Solid folding knife with good steel edc/hard work

B

BrandonEDC

Joined
Aug 12, 2014
Messages
190
So this is my first post! I live in Washington and am looking for a folding knife I can keep on me that can handle some time and light abuse. I have a guy that sharpens my knives so I'd like it to stay sharp for ever, resist corrosion, and handle good lateral stress. I like frame and axis locks and have medium hands. If you make a suggestion posting a pic and the steel type would make it way easier but any advise is awesome. Thanks and hello everyone. Oh and under 200 would be nice over 300 is a waist of a post but still welcomed if it's just a beast.
 
I would recommend what I have carried for the last 8 plus years, the Buck 347 Large Vantage Pro. Easy open, great fit in the hand, awesome blade S30v, and easy to keep a razor sharp edge. Also a lot cheaper than what your budget is. I would not recommend it if I did not think it is a great knife.
 
Brandon, I just noticed you posted this in another subforum too. Have you looked at all for a knife, or are you just wanting us to pick your collection for you? If that's the case, I think we can really put a serious dent in that bank account for you as a special favor.
Go somewhere that sells knives, look, feel, flick, and commit to something. Nothing worse than buying what everyone tells you too and then hating it.
 
I have been going just can't decide on a steel I like... been looking at s30v or m390 maybe d2. This is where I was hoping to get some help I'm always reading other people forums for advise figured I would just post my own. And yes I moved the post to here to be in the correct place.
 
A question like that you're going to have to narrow it down by just shopping for a while. Your criteria set a very wide range of knives.

All of those are good steels.

Read as much as you can on this site...shop the ones you like online...study the steels....then when you've narrowed it down to ten or twenty you can ask specific questions.

But start with the DPx HEST folders.
 
The Adamas is about as tough as a folding knife can get, regardless of price. However, D2 isn't all that immune to corrosion if I'm not mistaken, so if that's a high priority you may want to cross it off the list. As long as you don't leave the thing soaking in water/liquid it probably wouldn't be an issue. It's a great knife. Total overkill for my modest EDC needs, but having such a heavy blade in a compact form certainly has its allure.
 
spyderco-military-camo-c36gpcmobk.jpg

WHY DO I OWN BENCHMADES AND ONLY RECOMMEND SPYDERCOS! I don't even own a spyderco! Spyderco military....I do LOVE the adamas...just waiting for mine to come back from repairs..omega springs why must you curse me! This is strange I own the adamas (2750) but recommend this knife. Dollar for dollar I would think this is a better knife then the ADAMAS for your needs, the ADAMAS has D2 steel which has corrosion problems if ABUSED and worn to hell. I wouldn't worry about it if you take care of it.
 
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I'm going to say the ZT 0550. There are some serious torture videos online and it's impressive to say the least what they can go through, and came out of relatively unscathed. Built like a tank.
 
ZT knives are solid beasts. Never a bad choice there.

Don't obsess over steels. Buck 420hc is great steel for them, though many will poo poo it. I have AUS8A CRKT M21 knives that can hold their own against the best. AUS8A is not a super steel.
Steel quality is relative to the knife style, blade shape, heat treating, and is usually more hype than fact on this site. Focus on the knife first, not the steel.
 
Benchmades 710 and their barrage, 520 presidio the zt0550 a company called Fizer makes a few good looking knife but not sure how the company's reputation is and maybe the manix 2... just to name a few iv been looking at. Like I said I'm more in between steels then knives. Wanting high ware resistance good corrosion and tough lateral.
 
Benchmade 810 in CPM M4.

Coated for corrosion resistance and M4 is a tough steel.
 
Just a tip from my experience, for a harder use type knife I would suggest a slightly softer steel, as in 154cm or vg10. My experiences with s30v and d2 are all great but they tend to chip more so then the others I mentioned. In my opinion I would rather have an edge roll and dull slightly faster instead of having small chips on the edge. I carried a 154cm blade for a while and never had any problems but the s30v blade I carried would chip under harder use and was a pain to sharpen out. Not trying to tell you not to go with a "super steel" but just lending my $0.02.
 
I always put some serious abuse on my knives so I was in the same boat as you at one point. I actually just picked up a kershaw/Emerson cqc-5k and it's taken everything I've given it and still feels perfect. I think the steel is 8cr13mov so it doesn't keep the hair popping edge after some good use but still holds a working edge very well. I actually used it for some light battoning the other day because I was on a roof and didn't want to climb down just to get the Clippers for 1 branch.
 
Manix 2 with S110V that will stay sharp for freaking ever, stainless steel, under $200 ($110 last I checked), and I send you to a different guy to sharpen your knives. His name is Richard J, and we have a few others here who are extremely skills who sharpen knives here. He is the guy even our OCD knife sharpening guru's can't deny is damn good at sharpening, in fact he is one of the knife sharpening guru's here. Good luck finding someone who say otherwise, pretty cheap for his prices and he's trustworthy and reliable.
http://www.bladehq.com/item--Spyderco-Manix-2-Knife-Dark-Blue--23409

I own the Spyderco Mule Team 18 and tried to dull it by cutting up a bunch of cardboard. That knife did not want to dull it was a freaking energizer bunny in terms of how sharp it kept, it just kept going and going and going. It has the same S110V steel but the Manix 2 is heat treated differently and should be more wear resistant than my Mule Team.

And could you define light abuse, as I don't know what your definition is and quite honestly it make life easier on knife recommendation so we don't start/continue suggesting knives that are more overbuilt and closer to a pry bar than it needs to be. The lateral stress and abuse part I can't answer if the Manix 2 can handle, I kind of want more information on what your planning to do and I don't own that knife or handled it so I don't want to even give an educated guess.
 
If you like the Adamas, take a look at the 810 Contego. With CPM-M4, it can take some abuse, hold a great edge, sharpen well. The knife itself is an Axis-locking tank.
 
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