recommendations on a hard use/tactical folding knife!

AntDog said:
I have yet to meet anyone in real life that worked trades that didn't carry a cheap piece of schitt... No lie. I've never seen anybody on site who had anything better than a Coast or S&W, or something comparable.

You're dead on with the second paragraph. Cut people live, stabbed people die. Period. It's a fact.

Assisted knives are a huge plus for defense? No. Not even close. Hell, with some assisted opening knives I have to position my hand just right, find the flipper (or the stud), hold my tongue just right, etc., then flick it open.... And hope it opens all the way. Try doing that under duress.

The American tanto thing.... Eh, I've been thinking about it a while. Going over it in my head, remembering my experiences with them. I honestly don't know wether to call BS on that, or call you a genius.
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So if having to use a thumbstud or flipper on an assisted knife is too much motor skill, how exactly do you open a non assisted knife?
 
Zero Tolerance might be one of the best values out there as far as "tactical folders" go the are built to last. The 0566 introduced me to Elmax and it has become one of my favorite steels. In fact, it's the only knife I have yet to touch up on the sharpmaker. Liked it so much I picked up the PM2 in Elmax as well.
 
o4tg said:
Didn't the OP specifically state the requirement for a folding knife though?
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Yessir, he did.... But for SD, I'd reach for a fixed blade every time. That's just me though. When you draw it, it's ready. No thumbstuds or flippers to find, no hoping it will deploy. Just slap leather (or kydex) and get to it....

Do you know what I mean with the assisted opening folders vs. non-assisted? I've used both types plenty, and it seems to me that I'm always more sure of the manual ones. With the assisted knives I always have to draw them, reposition my hand just right, actuate the firing mechanism (stud, flipper, whatever) then once the blade pops out ( and I've seen that it's out) I move my hand to grip the knife and put it into use. With a manual it seems much more foolproof in my experience. Just draw, thumb it open (and you KNOW it's open, no need to look), then use it.

You would think that since the blade just pops out that the assisted knives would be great for SD. It just hasn't been the case for me. They just seem slower because of all the hand repositioning and hoping that the blade will deploy as designed.
 
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o4tg said:
So if having to use a thumbstud or flipper on an assisted knife is too much motor skill, how exactly do you open a non assisted knife?
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I snickered! Lol exactly whats the difference between a non assisted with thumb stud to a assisted with a thumb stud?
 
K.O.D. said:
If you can swing the funds, check out the Three Sisters Forge Beast.
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agree on this one , these are made for combat situations , simply put no frills beast of a blade and Jim's customer support is second to none (the man never sleeps I think he's an alien :p)

if you don't like the sharp edge he can round them for you , but seeing as you wear gloves shouldn't be a problem ....
 
You are more concerned about the self-defense aspect than slicing a tomato.

Therefore, first, they're right when they tell you a fixed blade would be better, but that aside....

Not a lot of mention here about Emerson's but they are tactical folding knives with blade disigns to prove it. Same with the Al Mar Seres.

The rest are very good knives.
 
EChoil said:
You are more concerned about the self-defense aspect than slicing a tomato.

Therefore, first, they're right when they tell you a fixed blade would be better, but that aside....

Not a lot of mention here about Emerson's but they are tactical folding knives with blade disigns to prove it. Same with the Al Mar Seres.

The rest are very good knives.
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I've mention I don't need a fixed blade... Hence the folding knife part in the topic. My concern is a no doubt about it hard use folding knife that I can trust my life with if need be that can be deployed fast and keeps an edge for a long time!
 
AntDog said:
Well, have you decided? Anything calling your name yet?
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Yeah they are all calling my name! I definitely have opened my mind to the spyderco pm2. So I'll start there. Man I have a ton on my list. This didn't help, only made it worse!!! The TSF beast and the grayman dUA are top contenders!!! Zt 0566, 350ts, Emerson vindicator, mini commander, benchmade 810, and 275 Adamas....Yup I better work on some overtime!
 
Rounic said:
Have you considered the RAO?
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The RAO is more of a collectors piece than anything I would recommend for any practical use. The stock is just too thick...

For a really good work knife I would go with a spyderco gayle bradley. The lack of guard and choild will make it less great for thrusting (but great for slicing things). Another great work knife at a great price is the spyderco cara cara 2 in G-10. Great ergonomics and blade geometry at a reasonable price. The spyderco manix or PM2 would also be great choices.
 
Check out Kershawguy for seconds on the ZT's, they are great and will save you some $$$$.
 
The Elephant in the room here is the ZT 300 series unless overbuilt is a bad thing. What's another 1/4"? It has the Strider touch and you can pick one up at a reasonable price.
 
wazu013 said:
The Elephant in the room here is the ZT 300 series unless overbuilt is a bad thing. What's another 1/4"? It has the Strider touch and you can pick one up at a reasonable price.
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While promoted as such, Strider had very little to actually do with the 0300. Aside from the grip texture, Ken Onion is the brains behind the 0300, 0350, and all of the other Strider advertised ZT knives aside from the bayonet. Not relevant to the conversation exactly, but the more you know....

I miss the Ken Onion KAI days. :(
 
I vote 810 Contego. Seems to be a hell of a folder. M4 will be tough and hold an edge for a long time.

As you can see by my sig line, I'm currently in the market for one as well:)
 
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