I have a Gerber EZ-out with ATS-34 blade...I hate it....but unfortunately my hate is totally unfounded, as there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. The ATS-34 takes and holds an edge very well, it locks up strong and has practically no play. Aside from the fact that it looks really cheap and generic it is actually a very good knife, especially for the price I paid ($30). Yeah I know, you can get a Calypso Jr. for $35, which is one of the best knives ever made (IMHO) but oh well.
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Manufacturer Reputation Poll
- Thread starter beetlegauss
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2002
- Messages
- 5,868
I will respond in kind and add a few
Lone Wolf Knives 8
Chris Reeve Knives 10
Cutter Knife and Tool 9
CRKT 5
Spyderco 6
Gerber 3
Smith & Wesson 1
Camillus 5
Swamp Rat 8
Schrade 3
Ka-Bar 4
Böker 2
Emerson 3
Masters of Defense 7
Kershaw 6
SOG 4
Cold Steel 4
Ontario (No experience with them)
Meyerco (No experience with them)
Microtech 9
Benchmade 8
The Bad Guy, a couple of comments/questions on your ratings:
I'm wondering about your Boker rating of "2", rated below Schrade. My newest Boker is an Argentina-made 'bowie' knives with wood scales. It appears to be well made, especially for the money. The BokerMatic is an interesting design, but probably deserves a 2 rating for quality. I've been looking at the Argentina-made 'gauncho' knives with the stag handles; they seem like good products.
I've never had a quality/value/performance problem with any of the many Gerber knives I've bought. I'd consider them a strong "average," or 5 on your scale. Have you had 'issues'?
Thanks,
Bob
The quality is OK; they're marketed purely on their gimmic-y designs. But I'm still a sucker for 'em when they're on closeout sales. I paid $6 for the SpeedDemon and $32 for the 3-5/8" Rascal. No remorse.
I'm wondering about your Boker rating of "2", rated below Schrade. My newest Boker is an Argentina-made 'bowie' knives with wood scales. It appears to be well made, especially for the money. The BokerMatic is an interesting design, but probably deserves a 2 rating for quality. I've been looking at the Argentina-made 'gauncho' knives with the stag handles; they seem like good products.
I've never had a quality/value/performance problem with any of the many Gerber knives I've bought. I'd consider them a strong "average," or 5 on your scale. Have you had 'issues'?
Thanks,
Bob
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2004
- Messages
- 1,467
Yeah, they use 440A, which isn't a problem in my book, but their heat treat sucks. The AR series is nice because of their solid aluminum handles, but the knives get serious bladeplay unless you tighten them to the point of being two handed openers. I also got some serioous vertical play in mine after two months hard use.
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2002
- Messages
- 5,868
My ratings go for the few models I have handled from each maker/company and the Bokers I have handled were of poor overall quality. That doesn't mean they don't make some fine knives of course
I have handled three Gerbers.. A Multitool by Gerber, a Gator and a Gatormate. All three were on the low end when it came to quality/materials/preformance. Results may vary
Thanks for taking the time to satisfy my curiousity. But that's what we do here, talk about our knives.
I like my Gator, although it's obviously not the same quality materials as a $100 knife. It's at least as good as a BuckLite or any other similar knife in the same price range. The LST is a good knife for the money but obviously made for the bottom-end market; it's certainly better than any $10 Chinese knife of similar design/style. I really like the Gerber Silver Knights, small distinctive slip-joints made in Japan.
-Bob
I like my Gator, although it's obviously not the same quality materials as a $100 knife. It's at least as good as a BuckLite or any other similar knife in the same price range. The LST is a good knife for the money but obviously made for the bottom-end market; it's certainly better than any $10 Chinese knife of similar design/style. I really like the Gerber Silver Knights, small distinctive slip-joints made in Japan.
-Bob
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2002
- Messages
- 2,283
On the Darrel Ralph being a copy cat remarks, I think they come from the fact that the guys a Strider fan and Darrel Ralph has a knife out Tiger Stripe Finish, And being as Strider invented Tiger Stripping Darrel Ralph must be copying ever one.
