Input about Benchmade, Spyderco, Kershaw, and coldsteel folders.

[kreole]

I agree, I think Cold Steel knives are pieces of crap especially the tri ad lock, the spring is way too stiff and takes me two hands to push down that spring to close it.

I've only had two CS knives, but I didn't like them for a similar reason. The lock had to be pushed really far down to get them to unlock, as compared to other lockbacks like from Spyderco. I don't have them anymore, but I'd guess it had to travel two or three times further than Spyderco's design. (They didn't take two hands to unlock, though.)

I probably wouldn't have minded as much if the inside corners of the G10 weren't so sharp.

 

[knivesandguns]

I would personally rate the four as follows:
1. Spyderco: for steels, heat treatment, grinds.
2. Benchmade: for build quality.
3. Kershaw: some very impressive designs, but mediocre heat treatment, and thick grinds
4. Cold Steel: work horses built to last, but don't have much to impress a knife aficionado (no miracle steel, HT, grind wise).

all four have decent quality/value offerings in their product range. depends, on what you are looking for and expect from a knife.

Do you have evidence of any mediocre heat treatment? Rc numbers that you tested yourself?

And about the thick grinds -- what knives are you looking at? Many of their knives are hollow ground.

If you're talking about a ZT folder, then yes it is built that way for robustness.

 

[aivonline]

In my experience one kershaw s30v knife I had would get dull seemingly faster than several of my spyderco s30v knives.
the fact that a blade loses edge faster than other blades in the same steel can surely be attributed to a lower hardness of the former.

however, I admit I shouldn't have overextended my experience with just one s30v knife to kerhsaw's HT quality in general. sorry about that.
besides, I did like kershaw's VG10 on a Lahar that i EDC'ed for a short time about two years ago.

by thick grinds I mean thickness of the bevels at the cutting edge, which does not depend on the type of grinding (hollow, flat, etc.). On vast majority of kershaw knives bevels are thick, which is a fact to me. I understand that kershaw do it for warranty purposes to avoid chipping issues, just like any other knife manufactures (spyderco on their enduras, btw) but nonetheless I just don't like thick bevels.
for me a good knife is a good slicer, that's my philosophy of knife use. i would never use a good blade as a pry bar, i‘d rather use a screwdriver balde on a victorinox knife or anything else instead.

 

[Ankerson]

In my experience one kershaw s30v knife I had would get dull seemingly faster than several of my spyderco s30v knives.
the fact that a blade loses edge faster than other blades in the same steel can surely be attributed to a lower hardness of the former.

however, I admit I shouldn't have overextended my experience with just one s30v knife to kerhsaw's HT quality in general. sorry about that.
besides, I did like kershaw's VG10 on a Lahar that i EDC'ed for a short time about two years ago.

by thick grinds I mean thickness of the bevels at the cutting edge, which does not depend on the type of grinding (hollow, flat, etc.). On vast majority of kershaw knives bevels are thick, which is a fact to me. I understand that kershaw do it for warranty purposes to avoid chipping issues, just like any other knife manufactures (spyderco on their enduras, btw) but nonetheless I just don't like thick bevels.
for me a good knife is a good slicer, that's my philosophy of knife use. i would never use a good blade as a pry bar, i‘d rather use a screwdriver balde on a victorinox knife or anything else instead.

Most production knives are in the .025-.035" range behind the edge depending on the intended use of the knives.

IF you want something thin you would need to go custom or have the blades reground to thin them out.

 

[FireAnt]

Ill tell you what, Im never buying from another company other then benchmade in my life. They are so awesome. And if you think its expensive, just mow a few lawns, my parents never pay for my knives, i make my own money, and with benchmade, its totally worth the $$$

 

[Tracker16]

I own all those brands but my Benchmade and Cold Steel are fixed blades. I also like Ontario and CRKTs folders too

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

I can't say as how I've owned any CS folders, but I've got a couple of their knives, most recently the Peace Keeper I fixed blade, and it's a very nice knife. I'm not a big fan of AUS8, and their knives tend to be a bit large for my tastes, but they do make a good product. I mainly just don't like the prices and designs all that much, but if you do, you'll probably be happy.

Kershaw--hard to go wrong here. I own a few Kershaw, and will be picking up a ZT when I have the money for one. They do make excellent knives in a wide variety of prices, and they have excellent CS. That being said, I don't EDC Kershaw. Maybe I will EDC a ZT when I get one, but none of their knives have really done it for me enough to kick out my favorites out of my pocket.

Spyderco--I used to hate the way they looked, but they grow on you, especially after you use one. Spyderco makes some of the best EDC blades out there, and my FFG Stag Arms Manix 2 in S30V is one of the two knives I regularly EDC. Para2 and Mili are very popular, as is the Endura. If you're gonna get a Spyderco, although the Tenacious is a great starter, I'd really recommend getting one of the really nice models, because truth be told, you're going to get one eventually. Might as well save yourself the effort and just go straight for what you really want.

Benchmade--I'm pretty much a fanboy. The Ritter Griptilian is the other knife I regularly EDC, although I'm planning on getting new handle scales for it, because I don't like the Noryl GTX. They have a wide variety of blades; if you think they're expensive, you're probably looking at Gold class, because most of their knives tend to be quite affordable. The one thing I will note is that their 154CM has not impressed me. I'd go for another material. Their HK line is also excellent, and there's a lot of really great knives. I tend to like BM's designs the most of any of the companies mentioned, but it's hard to go wrong with any of them.

 

[MEJ]

Well then i have decided to either get the endura or delica as an EDC for a wile. Ill probably look into a benchmade one of these days too... THX for your imput

 

[zignal_zero]

Ill tell you what, Im never buying from another company other then benchmade in my life. They are so awesome. And if you think its expensive, just mow a few lawns, my parents never pay for my knives, i make my own money, and with benchmade, its totally worth the $$$

Good post!

The reference to parents makes me assume you are a younger guy. It's refreshing to see a young person who appreciates quality equipment AND understands the value of acquiring possessions by their own efforts

I'm also a big fan of Benchmade and was buying them before they were Benchmade (dating myself here), but don't rule out other knives, it's a big world and variety is the spice of life

 

[Drover]

I own several Benchmades. Before I did I thought they were too expensive but once you own one you understand the quality and feel. They are amazing knives and well worth the price. Most don't get it because they have never owned one.