Most Durable Folding Knife?

T

The Towcutter

Joined
Jan 16, 2001
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166
I am curious to what the most durable foding knife available is. Here are the parameters I am looking for;

Corrosion resistance- Satin finished stainless is more prone to corrosion that a coated blade. So I would look more towards a coated blade. (Except for Talonite, which I am really do not know much about)

Coating Integrity. How well does the blade coating hold up to useage? The Black T and other coatings used by most manufactures scratch off too easily. The best coating I have seen for durability is Boron Carbide. I does not protect as well against rust, but it can be coated over other more corrosion resistant coatings. To my knowledge the only production knife that offers this are Microtechs.

Lock Strength. Sebenzas have great locks but their blades aren't coated. Axis lock benchmades use Black T coating (with one exception). Liner locks are generally held to be inferior to the afore mentioned (sans Microtech) So in essence you can't get a strong lock with a strong coating.

Handle Material. Aluminum dents too easily. Titanium scratches too easily. Zytel feels cheap. G10 really is the best handle material out there- almost perfect. Matte finish carbon fiber???

Steel strength. Once again I am a novice at this, but M2 is considersed stronger than ats 34, 154cm, d2 etc. But it rusts like crazy.

Those are the parameters and my thoughts on each one. In my opinion the stongest folder would be a Talonite or M2 (coated with Black T and Boron Carbide) blade with a G10 handle and a axis lock.

Anyone make such a knife? What are your thoughts?
 
...and 'old style' Spyderco Endura 50/50.

The damn thing just refused to die. So, I sold it to Revolvergeek.

Hopefully he has better luck killing it than I did.

It was GIN-1 'G2' steel btw.

Mel
 
Well, I think you can't beat a Talonite/Stellite blade for corrosion resistance but if you want a "durable" coated blade, you might want to look at the Farid T1000...it has a tungsten blade with diamond coating...the edge hardness is 80RC!!! It has a liner lock but the liner is much thicker than most.

ba01764.jpg



RL
 
A few knives that fit your parameters:

Benchmade 710HS - It's got M2 steel, G10, and the axis lock. If it had a BC coating it would be perfect. Benchmade made the 705 with M2 and BC coating a couple months ago but it was a limited edition.

Camillus Talonite EDC - It's got a strong frame-lock and won't rust.

Spyderco Lil Temperance - G10 handle, 440v steel, and the compression lock. It doesn't have any coating but I think 440v is reasonably rust resistant.
 
Dang but those Farid's are some truly ugly beasts, but that is just my opinion of course.

For a tough folder, you can't beat the TOPS CQT Magnum folders.
 
Ok, this is a tough one.

Corrosion Resistance- In my experience, Satin finished blades under normal usage won't rust. If the environment the knife is subjected to is less friendly, Benchmade's BT2 will prevent rusting, it will scratch easily but this does not effect its corrosion resistant properties. Boron Carbide is a better coating, it looks nicer to begin with and does the job even better without getting scratched.

Coating Integrity- Most coatings will scratch off easily, not that this necessarily impairs their ability to prevent corrosion, but i'll stick with my comment about Boron Carbide, i believe it to be the best.

Lock Strength- You can get a strong lock with a strong coating, just take a look at the MOD CQD and CQD Mark 2, Titanium Carbonitride coating and the Plunge Lock. There are also strong liner locks, lock-backs and frame-locks available.

Handle Material- So far i haven't had a knife with an aluminium handle (i can't see denting being a problem on a good example though), so far my personal preference is for G10. Carbon Fibre is supposed to be a lot stronger than G10, but IMO G10 is strong enough that it shouldn't make a difference in real world performance.

Steel Strength- I don't think this is important as long as we're talking about a blade which isn't particularly thin. M2 is supposed to be especially tough, but i can't see a decent-sized (strong profile) blade of 154CM, D2 etc breaking under hard use.

If you want a tough folder with a strong lock and a hard-to-scratch blade coating, you could do a lot worse than the MOD CQD.
 
You seem to be stuck on the blade coating issue. If that is the case then you are looking for the most corrosion resistant knife. If you are looking for the most duarble knife, I would have to elect the Strider AR or GB. You could pry/cut yourself out of a locked steel dumpster with one of those. If they are out of your range I would go with thier Buck counterparts. I love my Dale Reif ATROX, CPM 440V blade Ti liner with CF overlays. Light and durable as hell. It doesn't have a coated blade, but a little tuf-cloth and I don't worry about it. If you keep after the knife you pick, rust shouldn't be a problem. If not, you could always try a Talonite, or Stellite 6K blade and then coat it with Boron Carbide. :eek: That would be overkill though. :D
 
Melvin,

Uh.. I was suppossed to kill it?? Damn, and I just finished cleaning it up !! :D

Reground the point and edge on it, and recut all the serrations and tied a rattail onto the end of it.

