Best knife under $500

JimMD said:
I don’t know — the Arius can take hard use and fills my XL hand better than most knives I’ve tried. Plus Koenig provides great customer service to go with the lifetime warranty.
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Hey, plenty sturdy enough for me, too. If your looking for a pocket knife shaped door breaching tool, I think there might be more appropriate choices. I just wasn't clear on what OP was after...

Too pretty... :rolleyes:
 
Lapedog said:
It’s a god value. It’s got some quirks that kind of bring the value down. (HEST 2.0 I have no exp with the Urban) It’s got a lock that seems to creep over to the right when you cut. (Fixed this by bending lockbar in abit) it’s got an overly radiused tang lockface which means if the lock wears too much it will probably be developing lock rock.

I seem to have mitigated the wear abit by not cleaning the black mark on the tang lockface that the lockbar leaves; which luckily doesn’t cause lockslip on this model (or atleast on mine)

But considering I can do those two things to mitigate the quirks the DPX HEST 2.0 is an outstandinf knife that has a way lower price than it should. The reason the price is so low seems to be due to a bad stigma that has stuck around from issues with the HEST 1.0 model.

Might as well take advantage of the artificially low price.
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Those quirks are unusual I think. I have used my hest f for several years and never had any issues, as a matter of testing I have flipped mine open every night for years and it has never developed any play or rock. *disclaimer* your experiences may vary, lol.
I turned several others on to Dpx and their input mirrors mine, no issues what so ever. I've had pretty much every major brand over the past 20 years and wouldn't trade mine for any of them. Indeed they are a great price for sure.
 
007Airman said:
Those quirks are unusual I think. I have used my hest f for several years and never had any issues, as a matter of testing I have flipped mine open every night for years and it has never developed any play or rock. *disclaimer* your experiences may vary, lol.
I turned several others on to Dpx and their input mirrors mine, no issues what so ever. I've had pretty much every major brand over the past 20 years and wouldn't trade mine for any of them. Indeed they are a great price for sure.
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The HEST F is the newer model to the 2.0 I believe so they likely resolved those issues. Its made in America rather than by Lionsteel. Does your tang lockface have a very curved engagement surface?

If you watch youtube videos on the HEST 1.0 and HEST 2.0 you will see particularly with the 1 lockrock was a major issue. Not just youtube videos. I have read alot of stuff on people having lockrock issues. I believe the 2.0 angled the lockface on the lockbar to help prevent this but when I see the super curved tang lockface it is the hallmark of knives that develop lockrock.
 
Lapedog said:
The HEST F is the newer model to the 2.0 I believe so they likely resolved those issues. Its made in America rather than by Lionsteel. Does your tang lockface have a very curved engagement surface?

If you watch youtube videos on the HEST 1.0 and HEST 2.0 you will see particularly with the 1 lockrock was a major issue. Not just youtube videos. I have read alot of stuff on people having lockrock issues. I believe the 2.0 angled the lockface on the lockbar to help prevent this but when I see the super curved tang lockface it is the hallmark of knives that develop lockrock.
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For sure mine has a slight angle in the lockface. I never had any early models but mine is made in Italy.
 
007Airman said:
For sure mine has a slight angle in the lockface. I never had any early models but mine is made in Italy.
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Yeah so it sounds like they fixed the lockface on yours.

My version is more like the knife on the right, except even worse. The fixed geometry is more like the one on the left.

StriderSMF-new-oldLockup2_zps632bf078-1.jpg


The lock on the right will likely develop lock rock. Seems like the measures I have taken to prevent it on my HEST 2.0 have mitigated the problem. Not sure how much Lionsteel’s technique of angling the lockbar lockface will help.
 
Lapedog said:
Yeah so it sounds like they fixed the lockface on yours.

My version is more like the knife on the right, except even worse. The fixed geometry is more like the one on the left.

StriderSMF-new-oldLockup2_zps632bf078-1.jpg


The lock on the right will likely develop lock rock. Seems like the measures I have taken to prevent it on my HEST 2.0 have mitigated the problem. Not sure how much Lionsteel’s technique of angling the lockbar lockface will help.
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A few years in and I am confident mine won't fail me.
 
