New to this site, taking a serious interest

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spectrabullet

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Mar 14, 2013
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I am new to the knife world. Prior to my Christmas present of a Gerber, Bear Grylls scout knife I didn't really know anything about them. A knifes a knife right? Nope..... I started digging and learned there are all different types, sizes, and metals used in blade manufacturing. So I decided to try out a sharpener. I was poking around and I seen a few reviews on the Smiths Pocket pal and it was cheap so I said why not. Well when you buy something through Amazon they always give you those combo buys at the checkout. Well this combo buy was a Smith and Wesson Border Guard 2 so I loaded that in the cart also. Then I found a Lansky diamond sharpener at Bass Pro Shops and picked that up. I will give my assessment on these purchases later. I found this knife at BPS as well, a Buck 750 Redpoint. I bought it. I was looking around for different sharpening stones and came across this kit at sharpeningsupplies.com, the ultimate oil stone kit. I picked this up because I was reading the Arkansas stone is the best. This kit contains all that I need. Now here are the reviews.....

Gerber knife = OK carbide blade is a tough one to get really sharp. Not sure if its the angle or the hardness of the blade, but it just never seems to be razor sharp.
Smiths pocket pal = Decent, not a bad buy. I think the ceramic and the carbide sharpening areas are pretty easy to use and would be great for a quickie sharpen job away from home. Diamond sharpening rod for serrated area is horrible
Smith and Wesson Border Guard 2 = Garbage (I wish I had something positive to say about it. I just don't)
I did a little research on this and it appears this knife was made by Taylor, and Taylor merged or consumed Frontier years ago. I found a Frontier pocket knife of my step dad's and checked out who they were. That's is how I stumbled onto that info. If it is untrue feel free to blast me about it.
Lansky diamond sharpener = good product. Easy to use. Sharpens nice and quick.
Buck Redpoint 750 = I love this knife that blade is just unbelievable how sharp it is and stays no matter what material you cut. If someone can recommend a blade that is better please let me know. I am totally impressed with how sharp that 420HC can be. When I say recommend a better blade I am looking in the folding knife lineup.
Ultimate oil stone = Very cool product. It contains everything you need to put one hell of a edge and finish on your blade. I was a little reluctant at first because of the cost but I am glad I bought it. It makes the other sharpeners obsolete.

These reviews are just based upon opinion, more than likely they will probably change as I become more educated on knives and blades.

I joined bladeforums.com because everything I looked up brought me here over and over. So I either ran into a wealth of knowledge or everyone here is discussing everything I have been looking into. Anyhow thanks for having me and look forward to your replies and future discussions

Rob
 
Welcome to the forum Rob!

You will find a wealth of knowledge here, hope you enjoy your stay.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

You will discover as you read and learn and read and learn that there is ALWAYS something better, something nicer, something ELSE YOU MUST HAVE. ;)

It's a neverending journey...
 
Raining is right. Always something better, nicer, newer that you are going to want.

Welcome aboard!
 
Welcome to BF. Now run. Run I say! You shan't escape with your wallet intact! Knives seems pretty harmless at first, but next thing you know you have dumped hundreds into what is now placeholder junk.

I will give you the advise that I wish I had when I first started. If the knife isn't from Spyderco, Benchmade, Böker, Kershaw, SOG, Cold Steel, Ontario, Camillus, or CRKT don't buy it until you have a lot more knowledge about knives. I bought so much crap, it isn't even funny.

Don't be afraid to step into the world of around $50 knives. A few killer knives at that price are the Spyderco Endura (and Delica) and Benchmade Griptilian. A few killer knives below that price are the Kershaw Leek and Cryo, and Ontario RAT-1 and 2. Tons more, but those are some highlights.

Be careful with stepping out of around $50 knives, it is a really slippery slope from there.

Lastly, take a bit of time to learn how to properly sharpen a knife. I took my time on this one and really regret it. A great sharpener for starters (and it you stick with it for a long time) is a 1x30 belt sander and a set of belts. The whole kit runs about $60 if you get a cheaper sander, about $80 with leather belt (it strops about 100x quicker than a manual strop). There is something super satisfying about putting a screaming sharp edge on your knives. If you don't want to do all sharpening with a sander, at least look at a cheap one (check pawn shops) for heavy reprofiling.

