Looking for a new knife, with THIN handle

S

Steve MacAdam

Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Messages
4
Good day mates :)

I'm currently on the market for a new knife. It would be my first quality knife dare I say. Budget is around 150$.

Currently, I have quite a few traditionnals (Opinels, Doudouk, Higonokami) and a Spyderco Tenacious among others.

And I'm looking for a knife that would have the thinnest handle possible. I think my dream knife would be my Higonokami or my Doukdouk, but with a locking blade.

Ideally, I'd find something with a 6 to 8mm handle thickness (around 0.25 - 0.3 inches for my fellow Americans ;) ). The weight is not really a matter (I'd say no more than my 4 ounces Tenacious). My ideal blade length would be around 8.5cm (or 3.35 inches). I kinda prefer narrow designs, but I do not really care as long as the handle is really thin.

I generally prefer quite thick blades, and I prefer a stronger tip.

For the locking mechanisme, I don't care as long as it's not a lockback and it's strong/secure.

For the blade steel, I'd like something a bit more premium than what I'm used to (and I want some stainless steel). Whether VG-10, S30V or something else, I do not really care.

If it can have a deep carry clip, bonus point.

And for blade shape, I hate tanto blades (but love reverse Tanto a lot), the rest is generally fine with me.

Finally, the intended use is for EDC, provided that I live in a quite rural area but work in a big city. So nothing over the top like a ginormous Cold Steel, but nothing too flimsy either ^^ (I might have to do some quite outdoorsy/DIY stuff on a regular basis but nothing like cutting down an oak :D ).

From what I've researched, I've encounter both the Benchmades Bugout and 940. Apparently they have the same overall thickness (if somebody can confirm ?). But they are still a bit too thick for me at 10.5mm (0.41 inches).

So feel free either to suggest other models or to comment on the adequation of one of those two with my needs ;)

It's quite a long post, so thanks to have read it all, and hopefully some goodness will come from this all :)
 
This may be not so big, but It is very thin, but I have enjoyed my Benchmade Proper slipjoint folder.
 
Cold steel Code 4 immediately came to mind, but it has a 0.36" handle thickness with a 3.5" blade length and weighs 4.15 oz. And it's a back lock, unfortunately.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but good luck in your search!
 
Thick blade and handle thickness less than 0.3” is probably not going to happen in a folder. A standard AAA battery is 10.5mm in diameter (0.41”). 3-4mm blade stock doesn’t give you a lot of room for handle; even at 3mm, each side of the handle would be thinner than the blade itself. The TRM Neutron, one of the thinnest folders available, is 0.32” thick with blade stock only 2.3mm thick.

And, if you want it to be able to do outdoor work, a thin folder isn’t going to be ideal. A smallish fixed blade with paracord wrap would be the closest thing to meeting your criteria.
 
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Have you tried a Mercator? A “Doukdouk with a locking blade” would describe it almost perfectly. Spear point, available in stainless or carbon steel, in a variety of handle metals.

Curiously enough, more comfortable in hand than a Doukdouk.
B742CAF1-441C-424C-B7A1-1EFA7559CFC8.jpeg

Then, there’s always the Leek, at about 7mm thick. For a fixed blade, consider the Mini puukko or Mini Skrama, from Varustekela.

Oops, missed the “no lockbacks”. Never mind.
 
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I've been very happy pocket-carrying this Fred Perrin Le Bowie neck knife:

UIK7xxJ.jpg


It's so thin and flat (knife is 3mm thick) that I can carry it in a pocket with my wallet and it's not even really noticeable. The kydex sheath at its thickest is 6.9mm thick on mine, and the weird deep finger choil makes thumbing the sheath off the knife one handed casually easy (index into the gap between choil and sheath, thumb on spine). It also comes in pretty damascus. It's cheap, it cuts great for a thick-bladed little knife, though I did re-profile and convex mine. I found the ergos off-putting initially, but I've come to love it and the lock is very strong. ;)

In folders the thinnest I have are the SOG Access Card and SOG C-Ti, I think.
 
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Cold Steel American Lawman. You get a ton of knife for the money, and though it is technically a backlock, the Triad is much more than a standard backlock.
 
The Benchmade 531 is thin, around 150, locks strong, and doesn't feel flimsy. The 530 is even thinner but doesn't really feel as substantial as the 531. The winner on the whole thinnest vs. strength thing for me is a Code 4, which unfortunately for you is a lockback. The cheaper AUS8 models regularly show up on the exchange for 50-ish, it really might be worth picking one up just to see.
 
Might be worth looking into a Leek as well. Doesn't tic all of your boxes, but it does hit a good portion of them.

