Best pocket knife?
 

What are people's opinions about the best folding pocket knife? I'm looking to buy something I can carry around with me anywhere (except, of course, if I'm traveling by plane). I'm partial to a knife that's just a knife (not a swiss army knife).

I have a CRKT M-16 and a Spyderco. Love 'em both. Knives are such a personal thing, though. I'd hesitate to reccomend any particular one. Just go to a knife shop and find one you like.

I'll double the recommendation on the Columbia River Knife and Tool M-16.

Good knife for the money (online anywhere from 40-60$ depending on the specific model).

I go with the old classic, a buck knife

Ive always been partial to Kershaw and Benchmade

Schrade Old timer....Good solid knife.

gerber stealth. i like it. nice solid knife.

http://knifeoutlet.com/

What do you want to do with it? Skin deer? Whittle? Defense?

If it's for defense and you don't feel like breaking the bank get a Spyderco. the Endura is nice, but illegal in some places. The Delica is pretty much legal anywhere as long as you have it clipped to your pocket so the clip is showing (if it's all the way in your pocket it's a concealed weapon and you need a permit for it)

BTW, if you don't already know how, enroll in a class to learn how to fight with it. A Kali school would be a good place for knife fighting.

Roger that on the Gerbers. Flips open real smooth.

I sell knives and swords, and make it a point to handle, fondle and generaly kick the tires on as many as i can- The CRKT endorsement is true, never yet had a customer complain, own several myself- only problem was that I frequently left mine on the dresser- soloution was a spiderco spidercard- nice folder, thin, designed to store in the wallet like a credit card- never forget it, and is nice and sharp- btw check the local laws for legal blade length- some places they get realy uptight about that , especialy cities- mostly 3" seems safe, except some realy paranoid places like boston....

Re: Best pocket knife?
 

Depending on what you want to use it for, I'd recommend Spyderco, or if you can find them, some of the old Emerson designed Benchmade's. I own two of them myself, and they have been super-reliable and useful for numerous things besides self protection. Keep in mind that they are pretty handy for that too :) .

Really, you're best option is to go to a GOOD knife shop and look at what they have. Play with a few and find out what you like. Also, the people there should be fairly knowledgeable and more than willing to help you make a good purchase.

Good luck!

Veritas en Lux!
Jimmy The Hutt

I carry a Victorinox ' Bartender' knife .
It has 2 blades of legal length a cork screw , bottle opener , toothpick and tweezers . I will not leave the house without this knife in my pocket as I use it everyday .
I also have to mention how the blade really holds an edge .

CRKT M-16. In terms of quality and value for money, you just cannot go wrong.

I have the titanium model with the spear point blade. This model also has the Carson Flipper, which you can use to open the blade. With a little practice it is like having an auto. You can get that thing off the clip and snapped open in a blink of an eye.

Opinel. It's a pitty for me that there illegal in britain.

I have a 1st generation Spyderco that is probably the best knife I have ever owned. I would buy another in a heartbeat.

I have a CRKT M-16, Kershaw 1620 both excellent. My next purchase with be a Smith and Wesson 911 first response.

Thanks for the suggestions. Tough decision. I might go with the CRKT, but considering my proclivity for leaving things I need at home, I might go with that spydercard, I always have my wallet with me.

Leatherman Waves... the perfect tool

I have an old CQC-7. I've had it since I was in the seventh grade (I'm a senior in college now) and it is still going strong. I have beat it up and abused it in every possible way, even opening bottles, swimming in the ocean, digging, etc. and it never needs more than a good cleaning and occasional sharpening.

I don't think benchmade still makes them though.

Oh, don't get a CRKT. IMHO they have a major flaw in their open design. When I worked at an outdoor stoor, we had a guy come in and tell us that we had better not sell them. As it turns out, he was on a rafting trip with one clipped to his life jacket. At one point wile paddling his wrist brushed against it and opened the blade (not all the way, I don't think) and when he pulled his arm back across his body, the blade speared him through the wrist in a really horrible way (the scar wa gruesome). I am not comfortable with a pocketknife that doesn't enclose the blade.

I like CRKT's knives in general as well. I think the knife you're thinking of, Greg700, is the CRKT KISS knife. It is much more likely to have been the knife in that story. An M-16 is a fairly standard design.

I would also ask what conditions will you be using the knife under? I carry three knives daily. One is a teensy little Victorinox that is on my keychain. Has a small blade, nail file, and a pair of scissors. I trim my nails with it, whee. Second is a smaller needle-nosed Gerber Multi-plier in a belt sheath. Given my line of work, it is handly. Coupla blades, scissors, screwdrivers, etc. Third is a Beretta Airlight with alloy scales. Prior to the job I am in now, I wore dress pants constantly. The Airlight is a very nice, slim, light knife with a pretty darn good amount of utility, and it does not show up even through thin material (I'd have to wear spandex for it to print through my clothes). As I use the Multi-plier for most cutting duties these days, I've not switched out my "pocket" kinfe for anything meatier.

So, again, what use are you planning on putting this knife to, and under what conditions?

My personal fav is the Kershaw Leek. Good sized blade, low pofile, a number of finishes, and the "speed safe" mechanism doesn't hurt either. I also like the fact that it is legal in the the state of California (for the moment).

live near 2 local factories, one that makes Case knives which i have which holds a very good edge and Ka-bar which makes knives for the army so you know its got to be durable both of these companies make unbelievably good knives at good prices

I did go with krwlz Schrade Old timer.... thats what I have.

This is a great post, i've been looking for a good knife after all the camping I have been doing this year. This got me looking around.

