RECOMMENDATION: Ok help me choose a blade

[golden chicken]

just about any (sharp) knife at any price can handle light duty tasks you seem to think you'll encounter.

the most stress my lock sees is when i use the spine of the blade to open envelopes. i don't use the edge for that. the most abuse the edge of my knife ever sees is cutting down cardboard boxes or possibly sharpening sticks or pencils or cutting zip-ties.

as far as the store selling larger knives, it doesn't make them legal. it's your responsibility to know and obey your local laws.

i think you might want to try handling a few knives before you decide. you may find you hate/love the axis lock or the spydie hole or a flipper. that will help you narrow your choices.

 

[rydude87]

just about any (sharp) knife at any price can handle light duty tasks you seem to think you'll encounter.

the most stress my lock sees is when i use the spine of the blade to open envelopes. i don't use the edge for that. the most abuse the edge of my knife ever sees is cutting down cardboard boxes or possibly sharpening sticks or pencils or cutting zip-ties.

as far as the store selling larger knives, it doesn't make them legal. it's your responsibility to know and obey your local laws.

i think you might want to try handling a few knives before you decide. you may find you hate/love the axis lock or the spydie hole or a flipper. that will help you narrow your choices.

Yah Good point. Sigh, I think CA is ok for any size. But I mean if I live in SD and my walmart in SD sells a 4 inch knife, shouldnt that like be legal? Isnt that like common sense?

Ill try to find a place that sells knives that I can try them out at. I dont know if I can try out every knife that I want to though. Like the skyline is already packaged at walmart..so yah.

 

[THG]

IMO no. The handle is too small. I dont mind the cutting area but it's really a tiny knife. It's probably what I would get if I was limited to such a small blade though, since I dont like to spend up for small knives.

I agree. The Mini-Grip is kind of a hard knife to hold. The thumb ramp is awkward, and the jimping is useless. It was built soooooo solidly, though; I wish they'd fix those imperfections.

 

[Locust]

Yah Good point. Sigh, I think CA is ok for any size. But I mean if I live in SD and my walmart in SD sells a 4 inch knife, shouldnt that like be legal? Isnt that like common sense?

It's common sense but not how things work. One of the best knife shops I have ever visited was in NYC. Huge selection but most of the knives there would not be OK to carry in that locality including a Spyderco Civilian which is supposed to be restricted to LEO and MIL only.

 

[ASBOB]

I strongly recommend the Native. Solid, non slip, and absolutely superb ergonomics. I use my knife as you do--for light work like opening boxes and envelopes. And this works very, very well. I have a Skyline and am planning to sell it; too small, and I have very small hands.

 

[rydude87]

I strongly recommend the Native. Solid, non slip, and absolutely superb ergonomics. I use my knife as you do--for light work like opening boxes and envelopes. And this works very, very well. I have a Skyline and am planning to sell it; too small, and I have very small hands.

I am really leaning towards the native as well. So the partial whole covering doesnt bother you? yah I have smaller hands. How easy is it to sharpen the native? The native, endura, and the delica looks good.

I heard that the customs may start to ban assisted open knives, so that kind of cancels out the blur for me...

The skyline is too small?

 

[THG]

I am really leaning towards the native as well. So the partial whole covering doesnt bother you? yah I have smaller hands. How easy is it to sharpen the native? The native, endura, and the delica looks good.

The partial exposure didn't bother me in the least bit. I see no reason that the thumb has to be inside the entire hole to be comfortable or functional.

Sharpening the Native was relatively easy with DMT Diasharp stones. Maybe it took a little bit more time than VG-10. However, it was a pain in the ass to reprofile the bevels.

I heard that the customs may start to ban assisted open knives, so that kind of cancels out the blur for me...

That was sometime last year that the customs wanted to redefine any one-handed opener as an automatic switchblade and ban state-to-state crossing with such knives. Last I read, Congress said NO to the redefinition, and the President signed said "NO" into law.

 

[redisburning]

It's common sense but not how things work. One of the best knife shops I have ever visited was in NYC. Huge selection but most of the knives there would not be OK to carry in that locality including a Spyderco Civilian which is supposed to be restricted to LEO and MIL only.

And where did you hear that?

Because its not true. This sort of thing is like "it's legal if its not bigger than your palm" that isnt based on reality and just confuses the hell out of people.

Hell you can buy one off of Amazon.com.

 

[Locust]

And where did you hear that?

Because its not true. This sort of thing is like "it's legal if its not bigger than your palm" that isnt based on reality and just confuses the hell out of people.

Hell you can buy one off of Amazon.com.

I apologize for spreading any misinformation. I did a quick search and I think I was basing what I said about the civilian on old information possibly in regards to the Matriarch.
However I do know that while NYS has no length limit NYC has a limit of 4" which the Civilian and others are over. Also the axis lock knives there could be confiscated under the loosely interpreted "gravity knife" restrictions.
I should have double checked before posting and been more specific about what I said.

 

[rydude87]

I gotten all sorts of new in the box Kershaw Leeks with aluminum handles for $35-45 from Ebay. They are much less slippy than the Stainless Steel handles. If you wait around a bit you can pick up a good bargain. You can also pick up Spyderco Delicas and Enduras for not much more. If you get them from stores or many places online you will pay a little more than the auctions.

Also have you checked what size blade do you really need for opening packages, letters, cutting string, slicing food. I find a 3 to 3 1/2 inch blade does all these tasks well so some of the larger blades like the Spyderco Tenacious or Kershaw Blur might be a bit overkill in blade length and the size of the product. Hand size also makes a big difference.

I was thinking of getting a stainless steel leek for about $34 shipped. Are those handles more slippery if I have sweaty palms? Is the aluminum much better, or should I just get a knife that has like a zytel or g10?

With the stainless steel handle of the leek, would it be cold when i pick it up and change with temperature? Should I get the scallion with the polymide handle then?

 

[golden chicken]

the grippiness of the handle scale material mostly depends on how sweaty your hands really are. i mean, can you pick up and hold a stainless steel butterknife without fear?

also, if you keep your blade sharp, you won't have to exert much pressure on the knife anyway, so there's less chance of slipping.

i have owned three CRKT crawford/kaspers. one with coated metal handles (i think they were aluminum) one with zytel, and one with aluminum with lightening holes. i actually feel like the coated aluminum was the best grip for me and the smooth zytel was the worst.

if your knife is in your pants pocket it will be warm enough. if you set it down outside in the winter, yeah it might get cold, but what won't? i always try to draw, use, and re-pocket my knife anyway, so it's always in my pocket or my hand.

 

[Dorito Monk]

Here's a plan of attack for you:

Go to a store that sells knives. Handle a bunch of them. Hell, handle all of them. Buy the one you like best.

There are more excellent recommendations floating around this thread than I can shake a stick at - I'm sure you won't be disappointed in the quality of any of them, so just pick the one you want. Only you know what kind of knife you want!

 

[rydude87]

Haha alright. Ill try to find a place that has those knives. If not, I will go with your advices and my gut You guys are great thanks!!:thumbup: