Hey everyone,
I've recently gained quite a bit of interest in purchasing a decent folding knife. I've done some research on EDC/camping knives, materials of blades, handles, and makes, etc. So here's a quite breakdown for what i'm looking for:
- Price: Below $50
- Folding knife for EDC/Camping
- Blade material probably either stainless or high carbon (as opposed to ceramic)
- Preference of sharpness over power
- No serration
- Assist: no preference
- Kershaw Leek has caught my eye for its simplicity and price but im wondering if there is anything that would better fit my scope for the price
I'm open to any and all recommendations, any make, US or over-seas, doesnt matter to me.
AND: I would also be looking for a decent knife sharpener (less than $30)
Thank you,
Zach
With the "Preference for sharpness over power" to me that says you want something with proper blade geometry so you can cut things easier as you can always sharpen a knife to get stupidly sharp no matter how dull it was. It's hard to beat an Opinel for that, get an Opinel #6 or higher so you have a locking mechanism on it. Either carbon steel or stainless, they are both good for this knife. Nothing spectacular but it gets the job done and their pretty comparable in real world performance with the carbon steel taking less time to sharpen than the stainless and being more prone to rust.
Other option is a swiss army knife, preferably victorinox as I've had better luck with them and they always came sharp compared to my wenger which was as dull as a butter knife and required some work. If you want something for EDC and camping I think a Victorinox Famer, Pioneer, or Cadet would suit your needs quite well here and still remain slim to make pocket carry comfortable.
Another good option is to look at the other traditional slip joints, and I am thinking a stockman pattern knife would fit well in this regard as they typically have 3 blades and you can use the blade that suit your task the best. There are a lot of good brands in this regard but honestly I would say go with a USA made Buck, off hand they should be the Buck 301, 303 and they are made out of 420HC but they have a superb heat treat to them and are built like tanks. The model numbers that start with 37 such as 373 are made in china and made with the inferior 420j2, I'd personally avoid those but be warn a lot of sites mislable those knives as having the 420hc it doesn't you can confirm it on the Buck website.
These are the recommendations I have as they are the ones that came to my head with what should give you an easy time cutting with. If you stop and think about it cutting things with a knife isn't just about how sharp you can get a knife but also about the blade geometry and driving a sliver of metal designed to cut is a lot easier to cut with than a large chunk of metal designed for the same thing.
Try not to get wrapped up in what knives have what steel. I would argue blade geometry is more important than that. Doesn't matter if a knife is made out of the greatest steel known to man if it's not designed to cut as well as whats in your pocket it probably has no right replacing it in my book as long as what you currently have can get the job done. It is also made quite a bit more pointless once you start trying to master the art of sharpening than you realize that you don't need much to sharpen a knife and the bottom of a coffee mug can do the trick, cardboard, car window, etc to quickly bring back the edge if you really had to so the "just in case" argument gets thrown out the window. Not to mention how easy it is to bring back a knife to being extremely sharp with a quick strop if your at home, it took me about 30seconds if that on my last knife.
Than for a sharpener as others suggested a sharpmaker may be one of the better bets. Partially for the ease of use and getting a good product but I've also heard the included DVD has some good information in it and knowledge is quite a powerful thing to have when it comes to sharpening. If you go this route get the diamond rods before the UF rods to make reprofiling the blade to match your sharpmaker easier. And mark up the bevel with a sharpie to make sure your hitting the bevel. If your not you need to reprofile it to match the angles or prop up one side to match your angles, or adjust the knife in your hand to match sharpmaker. (Though that knowledge and more on how to sharpen is easily available on the maintenance sub-forum, especially if you ask for help.)
If I were in your shoes I probably go with a Victorinox Farmer/Pioneer/Cadet as it be the most versatile for EDC/Camping. Don't underestimate the steel in those knives they may not hold an edge as well as the newer stuff but the edge can be brought back without even trying. I swear my swiss army knives get scared sharp if I so much as look at them funny with a sharpening stone in hand. And just like the opinel they can still out cut a lot of the newer overbuilt folders even when their dull just by the blade geometry.
Wish I could recommend you a one handed folder but off hand I don't own any that matches my swiss army knives or opinels in ease of cutting things up or come even close.
