Top Factory Knives 2001-2012 and 1989-2000

RamZar

RamZar

Gold Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
11,568
Top Factory Knives from 2001 to 2012 (in ranked order)
Blade Magazine November 2013


  1. KERSHAW/KEN ONION LEEK
  2. BENCHMADE/MEL PARDUE GRIPTILIAN
  3. KAI CUTLERY/SHUN/ONION CLASSIC CHEF’S KNIFE
  4. CRKT/ONION RIPPLE
  5. CHRIS REEVE KNIVES MNANDI
  6. CAMILLUS/ROB SIMONICH CUDA TALONITE TALON
  7. CHRIS REEVE KNIVES/BILL HARSEY GREEN BERET KNIFE
  8. STRIDER KNIVES SnG
  9. STRIDER KNIVES SMF
  10. KERSHAW/ONION CHIVE
  11. BUSSE COMBAT FUSION HEART
  12. CRKT/ED VAN HOY SNAP LOCK
  13. DPx GEAR HEST/F 2.0 T3

Honorable Mentions

Others that received votes or were mentioned as worthy of votes, in no particular order:

  • William Henry Knives Westcliff
  • Kershaw/Onion Offset
  • Kershaw/Onion Tyrade
  • Chris Reeve Knives/Harsey Pacific
  • Kershaw/Grant and Gavin Hawk E.T.
  • Spyderco Bi-Folder
  • Leatherman Tool Skeletool
  • Case/Tony Bose Arkansas Hunter
  • Lone Wolf Knives Paul Defender
  • CRKT/Onion Eros
  • Spartan Harsey Model 1
  • Zero Tolerance 0777
  • Microtech SF
  • CRKT/Onion Foresight
  • Camillus/Bob Terzuola CQB-1
  • Simonich Raven Combat
  • Boker Trapperliner
  • CRKT/Barry Gallagher Glide Lock
  • Spyderco UK/Penknife
  • DPx Gear HEST/F 2.0


Top Factory Knives from 1989 to 2000 (in ranked order)
Blade Magazine October 2013

  1. Kershaw 1510 Random Task
  2. Benchmade Emerson 970/CQC-7
  3. CRKT K.I.S.S.
  4. CRKT M-16
  5. Benchmade McHenry-Williams 710 AXIS Lock
  6. Spyderco Endura/Delica
  7. MicroTech SOCOM
  8. Mission Knives MPK
  9. Spyderco Military
  10. KA-BAR Next Generation
  11. Spyderco C15 Terzuola
  12. Meyerco Strut ‘n Cut
  13. Benchmade AFCK
 
Well I own exactly... One of those. Haha. On a serious note, what does "top" mean in this context? It's not like people are cross-shopping Leeks and FSH's.
 
Ace Krampus said:
On a serious note, what does "top" mean in this context? It's not like people are cross-shopping Leeks and FSH's.
Click to expand...

Here's how they described "top":

We compiled a list of some of the top factory knives over that stretch and submitted them to a panel of seasoned knife observers and asked them to select their top five to 10—or however many they felt comfortable picking—and to rank them No. 1 up to as many as 10, with 1 being the best, 2 second best, etc.

Though “top factory knives” can be subjective, we would like to think a top factory knife is one that excelled in terms of setting a standard that other companies attempted to emulate, and/or excelled in quality of craftsmanship, originality and creativity—or both. We no doubt inadvertently omitted a number of knives that should be included. As a result, we asked our panel members which one or ones we had left out and to rank them in their list, too.

The panel members are: Troney Toler of Knives Plus retail cutlery store in Amarillo, Texas, and Dan Delavan of Plaza Cutlery retail knife store in Costa Mesa, California; BLADE field editors Kim Breed and Dexter Ewing; and BLADE contributors James Morgan Ayres, Pat Covert and David W. Jung.
Click to expand...
 
We care what Blade magazine thinks because?

They are both, no doubt, lists of their top advertisers.
 