I think that covers it all, pretty much. Oh, and don't get sucked into the tactical market. Tactical just means likely to be confiscated, for the most part. Please heed my advise. I would have killed to know this when I started collecting. Also don't be afraid of buying used- if you are going to use it yourself, buying used just means cheaper prices!
 
Don't feel bad about not being able to put a good edge on the gerber. taylor bought gerber awhile back and their knives took a real big dip in quality. It's hard to put an edge on junk no name steel.

Not sure what your budget is for knives but dkb4 gave some great advice. You can't go wrong with a kershaw or spidy
 
Escape this cash dump while you can.

Might I suggest looking at Mora's or opinels both are cheap and both are great.
 
dkb45 said:
Welcome to BF. Now run. Run I say! You shan't escape with your wallet intact! Knives seems pretty harmless at first, but next thing you know you have dumped hundreds into what is now placeholder junk.


Be careful with stepping out of around $50 knives, it is a really slippery slope from there.

Lastly, take a bit of time to learn how to properly sharpen a knife. I took my time on this one and really regret it. A great sharpener for starters (and it you stick with it for a long time) is a 1x30 belt sander and a set of belts. The whole kit runs about $60 if you get a cheaper sander, about $80 with leather belt (it strops about 100x quicker than a manual strop). There is something super satisfying about putting a screaming sharp edge on your knives. If you don't want to do all sharpening with a sander, at least look at a cheap one (check pawn shops) for heavy reprofiling.
I will give you the advise that I wish I had when I first started. If the knife isn't from Spyderco, Benchmade, Böker, Kershaw, SOG, Cold Steel, Ontario, Camillus, or CRKT don't buy it until you have a lot more knowledge about knives. I bought so much crap, it isn't even funny.

Don't be afraid to step into the world of around $50 knives. A few killer knives at that price are the Spyderco Endura (and Delica) and Benchmade Griptilian. A few killer knives below that price are the Kershaw Leek and Cryo, and Ontario RAT-1 and 2. Tons more, but those are some highlights.

I think that covers it all, pretty much. Oh, and don't get sucked into the tactical market. Tactical just means likely to be confiscated, for the most part. Please heed my advise. I would have killed to know this when I started collecting. Also don't be afraid of buying used- if you are going to use it yourself, buying used just means cheaper prices!
Click to expand...

Pure gold right there.....remember it haha, I would have very nice collection if someone had given me this advice from the start.

And welcome to blade forums!

Stay sharp!

-niner
 
So much to learn ...so...little......time-...... Just kidding welcome to the dark side-i mean knife community
 
Thank you for all the positive info and some idea's and other manufacturers to read up on. I think I will reflect on the sentence "there is something super satisfying about putting a screaming sharp edge on your knives" I like that. I don't know what it is about taking a knife and spending some quality time with it and make it really really sharp. For me it's a time away from the ten thousand things that I have to do in life. Think about nothing for that brief moment then upon completion sit back and release a nice enthusiastic "oh yes that is what I wanted".

Wow! glad I got to share that with you.

As far as steel goes..... What is a recommended blade steel? So far from the few items that I have collected the Buck 750 Redpoint with the 420HC is my favorite. What will blow that away? Give me some good ideas here, don't worry about keeping it in a certain dollar range. I really like the folding knives, I need to pocket it, I visit Detroit a lot. Ha ha.

Another piece that I found interesting in the comments made was that Taylor bought Gerber. Who else do they have in their lineup?

Thanks a lot. I appreciate it
 
As far as steels go, 420 is pretty much the bottom of the totem pole, though Buck's 420HC is a bit more well respected here on the forum. Of course, the more you read, especially on here, the more you will learn the importance of heat treating, or HT. This is the proccess the really makes a steel shine or fall short. There are different methods, and each individual alloy has it's own optimal HT for various purposes.

