What are the top 5 production knives that rival custom knives?

Folderguy said:
How would you compare the Hogue EX01 to the Zero Tolerance 0300 and 0400?
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I've had three 030X series knives and they are as strong as a production folder can get but the Hogue is probably close but not quite in strength but that is just me guessing. The ZT 030x's are almost twice as heavy as the Hogue while the Hogue still feels like every bit of a hard use folder. I have no experience with the 0400. I sold all my 030x's because of the weight and the pretty deep recurve. I prefer the Hogue for EDC by far.
 
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Tony8179 said:
If the makers themselves call their knives production and they are commonly known as production knives, then why do you keep arguing the point that they are not production knives? :confused: Price point and fit/finish do not make a knife a custom knife. They just make a production knife expensive and very well built.
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I'm not calling them customs... I'm saying listing CRKs and Hinderers in this thread doesnt make sense when they cost just as much as customs and therefore should be every bit as high quality as a custom and therefore would not be fair to list in this thread as a regular production knife. What is the point in looking for a production knife alternative that costs exactly the same as a custom knife?
 
I'm fortunate to own two each of the following Kershaw knives. Workmanship, fit/finish, are top notch. They rival any production/custom knives made today.

Kershaw 1050 Folding Field

kershaw10502.jpg


Kershaw 1480 Nakamura

kershaw1480.jpg


Kershaw photos are by manufacture.

This Buck 111 is near perfect. Someone at Buck was in a good mood when they finished this knife. Fit/finish is perfect.

buck1112.jpg


This Case 6292 Texas Jack is absolutely flawless. Earlier Case knives like this and the newer Case/Bose collaboration knives rival custom knives any day.

casetexasjack1.jpg


The blade work on this SOG Stingray rivals any work either production or custom that I've come across.

sogstingray1.jpg


Of course it's just my .02¢ that all the knives listed above rival custom knives. Still, it's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

GEC puts out some really nice knives and I've seen a few that rival custom makers too.
 
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kawr said:
What is the point in looking for a production knife alternative that costs exactly the same as a custom knife?
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The point is that a production knife can easily be replaced if broken, damaged, or lost. A custom (hand made knife) is not going to be as easy to find.

God forbid, you lose your XM-18. You can come on to any of the forums and find a replacement. Yes, the price will be rather high, but you can still find a replacement. The same goes with CRK brand knives. If I lose my RJ Martin Gen. 1 Q-36 flipper though, it's not going to be quite as easy to replace.
 
If I lose my RJ Martin Gen. 1 Q-36 flipper though, it's not going to be quite as easy to replace.
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You can send it to me for safe-keeping! :D I don't go much of anywhere and have never lost an expensive knife. I want one of those so bad but my wallet says OUCH when I get near the order button. Some day if he still has one for sale. :thumbup:
 
I've seen quite a few brawn-over-brains generic ti and G10 customs with cheap bead-blast, sprayed-on or galvanized trashcan finishes whose makers would be hard-pressed to match the quality of many mid/high-level production knives. Just because the maker has achieved something of a cult following for trendy design work doesn't necessarily mean that he's mastered his craft at the grinder or the finishing bench.

Based on the customs I currently own, or have owned, from accomplished makers like Begg, Harkins, Osborne, Horn (Des), Ohta, Steigerwalt, Corbit, Nichiuchi and Zscherny, etc., I'd say that no production knife I've seen rivals a well-built custom knife.

The W.R. Case/Tony Bose collaborations come reasonably close to mid-level customs in terms of design implementation, material selection and basic fit, but the factory finishes are a far cry from a good hand-rubbed finish, and getting a multi-blade with no rub, or a single-blade that's well-centered is still a bit of a crap shoot.
 
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I have got to say that out of all the production knives I have owned (Kershaw, benchmades, spydercos, etc..) the Buck Mayo TNT is easily the one that has impressed me the most. It is because of the TNT that I am now selling the rest of my production knives and getting a sebenza. I see now what they are speaking of when they say fit and finish. I can't wait to see what the sebenza has to offer... :D
 
Mcusta - pretty much anything I've seen by them is amazing as far as tolerances, fit & finish. I have an Ice Storm (Browning) which is not their high end work, but it just shames some of my other production knives with it's quality.

The other is the large Boker Exskelibur. For a sub-$50. knife, it's got some great custom touches.

~Chris
 
BM42
BM630
BM425
MT Socom.. all variants
Lionsteel folder
 
Buck Knives of El Cajon, California
The knife Greco
Companion Mk III fixed blade
Katz Knives
Benchmade Knife Company

Thats my top 5.
What i love most is the Katz Knives' new Kagemusha series of fixed and folding knives.


samurai sword
 
Planterz said:
13 posts and nobody's mentioned the Sebenza yet (or Mnandi or Umnumzaan)? Custom-level pricing, but as far as precision and tolerances, they are the benchmark that everybody (custom or production) aspires to measure up to.
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You nailed it! Technically, CRK are production knives. So are Strider Inc., ZT, Combat Elite (D.Ralph), Hand-Tech-Made (D.Ralph), and Galyean Pro. Just about any folder from any of them is going to be custom-grade quality.
 
I have a Brian Tighe Nirk Tighe that I compare all others to. I carry the Nirk Tighe, ZT0301 BM 755 MPR, and BM 940 in my EDC rotation. The 755 is definitely a tank but the 940 has a kind of class to it and refined look. The 301 is all business and the Nirk Tighe is plain sweet. Fit and finish are amazing. If I had to pick one as the best though quality, fit and finish, it would be the BM 755 MPR except it needs a better clip.
 
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