Recommendation? Work knife

teddy1093

teddy1093

Joined
May 12, 2017
Messages
412
Looking to change up my work carry. For about 2 years or so it’s been a rat 1 in aus 8 it is a great knife with not so great steel,as long as you keep up on it. For no other reason than I think it’s time for a change, image.jpg I would like something no bigger than the rat and better steel.Around 100 dollars would be good. I work as a house painter so cutting plastic to bag windows on a ladder is tough for anything traditional(ease of opening). And I think a thinner blade stock would also be better.Blades that I own and are in the running are
Delica s30v,
Para3
Full size griptillian
And being a painter means this knife will see a lot of dust from sanding and will get paint all over it among other things that possibly will trash it.And around 100 feels like a good price to possibly trash and be ok with.Smaller is also ok but not to small. Thanks
 
I would avoid Axis*, Bearings, and Speedsafe, they will not work as well when they've been exposed to enough dust and grit. There have been times where lockbacks accumulate grit in the blade catch and it failed to seat properly, making it fail or at least develop play until it's cleaned out.

What about the Kershaw Skyline? It's a simple design with a thin 3" blade, made in the US, that can be trashed and replaced without much worry. It's a liner lock flipper with thumb stud backups, so it's easy to open and close one handed even if it starts to get dirty. It runs on phosphor bronze washers, so if you keep it dry and go easy on the oil the dust won't collect into the pivot too badly. It's a partially open construction so you can take it to a garden hose to clean it out, and disassembly/cleaning is ridiculously easy for when it gets really dirty. As for the steel, 14C28N is only marginally better than AUS-8, but the blade geometry will keep on cutting. If you don't have a Skyline yet try one out, they are a pretty popular knife for a reason.

*Edit: I hereby rescind my disrecommendation of Axis locks.
 
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MarkN86 said:
I would avoid Axis, Bearings, Speedsafe, they will not work as well when they've been exposed to enough dust and grit. There have been times where lockbacks accumulate grit in the blade catch and it failed to seat properly, making it fail or at least develop play until it's cleaned out.

What about the Kershaw Skyline? It's a simple design with a thin 3" blade, made in the US, that can be trashed and replaced without much worry. It's a liner lock flipper with thumb stud backups, so it's easy to open and close one handed even if it starts to get dirty. It runs on phosphor bronze washers, so if you keep it dry and go easy on the oil the dust won't collect into the pivot too badly. It's a partially open construction so you can take it to a garden hose to clean it out, and disassembly/cleaning is ridiculously easy for when it gets really dirty. As for the steel, 14C28N is only marginally better than AUS-8, but the blade geometry will keep on cutting. If you don't have a Skyline yet try one out, they are a pretty popular knife for a reason.
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Thanks for reply,I haven’t ever tried one but it does check all the boxes except steel.Open construction does make for easier cleaning
 
I was waiting for that one great choice. I was kinda leaning towards something different but definitely on my list
 
I don't know if I agree with the assessment that Axis locks aren't good in dirty conditions. The axis lock bar rides along the blade tang constantly and should rub off any dirt or debris without letting it significantly affect lockup. I've never seen one fail to lock open, dirty or not. I've seen a Triad lock not open fully due to being full of pocket lint, but never an axis style lock.

In fact, I'll go further. Something like an axis lock or caged ball bearing lock is easier and faster to manipulate one-handed than a liner lock or back lock. To that end, I think the Benchmade Griptilian is a great choice.

For a more rugged knife, the definitive answer in that price range is Cold Steel (American Lawman, Code 4, Recon 1, etc).
 
MarkN86 said:
I would avoid Axis, Bearings, and Speedsafe, they will not work as well when they've been exposed to enough dust and grit. There have been times where lockbacks accumulate grit in the blade catch and it failed to seat properly, making it fail or at least develop play until it's cleaned out.

What about the Kershaw Skyline? It's a simple design with a thin 3" blade, made in the US, that can be trashed and replaced without much worry. It's a liner lock flipper with thumb stud backups, so it's easy to open and close one handed even if it starts to get dirty. It runs on phosphor bronze washers, so if you keep it dry and go easy on the oil the dust won't collect into the pivot too badly. It's a partially open construction so you can take it to a garden hose to clean it out, and disassembly/cleaning is ridiculously easy for when it gets really dirty. As for the steel, 14C28N is only marginally better than AUS-8, but the blade geometry will keep on cutting. If you don't have a Skyline yet try one out, they are a pretty popular knife for a reason.
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Ditto on the skyline.
 

