What were your gateway modern folders?

I had a BM auto mini stryker years before I really got into knives, and was my one EDC all throughout high school and most of college. I got a BM auto Rift in college and that was my one EDC for a few more years. I like the axis lock a lot, so I decided to get another rift. Then I saw other knives that were amazing, and kept looking, and looking, and looking.... That was it! So I guess the Rift was my gateway knife that started it all. Back then I thought 200 was the most I would ever spend on a knife, which makes me laugh now. Almost makes me wish I would have stayed down in that price range, but then I would not know a lot of my favorite knife makers, and how well they EDC!
It is funny though, now I am going back to a lot of the cheaper blades. It is nice to have a couple knives around that you can abuse if needed., or do the extra dirty jobs.
 
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ThePeacent said:
Good old Cold Steel Voyagers and Gunsite folders

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Aren't you too young for that folder? It was out of production (2005?) probably before you were allowed to carry a knife. How did you get it or am I mistaken and you're really in your 30s? :)
 
brownshoe said:
Aren't you too young for that folder? It was out of production (2005?) probably before you were allowed to carry a knife. How did you get it or am I mistaken and you're really in your 30s? :)
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Got it used already, but was one of the first to me
 
I got some cheap Schrade, with what I thought were super premium materials, when in reality it was just a generic titanium crappy framelock with some 8crsomething steel.
 
As a kid I had lots of flea market specials, then when I was 19 bought myself a buck 482 and that was IT.
And by IT I mean that my search was pretty much over right as it was really getting started.
 
My first modern folder was a Sog Flash II. Lost that and got a Kershaw Blur. Soon after that a Spyderco Endura 4 green frn handles (nicknamed Greenahz, which my friend lost a few years ago) Since then it's been a worse drain on my bank account than an evil baron that taxes the peasants dry.
 
Not surprising to see spyderco as early gateway folders in this category:thumbsup:

For me it was the gerber ar 3.00, had two of those and then on to the gerber hinderer rescue. Loved them both but got bit by the spyder and started spending more $$ on knives
 
My first "modern folders" were Gerbers which were similar to traditional knives (just with a modern twist). i had one of the Gators that I used in the woods and carried it occasionally hunting. The Gerber that I carried as an EDC was in the late 1990's when I was also carrying a Vic Soldier at that point (so what I had on me varied). Don't know the Gerber model other than it was small, thin, light, and got it at Lowe's for under $10. I lost it eventually or left it somewhere... same end result. Liked that thin little knife.

The internet changed everything..... especially a DSL connection and later a fiber optic connection.

Once joining BF and being exposed to a broader range of knives, I was on a SOG kick and bought a number of their different SOG models of both fixed blades and folders. Probably my favorites were the Mini-Vulcan and Twitch II. Later got the Twitch XL (and gave away the Twitch II) and a Access Card 2.0. The Blink was probably my very first assisted opening knife and preceded the Twitch II. Still have all of these except for the Twitch II. Spyderco's entered the accumulation only after reading all the reviews here and that started with the Native from Walmart. It was followed by a couple Endura's and a Delica. The hump didn't draw me to them, nor did the possible one-hand manual opening.
 
Oh I actually had a gerber paraframe waaaaay back I forgot about.

Gerber is alot of people's first modern knife.
 
Kind of a tough question to answer.
For me it wasn't any one folder that hooked me, it was actually this site.

I'd been carrying knives since I was a kid and had always wanted a fixed blade with stag scales. I found the gerber freeman online and was researching it before buying, I stumbled onto bladeforums. Never bought the gerber but I bought a crap ton of modern folders shortly after that.
 
Lapedog said:
Oh I actually had a gerber paraframe waaaaay back I forgot about.

Gerber is alot of people's first modern knife.
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I think that's why a lot of us would like to see Gerber back making better quality knives here in the USA.
 
The top one was my gateway / first pocket clip modern folder. (I've carried a Buck 110 for 35 years . . . and it is a one hand opener if you know how (Spydie drop)
but the top one , Cold Steel Tuff Lite Mini was the MoFo (modern folder).
Then it got the CS Holdout III and then, I think, it was on to the Dragonfly.

 
My gateway to quality one handed folders was the Spyderco Endura with zdp189 steel.
 
I carried traditionals and SAKs most of my life and my first modern folder was a BM Mini-Grip that I thought was too big and sold off. I tried again a few years later with a Spyderco Caly3 and carried it a bit but kept going back to slipjoints. The one that finally hooked me was a Spyderco Dragonfly2 and I've been off and running -- and spending -- ever since.
 
I carried slip joints for a long time, mostly handed down by my father. Then I bought a Buck lockback with micarta scales and a Cold Steel lockback with laminated steel. Then a SOG lockback with thumbstud! Then a Spyderco Goddard with micarta, thumb hole and pocket clip. Then I went 100% modern with a mini-AFCK. I say modern because it had good steel, G10, one-hand opening, one-hand closing, and pocket clip.

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I think my gateway modern folder was the CRKT M16-13sf. At the time, it was the first one that got me thinking about different variations and blade steels. Honestly i want a CRKT M16-03s Classic just for nostalgia sake
 
The Goddard Spyderco and the mini AFCK are two of my all time favorites.


bdmicarta said:
I carried slip joints for a long time, mostly handed down by my father. Then I bought a Buck lockback with micarta scales and a Cold Steel lockback with laminated steel. Then a SOG lockback with thumbstud! Then a Spyderco Goddard with micarta, thumb hole and pocket clip. Then I went 100% modern with a mini-AFCK. I say modern because it had good steel, G10, one-hand opening, one-hand closing, and pocket clip.

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CRKT Apache II and an early Dragon fly were my first two modern folders.

Also, I used to have this little thumb stud that you could attach to most any slip joint. I had that on few knives to make them "modern."
 
Ontario Rat-1(I think it was back in 2009) and I still think it is one of best folders ever produced :)
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