Looking for some recommendations

Simon Yu

Simon Yu

Joined
Feb 13, 2000
Messages
370
Lately my taste in knives has shifted from getting lots of knives that catch my eye in some way (had to play catch up during the first few years of the habit) to finding more solid pieces to EDC (well, it also helps that Micro-Tech hasn't come out with a new manual folder in a while to my knowledge).

While I love the designs that have sprung up in tactical folders, I am getting a little tired of having almost all my knives have black handles or whatever the natural color of the metal in the handle is. So I'm interested in finding makers that do tactical folders with handles of anondized titanium or other striking materials (note that I'm generally not a big fan of natural materials aside from wood since I prefer bolder colors).
 
The aforementioned makers are both outstanding. I would also recommend the following makers:

JL Williams
Tim Galyean
Kit Carson
Mike Obenauf
Jim Burke
Rick Hinderer
Charles Marlowe
Jim Smyth
Todd Begg
DB Fraley
Tom Mayo
Neil Blackwood
Ken Onion
Phil Boguszewski

I have seen all of the above makers work with wood as well as anodized titanium in their folders, so you should be able to find what you are looking for with one of them.
 
commodorewheeler said:
The aforementioned makers are both outstanding. I would also recommend the following makers:
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JL Williams -Unobtanium for the next 2 years at least
Tim Galyean- Great suggestion, top quality up-and-coming knifemaker
Kit Carson-Unobtanium for EDC prices for the next 5 years at least
Mike ObenaufGreat suggestion, top quality up-and-coming knifemaker
Jim Burke-Very big knives, sort of an over-the-top aesthetic
Rick Hinderer-Good EDC, very affordable, sort of boring aesthetic, but better than any mass production
Charles Marlowe-Don't Know
Jim Smyth-Don't Know
Todd Begg-Todd's work has been growing on me a lot lately, but the fixed blades are still better than the folders
DB Fraley-Not bad, how is his wait time?
Tom Mayo-A little on the spendy side, but a great, original styled EDC that will not let you down.
Neil Blackwood-Priced WAY out of the ballpark for EDC, unless you are a Gates or Murdoch
Ken Onion-If you win a drawing lottery, you are getting the deal of the day!
Phil Boguszewski-WAY overpriced run of the mill knives, have no idea why Phil is getting the play he is these days, but the Emporer has no clothes.
 
A few thoughts:
Kirby Lambert - great knives, obtainable, reasonably priced
RJ Martin - ditto
DB Fraley - great knives, flippers are hard to get, folders less so, good price
Boguszewski - I think his knives are SUPERB but very high priced
Mayo - a little pricey but my personal favorite EDC - not flashy unless you find one in Timascus which are pretty scarce, ride in the pocket well, very well designed
JL Williams - as good as they come but impossible to get
Galyean - ditto
Hinderer - very high quality at a very reasonable price
Obenauf - ditto
Try to get to Atlanta in June - thousands of knives to play with and pick what you like best!!
 
And I happen to like Allen Elishewitz's knives!! And Jens Anso, Kevin Wilkins........
 
Kohai999 said:
Jim Burke-Very big knives, sort of an over-the-top aesthetic
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Most of Jim's models are larger than what I would normally carry, but I have owned some of his smaller models, and they made great EDCs.

DB Fraley-Not bad, how is his wait time?
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Derek's delivery time on orders is about 3 years at this point in time, but unlike most similarly hot utility folder makers, he still takes new orders.

Neil Blackwood-Priced WAY out of the ballpark for EDC, unless you are a Gates or Murdoch
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Good point. I agree with you here, but I will say that most Blackwood folder owners, myself included, feel like they got their money's worth with Neil's work.

Phil Boguszewski-WAY overpriced run of the mill knives, have no idea why Phil is getting the play he is these days, but the Emporer has no clothes.
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I'll have to respectfully disagree with you on this one, Steven. Although Phil's knives aren't as heavy-duty compared to most utility folders nowadays, including those made by the other makers I mentioned, he still makes a very well-constructed knife. His fit and finish are near perfect, and the smoothness of his flipper action is second to none. Phil's table prices are still pretty reasonable as far as I know, too, it's the aftermarket where the prices really go up.

Steven makes a good point about the availability of knives from many of the makers I listed above, but if you are able to make it to Blade Show next month, most or all of them should have knives available for sale there.

Another good one I forgot to mention is Scott Cook. He doesn't take new orders anymore either, but he'll be at Blade Show also.
 
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win2.jpg

Simon,Check out this David Winston Framelock.Nice color anodized ti-framelock,carbon fiber onlay.Flat ground D-2.David has a pretty fast delivery time,and is a hell of a good man to do business with.He makes a strong smooth folder.
I've seen this knife with Ivory on-lays,and he told me he did one with Damascus on-lays.
 
commodorewheeler said:
I'll have to respectfully disagree with you on this one, Steven. Although Phil's knives aren't as heavy-duty compared to most utility folders nowadays, including those made by the other makers I mentioned, he still makes a very well-constructed knife. His fit and finish are near perfect, and the smoothness of his flipper action is second to none. Phil's table prices are still pretty reasonable as far as I know, too, it's the aftermarket where the prices really go up.

Steven makes a good point about the availability of knives from many of the makers I listed above, but if you are able to make it to Blade Show next month, most or all of them should have knives available for sale there.

Another good one I forgot to mention is Scott Cook. He doesn't take new orders anymore either, but he'll be at Blade Show also.
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Commodore,

I consider you an expert on tactical carry folders, but I have seen, handled and owned Bogi's for years, and at one point had 6 on my table for sale in 1995.

I chose the words "run of the mill", badly, but the context was in the group mentioned above, not knifemakers as a whole. I would say that a John Smith or Lee Williams flipper is on par with a Bogi, for about 1/2 or less of the price. My spies tell me that the Bogi's at Solvang were selling for around $1,750 from Phil hisself, and they look like $750.00 knives to me, so that is where that statement comes from.

Phil is having his moment in the sunshine. Maybe it will last.

Scott Cook makes great knives, and so does Jeremy Krammes, and I find his knives to be an EXCELLENT starting point in terms of price, useability and material choices. Dave Mosier as well.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
I chose the words "run of the mill", badly, but the context was in the group mentioned above, not knifemakers as a whole. I would say that a John Smith or Lee Williams flipper is on par with a Bogi, for about 1/2 or less of the price. My spies tell me that the Bogi's at Solvang were selling for around $1,750 from Phil hisself, and they look like $750.00 knives to me, so that is where that statement comes from.
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Steven, thanks for the clarification. Last I heard, for a plain flipper model such as the Cobra or Piranha, Phil's prices were still in the $700 range. I guess I am not fully up-to-date with his pricing. For $1750 though, I would hope that the ones that your spies saw were highly embellished, because that's even more than his plain model knives go for on the secondary market now.

I'm sure you are aware of this, too, but having owned and handled several of Phil's folders from different periods of his knifemaking career, I noticed a large jump in the quality of his work when he started making his flipper models. Nothing against his earlier work, but his flippers are what I give a stronger recommendation to.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Keep them coming if any other makers pop in your head, if nothing else, I can use pretty pictures on websites to look at during breaks from studying :D

Two questions come to mind.

The first is whether the Blade show has a site I can use to look up information on about the show. The current state of my car means that road trips are risky, but if I finally get around to getting my new car by then (I set aside the money some time back in January, but spring semester came up awfully fast), it could make for a fun way to break it in.

The second is about flipper knives. Are these assisted opening things, or a new style of opening that cropped up during my break from collecting?
 
Simon, only a small percentage of flippers are assisted openers, Ken Onion's being the most noteworthy. Most flippers are manual action, where the force generated by the user pushing or pulling on the tab propels the blade into the open locked position.

While some flippers require some additional wrist action to open completely, the overwhelming majority of well-constructed flippers require no wrist action whatsoever to propel the blade open into the locked position.

I'm sure Blade Show has a website, but I don't know for sure where it is. Let me see if I can find it and post a link for you.
 
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