- Joined
- Sep 8, 2005
- Messages
- 743
I decided my spyderco military is a bit too big for my needs and I wanted something lighter, smaller, and slimmer to edc. I am a long time spyderco fan but the spyderco hole requires a wider blade, something I wanted to avoid.
I am a student and my knife use is very limited. I might go a week without using my knife. When I do use it, I might cut a string or piece of tape or just whittle a stick for fun. I am not a heavy user but I do carry a knife as much as possible, so weight and dimensions are the primary factors (as oppose to strength and ergonomics). My "good edc knife" should be easy to carry, light weight, aesthetically pleasing, and relatively inexpensive/easy to replace. Additional pluses would be easy to clean, easy to open, and good blade steel.
I bought the following knives:
Spyderco Centofante 3 ($58 + ship gpknives)
Kershaw Skyline ($35+tax at walmart)
Benchmade 530 ($62 + ship gpknives)
CRKT Drifter ($17 :thumbup: +shipping at gpknives)
Here is the order I put them in, best to worst, IMO, for my edc purposes:
Benchmade 530
Kershaw Skyline
Spyderco Centofante 3
CRKT Drifter G10
The Drifter is a smallish knife but an excellent value. There is a simple liner lock that is easy to disengage, and it is screwed together so it can be taken apart. It feels solid in the hand and the G10 is moderately grippy. I like the way it looks and functions, but it is too small for me. If you are looking for a small, cheap, g-10 edc knife I would bet it is one of the best for the money. The steel is not great but otherwise it should serve you well.
Drifter: Good, small, cheap knife.
The centofante 3 is a nice knife but it did not do anything for me. I guess I am tired of spyderco knives. The ergonomics were great, lockup solid, nice length blade, easy to open, light and thin, but it just wasnt it for me. I guess what bugged me the most is the lockback mechanism. It just felt weird after so many months with a liner lock on the millie. Or perhaps I didnt like the looks. The silver bug in the handle struck me as unnecessary. The knife is riveted, so you will not be able to take it apart to clean it.
I returned the centofante 3, so no pics.
Centofante 3: Good quality knife but not what I was looking for.
The kershaw skyline is an AWESOME knife for the money. A solid little G-10 knife with a fast flipper. The flipper makes a great guard and the blade shape is very utilitarian. It can be taken apart pretty easily as there are only 3 screws. The G10 is nice and grippy and the finger cutout is quite comfortable and generous.
I think it is the best value out of the knives I got. However, it is a bit thicker, narrower, and heavier than the BM530, which is why I put it at #2.
Skyline: Excellent value, tough, light-weight flipper with useful blade and comfortable design.
The BM530 has a bit of history. A few years ago when I was first getting into knives, it was one of the first knives I noticed. For a variety of reasons I never got it, but it always had the same affect on me--"dang, thats a cool knife."
Well, I finally got it and I really like it. I think I might have saved a lot of time and money if I had gotten it in the first place. It is the thinnest and lightest of the knives I got. I love the symmetry of the spear point blade and the axis lock complements the design. I can flick it open and whip it closed quickly. The blade is very thin for easy cutting and a relatively good steel. The handles are wide so the knife is not uncomfortable to hold.
Looking over my little checklist, the bm530 is the best edc knife out of the lot.
530: Super light and thin knife with reasonable ergonomics and moderately useful blade shape.
I chose the bm530 as the best knife for my edc because I do not use a knife often. It is not the easiest to open, the sturdiest, or the most ergonomic, but it is definitely the easiest to carry. If I were to use my knife daily, I would probably go with the skyline.
-If you want a carry knife for light use, check out the bm530.
-If you want a small knife that can handle harder use, I would recommend the skyline. If the skyline is expensive and big, try the drifter. If it is small and cheap, try the spyderco military.
After many knives , I have come to the following conclusion: benchmade makes the best carry knives, spyderco makes the best user knives, and Kershaw makes the best low-cost knives.
