It was the best of knives, it was the worst of knives...

[T. Erdelyi]

If you folks are on this forum, odds are you have accumulated some edged tools.

If you're anything like me you have crappy beat up examples of knives and you have your best of the best, your finest piece of the cutlers art form, let's see 'em here.

Let's see your most beat up or cheapest knife and let's see your pride and joy, the knife that if you lost it, you'd be devastated, all right maybe not devastated but bummed out at least.

I still need batteries for my camera, (kid stole them for her tv remote) so I'll post some pics later but for now I'll just tell you what my extremes are.

My best of the best is my custom Bud Nealy Stinger, 1 of the first 7 he made, desert ironwood scales pinned with brass mosaic pins and signed by him, it's so pretty I can't bring myself to carry it and I've had it for 9 or 10 years now.

My most beat up abused, cheap, crappy knife is an old Mercator K55, it's pitted, stained (patina'd), looks like it's been through WWII but I still keep it in the glove box of my truck for emergency back up to what's in my pocket and as a loaner when I get asked if I have a knife to lend.

Although I call it my beater, it's still sharp and serves it's purpose well.

How 'bout you fine folks out there, what are your best and worst pair, your top of the line and bottom of the barrel knives, share a pic or just tell us what they are.

 

[crowmagnon]

I'll participate!
Here are my pair of opposites:
View attachment 393122View attachment 393123
The first one is one of the most valuable knives I've ever owned, and far too nice to carry.
It's definitely more of an investment piece.
The second I found at the local gravel pit...

 

[SoCal_kid]

My rat 1 and my umnumzaan. I like the idea of the thread. Both have a place in my heart and by my side, but both fill very different roles. Both are values for the money.

 

[orca8589]

I'll submit a couple of "best/worst" if that's okay. I had an old Mercator K55K, and it took a lot of abuse, and still lasted. I gave it to a member here.

Traditional patterns:

A beat-up little stainless pocket knife that I got in a multiple-knife-lot here on BF. It's a cheap, mystery-steel import, but it's taken a lot of abuse, and it's still tight, and surprisingly it takes a pretty good edge. Doesn't hold the edge for long, but if I treat it decently, the edge will last for a while.


Great Eastern #12 Powderhorn; Abalone Looking-glass scales, build quality is fantastic.


Modern folders:

Spyderco Endura 4 (serrated), bottom knife. I got this one used, and I've beat on it, abused it, dropped it in mud, sand, and crud; I've dug gunk out of gutters with it; scraped battery terminals with it, opened food cans with it, cut up cardboard, dropped it off the roof onto a sidewalk; cut through a car tire to make a tire swing, lifted & moved around a campfire grate with it while camping - and stirred up hot coals with it too. I've scraped paint with it, cut through hemp rope, nylon rope, a quite a bit of heavy reinforced packing tape too. Probably the worst I've done to it is accidentally closing the car trunk on it while the knife was open. (It still locks up tight.) I've dug staples out of crates with it, and generally just treated it nasty & mean. No matter what I do to it, it just laughs and asks for more. It's like the can't-kill-it-no-matter-what-I-do-crawls-out-of-the-grave-rabid-zombie-wolverine of folding knives.


Spyderco Manix II, with Grimsmo scales. The Manix II is probably my favorite Spyderco model. John's scales are second-to-none in quality & workmanship, as far as I'm concerned.


Good idea for a thread. :thumbup:

~Chris

 

[worldwood]

Great thread, id just die if i lost my chopweiler, id probably shed a few tears at least.

[/quote]

Then also my 1 of a kind RMD, sitting with its buddy the Busse Active Duty. If i had to the busse would go for sale if i needed the money.... the drop point RMD would not, it and the chopweiler will never leave my side.

Cheaper but still a great knife that i wouldnt want to go without is my BK14

then stripped

then etched, after this the scales were reapplied



Just plain out WORSE knife would be a S&W folder i got, it was junk

 

[herisson]

Funny to see those two side by side. Here are the precious and the ugly duckling :

 

[bladeboss]

I wanna play!
I didnt beat up the 110, I recieved it as such. But it is still my most beat up knife.
The Adamas is my favorite and gets used more than any of my others.
I have too many bottom of the barrel knives to list from when I was younger. Cant pick just one.