Recommendation? Best folding knife around 4" blade?

Status
Not open for further replies.
John Citizen said:
I'm not concerned about money if it means it will be quality and last a lifetime.

The only thing is the exchange is only functional in the USA and a little bit in Canada, and if you hovered over my name, you would realise I'm Australian; but anyhow I would definitely prefer something new.
Click to expand...

That would change my recommendations, what's readily available over there? I would probably recommend less US made things.

The website used to list location right by the avatar, I think. I don't make it a practice to research every person's location and personal details unless I'm doing business with them and I need it.

You can get some inexpensive knives that will last a lifetime, but the fit and finish may not be as great.

With so little information to narrow things down for you, I think a good next step is to get onto a knife website and search by blade length. Blade HQ has a pretty good filter feature, not sure what the go-tos for Australia are. There are a couple guys on the forums from Australia but I think I've met most of them in the Busse thread/sub-forum.
 
MrPocketsOfSteel said:
I see you mentioned the S35VN. I was always curious about that steel and another just recently - pu the 6" Ti-Lite with that steel. So far so good. I always strop it after whittling and see no use of peeling away any steel by using my stones, I bring the sides perfectly together and even did a nice cold shave with just a bit of soap and my face was smooth as a babies behind. That's a fine steel to me so far and I don't see it changing shortly, is this the steel you are speaking of?
Click to expand...

Yes, the current version of the Cold Steel Recon 1 has a CPM S35VN blade. I also mentioned that some dealer exclusive Buck 110 editions also use the same steel (DLT Trading has done at least two). It's not the latest and greatest superest of the super steel, but it's really good with a proper heat treatment and good edge geometry for most pocket knife tasks.
 
MrPocketsOfSteel said:
Meant also to say - what did you mean by "lasting only a few years"? Surely not the entire knife itself...no? Or did you mean what I originally thought you meant by not having to actually sharpen it for a couple years, because that's what I see happening with mine. Response would be appreciated because you definitely got me curious. TIA. :0)
Click to expand...

I actually wrote, "will last more than a few years," which was addressing one of the criteria specified by the original poster to imply that the Recon 1 is a durable tool that will provide many years of good service.

How often you need to sharpen will depend on how you use it, how much you use it, and how sharp you need it to be. If you mostly carve wood, it's going to stay sharp for a long time and stropping will keep it that way for an even longer time. If you cut dirty, gritty carpet or non-skid tape with it, the edge is going to need more attention on a more frequent basis.
 
I sort of came into this thread from another direction, and didn't realize it was in the general knife forum. I'm usually in the "traditional" forum, so that is what prompted my first reply.... I also didn't notice the "4 inch" parameter..... reading comprehension is apparently not my forte'..... :rolleyes:

My recommendation would be the Spyderco Police model. The blade is just over 4", and it's a hefty feeling knife. I think there are several options of it, as well, serrated, non-serrated, etc... I think the price hovers around the $200 area.
I have a couple of Spyderco knives that I really like, but they are closer to 3" blades....
 
Spyderco Endura at 3.75" is a great knife. I've carried one or another version since 1992. I love lockbacks for carrying. If you are set at 4 inches The Spyderco police is an option. Liner lock knives are not my first choice but when I do carry one it is the Spyderco Military. Both the Endura/Police and the Military can be had in stainless and non stainless tool steels if you take time and look around.

I find Spydercos in general to fit my hands and the ergonomics with the opening hole just suits me. For me they get into my preferred grip and open faster than an automatic but a lot of that would be muscle memory from decades of use.

Buck and Cold Steel also make some great products. Try to find a store that will let you hold the knives and open and shut them a few times. Everybody has different needs and likes. The coolest looking knife with the perfect features on paper just might feel like a block of wood in your hand and you will eventually give up on using it. Get what works for you. Finding that takes exposure to knives in person and not looking at specs on the computer. If you have gun and knife shows in your area that is a good way to see knives you won't have the opportunity to see in stores if your area is like so many now.

Good luck.

Joe
 
I'd say the crooked river by benchmade. Axis lock !makes for easy deployment and closure. You can customize one to your liking on their website. All sorts of choices.. I love my Damasteel ladder pattern crooked river!!IMG_20200624_144641.jpg
 
No - your friend can carry as many as he/she wants. If it is only for the functions of knives, any one of these alone should be sufficient.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top