The Pocket Knife Thread

[daveb]

Got a Baby Banter and a Spydie Robin on the brown truck. Thanks for all the input.

 

[parbaked]

I looked at the Chapperal, 3 inch blade is a little long and the only places they're in stock want $140 for them.

You have to look for the "Lightweight" version with the FRN scales for $95.
Out of stock most places, but you can pre-order...
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/SP...fe-cts-xhp-satin-plain-blade-gray-frn-handles

 

[daveb]

That may be the next one. Like all the positive recs about it.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

That may be the next one. Like all the positive recs about it.

If you ever get serious about one, let me know and I can take some comparison pics of the Chap LW and DF2 for you if you want.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Sal Glesser is an absolute, no BS, national treasure. Not only did he revolutionize pocket knives (thumb hole and pocket clip) he is a pillar in the cutlery world. Shiny foot prints is Sal's moto and he sincerely backs it.

 

[daveb]

I know Spydie has the best looking Booth Babes at the Knife Show in Atlanta. That's enough for me...

 

[torbaci]

Posted this before but on wring thread, so shameless repost

I usually carry different sizes of victorinox swiss knives, but wanted to treat myself to something nice, so got this, brand is kanzu, action is smooth, edge is sharp, its deer antler handle and a very handsome, too handsome for edc maybe, so i did the logical thing and ordered another, as a backup, just in case, its got a darker handle so im very happy that i did, wife is ridiculing me but whatever

 

[sansho]

here are mine.

on top is a fallkniven tre kronor 3 in mother of pearl (TK3MOP).
i carried this for a while, but it's kind of too fancy and has no pocket clip. it's a beautiful lockback knife, though. i still carry it sometimes. gentleman folder

below is some alibaba crap that i currently EDC. made mostly of titanium, but it has some stainless bits for extra hardness where it counts. i think the part that actually holds the utility razor is stainless. i got i before i was decent at hand sharpening.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Titanium-knife-Universal-box-cutter-quick_1600130469593.htmlit's also sold on amazon as "exceed tirant titanium" for $60 (!!!), lol.

it's actually not a terrible utility razor holder. it's got a liner lock and looks and feels fine. but the pocket clip is total sһit, and its flip-open action is just OK.

now that i'm comfortable with hand sharpening, i'm actually in the market for a new pocket knife. i'll read this thread over again, but does anyone have any suggestions?

i want something similar in size to these knives. a little smaller or larger is probably OK, but i don't like feeling like my pockets are loaded down with crap. for reference, this utility knife is about 9x2x1 cm (folded) and weighs 80 g.

i want something with a nice pocket clip and locking mechanism. fast-opening would be nice (flick-open or something via a finger catch?). a way to open a beer bottle would be a bonus, too. i currently use that lanyard hole thing on the utility knife to open bottles via the "leverage trick" (same way as using a bic lighter).

no budget really. i'm pretty good about not losing things, but it needs to be something i don't mind beating up. so probably not $500.

thanks

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

here are mine.

View attachment 142515

on top is a fallkniven tre kronor 3 in mother of pearl (TK3MOP).
i carried this for a while, but it's kind of too fancy and has no pocket clip. it's a beautiful lockback knife, though. i still carry it sometimes. gentleman folder

below is some alibaba crap that i currently EDC. made mostly of titanium, but it has some stainless bits for extra hardness where it counts. i think the part that actually holds the utility razor is stainless. i got i before i was decent at hand sharpening.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Titanium-knife-Universal-box-cutter-quick_1600130469593.htmlit's also sold on amazon as "exceed tirant titanium" for $60 (!!!), lol.

it's actually not a terrible utility razor holder. it's got a liner lock and looks and feels fine. but the pocket clip is total sһit, and its flip-open action is just OK.

now that i'm comfortable with hand sharpening, i'm actually in the market for a new pocket knife. i'll read this thread over again, but does anyone have any suggestions?