Now for my opinion on companies:
* Chris Reeve: Top Notch knives, Never seen a flawed one. Good customer service.
* Benchmade: Great knives using good materials, not counting their "Red Box" series. Their customer service is top notch, They do traditionally crap on their dealers.
* Spyderco: Great knives at good prices but still using good materials. Customer service is top notch.
* Kershaw: Cool designs, decent knives for the money, the majority of their products use low end materials but are still functional, They do make some higher end runs with better materials. (Always loved the Whisper). Customer service is good.
* S&W Knives: Decent looking knives, Made by Taylor cutlery, Tend to be on the cheap side and use sub par materials for my like.
* Buck: Great classic designs, some of the best "hunting" type fixed blades on the market for the money. Their "tactical" knives can be over priced for what you get in materials. Great customer service.
* Camillus: Have some great classic designs, Some great modern designs, Mostly American made and top quality for production knives. Have had no dealings with their customer service but have not heard anything bad.
* Case: Classic designs for slipjoints with a wide range of handle materials, Steels used are not high end modern steels but they are traditional user steels and most people who like the style of knife like the steels. Customer service OK.
* Boker: Have started using higher end steels in some of their designs (440C). Have a classic look to most of their knives and fit and finish is good. A little higher priced than should be but not out rageous.
* Victorinox: Hard to rate them on the scale but great knives when comparing the knife to the money spent, everyone should have one. Not familiar with their customer service.
* Scrade: Good working knives for the money. Sorry to see them go.
* Gerber: Great knives 15 years ago, but they have not kept up with the time. Had Gator for years that for the money was a good working knife.
* SOG: Some cool designs, decent materials, prices can be good. Some of their fixed blades cant be beat for the money. Customer service is good.
* Emerson: Cool designs a few year ago, Quality can be spotty with rough actions and rough looking finishes. Have gotten better though. Overpriced. Not sure of customer service.
* Al Mar: Tuff "tactical" folders, elegant gents knives, Great fit and finish. Good company, Great customer service but have a slow turn around.
* William Henry: Great designs, excellent craftsmanship, fit and finish, top notch materials, Their knives make great gents knives but not hard use folders. Customer service is good.
* Cold Steel: Mid range user knives, not bad on fit and finish for the money. Some of their higher end stuff is real nice but a little over priced. Good customer service.
* Ka-Bar: Some of the best value for the money in fixed blades, Classic designs and some with modern touches. Good customer service.
* Lone Wolf: Very new company but some nice knives in the Tactical range with good materials and designs, some classy gents type knives. Time will tell how they hold up and how their customer service is.
* Microtech: Cool designs, top notch materials, slow turn around time on customer service and can be touchy about it.
* Becker: Part of Camillus but separating them here, They have great value in their knives.
* Strider: Not really a production knife company, they are kind of like CRK, but tough folders, over built, can have spotty fit and finish. Good materials, Great customer service based on what I have read.
* CRKT: Good knives for the price range, Materials are decent. Customer service is spotty.
Just some off the top of my head, and I may be biased toward Chris Reeve knives and Spyderco
Edited to change to Change Para Cord to Tiger Stripe
Now for my opinion on companies:
* Chris Reeve: Top Notch knives, Never seen a flawed one. Good customer service.
* Benchmade: Great knives using good materials, not counting their "Red Box" series. Their customer service is top notch, They do traditionally crap on their dealers.
* Spyderco: Great knives at good prices but still using good materials. Customer service is top notch.
* Kershaw: Cool designs, decent knives for the money, the majority of their products use low end materials but are still functional, They do make some higher end runs with better materials. (Always loved the Whisper). Customer service is good.
* S&W Knives: Decent looking knives, Made by Taylor cutlery, Tend to be on the cheap side and use sub par materials for my like.
* Buck: Great classic designs, some of the best "hunting" type fixed blades on the market for the money. Their "tactical" knives can be over priced for what you get in materials. Great customer service.
* Camillus: Have some great classic designs, Some great modern designs, Mostly American made and top quality for production knives. Have had no dealings with their customer service but have not heard anything bad.
