Small but Quality Everyday Carry

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Skylard

Joined
May 14, 2023
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Glad to have found out about this forum, I've been wandering a bit aimlessly trying to find a decent pick.

I'm looking for a good price quality deal on an small everyday carry, assisted action pocket knife.

I refuse to follow through with my initial pick, which was a JKR (turns out they're China imports). I need something reliable, I guess.

Any ideas? Thanks
 
Its not assisted but the Spyderco Sage 5 flies open and is, imo, a perfect EDC knife. I have the lightweight version and I dont notice the knife ever, even when wearing just very light shorts :)
 
Important question: are you looking for a knife which you can be sure was made Stateside? Not including where the steel and fasteners came from in the first place, because it's even more difficult to find that out, now.

The answer is important because that changes the pricing spectrum. Knives that are "globally sourced" (not just China though), can be had for a bit less than something which is as-made-in-USA-as-possible.

Bonus request: can you put a smaller ring around "reliable"? Do you mean warranty support, or "built well enough that I don't have to send it home for service in the first place"?

My first thought would be something by Buck.
 
I also have the mini-barrage and it is a good assisted opener. It has been my beater work knife and has held up well. Some may consider it to be a little heavy, but that has not bothered me at all.
 
Kizer Zipslip in 4v can be had for little money considering FnF and steel used. I like the company because they use good steels FnF is excellent and very reasonably priced.
 
I'm going to also suggest a very small fixed blade, but I don't know if this image link will work....

And, it didn't. The kind of thing I'm thinking about is the ESEE Candiru.
 
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Kershaw leek and scallion are a good choice if you can find one in the steel and blade shape you like.

They are a bit pricey for an inexpensive knife, but I haven't heard of any quality issues.

Benchmade is a step up.

But I would consider a manual opener, in either a Benchmade or Spyderco.

The assist doesn't buy you much compared to a pm3 or bugout.
 
I've tried a few assisted opening folders and didn't find that they were any easier or quicker to open than non-assisted side or frame locks or Axis locks.
 
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This is a Kizer Shard. It fits in your watch pocket. The 2.25" blade is S35VN and the scales and pocket clip are titanium. The price is very reasonable, but there are less expensive variants available as well.

Sturdy and capable for its size, you can get a solid three (maybe 2.5) finger grip.

It comes from China and there is no assisted opening, but no US manufacturer is hitting the lower cost market like Kizer. The Yorkie offers a Ray Laconico design in M390 and titanium for a little over $100.
 
Here's a link to 437 assisted: https://www.knifecenter.com/find-the-best/Assisted
It would help to know, & you can use filters on the link to narrow it down accordingly:
- What is your upper and lower limit for blade length and/or handle length?
- are you interested in suggestions for non-assisted?
- what is your price range?
- any other preferences, such as handle material, handle thickness, weight, blade steel, other?
 
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Skylard said:
I'm looking for a good price quality deal on an small everyday carry, assisted action pocket knife.
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I have a Benchmade Barrage, Boost, Vector, and Volli. All of them are assisted and open easily, quickly, and reliably. The Barrage, Boost, and Vector are bulky. I think the Volli would be an excellent choice for a small assisted opener, but Benchmade has discontiued it. I do not have a Mini Barrage, but that looks like your best bet from Benchmade.

I do not have many Kershaws, because I do not like framelocks. I do have a Knockout, which is an excellent assisted opener. It also has 14C28N steel, which is a top-notch steel if you value toughness over edge retention and dislike rust; it also is inexpensive. I think Kershaw has quite a few assisted openers with 14C28N, most of which will be a better value than the Benchmades.

Avoid SOG. Their assisted openers can be very difficult to open. I have had 8 or 10 of them, of which the first (bought around 2010) was superb and the rest (bought after 2018) ranged from poor to atrocious.
 
Hi Skylard. Skip the assist. There is literally no reason for it. Assisted actions are the product of another time. They were an answer to the rarity or high cost of great manual actions. Both manufacturing technology and the market at large has evolved since then. Now, great manual actions are widely and cheaply available.

Understand that I came from that world. I made the transition from traditionals to assisted action late in the last century. Now I'm glad to be done with them. I have lots of modern manuals that not only snap out better but close smoothly. On the rare occasion that I break out one of my older assisted knives, I'm reminded of why I moved on whenever I have to overcome the tension to close one of them. Better yet, there is less to go wrong and the maintenance is easier.

I get it if you have problems with the Chinese government but that can be a deep rabbit hole and forum rules restrict that kind of discussion to the political sub-forum. It's worth noting that there are a bunch of decent companies in China today making quality knives, interacting with the EDC community, and collaborating with great designers from around the world. Definitely check out folding knives from Civivi or Kizer.
 
Khromo said:
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iWQnuyj.jpg


This is a Kizer Shard. It fits in your watch pocket. The 2.25" blade is S35VN and the scales and pocket clip are titanium. The price is very reasonable, but there are less expensive variants available as well.

Sturdy and capable for its size, you can get a solid three (maybe 2.5) finger grip.

It comes from China and there is no assisted opening, but no US manufacturer is hitting the lower cost market like Kizer. The Yorkie offers a Ray Laconico design in M390 and titanium for a little over $100.
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Know the only thing missing on the Kizer Shard is a nail file.
 
If you want a relatively cheap assisted knife, you can’t beat Kershaw. The Leek is a good little edc knife in 14C28N (not my favorite steel, but a lot of folks love it). They also make the Dividend, which is another 3” slicing machine, and you can get both with upgraded steel (the Leek comes in CPM-D2, CPM-154), and KC has an exclusive orange/blackwash Leek in S35VN for around $85 If I remember correctly. The Dividend can be had in CPM-D2 or 20CV, for around $80.
 
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