i want something similar in size to these knives. a little smaller or larger is probably OK, but i don't like feeling like my pockets are loaded down with crap. for reference, this utility knife is about 9x2x1 cm (folded) and weighs 80 g.

i want something with a nice pocket clip and locking mechanism. fast-opening would be nice (flick-open or something via a finger catch?). a way to open a beer bottle would be a bonus, too. i currently use that lanyard hole thing on the utility knife to open bottles via the "leverage trick" (same way as using a bic lighter).

no budget really. i'm pretty good about not losing things, but it needs to be something i don't mind beating up. so probably not $500.

thanks

You have a TON of choices based on that broad description and I don't keep up like I used to but with my Spyderco bias I'd say check out a Kapara. But again, a ton of options.

As for the beer bottles, improve your life and get a Victorinox Rambler. I have a goatee and I'm getting older so the scissors on mine are almost always in use, the toothpick is super handy, trimming/filing a nasty fingernail, popping open a cold beverage, etc. my Rambler is an absolute every day carry item. I slip mine into my watch pocket and you almost forget it's there.

EDIT: Missed the size preference so a Kapara might seem a bit long for you. A Caly might be nice or one of the Chaparrals or hell, even a Delica. Delicas are the personal favorites of a LOT of serious knife enthusiasts and a great gateway.

 

[sansho]

well, i have always wanted to try a spyderco.
i wonder if i can find a small one that i can somehow open a bottle with (with the blade closed, haha). doesn't need a real bottle opener, but i would appreciate something that can at least be used as one.

i like your suggestions and will look through their catalog.

i think carrying a swiss army knife or multi tool thing is probably not for me at this time, especially in addition to another knife. they are useful, though.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

well, i have always wanted to try a spyderco.
i wonder if i can find a small one that i can somehow open a bottle with (with the blade closed, haha). doesn't need a real bottle opener, but i would appreciate something that can at least be used as one.

i like your suggestions and will look through their catalog.

i think carrying a swiss army knife or multi tool thing is probably not for me at this time, especially in addition to another knife. they are useful, though.

Keep in mind, the Vic Rambler is tiny. You could hang it off your keys if you want but it is only about 2.25" long and quite thin.

That said, I get not wanting to carry more stuff. You might also look at a Spyderco Dragonfly 2 Wharncliffe. It has that utility blade profile of your cheapy carry and is a decent introduction to the odd-looking, yet, great performing Spyderco brand. You can always pop a cap with the gimped thumb ramp area.

 

[sansho]

it's almost an OCD thing. i have my zebralight clipped to my right pocket and a knife clipped to my left pocket. phone floats in right pocket, wallet floats in left. i don't like having other stuff floating in my pockets. with a quick feel, i can tell if i have everything -- each pocket has "clip present" and "one large floating object present".

dragon fly 2 wharncliffe seems alright. bonus points for being 2.28". i didn't mention this before, but i sometimes walk around chicago. i think blades are supposed to be 2.5" max, so i wouldn't even be breaking the law with the dragonfly. also, only 34g. tiny! that's half the weight of my current knife.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

it's almost an OCD thing. i have my zebralight clipped to my right pocket and a knife clipped to my left pocket. phone floats in right pocket, wallet floats in left. i don't like having other stuff floating in my pockets. with a quick feel, i can tell if i have everything -- each pocket has "clip present" and "one large floating object present".

dragon fly 2 wharncliffe seems alright. bonus points for being 2.28". i didn't mention this before, but i sometimes walk around chicago. i think blades are supposed to be 2.5" max, so i wouldn't even be breaking the law with the dragonfly. also, only 34g. tiny! that's half the weight of my current knife.

Spyderco actually makes a model called the Chicago.