* Case: Classic designs for slipjoints with a wide range of handle materials, Steels used are not high end modern steels but they are traditional user steels and most people who like the style of knife like the steels. Customer service OK.
* Boker: Have started using higher end steels in some of their designs (440C). Have a classic look to most of their knives and fit and finish is good. A little higher priced than should be but not out rageous.
* Victorinox: Hard to rate them on the scale but great knives when comparing the knife to the money spent, everyone should have one. Not familiar with their customer service.
* Scrade: Good working knives for the money. Sorry to see them go.
* Gerber: Great knives 15 years ago, but they have not kept up with the time. Had Gator for years that for the money was a good working knife.
* SOG: Some cool designs, decent materials, prices can be good. Some of their fixed blades cant be beat for the money. Customer service is good.
* Emerson: Cool designs a few year ago, Quality can be spotty with rough actions and rough looking finishes. Have gotten better though. Overpriced. Not sure of customer service.
* Al Mar: Tuff "tactical" folders, elegant gents knives, Great fit and finish. Good company, Great customer service but have a slow turn around.
* William Henry: Great designs, excellent craftsmanship, fit and finish, top notch materials, Their knives make great gents knives but not hard use folders. Customer service is good.
* Cold Steel: Mid range user knives, not bad on fit and finish for the money. Some of their higher end stuff is real nice but a little over priced. Good customer service.
* Ka-Bar: Some of the best value for the money in fixed blades, Classic designs and some with modern touches. Good customer service.
* Lone Wolf: Very new company but some nice knives in the Tactical range with good materials and designs, some classy gents type knives. Time will tell how they hold up and how their customer service is.
* Microtech: Cool designs, top notch materials, slow turn around time on customer service and can be touchy about it.
* Becker: Part of Camillus but separating them here, They have great value in their knives.
* Strider: Not really a production knife company, they are kind of like CRK, but tough folders, over built, can have spotty fit and finish. Good materials, Great customer service based on what I have read.
* CRKT: Good knives for the price range, Materials are decent. Customer service is spotty.
Just some off the top of my head, and I may be biased toward Chris Reeve knives and Spyderco
Edited to change to Change Para Cord to Tiger Stripe
C Ben Susrool
Gold Member
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2000
- Messages
- 2,256
Are you SURE? I cn't call the name now, but I know one manufacturer sold cord wrapped handles years ago that where popular during and after the Viet Nam war era, and I think that was before I ever heard of StriderNGK-Webmaster said:
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2002
- Messages
- 5,868
C Ben Susrool said:Are you SURE? I cn't call the name now, but I know one manufacturer sold cord wrapped handles years ago that where popular during and after the Viet Nam war era, and I think that was before I ever heard of Strider
Yeah, I know that EK knives had cord wrapped handles back in the 80s. I think NGK was close. I believe the dispute was in regards to the tigerstrip finish
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2002
- Messages
- 2,283
Yea I think you are right TGB. ooops
Benchmade - The best knives I have ever owned. Excellent bang for the buck when bought online, dealer prices are a little on the high side IMO. I own more benchmades than any other brand so they are my favorite and thus I am biased towards benchmade. Took two months to get my 2550 sharpened and returned through a dealer, not sure whos fault it is that it took so long. BTW red class sucks IMO but that is based off of a POS pika I had, I didn't like the fit or finish at all. Not up to BM standards IMO.
Spyderco - My endura feels cheap because of the FRN handle but the serrated edge is just down right nasty sharp. Best $40 I have spent on a knife.
Buck - THE AMERICAN KNIFE, materials could be better but everyone knows what a buck knife is. I have a nighthawk and the blade steel sucks and is a pain to sharpen but it feels great in my hand excellent knife for $40
Gerber - They use to be my wish list dominating knife company. I have an old EZ out that has served me very very well for more than 10 years. Their BMF and LMF fixed blades were awesome knives. Their quality and appeal has diminished significantly.
Protech - After hearing so much good stuff about protech and finally giving in and plunking down the $140 I bought a godson. I was disappointed to say the least. I found the G-10 to be slippery not good on an auto. The blade was also somewhat thin for my liking, purely a stabber or expensive letter opener. I love the jazz anodizing but overall I found that I like my BM autos far more than I liked the godson. I know I might get flamed but I am just giving my observations.
