What's a good knife? - Page 2

Exitwound · 02-11-2010, 10:27 PM

I just love my Tops Dawn Warrior:

DirtySteve · 02-12-2010, 06:06 PM

Cold Steel makes some pretty durable stuff, with an extensive line depending on what you'd like.

10 Bears · 02-12-2010, 08:45 PM

I still haven't watched my latest Cold Steel Video.
It's still in the packet, along side the puter.

cdhknives · 02-12-2010, 10:20 PM

Mostly you get what you pay for. If you swim with it (don't laugh, I wade fish in saltwater with a knife in my pocket) you have different needs than someone in dry New Mexico who chops kindling to start campfires with their knife.

My EDC: Benchmade Griptillian, the D2 version exclusive to Cabelas. I've been carrying it for 3+ years. I sharpen it once a year or so, and touch up the edge every 2-3 months. I would buy the current (non-Cabelas) version with 154CM steel though...it was a 440C or D2 blade when I was looking years back. I absolutely LOVE their AXIS lock mechanism.

My 'disposable' boat, boning, and fish cleaning blades: Dexter/Russel Sani-Safe

My cooking knives: 440C blades I made myself

My hunting knife: O-1 Tool steel w/mesquite handle that I made myself

Count me as one who likes a knife blade so hard you can't sharpen it with traditional stones. That's why they make diamond grit sharpeners and they work fine...plus I'm really good with a belt grinder if it needs heavy sharpening.

With folders especially you get what you pay for. Benchmade, CRKT, Microtech, Spyderco, etc. are fine blades.

For an EDC blade there just is no reason to not get a good stainless steel. Rust and losing them are the 2 biggest reasons most people lose the services of a favorite pocket knife. You can get good 440C or 154CM blades for well under a hundred bucks. D2 is also good, but it will rust a bit faster than the previous two.

For really high end folders, look for CPM steels (generally CPM-S30V or CPM-154CM) or VG-10. D2 is great if you keep it clean. There are a few other exotic blade steels also that are top shelf.

For fixed blades, it really depends on what you are doing with them. Most pocket knives get similar usage, but people like to use fixed blades for everything from filleting perch to prying open crates or splitting wood. Simple carbon steels are extremely tough and relatively cheap. They rust if you look at them wrong. The same steels as mentioned for folders work for medium blades that don't get whacked by hammers or used as prybars. For really big blades, stick to simple (sometimes called spring) steels until you get to the really high end. There are some exotic shock resistant steels out there for those who really want something they can hammer into a rock wall without it snapping, but be prepared to pay.

Then we can get into laminated and/or pattern welded steels, exotic handle materials, ad nauseum.

Fun stuff!

Pogo · 02-16-2010, 04:08 PM

I just found one of my knives that I thought I must have lost. It was in one of my foot lockers with a bunch of other junk.

10 Bears · 02-16-2010, 04:21 PM

What's a good knife?

Final answer:

A sharp knife.
It's allways the dull ones that hurt you!

Pogo · 02-16-2010, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10 Bears

What's a good knife?

Final answer:

A sharp knife.
It's allways the dull ones that hurt you!

There are so many different good knives, it would be impossible for everyone to agree on the same one. And you are right about it needing to be sharp.

10 Bears · 02-16-2010, 04:33 PM

I remember the "Old Guys" sitting in fromt ot the store, whittling sticks.
Just making a pile of slivers.
Some slivers would be real curley and others were straight, but thin as paper.

The curly shavings were the result of a sharp knife.

One of those "Old Guys" made reference to dull knives.
Don't remember exactly how it was said, but summed up, "A dull knife is worthless!:

baboon · 02-16-2010, 09:04 PM

I just recently lost a Microtech mini UDT. Really pisses me off as I'm sure a co-worker see me drop it & picked it up. I've carried & use my MOD Mark I CQD Dieter more then any other. I bought an early one @ the S.H.O.T. show when it was in NOLA years back. Wish it a the glass breaker.

5knives · 02-16-2010, 11:21 PM

Interesting opinions and answers.

There's an old Norwegian folk saying that translates as ...

"A man without a knife is a dead man."

That's also the answer the King of Norway supposedly gave an ambassadors wife at a formal reception years ago, when she noticed a knife under his coat and asked him why he carried it to a party.

Might even be a true story.

True or not I agree with the sentiment.

Regards,

...

TinmanIA · 02-17-2010, 09:02 PM

Cold steel knives put up with allot of my abuse, I stab tin duct work with it for starter holes, I throw them occasionally, I even used my old one to start my bike when the solenoid went out again. Thru my abuse the Cold Steel Recon 1 folder lasted 2 1/2 years, thats a record Buck cones in second with there crosslock model, it lasted a year and a half.

Moon · 02-21-2010, 12:16 AM

I've got a Cold Steel Voyager XL, tanto blade, unserrated. The metal in it is pretty soft, which means it sharpens to a razors edge very very easily. Of course, the problem with that, is that it gets dull faster. A few passes over a stone, and it's razor sharp again.

02-11-2010, 10:27 PM	#16
Exitwound Red Blooded American Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2,288	I just love my Tops Dawn Warrior: __________________ Fear is the mind killer.

