
Most gun shops have a selection of knives in stock. Stock can vary widely from store to store. Another trick to finding a really good knife for a reasonable price is to buy them used on the exchange here. There are always some really nice blades that can be had a great prices.

If you are looking for stores that carry knives, do a local search on http://www.dexknows.com/
Or try hitting pawn shops, there are all kinds of treasures that go unnoticed at pawn shops.
 
Bill, since I go to court, I doubt I will keep it in my pants. I will have a cheapy $5 knife for the office, but this knife will be for weekends and use around the home. I also may take it when we go boating, and other than that, general home use. I felt that the stainless handle was nice, but would get scratched and if my hands were the slightest bit wet. Other than that, it was a good width and fit my hands nice.

I kinda like the smaller blade I think, or one that is no more than around 3 inches. The Mini Griptilan seemed nicer to me than the bigger one. Yeah, I plan to try to find something on the board here, and if I can figure out what works, Id like to try to find a Kershaw at Kershawguys thread. He had one Persistence for $30.

I dont know if the OD-1 or 2 are like the Ken Onion ones, but the two that I used, one at Bass and the other in the shop, I loved their smaller blade and how it felt (black handles, ribbed sorta) and the opening system. I liked the lock on the Mini Grip. $55 for the mini, well, there are delica that I am told I should get. I wanna stay around $35 unless that JYD2 is a steal at $45, but then again, I dont know if I wanna go big.

Ill try to find a gun shop. I do know that I like the kershaw line a lot, since they had 4 models at Bass, and then that Mini Grip. The SOGs they had were not to my liking.
 
Sam, if boating is your hobby with any frequency you owe it to yourself to own at least 1 Spyderco Salt knife. That H1 steel is awesome, sharpens easily, holds a decent edge, and best of all it does not rust.

For Kershaw related knives you simply cannot beat KershawGuy (Dave). He's constantly getting all sorts of knives. He's great to deal with, check out his threads is the Dealers are of the Exchange.
 
Sam,

The Persistence is a Spyderco model. I don't think Kershawguy sells those. A sub-3" blade will likely do everything you need, be cheaper and legal almost everywhere. Except in the courthouse and on airplanes.

You have a lot of good options available for not a lot of coin. Maybe try just one for a few months and find out firsthand what you like about it before trying to figure any further. There is no hurry needed.

Bill
 
I wont be boating all that much and so, while it would be nice to plan ahead for all contingencies, I dont really wanna go past about $35 or so total for the knife. Mainly it is to play with. I read a thread and it said, heck, get a good knife, and you will find excuses to use it. Like in the kitchen even. I just need to get off the schneid and get one, and I can get paralysis by analysis by trying to read too much about knives. The Griptilan is gonna be out of the price range, unless I score a used one on the auction site and it will then be a crap shoot on sharpness, even if I ask for many pics.

So likely one of the Spydercos, or a Kershaw, unless Benchmade has that same opening and lock system on a $30 knife. I liked the Leek, just wish it was a ribbed design. Now, Knifecenter has a ton of them on auction and some of you might say try to bid $20 or $25 for a Leek and even then, dont worry about the anodized aluminum finish over say the nylon/fiberglass Spyderco. I did send Kershaw guy an offer on the Persistence he had but had not heard from him and that may be due to the fact that I offered $5 or so less than his asking.

If someone can comment on blade sizes and shapes on the lower priced Kershaws mentioned and the Spydies I would appreciate it. I want something versatile, I guess, and drop or whatever I dont know the difference. I may be thinking it over too much since heck, right now, Im not cutting anything with a knife I dont even have yet.

I will say this: I can tell the difference in the $5 knife I had (heavy, not impressive) and the Griptilan (seems like some thought and engineering had to go into it to get it that light and small). I could also spend time just handling all of them, but mostly, I went on eye appeal at Bass Pro Shop
 
The best thing then, is to get one. From that knife you'll find out what you want and what you don't. Your next purchase will be decided accordingly.
 
If anyone wants to maybe help extendedly, my email is sblaiss at gmail dot com as many of you may not want to read post and response, and post and response. Or you may have something to offer or a place where I could get a good deal. Im not likely to acquire a whole bunch of knives, because I hate to see things sit and not get used. I dont mind two nice pens, but 10 would seem like excess to me. I have nice shave brushes, and DE razors, but only now carry two razors and two brushes and like 4 creams. Gotta remember, my dad was not into excess so 2 to him is positively wasteful. Guess I got some of that gene also. I am also not much for mechanical inclination, Dad was and all I did was hold a spotlight while he worked on the car, so, now, I just write the checks. But something just clicked with me about 3 days before my first post here and by golly, I wanna get a nice knife. I always ogled my nephews and my brotherinlaws would get them knives and they flicked them and showed them around. One loves Case, the other loves Spyderco,

I just measured my two cheapies. One is partially serrated and is 3.5 inches long in blade and a little over 8" unfolded and is heavy, as it has steel handles. Blade says only stainles steel. The other is lighter but the blade is 3/4ths serrated and is over 4 inches, with plastic handles and blade says 440 steel. Definitely dont want to go over 3 inches on this one, and I would be more apt to carry it around on weekends the lighter and smaller it is comparatively
 
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You have good taste because the AXIS lock is one of the best locks out there and the mini grip is a very popular model.

