Tell me about EDC pocket knives

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AZjeff

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I have lots of pocket knives but no "good" ones, to me a $35 knife is expensive. That said, I'd like to own one decent pocket knife and due to personal reasons would like to buy a Benchmade brand knife. I looked on their website and just never realized you can pick the type of steel in the blade, which I know nothing about. Beyond knowing I want a locking folder what features do you knife guys like and/or find necessary? thanks.
 
Bench Made and the like are for people where money is no object or just collectors who will never carry or use them IMHO. That said, if your going to carry and use it don't get a serrated blade, they are fantastic until they loose the edge then a PITA to resharpen. If you want a real world useful knife get a leatherman of a sort that covers you needs. I have many knives but I carry a leatherman "rebar" and a "style" and never want for something to cut with or perform minor grasping and holding tasks. Real men carry a knife everyone else is just NPC.
 
I have carried a knife since my early teens. Started with a Boker folding knife and progressed over the years. There are many brands to choose from. It will depend on the style and application you are looking for. In my case, I carry a Spyderco Gayle Bradley 2 folder on the right and a Spyderco Gayle Bradley Air in my left pocket. The Air is for opening mail and packages. The M4 steel holds a edge for a long time. The only negative to some is that it is not stainless so some oil is needed on the blade to keep rust away,, just like blades of the past. I use motor oil.

Check your local laws for any restrictions. Some localities regulate the length of the blade. There are many different kinds of locks and deployment types. I would peruse the Spyderco forums and Bladeforums.com for some good research and ideas.
 
Steel-wise, you can spend a lot of money for it to retain its edge longer and longer. Diamond, SiC, and Al2O3 stones (Norton/India) will cut through all steels, where Arkansas stones will have trouble wearing through Hard Carbides like tungsten or vanadium carbide, present in many "V" or high speed tool steels (M-[#],T-[#]).

I would say get a steel that retains its edge for any typical task you see, and for as long as you would like to go without resharpening.

This site has a great amount of info regarding metallurgy (serving a lot of Advance High Strength Steel [AHSS]) : https://knifesteelnerds.com/
This is a place to start if you want.

Just know there is no "perfect" steel, just one that meets your needs, including price.
 
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I've been using an economy all stainless steel knife. I use it for opening boxes, cutting nylon straps, opening envelopes. I would say I use it every other day or so. It's light weight and durable.
I've had it almost 10 years and never needed to sharpen it yet.

You can get them on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B007XP26OS/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new
$4.74 USD

Here is mine after 10 years:


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Originally Posted by AZjeff
I have lots of pocket knives but no "good" ones, to me a $35 knife is expensive. That said, I'd like to own one decent pocket knife and due to personal reasons would like to buy a Benchmade brand knife. I looked on their website and just never realized you can pick the type of steel in the blade, which I know nothing about. Beyond knowing I want a locking folder what features do you knife guys like and/or find necessary? thanks.


The choice of steel is due to edge retention, high carbon will retain sharpness longer, but it's harder to sharpen, softer steel will sharpen easier, but you'll have to da more often. Some will make a blade from stainless others not, I personally like a non stainless blade it has more character.
 
Not trendy or glamorous but check out Buckknives.com. Buck knives are guaranteed forever and made in Idaho. I carry a Buck 288 assisted open lock back with a pocket clip. It fits my pocket perfectly, and I don't even know it's there. I bought it at Walmart for about $30.
 
+1 for BUCKKNIVES. I have carried the same 2.5 inch single blade for 30+ years that I inherited from my father who used it for 25 years? Ed
 
I carry a Ganzo G7441 that is a copy of a DPX HEST 2.0 knife. I paid $15.95 for it
 
Originally Posted by wdn
I carry a Ganzo G7441 that is a copy of a DPX HEST 2.0 knife. I paid $15.95 for it


I picked up two ganzo's after they came highly recommended to me.

They are typically knock offs or replicas of more expensive well known brand knives but they are very well made. Very impressed with the quality and sharpness of their sub $20 knives.
 
Originally Posted by gman2304
Not trendy or glamorous but check out Buckknives.com. Buck knives are guaranteed forever and made in Idaho. I carry a Buck 288 assisted open lock back with a pocket clip. It fits my pocket perfectly, and I don't even know it's there. I bought it at Walmart for about $30.

I need to clarify my above post. Some Buck knives are made in China. The American made Bucks have USA made, with the American flag on the box.
 
How about an Opinel, like a #8 ? They're inexpensive and well made. The lock isn't traditional, but works well. I believe you can get stainless, mine is plain carbon steel. It's pretty light with it's wooden handle too.
 
I want a pocket knife to carry in my pocket, and the Opinel is the best for that. I had a no8 for over 30 years, and still have it, but just upgraded to a no9 last year. Real steel blade that is always sharp...and looks horrible.
 
I was carrying a small Swiss army knife but since I switched jobs and now cannot wear jeans to work I switched. I now use a small Klein 44032. It's small and slim and good looking.
 
Swiss Army knife. Wenger . Birthday gift. 36 years carried and it never has let me down.
 
Thanks for the thoughts. I could have been a little more clear, not interested in a $5 or $15 knife. Got those and more, thus the $35 comment. We're winding down a large year-long project at work, a lot of overtime, and a nice ($100?) pocket knife would be a nice little reward to give myself. It will get carried and used.
 
I recently purchased a Benchmade Bugout with no serrations. I really like it. I dont consider $115 for a UDA made top quality knife with a lifetime sharpening service a lot of money. To me high end knives start at $300. Be sure to get a deep carry clip and S30V steel with whatever you get. Check out the blade hq videos as a starting point.
 
To stick with the OP's original question, when looking at knives I have very specific requirements. Some of them are; a weight of no more than 80 grams (I remove pocket clips. They get in the way of a good ergonomic handle. If the knife is heavy it does not feel good in the pocket.), a closed length of under 4", a plain edge blade, and a blade that is thin behind the grind. In the Benchmade price range you're going to get good steel no matter which one you choose. I think too much emphasis gets placed on the exact formulation. We're not talking professional chef knives here.

With that said, a few of the BM models I would like to carry are Saibu, Shori, and Mini Griptilian, I'm sure there are more, but you get the idea about setting some parameters. It narrows the field quite a bit.
 
I like pocket clips, keeps my knife handy and getting beat up by other things in my pocket. I don't carry expensive knives every day. I carry ones i can afford to lose. Fair number of schrade locks, one case i really like. Its not a lock blade but handy about $50.

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