Wolverine666 said:
Give some examples...
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OK :)
GEC, Buck 110/112, and 301/303, Case, Rough Rider (Traditionals; I have no experience with their modern knives so don't know about them) Böker Tree Brand, and some of the Böker Plus and Böker Magnum Traditionals, Opinel, Svord, pretty much anything made in Solgien, Germany and Sheffield, England ...
If you go used you have Western, Camillus, Ulster, USA made Robeson, Russell, pre- Daniels era Queen, pre- Swendon key Schrade, Imperial, Hammer Brand, NYKC, Cattaragus (spelling?) ...
 
Do
afishhunter said:
OK :)
GEC, Buck 110/112, and 301/303, Case, Rough Rider (Traditionals; I have no experience with their modern knives so don't know about them) Böker Tree Brand, and some of the Böker Plus and Böker Magnum Traditionals, Opinel, Svord, pretty much anything made in Solgien, Germany and Sheffield, England ...
If you go used you have Western, Camillus, Ulster, USA made Robeson, Russell, pre- Daniels era Queen, pre- Swendon key Schrade, Imperial, Hammer Brand, NYKC, Cattaragus (spelling?) ...
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Nice. I guess everyone has their opinions.
 
I think Hardcore Hardware doesn’t get nearly enough attention. The knives definitely fit into “overbuilt” category. They have interesting designs and impeccable fit and finish.

Maybe take some time to research this brand (also known as Australian Hardcore Hardware).

I also love my BM Adamas and TOPS/Buck CSAR-T folders.
 
$500 is usually my cap. Anything above that and it reaches beyond my comfort zone. I was going to try bumping it up to $800. But I'm not ready for that big a leap. So $500 it remains for me.

I like non-flipper Ti frame locks mostly. The beefier , the better. So right now , I'm favoring the Crusader Forge VIS Metro and a Large Inkosi w/red Micarta.

I wish I could find some knives under $300 that I really liked. Maybe the S90V/CF Yo2 and 20CV/red G10 Manix2. And I've heard mixed reviews on the Adamas.
 
I have seen their hawks and I am naturally a bit suspicious of a "hard use" tomahawk made from D2. Not exactly what I would consider the ideal steel for that purpose.
JDRanger said:
I think Hardcore Hardware doesn’t get nearly enough attention. The knives definitely fit into “overbuilt” category. They have interesting designs and impeccable fit and finish.

Maybe take some time to research this brand (also known as Australian Hardcore Hardware).

I also love my BM Adamas and TOPS/Buck CSAR-T folders.
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JDRanger said:
I think Hardcore Hardware doesn’t get nearly enough attention. The knives definitely fit into “overbuilt” category. They have interesting designs and impeccable fit and finish.

Maybe take some time to research this brand (also known as Australian Hardcore Hardware).

I also love my BM Adamas and TOPS/Buck CSAR-T folders.
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So far, I'm very happy with my HH knife. I put it through some "hard use" (but not abuse) testing last week while camping, and couldn't be more satisfied. I expected after battoning through some hard wood to make a fire, etc it might at least need to be sharpened. It didn't even scratch the coating. I think the HH stuff comes under "they do D2 right" category. For me, the MFK-02 GEN II mid-sized is that goldilocks size, neither too large or too small for most jobs and exactly what I had been looking for.
 
Spyderco Native, in Maxamet. $150 or so. Nothing can beat it, for EDC.
 
I still think the 940-1 from Benchmade is probably the best overall knife and it comes in way under $500. It's at home almost everywhere. You can kick the snot out of it, but it's classy enough with the CF to double as a more formal carry. There are better knives for particular tasks of course, but if you're looking for one knife to do it all, I think that's it.
 
The last time I was on this thread I was talking about the Arius. I guess that's no longer priced at >$500, so my new choice is the Evo Typhoon, my favorite knife of this year. Actually I think it compares well to this much more expensive knife.
pHC2N2d.jpg
 
They keep trying, but nobody can do it better than the big 3... CRK, Hinderer & Strider. If you can get a Shirogorov for under $500 I’d throw that in the ring too.
 
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