Small Style folder, max budget $350 what would You get...

[Mathew J]

Just curious as to what you would get if you had $350 kicking for a gentlemans style folder...

I think I am down to the Seb or the mnandi but wanted to know what else I might be missing or what others may prefer....

I would like to keep the cap at $350 and the blade length at about 2.75-3" max.

Thanks

 

[Blades]

I prefer a knife with an opening hole, but if I had $350, I'd look at William Henry.

 

[Reeek]

Save some bucks and look at the Spyderco Sage series. The Sage 2 is a sweet Ti framelock and is put together extremely well. It's also easy to take apart for servicing and goes back together very easily and the blade comes right back to center.

The Spyderco wire clip is just the icing on the cake. It's easy on your pocket and secures the knife very well.

It's a heck of a knife for around $140 and it seems to fit what you are looking for.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

I replaced my small Sebenzas with a Mnandi. I really like it for a gentleman's knife.

 

[iacchus]

Save some bucks and look at the Spyderco Sage series. The Sage 2 is a sweet Ti framelock and is put together extremely well. It's also easy to take apart for servicing and goes back together very easily and the blade comes right back to center.

The Spyderco wire clip is just the icing on the cake. It's easy on your pocket and secures the knife very well.

It's a heck of a knife for around $140 and it seems to fit what you are looking for.

Unless you want to spend $350, I agree with the Sage II suggestion. It is a fantastic blade, and priced at well below its value.

If you want the high dollar knife (and I can completely understand that), the Mnandi has always been one of Reeve's best designs, in my opinion.

 

[Noctis3880]

If you're looking for performance as well, I personally leaned towards a Benchmade 480-1 Shoki with M390 blade steel.

It sounds pretty good on paper. M390 seems to have better edge retention than CPM-M4 and is stainless too. Handles are carbon fiber with titanium liners and nickel hardware. Price is $187 for most places. Seems like an interesting combination for a blue class knife. Also, the knife itself doesn't have a pocket clip, but the leather sheath it comes with does.

Of course, I just put in the order and don't have it yet, but I can keep you updated when I get it. It certainly sounds like more bang for your buck, giving you nice appearance without compromising on performance is well.

 

[THE PUNISHER]

i would try the sebb,i guess you have never had one.....

 

[brets-ftw]

honestly i would go custom

 

[Slider817]

Just get the Sebenza. It's not a world of difference from the Sage II. But for us knife nuts it's all in the little things.

 

[Reeek]

That said, my first CRK is due any time - a new Zaan

Now back to topic!

Just get the Sebenza. It's not a world of difference from the Sage II. But for us knife nuts it's all in the little things.

 

[Noctis3880]

Just get the Sebenza. It's not a world of difference from the Sage II. But for us knife nuts it's all in the little things.

I'm actually not that crazy about the plain jane Sebenzas. I'd much prefer the ones with a unique graphic and cabochan. Much more "bling" in that, plus that feature really sets it apart from your typical S30V blade with titanium handles. Not for your own benefit, but so that other people know it's one hell of a knife.

Of course, that would bump the price up over the $350 range.

 

[Mathew J]

Hey thanks all for the suggestions...

So other knives I have considered are.

Bradley Alias ...nice looking knife but not around and for the money not a big jump to the sebenza

Klotzi (SP?) - again nice but price wise not a big savings over the reeve

Sage II and or Kopa - not a huge fan of this style, specifically the hole for opening, plus not really liking the clip on the Sage II

William Henry EDC - nice, priced less, but seems less durable to me, plus there is something that draws me away from their styles.

 

[fast.ed]

William Henry BO9...best gentlemans folder on the market

 

[Noctis3880]

William Henry EDC - nice, priced less, but seems less durable to me, plus there is something that draws me away from their styles.

Question:
Why are you concerned about durability in a gentlemen's folder?

That just seems backwards to me. I was under the impression that such a class of folders would be used for LIGHT cutting only.

Honestly though, I would look at Benchmade knives. They seem to have a real knack for making pretty looking folders.

