Recommend me a tank folder!

Ill be the first to advocate Emerson knives as beefy tank folders, but honestly the SNG/SMF are both amazing blades and I would own one in a heartbeat!(this is me putting aside the personal issues I have with Mick Strider). If you pinch your pennies and get on the wait list Demko knives are probably the most overbuilt take all the abuse you can throw at it and ask for more knives on the planet (purely my opinion).

My list to you:
SNG/SMF
Emersons (you cant go wrong here, but i'm a fanboy)
Contego
Tri-ad lock cold steels (yes I know some of you will hate on the AUS-8A but for the price and the performance you can't beat these)
 
Even though it's a bit over the price-point, I considered my Lionsteel SR1 to be more beefy feeling than the Hinderers or Striders I've owned.
It also has the added coolness factor of being one solid piece of Ti.
 
As I read through this thread in the back of my mind I kept thinking about the LionSteel SR-1, just what flipe8 suggested above. A single piece titanium frame, framelock with a hardened steel insert, solid feel in hand @ 6.9 ounces, a 3/16" thick blade that is flat ground with a convex ground blade that slices better than the thickness might indicate. Two things though; the blade length is only 3.6" in length, and it is over the $300 when bought new, I've seen prices from $375 to $400.

The Contego is a real winner. If you have never tried M390 I would go with that version, and that one is on my short list. Though I would have loved to have seen the thicker steel liners as the Adamas has, .080" vs .040-.050" on the Contego. Still, the Contego is a nice, easy to carry, and big folder.

Though you have your list, another one to look at if not too late is the Hogue EX-02. It is a linerlock, but it has the same thick steel liners as the ZT0200. It is rather flat to me, and rides well in the pocket. I had both the flipper and the thumbstud models but gave them away in the very first pay it forward thread.

From your listed choices you can't go wrong, so enjoy whatever you decide to pick up!
 
Thanks everyone for your recommendations! Even though I was told the Spyderco Military wasn't really a "tank", I'll be ordering one this weekend. If the place I'm looking at is out of stock by then, I'm going for a Contego in M4.
 
CJZ said:
Thanks everyone for your recommendations! Even though I was told the Spyderco Military wasn't really a "tank", I'll be ordering one this weekend. If the place I'm looking at is out of stock by then, I'm going for a Contego in M4.
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Between those two take the Contego. Believe me.
 
Cold Steel Spartan. Or any Cold Steel folders such as the voyagers. If you need proof of the cold steel Spartans strength go watch the destruction test on YouTube.
 
For an overbuilt tank knife, I got to Zero Tolerance. I have a 0561, 0560CBCF, 0801, 0777, 0550, and the 0600. Of all of them, the 0777 is the least beefy, but it's a brute of a knife. Pick any one of them, they rock.

I'm learning to love Spyderco and their knives are amazing, but in my limited experience, they are more slicers than sharpened prybars like the ZT knives.

Can't speak to the Striders or Emersons or Cold Steels, but they do make some stout knives by all I've heard and read. The Benchmades, I have found to be more delicate, which is fine. Not every knife needs to be a brick.

The Hinderer stuff I've seen (the 0560 series is a collaboration between Rick and ZT) is awesome, but without having carried and used one I'm not seeing where an XM-18 is seriously worth the secondary market price when you can get the ZT for a quarter of the cost.

That said, I'm starting to look at Striders.
 
CJZ said:
Thanks everyone for your recommendations! Even though I was told the Spyderco Military wasn't really a "tank", I'll be ordering one this weekend. If the place I'm looking at is out of stock by then, I'm going for a Contego in M4.
Click to expand...

Uh. You picked the Military over the Contego? OK.
Enjoy your knife.
 
MrPocketsOfSteel said:
Uh. You picked the Military over the Contego? OK.
Enjoy your knife.
Click to expand...

Yes, with the intent of selling the Millie if I don't like it.


Also, I have a possible trade going for a Ti Millie, so if that happens then I'll just buy a Contego. :D
 
For the record, people talk poorly about Brous because he steals designs.

Good buy on the Millie. Amazing knife.
 
CJZ said:
I love the TUFF. But a huge thing with me is smooth actions on folders, and I've heard some negative things about the TUFF's action. Is this true?
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Mine opens and closes pretty smooth. It's no IKBS knife, but still pretty smooth for a bronze washer knife. (I do use nano oil though) I carried mine today. Outside of the normal "drawbacks" of a frame lock I really don't see how you could hurt that beast.

It is a little heavy compared to the contego, but is much more comfortable to hold IMO. I don't know if BM has changed the handle on the newer ones. I've had mine for going on two years (I think) but BM went jimping nuts on the handle.
 
blame it on god said:
Mine opens and closes pretty smooth. It's no IKBS knife, but still pretty smooth for a bronze washer knife. (I do use nano oil though) I carried mine today. Outside of the normal "drawbacks" of a frame lock I really don't see how you could hurt that beast.

It is a little heavy compared to the contego, but is much more comfortable to hold IMO. I don't know if BM has changed the handle on the newer ones. I've had mine for going on two years (I think) but BM went jimping nuts on the handle.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks! I need a Tuff now. :o
 
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