Need Recommendations for Small Folders (Sub 3in Blade)

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humpVT

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Jun 12, 2013
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I need some help. My father's old Gerber lockback knife has finally given up the ghost. He's asked me to recommend some knives for him but seeing as 95% of my knives have blades 3.5in or longer, I'm kind of lost. I did have a couple of knives I don't carry anymore, Kershaw Scallion and Leek, that I gave to him to borrow. He likes the size of the Scallion but liked the blade on the Leek.

So what I'm looking for is a knife with a closed length around 3.5in and blade 3in or less. With a thin blade profile, like the Leek. Preferably with a higher end steel, Dad does a good job with keeping his knife sharp, but would like for this to have good edge retention.

Price - Would like to stay under $200 (Dad would pass out if he saw that). But I plan on buying him a knife instead of recommending one, he doesn't need to know the price.

Thanks guys...
 
Just got my William Henry e6-3 with CF inlays. Absolutely love it. A little above you budget but you could probably find a good deal deep in the Bay. I'm not really a tradition/small knife kind of guy, so that's all I have to offer. Good luck finding a knife in time for Father's Day!
 
JustinWatts said:
Just got my William Henry e6-3 with CF inlays. Absolutely love it. A little above you budget but you could probably find a good deal deep in the Bay. I'm not really a tradition/small knife kind of guy, so that's all I have to offer. Good luck finding a knife in time for Father's Day!
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Justin, Thanks for the recommendation. That is a beautiful knife, but I'm worried Dad might see it as 'too nice' to use it. I still might do a little hunting around and see if I could find it for a good price.
 
Does it have to be a locking blade? Just curious if he would appreciate a traditional Buck or Case knife more then a conventional locking knife. Since you mentioned locking blades, I'll assume you're sticking with those.

Any blade over 3 inches in MI can be considered a dangerous weapon so I stick to 3 or under to avoid any hassles. Most of recommendations come well under your price point.

Spyderco Delica 4 FFG (better for bigger hands)
Benchmade Minigrip

EDIT Purposely stuck to lesser $ knives so your father wont hesitate to use them.
 
gazz98 said:
Does it have to be a locking blade? Just curious if he would appreciate a traditional Buck or Case knife more then a conventional locking knife. Since you mentioned locking blades, I'll assume you're sticking with those.

Any blade over 3 inches in MI can be considered a dangerous weapon so I stick to 3 or under to avoid any hassles. Most of recommendations come well under your price point.

Spyderco Delica 4 FFG (better for bigger hands)
Benchmade Minigrip

EDIT Purposely stuck to lesser $ knives so your father wont hesitate to use them.
Click to expand...

Thanks gazz, I am looking for a locking blade. I have looked at the Benchmade but Dad likes a knife with a little shorter closed length. He usually keeps it in his pocket, doesn't use a pocket clip.
 
I will second the Spyderco Bradley Air. That is a great knife, with great blade shape and steel. I think it would make a great gift. Let us know what you decide and how he likes it.
 
I would really like to recommend the Spyderco Chaparral CF. Of all my small knives its a perfect edc.
 
Spyderco dragonfly.

3 handle choices and I believe 4 different steels at the moment (2 SS and 2 carbon steel)

I carry mine in the bottom of my pocket and its an amazingly capable little knife and with the choil I get all 4 fingers on it and I have big hands

ETA: not sure what you mean by thin blade profile but the leaf shaped blades are fantastic IMO
 
Thanks everyone for all the recommendations. Keep them coming. I'm gonna head to bed (long day at work). Gonna look all these up and I'll let y'all know what I decide.

Thanks again.
 
How about a Great Eastern Hundstooth ... coming to the end of availability now, and the wharncliffes are gone ... though you might still find one

Its a traditional looking linerlock :)
 
Well after showing Dad some pictures of most of the knives and telling him about the different blade steels and dimensions. He liked the Spyderco Gayle Bradley Air the best. He also liked the Benchmade Sequel but I think the weight of the Air leaned him in that direction.

I actually had a Benchmade Sequel for about 1 hour (Received in a trade here) until my wife picked it up, loved it, and claimed ownership of it. That was about 6 months ago and I haven't been allowed to use it since.

So it looks like I'm going to go order a Spyderco Air. Can't thank you guys enough for all the recommendations.
 
excellent choice...ive only handled one Air, and it was a gem. its definitely on my "to buy" list
 
[video=youtube;ldkSclNmw-g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldkSclNmw-g[/video]
 
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