I need help finding a knife for my dad.

C

chococrazy

Joined
Jul 1, 2009
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Hey haven't posted in a while, took a break from bladeforums.

After showing my dad some of my knives he seems to have taking a liking to some of my collection.
Mainly the Buck Vantage Pro.
He said he wants me to get him a knife with these characterists.
Thin blade (edge to spine), long blade (3 1/2 ish)
Low riding pocket clip.
He doesn't like the spyder hole, I don't know why he thinks it makes the knife wider :p
Thin when closed.
I want to get him a good steel, as he doesn't know how to sharpen.
A good tip
Good looking (dress knife like the vantage)
He seems to like half serrated/half plain edge, I have no idea why, but this part doesn't really matter. He said he also likes full plain.


Keep it sub $100 also, he really liked the umnumzaan and sebenza up until the price xD.
He's going to be mostly using it for like apples, and small stuff like that, but he also owns a car body shop, and a tow company and he has needed to borrow my knife to cut bungee/nylon cords for cars.
 
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How well does he treat a knife? would you trust him with a seb? or be worried that he would destroy it by the end of the day?

My dad is not very good at taking care of his knives, broken tips, chipped and flattened edges, and general lack of cleaning are sometimes daily issues. After the destruction of a few good knives I settled on a ZDP endura w/saber grind, and for being the "cheapest" of them all its performed better than other "hard use" blades.

With his line of work I would say the knife is going to see some use, maybe a ritter grip or kershaw blur? Why not the buck?
 
knifenut1013 said:
How well does he treat a knife? would you trust him with a seb? or be worried that he would destroy it by the end of the day?

My dad is not very good at taking care of his knives, broken tips, chipped and flattened edges, and general lack of cleaning are sometimes daily issues. After the destruction of a few good knives I settled on a ZDP endura w/saber grind, and for being the "cheapest" of them all its performed better than other "hard use" blades.

With his line of work I would say the knife is going to see some use, maybe a ritter grip or kershaw blur? Why not the buck?
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I was looking at Endura's for him, but he just doesn't like spydie holes he thinks that'll it'll make a blade wide I have no idea :P, I have no idea why.
The biggest thing I'm afraid of him doing is losing the knife, and he does like sticking it into sticky things without cleaning it. I let him borrow my sak for a week, and when I got it back the blade was covered in fruit residue, and all the componets were starting to become sticky to open. The blade was dull as a butter knife too, I gave it to him hair splitting sharp.

He has seemed to take a liking to a Rat 1 though.

Edit-He use to have a kershaw blur rescue knife (the oldddd one not sure what he did with it), but one day I went to his shop, and he grinded the rescue tip into a drop point on a bench grinder... Needless to say he didn't use oil, and a little heat builded up... I could never get it sharp again :(
 
If he already likes the Vantage Pro and it meets all of the criteria you've mentioned, it sounds like you should just get him that. :thumbup:

Since the Buck is well below your $100 budget, you could even add a second knife for him to use as a beater/backup. Maybe an Ontario RAT 1? Even if he's tough on knives, I think he'd have a hard time destroying that one (aside from dulling the blade). (Heh...after I typed this, I saw that you had mentioned the RAT 1 as a possibility as well.)
 
sircantaloupe said:
Ouch... get him a RAT-1. Or two, so you have a backup if he destroys the first.
Click to expand...

Yah, I was thinking I could try stretching the budget a little, and get a Rat 1, and a Endura/Delica so I can try to convert him into Spydies :P
The reason why I don't want to get another vantage, is that I think it's to slick for him to use. I sharpen all my knives to hair splitting, and frankly he doesn't have the best knife handling I've seen.
I'm hoping I can teach him proper use of a knife, as he was raised on cheap dollar store knives, and such.
 
Benchmade Torrent sounds just about right for him.

Blade thickness 0.1"
Blade length 3.6"
Low riding pocket clip
Opened by thumb studs
Thin when closed
154CM steel
Beefy tip
Sleek, dressy design
Available in both plain and half serrated
Priced quite close to $100
 
In that case go with the rat 1 and don't worry yourself with making it hair splitting sharp. Finish on a fine diamond or oher similar medium grit as it will be easier on you to maintain and be plenty sharp enough for his uses. You also will be better off with the lesser steel of the rat than say S30V because removing damage won't be much of a issue.

I bought my dad a near 200 dollar knife the first time around and it was a mess in months. I used the endura as a example of a cheaper robust knife with good steel to show that for those that treat them as craftsman screwdrivers, good cheapies are a better choice.

