New Hard use/ Tactical folder

N

Nick18

Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
57
Hello, I'm currently looking for a new knife to use while I'm working. It will be used for hard chores such as cutting wood, wall panels, PVC tubes etc.. Also, working and living in pretty ghetto places a tactical side to the blade could come in handy. I shopped and found 3 knives that would suit my need,

1 Cold steel american Lawman

Pros' : Good lock-up, g10 scales

Cons': Slow deployment,

2 Spyderco endura

Pros': Spyderhole, Nice steel

Cons': IMO not best looking blade, less solid lockup.

3 Sog Aegis

Pros': fast deployment, tight lock

Cons': Zytel handle with no liners.

How would you class those knives? Did I miss something? and feel free to recommend any knife under 90$ (Please don't recommend any knife over 4 inches or fixed blades, they're a pain to carry in Canada without getting arrested) Thanks in advance for your answers!
 
I think your best bet would be to try and go for a Zero Tolerance.
Or maybe a Kershaw Knock Out, Piston, or Blur.

The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 also makes a great work knife.

You definitely want something that can handle any job, as well as slicing and lighter jobs. So I would look for one that can do both fairly well, or pick the hard use knife and pick up a lighter duty knife as well.
 
RAT model one, a little close to 4 inches but still under, Ive put that knife through its paces and it held up very well.
 
i second the zt 0200. but if i had to go back and do it all again i would just buy an izula. and an endure


the izula is a solid hunk of 1095, no reservations when using it. i will pry with it, torque it up, baton the small stuff with it. use it to cut my lunch foods or stir my oatmeal with it. for $60-70 you wont get a better blade. easy to sharpen even for a beginner like me as far as sharpening goes. but it holds a good edge and really is just all i ever need. and for the lighter stuff or what have you i have been carrying my h1 salt. pretty much an endura with a 1/2 grind and it is a all plastic and titanium and rust proof steel.

as far as hard use folders go i have really had them all.... striders, crk, almost every zt in the book, millie, dpx hest, xm-1, bm 755 lionsteel sr-1a, bm 275.... basically if it was labled hard use i tried it. after all that i have been left with only a few. and out of then i prefer the zt 0200. but again, its 2 times the cost of my izula and maybe 1/3 as strong as the izula. MAYBE.... any folding knife is not going to hold up to "hard use" but hard use needs a definition. to me hard use is light prying, medium chopping and lighter batoning. i dont car what folding knife you have after any prolonged amount of activity of hard using it will get blade play, or fail.

i used to second guess myself when using my knife to maybe dig a little hole to get a tent peg started, or to apply pressure on a 45 to sharpen a stick as a tool handle or said tent peg. scared to really get to some hard use in on the knife because i wasnt looking to break it. well now i use the knife for all sorts of strange things because i carry a small fixed blade. its strong, reliable, and honestly if i somehow break it i can get another from the no questions asked warranty program. or i will pick up another in a different color.



no folder is really meant for hard use, maybe as a get out of dodge hard use it will do the job. but the best tool for the job is the correct on. and to me after owning almost every hard use folder i find a folder is not the tool for a hard use job.




-forgive my sentence structure i am too tired to proof read right now
 
Of the knives you listed, I'd go with the endura. The Endura is just a great all around knife. I did a review here: http://centavogear.blogspot.com/2012/05/spyderco-spyderco-endura4-flat-ground.html
For the work and situations that you described, for Cold Steel I'd take a look at the Recon series ( I prefer a clip point). I did a review on the Tanto here: http://centavogear.blogspot.com/2011/09/cold-steel-recon-1-review-5050-tanto.html
There are lots of good knives in your price range that would work great for your purposes. Like someone else said, the Para2 is another good choice but the cost is a little more that your target range.
 
How thick is the wood you will be cutting? What about the PVC tubing?

Of the three you list, I'd go with the Endura, but I'd also second the suggestions of a ZT 0200 which is far and away my preferred 'hard use' folder.
 
A friend of mine that works for a military surplus made me a very good deal on an old version of the lawman! He sold his last ''old'' model to me with steel liners for 25$ and I will probably shop for an IZULA as it looks to be very well suited for my harder use. I know a knife is supposed to be used in ''hard'' manner, but as I work for in the decontamination sector the only gear we can bring along is a knife and a multitool! Thanks for your answers!

(By the way, the rat-1 was an excellent folder, but the liner-lock failed on me, cutting my finger and making me drop the knife from the top of a building I was working in, that's why I need a new knife!)
 
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