If you like the Kershaw line check out the RAM. It is an awesome knife at any price point but goes for around $45 which I know is a little more than you wanted to spend, but worth it. It does not have the assisted opening which can wear out and break, but it does have a flipper that works nearly as well as assisted. It also has the Hawk lock which is similar to an AXIS in that it is located on the side of the handle and positioned to keep your fingers out of the blade path when closing (unlike frame and liner locks). I usually carry $150-$200 knives but this one is much less and carried just as much. It also has a smaller 3 inch-ish blade but has a choil which allows the handle to feel like a bigger knife and allows all fingers to fit on the handle. Worth checking out at least.
 
i gotta tell you. the mini is really awesome. i was the fortunate winner here recently in a very unselfish givaway. and i won the BM 555 mini grip. i cannot leave it alone. my wife actually said the other night " shut up about that knife, im watching TV." i really like it. hope you get one soon.
 
You can't go wrong with a mini grip but another option which I am EDC'ing right now is the Buck vantage Avid (small size). Possibly under your price range depending on where you buy it. I love it. It feels great, part gentleman, part rugged camper. Good Luck. Jeff
 
I have found a deal on a Nascar Leek, great, great price. Please tell me if this is the same Leek but just Nascar on the handle, and not a different blade or configuration. If so, for about $50, I can get a Persistance and a Leek and try them both out.

I guess there might be a worry about the spring assist breaking on the Leek, but anything is possible. And they say that this opening system is fun!! Also, I have read that Spyderco is not all that tough to open and besides, the two cheapies I have, well, I use two hands anyway.
 
The Leek comes in a variety of blade steels. I couldn't guess what that special model uses. But for light use around the house, all their steels are at least "good" and the blade shape, the edge geometry, is also very important. The Leek blade is a great slicer with a very precise "splinter-picker" point.

The Kershaw spring assist can break, although it's not common. Kershaw will fix it if it does or even send you new springs for you to put in yourself.
 
Am I better off with say a blem Scallion? Will the all black scratch off or rub out in a short time? Dont know what the splinter picker point does. I guess I keep coming back to the Mini Grip and would love that knife but at $55 or so, wow, takes me well above my limit. I do know that I like the textured handles over the stainless and I guess seeing a Leek for $20 has clouded me? Gosh, this aint easy. I already have the bug, as I have tried to clear my lunch calendar and am, when this thread hit my email inbox, looking at the yellow pages to call to see if gun shops nearby carry knives.
 
LawyerSam said:
Im not likely to acquire a whole bunch of knives, because I hate to see things sit and not get used. I dont mind two nice pens, but 10 would seem like excess to me.
Click to expand...

Lol, keep telling yourself that. Welcome to the sickness. :)

FYI in my experience, I preferred benchmades at first. The mini grip is still my favorite. It's a shame they don't make it with patterned/embellished handles to dress it up. Benchmades customer service is also phenomenal.

Spydercos I prefer overall now to benchmade. While I love the axis lock, spyderco just seems to have more designs, and ships wicked sharp blades.

Can't go wrong with either brand. The fact that you are even here, posting so articulately means you are going to end up owning at least a few from both anyway. Don't try to fight it. Trust me, resistance is only futile. Just accept it now and make peace with it.

-Freq
 
Measured my cheapie knives. One is 2.75 inches and the other is 3.5 inches. I think for a EDC, I would prefer 2.5 to 3.0 inches and lightweight. Will be using it on cardboard and maybe a lamp cord, those would be the toughest uses I think. Branches at home, I got saws. Maybe a boat cord or rope but that would be in a blue moon. I have the cheapie serrated I will keep for big projects but I will not be cutting carpet.
 
The mini-grip is a great knife. It was probably my 5th knife when I got into blades as an adult (outside of my cheapies I got as a kid). I wish I would have got first as it is a great pocket mini. For $55 I don't think you can do better. And the shape does great in the pocket w/o the clip on. I would say splurge and get the mini-grip online for $55 and don't look back. Just my $.02

Want to go higher.. check out the Emerson A-100 Mini. Sa'Weet! But that's $100. So see, the mini-grip is a DEAL!
 
Well, Knifecenter has it for $62. I like the size and weight, but someone posted that the blade shape is wrong, or weird. Hard to sharpen? I think I need to move my price point. I can get the Leek and Persistence for $45, but I am not sensing that they are great knives for me, just that they are tremendous values for that price, the best bang for your buck if you will. I am thinking that the Delica, the Native, or the Mini grip is what I would like. I do know that over 3.25 inches is not gonna work, and I need to go read up if Tennessee has any law about carrying over a 3" blade. I have the 3.5" at the office and it seems too big to carry around. That is why the mini Grip at 2.91" and very light seems to work.
 
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