Looking for a good knife! Help!

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Nifty_Nives

Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Messages
10
Hey there everyone. I am looking for a nice knife to purchase.

I am a boy scout, who uses knives all of the time, and in general carry my knife with me, however, there is an issue. ITS FREAKING TINY!

The knife i currently have is the Gerber "Trendy" with the black steel, and cherry wood handle. It is a beautiful knife, holds a great blade, and i am impressed with Gerber's handywork. But as i said, its FREAKING TINY! i want a nice knife that is a good size! anywhere from 5-9 inches (including handle and blade) when open.

Let me see if i can get the trendy pics up...
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Here's what i want:

-Locking folder
-5-9in when open
-Sturdy, strong construction (no ceramic blades please, i broke my friends, and he got PISSED.
-Not going to lie, partial serrations would be nice. not a necessity though.
-NO. i repeat NO fixed blades, i can't carry them with boy scouts.
-I prefer clips to lanyards, but either is fine
-a real brand. no chinese fakes of Spydies for me. (Byrd is fine)
-Cost is a real issue. as a student, i have basically no money. depending on how good this knife is, i want to pay AT MOST $150 (thats pushing it.)
-hey, i was also looking at the Rollock 2, so if i can get a cheap one, that would be cool, because they are so much fun to open and show off! (less than $30)
 
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I would say a 4" Cold Steel Voyager would be perfect for you.
 
Now can i get a picture of that? and is 4" the blade measure? also, why would that be a good knife? and how do the different brands stack against one another?
 
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Get a Kershaw Lahar.

Solid size, great price, excellent materials, durable, capable of hard outdoors work.
 
Nifty_Nives said:
Now can i get a picture of that? and is 4" the blade measure? also, why would that be a good knife? and how do the different brands stack against one another?
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From Top to bottom, Cold Steel Gunsite II, Voyager and Recon 1 all 4" blades.

Well it's a very tough knife, good steel, VG-1 takes and holds an edge very well and it's not hard to sharpen. It's one of the best general use knives on the market IMO and for the price it hard to beat.

Cold Steel, Zero Tolerance, Extreme Ratio and Strider make the toughest and best folders on the market IMO.
 
No more than anything else mentioned. It's a big bellied liner lock with a flipper.
 
now does the flipper make it an assisted blade, or is it still a manual opening? ive seen flippers with spring assist that fly open like there is no tomorrow.
 
Now why would i choose one company/brand over the other?

Cold Steel
Colombia River Knife & Tool
Gerber
Benchmade
Spyderco
Buck
Ka Bar
Kershaw
Leatherman
Smith & Wesson
Victorinox
Winchester
 
Cold Steel - mediocre steel
Colombia River Knife & Tool - soft steel
Gerber - soft steel
Benchmade - solid brand
Spyderco -good brand
Buck - good brand
Ka Bar - depends on model
Kershaw - great brand
Leatherman - good brannd
Smith & Wesson - crap, um, just crap
Victorinox - solid, great value
Winchester - no idea, likely crap if modern and foreign manufacture.
 
Cold Steel - Excellent all around, great steel.
Colombia River Knife & Tool - NO Opinion
Gerber - Good depending on model
Benchmade - Great blades
Spyderco - Ok I guess if you are trendy
Buck - Great blades and good value for the money
Ka Bar - OK
Kershaw - Great in general
Leatherman - No opinion
Smith & Wesson - Crap
Victorinox - Crap
Winchester - Crap



A lot of it will be personal opinion, what you like or what might be recommended over others.

You will get a lot of trendy recommendations... Most people tend to go with what is the current trend or buy into the fan-boy thing, to looking cool. It's really got nothing to do with what you want or need personally though because a Buck 110 will suit 99% of all Scouts needs and they cost $30.

Buy what you really NEED and like and you will be better off in the long run.
 
A buck 110 would be a classic choice. You can carry it on your belt (if that is okay). It wont draw any "tactical" attention to you.

Here is a picture:http://yourcornerstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=609

You can find them at walmart for 30 bucks.

Here is another one I like, and it comes serrated for you: Ontario RAT 1: http://yourcornerstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22919

you can find them on ebay really cheap.

An Opinel #10 would be a nice choice.

There are so many choices; keep us posted.
 
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Buck Vantage Pro/Avid
Quite a few from Kershaw (Lahar, RAM, Zing)
CS Voyager series
Spyderco Delica/Endura
Benchmade Grip/Mini Grip
Blade Tech Ganyana Lite

There are a lot of good knives out there within your limit these days, do some looking around in some of the EDC threads, and on the internet. Remember, we're here to help :)
 
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Nifty_Nives said:
okay, thank you all for the input. i will definately consider those when i purchase a knife.
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Remember to watch what happens to the other knives that some of your buddies will be using. ;)

I have a feeling you will see snapped off tips, broken blades, locks failing and knives loosening up over time.

Remember you will be really using your knife, it won't be a pocket ornament that the typical mall ninja carries. If you carry one of those you will be buying another knife soon because it won't hold up for long.
 
Cold Steel has great values
Colombia River Knife & Tool is ok, cool designs..
Gerber is eh..
Benchmade has their axis lock
Spyderco gets lots of good reviews
Buck is a favorite among scouts
Ka Bar is good
Kershaw is good
Leatherman multitools are versatile
Smith & Wesson is no good
Victorinox is a classic
Winchester is no good

A lot really depends on preference and its intended use.

I was looking for a cheap but sturdy, and slim, EDC folder, and after a lot of recommendations, I settled on a Kabar Dozier folder. Its not super sturdy, I wouldnt pry anything with it, but it cuts tape and cardboard boxes fine. I like it so far.
 
Seemed like a lot of people posted somewhat biased opinions on these brands, so I'd like to take a crack at it and be as unbiased as I can.

Cold Steel - Good knives, not always best prices for materials
Colombia River Knife & Tool - Good knives, not best materials
Gerber - Varies in terms of quality and materials
Benchmade - Nothing to worry about if you like a model you see
Spyderco - Same as Benchmade
Buck - A little more variety than last 2 in terms of varying quality levels, but still good
Ka Bar - No experience but looking at them, prices seem a bit high for materials at least
Kershaw - Same as Benchmade and Spyderco
Leatherman - Knives seem to be mostly lower end, but multi-tools are great as best I can tell
Smith & Wesson - Probably low end
Victorinox - If you're after a swiss-army knife, they would be the ones to go for, but I don't think they have much that fits your current needs
Winchester - Probably the same as S&W but you can't say for certain with brands like those; sometimes they have really nice stuff made for their brand name

I've always kind of considered Benchmade, Spyderco and Kershaw to be sort of like the Mercedes, BMW and Audi of production folding knives, Buck being sort of Toyota and Lexus combined.

I should also recommend a specific knife :P How about a Benchmade Rift? Very strong Axis lock, available in a couple different colors, partial serrations, around the size you want, should be a sturdy blade, not too thin, great steel, has a lanyard hole. http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/s...e+rift&SUBMIT2.x=0&SUBMIT2.y=0&SUBMIT2=Search
 
When I did "Outward Bound" in 1983, I took an Opinel and a Buck 110. I used the hell out of the Opinel and had little to no use for the 110. Now don't get me wrong, the Buck 110 is a classic and I used it a lot when I hunted and camped when I was younger. :( There also wasn't the incredible plethora of high quality knives that there is today. :)

Not knowing how old you are or what tasks you need the knife to perform makes it impossible to make a personalized recommendation. However, you can't go wrong with a quality Swiss Army Knife. I'm only familiar with Victorinox and Wenger and both are excellent. No matter how many knives you eventually own, everyone needs at least one SAK.

If you provide more details such as:
-how much you can spend;
-fixed blade or folder;
-what you need the knife for; and,
-are there specific restrictions you must abide; then,
I guaranty you will get a lot of excellent recommendations.

Then from the recommendations you receive, it will mostly be a matter of personal preference as there really are a lot of great knives out there to choose from and definitely some real high value bargains out there. But be forewarned, while you can get a high value knife for $30-50, there are still some crap knives out there in this price range and higher.

While there are an overwhelming number of knives to choose from, I have found that most on this forum want to help and share what they know. The more questions you ask and information you provide, the more likely it will be that you will find just the right knife for your present needs. Then you’ll need to get a job to pay for all the additional knives you find that you just got to have! Good luck and enjoy.
 
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