Best and Worst purchases of 2016

Well the best knife I received was a CASE 54 trapper from my LEO son and daughter.. Is laser engraved "My Dad is my HERO".. Never thought of my self as such and brought tears to my eves that my kids feel this way.. They are my HERO!!!

The worst hands down was a Spyderco GB2.. Felt like a brick and hated digging down in the liner to release the lock.. Sent it back the same day I received it.. In 40yrs of collecting knives that was the first knife I returned..

John:D
 
Will definitively be the worst knife I own using any objective criteria you care to choose...but I cannot pass up the amusement value of the CRKT Wrinkle "poop" knife.

God help me but I actually really like that knife. If I didn't hate tip down carry as much as I do I'd probably even carry that pocket turd. That blade shape is great for a lot of things, including impromptu food prep tasks.
 
Best-Anything I've ever bought with Les George's name on it. Spartan Pallas is also a solid performer out of the box

Worst-Challenor Raptor...lock bar tension is higher than it needs to be (imo) and it's heavy. On the upside the lock bar tension is starting to get easier as I break it in. I'm guessing its previous owners just kept it in the safe. Another disappointment was my Emerson SOCFK. Super tight knife that doesn't like to deploy unless it's ripped from my pocket utilizing the wave feature.
 
Best, I dunno, most of it what I got was good, none of it really stood out as being greatly above the others.

Worst, that's easy, one of the Walmart Ozark Trail folders. It's not actually a terrible knife or anything, it came sharp, locks up well, fit and finish is surprisingly good...but it's still a $4 knife using 440A steel, so it's never gonna be more than a cheap beater/giveaway/glove box knife. I like to have several folders I can keep in various places in the car(glove box, door panels, etc) that can be used to cut a seatbelt or whatever in an emergency, and for something like that, I don't wanna leave a nice folder sitting out in my car full time. Likewise, if I'm going to a concert venue or something and I dunno the exact rules on knife carry(some places I've been to allow them but once place I went to they did not), I can toss one of these in my pocket and if it does get confiscated, no biggie. So it has it's uses.
 
The best purchase I made for 2016 is my Seamus Knives Irish Uber Crossover!!
I don't have a worst knife.
 
Pretty much all good purchases this year but for bang for the buck I'll have to say the Ontario Rat 1 w/ D2 is a clear winner! Not sure how much more it would have cost them to use phosphor bronze washers or to upgrade the steel to something like M390, but if they did, something tells me it wouldn't cost $300+ and they couldn't even begin to keep them in stock! One that is growing on me more and more is a ZT0770CF w/M4. Only disappointment is the "Thwack" when it opens. Could be the coating on the blade maybe? But the more I carry it the more I like it.

As for worst purchase, and just because it wasn't "me" was a Mini Griptilian with the Spydie hole and sheepsfoot blade. Even with custom scales it just wasn't me, so I took the opportunity to give the knife, scales and all, to my nephew who has a cheap knife collection. He has three decent knives, two of which I've given him.
 
Best for me this year was what most impressed me.

I personally have not paid much attention to CRKT. Not that I disliked them, just that I always found others knives more to my liking. This year I picked up a Ripple and found that knife to be a great little flipper that was well made and designed. So I decided to buy the Homefront because of the takedown ability and the general good looks. I felt they really did something that no one else was doing.

Anyhow, I am blown away by this knife. Solid, fits my hand perfect, smooth as butter and has what I call a perfect pocket clip. Plus the takedown feature is really cool and does not affect blade play whatsoever. Also if CRKT decides to come out with replacement blades in top tier steals, they will have a run away winner.
 
Best: Shirogorov Silk Slim Custom Division,Neon Custom, and F3 custom. They are the best knives I have ever had. So many others up there though Strider,CRK,Hinderer,Spyderco are just some of the others that are up there.
Worst: clone Benchmade that I almost bought at a Gunshow. The lady was trying to pass them off as real and they were absolute garbage.


