What kind of folder do you carry?

P PharetH

The 111, by my account is a pocket sword. It's one I've tried but couldn't bring myself to believe I would carry.

With Shiro I've promised myself I would only buy something that I would 100% carry and use. For the right example, a beautiful CD in the right configuration I could see myself carrying on occasion but a serial model, no. So the 111 wasn't a keeper.

I'll try to take a couple comparison shots for you today.

For the record. Shirogorov is a very collectable brand. Sergey's full customs sell for well over $10,000 USD each. Recently they just did a lottery where you have a 2.7% chance to win something, presumably a full custom, which has not even been shown and the "ticket" costs $455 USD. They did 7 draws like that, so about 255 tickets and they sold out in a couple hours.

So my personal rule about buying only users is completely based on personal reasons so I'm not wanting to imply Shiro isn't collectable. They are made as users, much like CPK.

CPK, because of what Nathan, Jo, and now Mark, in collaboration with Lorien have created will be my last collectable knives. Anything I buy outside CPK must be users.
 
JustinFournier JustinFournier Have you ever compared your shiro's to a Rockstead? Absolutely no experience with either one, but they both appear to be highly regarded, top shelf production folders (and please pardon me if that description is off base). I'm assuming they are in the same class/category, but are they? Thoughts?
 
TRfromMT TRfromMT Tony, my bestest knife buddy bought a couple to try them but found them lacking. Personally the high polish is not my thing.

So far the closest contender is a Rask. I'll be going in on one when the books open again.
 
PharetH said:
JustinFournier JustinFournier Is the Shirogorov 111 as big as it looks? Any chance you could post photos of your various models next to the EDC for scale.
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Here is a pic I took to illustrate the size and profile differences between several knives.

So we have the NeOn, EDC, HaTi or 95 which are the same size, the F3 and the FK.

They are lined up at the base of the handle, and the cutting edges at the choil are all parallel so you can see profile differences.

IMG_0632.JPG
 
I scored this ole Airframe off the BF classifieds, and it showed up today. It was pretty grubby, the lock rocked like crazy, the action was shit and the edge was dulled pretty much its entire length. Hauled it apart, found the sources of its genius, and put it back together. Now it's a swan!

Hoorah for William Harsey!





it's a little too big for edc, but man is it light!
 
JustinFournier said:
Here is a pic I took to illustrate the size and profile differences between several knives.

So we have the NeOn, EDC, HaTi or 95 which are the same size, the F3 and the FK.

They are lined up at the base of the handle, and the cutting edges at the choil are all parallel so you can see profile differences.

View attachment 748009
Click to expand...

Perfect, thanks so much. Looks like I need to look at a NeOn.
 
Resurrecting this one from the deathbed!

After getting into folders costing in excess of $100, $200, $300 and even $400 (I know, nothing to sneeze at for some of you nutters!) which had not been my normal modus operandi prior to joining BFC and meeting a certain young Mr. Fournier, I went through a bunch of different makers, models, etc but kept always coming back to certain Spyderco because of where they felt hitting that sweet spot for me (price / performance / utility & use). As much as I loved the aesthetics and the craftsmanship of certain CRKs, their blades and the fact that I can NOT sharpen their usually dull and obtuse S35VN edges for sh*t, made me part ways with all my CRKs despite the fact that I LOVED their Ti handles and their tight tolerances. #sad!

Anyway, I had been keeping my eyes on the Spyderco Marcin Slysz "Bowie" for a while (now discontinued) but never pulled the trigger although by all account it gave the vaunted Sebenza a very good challenge for $100 less. My reasons for not getting one: first of all, I was not in love with the bowie shaped blade (before Nathan's dump ;) ) and didn't really care for the CTS-XHP as I felt that in the spirit of having become a steel snob, a "better" blade steel should've been offered at $300 :rolleyes:. So while I was digging around, I came across this little nugget, the Marcin Slysz-Spyderco Spydiechef (stupid model name IMHO). What I noticed immediately about it was that hump in the handle which is very reminiscent to that CPK-EDC which was my most favorite feature of the CPK-EDC as that shape handle increased the torque. I have had this "Spydiechef" only for a few days but I am very impressed so far despite a couple of minor issues which it came with (namely very noticeable lock stick which has now been rectified but the lockbar is still stiff which hopefully should improve with use over time). This thing is made out of LC200N which is an almost stainless steel (I have read that the steel's properties are similar to cronidur 30) which is a slicing demon plus the blade ergo and the handle shape make this a pleasure to use on a wooded cutting board in the kitchen, although it is not necessarily just a kitchen knife despite the goofy moniker, but perhaps an excellent all around EDC with a none-intimidating blade shape which will both bode well and perform extremely well on the outside World (it cuts cardboard and performs other tasks like none's business). It is a slim knife yet very robust and tough. So far, so good :thumbsup:

P.S. perhaps one day I will get a Shiro just to see what all the fuss is all about, but in the meantime Justin can cool off his jets :cool:. My takeaway from experimenting with CRKs: I miss their Ti handles so I love to get other quality folders with Ti handle scales!

P.P.S. scored this one for $35 less than the standard "MAP" pricing since Walmart, yes LOL! Walmart!!!, was offering a $35 WM credit card statement credit if one applied / qualified for one from their affiliated bank (forgot the name already!) I didn't mind playing with their $ and being floated 30 days and get the knife which I wanted for less than MAP :p

kZP2Iba.jpg


PmusxHD.jpg


HYEh7YC.jpg


qieqddk.jpg
 
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Casinostocks said:
Resurrecting this one from the deathbed!

