New Knifes for low cost

[Regurd]

Beware of it in bead blast, that's gonna rust if you even say the word water around it.

Does that stay true with Sandvik 14C28N bead-blasted? I noticed the Leek is bead-blasted. I'm not so familiar with what bead-blasting would do to the metal besides provide a sort of finish.

To suggestions I have experience with:

CRKT - Ripple, Ignitor, Endorser, Swindle, Hissatsu, Heiho
Kershaw - Clash, Kuro, OSO Sweet, Leek, Scallion, Asset, Tremor, Echelon, Burst, Blur, Knockout, etc. (the list goes on there)

Looking through your list makes me wonder if it is harder to sharpen a Tanto-styled blade or if I need to look out for blades that aren't as beginner easy to sharpen?

I really wouldn't advise against limiting yourself so much. Assisted openers are fun but IMO not as practical as a smooth manual deployment. You get similar speeds opening and way faster closing.

Alright, I'll keep an open mind. Much of my first post was what I learned thus far and what I was thinking about. I never had a smooth opening AO, so I suppose I'll have to try out other knives. Thats my plan for sometime tomorrow.

Also, the locking mechanism shouldn't be much of a worry unless you're doing some serious hard use or plan on it being a tactical blade. Lockback, framelock, liner lock. It all works well when you avoid the cheaply made, no value knives. Food for thought, YMMV.

Alright, I know I prefer the lockback style. Just with how to use the knife. Ultimately doesn't matter I suppose, I don't have enough experience to really say what I actually will like.

I love my Cryo. The 8Cr13MoV takes a fantastic edge, but it doesn't hold it nearly as long as 14C28N or VG-10. If you want to bump up your price to 60 I'd recommend the Spyderco Endura. This knife can take pretty much every normal knife task you throw at it. It has FRN handles, not metal that you want. In my opinion, anyone who automatically excludes FRN, G10, etc simply hasn't had the opportunity to see how awesome they are

Alright, I won't limit myself. I'll see what I think when I feel the knives, and then pass the final judgement once I use them for awhile. I do have a question, what are the thoughts on Nylon-Glass filled?

Cold Steel Pocket Bushman. All steel construction, great steel for the money (German-produced 4116 by ThyssenKrupp), wicked sharp 4.5" blade out of the box, and the closest thing to a fixed blade you're going to find anywhere. Regular Internet pricing? $25.

My only concern with this is that the blade seems a bit thin and flimsy. Am I being too paranoid?


I'll post again when I go to the store and get my hands on some knives to get a better feeling for what you guys are telling me and what the numbers I am seeing online mean.

 

[NateReed]

Any of the 'plastic' handles from good companies are virtually indestructible. You have to be trying to break them. You might notice a little bit of flex in them; that is normal. Cold Steel, who is touted as having some of the toughest production knives on the market, have only G10 in their handles now. No liners at all. On 14C28N, I would not be worried about rust. None of my 10 Skylines have rusted, nor my Leek (just the liners on my coworker's Skyline)

 

[slothman]

definitly the rat 1. I would say 8cr13mov steel is your best bet for budget knives, the rat 1 has aus-8 a very similar steel even though it is more susceptible to rust. If you live in the deep south i would reccomend you get a magic rust eraser, its about $5 on amazon and great at removing spot rust

 

[untamed]

BOKER PLUS M-TYPE: My primary EDC and workhorse. Very good slicer and decent edge holding.

BYRD CARA CARA: Your lockback preference and cheap enough to beat on as well.

ONTARIO RAT-1 One of the most popular and most reviewed folders around here and on Youtube (that should tell you something).

 

[NateReed]

The RAT 1 is great. I'm sad I sold mine to my manager

 

[Alnamvet68]

ESEE/BRK Zancudo....

 

[Regurd]

Alright, I'll run down what I found and saw.

Really liked the CRKT Ignitor. I appreciated the Firesafe locking. You were right, G10 is a nice handle material. Wasn't fair to automatically exclude them.

Although I didn't get a chance to try the Leek, it looks like a very good knife and I like that it has a Tip-Lock. Scallion seems to have that feature as well.

I tried out the Kershaw Blur as well, and I really enjoyed the action on it, but I was a bit worried about the handle. It seemed like the knife opening could tear the handle apart. I didn't have too much trust in their "Aircraft Aluminum". Otherwise that was one of the knives I found the easiest to open.

The Buck Vantage Avid was very nice, but it seemed to have some trouble getting locked when I opened it.

I tried out a Benchmade (forgot exactly what, but maybe a Mini Barrage), and really liked its locking mechanisms. I see why some people really like Benchmade.

The SOG Twitch II was probably my favorite knife that I tried. Felt nice in my hand, and I liked how it had both locking mechanisms and the thubstuds.

All in all I have decided that I prefer lockback over frame/liner lock still, but concluded I don't ultimately care which one I get. I do prefer thumbstud to flipper, I'm used to thumbstud and flipper was awkward for me to open, although practice would fix that. I don't care about the handle material as much, as long as it isn't a bad plastic. I definitely want assurance my knife won't open in my pocket without my wanting it to.

I will look into these other knives later.