- 3" blade length
- .35" handle thickness
- .09" blade thickness
- 3 oz weight
- 14c28n steel - decent, even if not a super steel
- Can be had in either a frame or liner lock
- lots of color/finish options

It's a great EDC, especially if you work in the city. It's a sturdy knife, but I wouldn't consider it hard use by any stretch of the imagination. The tip is very pointy, so some people consider it a little fragile, but I've never knocked the tip off of mine.

Can get a basic Leek for under $50 with certain ones getting in the $100 range. You can also find them pretty often on the exchange for fairly cheap.
 
Oh Boy ! You guys are good :thumbsup: So many suggestions :eek:

I'll try my best to answer as many of your suggestions as I can.

First, those fixed blades are gorgeous, trully. And I might have considered the Fred Perrin. Sadly, I live in France, and in France, fixed blades are considered as weapons and it's absolutely forbidden to carry one. So I've got my fixed blades for when I'm at home, in the forest or something, but I can't EDC one :(

The Mercator suggestion is interesting considering the price. I'll buy one along the expensive one that I'll ultimately choose :thumbsup:

I konw that my criteria are a bit contradicting each other. I'm looking for a compromise blade. Let's just say that I'm after the best compromise possible. I know for sure that a thin folder will never be as strong as my Mora robust or my Cold Steel SRK ^^

Speaking of Cold Steel, I would have never thought about them for a thin kinfe. Strong yeah, but thin... I'm so surprised by those Code4 and American Lawman :eek: Might not be as pretty/high end feeling as the Benchmade 940, but maybe a better choice for me nonetheless. How does the S35VN compare to let's say VG10 and S30V ?

I didn't know about those Boker trapper and Al Mar ultralight. Not exactly what I had in mind, I fear they might be a bit too fragile. Am I right on that ? Cause they're gorgeous.

The Kershaw Leek suggestion is not bad at all. It ticks a lot of my boxes. And it's not really expensive at all. Actually the on thing about that one that would block me the most is another legalities issue. The law in France states that for a folder with a locking mechanism, you can carry it, but if a police officer juges that it is too "scary looking" (bye bye CRKT M16 and Spyderco Civilian...), he can confiscate the knife (and apparently keeping it for himself), (reason why I do not want to spend more on a knife that might well be confiscated). And I find that the blade shape of the leek screams a bit too much "I might stab you, who knows" ^^

And lastly (I hope I've forgotten nobody), slipjoints are cool, but I want a folder with a locking mechanism ;)

Thanks a lot for all those answers, and do not hesitate to adress my questions about some of those knives and/or suggesting other models :)
 
Steve MacAdam said:
Oh Boy ! You guys are good :thumbsup: So many suggestions :eek:

I'll try my best to answer as many of your suggestions as I can.

First, those fixed blades are gorgeous, trully. And I might have considered the Fred Perrin. Sadly, I live in France, and in France, fixed blades are considered as weapons and it's absolutely forbidden to carry one. So I've got my fixed blades for when I'm at home, in the forest or something, but I can't EDC one :(

The Mercator suggestion is interesting considering the price. I'll buy one along the expensive one that I'll ultimately choose :thumbsup:

I konw that my criteria are a bit contradicting each other. I'm looking for a compromise blade. Let's just say that I'm after the best compromise possible. I know for sure that a thin folder will never be as strong as my Mora robust or my Cold Steel SRK ^^

Speaking of Cold Steel, I would have never thought about them for a thin kinfe. Strong yeah, but thin... I'm so surprised by those Code4 and American Lawman :eek: Might not be as pretty/high end feeling as the Benchmade 940, but maybe a better choice for me nonetheless. How does the S35VN compare to let's say VG10 and S30V ?

I didn't know about those Boker trapper and Al Mar ultralight. Not exactly what I had in mind, I fear they might be a bit too fragile. Am I right on that ? Cause they're gorgeous.

The Kershaw Leek suggestion is not bad at all. It ticks a lot of my boxes. And it's not really expensive at all. Actually the on thing about that one that would block me the most is another legalities issue. The law in France states that for a folder with a locking mechanism, you can carry it, but if a police officer juges that it is too "scary looking" (bye bye CRKT M16 and Spyderco Civilian...), he can confiscate the knife (and apparently keeping it for himself), (reason why I do not want to spend more on a knife that might well be confiscated). And I find that the blade shape of the leek screams a bit too much "I might stab you, who knows" ^^

And lastly (I hope I've forgotten nobody), slipjoints are cool, but I want a folder with a locking mechanism ;)

Thanks a lot for all those answers, and do not hesitate to adress my questions about some of those knives and/or suggesting other models :)
Click to expand...

PSX_20190403_151408.jpg

Code4 on the left Sebenza on the right.

The Sebenza is already pretty thin
 
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