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brooksie967 said:
I'm really liking the Lionsteel options, specifically the titanium handled stuff.

Anyone have other $500 or less options for a sexy titanium folder with nice steel?
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A search for "Spyderco Titanium" will turn up some things that may be of interest. I have their "gentleman's knife" in CTS-XHP, and I love it.

If you pick the Pochi, though, I'm going to have to pretend I never spoke to you.
 
I have a Bugout that is my EDC for both at work and home. When I am not working, I also carry a 3" Elmax fixed blade that is made from 3/32" stock and a carbon fiber handle as well as the Bugout. Its in a kydex sheath with a UtiliClip XL and I carry it around 4pm on my waist and rarely notice that it's there.

I used it to baton some firewood this weekend; I was at a friend of my wifes get together and they tried to start a fire pit with wood in the 2-5" square dimension wood and some sticks they picked up in the woods...LOL. Cardboard was their kindling. They cut some of it with an ax, but it wasn't starting at all. I whipped out the knife, found some smaller pieces around 2-3" square and took another smaller piece and batoned 2 pieces down into smaller kindling and did some fire sticks and was able to get the fire going for them. I started at the corners and worked my way into the piece. Knife is a full flat grind with distal taper, so I wasn't wacking too hard on the tip when batonning, but it worked great!

Another option would be to get a nice Puukko. They work really well for bushcraft stuff and with the hidden tang and wood or leather handles, can be extremely lightweight. The Mora are nice, but I prefer a nicer handle and higher end steel personally. Malanika makes some seriously awesome stuff!! It's not too expensive to get yourself a Lauri blank and some leather washers and make it yourself as a fun project, too!
 
If you're looking for something to start fires with, just bring some tampons. :)
 
Taz575 said:
I have a Bugout that is my EDC for both at work and home. When I am not working, I also carry a 3" Elmax fixed blade that is made from 3/32" stock and a carbon fiber handle as well as the Bugout. Its in a kydex sheath with a UtiliClip XL and I carry it around 4pm on my waist and rarely notice that it's there.

I used it to baton some firewood this weekend; I was at a friend of my wifes get together and they tried to start a fire pit with wood in the 2-5" square dimension wood and some sticks they picked up in the woods...LOL. Cardboard was their kindling. They cut some of it with an ax, but it wasn't starting at all. I whipped out the knife, found some smaller pieces around 2-3" square and took another smaller piece and batoned 2 pieces down into smaller kindling and did some fire sticks and was able to get the fire going for them. I started at the corners and worked my way into the piece. Knife is a full flat grind with distal taper, so I wasn't wacking too hard on the tip when batonning, but it worked great!

Another option would be to get a nice Puukko. They work really well for bushcraft stuff and with the hidden tang and wood or leather handles, can be extremely lightweight. The Mora are nice, but I prefer a nicer handle and higher end steel personally. Malanika makes some seriously awesome stuff!! It's not too expensive to get yourself a Lauri blank and some leather washers and make it yourself as a fun project, too!
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No offense but you had an ax available but you batoned with your knife instead? If you choke up under the ax head you can make some pretty fine kindling.
 
It was a horrible ax, no edge on it (blunt and rusted) and the head was lose. I tried to choke up, and it wouldn't bite into the wood at all. I put some bigger pieces of wood under it to try to get it to bite into the wood more with a firmer base under it and it still didn't bite in. Wood was a bit wet still, too, which made it more difficult. I got my Browning Shock and Awe Tomahawk (tacticool piece) from my truck and it worked better than the ax did which tells you how bad the axe was! Sad to say, my little blade worked better than the Ax or Browning tomahawk. I need to put a better hatchet in my truck and get rid of the tacticool piece! I want to get a Silky Accel Pro 240mm (I have one and love it), good hatchet and a larger camp knife into each of my vehicles, along with a basic fire starter kit.
 
Taz575 said:
It was a horrible ax, no edge on it (blunt and rusted) and the head was lose. I tried to choke up, and it wouldn't bite into the wood at all. I put some bigger pieces of wood under it to try to get it to bite into the wood more with a firmer base under it and it still didn't bite in. Wood was a bit wet still, too, which made it more difficult. I got my Browning Shock and Awe Tomahawk (tacticool piece) from my truck and it worked better than the ax did which tells you how bad the axe was! Sad to say, my little blade worked better than the Ax or Browning tomahawk. I need to put a better hatchet in my truck and get rid of the tacticool piece! I want to get a Silky Accel Pro 240mm (I have one and love it), good hatchet and a larger camp knife into each of my vehicles, along with a basic fire starter kit.
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Ok, understood now. :)
 
It was a s*&t show! I have a 7" 80CRV2 blade, 3/16" thick that I made for heavier wood duties to pair with my smaller EDC blade, but didn't have it in my wifes vehicle that we took with us. No ferro rod on me, either, so we had to use some of the smoldering cardboard from their fire starting attempt (cardboard, gasoline, big chunks of wet wood...how did it not work?!?!!?!?!?!) to light my feather sticks, and then built a teepee with kindling, then some of the smaller sticks, then the smaller stuff and got a nice fire built up. They just had everything lying flat in the pit, no air flow to it either.
 