 

[Mathew J]

I guess I am not looking for a typical gents folder, rather something that can hack it as a regular EDC as well as potentially nice enough to be mistaken for a gents folder, part of the draw for the reeves is that they are spendy nice and seemingly well engineered.

 

[Reeek]

I think the Sage 2 fits that bill too if you choose to go that route. It fits easily into the medium duty category.

 

[Noctis3880]

I guess I am not looking for a typical gents folder, rather something that can hack it as a regular EDC as well as potentially nice enough to be mistaken for a gents folder, part of the draw for the reeves is that they are spendy nice and seemingly well engineered.

That's really a question of what you intend to do with the knife. My Small Buck Vantage Pro does fine for a lot of tasks, and I don't ever expect to see it fail on me unless I do something with it that a knife was never intended to be used for.

I personally find my Spyderco Para2 in S90V and Carbon Fiber to be somewhat of a gentlemen's knife. The steel is top tier in edge retention, and the carbon fiber is very nice in hand and extremely light.

I do like the blue anodized thumb stud of the Sebenza, but other than that there really isn't much color to the thing unless you fork over money for the "blinged" models.

This one in particular caught my eye:

Still, the flip side is that the S30V blade offers an "average" performance depending on your standards(mine are unreasonably high).

For me, a gentlemen's knife has to look small, slim, and have some color to it. Unless you're cutting something tougher than cardboard, lock strength and durability shouldn't really matter. If it's edge retention kind of "durability" you're after, I'd have to again suggest the Benchmade 480-1 Shoki, at least to consider.

Look at that beauty:

Only thing might be that the Sebenza seems like it would give you a more firm grip on the knife. Also not sure how important tight tolerances are to you, because I feel it takes a special kind of knife nut to really obsess about that.

 

[rororo64]

I like the mnandi the most for a small gentlemans folder... However, that benchmade shoki does look good and seems even better for the price.

 

[Lenny]

That's really a question of what you intend to do with the knife. My Small Buck Vantage Pro does fine for a lot of tasks, and I don't ever expect to see it fail on me unless I do something with it that a knife was never intended to be used for.

I personally find my Spyderco Para2 in S90V and Carbon Fiber to be somewhat of a gentlemen's knife. The steel is top tier in edge retention, and the carbon fiber is very nice in hand and extremely light.

I do like the blue anodized thumb stud of the Sebenza, but other than that there really isn't much color to the thing unless you fork over money for the "blinged" models.

This one in particular caught my eye:

Still, the flip side is that the S30V blade offers an "average" performance depending on your standards(mine are unreasonably high).

For me, a gentlemen's knife has to look small, slim, and have some color to it. Unless you're cutting something tougher than cardboard, lock strength and durability shouldn't really matter. If it's edge retention kind of "durability" you're after, I'd have to again suggest the Benchmade 480-1 Shoki, at least to consider.

Look at that beauty:

Only thing might be that the Sebenza seems like it would give you a more firm grip on the knife. Also not sure how important tight tolerances are to you, because I feel it takes a special kind of knife nut to really obsess about that.

What the heck is that little loophole thing at the end of the knife?
It ruins an otherwise beautiful knife.
For that reason alone I wouldn't buy it.
To each his own though.
Lenny

 

[Medic1210]

What the heck is that little loophole thing at the end of the knife?
It ruins an otherwise beautiful knife.
For that reason alone I wouldn't buy it.
To each his own though.
Lenny

If you're referring to the hole that CRK occasionally puts cabochons in, that's an index hole used for milling the handles in the CNC machine. It serves no other purpose in the functionality of the knife.

To the OP, if you decide to get the Sebenza, I would highly recommend the Insingo. The blade shape is pretty great for EDC chores. Other than that, I can recommend the BM 707 Sequel, which comes in just under 3" like the Sebbie. Some of Benchmade's new knives that look promising are the Paul series knives as well as the Emissary. Check out knifecenter.com for photos of those. I've never held a William Henry, so I really can't comment on those, but they do look nice.