Which folding EDC under $75 and 3 inch max?

E

elbowtko

Joined
Sep 24, 2006
Messages
42
Looking for a nice medium hard use EDC around $75 and must be under 3 inches cause of CA's local ordinances.

Medium to hard use. This knife won't be just used for opening envelopes and tape. Probably cardboard, carpet, and wood (light carving/whittling bushcraft).

Must have pocket clip/one hand opening capability.

So far

Spyderco Delica 4 FFG -Though I feel it is more for light use such as food prep and as a box openner.

Benchmade Mini Griptilian - Seems like axis lock and saber grind more suited for medium- hard used (any truth to that?)

Cold Steel mini AK-47 - Really hard use, but dont like the blade steel.

Any other suggestions? Leaning towards the Benchmade.

Edit: Must not be a spring assisted opener (commiefornia)
 
Last edited:
From those choices, I would go with the Delica. It feels better in my hand than the MiniGrip.
 
The mini-Grip is very nice. If you really want easy one-handed opening and closing, the Benchmade is probably best. (I have 3 Delicas and 2 mini-Grips--I carry the Benchmades more often. They're just more fun and I appreciate the ease of one-handed open/close.)

If you're leaning that way, go. Still, the Delica is a great knife that can likely handle more than light-duty food prep.
 
Some possibilities, in addition to what I've seen posted:

Benchmade Osborne Mini Barrage (+$?)
Buck 112 (-clip?)
Cold Steel Mini Recon 1
Cold Steel Voyager Med.
CRKT Mini My Tighe
Kershaw Needs Work
Kershaw NRG
Kershaw Ram (+3?)
Kershaw Skyline (+3?)
Kershaw Zing
Spyderco Dragonfly
Spyderco Native (+3?)
Spyderco Sage (+$?)
 
Last edited:
KERSHAW RAM!
Yes, I shouted :D
built like a tank, opens like a switchblade with the flipper, yet isn't even an assisted opener.
Rock solid lockup with a satisfying click.
Opening and closing easily to do one handed, pocket clip adjustable for tip up or top down carry.
The blade is a bit of an odd shape, but when you examine it closely, you see that the profile makes it incredibly strong yet a surprisingly good slicer.

Watch youtube reviews to get an idea of the ease of opening and closing.
Having said that, I watched those videos a lot before I got mine, but when I flipped it open for the first time, I still wasn't prepared for how awesome it is.

I can honestly say that I will never want a different folder ever again at any price.
 
Spyderco Persistence. 2 3/4" blade, 3.3 oz. Decent steel, easy to sharpen. Excellent inexpensive beater knife.
 
I agree with ChrisB507 For medium to hard use the Minigrip is your best bet.I edc both the Delica and Minigrip and like them both.
 
nccole said:
+1 RAM, Skyline, Echelon as well
Click to expand...


No experience with the Echelon, but the Skyline is my number 2 knife after the RAM.
Perfect for carry as it's light weight. Blade deploys smoothly and easily, handle is a good shape and is very 'grippy' amd the blade is a really useful size and shape. Inexpensive too.
I lost my first one, and my wife replaced it. I was so pleased I could have kissed her :D
Like all Kershaws I have owned, both the RAM and both of my Skylines have been top quality fit and finish, razor sharp out of the box, hold their edges well, yet are easy to sharpen.
 
The grip and mini grip both so far are doing well for me I use my knife hard and often the full size griptillian is a sweet knife for hard use. Had a couple spyderco's but the serrated edge wasn't suitable for my needs the plain blade delica held a edge well but seemed more for light duty. When I would really bear down while cutting the knife seem to flex and bend a little more than I liked so It got thrown in a drawer with the rest of my failed edc knives.
 
jamesbeat said:
No experience with the Echelon, but the Skyline is my number 2 knife after the RAM.
Perfect for carry as it's light weight. Blade deploys smoothly and easily, handle is a good shape and is very 'grippy' amd the blade is a really useful size and shape. Inexpensive too.
I lost my first one, and my wife replaced it. I was so pleased I could have kissed her :D
Like all Kershaws I have owned, both the RAM and both of my Skylines have been top quality fit and finish, razor sharp out of the box, hold their edges well, yet are easy to sharpen.
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that I can't carry spring assisted folders, all the kershaws mentioned above are longer than 3 inches (even by a little)
 
elbowtko said:
I forgot to mention that I can't carry spring assisted folders, all the kershaws mentioned above are longer than 3 inches (even by a little)
Click to expand...

No big deal, I actually took the torsion bar out of my Echelon and like it much better. The R.A.M. and Skyline are non-assisted, but you can de-assist any Kershaw from what I hear. Kershaw puts a detent and ball setup like any non-assited knife so you can take the torsion bar out and still have blade retention. Again, not sure all assisted knives have the detent but my Echelon did.
 
If the strength of the blade on the delica ffg worries you keep in mind it is available with a saber grind. I prefer the minigrip for edc but only because mine is a Ritter with custom scales and it is more fun to play with. The delica is probably the more useful, utilitarian blade.

the benchmade is probably going to give you the most satisfaction when you open the box, but in actual use, the delica might be the better knife...
 
The Kabar Dozier Folding Hunters are very good quality for their price. For your price limit, you could probably get 3 or 4 of them :D Not that you would need that many but just putting the suggestion out there.
 
Vote on BM Grip or Spyderco Native

Both are cheaper than the CS AK47 but have better blade steels. The AK47 is more of a SD than an EDC knife imo
 
Out of the box thinking... In Cali you can carry a fixed of any size in the open. Scrapyard 311, scrapaviore or 511 would kick ass.
 
Under three inches ? The only knives in my inventory that might be useful to you are my Boker Ergo and Boker Sandalwood.

Right at three inches I would say my Ka-Bar Dozier Hunter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top