 

[sansho]

Spyderco actually makes a model called the Chicago.

booo. that's no fun, though
haha.

you seen the Chaparral Sun and Moon?
kinda cool looking. at 2.8", it's 0.3" over the legal length limit. i'm willing to risk it.
i would prefer made in japan (this one is taiwan), but i can look past that. taiwan makes great tools. i just like japan more.

i'll continue browsing their catalog. many enticing options.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

booo. that's no fun, though
haha.

you seen the Chaparral Sun and Moon?
kinda cool looking. at 2.8", it's 0.3" over the legal length limit. i'm willing to risk it.
i would prefer made in japan (this one is taiwan), but i can look past that. taiwan makes great tools. i just like japan more.

i'll continue browsing their catalog. many enticing options.

I think those ones are hard to come by but cool for sure.

I have Spyderco's from all but their Italian origins (although I have lionSTEEL who they contract with). The Taiwan models are outstanding and generally considered top of the line in quality.

I carry a Chap Lightweight routinely.

 

[user 16756]

booo. that's no fun, though
haha.

you seen the Chaparral Sun and Moon?
kinda cool looking. at 2.8", it's 0.3" over the legal length limit. i'm willing to risk it.
i would prefer made in japan (this one is taiwan), but i can look past that. taiwan makes great tools. i just like japan more.

i'll continue browsing their catalog. many enticing options.

with Spyderco the Taiwan factory is a LOT better than the Japanese one.

also Im pretty sure Spyderco measures edge length, so depending on your friendly local law enforcement official, you may find yourself WAY over.

 

[sansho]

i'm surprised to hear their tw factory is better than their jp factory. good to know.
i googled it and read posts saying that the tw factory is better even than their golden (usa) factory. wow.

i'm pretty sure i'm getting a sun and moon chap. st nicks knives has them in stock, and maybe other places too.
but i might as well jump into spydie with both feet and get at least one more knife.

You can always pop a cap with the gimped thumb ramp area.

that might work. hard to know how easy it is to do without trying, but it's possible that it will be hard since you're only using the width (not overall length) as a lever arm. less mechanical advantage.

but then i saw this emerson wave thing that some of the knives feature, and obviously my first thought was bottle opener. clearly not intended for that, but what if it works well?

i'm probably going to get a dragonfly wave or delica wave along with the S&M chap (not to be confused with S&M Assless Chaps).

 

[applepieforbreakfast]

i'm surprised to hear their tw factory is better than their jp factory. good to know.
i googled it and read posts saying that the tw factory is better even than their golden (usa) factory. wow.

i'm pretty sure i'm getting a sun and moon chap. st nicks knives has them in stock, and maybe other places too.
but i might as well jump into spydie with both feet and get at least one more knife.



that might work. hard to know how easy it is to do without trying, but it's possible that it will be hard since you're only using the width (not overall length) as a lever arm. less mechanical advantage.

but then i saw this emerson wave thing that some of the knives feature, and obviously my first thought was bottle opener. clearly not intended for that, but what if it works well?

i'm probably going to get a dragonfly wave or delica wave along with the S&M chap (not to be confused with S&M Assless Chaps).

I could never open a bottle with my waved Emerson CQC-7. I would assume that Spyderco's wave wouldn't work that well either since it's licensed from Emerson.

 

[sansho]

i see.

it looks like it is possible, but not in the normal way:



i think i'd get beer all over myself trying that unless the bottle was resting on a table.

edit: has anyone ever tried opening a bottle with a regular spyderco using the thumb catch area?

----------

edit 2: i ended up getting a sun and moon chapperal in XHP ($161) and a blue FRN dragonfly 2 in K390 ($101.5). if i can't open bottles, that's fine. lol

exciting!

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

i'm surprised to hear their tw factory is better than their jp factory. good to know.
i googled it and read posts saying that the tw factory is better even than their golden (usa) factory. wow.

i'm pretty sure i'm getting a sun and moon chap. st nicks knives has them in stock, and maybe other places too.
but i might as well jump into spydie with both feet and get at least one more knife.



that might work. hard to know how easy it is to do without trying, but it's possible that it will be hard since you're only using the width (not overall length) as a lever arm. less mechanical advantage.

but then i saw this emerson wave thing that some of the knives feature, and obviously my first thought was bottle opener. clearly not intended for that, but what if it works well?

i'm probably going to get a dragonfly wave or delica wave along with the S&M chap (not to be confused with S&M Assless Chaps).

