Hey guys, just discovered this community yesterday while hunting for a good first folder and have spent rather a few hours looking around... instead of doing my college finals! I haven't owned any knives since my pocketknife back when I was a Boy Scout and am interested in buying a nice folder that would serve well for EDC but still be capable in a survival or self-defense situation, should they arise. As far as I can tell, Kershaw seems to be a totally amazing brand for fulfilling all those requirements--as well as having a really awesome forum community. 
I'm simply amazed that Thomas actually takes the trouble to post here so regularly, and has such a great sense of humor!
I've done a fair amount of looking around on my own (no need to make you guys do all the work) but still am having some trouble finding the exact knife I'm looking for. My biggest problem is that I'm totally enthralled by the ZT line, especially the 0200, but they're simply too massive for my small hands! I've noticed from the pictures around that the 0200 seems to fit really nicely in the hands of super-mutants like offsetlover and nygiantsfan that measure 8+ inches from wrist to middle fingertip, but as a mere mortal whose hand is about 6.35 inches by the same measurements, I doubt I'd be able to handle such as "tank" of a knife as the 0200. 
Similar size seems to put the beautiful Tyrade out of my reach as well.
I have a few questions about the legality of SpeedSafe in NYC, and following the Don's advice I've started a thread about it here, if anybody has some input that would be really helpful as I know almost nothing about how SpeedSafe works.
Back on topic:
Usually when I've seen people asking for help on knives folks have asked them about what appeals to them aesthetically, so I'll provide a bit of background on that to help you out. Although I'm continually amused by Cold Steel's hyperbolic advertising (Cuts like a lightsaber! Full-length tang carved from the wood of the True Cross! Blade covered with adonized Unobtainium mined from the center of the Earth!) I have to admit that I find their look occasionally appealing. If I happened to have a knife materialize out of the air in front of me, I think I'd want it to be their beautiful Black Sable, I'm an amateur fencer and the pistol grip looks really nice to me, and the blade's curve is just amazing. I've always had a thing for recurved, upswept blades like that, and seeing one on a folder takes my breath away. Of course even if you go bargain-hunting that knife seems to cost about $300, which is way out of my poor-college-student price range.
Speaking of price, I'm looking to spend around $60 to $90 preferably, but if a knife is going to be a great value and last me for years I'd spend maybe $150ish max on it. (By the way, it seems that Spark and everybody else on the internet are being pretty dramatically undersold by www.cheaperthandirt.com, which I haven't heard mentioned here) It's annoying because a ZT 0200 seems perfect for my needs and is a steal for the price, but... if you'll remember in Pulp Fiction where Jules and Vincent are miraculously not killed by that kid blazing away with the huge revolver, and Jules says "Did you see that gun? It was bigger than him!" That's what people would probably say about me with that knife. I mean, I'm like 5'2" and 120 lbs., that thing practically *is* bigger than me
For another example of a probably-too-big knife that I like, the Cold Steel Recon 1 seems to be extremely solid and dependable, as well as looking pretty sweet--and from what I've seen of the video in Funditor's review it looks really fun to flip open and closed, even with gloves. Since I usually wear a black leather jacket and matching gloves when I go out in the winter, it'd be awful convenient to have a knife that flips open that easily... and I'm not gonna lie... it looks really fun to just sit around flicking it open and shut all day!
But speaking of flippers, I'm a little intrigued by but confused about the R.A.M. First off... what does R.A.M. stand for? Moreover, I've heard the RAM referred to as a "flipper" several times, and people seem to indicate that flipping it open is really fun, like in the "ram manipulations" video. What's the difference between the RAM's opening method and SpeedSafe? Would a RAM be legal in NYC? I can't tell if the RAM would be the answer to my need for a knife combining awesomeness and functionality, but especially the ones with composite blades are absolutely gorgeous. I vote for Gavin's design, by the way.
I get the vague impression that a RAM is a little smaller than a ZT 0200, but by how much? I wish the Kershaw site's measurements were working, but the whole site seems to be a little sparing with the details at the moment. I've also seen that a lot of other sites have untrustworthy info on Kershaws, for example many of them erroneously list the ZT 0200's blade length at 4.25" when it's apparently more like 3.875", so I'd rather get the specs from you guys.
