Pocket knives!

I just love that #3 in the first column, I 'm a sucker for stag and that thing just sings. Sorry to hear it's not a better quality.

It's the hands down winner in the looking good category at list on my scale. It's nice?
 
Here are a few of my favorites. They all get carried and used regularly.


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I think you have to spend $60+ to get a nice Spanish made navaja with stag scales and a good blade and good fit and finish. The only sub $20 navajas I got that satisfied me were apparently made in China.



Here's three more. The top one is the Ganzo G301 multitool I was talking about. It comes with 11 full sized screwdriver heads you can plug into it. Next is a Rough Rider RR1055 whittler from China. It's a great knife for both food prep and cutting down boxes, but it's very heavy. The blades and liner are way thicker than they need to be. It's also very difficult to open. This one sits on my desk for opening packages.

Second to last is an EKA Swede 88, Swedish made folder with a Sandvik 12c27 blade. EKA makes a whole bunch of folders that used to be very affordable, but ever since the Euro started gaining on the dollar the prices have been very unreasonable. This particular one is an Estwing branded one that I got for $20. Otherwise it would have cost $80. The only difference is that mine came without a sheath and without a lanyard hole. I made a sheath myself out of scrap leather and I drilled a lanyard hole. The blade has a small amount of vertical and side-to-side wobble, but not enough to affect performance. It's more than you'd get on a $20 Chinese knife, though. It's very light as it has no metal liner and the blade holds a good edge. It's sort of a folding Mora knife.

Lastly is a Cold Steel Kudu. You can whip this one open and closed with one hand but it takes a lot of practice. There's nothing wrong with it but it just doesn't do anything for me.
 
Great Eastern Cutlery Farm & Field Farmer Lock (it's a mouthful). Made in the USA with O1 steel. The scales are glow-in-the-dark.
 
When I've found the "perfect" Rough Rider knife pattern for me, I'm going to shell out $100 for the GEC version of it. I hear they make fantastic stuff. That's a knife you can pass on to your grandchildren.
 
All my GEC stuff has been absolutely fantastic. You won't be disappointed. I found the #15 pattern is my favorite, especially the barlow SFOs by Charlie Campagna. The Farm & field line is a bit cheaper in the fit & finish department but still a great knife. They also make a "bullnose" pattern that is very close to a sodbuster.
 
I like the #99 pattern Eurika Jack.

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A GEC pocket knife will definitely be the last pocket knife I ever buy. Unless I buy another GEC pocket knife :)
 
blue lander said:
Maybe he needed a sheath for the knife?

I used to find small knives in parking lots all the time during the "dot com" boom in the late 90's. I think vendors used to give them out to clients.

Usually when you see a $300+ pocket knife, you're paying extra because the knife was designed by some ex commando/navy seal/cia superspy/real life inspiration for Rambo. And for some reason, these people often turn out to have actually been the army equivalent of a secretary.

Or sometimes it's because the blade is made from some super-exotic steel that's extremely difficult to work with so you have to pay extra for that. Usually they're supposed to be about 5% harder/sharper than cheap spring steel and usually turn out to be 5% softer when somebody actually tests them. Either way they chare you 300% more. And then you usually find out they use the same steel to make $3 screw drivers.
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Know some of these secretaries myself.
Got one who was "police instructor" when all he did was having one of his students being a cop.
Another one "trained Speznaz" also technically not wrong but all he did was being with Speznaz for a week as a kind of guest instructor.
Then there is this exclusive student of some unknown Karate style who is the only guy allowed to teach it to westerners.
And many more.
Nobody is lying 100% and many customers buy into it because it's an elevating feeling to be part of something special. I know that dynamic and still I'm falling for it. The knife which kills Zombies in the walking dead isn't soo super special but because of the story in the movie I would really like to have one :D
 
You can also automatically add minimum 100 bucks if it says tactical anywhere on the product whatever it might be. Gun, knife, underwear etc.
 
Jens Schuetz said:
Nobody is lying 100% and many customers buy into it because it's an elevating feeling to be part of something special.
Click to expand...

Bingo.

I read all the super elite speznaz/green beret/Rambo types carry very basic pocket knifes. A "tactical" knife is about the size and weight of an extra clip of ammo. Which one do you think will be more useful in the field?
 
Not all at once, mind- but these are the usual suspects. Spydie dragonfly, for venturing into the Peoples Republics south of Vt., s30v native, yoj 2 if it feels like an interpersonal crisis management day, cqc8 from contracting days ( my bosses were retired seals an i got it at wholesale-#139. Who knows how many there are now).
Portuguese navaja, bought at the gypsy market in Luz, s35v paramilitary(my everyday knife) and a #8 opinel- this one replaced the one I bought in Osaka in 1991 for $6...image.jpg
Philll, you seem to have the same malady I do with the spydies...
 
J W, you are too right. Those are just the ones I carry. I don't even want to think about how many other spydies I have in the closet, but it's a lot. This HI addiction has actually helped me slow down a little with the pocket knives. I'm still always on the look out for a few certain models, though.

I like that PM2 you've got. How do you think the S35 steel compares to the S30?
 
I can see the appeal of the more expensive pocket knives as "functional art," even if some of the custom jobs do cost more than I could get for my car on a trade-in. It's like some of those expensive watches that can tell you the time to the nearest 1000th of a second, as if you need to know that, or could do anything with the information.

What always spoils it for me is the metal clip on the back side of the handle that is supposed to let you hang the knife on your belt. That thing is going to dig into your hand if you ever actually use the knife, and they look ugly even if they are anodized titanium with radioactive trim and diamond studs. Besides, does anybody really carry a $2,000 pocket knife hooked on their belt? You might as well carry a sign, "Please rob me." I say, lose the clip and decorate both sides of the handle.

I keep one of those useful $60 multitools in my glove compartment and my brother carries one on his belt. We went on a plane trip once and he forgot he had it on. This was a couple years after 9/11. Went through airport security .... bing, bing, bing. The guards came and took him away. Questioned him in a little room, then decided he wasn't an enemy of the state, but made him check the multi-tool in what was supposed to be his carry-on bag. Luckily we were early, so didn't miss the flight.
 
Phill-honestly I can't tell the difference. I ordered it when I lost my PPT, and it was a sprint run for Moteng. Just went with it since the wait was not as long...I have a few more kicking around as well...
 
The project I worked at in the sandbox had a lot of retired SEALS and SF/SAS/South African recce guys working there (not me-just an ex 11B) and there were a LOT of Emersons kicking around. I hafta say, in that situation if I'm carrying a folder I really don't want a $10 locking system. It only has to fail once, even as an EDC.
 
Opinel -> Best blade for the money. Sure those little French folders are rust sensitive but amazing little knives for the price if you take good care of them.

I too have many folders in different shapes and forms. My two favorites are Paul Knives exactly like those.
If you never heard of Paul W. Poehlmann's revolutionary radial lock design... Look it up, very ingenious one hand operation.
http://www.dougritter.com/Paul_Poehlmann.htm

Paul II - Sold then by Gerber
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Paul Prankster - sold then by Lone Wolf
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here is my EDC next to my 12" sirupati and biltong.
crkt m16-14zsf- $39 for a 3.75 inch aus 8 folder with flippers, line lock mech, 4 position clip isnt bad.
 
Those Paul knives look really nice... If I had one I'd be afraid of scratching it up. It's too purdy.
 
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