toughest folder lock and blade 4-5"

[cziv]

I have a 4" Hogue EX-01 tanto with black aluminum handles - very sturdy and well built knife.

The knife has what I would call a modified button lock where the fat part of the barrel becomes the lock when open. There is a safety that you can engage to keep the button lock from disengaging when open and in use.

I wasn't crazy about the gmascus handles - I preferred the alum. Others rave about them though and I don't think you can go wrong with either. I can see the alum getting slick if your hands get wet.

The knife is well built, very good fit and finish, and was probably one of the sharpest out of the box - as they put somewhat of a mirror finish on the edge.

I cannot speak to how well it will hold up under extreme use or batoning - I don't use my folders that hard.

Do you still have it? Vertical blade play was the only knock I heard on the EX-01.

 

[gomipile]

I know there are folders out there that are as tough as the Cold Steel Tri-Ad lock designs, but I can't think of any of those that one can obtain at a $50 price point. The low price makes me feel better about using these knives hard, and I know they are more than tough enough to handle what I'd actually need to do with a blade in a survival situation.

And if you just want to do lighter short fixed blade tasks like you would use a 4" Mora for, I'm sure that any of the Tri-Ad designs would perform admirably at that. Do you really need to baton through 4" logs when you can just strip the bark off some smaller sticks and make fuzz sticks, and baton a bit of fatwood off a stump for good measure?

Oops, I've gotten off topic.

Carry on.