-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
The Best Company...?
- Thread starter nutnfunn
- Start date
For high quality, over the top looks need not be required to justify a high price. For instance, look at Apple's products. They aren't the flashiest or the most ground-breaking with regards to design (they're very simplistic), yet they fetch a higher price than other similarly-spec'd computers because of the higher quality. They use quality materials in a quality design employing a quality operating system. Still, some people deride any and all Apple products because of the price. In addition, remember that Chris Reeve Knives are considered semi-custom.
To call someone dumb for wanting to pay for the quality of something is somewhat disrespectful....and I have more Benchmade knives than any other maker in my collection.
In a world where there's no one good knife producer, to be a one-trick pony and fanboy will lead to very little growth and exploration. Again, no insult, but there seems to be a current trend that it's all Benchmade or Nothing with you.
I say branch out, try a Chris Reeve Knife. If you don't like it, you can sell it on here and barely lose any money (or no money) at all.
EDIT: In addition, I'm surprised you haven't tried the Bradley Alias...
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2009
- Messages
- 11,409
My first Cold Steel purchase was the Talwar. I was suckered in by the mall ninja marketing just to be perfectly honest. When I got the knife though, it quickly become apparent that I wouldn't be able to carry it around with me. Not only is it big and bulky, but it's even more of a brick in my pocket than my ZT 0301. The mirror finished blade was also easily scuffed up from rubbing the liners. The San Mai III design meant the softer steel outside was the portion that was mirror finished, making it even easier to scuff. The wave opener also wasn't reliable because the lockback spring was abnormally strong and I usually found that either the blade couldn't be opened all the way or the lock wouldn't engage unless it was slowly opened. The lock itself was solid, but I couldn't push the blade open with one-hand despite seeing other people do it on YouTube, so I'm guessing consistency of the spring strength was another problem.
My purchase of the American Lawman a couple years later however turned out to be an excellent bang for my buck. Black tacticool coating aside, the knife had outstanding fit and finish and was strong as a tank with no blade play. The steel took a razor edge and kept it quite well. Only reason why I didn't keep it was because of my obsession with wear resistant super steels, the black coating, and the overly aggressive G10 texture.
CRK is good, but it's not for everybody. For a person who wants nothing more than a usable tool that won't keep them up at night if they lose it, CRK is too over-the-top. As well, appreciation for the fit and finish is something of a refined taste that one needs to develop. For that reason alone I can't suggest that a CRK knife be one of the first 10 knives a person buys. It's like giving fine wine to someone who's never even had beer yet. For someone looking for high-end performance, there are much better steels than S30V on the market, especially at the hardness they run their blades at. I also get this feeling that my money would have been better spent on a William Henry rather than one of CRK's "art" knives with the designs and cabochans. Titanium simply doesn't age well unless anodized or stonewashed(to hide the marks).
My purchase of the American Lawman a couple years later however turned out to be an excellent bang for my buck. Black tacticool coating aside, the knife had outstanding fit and finish and was strong as a tank with no blade play. The steel took a razor edge and kept it quite well. Only reason why I didn't keep it was because of my obsession with wear resistant super steels, the black coating, and the overly aggressive G10 texture.
CRK is good, but it's not for everybody. For a person who wants nothing more than a usable tool that won't keep them up at night if they lose it, CRK is too over-the-top. As well, appreciation for the fit and finish is something of a refined taste that one needs to develop. For that reason alone I can't suggest that a CRK knife be one of the first 10 knives a person buys. It's like giving fine wine to someone who's never even had beer yet. For someone looking for high-end performance, there are much better steels than S30V on the market, especially at the hardness they run their blades at. I also get this feeling that my money would have been better spent on a William Henry rather than one of CRK's "art" knives with the designs and cabochans. Titanium simply doesn't age well unless anodized or stonewashed(to hide the marks).
shortwinger
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2010
- Messages
- 1,090
Ninja knives
Chinese knock-offs
Mall knives...
And while you are at the mall you can get one of those fantastic Orange Julius low fat fruit drinks! Ummmmm. Since 1926, they have remained frosty and delicious! An interesting and often overlooked fact is that in 2004, Orange Julius launched their "Premium Line" of Fruit Smoothies made from real fruit! (Not the fake fruit) I wonder what knives a Mall store like Orange Julius uses to cut their fruit? Custom or a mall brand? So many questions................
Chinese knock-offs
Mall knives...
