Need help finding a folder!

B

Bolt

Joined
Aug 28, 2007
Messages
449
Here is the critierea: Folder, 3.5" or less. Strong pivot, not a liner lock, above average steel, good clip placement(meaning, the butt of the knife doesn't stick out of the pocket by a mile) Prefer g-10 or micarta, but not as picky on the handle material. Need a knife that can take some hard use, light prying, I know..........but sometimes me knife is all me has. Keeps a good edge, and breaks down and cleans up easy. Now the kicker: $80 or less.
Thanks for any suggestions.
 
I'd take the Spyderco Delica. Note never pry with your knives. Pick up a Gerber Artifact for like $10 and save the cutting for your knife.
 
Had a Gerber Artifact on my keychain for that very purpose, but the fancy little razor blade decided to open one day, and cut into my thigh pretty good. Threw the whole thing out. Thinking about making my own little prybar for my keychain to take care of the pry issue.
 
Bolt, for the prying, see if Sears still offers #94160 4-Way Pocket Screwdriver. It's a disc the size of a silver dollar with four screw driver protrusions.

If you can bring yourself to tolerate a linerlock, the Ontario Rat-1 meets the rest of your specs, and is a stupendous bargain at around $25.
 
Bolt said:
Had a Gerber Artifact on my keychain for that very purpose, but the fancy little razor blade decided to open one day, and cut into my thigh pretty good. Threw the whole thing out. Thinking about making my own little prybar for my keychain to take care of the pry issue.
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You know the blade is removable right?
 
Bolt: If you pry with a good knife, we of the Blade Forum Hit Team will kill this kitten:

kitten.JPG


You don't want that, do you Bolt? Of course you don't.

In a further effort to dissuade you from your folly, please consider this: "above average steel" and "prying" are mutually exclusive. At least, if by "above average steel" you mean steel that takes an extremely sharp edge and keeps sharp through heavy use. The chemical and physical characteristics of these fine blade steels also make them more prone to fracture when abused. (O.K., steelheads, before you jump all over my butt, I admit that the last sentence was a generalization, and not as applicable to every modern tool steel as it is to others. However, it is true enough in the context of this discussion.)

So, drop your prying criteria, or prepare to ruin a lot of fine, expensive knives. Instead, go to http://www.countycomm.com/widgy.htm and buy one of their Pocket Widgy Bars. They come in three sizes (2 to 4 inches) fit on your keychain, have nail-puller slots, are designed for prying (unlike knives) and cost about $5 a pop. Then, use your fine cutlery for what it was made for, cutting, and be happy.

Choose wisely, Bolt. The kitten is waiting.
 
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Ok, before the kitten is killed, and before this gets out of hand, I know not to pry with a knife!!!!! I also use prybars when prying is called for, BUT, there have been times when I have to use my knife to get the edge of a piece of trim to flex a little, or pull back a piece of bent aluminium when I am up on a ladder. I just want to make sure if I have to use my knife in a pinch, FOR LIGHT PRYING, the pivot is strong enough to handle it. That is all. I am not trying to demo a shed with my folder.
 
Bolt said:
Ok, before the kitten is killed, and before this gets out of hand, I know not to pry with a knife!!!!! I also use prybars when prying is called for, BUT, there have been times when I have to use my knife to get the edge of a piece of trim to flex a little, or pull back a piece of bent aluminium when I am up on a ladder. I just want to make sure if I have to use my knife in a pinch, FOR LIGHT PRYING, the pivot is strong enough to handle it. That is all. I am not trying to demo a shed with my folder.
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Take another look at the kitten in the picture, Bolt, have a look at those Pocket Widgy Bars, and then listen to your conscience. I know you want to do the right thing, especially on Christmas Eve.

But maybe I am being unfair. After all, I am just one man. Who am I to judge? Let's put this before all Blade Forum participants. After all, many of them know MUCH more about knives than I do. So here we go. A quick survey. Everyone reading this who thinks that Bolt can find a fine knife that is made of above average steel but is also suitable for "light prying," post your blog now telling Bolt how wrong I am, what a good idea it is to pry with fine knives, and offering a suggestion for the knife with which you would encourage him to pry.

Anyone? Anyone?

Beuler? Beuler?
 
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Having no love for cats, I'll gladly explain. I own knives to use, and one I can't use to do what I need to do is of no use to me. Obviously, there are limits, but if a knife won't stand up to my needs, I'll get one that will. I've got a drawer full of Moras and Rough Riders for just this purpose. At $10 or less a pop, I can take a chance. Worse that's happened so far is that I have had to regrind a couple of tips. Were I doing a lot of painting and scraping, I'd regrind one of the Mora laminated blades specifically for that use.
 
That Manix 2 fits the bill, but can't you just get a nice pry bar and attach it to the lanyard hole of, say, a Stretch?

Don't make me kill that kitten. I'm all out of lube.
 
OK, spare the kitty and I will promise to carry a small prybar for prying purposes. No kitty deserves to die on Christmas Eve.
 
Bolt said:
OK, spare the kitty and I will promise to carry a small prybar for prying purposes. No kitty deserves to die on Christmas Eve.
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I knew that you would be reasonable, Bolt.

My lousy scene of humor aside, you really have done yourself a big favor. By dropping an unreasonable requirement from your list of features (see my first post, I mean the serious part about steel chemistry) you have more and better knives from which to choose. You are now free to look at knives with hard modern tool steels that will take a better edge, and hold it longer under hard work, than any knife you have ever owned.

Try to handle several candidates, and look for the knife that fits your hand most naturally when doing the kind of cutting work you have in mind. You'll never regret spending a little more to get a real quality blade. Treat it right, and you will enjoy it for the rest of your life.

Happy hunting!
 
Leftoverdj said:
Having no love for cats, I'll gladly explain. I own knives to use, and one I can't use to do what I need to do is of no use to me. Obviously, there are limits, but if a knife won't stand up to my needs, I'll get one that will. I've got a drawer full of Moras and Rough Riders for just this purpose. At $10 or less a pop, I can take a chance. Worse that's happened so far is that I have had to regrind a couple of tips. Were I doing a lot of painting and scraping, I'd regrind one of the Mora laminated blades specifically for that use.
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Leftoverdj, you may not realize it, but you have done a great job of reinforcing my point. I agree with you completely: knives are tools and tools should serve their users, not the other way around. If you are going to use a knife as a folding pry bar, go to your local hardware store and buy a bunch of folders off the "Everything on this table just $2!" table. Break them, through them away, and put the next one in your pocket.

However, the OP specified a blade of, "above average steel." That is a whole different deal, requiring different selection criteria.

Happy holidays, everyone!
 
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