After getting into folders costing in excess of $100, $200, $300 and even $400 (I know, nothing to sneeze at for some of you nutters!) which had not been my normal modus operandi prior to joining BFC and meeting a certain young Mr. Fournier, I went through a bunch of different makers, models, etc but kept always coming back to certain Spyderco because of where they felt hitting that sweet spot for me (price / performance / utility & use). As much as I loved the aesthetics and the craftsmanship of certain CRKs, their blades and the fact that I can NOT sharpen their usually dull and obtuse S35VN edges for sh*t, made me part ways with all my CRKs despite the fact that I LOVED their Ti handles and their tight tolerances. #sad!

Anyway, I had been keeping my eyes on the Spyderco Marcin Slysz "Bowie" for a while (now discontinued) but never pulled the trigger although by all account it gave the vaunted Sebenza a very good challenge for $100 less. My reasons for not getting one: first of all, I was not in love with the bowie shaped blade (before Nathan's dump ;) ) and didn't really care for the CTS-XHP as I felt that in the spirit of having become a steel snob, a "better" blade steel should've been offered at $300 :rolleyes:. So while I was digging around, I came across this little nugget, the Marcin Slysz-Spyderco Spydiechef (stupid model name IMHO). What I noticed immediately about it was that hump in the handle which is very reminiscent to that CPK-EDC which was my most favorite feature of the CPK-EDC as that shape handle increased the torque. I have had this "Spydiechef" only for a few days but I am very impressed so far despite a couple of minor issues which it came with (namely very noticeable lock stick which has now been rectified but the lockbar is still stiff which hopefully should improve with use over time). This thing is made out of LC200N which is an almost stainless steel (I have read that the steel's properties are similar to cronidur 30) which is a slicing demon plus the blade ergo and the handle shape make this a pleasure to use on a wooded cutting board in the kitchen, although it is not necessarily just a kitchen knife despite the goofy moniker, but perhaps an excellent all around EDC with a none-intimidating blade shape which will both bode well and perform extremely well on the outside World (it cuts cardboard and performs other tasks like none's business). It is a slim knife yet very robust and tough. So far, so good :thumbsup:

P.S. perhaps one day I will get a Shiro just to see what all the fuss is all about, but in the meantime Justin can cool off his jets :cool:. My takeaway from experimenting with CRKs: I miss their Ti handles so I love to get other quality folders with Ti handle scales!

P.P.S. scored this one for $35 less than the standard "MAP" pricing since Walmart, yes LOL! Walmart!!!, was offering a $35 WM credit card statement credit if one applied / qualified for one from their affiliated bank (forgot the name already!) I didn't mind playing with their $ and being floated 30 days and get the knife which I wanted for less than MAP :p

kZP2Iba.jpg


PmusxHD.jpg


HYEh7YC.jpg


qieqddk.jpg
Click to expand...
That has an interesting shape.
The handle looks pretty comfortable.
 
Standard78 said:
That has an interesting shape.
The handle looks pretty comfortable.
Click to expand...

Rocks really well on the cutting board and it slices really well too. There are a couple of other negatives about the knife itself but nothing really that would make me obsess over the shortcomings. It's a keeper for me, for a while anyway, because I did not have anything with the sheepfoot style blade. So yes it is rather interesting but for me at least, interesting in a good way :)

Also, it is very slim and it sinks into the pocket without any bulge. The BIG NO NO for you though: not a Lefty friendly folder :(
 
Casinostocks said:
Resurrecting this one from the deathbed!




PmusxHD.jpg
Click to expand...

Looks like a beast!

Hey, Nothing wrong with a little variety when it’s justifiable. I have 1 Spydie and 1 Sebenza left.

They serve as great reminders I use regularly. When I look at a new Shiro and think, damn that’s a lot of money, I go look at my Sebenza and PM2, and remind myself.....

Oh yeah, it’s worth it!
 
that Gerber I posted up there^... I just saw one at Arizona Custom Knives, just listed, which sold for $335! I've listed mine for sale on the exchange for $195, so I guess I should rethink that a bit!
 
Casinostocks said:
Rocks really well on the cutting board and it slices really well too. There are a couple of other negatives about the knife itself but nothing really that would make me obsess over the shortcomings. It's a keeper for me, for a while anyway, because I did not have anything with the sheepfoot style blade. So yes it is rather interesting but for me at least, interesting in a good way :)

Also, it is very slim and it sinks into the pocket without any bulge. The BIG NO NO for you though: not a Lefty friendly folder :(
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Spyderco has quite a few that aren’t friendly to lefties! Big jerks.

I guess it’s a good thing that I like carrying fixed blades instead of folders. It saves a lot of heartache and money.
 
I've become really partial to M4 in folding knives. I now have a couple spydercos and a benchmade and I can get them just silly sharp (for me, that's a real accomplishment), just on my sharpmaker. The steel holds an edge for a long time. The benchmade contego is a bit oversized (ok, maybe a lot), but it hides in the pocket surprisingly well!

All things considered, I'd rather carry a large folder than a small fixer, so that's my personal leaning.
 
Standard78 said:
Spyderco has quite a few that aren’t friendly to lefties! Big jerks.

I guess it’s a good thing that I like carrying fixed blades instead of folders. It saves a lot of heartache and money.
Click to expand...

You know what the conventional wisdom used to say, "if you can't beat them, join them!"... I'm glad that you've bucked that one to: "since I couldn't join them, I beat 'em" :D
 
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