Newbie - advice required please?

[Wacjac]

Hi all....

I'm a newbie to this forum, and looking for a bit of advice before I spend a few £/$ on a knife. I'll apologise in advance for any incorrect terminology - I've always been fascinated by the workmanship of knives but do not know much about them !!

I'm looking to spend about £40 ($60 I guess?) - not a huge amount but that's my budget unfortunately - on a folding knife. My general requirements are (in order of piority):

1. Approx dimensions - blade 2.5", handle 3.5", overall 6"

2. Build quality must be absolutely SOLID, ie. no play at the blade/handle joint area - both up&down and side to side (hope you understand what I mean by that?) It's just that I've had cheap 'pen-knives' over the years and they all 'wobble' at that point and make them feel cheap and poorly manufactured.

3. Blade must be of similar shape and style to the Columbia River 'KISS' classic half serrated.

4. Must have blade lock and thumb-post(?) for one handed opening.

5. Preferably (but not definitely) all st/st handle construction.

6. Allen key fastenings so that SHOULD the mechanism slacken it can be re-torqued?

The knife would be a general purpose 'pocket-knife' and would not really be subject to any extremes of use.

The knives I have been considering are:

CRKT 'KISS' classic
CRKT 'Shark'
Gerber AR3.00

I obviously only know a handful of makes like Gerber, Spyderco, Benchmade, SOG, and Columbia River so don't know If I'm maybe missing out on any thing decent.

(I also will probably have to order online in the UK - so REALLY need the hands-on advice as I won't be able to handle them first)

If any of you guys could give me any advice or other recommendations I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance

Wacjac

(UK based)

 

[GuyInBlack]

Hi there,
Welcome to the forums!

Personally I like the CRKT M16 range, theres various models to choose from and as far as I know they can all be stripped down - certainly my M16-04 can. The only thing is, I'm pretty sure the smallest one has just over a 3" blade. The CRKT Sharks are quite nice too, in fact my girlfriend has one of the smaller ones, and she really likes it.

You might also want to consider the Camillus/Cuda EDC which looks very nice, although I've not received mine yet, the blade on that is just under 3" as I recall, and theres a choice of 2 blade metals availible. Search the forums if you want to find the camparison of the steels. I've no idea if the EDC can be taken apart though, maybe someone else can answer that?

Like you said, it can be a bit hit & miss ordering from the UK, as you never quite sure what the knife will be like once you see it, as of course you've never seen it in the flesh before. Also keep in mind you may have to pay a Customs charge, and theres the shipping charges too...

All in all though, it does generally work out cheaper to by online.

This forum is a great place for getting the maximum information before hand though, and theres some great online US retailers to deal with out there, and you can find some info about them by checking out the Good, Bad & Ugly section under the Knife Exchange forum. Personally I've found Bayou LaFourche Knifeworks (www.knifeworks.com) to carry a good range at good prices and they offer great service. Check out www.onestopknifeshop.com too, as by purchasing from them you will be supporting this board, and also they're the only guys who sell the EDC with the better blade steel.

There are a few of us UK guys on this forum, I'm not sure how many though. The only other UK guy that springs to mind right now is The General - be warned, he's apparently a "steel snob" though! ;o)

Um, I think that's about it for now.

Keep us posted on what you decide, and feel free to e-mail me if you want to chat.

p.s. Almost forgot, that thing on the blade for opening the knife is called the thumb stud.

 

[JAS10]

As long as your looking at CRKT I'd recommend the Crawford/Kasper folder. The small is 7.25" open with a 3" blade. The large is 9.21" open with a 3.87" blade. About $43 for the small and $48 for the large with a partially serrated blade if you buy online. Both use AUS 6M. There was a website done by a forumite here thoroughly reviewing the large version but I can't seem to find the link. Overall the knife was reviewed as being very solid and a really great knife for the price. I've handled a friend's small version and would say the same things. The only gripe I have would be the shortness of the small version's handle. My pinky finger barely fit when I would hold the knife. And I have average or slightly smaller than average hands. The large would be my choice, but is over 2" longer than what you want. Good look in your search.


