What are your "Must Haves" from the various production knife companies?

M

MRaymond

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Jan 27, 2012
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Perhaps this has been asked before but recently I picked up some new knives and two of them were knives I have had before but got rid of when I was on the hunt for perfection. This got me thinking that A. I am/was impulsive when I didn't know enough about modern knives and B. if I ended up acquiring knives that I have gotten rid of in the past, there must be something special about them. I also started thinking, if I have ONE benchmade, ONE Spyderco, ONE CRK, ONE ZT/Kershaw, ONE Becker, etc etc. what would they be? For me, having owned or used a few from each of those makers, I wanted to make a list and see what everyone else is thinking. I thought about talking about iconic knives in each brand but that is not what I am really going for. Post your thoughts, if you have one knife from the popular production companies, what would they be?

Here are mine:

CRK: Sebenza 25 -Near perfection in a pocket knife.


Spyderco: Military - just got one of these again and it really is a great knife. SO solid and SO light for such a nice long blade. Perhaps the best outdoor/camp/foodprep folding knife ever. (the pic is of one that I let get away, my new one is black/satin s30v



ZT/Kai: ZT0550. The no frills tank of a folder that can handle any job you through at it. Considerably overbuilt for a folding knife but still very appropriate for EDC.



Victorinox: Alox Farmer. Not much needs to be said about the quality and utility of a good SAK (See pic above)

Becker: BK-9 They call it the king for a reason. Seriously, if you own a yard with trees/bushes/vines or like to be outdoors building shelters and fires and such and don't want to spend a ton of money, this is the one for you. I have done a lot of landscaping and fallen or trimmed branch processing with my BK-9. Its just great.


Benchmade- I don't know, I have handled many but only owned a 707. It would be tough to decide based on my limited experience.


Add any brand with the one knife from each brand that is a "Must Have." A little about why you think what you think will be good for discussion too:)
 
For me:

BM, I say a Mini-Grip. My first quality knife and the only one I've bought multiples of. Really, any AXIS knife, it's night and day.

Spyderco, I'd say an endura/delica, Tenacious, Sage and a Southard. That runs the gamut of production facilities, steels, and opening mechanisms.

Kershaw/ZT? I've only handled them, but I think a Cryo would be my pick since it is a Hinderer design that you can try for cheap before going in for the true draw, a 0561 (or for those of us with smaller hands, a 0566).

CRK? I'm not going to dignify that with a response. (Read: Sebenza, of course!) I don't consider CRK a production company myself though.

Mora? #1 and Companion

Becker? The BK-9 is hard to argue with, as is the BK-2.

ESEE? If you haven't already went for a BK-9, get a Jungalas and an Izula. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! The Izula can make a great knife if you want to see if you really want that 7" blade in the woods. In the end though, ESEE's warranty is reason enough to try any of their knives.

Case? Sodbuster, Peanut, or Congress. I can't choose. All in CV though, it'll reward you if you have any interest in slipjoints like you dad likely carried.

SAK? Victorinox Classic, Soldier, or Tinker, depending on your taste. Their Kitchen knives are a good introduction to higher quality cooking blades as well.

Buck? I know it may not be the first choice that pops in the heads of most, I like the 119. Especially for a lower end company, a fixed blade is usually a safer bet. All of the 110's I've had were pretty rickety.

CRKT? I'm a huge fan of bearings, so I say Ripple, even though the ones I've seen have all been so so in QC.

Gerber? Anything in M2 from way back. Nothing I've seen from them lately has made me think anything beyond low-end.

That's all I can think of right now. If I can get some more time, I'll post pictures!
 
I tend to stay with a few companies:

BM-Bone Collector 15020 (like a griptilian on steriods)
Spyderco-Manix 2
Buck-Vantage Avid
Svord-Peasant
Becker-BK16
Victorinox-Trekker one handed opener
Leatherman-Sidekick (for the money, it's done everything I've put it through with stellar performance)
Kabar-Heavy Bowie
Ontario-RD4
Mora-Classic 2
 


My current favourites are the Busse NMFSHCG, the Kershaw ZT 0560CBCF, and the OLFA LA-X.
 
Last edited:
CRK: Sebenza 25 as well
Spyderco: Szabo (sick blade in my opinion!)
ZT: ZT0777
Victorinox: Red Alox Cadet
Becker: BK-7
Benchmade: 810 Contego or 940 Osbourne
 
Vic- Hunstman
Otter messer- Mercator K55
Camillus- TL-29
Case- mini trapper
Leatherman- Wave
 
Freman Bloodglaive said:
Cold Steel. Espada XL, polished or G10 is fine. A modern Navaja.
Click to expand...

Bought one, damn it's huge.

Yet it still fits in my pocket (nothing else in there though). Say what you like about Lyn's videos, but he and his team know how to make a knife. (a crazy scary knife that I can't take out in public, but a knife nonetheless)
 
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