02-12-2010, 10:20 PM	#19
cdhknives S. Texas Redneck Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: South Texas Posts: 173	Mostly you get what you pay for. If you swim with it (don't laugh, I wade fish in saltwater with a knife in my pocket) you have different needs than someone in dry New Mexico who chops kindling to start campfires with their knife. My EDC: Benchmade Griptillian, the D2 version exclusive to Cabelas. I've been carrying it for 3+ years. I sharpen it once a year or so, and touch up the edge every 2-3 months. I would buy the current (non-Cabelas) version with 154CM steel though...it was a 440C or D2 blade when I was looking years back. I absolutely LOVE their AXIS lock mechanism. My 'disposable' boat, boning, and fish cleaning blades: Dexter/Russel Sani-Safe My cooking knives: 440C blades I made myself My hunting knife: O-1 Tool steel w/mesquite handle that I made myself Count me as one who likes a knife blade so hard you can't sharpen it with traditional stones. That's why they make diamond grit sharpeners and they work fine...plus I'm really good with a belt grinder if it needs heavy sharpening. With folders especially you get what you pay for. Benchmade, CRKT, Microtech, Spyderco, etc. are fine blades. For an EDC blade there just is no reason to not get a good stainless steel. Rust and losing them are the 2 biggest reasons most people lose the services of a favorite pocket knife. You can get good 440C or 154CM blades for well under a hundred bucks. D2 is also good, but it will rust a bit faster than the previous two. For really high end folders, look for CPM steels (generally CPM-S30V or CPM-154CM) or VG-10. D2 is great if you keep it clean. There are a few other exotic blade steels also that are top shelf. For fixed blades, it really depends on what you are doing with them. Most pocket knives get similar usage, but people like to use fixed blades for everything from filleting perch to prying open crates or splitting wood. Simple carbon steels are extremely tough and relatively cheap. They rust if you look at them wrong. The same steels as mentioned for folders work for medium blades that don't get whacked by hammers or used as prybars. For really big blades, stick to simple (sometimes called spring) steels until you get to the really high end. There are some exotic shock resistant steels out there for those who really want something they can hammer into a rock wall without it snapping, but be prepared to pay. Then we can get into laminated and/or pattern welded steels, exotic handle materials, ad nauseum. Fun stuff! __________________ I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.

02-16-2010, 04:08 PM	#20
Pogo Mystic Knight of the Sea Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: The Great Swamp Posts: 81,997	I just found one of my knives that I thought I must have lost. It was in one of my foot lockers with a bunch of other junk. __________________ .................................................. ....................................… *We have met the enemy, and he is us!*

02-17-2010, 09:02 PM	#26
TinmanIA Demon of the Midwest Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: In a room with no windows. Posts: 4,118	Cold steel knives put up with allot of my abuse, I stab tin duct work with it for starter holes, I throw them occasionally, I even used my old one to start my bike when the solenoid went out again. Thru my abuse the Cold Steel Recon 1 folder lasted 2 1/2 years, thats a record Buck cones in second with there crosslock model, it lasted a year and a half. __________________ Don't you ever stand for that sort of thing. Someone ever tries to kill you, you try to kill 'em right back. 3% Throw Me To the Wolves, I Will Come Back Leading The Pack

02-21-2010, 12:16 AM	#27
Moon IncogNegro Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5,825	I've got a Cold Steel Voyager XL, tanto blade, unserrated. The metal in it is pretty soft, which means it sharpens to a razors edge very very easily. Of course, the problem with that, is that it gets dull faster. A few passes over a stone, and it's razor sharp again. __________________ "Thou shalt not be a son-of-a-bitch". Magnus392, from Rules of Chuck 00011

02-12-2010, 06:06 PM	#17
DirtySteve Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 4,798	Cold Steel makes some pretty durable stuff, with an extensive line depending on what you'd like.

02-12-2010, 08:45 PM	#18
10 Bears Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: E-Da-How Posts: 137,846	I still haven't watched my latest Cold Steel Video. It's still in the packet, along side the puter.

02-16-2010, 04:21 PM	#21
10 Bears Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: E-Da-How Posts: 137,846	What's a good knife? Final answer: A sharp knife. It's allways the dull ones that hurt you!

02-16-2010, 04:33 PM	#23
10 Bears Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: E-Da-How Posts: 137,846	I remember the "Old Guys" sitting in fromt ot the store, whittling sticks. Just making a pile of slivers. Some slivers would be real curley and others were straight, but thin as paper. The curly shavings were the result of a sharp knife. One of those "Old Guys" made reference to dull knives. Don't remember exactly how it was said, but summed up, "A dull knife is worthless!:

02-16-2010, 09:04 PM	#24
baboon slug Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Out by the lake in central Texas Posts: 18,338	I just recently lost a Microtech mini UDT. Really pisses me off as I'm sure a co-worker see me drop it & picked it up. I've carried & use my MOD Mark I CQD Dieter more then any other. I bought an early one @ the S.H.O.T. show when it was in NOLA years back. Wish it a the glass breaker.

02-16-2010, 11:21 PM	#25
5knives KaBoom Kontrol Modulator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Colorado, Western Slope Posts: 16,229	Interesting opinions and answers. There's an old Norwegian folk saying that translates as ... "A man without a knife is a dead man." That's also the answer the King of Norway supposedly gave an ambassadors wife at a formal reception years ago, when she noticed a knife under his coat and asked him why he carried it to a party. Might even be a true story. True or not I agree with the sentiment. Regards, ...