When reading about all things Spyderco, remember folks often have very strong feelings. In fact, a lot of folks prefer the other factories over Taichung because they feel the lines are too sharp. They're voices are often drowned out. Here's what I can say with complete confidence, they're all good. You will notice some difference in Golden, Seki, Taichung, etc. but none of those differences are bad, just different. Also, Sal has always kind of had a focus for the factories. Seki does a ton of the flagship, mid-line offerings while Taichung was setup do to a lot of the upper end stuff. So naturally people will have a perception of superior quality.

Emerson waves...ugh... So much there... Ernie Emerson is not quite the Mick (Burger) Strider of the pocket knife world but is damn near as polarizing. And, if you haven't yet guessed, I'm not a fan. But, he has a very strong following. I've owned a waved Delica and gave it to my daughter who uses it strictly for gardening (and she has three Delicas). First, you get the saber ground blade which for me, kills one of the best features of Spyderco's, the thin flat grinds. And the wave feature, for me, became a nuisance almost immediately. I don't want to have to think about or adjust my technique for pulling out my pocket knife so that it doesn't open halfway. Which is what happens if you don't use a little purpose in your pull. Don't get me wrong, it does what it is advertised to do, just not a feature I liked at all. I'm not a knife-for-defense guy so just not for me.

Most people report it is not the best for caps. I wouldn't know because I carry a Rambler.

 

[user 16756]

When reading about all things Spyderco, remember folks often have very strong feelings. In fact, a lot of folks prefer the other factories over Taichung because they feel the lines are too sharp. They're voices are often drowned out. Here's what I can say with complete confidence, they're all good. You will notice some difference in Golden, Seki, Taichung, etc. but none of those differences are bad, just different. Also, Sal has always kind of had a focus for the factories. Seki does a ton of the flagship, mid-line offerings while Taichung was setup do to a lot of the upper end stuff. So naturally people will have a perception of superior quality.

Emerson waves...ugh... So much there... Ernie Emerson is not quite the Mick (Burger) Strider of the pocket knife world but is damn near as polarizing. And, if you haven't yet guessed, I'm not a fan. But, he has a very strong following. I've owned a waved Delica and gave it to my daughter who uses it strictly for gardening (and she has three Delicas). First, you get the saber ground blade which for me, kills one of the best features of Spyderco's, the thin flat grinds. And the wave feature, for me, became a nuisance almost immediately. I don't want to have to think about or adjust my technique for pulling out my pocket knife so that it doesn't open halfway. Which is what happens if you don't use a little purpose in your pull. Don't get me wrong, it does what it is advertised to do, just not a feature I liked at all. I'm not a knife-for-defense guy so just not for me.

Most people report it is not the best for caps. I wouldn't know because I carry a Rambler.

unfortunately the pocket knife world is full of people who have some serious ****ing issues. Strider and Emerson, true, but also Doug Ritter, Mike Stewart, the lot of the Marfiones, etc.

honestly my list of folks I like in that space is smaller than the list I dont like, which is strongly the opposite of kitchen knives where so many wonderful people have been so generous.

anyway for me Ive definitely been happy with my little lionsteel slipjoint. lot of knife for the money. my long term review is very positive. they have a couple of new ones out in the jack pattern, definitely tempting.

 

[Noodle Soup]

Ok, I also have issues with Mick, Ernest, Mike and Tony but Doug Ritter? Doug is a good friend. What did he do to offend you? He is into the lobbying end of things not making pocket knives.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Ok, I also have issues with Mick, Ernest, Mike and Tony but Doug Ritter? Doug is a good friend. What did he do to offend you? He is into the lobbying end of things not making pocket knives.

Me???

I'm a big fan of Doug Ritter. He's a huge advocate for the knife community and very nice guy to boot.

