Need a thin slicer

Might want to take a look at some of the Civivi options as well. The Civivi Shredder is one hell of a slicer in D2 with crazy thin stock and a hollow grind to get it even thinner at the edge. Not quite 4 inches in blade length due to the choil but it is about as slicey as you can get right now for right around 60$.
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Another one to consider is the Buck Vantage series. Although the blade stock is not thin, it has a very tall hollow grind and is also very thin behind the edge.

Too bad you are looking for a modern folder. Another great option is Enigma, but they are slipjoints. Available with various natural and synthetic handle materials, and either M390 or US2000MC (essentially the same as CPM Cruwear), they have thin blade stock and are very thin behind the edge.

Sadly, virtually all of the modern folders, including most of the ones mentioned in this thread, do not come close to an Opinel for slicing. For example, although I love the many Spydercos that I have, almost all of them are much thicker behind the edge than an Opinel. The only one that comes close is my ZDP Caly 3. My GB1 is pretty thin behind the edge, but not quite to Opinel league.

Likewise for most other modern folders. BM used to make blades that were fairly thin behind the edge, but recently it seems that they are trending toward thicker. ZT also has thick edges, at least every one I have seen.

I have a Manly Wasp, and it is pretty thin behind the edge. The Atom looks intriguing, I may have to look into one of those. If the pictures are accurate and represent actual production knives, they are thin behind the edge and they also use thin blade stock.

Thin behind the edge and thin blade stock make for a great slicer. But thick behind the edge or thick blade stock will definitely hurt the slicing ability. There is a reason all quality paring knives are so thin.
 
This is a good discussion. Have to agree that the TRM knives are likely to meet your needs. The Atom is less than 4", but about as thin as you're likely to find in an excellent folder. The Spyderco Chaparral has 2mm blade stock but is much smaller. That David Mary knife looks awesome. Putting my hand up for one on his thread.

Good slicing is more about thinness behind the edge than blade stock. Thinner blade stock helps, of course. A hollow grind will generally be more slicey than a flat grind at the same spine width, so you may be want to look for that blade geometry.
 
I'm fairly sure the only way to achieve this is to take an opinel blade and install it in your cf handle of choice.

Sounds like an epic mod, I'm going to have to do this...
if anyone has already done this, please share pics & info! : )
 
The Spyderco Ikuchi is very thin, but much shorter than 4"

The Benchmade Vector family is often overlooked, they both have a stock thickness of .10" and are ground very thin behind the edge, especially the 496, which has an awesome hollow grind.

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Svord
310 Drop Point
Model 310BB
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Length of Blade (inches) 4"
Over All Length (inches) 8 7/8"
Blade Shape Drop Point
Handle Material NZ Walnut
Steel Specifications 15N20
Sheath Leather
Weight 2.2mm
 
I do not have experience with them, but I read good things about the basic AG Russell Woodswalker, not expensive steel but thin.
 
My thoughts are close but not on the money:

  • Spyderco Centofante III - Sized like a Delica and with FRN handle, but it's not the grippy tactical FRN like they usually do. It's elegant, while still being light. Thinner blade stock than the Delica, which is already thinner than your PM2. Known for being slicey, and only $81 currently. 3" blade though.
  • Spyderco Pattada mentioned above has G10, not CF, IIRC. But I had one and it was nice. Very sharp point; got to be careful with it.
  • Spyderco Spydiechef - Very slicey, and what's more is that the angle of the edge to the handle allows it to cut against a board and still leaves clearance for one's knuckles. I think it's only 3.5" or so, and not CF.
  • Spyderco Kapara - This is just what you asked for, but only 3.5" blade. Not as good for cutting against a board as the Spydiechef. This one's popular for good reason.
 
Every time this question is asked, a ton of people recommend the Spyderco Military, Police 4, or similar Spyderco folder. While Spyderco's folders might cut better than the average modern folding knife and can offer fantastic edge holding, they have significantly thicker edges and blade stock and do not come close in cutting performance to a basic Opinel. I can't fault people for recommending Spyderco, but they really don't make much that comes close to what OP is asking for.

I'd also add that the TRM line of knives aren't incredible in this regard either. While they use .080" thick stock, they still grind their knives to be quite thick at the edge. I believe my Atom was about .025" at the edge with a factory grind; for comparison, I have an Opinel #8 here that is sharpened to 15 dps and it's still about .005" thick at the edge, 5 times thinner than my Atom was. You absolutely feel that difference in use.

Unfortunately there is not a plethora of modern folders nowadays that offer thin blades and, crucially, thin edges, but the Manly Peak seems to fit most of your requirements better than what I'm seeing recommended here. They're available in D2, CPM-154, or S90V for quite a reasonable price, and they're ground to cut things. The model with a spyderco-like opening hole uses .120" stock, which isn't terribly thin, but the edge is like .008" thick sharpened to 15 dps and the tip is very thin. They also have a model called the Wasp which is a smaller slipjoint model with a similarly thin grind.

Upon seeing your request, it reminded me that the Peak has been tempting me, so I went and placed an order for one.
 
marrenmiller said:
Every time this question is asked, a ton of people recommend the Spyderco Military, Police 4, or similar Spyderco folder. While Spyderco's folders might cut better than the average modern folding knife and can offer fantastic edge holding, they have significantly thicker edges and blade stock and do not come close in cutting performance to a basic Opinel. I can't fault people for recommending Spyderco, but they really don't make much that comes close to what OP is asking for.

I'd also add that the TRM line of knives aren't incredible in this regard either. While they use .080" thick stock, they still grind their knives to be quite thick at the edge. I believe my Atom was about .025" at the edge with a factory grind; for comparison, I have an Opinel #8 here that is sharpened to 15 dps and it's still about .005" thick at the edge, 5 times thinner than my Atom was. You absolutely feel that difference in use.

Unfortunately there is not a plethora of modern folders nowadays that offer thin blades and, crucially, thin edges, but the Manly Peak seems to fit most of your requirements better than what I'm seeing recommended here. They're available in D2, CPM-154, or S90V for quite a reasonable price, and they're ground to cut things. The model with a spyderco-like opening hole uses .120" stock, which isn't terribly thin, but the edge is like .008" thick sharpened to 15 dps and the tip is very thin. They also have a model called the Wasp which is a smaller slipjoint model with a similarly thin grind.

Upon seeing your request, it reminded me that the Peak has been tempting me, so I went and placed an order for one.
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Interesting, I have always heard the conventional take that the TRM atom/Neutron were both exceptional slicers though like you said, that could very well be a comparative statement with what the market typically puts out on modern locking folding knives. I currently only have one Manly knife and it is their fixed blade Patriot in the European equivalent of D2 steel. I really like the blade and the grind is well done despite the blade stock being rather thick for what it is.

This reminds me that when looking for slicing ability both blade stock and the grind are equally important. I have had thick blades that were ground well that still slice, and relatively thin blades that are not ground that aggressively and as a result don't slice nearly as effectively as you would think given the stock that they are working with.

For the OP, I would reiterate what I have already said in taking a look at Civivi knives. If you are okay buying Chinese you are really getting a lot of bang for your buck. The Shredder, Elementum, newly released Ortis, and several others in their line have rather thin blade stock to begin with compared to commonly found locking modern folders but almost each of them utilize a hollow grind to further thin out the blade which has become more uncommon in the modern knife world for some reason (Spyderco popularizing the full flat ground blade and Benchmade leaning away from more difficult hollow grinds moving instead to simple saber grinds on their flagship Griptillian series.
 
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