looking for my next edc

G

gianetics

Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
9
So i went on a knife losing streak. i lost a dragonfly and a chaparral. these were my first two spyderco's and i liked both of them a lot. however i did not like the lock back as much. i own a small tackle shop and use the knife for opening boxes, cutting twine, cutting mono and braided line. most of the time i have something in my hand and although i can close the lockback one handed a liner or frame lock is much easier to use with one hand. so my criteria is this:

Must haves:
liner/frame lock
thumb hole opening (i dont think i can go back to a thumb stud after owning spyderco's)
thin as possible
sub 60 dollar price point or the wife might just kill me


want to have:
something like frn for handles (though and light weight)
wire clip

i was looking at the byrd lineup but it seems all the liner locks are discontinued. im not opposed to going used either. as for blade steel i dont really care. i actually like a softer steels for ease of sharping. i strop my knives ever day at work and im good at maintaining an edge. Im not good at getting some of these newer super steels back from dull.

thanks in advanced for any replies.
 
i guess i'll throw my two cents in, i would suggest one of spyderco's tenacious line as they are well under your 60 dollar target as well as being liner lock knives or if you wish to get a real small and thin utility knife the cricket will do just fine for a lot of edc tasks it is also worth looking at the cat or the chicago as they are small edc sized knives with the liner locks. if you're willing to push the budget and try out spyderco's ball bearing lock you could look at the manix 2 lightweight.
 
Perfect for you. Benchmade 551 griptillian with a thumb hole. Axis lock is one handed. Good knife
 
McBokerson said:
Spend a few bucks extra and get a delica 4 ffg
Click to expand...

Not a liner or frame lock.

250624a said:
Perfect for you. Benchmade 551 griptillian with a thumb hole. Axis lock is one handed. Good knife
Click to expand...

Well over $60.


There is not a lot within your specs that edged932 didn't mention. For a liner lock, besides the CAT and Chicago there is only the stuff in the Tenacious line, which are not bad choices. Personally, for what you describe, I would consider saving up a little longer and getting something like the PM2. This is my go to one hand folder, even more so than some thing with an axis lock. Like you, I often need to cut something my left hand is holding and need true speedy one hand operation. The compression lock of the PM2 does this for me better than any other knife I own.
 
craytab said:
Not a liner of frame lock.



Well over $60.


There is not a lot within your specs that edged932 didn't mention. For a liner lock, besides the CAT and Chicago there is only the stuff in the Tenacious line, which are not bad choices.
Click to expand...
I did forget to mention it. Is nearly twice the price. however for one handed jobs, you can't go wrong with an axis lock.
 
whatever you want. its gonna your knife and not my knife or anybody else's knife that is posting in this thread.
 
proton said:
whatever you want. its gonna your knife and not my knife or anybody else's knife that is posting in this thread.
Click to expand...

Please notice that he has a very specific set of requirements. This will be his knife. Sometimes folks don't know what all is out there as there are so many option so they come here and ask specific and meaningful questions just like what the OP has done.

Ferahgo said:
Maybe a Buck Vantage?
Click to expand...

That is a good option.
 
i do like the vantage lineup i just wish there was a in between the large and small. ive owed a mini grip and liked it but its hard for me to buy the same knife twice. if the delica was a liner or frame lock i think it would be the ideal blade for me. some of the new byrd knives look very nice, great price but a lockback. im surprised because i would imagine a lockback costing more to produce than a liner lock. i forgot to mention that a 3' blade +/- a little would be ideal. i used to love the large folding blades but i have a good collection of fixed blades that would be used for any heavy duty tasks. right now i use a fixed blade mora for my heavy cutting duties at work and a vitorinox pairing knife for any very difficult to cut items ie rubber tubing. as for edc i have taken a liking to slim blades in the 3" range that are light weight. the byrd lineup had the raven (i believe) which seemed to fit my criteria but alias it was discontinued and was g-10 which im guessing adds to the weight considerably. i might have to look at the small vantage again. the thumb hole is a little small but it does have a flipper. my only argument is all the flippers i have owned will give me the "oh oh" look from some people.
 
A Small Vantage fits all your must-haves (liner lock, thumb hole, somewhat thin, under $60), except it isn't as thin as, say, your old Dragonfly or Chaparral. My Small Vantage Pro measures 11.8mm (0.465") handle thickness (near the pivot). The Chaparral (CF version) measures 8.76mm (0.345"), and Dragonfly (FRN version) comes in at 8.60mm (0.339"). The Small Vantage is by no means cumbersome, but it is about 35% thicker than what you were used to.

It doesn't have a wire clip, but it is still a deep carry clip. And there are FRN versions as well (and wood, and G10).

It looks like the Small Vantage Pro can be had for about $50, which is pretty good deal (S30V, 3D machined and polished G10 handles, Buck's lifetime warranty, made in USA).
 
250624a said:
Perfect for you. Benchmade 551 griptillian with a thumb hole. Axis lock is one handed. Good knife
Click to expand...

The 551 has thumb studs. I think you meant 550. I prefer the 550 myself, because of the hollow grind, But your right, it's a good knife.
 
Bit of a budget buster, but the Spyderco Kiwi 4 would serve your purposes nicely and I would expense it as a business expense. Yes, it exceeds your $60 budget.
 
gianetics said:
i do like the vantage lineup i just wish there was a in between the large and small. ive owed a mini grip and liked it but its hard for me to buy the same knife twice. if the delica was a liner or frame lock i think it would be the ideal blade for me. some of the new byrd knives look very nice, great price but a lockback. im surprised because i would imagine a lockback costing more to produce than a liner lock. i forgot to mention that a 3' blade +/- a little would be ideal. i used to love the large folding blades but i have a good collection of fixed blades that would be used for any heavy duty tasks. right now i use a fixed blade mora for my heavy cutting duties at work and a vitorinox pairing knife for any very difficult to cut items ie rubber tubing. as for edc i have taken a liking to slim blades in the 3" range that are light weight. the byrd lineup had the raven (i believe) which seemed to fit my criteria but alias it was discontinued and was g-10 which im guessing adds to the weight considerably. i might have to look at the small vantage again. the thumb hole is a little small but it does have a flipper. my only argument is all the flippers i have owned will give me the "oh oh" look from some people.
Click to expand...

The Byrd Raven 2 and Crow 2 are available if that's what you're looking for. Couple places have 'em if you do a search. FFG and upgraded steel from the old ones (and the other Byrds and Tenacious line), but a bit pricier than the other Byrds. About the same as the Chinese Spydercos, but you get a better steel and the Byrd choil in trade for the logo. Still G-10 though and no wire clip.
 
gianetics said:
So i went on a knife losing streak. i lost a dragonfly and a chaparral. these were my first two spyderco's and i liked both of them a lot. however i did not like the lock back as much. i own a small tackle shop and use the knife for opening boxes, cutting twine, cutting mono and braided line. most of the time i have something in my hand and although i can close the lockback one handed a liner or frame lock is much easier to use with one hand. so my criteria is this:

Must haves:
liner/frame lock
thumb hole opening (i dont think i can go back to a thumb stud after owning spyderco's)
thin as possible
sub 60 dollar price point or the wife might just kill me


want to have:
something like frn for handles (though and light weight)
wire clip

i was looking at the byrd lineup but it seems all the liner locks are discontinued. im not opposed to going used either. as for blade steel i dont really care. i actually like a softer steels for ease of sharping. i strop my knives ever day at work and im good at maintaining an edge. Im not good at getting some of these newer super steels back from dull.

thanks in advanced for any replies.
Click to expand...

Spyderco CAT.
 
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