I'm confused...?

 

[Noodle Soup]

I guess I misunderstood your post then. sorry.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I guess I misunderstood your post then. sorry.

I didn't mention Doug at all. I was sharing my opinion on Ernie. And Mick, well...

Anyway, all good.

 

[user 16756]

Ok, I also have issues with Mick, Ernest, Mike and Tony but Doug Ritter? Doug is a good friend. What did he do to offend you? He is into the lobbying end of things not making pocket knives.

I mean you're right he's into the lobbying side. The issues I have with him stem from personal interactions where I tried to point out some of the people he's hitched his wagon too are equivalent to selling your soul to the devil.

Also I have to point out here that one of the organizations he has closely allied his org too (a very famous capital hill group) was notorious, even at the time, for being effectively a combination grift and money laundering operation to anyone who knew anything and let's just say my gentle suggestion that working with them was bad optically was not met kindly.

This is in addition to how scummy pre-emption stuff is.

And I gotta tell you, Ive heard so many people jump to the defense of people who are POS by saying "theyre my friend they wouldnt do that" when that person has been doing just that for ages. So for me, that's not a very compelling argument.

Anyway in summary Doug Ritter might not be Mick Strider level bad but he's still exactly the sort of person I look at as being emblematic of how awful the pocket knife hobby is. Which is unfortunate because there's some really cool stuff in that world.

btw before you get all up in arms and say I just disagree with him, you gotta understand that as far as knives are concerned, we more or less overlap.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I guess I misunderstood your post then. sorry.

Not trying to drag this out, it's just important to me when I give someone the wrong impression about a topic I very much care about to reflect on what I said and how I can be more careful in the future.

I'm guessing it was my comment about not being a knife for self defense type guy that caused confusion. That's just me as an individual but if a person wants to tuck a Cold Steel Trail Master into their pant leg (yes, people do) and watch Doug Marcaida videos on a continuous loop, then I fully support their right to do so!

My issue with Ernie is that I personally find him to be the PT Barnum of pocket knives. He's quite successful at what he does though. As for Mickey Burger, well, he's a scumbag charlatan who rubs about as close to the stolen valor line as you can get without going over.

But again, those are issues I have with them as individuals not conceptually of design or rights.

I hope that clarifies and sorry for the confusion.

 

[Noodle Soup]

I certainly agree with you about Ernie. Without going into all the details, he told me he was friends with a famous rock musician and that he carried an Emerson knife. Turns out our CEO's secretary at the time was next door neighbors with that musician and socialized with him all the time. Bottom line, he had never heard of Ernie. As for Mick, I'm an ex Ranger from the Viet Nam days so I take a very dim view of his past claims. He was giving me bad vibes from the very first time I met him.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I certainly agree with you about Ernie. Without going into all the details, he told me he was friends with a famous rock musician and that he carried an Emerson knife. Turns out our CEO's secretary at the time was next door neighbors with that musician and socialized with him all the time. Bottom line, he had never heard of Ernie. As for Mick, I'm an ex Ranger from the Viet Nam days so I take a very dim view of his past claims. He was giving me bad vibes from the very first time I met him.

Thank you for your service sir.

 

[Bert2368]

Someplace around here, there's a thread I started called "cheap and good enough"?

Sometimes a more or less disposable knife is the right choice. For me it works, anyhow.

This is the FT801.

Chinese. About 3.4" blade, 110g. with FRN scales (not a light pocket knife, not ridiculously heavy either). Plain Jane 420, apparently hardened sufficiently, have not tested but I get enough edge life for my needs. Flips easily enough, locks up tight with no noticable play, well centered, needed minimal sharpening and lubrication to make it "good enough". Sharpens stupid fast and easy using nothing but a Suehiro 3,000 and a sheet of newspaper. If I lose or break one, no biggy.

$12 delivered, I bought 3. Been carrying one for a couple of months now, at work and in the garden, not babying it and not worrying if I have to use it hard/pry/abuse it either.