After looking around, I found the CRKT KISS is not recomended to be worn on the outside. That's what the rafter did wrong in the post above.

What's a good blade material? I am not worring about sharping it in the field, or it corroding as I maintain things fairly well and only go boating in freshwater.

How much quicker would AUS-8 or AUS-6M wear compared to AUS-118? I know the price difference is alot. I have not seen any advantages/dissadvantages with 440C stainless or ceramic either.

i'm going to have to go with a Case XX trapper. very well crafted and a long history of craftsmanship. cant go wrong

Me too. I've had my folding Buck for 22 years now and have beaten the shit out of that poor old knife over the years. Still works as well as the day I bought it. Gerbers are nice too.

Schrade Scrimshaw....... Keeps a great edge.

mines the one on the lower right hand corner......

http://www.newtonrep.com/images/knives5.jpg

Benchmade- Mel Pardue.


Very nice unit. Teflon coated blade, With or w/o the serrations...

good recomendation TRPF

Benchmade- Mel Pardue. its my daily carry

i have about 40 pocket knives and the only things that i will carry is Benchmade, they are US made they arethe choose for most military personel, don't rust like CRKT has always done and hold an edge very good. the other knife is a small Wenger swiss army knive on my keys, good for very small tasks....
I put my knives to use every day and the Benchmades are some of the strongest knives to have.

Best knife
 

I have a pocket knife that I use every day. It is far better than any other pocket knife so far mentioned. It is small enough to comfortably carry in your pocket, and It has a nice and quick thumb open grip. It always maintains a razor sharp edge. It requires no skill to sharpen. I cut insulation, boxes, wire, drywall, concrete board, fingernails, twigs, etc almost on a daily basis. I employ a number of men that I also require carry this knife at all times. They make them pretty impressive to look at nowadays too. I think it's about 7bucks at home depot. they fold and have disposable quick change blades. Craftsman has them too- lifetime warranty. Craftsman has them with a nice wood handle. And for around 15bucks with the Great Neck 12119, you can store blades in the handle

schrade and old timer are now defunct, have been bought by chinese firms, and are now made in china- they are not all that bad, but the new ones are not the product that the old was......

Benchmade mini-AFCK

I am a huge fan of my Emerson CQC - and they are still available, if a bit expensive. Built to take a beating, though.
I also own a CRKT M16. Only complaint is that it has started to rust around the assist-stud on the blade. Other that that, it has done increadibly well by me for the 6 years I've owned it.

Ultimately, however, it's all down to what feels right in your hand. Go to a good shop, fondle them all, take home the one you pick up twice...

I carry a Benchmade 690.

Elishewitz design, quality materials and construction, it's a pleasure to use.

Benchmade has discontinued it, but they are readily available on Ebay.

I'm going to 2nd the notion of a Victorinox knife. Just because it's a "Swiss Army knife" doesn't mean it has to be a huge one!. They make single (Junior) and double blade (Excelsior) folders that are really low profile so it doesn't look like you have a tumor on your thigh.

I have two Vict. knives I carry (at different times).
With jeans or khakis I carry the Bantam (single large blade on one side, bottle opener on the other).
With dress pants I carry the "Secretary", which is like the Excelsior but with thinner metal sides instead of the usual red plastic.

I bought a Gerber Clutch last week...It seems to meet my needs pretty well. I was looking for something tiny (which it is), with the right set of tools, which it (mostly) has. I'm not sure how durable it will end up being...there's already a little more of a 'wobble' between the two halves than I'd like, though it's put together with torx screws, so I think I can tighten it.

The feel of it for opening the pliers and tools is very 'tight' - very snappy spring-loaded action going on. The blade is decently sharp. The pliers are pretty good for their size, and include a wire stripper at the base. The other tools are:

o A nail file. Uh, ok, I guess.
o tweasers. Haven't had to use them yet. They seem to twease.
o Small flat screwdriver. Fine.
o Larger flat screwdriver + bottle opener. The bottle opener..works, sort of. So small that it takes a few tries to fully open a beer bottle.
o 'Phillips' screwdriver - not really, since it's just as flat as the flat screwdrivers, it just tapers at the end a bit. Seems to work for a fairly small range of screws.

So I'm not blown away, but hey, it was $17 and fits on my keychain. As long as it doesn't break right away, I'll be satisfied.

Are Smith & Wessons any good? I bought one on sale awhile back on a whim. I am curious as to its quality.

Iffy at best. I think they're mediocre blades stamped S&W to sell, really. Instead, get yourself a Cold Steel or a CRKT or something along those lines. Gun manufacturer tagged knives are either mediocre (S&W, Colt) or good quality with exorbitant pricing (H&K).

Bladetech makes the "Mouse Lite" a top drawer mini-folder I've grown to appreciate.

Bladetech Mouse Lite

I got several I take depending on what I'm doing. I have about three dive knives. Two small, about 2 1/2in, with saw like blades and a larger, 5in. I have two B/C's so the small ones are attached to the B/C's. The larger one I strap to my leg. I've been tangled in fishing nets and crab lines one too many times. Drop you knife and you're screwed.

I also have a "fisherman" Swiss Army. It's a little big and clumsy but has a ton of tools on it. It keeps a good edge, IMO.

And I have a Geber Gator 3in. It opens with a flick of the wrist and keeps an edge well. Someone gave it to me for taking them fishing several times one season. I wouldn't have bought a Geber. I have another on my Ex gave me nearly 30 years ago. It has my name engraved on it, but is worthless and won't hold an edge for shit.