The Delica is slowly rising back from the dead... something of an unholy zombie knife... more like a dragonfly blade on it now !!!

Danny
 
Originally posted by mikemck
Dang but those Farid's are some truly ugly beasts, but that is just my opinion of course.
Click to expand...

Come on...how could you not love a face like this? :D

ba01766.jpg


BTW, the polka dots have a tactical function as a non-lethal weapon...they can easily make the BG laugh to death :D

(BTW, this knife is real..I did not do this in Photoshop...I kinda like it :) )




RL
 
I've got a few opinions here.

1. Blade coatings are useful, but not as meaningful as some might think. A slightly rusted knife is still functional, just not pretty. Even if you used the ultimate blade coating, the edge bevel would not have this coating. And the edge bevel is really what matters. If the edge bevel rusts, you'll see a big performance hit. As good as some blade coatings are, they in no way help to maintain good edge performance.

2. The Axis lock is sexy, slick and strong. I love it. With that said, I still prefer the frame lock. There is just so much less that can go wrong. While the Axis lock may very well win for overall convenience and fun, I like the frame lock for absolute durability in the outdoors.

3. I love Talonite. It takes a great edge and seems utterly rust resistant. There’s no need for a blade coating. Talonite is not perfect though, if my memory is correct. I believe that the lateral strength of a Talonite blade is much less than a good tough steel. You need a thicker Talonite blade to equal the lateral strength of a similar steel blade. If you want ultimate strength, I’d go with steel. I personally prefer Talonite for small knives, but like good old carbon 52-100 carbon steel for the big stuff. That could change though once I get my hands on a Busse with INFI.

Ultimately, there is always a compromise. You have to weigh strength versus rust resistance versus wear resistance, etc, etc, etc. When it comes to folders, the Seb is my favorite. The lock is obviously strong as heck, and BG-42 is an excellent compromise between rust resistance and edge holding. BG-42 is also very easy to field sharpen, which is a big factor to many people. The Sebenza is also offered in S30V now, which is quickly developing a following.

The Benchmade 710 is also exceptional, especially for its price. While I still have some minor concerns about the 710’s ultimate durability over years of hard use, there is no proof that problems may occur. Benchmade even designed the lock with redundant springs, just in case. And M2 is some awesome stuff. I don’t have a bad thing to say about it.

The Camillus EDC, while not constructed like a Seb, is a great value. The lock is very strong, and should survive years of use. You even get your choice from a number blade material options, depending on your idea of a best compromise.
 
I'm sorry ,mate but your queston was the "most durable folding knife"
is best answered by a knife that probably will not even be considered by
your rather exotic list of qualifications.

That knife would have to be the venerable Buck 110 & 112 or the Schrade
Lb-7. All lockbacks with brass or nickle silver bolsters with good steel blades.
not hi tech I know but I've never heard one failing during use unless used to pry
with. Years & years of good dependable service would sure qualify as "most dependable"
to me. Kinda boring as far as knives go I know ,but it sure is reassuring to know
these knives will work when I need them to.
 
Tightwad - I think you're right on track. The whole time I was scanning down this post I was thinking of the good ol' 112 with finger grooves.
 
Originally posted by Tightwad
"most durable folding knife" ... That knife would have to be the venerable Buck 110 & 112 or the Schrade Lb-7.
Click to expand...
Last year a friend of mine brought me a knife he had dug up in a garden. It was a Buck, similar to the 110, but smaller, with finger grooves on a plastic handle. It was locked open and stuffed with mud.

I blasted the dirt out under a faucet, cleaned out the rest with a Q-tip, lubed it with White Lightning, and cycled it a few dozen times. The action got very smooth. No blade play at all. About 1/4" of the tip had been snapped off, and the blade looked like aluminum, it was so abraded. But it only took a few minutes to restore the edge on my Sharpmaker.

Dead, buried -- and resurrected.
 
Gotta agree with Buzzbait, the frame lock is tough to beat. The Sebenza is the most solid folder I have ever seen. The Buck 110/112 has stood the test of time. It's a timeless classic.
The Camillus EDC hasn't been with us long enough to truely form an opinion. It does show great promise. Only time will tell.

Paul
 
Seems like a Talonite "something" is what you want for the non-rust factor, so I'd suggest the Camillus Talonite EDC. I'd guess the frame lock on the EDC would hold up a long time.., but as mentioned, that certainly hasn't been proven.

Some good posts you guys! Good thread...


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
This is sort of a "left-field" answer, but what about a decent quality balisong? If you didn't manipulate it non-stop, I think the pins and lock mechanism would last darn near forever. And with the wide variety of coated/uncoated blades and titanium handles, the corrosion problem is pretty much licked.
 
Strider AR or GB is the ultimate. Framelocks are also absolutely excellent. There are many makers of which I am one. ;)
 
Yes, the Strider folders or the TOPS Magnum(s) are most probably the toughest folders available, or maybe the Mission MPF.
 
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