So if the ZT 0200 is too big, the RAM might be illegal in NYC or too big, where do I go from here? Leeks are very nice but a little too pointy for my taste, so next I'm looking at... Shallots?. I do like the Shallot's design a lot, especially the black ones with combo blades, but I'm a *bit* unsure how much abuse they can take, as they seem to emphasize form over function. I don't plan on abusing my knife, and I know that Kershaw's CS is second-to-none, but since it's my first folder I'd rather not even have one that I'll hurt on accident if I try to cut through a 1" branch or maybe use a larger branch as a baton to drive it through another piece of wood to split it. Reading the Recon 1 review really had an impact on my desire to "be prepared" as I used to in the Scouts and I'd like a knife that would hold up the same under those pressures. Having no practical knowledge of how a Shallot handles though, I'm not sure how it'd do. I don't know much about similar Kershaws to the Shallot in size, like maybe the Cyclone, Avalanche, Black Vapor, or Groove, if any of those are even around the size I think they are.
So I have a fair amount of theoretical and abstract knowledge about these knives, but looking at YouTube videos can only get you so far. So far it's seeming like the Recon 1 fulfills a lot of my needs, but I like Kershaw as a brand waaay better than Cold Steel, especially since I know their CS will have my back if anything goes awry. Flipping the Recon open and closed for hours seems fun, but if doing so messes it up and CS's CS... doesn't exist... I'll be left with a $55 paperweight. Also, I don't know how the Recon stacks up heftwise to the others I'm classifying as "probably too heavy" like the Tyrade. It weighs in at 5.5oz compared to 7.7oz for the ZT 0200 and 4.2oz for the Shallot, but that doesn't tell me too much without practical experience.
I think seeing some pictures for size comparison on this stuff might help me out a lot, especially in-hand or with something like a quarter for scale, and while there are a lot of pics here already many of the knives aren't labeled and I'm not quite good enough yet to identify all of them by sight. If anybody could whip me up a pic or two with a ZT 0200, a RAM, a Shallot, any other shallotesque knives like the Black Vapor II, and a Recon 1 if you happen to have it, that would be really really helpful.
Thanks for reading my enormous block of text, can you tell that I've been spending a zillion hours on the forums? The addiction has begun... unfortunately given my current resources (literally $0 in the bank account and not starting full-time work for another week) I can't get addicted to buying a zillion Kershaws...yet... so I'll have to make do with one that will last me for a long time.
Again, thanks for reading and I look forward to your sage advice!
I'm simply amazed that Thomas actually takes the trouble to post here so regularly, and has such a great sense of humor!I've done a fair amount of looking around on my own (no need to make you guys do all the work
) but still am having some trouble finding the exact knife I'm looking for. My biggest problem is that I'm totally enthralled by the ZT line, especially the 0200, but they're simply too massive for my small hands! I've noticed from the pictures around that the 0200 seems to fit really nicely in the hands of super-mutants like offsetlover and nygiantsfan that measure 8+ inches from wrist to middle fingertip, but as a mere mortal whose hand is about 6.35 inches by the same measurements, I doubt I'd be able to handle such as "tank" of a knife as the 0200. Similar size seems to put the beautiful Tyrade out of my reach as well. I have a few questions about the legality of SpeedSafe in NYC, and following the Don's advice I've started a thread about it here, if anybody has some input that would be really helpful as I know almost nothing about how SpeedSafe works.
Back on topic:
Usually when I've seen people asking for help on knives folks have asked them about what appeals to them aesthetically, so I'll provide a bit of background on that to help you out. Although I'm continually amused by Cold Steel's hyperbolic advertising (Cuts like a lightsaber! Full-length tang carved from the wood of the True Cross! Blade covered with adonized Unobtainium mined from the center of the Earth!) I have to admit that I find their look occasionally appealing. If I happened to have a knife materialize out of the air in front of me, I think I'd want it to be their beautiful Black Sable, I'm an amateur fencer and the pistol grip looks really nice to me, and the blade's curve is just amazing. I've always had a thing for recurved, upswept blades like that, and seeing one on a folder takes my breath away. Of course even if you go bargain-hunting that knife seems to cost about $300, which is way out of my poor-college-student price range.
Speaking of price, I'm looking to spend around $60 to $90 preferably, but if a knife is going to be a great value and last me for years I'd spend maybe $150ish max on it. (By the way, it seems that Spark and everybody else on the internet are being pretty dramatically undersold by www.cheaperthandirt.com, which I haven't heard mentioned here) It's annoying because a ZT 0200 seems perfect for my needs and is a steal for the price, but... if you'll remember in Pulp Fiction where Jules and Vincent are miraculously not killed by that kid blazing away with the huge revolver, and Jules says "Did you see that gun? It was bigger than him!" That's what people would probably say about me with that knife. I mean, I'm like 5'2" and 120 lbs., that thing practically *is* bigger than me
For another example of a probably-too-big knife that I like, the Cold Steel Recon 1 seems to be extremely solid and dependable, as well as looking pretty sweet--and from what I've seen of the video in Funditor's review it looks really fun to flip open and closed, even with gloves. Since I usually wear a black leather jacket and matching gloves when I go out in the winter, it'd be awful convenient to have a knife that flips open that easily... and I'm not gonna lie... it looks really fun to just sit around flicking it open and shut all day!
But speaking of flippers, I'm a little intrigued by but confused about the R.A.M. First off... what does R.A.M. stand for? Moreover, I've heard the RAM referred to as a "flipper" several times, and people seem to indicate that flipping it open is really fun, like in the "ram manipulations" video. What's the difference between the RAM's opening method and SpeedSafe? Would a RAM be legal in NYC? I can't tell if the RAM would be the answer to my need for a knife combining awesomeness and functionality, but especially the ones with composite blades are absolutely gorgeous. I vote for Gavin's design, by the way.
I get the vague impression that a RAM is a little smaller than a ZT 0200, but by how much? I wish the Kershaw site's measurements were working, but the whole site seems to be a little sparing with the details at the moment
. I've also seen that a lot of other sites have untrustworthy info on Kershaws, for example many of them erroneously list the ZT 0200's blade length at 4.25" when it's apparently more like 3.875", so I'd rather get the specs from you guys. So if the ZT 0200 is too big, the RAM might be illegal in NYC or too big, where do I go from here? Leeks are very nice but a little too pointy for my taste, so next I'm looking at... Shallots?. I do like the Shallot's design a lot, especially the black ones with combo blades, but I'm a *bit* unsure how much abuse they can take, as they seem to emphasize form over function. I don't plan on abusing my knife, and I know that Kershaw's CS is second-to-none, but since it's my first folder I'd rather not even have one that I'll hurt on accident if I try to cut through a 1" branch or maybe use a larger branch as a baton to drive it through another piece of wood to split it. Reading the Recon 1 review really had an impact on my desire to "be prepared" as I used to in the Scouts and I'd like a knife that would hold up the same under those pressures. Having no practical knowledge of how a Shallot handles though, I'm not sure how it'd do. I don't know much about similar Kershaws to the Shallot in size, like maybe the Cyclone, Avalanche, Black Vapor, or Groove, if any of those are even around the size I think they are.
So I have a fair amount of theoretical and abstract knowledge about these knives, but looking at YouTube videos can only get you so far. So far it's seeming like the Recon 1 fulfills a lot of my needs, but I like Kershaw as a brand waaay better than Cold Steel, especially since I know their CS will have my back if anything goes awry. Flipping the Recon open and closed for hours seems fun, but if doing so messes it up and CS's CS... doesn't exist... I'll be left with a $55 paperweight. Also, I don't know how the Recon stacks up heftwise to the others I'm classifying as "probably too heavy" like the Tyrade. It weighs in at 5.5oz compared to 7.7oz for the ZT 0200 and 4.2oz for the Shallot, but that doesn't tell me too much without practical experience.
I think seeing some pictures for size comparison on this stuff might help me out a lot, especially in-hand or with something like a quarter for scale, and while there are a lot of pics here already many of the knives aren't labeled and I'm not quite good enough yet to identify all of them by sight. If anybody could whip me up a pic or two with a ZT 0200, a RAM, a Shallot, any other shallotesque knives like the Black Vapor II, and a Recon 1 if you happen to have it, that would be really really helpful.
Thanks for reading my enormous block of text, can you tell that I've been spending a zillion hours on the forums? The addiction has begun...
unfortunately given my current resources (literally $0 in the bank account and not starting full-time work for another week) I can't get addicted to buying a zillion Kershaws...yet... so I'll have to make do with one that will last me for a long time.Again, thanks for reading and I look forward to your sage advice!
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Just to clarify it a little more, could you post/link me to a reliable source for the exact measurements for the RAM? 