Leatherman - Tools are a bit brittle but their customer service is TOP FREAKIN NOTCH. I sent in a very mangled PST 3 days later I had a new one on my door step. When I say mangled I mean mangled, blade was broken, plier jaws no longer lined up right, every screw driver broken, easily could have called it abused and they didn't fix it they sent a brand new one and very quickly at that.
Kershaw - I love the assisted openers. Neat neat neat idea. Materials are lacking but a good, fun, beater knife.
Cold Steel - Over rated but they make some nice, thin, easily concealed fixed blades that will take care of business in a pinch.
I think that is all for now.
Spyderco - My endura feels cheap because of the FRN handle but the serrated edge is just down right nasty sharp. Best $40 I have spent on a knife.
Buck - THE AMERICAN KNIFE, materials could be better but everyone knows what a buck knife is. I have a nighthawk and the blade steel sucks and is a pain to sharpen but it feels great in my hand excellent knife for $40
Gerber - They use to be my wish list dominating knife company. I have an old EZ out that has served me very very well for more than 10 years. Their BMF and LMF fixed blades were awesome knives. Their quality and appeal has diminished significantly.
Protech - After hearing so much good stuff about protech and finally giving in and plunking down the $140 I bought a godson. I was disappointed to say the least. I found the G-10 to be slippery not good on an auto. The blade was also somewhat thin for my liking, purely a stabber or expensive letter opener. I love the jazz anodizing but overall I found that I like my BM autos far more than I liked the godson. I know I might get flamed but I am just giving my observations.
Leatherman - Tools are a bit brittle but their customer service is TOP FREAKIN NOTCH. I sent in a very mangled PST 3 days later I had a new one on my door step. When I say mangled I mean mangled, blade was broken, plier jaws no longer lined up right, every screw driver broken, easily could have called it abused and they didn't fix it they sent a brand new one and very quickly at that.
Kershaw - I love the assisted openers. Neat neat neat idea. Materials are lacking but a good, fun, beater knife.
Cold Steel - Over rated but they make some nice, thin, easily concealed fixed blades that will take care of business in a pinch.
I think that is all for now.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2003
- Messages
- 211
Chris Reeve: 9 The standard which all other folders are compared. Gets a ding for price. Ex.- Sebenza large small classic or regular, cant go wrong.
Microtech 9 Makes some of the coolest stuff out there esp. autos. They get a ding for spotty customer service. Ex. D/E scararbs, utx-70 and soon the whaleshark
Benchmade: 8 Some of the Best production knives around. They work w/ some of the best custom makers and do a great job. BM 630, Snody Auto resisitor, any and all of their balisongs.
Spyderco: 8 Have something for everyone and real users. There online presence and customer service earns them a gold star. Civilian, Szabofly, Spyderfly
Kershaw: 7 Seems like they run hot or cold. They have hit homeruns (leeks, scallion etc) but could use better materials.
S&W Knives: 3 Not interested in CCC. bad experience w/ these based on only a few test subjects
Buck: 7 American classic. Buck 110 is another standard and the Buck Strider collab knives are awesome imho. There custom shoppe is top notch also.
Camillus: 7 Their DR stuff is awesome. Ex- Gibson Maxx, EDC talonite,
Dominator, and aftermath. I give them a bump up for making BIG blades.
Case: 5 Cool old school knives that need to up there materials.
Leatherman 8 THE multitool company imho. They make a multitool for just about everyones needs. Ti-Charge kicks @$$
Gerber: 6- Once a favorite, they have downgraded considerably
Microtech 9 Makes some of the coolest stuff out there esp. autos. They get a ding for spotty customer service. Ex. D/E scararbs, utx-70 and soon the whaleshark
Benchmade: 8 Some of the Best production knives around. They work w/ some of the best custom makers and do a great job. BM 630, Snody Auto resisitor, any and all of their balisongs.
