Please help me choose my new EDC knife.

S

seery

Joined
Jul 16, 2006
Messages
11
Need some help in choosing my new EDC folder.

I use my EDC knives for everything from fishing to work. It won't be babied and it needs to be built well.

- Carried an Endura for 6-8 months, nice knife but to long (closed) for me
and not enough heft.
- Tried a Delica for a few months, also found the same results as I did with
the Endura.
- Tried a few Dozier's and ended up with a fixed blade Bob Dozier K-31
Arkansas Traveler. Used this for over a year, it was an ok knife but not
worth the money IMO. Finally after the tip broke and getting some attitude
from bob, it was given away to a friend.

Decided I'd like to go back to a folder. Here are a few thoughts in what I'm looking/hoping for.

- Would like some heft in the body/overall feel of the knife, nothing too light.
- A strong 1.75-2" blade is long enough so long as there's enough handle.
Blades 1.75" up to 3" in length will be considered.
- Prefer a clip to a sheath.
- Must lock-open solid.
- Prefer minimal blade flex.
- Don't know anything about blade steel. Just know it has to be strong and
be able to hold an edge and be sharpened easily.
- Will be getting wet often and cleaned/oiled not often.
- Prefer a plain edged blade. Would be open to partial serrations as long as
the majority is plain.
- Tip up or tip down, no real preference.
- Looking in the price range up to $150.00.

The Spyderco Lava seemed like a possible option.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS!
 
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The knife i have that best matches your criterea would be my Benchmade minigrip a little lower then your pricerange though.
 
check out the Buck/Stryder 889SBMF :thumbup: It's built like a tank ! This & a Leatherman on yourside should take care of your chores;)
 
Check out the Hossom Retribution ll. It is a nice solid knife that will not ask to be pampered.
 
I have a Spyderco etched Dragonfly that is pretty close to that description, maybe not enough heft for you though. It is a top notch knife.
 
I cut a ton of cardboard at work with an old Leatherman Wave. The edge holds up okay. If I had to use my own (new) Wave at work, I'd just bring a boxcutter. But we've got this old, knock-around Wave that somebody who doesn't work here anymore left, I just use that. I have to sharpen it once or twice a shift (12 hours), but I don't consider that too bad. It doesn't get much rough, hard use, but when I'm out shooting stumps with my bow up in the backcountry of Northern AZ I use my Wave's saw tip a lot to dig judo tips out of stumps and trees and it has held up very well to some pretty hard digging and prying. Of course, I'm somewhat careful with it and I could easily jam it into something and bend it, but there's seldom any reason to do that and I consider that reckless abuse.

FWIW, I had my EDC choice to replace my Endura down to 3 choices. The Al Mar SERE 2000, the SOG Tomcat and, now, the Spyderco Manix. I don't like the liner lock on the SERE, the Tomcat doesn't have a clip, so I'm semi-committed to the Manix now. I'd say it's worth a look, but it might not be exactly what you need, maybe a bit too big based on your description.
 
I think the Spyderco Native III would suit your needs. Very strong blade design. Good wide thick blade. Locks solid. VG10 steel keeps an edge well. Runs about $50 online. It's a 3" blade, but with the choil the cutting edge is about 2.5". Feels more solid in the hand than the Delica.
 
the SOG Vulcan might be worth a look. The mini vulcan comes out soon and that will probably be the right size you are talking about. The arc lock is plenty strong and locks up tight.
 
Maybe a Spyderco Caly 3 in VG-10/G-10. About the size of a Delica. A little more heft to it. VG-10 is pretty corrosion resistant from what I read.

Also, how about a Delica 4 with the SS handles? If you like the Delica, but heft was and issue, it might work for you.
 
I think a BM Ritter Mini-Griptilian would be very close to the
features / specs you want in a folder.
 
I'm thinking the Spyderco Paramilitary would be an excellent option. With the black coating the blade is less prone to corrosion (although S30V doesn't really have that problem), it has a lock that is almost fail-proof, it is easy to clean and not too light, but not extraordinarily heavy either.
 
Just a thought here, Seery, but you may want to try out a Spyderco 'Ocelot'. The Ocelot is a very solid knife with G-10 scales and full stainless liners. The thing that appeals to me, is that there is a hefty amount of metal supporting the tip.

P1020087.jpg
 
A Benchmade 525. It's an axis lock, and the handle has some good weight to it. I have the large version, and the knife is built like a tank. I have yet to find a way to break mine, and it sees lots of use.
 
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