Trust me when I say your knife budget is too high, and good luck on teaching your pops better care. 3 years of trying and mine still buys gas staton knives and will finally call a knife dull when you can't tell the edge from the spine.
 
I'm probably gonna end up with the Rat, but I was wondering if anyone had any Kershaws I should look at for him.
He really liked the Rescue blur.
 
See if kershawguy has any ZDP blur blems left, If he liked that knife before then I think your choice just became obvious ;)
 
Benchmade 530 is very thin and light, and around 60-70ish online. Or, if you can still find it, a BM 10700 Nagara. I know BM makes it for their Harley Davidson line, but I dislike the look--I definitely prefer the older Red Class models. I picked mine up for $45 when some of the online stores were getting rid of stock. You could maybe find one on the exchange for around the same price.

Occasionally you may find a BM 94x or a 960 on the exchange here for 80-100, but they usually get snapped up really quick.
 
Maybe you should start off with an inexpensive knife until you can teach him how to take care of them :)

I second the Ontario RAT-1 (heard many good things). Some other ones to look at would be the "lower end" Kershaws in 8CR13MoV (here's a list containing some of them) - The G10 Hawk, the Chill, the Volt II (I like the looks of that one!), the Scamp, the classy looking Crown or Crown II.... (some of them might not be out yet, iirc)

Kershaw also has some inexpensive knives in the their Sandvik 14C28N steel. Check out KershawGuy's blem thread (Click) - He might have some of them for a great price. I picked up a 1620H3 Scallion from him about a week ago, great buy and he's an awesome dude also. :D
 
Another vote for the RAT1, and multiples ;). Show him how to clean and sharpen his knives, if he doesn't want to know, do it for him.
 
Do him a big favor and get him a sharpening stone/set and teach him how to use it! Then get him a good Benchmade and teach him how to use that.
 
Check out the Kershaw Ram and if you get a Grip Clip for it, it'll be all the better and still be under budget.

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chococrazy said:
... he seems to have taking a licking to some of my collection.
Click to expand...

Cringe. Kinda risky behavior.

chococrazy said:
... when I got it back the blade was covered in fruit residue, and all the componets were starting to become sticky to open. The blade was dull as a butter knife too,...
Click to expand...

Yuck. Maybe something that can be disassembled and cleaned... or just disposed of after use, like TP.

chococrazy said:
... he grinded the rescue tip into a drop point on a bench grinder... Needless to say he didn't use oil, and a little heat builded up... I could never get it sharp again.
Click to expand...

M2 and CPM M4 are "high speed" steels designed not to lose their temper when "run" (e.g. ground) at high heat...

Maybe a box cutter w/ the expensive Lenox bi-metal high speed edges...
http://www.lenoxtools.com/pages/pressreleasedetail.aspx?pressid=34
4747989088_ed772be065.jpg

LENOX Blunt Tip Safety Blades
Bi-metal LENOX Blunt Tip Safety Blades are made by a patented welding process that fuses together two different types of steel. Flexible spring steel is used to form the backing material which allows the blade to bend without breaking. High speed steel is used to form the edge and it provides an extremely durable blade ... The blade’s shatterproof construction means that workers are subject to less risk of injury from broken blades. “An additional safety benefit also accrues from longer blade life. Longer blade life minimizes blade changes, which further reduces the chance that workers will injure themselves opening knives and mishandling the utility blades” according to Web Shaffer, LENOX senior product manager.

“Our field research showed that end users don’t think rounded blades cut very well, and most safety blades are rounded,” continues Shaffer. “The 90 degree blade junction gives LENOX Blunt Tip Safety Blades a design that workers will enthusiastically embrace because the blades deliver superior cutting performance without compromising safety.”

LENOX Self-Retracting Safety Knife
To complement the enhanced safety features of the new blade, LENOX developed a Self-Retracting Safety Knife with many industry-leading features. “A spring loaded shuttle makes the blade retract by itself when not in use, which greatly reduces the risk of injury from exposed blades,” Shaffer said.
Click to expand...
 
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I keep recommending this one, it actually fits your criteria quite well;
Pocket clip rides low.
The knife is light. The blade is long, and thin, but the steel is strong. It is gentlemen like because you almost do not know it is in your pocket. It is a little intimidating because it looks like a dagger, which to me makes it really a great folder. You cannot help open and close it due to the axis lock pushing this blade around.

80 and under for this guy new in box Benchmade 530 Mel Pardue. great knife....
Pardue.jpg
 
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