Hence...tampons. They come pre-compressed, packaged individually in a waterproof wrapper, and even just a single one tends to provide enough cotton kindling to get almost anything started.
It may have sounded as a joke, but it really wasn't; they're one of the best compact and portable firestarters...
Although admittedly we'd usually just cheat and take some fuel from our MSR fuel bottles. :D
 
Yeah, tampons would work well! Makeup pads or cotton balls with some vaseline, fatwood shavings, magnesium shavings, etc, even ranger bands and gorilla tape work as tinder! I made up some char cloth a few years back, now I gotta remember where I put it! Even using a 90 degree sharp spine can make some nice wood fluffy shavings, too. My opinel spine was great for this!

I talked to a buddy of mine this past Sunday; he has the newer bugout with aluminum scales and M390 blade; he told me he batons with his folders. No thanks! I did like the more solid feel of the aluminum handles over the factory handles though. I have been eyeing some LionSteel M390 blades, but gotta save my pennies so I can buy the house I am renting currently!
 
I think Bob Terzuola makes the best EDC knives especially if your life depends on it.

Spyderco has a license to copy some of his knives.

Next, I would consider the classic buck knife that has been made for lots of years. It comes in all different kinds of steel. If you damage the blade Buck will replace the blade for not much money.
 
coxhaus said:
I think Bob Terzuola makes the best EDC knives especially if your life depends on it.

Spyderco has a license to copy some of his knives.

Next, I would consider the classic buck knife that has been made for lots of years. It comes in all different kinds of steel. If you damage the blade Buck will replace the blade for not much money.
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Spyderco does not have a license to copy his knives. They are collaborative efforts between Terzoula and Spyderco. Just like Spyderco has and continues to engage in with numerous designers.
 
The number one issue for using a folder for hard-use tasks is the handle. Folders almost universally have to be designed with carrying comfort as a strong influence. This means the handles are nearly always slim and often angular and this results in hot spots.

I absolutely love the feeling of the Spyderco Manix 2 in my hand. It really feels fantastic with or without the finger choil. I can do a lot of work with one but when I start having to really grip down hard and use force, it will start to hurt and fatigue my hand rather quickly. And that is one of the most comfortable folder handles I've used. It's just the nature of them. Many people find this to be true of their folders once they have to start gripping real tight.
 
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I have to confess that I have a fair number of Spydercos. It's mostly driven by a desire to try out a lot of different steels. I have one in my pocket every day, and there's not one I don't like a lot. I find them very comfortable and functional, from the Dragonfly up to the Police 4.
 
Spyderco's Gayle Bradley folder might be one to consider.

M4 steel, several features are designed from a "hard-use" working perspective.

This video is about the GB1, but some of the features being discussed live on in the GB2.

 
Rangen said:
I have to confess that I have a fair number of Spydercos. It's mostly driven by a desire to try out a lot of different steels. I have one in my pocket every day, and there's not one I don't like a lot. I find them very comfortable and functional, from the Dragonfly up to the Police 4.
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I have and have had a bunch of Spyderco's. Far and away my favorite folder brand. I'm usually carrying a Dragonfly or Chaparral every day bit once in a while I'll mix in one of my more gentlemanly options. But for many years, a Spyderco in some form or another has been my primary knife and that includes when I actually worked for a living. ;)
 
I carry a Buck or a Bob Terzuola Spyderco. If I go hunting, I also carry a stick knife and something to sharpen them. More than likely it is an old Gerber steel that I bought in high school. I have a small Buck Arkansas stone set I bought in high school that I use sometimes depending on the hunt.

I have a nice Benchmade folder which I like but I never seem to carry it.
 
HumbleHomeCook said:
I have and have had a bunch of Spyderco's. Far and away my favorite folder brand. I'm usually carrying a Dragonfly or Chaparral every day bit once in a while I'll mix in one of my more gentlemanly options. But for many years, a Spyderco in some form or another has been my primary knife and that includes when I actually worked for a living. ;)
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Nice! But I thought that the Chaparral was the gentlemanly option.

SMALL Chaparall.JPG
 
HumbleHomeCook said:
Well, in the Spyderco world yes.

But I was meaning a little more...

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unfortunately much of the traditional market is on fire pricewise, just like kitchen knives.

I do, however, highly recommend a lionsteel slipjoint. I like my little bestman better than any case or GEC Ive ever owned by far. I have this model:

carry it when the sebenza is too large/inconvenient

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Yes, there are some really classy (I mean suit-compatible) knives out there and for the most part they really are not cheap, but part of the reason is, that this is a rather niche category so the sales volume is low. I just made an impulse order of Bexar from the Tactile Knife Company - a little, thin, lightweight Titanium slipjoint. I should arrive in a few days - I will keep this thread posted :)
 
I have a Cobble Blade Agent I got because it's cool, if you wanted something cheaper and fun that still has a pretty tough blade I would be willing to sell.
 
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