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marrenmiller said:
I don't know if I agree with the assessment that Axis locks aren't good in dirty conditions. The axis lock bar rides along the blade tang constantly and should rub off any dirt or debris without letting it significantly affect lockup. I've never seen one fail to lock open, dirty or not. I've seen a Triad lock not open fully due to being full of pocket lint, but never an axis style lock.

In fact, I'll go further. Something like an axis lock or caged ball bearing lock is easier and faster to manipulate one-handed than a liner lock or back lock. To that end, I think the Benchmade Griptilian is a great choice.

For a more rugged knife, the definitive answer in that price range is Cold Steel (American Lawman, Code 4, Recon 1, etc).
Click to expand...
If you move it back and forth it will clear the mechanism and lock up fine, I'll give you that. The reason I claimed it wasn't so good was that it's a more complicated mechanism and is more difficult to clean the dust out of. If you don't mind taking the time to give it extra care it'll work fine. Something simple like a liner lock will push dirt off to the side with each opening just like the Axis, but there are fewer places for the dust to go. It's a tradeoff, ease of actuation with the Axis or simplicity of construction with a liner lock. I've seen drywallers and painters come out looking like there was an accident at the flour mill, so you know that dust is going to get into some hard to reach places.
 
MarkN86 said:
If you move it back and forth it will clear the mechanism and lock up fine, I'll give you that. The reason I claimed it wasn't so good was that it's a more complicated mechanism and is more difficult to clean the dust out of. If you don't mind taking the time to give it extra care it'll work fine. Something simple like a liner lock will push dirt off to the side with each opening just like the Axis, but there are fewer places for the dust to go. It's a tradeoff, ease of actuation with the Axis or simplicity of construction with a liner lock. I've seen drywallers and painters come out looking like there was an accident at the flour mill, so you know that dust is going to get into some hard to reach places.
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Liner locks can get debris trapped in the cavity between the lock and the scale, and there is no way to get that out short of disassembly (especially on inset liner locks). It can interfere with the lock when you try to close the knife. I've had sand get into that cavity a few times and it's maddening; you could hear and feel it crunching when closing the knife, but you could not get to it as it worked its way deeper into the cavity. Meanwhile an axis lock will shove it off the blade tang, and the worst place it can get is into the pocket with the springs. That's not ideal, but it doesn't interfere with function in any way and it's not noticeable.
 
You cant go wrong with a Delica in a premium steel ie CruWear or S30. Para 3 is a little more than 100 dollars but I use mine pretty hard. The Manix has Spydercos version of the Axis lock (ease of use) and comes in all flavors of steel. Native 5s if you can get over the back lock are pretty stout and durable.

Cold Steels are tough knives built for a beating.

Kershaw/Emerson collab have a few in D2 and are built pretty tough. The clip is pretty sh!tty and easily bent tho.

Another option is the Buck Vantage Pro small (S30v, liner lock, under 70 dollars) pretty good for a heavy use knife.

-EG
 
Not the best pic.As you can kinda see getting crap inside is also a issue. I blow out whenever I can.Pic doesn’t do it justice. A lot of stuff inside. image.jpg
 
marrenmiller said:
... Something like an axis lock or caged ball bearing lock is easier and faster to manipulate one-handed than a liner lock or back lock. To that end, I think the Benchmade Griptilian is a great choice...
Click to expand...

A full size Griptilian is my go to for a larger folder. Although it’s not my favorite folder, it works so well that I own four of them.

The only problem that you may ever experience with one is a broken Omega spring. Even then you have to break both of them to be out of commission. Not a big deal really.

My knife history includes ownership of nine different Axis Lock knives and only recently did I have the spring break on one.
My 531 has the thinnest spring stock of any Axis Lock and it broke just last week. Apparently I
have been using it for years with
only one good spring.
 
I was thinking grip cause I already own one and love it. Wasn’t really sure about crud inside or getting it out.And the skyline sounds good,I have 0 experience with the steel.And does kershaw do14c28n right. But as others have said people own them for a reason.The delica in s30v and para3 I also already own.The more I think about it maybe open construction would be the way to go
 
I have had 6 kershaws, they usually last about 4-6 months before I something brakes. I would not recommend them for construction personally. I think Cold steel makes some really good knives in your price range that are a much better option. Just my 2 cents. :)
 
If you like the RAT-1 go for one in D2.
For your budget you could just about get three Kershaw Emersons.
Cold Steel American Lawman, Voyagers, etc. are rugged knives that provide value.
A buddy of mine in the well drilling business who used and abuses Mora knives as his work knife. He says that for the price they are darned near disposable.
 
If you already own a Griptilian and a Rat 1, why not stick with one of those designs for your new knife? That seems to make the most sense. At least to me.
 
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