Recommend a harduse edc $150 or less

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burnteyes

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Oct 31, 2014
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I work construction cut anything from rope, fiberglass fire blanket, hard plastic insulated stainless tubing (cut the tubing with cutters but may make contact), and 2x4s. I've worked 2 months of 13 hour days without a day off in two months and want to reward myself but need some direction! Oh around a 3 inch blade and nothing to heavy. Thanks
 
Spyderco Gayle Bradley. Oops, didn't realize the 3" blade limit. ZT0350 comes in at 3.25." ZT0566 comes in at the same length I believe, S30V in the 0350 vs Elmax in the 0566. Spyderco Manix 2 lw S110V.
 
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Zt 0350 is a great hard use knife and as an added bonous it flips great when deassisted if you prefer a manual flipper.
 
I also work construction, and IMO youre asking an awful lot of a 3" blade. especially if youre talking about a folder.
 
SliCed said:
A Spyderco Paramilitary 2 might be nice.
Click to expand...

Not a construction knife. The tip is very delicate.

K.O.D. had it right the first time with the Gayle Bradley. Looks nice but that M4 blade is made for hard use. The ZT 350 is right up there as well. If you want a more budget friendly option you could by 10 Utilitac IIs.
 
Most lightweight 3" folders aren't going to be super tough.

Anyway here are some ideas.

-Cold Steel Tuff Lite. Nothing special, well below your maximum price, but VERY useful and rugged.

-Zero Tolerance 0350. If you can go a bit over your 3" limit (the blade on the 0350 is 3 1/4"), this knife will probably serve you very well.

-Benchmade 550 Griptilian. Lightweight, great lock, good steel. I prefer the sheepfoot model because of the opening hole and strong tip. The Mini version has a blade just under 3" in length. If you don't like the plastic handle, there are aftermarket options in many different styles and materials.

-Spyderco Delica (sabre ground). It's small, feather weight and surprisingly strong.

-Spyderco Salt Saver. I'm not usually a fan of serrated knives, but for the uses you mentioned a serrated H1 sheepfoot Spydie seems perfect. Zero maintenance.

-DPx HEAT/F. Nice little Ti framelock, made by Lionsteel. The only thing I'm not crazy about is blade thickness, 0.18" seems like a bit much for such a short blade.
 
Spyderco Techno, bit less than 3", thick stock, titanium so strong but not too heavy. A tad over budget but worth it. Love mine.
 
Well under $150 but an Esee Zancudo is VERY tuff or a Rat 2 close behind in budget folders. A Benchmade Minigrip would be my top pick though, model 555HG-Blu if it were my choice:thumbup:
 
A pm2 is plenty tough enough for construction. People seem to think that a construction knife has to be built like a tank, but they really don't when you aren't abusing them. things you really need to look out for if you are using the knife in this environment is steel that's easy to touch up, because as you stated it will come in contact with metal or maybe concrete once in a while. Also it should be able to be easily cleaned since the work involves a lot of dust and debris. There are times when I'm not even using my knife but pull it out to find it all gritty from working under shingles and what not. Then again I carry a leatherman, so I've got a blade to use when I know it could get damaged not to mention the razor knife in my pouch. Which brings me to another point, I've used a razor far more than any pocket knife and at worst I may snap a tiny bit off the end and that thing is THIN. Now with all that said, I've been where you are, and looked for the knife you're looking for, but the military or paramilitary seems to find their way iton my pocket more then any of my "tougher" blades.
If your main goal is toughness and peace of mind in knowing that your blade can handle anything and everything like batoning 2x4's and prying up plywood go with a thick fixed blade.
 
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ZT 0350 or 0566. Assisted-opening w/ flipper is easier to handle when wearing gloves. The 0350 and 0566 have pretty stout blades and tips and should hold up very well.
 
Cold Steel Mini Recon 1. About $40, Available in 3 blade shapes, One of the strongest lock-ups out there ("triad" lock), and can take an absolute beating.

One recommendation is to lightly sand the G10 area under the clip. It is very grippy, will shred your pocket, and it grips a bit too tight.

[video=youtube;ZiHLRkCKoSw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiHLRkCKoSw[/video]
 
K.O.D. said:
Spyderco Gayle Bradley. Oops, didn't realize the 3" blade limit. ZT0350 comes in at 3.25." ZT0566 comes in at the same length I believe, S30V in the 0350 vs Elmax in the 0566. Spyderco Manix 2 lw S110V.
Click to expand...

Is s110v appropriate for "hard use"? I'm not sure, but don't think that would be a good choice. Sharpening out chips would be a mother!

The Gayle bradley would be a good choice. The Spyderco Delica, or Benchmade 940 also come to mind.
 
a ZT 550 will fit the bill for everything but the length. Honestly I would recommend carrying 2 lighterweight durable knives.
I usually carry a primary and a secondary EDC. my primary is in pocket on a pocket clip and my secondary is either on a pocket clip in my waistband or on another pocket like my back pocket. If you are okay with something like this then I would carry a Spyderco delica and a cold steel mini recon 1. both can take a beating but the delica will most likely break before the recon. That is not a knock on the delica however, it is an observation that the delica is FRN and thinner and therefore is more likely to break with hard use. I personally carry Primary: a ZT 0550, 0560, Brous reloader or I have in the past carried a LW manix 2. Then secondary Either a OKC rat 1, Cold steel Recon 1, Spyderco waved endura, or in the past a ritter mini grip.

ALL of these are great knives. The 2 that I would say I would have no problem putting up to almost any EDC task are the ZT 0550(or 0560 If I carried it more) and the cold steel recon 1(endura is a close 2nd)
that being said my EDC knives usually see use of opening envelopes, breaking down boxes, cutting clamshell packaging, and the occasional oddjob.

Keep in mind that these are all just MY personal experience and opinions, and yours may differ due to personal preference and that's to be expected.
Good luck in the search for a great EDC work knife and let us know what you get!

all the best,
-Nick
 
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