Most Overrated Folder

Frotier76 said:
Buck Vantage Pro- S30V Steel,dual liners and liner lock.G-10 scales and very low carry...$60.The Manix 2 is a comfy feeling knife but it's actually $90-$100 on Amazon.The Manix 2 is also extremely wide in ones pocket when clipped on.Why put such a hardcore lock on the Manix blade when it isn't even swedged.The compression lock is in my opinion a weaker take on the Nakamura Lock (reverse liner lock with a hook shape) which looked more solid on a China made $45 Ridge Top knife by Benchmade/Lone Wolf.

Spyderco is probably the one knife manufacturer I can look at the blade shape and say it doesn't beat the classic clip-point,upswept skinner, and drop-point.Some of the most useless and/or limited in real world function blades for knives.Keep in mind though this is my opinion as a hunter and just what I grew up around in use on a knife.
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What type of blade is most useful in real world?
 
Knives only do two things: 1) they cut stuff, and 2) they make us feel good.

Every knife cuts stuff pretty much the same. A Delica peels an apple just like a Sebenza does. Better, in fact.

So all of this stuff about framelocks and titanium and ball bearing pivots is largely relegated to the feel good category. We act like its performance-related, but its not. Titanium doesn't affect performance, except making the knife heavier, colder and slicker than FRN. Ball bearing pivots are fun, but they don't have a dang thing to do with cutting.

So, when we ask if a folder is overrated, what do we mean? From a cutting perspective, just about any knife over $65 is overrated. Hinderers don't slice better than Enduras. But if we are talking about overrated from a "feel good" perspective, that's so completely subjective that we can only make that determination for ourselves.

If you say a Hinderer cuts 10x better than an Endura (to justify its 10x price), I say horse feathers. But if you say that the Hinderer makes you feel awesome, and makes you forget that you'll never date Kate Upton or walk on the moon, then who I am to debate you? Your feel good stuff is none of my business. I can demonstrate that CRKs, just as an example, don't open mulch bags any better than a much cheaper knife with similar edge retention. But I cannot tell someone that a CRK doesn't make you feel awesome. Only you can decide what you like.

So, folders can objectively be characterized as overrated if you are looking at performance, especially price vs. performance. But we can't say that a particular knife is overrated when it comes to feeling good.
 
powernoodle said:
Every knife cuts stuff pretty much the same. A Delica peels an apple just like a Sebenza does. Better, in fact.
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So, if every knife cuts the same how comes Delica is better at peeling an apple? Is that why deer hunter would prefer Delica over Buck 110? Or Delica over Finnwolf for wood whittling? Or Delica over Opinel for tomato slicing? Can you scrape wood glue off of the textured FRN handle same way you do off of the smooth metal?
FRN over Titanium for pocket jewelry?
 
bghorn said:
So, if every knife cuts the same how comes Delica is better at peeling an apple? Is that why deer hunter would prefer Delica over Buck 110? Or Delica over Finnwolf for wood whittling? Or Delica over Opinel for tomato slicing? Can you scrape wood glue off of the textured FRN handle same way you do off of the smooth metal?
FRN over Titanium for pocket jewelry?
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I agree every knife serves its purpose and excels in one aspect whether it be performance, action, looks, materials, cost.
 
I would guess that anything Karambit related is regarded at a higher level than most buyers have skill to capitalize on.
 
I'm sorry guys but I have to say it.Modern knives have done more harm than good when it comes to picking out a knife.Too many expectations come into play.When I was a kid it was simple-you went and bought a Schrade at the local feed and seed store.If you didn't want the same knife everyone else had and saw something you liked more...it was an Imperial Frontier Series or a Camillus.One of the biggest reasons I stick to a slipjoint-shockingly you can accomplish most of your cutting tasks with a non locking blade.
 
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bghorn said:
So, if every knife cuts the same how comes Delica is better at peeling an apple?
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I did not simply say "the same". I said "pretty much" the same, which is an incredibly awesome, fantastical and darn near perfect descriptor. I should probably win the Nobel Prize for Metallurgy with my description. [Note the idiom "darn near" that I just used, which like "pretty much", means "almost but not really"].

Accept it or not, but knives 1) cut stuff, and 2) make us feel good. Everything else is just an excuse to talk about our toys on the internet.
 
