New guy's favorite knives

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matto6

Joined
Jan 30, 2017
Messages
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About a year ago I decided I wanted a knife to open boxes. I found this forum, read about them, and obviously ended up purchasing 15 instead. :D Here they are in alphabetical order
  • Cold Steel Leatherneck-SF 6.75" Fixed Blade D2 Black Powder Coated Blade
  • Cold Steel Tuff Lite Plain Edge Folder Knife
  • Kershaw Leek - D2 Composite Blackwash Blade
  • Ontario Rat II - Aus 8 - Black handle
  • Spyderco Delica 4 - VG10 - Black FRN
  • Spyderco Domino Flipper CTS-XHP Blade, Blue Weave Carbon Fiber
  • Spyderco Dragonfly 2 VG10 Black FRN
  • Spyderco Manix 2 - S110V Blade - Lightweight Blue FRN
  • Spyderco Manix 2 - S110V Blade - Dark Blue G-10
  • Spyderco Native 5 - S110V - Blue/Purple G10
  • Spyderco Native 5 - S110V - Dark Blue FRN
  • Spyderco PM 2 - S30V - Black Camo G-10
  • Spyderco Q Ball VG10 Wharncliffe Blade, Black G10
  • ZT 0562 - S35VN - Black G10 & Titanium handle
  • ZT 0808 - S35VN - Titanium handle
In case it helps anyone else, here's my commentary on them:

Favorite knife
  • Spyderco Native 5 Lightweight FRN
    I love this little knife. It's my go-to blade for most tasks. It's small and light, yet has an incredibly solid feel. It's easy to open yet locks with a solid and rewarding THUNK. The knife is thick enough to give you good control while cutting. The shorter blade and finger choil gives you the ability to choke up when cutting with the tip of the knife.

    I prefer the FRN over G10 on this knife because it fits usage scenario better. It's a small light knife that I want to be easy to slide in and out of my pocket. The G10 was also a little harder to get your thumb into the hole to open because the edges aren't as rounded as the FRN. The G10 Native 5 just felt wrong to me and I returned it.
Knives I like a lot
  • Manix 2 G10
    I use this knife any time I want a bigger and beefier blade than the Native 5. It's bigger and stronger and feels excellent in the hand. If I'm doing fine cutting with the tip I prefer the Native 5 simply because the blade is shorter and you have more control with the smaller knife.

    Ironically on the Manix 2 I prefer G10 over FRN. On the Native 5 the FRN felt just right, but on the Manix 2 it feels strange. The balance is off, being too blade heavy, and the handle doesn't feel solid as I'd like. The FRN feels plenty solid on the Native 5, but not on the Manix 2 - I suspect because the manix 2 is larger and needs more stiffness to feel solid. When I'm grabbing the Manix 2 it's because I want a nice strong knife, and the G10 version has that feel. I haven't ditched the FRN Manix yet but it's on the list to sell.
  • ZT 0808
    I don't use this knife often, but when I do I think, "Mmmm, what a nice knife." It's beautiful, elegant, not too big, fun to flip, and I love wharncliffe-ish blade shape. The flipper is a little too short but it opens so nicely it doesn't bother me.

    The handle fits reasonably nicely in my hand, but it isn't as ergonoic as something like a Manix 2. I find myself using this mostly to open mail rather than doing any real work with it. Sometimes that seems like a shame, but whatever - it's a work of art and brings me joy to flip open for light uses.
Knives that are OK

I don't dislike these knives, but I also don't use them much. I should really sell them, but I'm lazy. Listed in order from most to least favorite.
  • Spyderco Domino
    This knife is OK and I liked it at first, but I just don't find it as rewarding to flip as I had hoped. It doesn't have nearly as solid thunk as some of the other knives, but it's not bad. I can't really say anything negative about the knife, but I tend to find myself using others instead. If I want a flipper to open mail I grab the ZT 808, and if I want a Spyderco shaped blade I use the Native 5 or the Manix 2.

  • Cold Steel Tuff Lite
    I really like a lot about this blade! It's inexpensive, yet locks with an incredibly solid thunk, and feels fantastic in the hand. I love the wharncliff blade for opening boxes as well. There's only one reason it never gets used - it's simply not that fun to open and close, usually requiring 2 hands. It's a great cutting tool and can see keeping it forever, but it rarely gets used because the others are just way more fun to open and close.

  • Dragonfly
    This thing is just adorable, and pretty functional for its size. But seriously, when would I not just use the Native 5 instead?

  • PM2
    I have no complains about this knife but there's no scenario where I grab it over my other Spyderco knives. If I want something for my pocket I take the Native 5 FRN. If I want a bigger knife I take the Manix 2 G10. If I needed a slightly narrower, but still long blade, the PM2 would make sense I guess. But it just doesn't get me that excited. I also don't love the black DLC coating. It seems to add some friction when cutting. I never use this knife and should sell it.

  • Ontario Rat 2
    This was cheap enough that I'll keep around just for kicks, but I don't love using this knife, primarily because I don't enjoy opening it. After the spyderco round hole these thumb studs are unpleasant and borderline unsafe for me. Maybe I just suck at thumb studs.

  • ZT 0652
    This knife was a blast to flip for the first 2 weeks. Then it went in the drawer and hasn't been used since. It's too heavy for me to carry regularly, too nice for me to use for ugly cutting tasks, and the blade shape doesn't do much for me. Not for me, and I should sell.