Spyderco: 8 Have something for everyone and real users. There online presence and customer service earns them a gold star. Civilian, Szabofly, Spyderfly
Kershaw: 7 Seems like they run hot or cold. They have hit homeruns (leeks, scallion etc) but could use better materials.
S&W Knives: 3 Not interested in CCC. bad experience w/ these based on only a few test subjects
Buck: 7 American classic. Buck 110 is another standard and the Buck Strider collab knives are awesome imho. There custom shoppe is top notch also.
Camillus: 7 Their DR stuff is awesome. Ex- Gibson Maxx, EDC talonite,
Dominator, and aftermath. I give them a bump up for making BIG blades.
Case: 5 Cool old school knives that need to up there materials.
Leatherman 8 THE multitool company imho. They make a multitool for just about everyones needs. Ti-Charge kicks @$$
Gerber: 6- Once a favorite, they have downgraded considerably
silenthunterstudios
Slipjoint Addict
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2005
- Messages
- 20,039
Cold Steel is vastly overrated, mainly on their part from their Proof dvd's. I like their Voyagers, I have three and they work fine, except the one tanto I have can't hold an edge. A small Trailmaster that I own is an okay folder, I wouldn't put it through any hard use, but it is okay for menial tasks, I leave it in my truck. My El Hombre hasn't seen any use. My Scottish Dirk is a shelf knife, I don't think that will ever see the field. My Recon Tanto is a POS, it is a second, but I expected more from CS, it has already lost what little edge it was shipped with, and its only sat in my collection box! The point bent backwards after I was goofing around with it on a tree. My Kukri machete is a great knife, I've used it to break rocks, and resharpened it, and it's just like new. I've never used my Culloden or my jr Stockman. My take on the company, okay for tools, not okay for hard use survival.
CRKT is not as bad as people make on this board, IMO, but they aren't that great either. My brand new Pikes Peak has a loose liner lock, and is very dull. My M21-14 is a great knife, and I would not think twice about relying on it as my camping/hiking folder. My M16 EDC is okay to be left in my office desk. I have two M16 spear point folders, one is sans flipper, the other has a flipper and is an M16-13Z. Guess which one I use more? Shoulda paid attention to that eBay auction and gotten a good 13 folder. I like my Ryan Model 7, and I am selling that one, to get a Model 7 Black, never used it. Again, mainly good for tools except for my old M16-13 and my M21-14, I'd say the M21 makes a great camping knife, very tough.
Smith and Wesson I had two folders, they were both POS, they are currently rotting in my tackle box.
Kershaw is an okay brand, I really like my Splinter with the quince wood handles, never put it through any hard use. My Chive is an okay knife, the safety is loose, I use it occassionally. I have three Scallions, two black and one green, one has a broken safety, not great, but okay to leave in either the tackle box, truck or tool box. Last but not least, I have a Blackout, just played with it, never put it through any hard use. I like the edge retention, maybe I just haven't put them through enough abuse. Undecided about these, maybe just good EDC's.
Spyderco, I have too many to count, let's see if I can remember them all
. Okay, my Endura, haven't used it yet, except to cut cardboard, holds up. Same for my Delica, I have two, both are good. I really like my Meerkat, very tough, except it loses its edge quickly. My Ladybug is a great little folder. Jester, haven't used yet. Dragonfly, Navigator and Cricket haven't been used all that much. I like them, probably the best so far as to the Delica and Endura (I'm already drinking the Spyderco Kookaid 
).
Camillus, I have two Marine fighters, with sawbacks and serrations, they're okay, but the hilts are loose! I also have two boat knives, one is falling apart, and the other is perfect! Don't know why that is, but I would have to say that these pieces are okay for light use, tools, but they are supposed to be survival for the USMC's and everyday hard use for the boat knives.
Buck, I have a beautiful 110 damascus stag handled folder, that's definitely a shelf piece, I have another 110, I use it sparingly, and I have a Strider Tarani Police folder, which, while the liner lock bothers me, I still use it, and it is very tough. I have a silver knight, and it stays in my roll. Old company, once again, I think that they are great everyday pieces.
SOG, my Trident is just itching to be used hardcore, no worries so far, except for the loud thwack it emits when I open it. The Twitch and Twitch II I have are great EDC's. The Blink is my main EDC, never fails. My Flash II is a lot of fun to play with, but I haven't used it yet. Little bit of wiggle for the assisted openers, but great pieces just the same.
This is the multitude of my collection, I can't remember all of them right now, but as far as production models go, they work pretty good for the most part. I wouldn't put as much confidence in them, as say a brand like Sebenza or Strider. If I was stuck in the great wilds of the world, I would count myself lucky to have a Chinese made POS, better than nothing at all. For the ones listed above, I think that I would be able to make due if I was caught in some scenario the members like to discuss in the Survival forum. As you can see, I have a lot of folders, but not too many fixeds, any good suggestions?
CRKT is not as bad as people make on this board, IMO, but they aren't that great either. My brand new Pikes Peak has a loose liner lock, and is very dull. My M21-14 is a great knife, and I would not think twice about relying on it as my camping/hiking folder. My M16 EDC is okay to be left in my office desk. I have two M16 spear point folders, one is sans flipper, the other has a flipper and is an M16-13Z. Guess which one I use more? Shoulda paid attention to that eBay auction and gotten a good 13 folder. I like my Ryan Model 7, and I am selling that one, to get a Model 7 Black, never used it. Again, mainly good for tools except for my old M16-13 and my M21-14, I'd say the M21 makes a great camping knife, very tough.
Smith and Wesson I had two folders, they were both POS, they are currently rotting in my tackle box.
Kershaw is an okay brand, I really like my Splinter with the quince wood handles, never put it through any hard use. My Chive is an okay knife, the safety is loose, I use it occassionally. I have three Scallions, two black and one green, one has a broken safety, not great, but okay to leave in either the tackle box, truck or tool box. Last but not least, I have a Blackout, just played with it, never put it through any hard use. I like the edge retention, maybe I just haven't put them through enough abuse. Undecided about these, maybe just good EDC's.
Spyderco, I have too many to count, let's see if I can remember them all
. Okay, my Endura, haven't used it yet, except to cut cardboard, holds up. Same for my Delica, I have two, both are good. I really like my Meerkat, very tough, except it loses its edge quickly. My Ladybug is a great little folder. Jester, haven't used yet. Dragonfly, Navigator and Cricket haven't been used all that much. I like them, probably the best so far as to the Delica and Endura (I'm already drinking the Spyderco Kookaid ). Camillus, I have two Marine fighters, with sawbacks and serrations, they're okay, but the hilts are loose! I also have two boat knives, one is falling apart, and the other is perfect! Don't know why that is, but I would have to say that these pieces are okay for light use, tools, but they are supposed to be survival for the USMC's and everyday hard use for the boat knives.
Buck, I have a beautiful 110 damascus stag handled folder, that's definitely a shelf piece, I have another 110, I use it sparingly, and I have a Strider Tarani Police folder, which, while the liner lock bothers me, I still use it, and it is very tough. I have a silver knight, and it stays in my roll. Old company, once again, I think that they are great everyday pieces.
SOG, my Trident is just itching to be used hardcore, no worries so far, except for the loud thwack it emits when I open it. The Twitch and Twitch II I have are great EDC's. The Blink is my main EDC, never fails. My Flash II is a lot of fun to play with, but I haven't used it yet. Little bit of wiggle for the assisted openers, but great pieces just the same.
This is the multitude of my collection, I can't remember all of them right now, but as far as production models go, they work pretty good for the most part. I wouldn't put as much confidence in them, as say a brand like Sebenza or Strider. If I was stuck in the great wilds of the world, I would count myself lucky to have a Chinese made POS, better than nothing at all. For the ones listed above, I think that I would be able to make due if I was caught in some scenario the members like to discuss in the Survival forum. As you can see, I have a lot of folders, but not too many fixeds, any good suggestions?
I'm no fan of CS folders but their fixed blades are OK beaters.