If you're looking at folding knives, you really want ease of sharpening and edge holding. The first since you're new, and the second because the better a steel's wear resistance and edge retention, the more you can cut between sharpening. For a great comparison of knife steels, Ankerson here on the forums has the best and most comprehensive data I've ever seen, which you can find
here.

Now, M390, S90v, and CTS-20CP are usually only found in fairly expensive knives (~$200+), but steels like D2, s30v, 154CM and other steels in that range are all great all-around steels, and I would in fact recommend them over the higher-end steels since they are arguably more "user-friendly" in respect to sharpening.

As far as a better choice than the Buck Redpoint, as the others have mentioned, you can hardly go wrong with Benchmade, Spyderco, or Kershaw. I myself started my serious knife collecting with a BM Mini-Griptillian, and I couldn't ask for a better knife. With those "Big Three", you really just need to pick the right size and aesthetic and order away! Of special note, if you would like to try a really high-end stainless at a mid-range price, the Kershaw Speedform II is made with ELMAX, a very tough, wear resistant steel, and can be found under $100 in most cases. Other safe bets, as mentioned, are CRKT, Ontario, SOG, and some Cold Steel.

The best way to be sure of a knife however, is to do as much research as possible and learn up about what the various steels, locks, handle materials, etc. are, and then when you see a knife, you'll know how to evaluate it for what your specific needs are. If you know the terms, things become much more straightforward.


Hope this helps and welcome to the forums!
 
CM_Bushman, thank you for the info and other items to research. I appreciate it

Thank you for the nice hearty welcoming to the forums!!!
 
I also want to welcome you to Bladeforums!

It looks like you have done a good bit of reading already. If you continue here you will get quite an education concerning knives. You will also find yourself buying/trading knives more than you ever thought possible! As far as sharpners go, I have used the Spyderco Sharpmaker ever since it came out. One thing you will discover is a sharp knife is easier to keep sharp if you don't let it get dull, quite an epiphany don't you think?:D In reality this is exactly what I do with the Sharpmaker. After I use the knife for a couple days I will take it to my Sharpmaker and give it 10 strokes to each side and bring the edge back up to that hair popping edge I like my knives to have. Now I do not use knives hard because I do not have a lot of hard knife tasks to do so my knives keep that razor edge.

Anyway, welcome aboard and get ready for everything thats going to come your way!!!
 
Don't get caught up in the blade steel hype. Buck's 420hc is a superb steel. Does it hold an edge like S90V? Nope, but it also sharpens up with 1/5 the effort, and takes a scalpel edge without effort.

If you don't plan on being extremely abusive on your knives (basically if you plan on using them, not trying to break them), then you will be perfectly fine with 420hc, AUS-8, and any common Sandvik. I have just now finally realized that even VG-10 (by no means a super premium steel) is above what I need. Premium steels just mean premium costs.

Am I saying never buy a good steel? No. I am just saying that they aren't really anything special. Buy a knife for the design and form, not the steel or other materials. Also note that premium steels are far less forgiving for the amateur sharpener.

Haha, I hope you can learn something from everything I have learned about knives to this point. I pretty much put it all on the table here.
 
dkb45 said:
Welcome to BF. Now run. Run I say! You shan't escape with your wallet intact! Knives seems pretty harmless at first, but next thing you know you have dumped hundreds into what is now placeholder junk.

I will give you the advise that I wish I had when I first started. If the knife isn't from Spyderco, Benchmade, Böker, Kershaw, SOG, Cold Steel, Ontario, Camillus, or CRKT don't buy it until you have a lot more knowledge about knives. I bought so much crap, it isn't even funny.

Don't be afraid to step into the world of around $50 knives. A few killer knives at that price are the Spyderco Endura (and Delica) and Benchmade Griptilian. A few killer knives below that price are the Kershaw Leek and Cryo, and Ontario RAT-1 and 2. Tons more, but those are some highlights.

Be careful with stepping out of around $50 knives, it is a really slippery slope from there.
Click to expand...

