Slicey thin EDC folder

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As a thin, light alternative to the mini Grip with 154cm, look at the Delica with m390 steel. Or for a slightly longer blade, try the Stretch with hap40 steel, also very slicy. Both at the same vendor and well within your price range.

 

Just go with the full size griptillian in 154cm if you want to go sub 100 dollars theyre on offer on alot of websites as the newer versions with s30v i think are out if you want super steel spend the extra few bucks if 154 will do you go for the older version good knife and ergos either way .
Personnally im torn between the bugout and the normal clip point griptillian i like the ramger green bugout .
But i also like the griptillian . I dont collect folders amd i just gave away my mini grip .also i like the spyderco para 3 but thats more expensive too .
Ironkid883

 

Pushing your price point a bit are Massdrop Keen (3.4”/$150) or Monterey Bay Knives EZC (3”/$180).

 

Bugout with custom scales.

 

Yep.
first thought was the spyderco centofante.

 

kershaw leek has an excellent wharn-style blade, made with great 14c28n steel, and will only set you back about $50... I expect it might be the most slicey production blade on this list : )

I like the aluminum handles on the regular models, but they have other options

 

It's hard to beat Spyderco's FFG (full flat grind) knives for this purpose. The Endura, Endela, Delica, Chaparral, ParaMilitary 2 and 3, Manix2, Police, and more have fairly slim profiles and very slicey blades.

An alternative that's kind of off the beaten path is the Cold Steel Hold-Out II and III, which I think are presently out of production but can still be found here and there.

Of course, as you probably already know, none of these knives have the elegant look you're looking for. For that, you do pay a premium, and I would suggest looking at the Spyderco Sage series for what is probably the best mix of performance, appearance, and value that you can find in the $100+ range.

You might also consider looking at slipjoints, as the kind of light cutting you're talking about is easily handled by a non-locking folder. This style of knife exudes the kind of classiness that many modern pocket knives strive for, and currently Lionsteel (and sometimes in conjunction with CollectorKnives) produces a series of high-end traditional-style slipjoints that utilize modern materials.

The options you proposed are good as well, and MCUSTA is not a poor option. I would likely suggest a compromise in appearance, though, for the increased quality control and cutting performance one gets out of Spyderco and Cold Steel. It's very subjective, but, my experiences with MCUSTA have been mediocre at best, with blade play and grossly off-center blades. I may have gotten lemons, but, that's more lemons than I've gotten from Spyderco and Cold Steel.

 

Pm3 Liteweight or Chapparel Liteweight might be some very good options

 

To preface this response: I’m in retail management, in a retail/warehouse environment. I cut a lot of cardboard, zip ties, plastic banding straps, and similar things at work each week. Additionally, part of my process for review preparation/evaluation is sitting down to do concentrated/repetitious cutting with cardboard- both typical single wall stuff, and rigid double wall. Between the two, I do an obscene amount of cutting.

In the type of environment we work in, stock thickness has less effect on cutting efficiency than the geometry up front. Most of the material we cut displaces readily, or is shallow. Secondary edge angle and the measurement behind the edge are the most frequently relevant factors. For those not familiar, that’s the thickness at the shoulder between the secondary and primary bevels.

As such, a knife around .015” behind the edge, and .155” stock will generally be a better choice than something around .023” behind the edge, with .012” stock.

For reference, note the part of the blade interacting with the material cut. The stock thickness is completely out of play vs zip ties or other shallow material:

 

Kershaw knockout or a dividend in m390 would be good if u dont mind assisted knives. I really like the dividend as a smaller knife, but i carry the knockout alot more

 

The Arcane would be a great choice for what you’re after. It’s one I’ve wanted to try out for a while, just a bit too expensive for me.

I did think of another knife, one of my favorites actually. The Doug Ritter Griptilian in M390. I have the original Benchmade mini Grip model, but Hogue has been making them pretty similarly as well. I know your carry is already a mini Grip, so it’s more of a lateral move than a big step up, but the Ritter’s have excellent blade geometry. They’re relatively cheap for the materials and craftsmanship too. My mini Ritter is probably my most carried knife.

 

I chamfered the edges on mine with a bastard file and created a spydie hole groove. I find it super comfortable to carry in terms of size.



And the Ripple in Acuto is just great. For edc purposes you get a ton of blade, a very thin, but grippy handle and the IKBS system which allows it to be one of the smoothest flippers that I've handled/owned in price ranges up to $250.

The Eros in Acuto steel is also a sub $100 knife.

PS the Baby Jess is my alternative to an Al Mar Hawk. The whole eagle hawk talon series is just great as well. I had a custom Osprey and wouldn't recommend as its way too small.

Some other compact edcs too

 

If you want a very slicey, utilitarian knife with deep carry pocket clip, perhaps check out the Manly Wasp. Comes with a wicked sharp S90V blade that is thinner behind the edge than any other folder I've tried, including my Spyderco Caparral which is also a fantastic slicer. The Wasp certainly isn't the fanciest looking knife though, and has a multiple stop opening process that places it firmly in the two-handed opener category.

 

And here's a nice feature of the Ripple, they chamfered the blade. The only other knife blade that I can recollect with that feature were my CRKs. They're not exactly super slicey but the small versions of most CRKs make for very good all around edcs and the ones with handle inlays are especially nice though I haven't been a fan of CRK in a while which would change if they made a 3.25" Sebenza with a rounder thumbstud.



The 940 is very slippery and the blade edge is kinda thick that said it's a great edc I just didn't like the slippery scales.

The Sage series is kinda stubby it's uncomfortable to hold in the closed position in my personal opinion. Opened is a different story but I would jump on a Native, Caly, Wayne Goddard etc way before the sage, I owned 1-5 and 1 and 2 twice before I gave up on those. But I like relatively narrow scales and a thin profile generally.

 

You should get a ZT450CF

 

Or get a Kershaw Strobe for under 20 bucks

 

Honestly for this type of cutting a disposable blade knife is probably the best option.

 

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Not a stainless super steel, but a Victorinox alox Pioneer (or Pioneer X) on a TEC P-7 clip sounds like it would work quite well for your purposes.