I hope my little reviews help. I have read lots of threads here and gotten a lot of help, so I am trying to return the favor.
A few crappy pics:
I am a student and my knife use is very limited. I might go a week without using my knife. When I do use it, I might cut a string or piece of tape or just whittle a stick for fun. I am not a heavy user but I do carry a knife as much as possible, so weight and dimensions are the primary factors (as oppose to strength and ergonomics). My "good edc knife" should be easy to carry, light weight, aesthetically pleasing, and relatively inexpensive/easy to replace. Additional pluses would be easy to clean, easy to open, and good blade steel.
I bought the following knives:
Spyderco Centofante 3 ($58 + ship gpknives)
Kershaw Skyline ($35+tax at walmart)
Benchmade 530 ($62 + ship gpknives)
CRKT Drifter ($17 :thumbup: +shipping at gpknives)
Here is the order I put them in, best to worst, IMO, for my edc purposes:
Benchmade 530
Kershaw Skyline
Spyderco Centofante 3
CRKT Drifter G10
The Drifter is a smallish knife but an excellent value. There is a simple liner lock that is easy to disengage, and it is screwed together so it can be taken apart. It feels solid in the hand and the G10 is moderately grippy. I like the way it looks and functions, but it is too small for me. If you are looking for a small, cheap, g-10 edc knife I would bet it is one of the best for the money. The steel is not great but otherwise it should serve you well.
Drifter: Good, small, cheap knife.
The centofante 3 is a nice knife but it did not do anything for me. I guess I am tired of spyderco knives. The ergonomics were great, lockup solid, nice length blade, easy to open, light and thin, but it just wasnt it for me. I guess what bugged me the most is the lockback mechanism. It just felt weird after so many months with a liner lock on the millie. Or perhaps I didnt like the looks. The silver bug in the handle struck me as unnecessary. The knife is riveted, so you will not be able to take it apart to clean it.
I returned the centofante 3, so no pics.
Centofante 3: Good quality knife but not what I was looking for.
The kershaw skyline is an AWESOME knife for the money. A solid little G-10 knife with a fast flipper. The flipper makes a great guard and the blade shape is very utilitarian. It can be taken apart pretty easily as there are only 3 screws. The G10 is nice and grippy and the finger cutout is quite comfortable and generous.
I think it is the best value out of the knives I got. However, it is a bit thicker, narrower, and heavier than the BM530, which is why I put it at #2.
Skyline: Excellent value, tough, light-weight flipper with useful blade and comfortable design.
The BM530 has a bit of history. A few years ago when I was first getting into knives, it was one of the first knives I noticed. For a variety of reasons I never got it, but it always had the same affect on me--"dang, thats a cool knife."
Well, I finally got it and I really like it. I think I might have saved a lot of time and money if I had gotten it in the first place. It is the thinnest and lightest of the knives I got. I love the symmetry of the spear point blade and the axis lock complements the design. I can flick it open and whip it closed quickly. The blade is very thin for easy cutting and a relatively good steel. The handles are wide so the knife is not uncomfortable to hold.
Looking over my little checklist, the bm530 is the best edc knife out of the lot.
530: Super light and thin knife with reasonable ergonomics and moderately useful blade shape.
I chose the bm530 as the best knife for my edc because I do not use a knife often. It is not the easiest to open, the sturdiest, or the most ergonomic, but it is definitely the easiest to carry. If I were to use my knife daily, I would probably go with the skyline.
-If you want a carry knife for light use, check out the bm530.
-If you want a small knife that can handle harder use, I would recommend the skyline. If the skyline is expensive and big, try the drifter. If it is small and cheap, try the spyderco military.
After many knives , I have come to the following conclusion: benchmade makes the best carry knives, spyderco makes the best user knives, and Kershaw makes the best low-cost knives.
I hope my little reviews help. I have read lots of threads here and gotten a lot of help, so I am trying to return the favor.
A few crappy pics:
