Small to midsized fixed blade EDC?

[Armithius]

Herather got my tax return back, and I want to treat myself to a new EDC. I'm in the market for something with a blade size around 3.5-4" that will be a good all arounder. My main concern is edge retention for the simple fact that my sharpening skills are pretty much nonexistent. Half the time after I finish "sharpening" the edge ends up more dull than the spine. So the longer I can go without having to send it out for sharpening, the better. I was looking at the Fallkniven Jarl, but I'm not too sure about the handle, and I had an F1 that I ended up selling because it just didn't really do it for me, so I don't know that the Jarl would be any better. Plus, at $300 it's at the absolute limit of my budget, so less expensive alternatives are more than welcome. I'm open to all suggestions from factory to custom, though I'd prefer something that can be found in stock somewhere rather than having to be special ordered. I'm not the most patient fellow lol. Thanks, and I'm looking forward to hearing your responses!

Edit: I've also considered a Chris Reeve Nyala, as it's a beautiful looking knife, and I'd love to own at least one CRK in my life, but I've read that the edge retention isn't that great and that most makers have switched to S35VN due to its machineability rather than its end user properties. Granted I've not owned a blade of S35VN so that's based purely on speculation and reviews I've read from others, so if I've been misinformed, please let me know.

 

[Quillan]

Well...if you have no sharpening skills, here's the sad truth. If, because of that lack of skill, you choose a "supersteel" like ZDP-189, then you are double hooped, because all knives need to be sharpened sooner or later, right? If you cant sharpen a mid-line steel like VG-10, then may the Lord have mercy on your soul if you think you can tackle ZDP-189. Buy a lower end knife with something like Aus-8 or CroMoly. They dull quickly, but are uber easy to sharpen. Practice. Practice. Practice.

 

[Armithius]

I should rephrase that. I can do an alright job touching up an edge. For instance, my Spyderco Southard in CTS-204P has been chugging along just fine with weekly touch ups, and that's an uber hard steel. The problem lies where if I happen to neglect edge maintenance, or if I end up being especially hard on it for a while and it needs a lot of sharpening work, then I run into trouble, and that's when I usually send them off for factory sharpening. With a harder steel, a lapse in maintenance doesn't end up hurting me quite as bad. Honestly, I'm not gonna restrict myself to lower end knives just because I can't sharpen well. I have some to practice on, sure, but owning them exclusively seems a little silly to me.

 

[hhmoore]

What about something like an Enzo Trapper? Scandi grinds are probably the easiest to sharpen (the grind is wide - just lay the bevel flat on the stone and go).

 

[Cereal_killer]

My [very limited] experience with CRK's S35VN has been positive, it's not supposed to be a super steel, it's just slightly better than S30V and IMO that it is. It's also relatively easy to sharpen. I would say take another look at the Nyala, its a beautiful knife man and would make a great smaller EDC. I'm really a folder guy but the Nyala is one of the very few fixed blades I'm even interested in.

I think a lot of the issues you read about CRK's using S35VN and people thinking its not as good as it should be is just that, people wanting a better steel, S35VN isn't underwhelming, it's not toted as being a super steel at all and for an EDC blade, folder or fixed, it has all the properties you would want- deforms instead of chips, very rust resistant, easy to touch up and decent edge retention.

 

[Armithius]

I admit, I have been leaning more towards the Nyala, though while I was searching I also stumbled upon the Arno Bernard Zebra, which looks amazing (though a little more pricey) but I can't seem to find much info on the company. Does anyone have any experience with these? How do S35VN and N690 compare?

 

[three2seven]

You could always get some good mid range knives with different grinds and steels and get yourself a good sharpener and practice practice practice. Learning how to sharpen a knife changed my life.

 

[Hawk45]

Get a strop and a good carbon blade. Few strokes after each outting and all good till the next one. Try something in the Bark River line made of A2 or an ESEE 1095 E3 or E4.
Convex edges are super easy to clean up on a strop and hold up longer than most other edge geometry. And if done right, slice very well.

 

[KAEDC]

In my fairly limited experience N690 behaves closer to 154CM than S35VN for my light edc tasks(ie. longer razor edge holding but shorter working edge holding). I have not owned a CRK blade yet, but my understanding is the complaints about CRK's S35VN it is not the "optimal/best" heat treat for S35VN. CRK intentionally HTs to a lower hardness in order to make it easier to sharpen and to reduce wear and tear on his manufacturing equipment.

 

[mazibuko]

I admit, I have been leaning more towards the Nyala, though while I was searching I also stumbled upon the Arno Bernard Zebra, which looks amazing (though a little more pricey) but I can't seem to find much info on the company. Does anyone have any experience with these? How do S35VN and N690 compare?

Derek at KSF did a pretty good video on Arno Bernard knives recently:

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/arno-...7e348ab4d9d8e7c78b5e02d619f568a1d69eedbf4c4f1

I've handled some of his knives and shows and they feel pretty good in the hand. They're from South Africa, Arno Bernard works with his two sons. N690 is popular with SA knifemakers, easier to get hold of than other steels for some reason. I have a few from SA in N690 and I think it's a pretty good steel, holds an edge nicely and easy enough to touch up. If you like Arno's stuff you should check out some of the other SA knifemakers out there.

Check out: http://www.boekoeknives.co.za/

And: https://www.facebook.com/neels.vand...0201060558429613.1073741828.1637672628&type=3

 

[Bob6794]

What about a spyderco mule team they have used several different steels over the years the recent one is S110V. Elmax is suppose to have some pretty good edge retention and easy to sharpen up, so a blade in that may be good.

Though I highly recommend practicing on your sharpening skills, once you get your skills down it opens up a lot more doors as you no longer feel the need to get higher end knives for their premium steels for their edge retention. Though if you don't want to work on your sharpening skills there are some good sharpening systems out there such as the KME, Edgepro, and Wicked Edge which be worth looking into.

 

[Sean-Do]

I see that you have used Spyderco before. My EDC is a Spyderco Delica 4. The VG-10 steel sharpens easily and is shaving sharp. With the new upgrades (it has a larger opening circle than previous models and it now has removable screws with the removable pocket clip that can be oriented for left or right carry and tip up or down) it is an affordable, lightweight, useful blade. I do not think it is a pretty knife, but it is a well made, functional EDC.

Have you tried using a ceramic rod for touch-ups? I have a ceramic light element from a street lamp and it is wonderfully easy to put the edge back on a dulled blade. It was given to me by a man that works for the city's street department.