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jeff
My knives

 

[Raptor]

Wacjac,
Welcome to BFC!!

I think that you've already hit the nail on the head with one of your choices.

The first knife that I thought of was the CRKT Greg Lightfoot Urban Shark.
I gave one of these (the larger plain edge) to my wife's uncle & he just loves this knife. He uses it for work and for his EDC (Every Day Carry).

It's a very, very good deal for this price.

--The Raptor--


[This message has been edited by Raptor (edited 04-16-2001).]

 

[The General]

Given the requirements the first blades that spring to mind are either a Spyderco Naitive in Gin1/CPM440V or the 154CM/420HC EDC Camillus models.

Now the Spyderco is a bit larger, but I have seen them in the UK for around £50. A little more than you want to pay but not much.

The Cammilus models go for betweem $45 and $65 US. You BIG problem is the average postage on a knife is $15-$25 plus 17.5% VAT Plus 8% knife tax. Oh yes they count the postage as part of the value of the knife

Point being, at your price point, the Internet might not be the best bet.

Another option would be a Spyderco Delica, which would be my first choice, here is a price and picture for example.

http://store.knifecenter.com/pgi-ProductSpec?SP11P98


Oh and the all steel handle model which has a poorer steel and thus I would not recommend it myself...

http://store.knifecenter.com/pgi-ProductSpec?SP43P

This knife is good for a number of reasons.
1. Its cheap
2. Its a Spyderco
3. Its well made and tight
4. The Spyderhole is a GREAT way to open the knife one handed.
5. It is the right size area for you
6. It comes razor sharp
7. It is made from a half decent steel unlike that 6M rubbish or heaven forbid 420HC.
8. Oh and the link is to a company that have a 'special' arrangement for UK customers...

BTW this is the Naitive.
If you can stump up a LITTLE extra a MUCH better knife IMHO. I own the stainless steel handle model myself (10a steel VERY good!)

http://store.knifecenter.com/pgi-ProductSpec?SP41S

And the CPM 440V model (fantastic steel!)

http://store.knifecenter.com/pgi-ProductSpec?SP41PBK

E-mail me if I can help any more!

BTW I am a steel snob! I like em good and sharp! None of that cheap n nasty stuff! I see you are on the right track! Welcome to the club.



------------------
Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!

 

[Jason Burns]

Welcome to the forums! I am not sure if your $60 american includes shipping or not or how much it is going to run to get the knife to you in the UK.
Those things in mind, the CRKTs are great knives! However, the AR 3.00 seems to be the best deal on a knife with aus 8a steel. ($23) The Gerber SLG 3.25 seems to be the best deal on a knife with ATS-34,titanium liner, and G-10 scales. ($39) Both are well made and I have given away about four of the AR 3.00s, all of which now have very satisfied owners! I don't think you can go wrong with the choices you listed in your price range!

 

[Bugs3x]

The CRKT LUS/Shark was the first knife that came to my mind as well, when I read the dimensions you listed.

However, if you can call Bayou LaFourche -- URL = http://www.knifeworks.com/
they have a toll free # -- sorry, but don't know if those work internationally or not -- and ask Roger what he'll sell an Apache III or Apache II to you for. Should be under $30 US right now. The III is almost exactly the size you specified. Aluminum handles, ATS-34 blade, and IMHO, a downright good-looking knife. They're being discontinued, and BL is the only place I am aware of at this time that is offering closeouts on them. Another dealer did, but is sold out.

Or, I think the Native would be a fine knife for you too. Another Spyderco, which is being discontinued, is the Michael Walker. I just got one of the old models in a deal on the individual sale forum. I like it a lot. Unfortunately, the old ones had ATS-55. The later models have AUS8. Or the Delica.

Happy choosing!




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Asi es la vida

Bugs