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My best is a Shirogorov Russian Dr. Death or Laconico EZC. My worst was a Brad Zinker custom Urban Trapper which I returned. Extremely light knife but the blade was sooooo thin I was worried it would snap under any pressure.
 
Best knife by far was the Spyderco Gayle Bradley 1. It so refreshing to use a knife that is designed for work. Most knives are designed to be compulsively flicked open and closed, over and over and over . . . the GB1 is designed to cut.

Worst knife: N/A thanks to YouTube.
 
Best or one i actually used the most this year was my bark river gunny hunter in 3v. It processed into the double digits on deer and gutted two. Only sharpened it once with strops in between. Was for sure my favorite knive i've ever used for that chore.

Worst is a little tougher but would have to be an old warren osborne collaboration tanto barrage i bought used. Was just a lot rougher than the pictures portrayed and was dirty enough the assisted opening wouldn't work. Got it cleaned up and it working order and gave it to a buddy.
 
Pretty happy with everything I purchased this year. I think the biggest surprise was an Andre Thorburn I purchased this year. I expected it would be nice but I was surprised by how much I actually ended up liking it.
 
Best:

CF Sebenza Insingo (small) - It turns out that with the help of CF and the insingo blade shape, I've managed to warm up to the simple pleasure of the Sebenza, at least a bit.

Worst:

Munroe Sigil - A great knife to look at, neat features, terrible to actually use, though. Clip is nifty, but works poorly. Handle is a collection of brain-damaged hot spots. Pretty though.


Because you say the clip is nifty I figure your talking about a Microtech Monroe rather then a custom from Deryk?
 
I've been considering getting a Rockstead, what was so disappointing about it?

I would say handle one personally before dishing out the money for one.
IMO there just not worth the type of money they ask for them.

I think Rocksteads marketing dept. has done a wonderful job painting there knives as a mystical, superior, scarce product from a far-far away land in which the souls of the samurai personally
test and inspect each knife before being sent out with there laughable attempt at NBTHK sword papers included with each knife.

I would wait and snag one from one of the many forumates here who put them up for sale after realizing that they spent there allowance money on the knife equivalent of X-Ray Specs and Sea Monkeys.
 
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Best-Anything I've ever bought with Les George's name on it. Spartan Pallas is also a solid performer out of the box

Worst-Challenor Raptor...lock bar tension is higher than it needs to be (imo) and it's heavy. On the upside the lock bar tension is starting to get easier as I break it in. I'm guessing its previous owners just kept it in the safe. Another disappointment was my Emerson SOCFK. Super tight knife that doesn't like to deploy unless it's ripped from my pocket utilizing the wave feature.

Agree with Les George. The VECP was my fave of the year for most of the year, but the Redencion just make me go MUAHAHA every time I look at its insane tolerances, and look and feel. The VECP is a better knife per se as it is truly useful and designed for abuse.
 
Agree with Les George. The VECP was my fave of the year for most of the year, but the Redencion just make me go MUAHAHA every time I look at its insane tolerances, and look and feel. The VECP is a better knife per se as it is truly useful and designed for abuse.
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I figured pictures would definitely help.

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Best: Hinderer xm18 Harpoon Spanto in M390, that I just got a couple weeks ago but I snagged it for only 320. Couldn't pass that one up. Or a ZT 0804CF that I happened to get for 223 from Cabelas. Didn't think it was that great while I was in the store but since it was so cheap I got it and it's continued to grow on me. Really turned me onto Ball Bearings.

Worst: There are a few That I didn't care for but mostly got them in trades or bought second hand. Spyderco Southard, was really excited for this one. It was a terrible flipper and the CTS204P did not compare to M390 or others in the same steel I've used before. I would try it again but for the price.. That's why I got it second hand.
 
Best were Shirogorov NeOn Lite and Hinderer Half Track.

Worst was Kershaw Nura 3.0. Bought on clearance for cheap, supposedly on bearings, but still doesn't flip for very well. Despite being a Sinkevich design, the styling isn't great either. Still, not terrible by any means. Just the worst for me this year.
 
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