Underrated knives

Daniel Moore

Daniel Moore

Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Messages
2,790
We're all familiar with the tried, true, popular knives that very few would ever knock because they've become icons of the modern knife community: The Spyderco Delica, the Benchmade Griptilian, the Buck 110, the Sebenza and so on. But a lot of really nice knives fall through the cracks, and a thread I was reading today reminded me of a knife that I think gets very little mention for its value and quality.

The Buck Nighthawk: my friend bought one last summer, and it's a great knife! It has really incredible ergonomics, a comfy, rubber and plastic cushioned full tang, a big thick spine, and it can take a nice edge. Even if it's a little obtuse in places and not great for slicing, it's a tank for $40. I actually like it better than the 119.

Falcon knives: another friend of mine bought one of these, and I have to say, really impressive fit and finish for a knife he bought for $19 on e-bay. It feels like a 110, but it's a lot smoother and has nice micarta scales.

What are some of the nice knives with little buzz that you guys know of?
 
Don't know if anyone's ever heard of these, but I have a Soque River lockback, made in Japan, with an excellent fit-and-finish and very smooth action. I've never seen them mentioned here at all.

The Paragon collaborations. Beautiful knives, great build quality, and top-name designers. Don't hear much about them, except one of their early models with a reputation for sub-standard construction gets mentioned from time to time.

-Bob
 
What about the Outdoor Edge - Magna ? Aus 8A , zytel and incredible lockup for a linerlock.
Price was good on them and still is if you can find one.
 
The SOG X-Ray Vision and Mini-Xray Vision are awesome..and I rarely ever read/hear anything about them. The Mini especially makes a great EDC - strong blade, killer Arc-lock with the smoothest opening for a folder I've seen, hideaway clip that keeps the knife from being exposed when carried, and excellent grip.
 
Lakota fixed and folding blades in AUS8A are spectacular values. A little heavier than most but great field knives.

NJ
 
fernando said:
The SOG X-Ray Vision and Mini-Xray Vision are awesome..and I rarely ever read/hear anything about them. The Mini especially makes a great EDC - strong blade, killer Arc-lock with the smoothest opening for a folder I've seen, hideaway clip that keeps the knife from being exposed when carried, and excellent grip.
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Hideaway clip?? The thing is bead-blasted. They don't make bead-blasted colored pants. They do make black pants that help a black clip to blend well into them. The other thing is, that clip is too tight, I've carried my mini-Xray Vision clipped to my dress pants! Still too tight.

But, other than the poorly designed clip, I do agree with you that it's an underrated knife.
 
I don't know if it's underrated or just under known. But my MOD Caracara is outstanding. The quality is right there with my large Sebenza. Coincidence, but I had them both on my desk when I read this thread. Perfect center, no blade play whatsoever, smooth as silk. Pure quality. :thumbup:
 
Monocrom said:
Hideaway clip?? The thing is bead-blasted. They don't make bead-blasted colored pants. They do make black pants that help a black clip to blend well into them. The other thing is, that clip is too tight, I've carried my mini-Xray Vision clipped to my dress pants! Still too tight.

But, other than the poorly designed clip, I do agree with you that it's an underrated knife.
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What fernando meant was that the clip is the only thing exposed, and when the knife sits in your pocket, none of the knife handle is showing.
It's a great system for avoiding the awkward stares of sheeple.
 
SOG Field Pup for sure.
fpup.jpg
 
I'd also put a vote in for Outdoor Edge. Good blade steel, really nicely textured G10 stuff, fit and finish is surprisingly good with reasonable tolerances. A good deal and solid performer all around. Yet, the "Outdoor Edge" branding makes me feel slightly ashamed like I've been caught wearing a pair of supermarket sneakers that fit really well and are suprisingly durable.
 
Okapis , plural .

The inox blades are pretty good , and there is a fairish variety of them . I dont much like stainless blades , but I make an exception for these .


The carbon steel in their traditional folders is still impressing the hell out of me .

The bush knives too , kinda awesome stuff :) Played in the cane grass today , impressive knives .

Opinels as well , are a great knife is a little less robust than an Okapi .I have a couple , and the girls in my family all have one or two .

Marttiini make a nice knife , I have several and like them . they get babied tho , I like them to much to realy give them an abusive hard time .
 
mrskillz said:
What fernando meant was that the clip is the only thing exposed, and when the knife sits in your pocket, none of the knife handle is showing.
It's a great system for avoiding the awkward stares of sheeple.
Click to expand...

I can't agree with that. The clip on the Mini-Xray Vision doesn't blend in at all with pants. You're more likely to have someone spot the clip and say, "Hey what's that?" in a curious tone; compared to a black clip with a black handle, clipped to black pants.
 
Old style SK5 ( carbon steel) SOG tigershark. Tough knife, easy to sharpen, takes a good edge, and is a well balanced 9inch bowie. It's not a Busse, but for the price it can hold it's own. Too bad they went to AUS6. What a shame.

Several others that have been "Improved" are the same way. Joe
 
Spyderco Scorpius. Love the knife as a solid dress folder. Extremely comfortable to use and quite a cutter.
 
It's been discussed some, but I'm surprised I don't see more people talking about it. The Spyderco Volpe. I really like this knife. Here are some pics I took of mine:
 

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