And while you are at the mall you can get one of those fantastic Orange Julius low fat fruit drinks! Ummmmm. Since 1926, they have remained frosty and delicious! An interesting and often overlooked fact is that in 2004, Orange Julius launched their "Premium Line" of Fruit Smoothies made from real fruit! (Not the fake fruit) I wonder what knives a Mall store like Orange Julius uses to cut their fruit? Custom or a mall brand? So many questions................
Shadow213
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2005
- Messages
- 1,184
+2. I highly agree. Yes, they are higher end knives, but remember.....you get what you pay for.
I'd also recommend Buck knives or Victorinox SAKs, depending on your needs/wants.The service I agree with. Their products have improved in a big way, and the videos....well, they're still the videos. My American Lawman is a fantastic knife, especially when price is considered.
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2011
- Messages
- 1,269
Third or fourth member to chime in with ZT! These things are built like tanks, and the fit and finish is imho comparable to knives costing twice as much or more (which i admititly don't own but friends/relatives do).
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2009
- Messages
- 2,237
kipzroll is quite right. Alongside extremely high quality, the Sebenza also has a number of features that few, if any, other knives have--these features, however, aren't apparent from a cursory examination of the knife. If you head over to the CRK forum for an hour or two and read up on the Sebenza, I'm sure you can discover what these are.
If you find yourself hesitating to shell out the money for a Sebenza, I'd also suggest looking into the Bradley Alias. The knife is manufactured by Benchmade for Bradley, and the design is essentially a high-quality knock-off of the Sebenza. There are a few similarities between the knives, but beyond materials and the framelock, the Sebenza wins by far.
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Messages
- 308
I'm big into Cold Steel for both value and fun-- they are a pretty polarizing company though (mostly because of Lynn Thompson and his over-the-top marketing), so you'll either love or hate them. I'm also on a Spyderco kick right now-- they have excellent QC and some unique, high-value blades. Buy a Tenacious for $30 and see what you think. I also love Kershaw-- just really well-made, fun stuff. Plenty of interesting designs, excellent QC and sharpness out of the box.
Any and all of these brands you can try out for $50 or less, so jump in.
Any and all of these brands you can try out for $50 or less, so jump in.
glockman99
RIP Dann, you were a good guy.
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2000
- Messages
- 21,269
If you're ever around Aberdeen, look me up, and I'll let you take a look at my Cold Steel Rajah II, so you can see for yourself what a piece of junk that this Cold Steel folder is not. I am very impressed with its' quality.
vwb563
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2007
- Messages
- 3,109
I guess I'm dumb because I have several. And you will never understand unless you buy one and see for yourself what the word quality can mean! It's kinda like driving a Ford or a BMW. Either one will get you there, but you will enjoy the drive a lot more in the BMW!
Morrow
Don't make this weird
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2007
- Messages
- 27,773
You're asking for advice then calling the advice dumb? You asked the question....
I posted this in a thread on the Sebenza, another top quality knife.
But I also think it applies here:
This is another one of those, "I love this knife. Why doesn't everyone else love this knife too, to the exclusion of anything else?" threads.
I have no doubt whatsoever that this is a great knife; I do not fault you for loving it.
But Bladeforums has over 150,000 members. Why are you at all surprised, in any way, that with that size of a population, that people would have a variety of preferences?
Saying you really like a knife is an appropriate thing, we've all done it. Asking why everyone else doesn't share that smacks of fanaticism, at least to me.
Just for the record, I'm a big BM fan. Till I got a custom, my beloved was a Mini Bone Collector with the blade swapped from a Mini Presidio.
But one of the joys of a forum this size is the diversity of interests. Reading other people's threads and looking at the great pictures has gotten me to experiment with, and purchase a wide variety of kinds of knives, from a long list of different manufacturers. And enjoyed every minute of it.
But I also think it applies here:
This is another one of those, "I love this knife. Why doesn't everyone else love this knife too, to the exclusion of anything else?" threads.
I have no doubt whatsoever that this is a great knife; I do not fault you for loving it.
But Bladeforums has over 150,000 members. Why are you at all surprised, in any way, that with that size of a population, that people would have a variety of preferences?
Saying you really like a knife is an appropriate thing, we've all done it. Asking why everyone else doesn't share that smacks of fanaticism, at least to me.
Just for the record, I'm a big BM fan. Till I got a custom, my beloved was a Mini Bone Collector with the blade swapped from a Mini Presidio.
But one of the joys of a forum this size is the diversity of interests. Reading other people's threads and looking at the great pictures has gotten me to experiment with, and purchase a wide variety of kinds of knives, from a long list of different manufacturers. And enjoyed every minute of it.
