My first "decent" knife was a Delica 4 Wave. Still a great, handy knife. New shoes being made for it this week to keep it fresh.
Yeah, Camillus USA was my go-to outfit at the end there. The Ralph designed EDC and Dominator really got a workout. I had a couple of HEATs, some Sizzles and EDCs in both 420HC and 154CM. The ArcLite neck knife was fun as well. Over time, I gave away many of them to friends thinking that I'd get some more later. Then they closed up on me. Still have a couple of OVB Fisk Bowies and a CQB for fixed blades. They stay. I'm down to just the Sizzle and Dominator for folders now. Sure wish I'd have kept the lot.
The Delica Sabre grind was my 1st "good knife". If only I stopped with the Delica. But no I went down the slippery slope of knife love. 35 years and many $$$ later I'm still looking for "The One". Now I buy one or two production folders a year. Moderation in everything including moderation.
You ever have a knife that is becoming your one knife against your will? I find myself reaching for the Bugout, despite being kind of a boring knife because it carries so well.
No matter how much i try mix things up, if i had to choose one knife to be my do it all knife i always come back to the CS Recon 1 clip point. As much as i love my insanely expensive Demko custom, Sebenzas, Spydies etc. the Recon 1 is the one knife that ticks pretty much every single box in the least intrusive way possible. Once you hold and use one for a while it's just hard to argue with. Honorable mentions to the Spydie Military, PM2 and American Lawman. Just no nonsense, no frills, no fads.
The Delica is pound for pound , dollar for dollar a fantastic edc. I carry many others but will always have a endura 4 for sure.
You can get a single EDC that will cover 90% of your daily uses... But it probably won't cover 100% of your monthly tasks... And it certainly won't cover all the tasks that you can use a knife for. If you're life is simply an office job and Amazon boxes.... And takeout... Sure... Something slender and sub-3" will be more than fine. But if you have a couple of hobbies or outdoor activities, active sports (hiking, fishing, camping, diving, cooking), you're going to need 2-5 more specialty pieces. I live in a rural, wooded area and do a lot of outdoor stuffs.... So a BK-14 acts as my sturdy, reliable base. If stranded outdoors with only this knife, I'd survive. But... It's on the thicker side and can rust, if not taken care of... and is 7" long (upper end of pocketability). So I've complimented it with an even smaller Spyderco Salt 2, which stays sharp for a LONG time, can't rust, is thin and is serrated. These two should do most things for me...But then there's times when a Wharncliffe or hawkbill is a more optimal tool of choice for the job at hand. I'm all about utility. Not looks and high-end finishes / materials. Simpler (fewer parts = better) rules the day for me. I just don't think I can get a tough, yet thin survival knife fixed blade that's also serrated and rust proof and pocketable. So my core is resigned to 2 blades. A Ladybug or a mid-sized SAK is more than most ppl carry. But specialty applications demand specialty tools. I'm also a believer in not rotating your EDC, because I find that the more you know your knife and use it regularly, the safer it ends up being. Get familiar with your EDC!
Delica, Oh Delica, you are my one and only, and I Love & Adore you. Other people don't understand, and they pass you off as merely delicate, but we know the truth, don't we Delica, that you are much much more than that, and time & time & time again you've shown it to me. Oh Delica, I Love you so ❤ -And don't worry Delica, I will always Love and care for you, and will never let that brute Endura push my Delica around with all of his strength, power, and endurance, as we are one you and I...you complete me Delica. -Lol ... Sorry, I couldn't resist. Myself, I'm in a relationship with several different beauties, and find it very difficult to be tied down to one. B.T.B.
For the last 10 months my EDC One Knife has been my small Inkosi Insingo micarta. Mainly due to it being my only "small" knife after a crew of contractors doing work on my house walked off with my Spyderco Dragonfly ZDP 189 (that hurt). Its a great solid chunky do-most-anything I need it to do knife, but not a true slicer like my Dragonfly was. Since I started accumulating I've always wanted a flipper knife. I finally decided to kill a few birds with one stone after seeing the Shirogorov Neon Zero M390 pop up on their vendor's site. I'm awaiting its delivery. Either the Zero will be my new One Knife or I will no longer have a One Knife (likely the latter).
Pound for pound, the Benchmade Arcane wins out. It is just so slicey and the S90v holds the edge wonderfully. I’m not particularly even a fan of assisted blades as the ZT 303 is the only other I own. The super subtle flipper tab & lock are so well done that any issue with the assist is negated. The complaints about the slick handles are overstated in my experience. I recently got a bugout with titanium scales. It takes an already great knife to another level. If Benchmade put out a Ti Bugout in S90v or m390 that would probably be the winner. Are you listening Benchmade? I am super smitten with a recently acquired Shiro Neon Ultra lite right now though.
I agree wholeheartedly with this but I'll also throw another in the mix that I'd be able to get any of my EDC tasks done with it and it alone. 535 Bugout Untitled by Caleb Bender, on Flickr
Agreed. I was acknowledging the OPs choice as a good one when I made the Delica comment. But the Bugout is pretty much my dominant EDC these days. I'll end up owning a few of them I suppose, but for now the old First Production Run 535 hangs in there just fine.
I don't know about anyone else, but ever since I got my Para 3 lightweight I have not carried my Delica. for $30ish more you get much more knife imo. Almost immediately I labeled it a Delica killer and yes I'm aware of the magnitude of that statement! I have for a very long time pointed people towards the Delica that were looking for their first "quality" knife. I'm not getting rid of my 3 Delicas by any means, but going on a few months now my opinion hasn't changed. Please go easy on me lol.
My one seems to be the manix2. Also I really like the native 5, Shaman, domino, Shirogorov 95, LG insingo, XM 18 slicer, 0392, GEC 72, SAK pioneer. My usual work carry typically looks something like this, so it's hard to pick one. But since that's the premise of the thread I'll say manix2. It's the only model of knife I own 2 of.
Just picking only one of each style would be tough. Only 1 hunting knife Only 1 camp knife Only 1 combat knife Etc. Even then I don’t think I could choose.