  • Cold Steel Leatherneck Fixed Blade
    I'm not sure why I bought a 7" fixed blade military-style knife. Too big to carry around the property so it just sits in the drawer. Relatively cheap so I'll likely keep it as an entertainment piece.

Knives I disliked and got rid of right away
  • Kershaw Leek
    I learned I don't like spring assisted blades. I also didn't like the ergonomics overall.

  • Spyderco Native 5 G10
    Described above in the Native 5 FRN section. The FRN is ideal for this knife.

  • Spyderco Delica 4
    I didn't like the long, thin blade. I know it fits better in your pocket than a PM2, but it just didn't feel right to me. On a blade that long I want a little more thickness to it.

  • Spyderco Q-Ball
    After loving the Cold Steel Tuff Lite wharncliff blade I immediately entered the pre-order queue for the Q-ball. It was going to be everything I loved about the Tuff Lite but easier to open! Boy was I wrong. The little white ball was too small for my fingers to grab through the tight G10 holes. It was impossible to close, so it got returned immediately. So close to a fantastic knife, but they botched it by not making the opening a little bigger.
 
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Very cool post and helpful to a newbie like me. I need to check out the Native 5 LW and the Benchmade 0808.

I am in a similar situation but took a while to open the quality knife floodgates. I bought a couple of Gerbers earlier in the year and then made the mistake of poking around BF. :eek:

The “crappy Gerbers” quickly turned into a Chinese Spyderco Tenacious and then a BD1 Manix 2. That was the turning point. I quickly added another half dozen Spydercos (including 2 Para 3’s), a BM Griptillian and just ordered a Gayle Bradley 2.

I actually like and regularly use them all but the Tenacious isn’t my favorited due to the pocket clip being upside down for my preference (I removed it) and the Para 3’s stick too far out of my pocket (deep carry clips ordered high will make them perfect).

Seems that you are finding out what you love in a knife quicker and easier than I. :thumbsup:
 
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The Native is one knife I haven't had the luxury of trying as of yet. I'm impartial to backlocks. They don't bother me, but I know I would prefer something else. I love the size of the Native, though. One of these days I'll have to grab one to try out for myself(perhaps a G10/Maxamet model, haha).
 
Belated welcome to the forums. Nice list.

You are one of the few people who don't like the Delica 4. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I just can't remember the last time I read that on this forum. :)

Flippers and spydie holes can make thumb studs awkward. Practice makes perfect.

Maybe sell off a few you don't like and try some other knives. Maybe a Benchmade Mini Grip or Griptilian with thumb hole + wharnie blade shape?
 
Better beginner list than I had and the native 5 is definitely a great knife I haven't owned on yet but I do love so much about it just it fits too much in line with other options I own to justify the purchase at this time.
 
The native has been my go to for almost 20 years it started with the all stainless seki variation and have had a few other generations since then. Right now it’s the N5 LW in s35vn and just got in the maxamet version.

I’ve drifted away at different points in time where I dedicated myself to the mini grip 556 and delicas (both great edc’s), but I’ve always come back to the native.
 
I had a Native but overall was not impressed with it. I am, however, really liking my Mantra 1.
 
Gotta agree with you on the Native. My first Spyderco was a Sage. Nice knife in Ti. As smooth and expensive feeling as anything I have. I bought a Native because it was a good deal and I was curious. It sees more pocket time than the Sage. I never expected to like a plastic knife so much. (I could say the same about my Ritter Mini-Grip, though. But for different reasons.) And it does make a solid Thunk when it locks open.
 
This was thorough and great, makes me miss my Native 5 G-10 badly (yes I loved the G-10 version, FRN feels cheap to me), either that or a Shaman. I've also been wanting a ZT0808 for a long time too, good to know about the action.
 
Great post OP!

I completely share your feelings on the Native 5 LW! I gifted mine and really miss it. Every time I’m about to replace it, something else pops up. One of Spyderco’s best, which is quite a feat for a linerless plastic knife.

When I first got a PM2 I was kinda “meh” about it. When I transitioned it into a user/beater I really began to love it.

I have a couple of ZT and for me, they are just like you and your 0808. I don’t carry them too often, but when I do, I always remember how great they are and they wind up staying in my pocket for a while.
 
Excellent post OP!
The Native is one Spyderco I haven't tried yet, but I just keep reading/hearing how great it is and sooner or later will have to get one to see what it's about.
 
matto6 said:
  • Ironically on the Manix 2 I prefer G10 over FRN. On the Native 5 the FRN felt just right, but on the Manix 2 it feels strange. The balance is off, being too blade heavy, and the handle doesn't feel solid as I'd like. The FRN feels plenty solid on the Native 5, but not on the Manix 2 - I suspect because the manix 2 is larger and needs more stiffness to feel solid. When I'm grabbing the Manix 2 it's because I want a nice strong knife, and the G10 version has that feel. I haven't ditched the FRN Manix yet but it's on the list to sell.
Click to expand...

All of this on the Native lw and Manix exactly. :thumbsup:

Had a g10 Native and liked it, f&f were excellent, but found it was never carried over the lightweight versions.

Handled a Manix lw a few times in stores and it never felt quite right to me either, I prefer g10 or carbon fiber and skeletonized liners on this model.
 
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