Looking for a recommendation for a work knife

Minnesota Man said:
I personally recommend a Cold Steel knife. I love the Tri-ad lock. Very very strong! Recon1 is the model I think you should consider. I have 4 of them.
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marrenmiller said:
Cold Steel Recon 1 in XHP. I'd recommend the tanto version, as it's the only one that's hollow ground for the main edge but it's still got a strong and usable flat ground tip. Cold Steel's XHP heat treat is top notch, if you can still find it, otherwise they're now being offered in S35VN.
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When it comes to recon 1's, you really have to consider 2 things:
The mini for the pocket,
And full size when you rock it!
(Or XL if you're feeling CRAZY)
 
I own and operate a Landscaping company. At the moment my work folder is a emerson roadhouse. Before that was an emerson horseman. Before that was a zt 0562. All great folders to handle the type of materials we have to cut. Based on your interest in a 0562 i would also recommend looking at an zt/emerson colab if you can find one. The wave feature is so nice to have when you are in the middle of a task. My favorite was the horseman. The blade steel is 154cm. Its tough so it doesn’t chip easily. It holds an edge well. Easy to sharpen especially with the chisel edge.

I also carry a small fixed blade too for finer slicing tasks.
 
I am still sticking to my fixed blade suggestion.

Dust. And. Grit. Everywhere.

I can't count how many times I had chapped/scraped raw cheeks/brow from dust, airborne dirt and grit. This will gum up a pivot by lunch. I used to carry a VG10 Endura and douse it with water and work the pivot to free it for the second portion of the day. After about 3 weeks of that, I got tired of it, and tried going without. Two days later, I had to disassemble the knife to do a full on cleaning, as well as polishing the internals to reduce some of the scratches that caused a gritty action (while clean). Once I got to that point, I went with a "JK Knives" fixed blade and started making my own...

For me, landscaping, gardening, mowing, tree work (climbing and ground/line) all get a fixed blade (now is a Busse Park Ranger).

Ease of maintenance and durability trump just about everything. Edge retention and toughness can be adjusted by the choice of the alloy. All the toughness in the world won't help you if you need two hands to open a modern, one handed folder that is caked with grit. Especially when you have one hand busy holding Anything...
 
NJBillK said:
I am still sticking to my fixed blade suggestion.

Dust. And. Grit. Everywhere.

I can't count how many times I had chapped/scraped raw cheeks/brow from dust, airborne dirt and grit. This will gum up a pivot by lunch. I used to carry a VG10 Endura and douse it with water and work the pivot to free it for the second portion of the day. After about 3 weeks of that, I got tired of it, and tried going without. Two days later, I had to disassemble the knife to do a full on cleaning, as well as polishing the internals to reduce some of the scratches that caused a gritty action (while clean). Once I got to that point, I went with a "JK Knives" fixed blade and started making my own...

For me, landscaping, gardening, mowing, tree work (climbing and ground/line) all get a fixed blade (now is a Busse Park Ranger).

Ease of maintenance and durability trump just about everything. Edge retention and toughness can be adjusted by the choice of the alloy. All the toughness in the world won't help you if you need two hands to open a modern, one handed folder that is caked with grit. Especially when you have one hand busy holding Anything...
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The only problem i always have with a fixed blade over 4 inches in getting in the truck going to the next house or job. The damn thing would alway dig into my side while driving. Became more comfortable to carry a folder and small fixed blade.
 
115Italian said:
The only problem i always have with a fixed blade over 4 inches in getting in the truck going to the next house or job. The damn thing would alway dig into my side while driving. Became more comfortable to carry a folder and small fixed blade.
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Kydex sheath with a pocket clip. Remove to sit, back into pocket when you get out.

That being said, a Becker BK16, or Busse Park Ranger both come in at 4" blade or less.
 
I love the CS Ultimate Hunter as an EDC but a small fixed sounds like your best bet. I have a couple of Bark River small knives, Bravo Micro and the small Canadian [the name escapes me), but my fave right now is my Fairly EDC in 3V. You may want to see if he is doing another run since the price point is comparable and you ill get a "custom" knife
 
Small fixed blade all the way.

Esee 3 maybe.

Half your budget.

Price/performance-wise, it really cant be beat.

Well, it really cant be beat period
 
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If you have $200 to spend than I recommend pre owned knives. You can get a $300 or more dollar knife for $200 that someone hasn’t used and wants to get rid of. Look here for great deals. Hold off a little bit and shop the forums. That’s where you will find something really nice for the money. Good luck in your search
 
Another solution for carrying a fixed blade is going with a dangler sheath. It puts the handle away from your ribs. If the knife of choice doesn't have one, you can easily fashion one out of a keyrring split ring (the biggest ones), a piece of leather (old belt cut out) and two rivets. I have two and got them done by a shoemaker in a matter of seconds.
 
Esse 3 with the sheath clip turned upside down so the handle points downward-for a fixed blade.

Cold steel recon 1 or broken skull for a folder. Add a Snaggletooth MF (thumbstud replacement) for a wave feature as found on Emersons.
 
I would avoid an ESEE if you're cutting anything abrasive on the regular. They're great outdoors blades, but Hrc 56 1095 is gonna hold an edge about like 420HC or 440B in EDC use. Unless OP wants to sharpen a lot I'd go for something with better edge retention.
 
To the above post, the OP said he sharpens once a week so an ESEE might be good
 
Techno said:
Cold steel knives or a Bradford guardian 3 fixed blade with kydex. I used those every summer when I had a lawn business.
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Agree on the Guardian 3.
Excellent steel, great ergos, thin behind the edge and a horizontal carry sheath that will make you forget it’s there.
Excellent work knife!
Joe
 
Minnesota Man said:
I personally recommend a Cold Steel knife. I love the Tri-ad lock. Very very strong! Recon1 is the model I think you should consider. I have 4 of them.
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Right where I was going to go. American lawman sound about perfect and it's great with gloves (I assume most landscapers wear gloves). I use a broken skull for my yardwork knife but it's 4" blade. I like longer blades for opening pouches so I can reach both sides more easily. The triad lock can be a bit tough to open as it tends to be stiff but they are knives made to worked hard, IMO.

For CS, pretty much all of the g10 handle, CTS-XHP (now s35vn?) level of knives are good options. Recon and AK47 are in the group along with the two above I mentioned, there may be others.

I'm also a big fan of the spyderco military but it's another 4" knife so not exactly what you're asking for. I think a somewhat similar knife would be a kizer begleiter which has VG10 steel, G10 handles, and a reasonable liner lock. I feel like it's pretty similar to a BM 943 but a lot cheaper. I really liked that knife but found myself gravitating towards 3" for EDC and then 4" for home/yard work. A bigger spyderco native would be nice, not sure if one of the newer models are like that. The CS lawman was very much like a large native but hollow-ground instead of FFG.
 
Just sticking with your gut choices, the Manix2 Backlock spent some time as my beater and it was great. If you like those ergos, go for it. I love the 0562, but the pointer blade shape and ergos of the Manix wins for beater duty IMO. However, the 0801BW has been my spring cleanup beater in the yard lately... It's been great but the ergos can't touch the Manix if you like them, and bearings probably aren't ideal in general. Really boils down to taste.

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All the ones you listed are good
I would vote for the Zt0562 for it’s proven design and superior steel
Zt0801ti will be second for IMO better ergonomics and slicing capabilities compared to the 0562
manix 2 is my last pick

However based on my experience for work knive I would go with either a PM2 or a zt0350
I like this two very much
 
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