About the sub-$50 knives, Kershaw's budget line of knives are in the $20 range, and are really good knives for regular use. Their 8c13MoV steel isn't premium by any means, but it gets a really good edge and is easy to sharpen, and pretty much handles general use without a hitch. About the makers list, I'll add Condor Tool and Knife to the your list of suggestions(though a lot of their product line is more machete oriented, they DO make some good knives too, such as their Rodan and Hudson Bay knives), and I'd advise caution about Camillus. Since they got bought out, their quality has declined...I had a friend buy their "Carnivore" machete and the tang actually broke doing some basic, not incredibly hard chopping-same sort of stuff other machetes by many companies(Condor, Ka-Bar, Marbles, Imacasa, Aranyik, Ontario) held up to easily. Some research showed that this problem wasn't a fluke, either. Not sure if their knives are as bad, but I'd still be wary after that.

And I will admit, your list is a good list, but sometimes, cheap knives can be fun, as long as you know what you're getting and aren't expecting more from it. Like, my S&W karambit, I like karambits and it's a fun knife to own, but I sure wouldn't expect it to be a hard use knife either.
 
jimmyd1982 said:
Don't feel bad about not being able to put a good edge on the gerber. taylor bought gerber awhile back and their knives took a real big dip in quality. It's hard to put an edge on junk no name steel.

Not sure what your budget is for knives but dkb4 gave some great advice. You can't go wrong with a kershaw or spidy
Click to expand...

Actually, it was Fiskars (yeah, the fiskars that makes scissors and yard tools) that bought Gerber. Not all their knives are bad. I've been more than happy for 15 years with a 15.00 Paraframe, and it sharpens just fine,

If you like buck, get a 119, a 110, oor one of their smaller versions of either, All great knives.

Try to stick with the major brands is true at that price range EXCEPT look for the occasional sleeper from other brands, ie Schrade, S&W, and Browning. They do pop up with good ones sometimes.

Sharpening still, after 12 years of serious attempts, is tough for me too. I like the Worksharp line of Sharpeners, especially their newest pocket sharpener. Great products. Keep working at it.

Enjoy the site! Ask questions, make friends, ignore the knife snobs and haters, and welcome aboard. Say goodbye to your money, though. The bug has already hit you, and it only gets worse!
 
DShiflet said:
About the sub-$50 knives, Kershaw's budget line of knives are in the $20 range, and are really good knives for regular use. Their 8c13MoV steel isn't premium by any means, but it gets a really good edge and is easy to sharpen, and pretty much handles general use without a hitch. About the makers list, I'll add Condor Tool and Knife to the your list of suggestions(though a lot of their product line is more machete oriented, they DO make some good knives too, such as their Rodan and Hudson Bay knives), and I'd advise caution about Camillus. Since they got bought out, their quality has declined...I had a friend buy their "Carnivore" machete and the tang actually broke doing some basic, not incredibly hard chopping-same sort of stuff other machetes by many companies(Condor, Ka-Bar, Marbles, Imacasa, Aranyik, Ontario) held up to easily. Some research showed that this problem wasn't a fluke, either. Not sure if their knives are as bad, but I'd still be wary after that.

And I will admit, your list is a good list, but sometimes, cheap knives can be fun, as long as you know what you're getting and aren't expecting more from it. Like, my S&W karambit, I like karambits and it's a fun knife to own, but I sure wouldn't expect it to be a hard use knife either.
Click to expand...

I know Kershaw does great with 8cr (CRKT too). Had a few different Kershaw budget models, one of them being in my EDC rotation (Cryo). It is one of my favorite budget steels.

I should have elaborated about Camillus. Their folders are pretty nice (especially the VG-10 ones I have seen) and most are at a good price point. I pretty much don't do fixed blades, so I cannot comment on them from anyone (but of course the Crapivore would be bad, because most stainless steels become horribly fragile when they are in large pieces).

I will add one last nugget before I am pretty positive that I am out of advice. Before you make a purchase, check prices and reviews online. I have almost bought quite a few things that turned out being total crap.
 
dkb45 said:
I know Kershaw does great with 8cr (CRKT too). Had a few different Kershaw budget models, one of them being in my EDC rotation (Cryo). It is one of my favorite budget steels.