TsarBomba said:
Out of curiosity, what brand(s) do you usually prefer? Do you buy knives at the price points Cold Steel most often caters to, or do you prefer midtech/customs/extremely high end production folders?

I ask because it seems like most of the people who dismiss Cold Steel out of hand are also buyers of knives costing hundreds of dollars over a typical CS folder. It's like buying an Audi R8 and then complaining that the Toyota Corolla isn't fast or agile enough. I'm just trying to suss out your perspective.
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I'll start out by saying this, anyone who claims to boycott cold steel, because of their marketing, yet drives a vehicle made by any of the big 3 American auto makers, I'll call a flat out hypocrite. They bash on one another, and use fluffery, as does nearly every other product when it comes to marketing. I'm no more offended by the overwhelming majority of corporations who market in the traditional way, as I am by birds flying, or water being wet.

Now with that, there is no other production knife company on earth that has as an expansive line as Cold Steel. So the reason that they appeal to such a large base, is because they make knives in both design and price point, for nearly every segment of knife user.


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Frotier76 said:
I'm sorry guys but I have to say it.Modern knives have done more harm than good when it comes to picking out a knife.Too many expectations come into play.When I was a kid it was simple-you went and bought a Schrade at the local feed and seed store.If you didn't want the same knife everyone else had and saw something you liked more...it was an Imperial Frontier Series or a Camillus.One of the biggest reasons I stick to a slipjoint-shockingly you can accomplish most of your cutting tasks with a non locking blade.
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Yah and cell phones, computers, cars, etc... :p

Wait, why stop there? Why even use a schrade when a piece of sharpened flint will do...:rolleyes:
 
pvicenzi said:
All folders are over rated. For a lot less money, you can get a compareable fixed blade.
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I don't know that this makes folders overrated...but I agree about FBs. I've been going almost solely to small horizontal FBs for EDC
 
bghorn said:
Overrated: Manix 2 XL. Original Manix was solid. The newest generation though, is a great example of going too far. Too thin, too skeletonized liners which resemble head gasket more than anything else. You can squeeze handle with two fingers and it will flex. A lot. Same if you do some push cuts with more force. The whole handle will flex. Yet most of the reviewers are raving how it's build like a tank. It's just not true anymore. Flimsy. Not sure what folks at Spyderco were thinking, especially when they have light weight version (with FRN handles) in the line up.
Now, if you consider fit and finish, it gets even uglier.

Overpriced: Lets look at the cheapest Spydercos. Chinese made Tenacious line up. You can get American company branded, Taiwan made, similar fit and finish, with better steel, for less. Or, if you omit American brand and pick foreign brand, you get similar fit and finish, better steel for only half the price.
In this case you pay double just for the brand.
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I can't comment on the Manix XL because I've never even held one. However Spyderco is on top of the knife world for good reason, so a couple people on a knife forum saying that one knife they make flexes too much isn't going to stop them from putting out great knives and it's certainly not going to stop the masses of serious knife collectors and user,from buying their products.

Take a look at what's coming out of the Tiawan plant right now and tell me that Spyderco is "overrated". Sage series knives fit and finish is superb. The Gayle Bradley is an absolute beast of a knife and gorgeous with top notch fit and finish for $130. The Techno, all titanium frame lock under $200 with unbelievable fit and finish for a knife with those materials in that price range. That's just a few. As for Golden the PM2 is a legend and is in the pockets of thousands of knife fanatics. It's brought up every time someone asks what the best production edc folder they should buy. There is a reason for that. I don't personally own a Manix but it's the same kind of buzz with that as the Paramilitary 2.

As for the Tenacious and the other value line Spyderco knives they are a great knife for that $40 price range. Just because something is made in the USA doesn't make it better. Just look at American made automobiles compared to the imports and that should be all the proof one needs to put that thought process to rest. For a $40 knife with good steel and a great company name behind it the value line Spydercos are wonderful. All the Tenacious and Persistance knives that I've had or handled have had great fit and finish for the price.