I wanna be a "Seasoned Knife Observer".

The best part of this is the criteria ("excelled in terms of setting a standard that other companies attempted to emulate, and/or excelled in quality of craftsmanship, originality and creativity—or both") are totally impossible to quantify. They would have been much better off using those criteria to determine which design teams and business practices instituted industry changes.

Still, if you include all the overseas knock-offs, some of those definitely found other companies to emulate them.

To me, if you want to choose what's "Top" you have to look at retail sales numbers. Ken Onion's designs definitely impacted the knife industry, and Kershaw's sales figures. The Case/Bose collaberations have re-introduced old patterns that were not available from any maker, at a higher level of fit and finish than was previously accepted by the industry and made them a new "norm". (The Swayback Jack model alone probably sold more copies than half the "Top" knives on that list and it's been copied by several other manufacturers and custom makers.) William Henry basically put the high end, limited, production knife on the table, but to single out the "Westcliff" as the one that changed the industry and consumers is just wrong.

Blade (and all print media) are a force in the industry, and impact our hobby. They influence public perception and the choices and opinions of many knife enthusiasts. They should be able to better identify the benchmark knives in their field and clearly indicate why the design, manufacture, or sales, are noteworthy.
 
My list would have been different for sure but everybody or in this case magazine is entitled to an opinion.
 
eisman said:
I wanna be a "Seasoned Knife Observer".

The best part of this is the criteria ("excelled in terms of setting a standard that other companies attempted to emulate, and/or excelled in quality of craftsmanship, originality and creativity—or both") are totally impossible to quantify. They would have been much better off using those criteria to determine which design teams and business practices instituted industry changes.

Still, if you include all the overseas knock-offs, some of those definitely found other companies to emulate them.

To me, if you want to choose what's "Top" you have to look at retail sales numbers. Ken Onion's designs definitely impacted the knife industry, and Kershaw's sales figures. The Case/Bose collaberations have re-introduced old patterns that were not available from any maker, at a higher level of fit and finish than was previously accepted by the industry and made them a new "norm". (The Swayback Jack model alone probably sold more copies than half the "Top" knives on that list and it's been copied by several other manufacturers and custom makers.) William Henry basically put the high end, limited, production knife on the table, but to single out the "Westcliff" as the one that changed the industry and consumers is just wrong.

Blade (and all print media) are a force in the industry, and impact our hobby. They influence public perception and the choices and opinions of many knife enthusiasts. They should be able to better identify the benchmark knives in their field and clearly indicate why the design, manufacture, or sales, are noteworthy.
Click to expand...

Very good observation.

In today's culture everyone is scared by competition - from 2nd grade basketballers to Gun manufacturers. People love to throw around "what works for you" and "everybody will have their own opinion", but it is possible to judge products from a scientific, or at least an objective point of view. It should be easier to do so now than it ever has been. It's too easy for publishers to hire some loud mouth to make a subjective list, or poll 30 people and call it definitive, but I would much rather see controlled testing and clear winners. Friendly competition is good for everybody, even 2nd place.

This list is terribly subjective however.
 
A Justice said:
Very good observation.

In today's culture everyone is scared by competition - from 2nd grade basketballers to Gun manufacturers. People love to throw around "what works for you" and "everybody will have their own opinion", but it is possible to judge products from a scientific, or at least an objective point of view. It should be easier to do so now than it ever has been. It's too easy for publishers to hire some loud mouth to make a subjective list, or poll 30 people and call it definitive, but I would much rather see controlled testing and clear winners. Friendly competition is good for everybody, even 2nd place.

This list is terribly subjective however.
Click to expand...

I both agree and disagree. I'd love to see more objective testing, but repeatable, scientific testing is pretty terrible at answering questions as vague as, "Which is the best knife?" Heck, I don't even know what mix of attributes I would need to consider a knife the best. Now, testing for edge retention, lock strength, lateral strength, etc I would love to see more objective data, but I doubt it would settle anything for a list of this nature.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top