I should have elaborated about Camillus. Their folders are pretty nice (especially the VG-10 ones I have seen) and most are at a good price point. I pretty much don't do fixed blades, so I cannot comment on them from anyone (but of course the Crapivore would be bad, because most stainless steels become horribly fragile when they are in large pieces).

I will add one last nugget before I am pretty positive that I am out of advice. Before you make a purchase, check prices and reviews online. I have almost bought quite a few things that turned out being total crap.
Click to expand...

I do love Kershaw's budget stuff. So much so that everytime I see one I don't have, I want it, even if it doesn't fill a niche I don't already have filled many times over. Clash, Compound, Asset, Kuro, Half Ton, OSO Sweet(my fave)...love em all, and not a one was over $25 with shipping factored in. Noted on Camillus, I own a lot of folders, but none of theirs. If I find a deal maybe I'll pick one up.

And agreed on that last part-reviews can be a big help(and about 75% of the time, if you google "(random knife) review", you'll get a result from here anyway, lol), and shop around! Often prices are within the same range at different vendors, but sometimes they vary pretty wildly, and you can save $15-20 just by checking out the various knife sites.
 
That Kershaw Leek Knife with Sandvik 1660CB Stainless-Steel/CPM-D2 Composite two-tone Stainless-Steel Blade might be the next purchase.

I keep going back to these two knifes.

Buck Vantage Force Pro Folding Knife, S30V Plain Blade, G10 Handle
Kershaw Leek Knife with Sandvik 1660CB Stainless-Steel/CPM-D2 Composite two-tone Stainless-Steel Blade

I think the Kershaw might be the one. I don't have a Kershaw and the reviews of the Kershaw seem to be way more positive than the less than satisfied customers
 
As one newbie to another, the advice here on where to start in price range and makers is very sensible. I think it is a good idea to sample the suggested companies. There seem to be makers and price points where you see a lot of consensus here on the forums. I wanted to try different knives that were well reviewed at different price points to get a sense of what I was paying for.

My first purchase was a Kershaw Skyline in black G10. At the time it seemed like a lot to pay for a knife and it is slightly more tactical looking than my current taste. However, it is a great user, fun for fondling/flipping, good ergonomics, quality steel, and now it seems like it is just a great blade at the price ($36). My first "upscale" move was a Spyderco Sage 1 for $100. The reviews on the forum were so strong, and I wanted to try the famous Spyderco ergonomics, and the aesthetics (carbon fiber, blade steel and shape, clip) were appealing to me. Once again, I not only loved the knife, once in hand (and in pocket), but after having it for a while it seemed like amazing value at $100. The design is really well thought out, and the fit and finish is first rate. The knife carries fairly light, but locks up rock solid and feels very substantial in the hand, yet the blade shape and forward lower choil in the blade make it comfortable for more precise work as well.

In the mean time, I have tried a few other makers and price points. In traditional knives, I have gone strictly small and relatively cheap with the Victornix manager, and the Case peanut. I had a Victornix classic on my keychain for years, but the manager is an improvement on an already good design. I purchased the peanut because there seemed to be such a cult-like following and I wanted a smaller knife that would disappear in my pocket when wearing a suit and also for places that have sub 2.5" and/or non-locking restrictions. The peanut has had a surprising amount of pocket time and does most everything I need a knife to do. I understand why it has so many fans.

At the higher end, I could hold out only so long before trying a Sebenza. I figured that Chris Reeve knives hold their value well enough that I could always sell it here at not much of a loss, particularly if I bought it used in good condition--I saw them coming up for sale, and selling quickly. I bought a Small Sebenza Insingo a few months back, and now I cannot see parting with it. Maybe I'm hypnotized by the hype, but it is absolutely a joy to carry and use. It is like a utilitarian work of art with the simplest of designs executed to the highest tolerances.

So my advice is use the expertise here to help you pick your shots as the money flies out of our wallet. You can find knives to love over a broad range of prices. I can't say that the forums have "saved me money" in that they just enable the addiction, but they have certainly helped me avoid wasting money.
 
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