As Ruggdog stated above. These threads are really awful and all they do is piss people off that spend their hard earned money on knives they like only to have someone say that they are overpriced garbage. I'm guilty of bashing certain brands too, but I'm going to make an effort to avoid doing that from here on out because I can see how all that does is create controversy amongst people that share a similar interest and should be celebrating each other's aquisitions and not spitting all over them. its just not necessary to do and threads like this shouldn't even be allowed anymore.
 
mjpgolf1 said:
I can't comment on the Manix XL because I've never even held one. However Spyderco is on top of the knife world for good reason, so a couple people on a knife forum saying that one knife they make flexes too much isn't going to stop them from putting out great knives and it's certainly not going to stop the masses of serious knife collectors and user,from buying their products.

Take a look at what's coming out of the Tiawan plant right now and tell me that Spyderco is "overrated". Sage series knives fit and finish is superb. The Gayle Bradley is an absolute beast of a knife and gorgeous with top notch fit and finish for $130. The Techno, all titanium frame lock under $200 with unbelievable fit and finish for a knife with those materials in that price range. That's just a few. As for Golden the PM2 is a legend and is in the pockets of thousands of knife fanatics. It's brought up every time someone asks what the best production edc folder they should buy. There is a reason for that. I don't personally own a Manix but it's the same kind of buzz with that as the Paramilitary 2.

As for the Tenacious and the other value line Spyderco knives they are a great knife for that $40 price range. Just because something is made in the USA doesn't make it better. Just look at American made automobiles compared to the imports and that should be all the proof one needs to put that thought process to rest. For a $40 knife with good steel and a great company name behind it the value line Spydercos are wonderful. All the Tenacious and Persistance knives that I've had or handled have had great fit and finish for the price.

As Ruggdog stated above. These threads are really awful and all they do is piss people off that spend their hard earned money on knives they like only to have someone say that they are overpriced garbage. I'm guilty of bashing certain brands too, but I'm going to make an effort to avoid doing that from here on out because I can see how all that does is create controversy amongst people that share a similar interest and should be celebrating each other's aquisitions and not spitting all over them. its just not necessary to do and threads like this shouldn't even be allowed anymore.
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Take it easy tiger. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It's butthurt folks who get threads closed.
 
powernoodle said:
Knives only do two things: 1) they cut stuff, and 2) they make us feel good.

Every knife cuts stuff pretty much the same. A Delica peels an apple just like a Sebenza does. Better, in fact.

So all of this stuff about framelocks and titanium and ball bearing pivots is largely relegated to the feel good category. We act like its performance-related, but its not. Titanium doesn't affect performance, except making the knife heavier, colder and slicker than FRN. Ball bearing pivots are fun, but they don't have a dang thing to do with cutting.

So, when we ask if a folder is overrated, what do we mean? From a cutting perspective, just about any knife over $65 is overrated. Hinderers don't slice better than Enduras. But if we are talking about overrated from a "feel good" perspective, that's so completely subjective that we can only make that determination for ourselves.

If you say a Hinderer cuts 10x better than an Endura (to justify its 10x price), I say horse feathers. But if you say that the Hinderer makes you feel awesome, and makes you forget that you'll never date Kate Upton or walk on the moon, then who I am to debate you? Your feel good stuff is none of my business. I can demonstrate that CRKs, just as an example, don't open mulch bags any better than a much cheaper knife with similar edge retention. But I cannot tell someone that a CRK doesn't make you feel awesome. Only you can decide what you like.

So, folders can objectively be characterized as overrated if you are looking at performance, especially price vs. performance. But we can't say that a particular knife is overrated when it comes to feeling good.
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Kinda true, but you're lumping too much into the "feel good" category. Brand, price, looks - that's a one kind of feel good. But

1) Some things actually make a knife function better. It might not cut better, but it opens and closes better / easier / more precisely. Etc.

2) There's something to be said for craftsmanship. It might not make it cut better, but it matters.
 
Sosa said:
Take it easy tiger. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It's butthurt folks who get threads closed.
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No, it's the people who start to say "butthurt" and "Take it easy tiger" to be patronizing putzes, and "Everyone is entitled to their opinion" as a way of saying, except you tiger.

mjpgolf1 nails it, this thread is asking for trouble and dumbass comments. Obviously.
 
(laughing) because a piece of sharpened flint would cut right through my pocket and into my leg.Might be sharp for a very long time but I'd have a permanent limp from the muscle damage.Never mind that little trail of blood you see as I walk back down the hall.
 
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