Please recommend folder for daily carry

F

-F1

Joined
Nov 11, 2011
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30
I know next to nothing about knives. I have several folding knives that I'm sure you would laugh at me for owning. I just bought a Gerber Paraframe II, which I take is not highly regarded, but it's pretty close to what I'm after at least in terms of design.

What I don't like about the Paraframe II (besides that it may not be of much quality) is that the frame allows my small and ring fingers to slip in and be injured by the blade, either when it's closed or as I'm closing it. I know, "Keep them out of the way" is obvious advice, but part of safety is having the right equipment.

I'm not going to say that self defense is off my list of reasons to want a daily carry, but what I'll actually be using it for is mundane stuff. I do automotive work and yardwork. Cutting rubber hoses, boxes, the occasional branch or rope, etc.

So, I would appreciate recommendations. I want a folder, with a clip, openable/closeable with one hand (I know, I'm making up some new words here). The hard part is that my budget is only up to $50. Sorry, I'm not wealthy. I also don't want a knife that costs so much I would feel guilty using it, or will have a cardiac event over if it ever gets lost.

I live in NC where case law outlines that folders may be "about" 4.5" long closed, which means I'm after a blade of about 3.5". I don't want it much, if any, smaller than that, because I find this size easier to manipulate (which means safer). I would prefer it to have a serrated edge.

Thank you for reading this.
 
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Hey F1, google the following and see what suits you. Any of these might work for you, though not are available with a serrated edge -

Ontario Rat Model 1
Spyderco Delica 4 or Endura 4
Spyderco Tenacious
Cold Steel medium Voyager (2011 model), mini Lawman or mini AK-47
Kershaw Skyline, Blackout, Leek and many others in the Kershaw lineup

There are lots of others out there too. If I were picking one for you, I'd go with a Delica 4 or a Tenacious. You can get serrations on either. Good luck, and welcome to Bladeforums. :thumbup:
 
There are quite a few knives in your price range that are good quality. As a general rule you can trust almost every Spyderco, Benchmade, and Kershaw to be a quality knife. You will get better prices from the online stores as well as good selection. Just a couple high value knives that come to mind:

Spyderco Delica/ Endura
Benchmade Griptilian (about $65)
Kershaw RAM
Buck Vantage Pro

I'm sure others will have many more suggestions but these should get you started. I mainly buy more expensive knives these days so I don't know the mid priced knives like I used to.
 
Getting the serrations will be the tough part. Thats mostly going to limit you to the Spyderco knives, though you can get them will Cold Steel and a handful of others.
 
Welcome to BladeForums. If you are willing to pass on serrations (and, in my opinion, you should) a plain edge KaBar Dozier Folding Hunter is a great knife for not a lot of cash (well under $50).
 
Kershaw Leek, great knife inexpensive. I also have had benchmade griptillian, more $, like the speedsafe better on the leek.
 
look at the kershaw tremor and nerve. both are well under your budget and offer serrations as well as an unbeatable warranty (sharpening forever and, if you break it, they will replace it or fix it.)
 
Thank you for the recommendations. I'll try to keep my head from spinning! :)

I had forgotten all about warranty. A good warranty (provided, of course, it's honored) is awfully nice to have.
 
I'll recommend 3:

Kershaw RAM--It's a flipper, nice knife, although honestly, I'm not a huge fan of Kershaw for some inscrutable reason. There are a lot of other great Kershaw models as well.

Spyderco--Tenacious is a great knife to start with. I also have a serrated Spyderhawk that's really nice.

Benchmade HK Monochrome. Framelock, N690 steel, I love this knife. I've got much nicer ones now, but for around 35 dollars, it's hard to beat.
 
Hey, get yourself a Spyderco Tenacious with a serrated edge for under $29 shipped. PM me if you want to know where, but google can find it for you. You get decent steel, G10 scales, a serrated edge and unsurpassed customer service from Spyderco for not much money. Spyderco's warranty is here.
 
if you require serrations, you should definitely narrow your search down to Spyderco.
 
powernoodle said:
Hey, get yourself a Spyderco Tenacious with a serrated edge for under $29 shipped. PM me if you want to know where, but google can find it for you. You get decent steel, G10 scales, a serrated edge and unsurpassed customer service from Spyderco for not much money. Spyderco's warranty is here.
Click to expand...



I think this is the clear winner. The knife is well under your budget limitations, comes in serrated edge, and is a fantastic value. You won't be disappointed with this one.
 
cold steel warranty isnt as good as kershaw and spyderco.
but i think the cold steel american lawman might fit. size is about right, tough working folder. price is about $50 maybe $60.
 
I looked into most/all of the recommended blades, and some were a bit too big, others a bit too small, others a bit too expensive. All were great recommendations and I don't mean the foregoing to imply otherwise.

Just ordered a Spyderco Tenacious C122GPS (combo blade) from Amazon.com for $30.49. I'm an Amazon Prime member so 2-day shipping (i.e. Tuesday) would have been free, but I'm impatient and so I paid $3.99 extra to get it tomorrow (Saturday). Tuesday seems so far away. :)

Thank you all!
 
One thing to remember with folders is some of the companies with the best warranty, you also hear about people having to use it more often and you get to hear how super awesome the customer service is on a regular basis. Best warranty is one you can completely forget about - main customer service is not putting out stuff that has problems.
 
Since you already made the purchase (and a good choice) I was going to suggest the Kershaw Storm, and in comes with partial serrations. I have a friend who is an elevator mechanic -he loves that thing
 
i just carry a Swiss Army knife (adventurer) because it small enough to put it inside my pocket.
 
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