CRKT has innovative designs, low price points, and awful QC. Also, their heat treating sucks, so their blades (AUS6 AND AUS8--IME) don't hold an edge, and go dull while sitting freshly sharpened, while closed in a pocket. Fixed blades have some of the world's worst sheaths. Can't comment as to their CS because I've either sold off or flat-out junked every blade of theirs I've had.
Spyderco is a first-class operation all the way IME. Ditto BM.
Gerber is a decent company although some of their edges in the past few years have been a little soft as well.
Kershaw makes some pretty decent blades for the money and their CS is first-rate.
Camillus (BK&T): Some of the best using blades for the money that can be had, especially the BK1 and BK3. Also excellent CS.
CRKT has innovative designs, low price points, and awful QC. Also, their heat treating sucks, so their blades (AUS6 AND AUS8--IME) don't hold an edge, and go dull while sitting freshly sharpened, while closed in a pocket. Fixed blades have some of the world's worst sheaths. Can't comment as to their CS because I've either sold off or flat-out junked every blade of theirs I've had.
Spyderco is a first-class operation all the way IME. Ditto BM.
Gerber is a decent company although some of their edges in the past few years have been a little soft as well.
Kershaw makes some pretty decent blades for the money and their CS is first-rate.
Camillus (BK&T): Some of the best using blades for the money that can be had, especially the BK1 and BK3. Also excellent CS.
I'd like to put in a plug for a few companies(at least in a historical context):
United Cutlery- They can put out some very decent knives when they want too. The Lainhart series was an example of this. They also contract with Cammilus quite a bit, those are very decent knives for the money.
Smith and Wesson- Before they sold their name to Taylor, they put out some very high end stuff.
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Also there are some companies that arn't all that great at producing certain genres of knives. For instance, Schrade produced nice traditional patterns, but weren't great at designing "tactical" knives. Boker and Buck, until recently fell into this class also in my opinion.
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United Cutlery- They can put out some very decent knives when they want too. The Lainhart series was an example of this. They also contract with Cammilus quite a bit, those are very decent knives for the money.
Smith and Wesson- Before they sold their name to Taylor, they put out some very high end stuff.
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Also there are some companies that arn't all that great at producing certain genres of knives. For instance, Schrade produced nice traditional patterns, but weren't great at designing "tactical" knives. Boker and Buck, until recently fell into this class also in my opinion.
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- Joined
- Feb 27, 2005
- Messages
- 8,347
I've found that my UC and SW knives are okay... nothing close to anything higher end, but they do the job. I'd say for the most part, they're worth the money, but UC doesn't seem to have many practical designs. Just IMHO.
I also have a Gerber paraframe, had it nearly forever. Great beater knife. Kept its edge a long time, just nice to have about.
Waiting on my Spyderco... we'll see about that one. My next one will be a Benchmade.
Oh, just from what I can see, Spyderco and Benchmade might both be about the same from most people's opinions here, but for me Benchmade gets a slight edge because I find their knives more aesthetically pleasing...
I also have a Gerber paraframe, had it nearly forever. Great beater knife. Kept its edge a long time, just nice to have about.
Waiting on my Spyderco... we'll see about that one. My next one will be a Benchmade.
Oh, just from what I can see, Spyderco and Benchmade might both be about the same from most people's opinions here, but for me Benchmade gets a slight edge because I find their knives more aesthetically pleasing...
Fisher of Men
Banned
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- Feb 22, 2005
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- 593
Temper said:
I'm going to have to agree with you here. I however like the look of most of the Spyderco knives.I used to be a huge Benchmade fan, until I recently bought my first Spyderco. Spyderco is really a TON better than I gave them credit for. When my Benchmade is in my pocket I know it's there and sometimes it can even be uncomfortable. I don't even notice the Scorpius I have, because it's thin and light. The handle looks weird but it feels ultra-good in your hand.
I would say that I am now a Spyderco addict. I have both Spyderco and Benchmade and now all I want to buy is Spyderco
I do think the Victorinox SAK's are nice. Good price and good product.
Cheers,
Fisher of Men
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2003
- Messages
- 211
Forgot about Bark River Knife and Tool or is that a semi custom?
Anyhow, cool stuff for a fair price.
Anyhow, cool stuff for a fair price.