Blade suggestions please

C

Coondog27

Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
56
Hello, fairly new here, but I've been reading and poking around some lately. Any how I would like to hear some suggestions on what knofe I should look for. My daily tasks are opening paper/plastic sacks. Cutting twine, small diameter rope, and plastic twine string. (Yes, I farm.) I have a few key points that I would like:

1. Folding knife
2. No serrations
3. Something better than Kershaw 8cr13mov (holds an edge longer)
4. Decently easy to sharpen
5. Under $80
6. Has to have a blade lock of some sort
7. One hand opening, closing
8. Metal liners of some sort inside of handle
 
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I would start with a Spyderco Delica. If you want a smaller knife get a Spyderco Dragonfly. Both have superior ergonomics and are great slicers. Plus, they come in colors and are not even close to $80 (more like $58 and $45).
 
Spyderco Native 5 Lightweight can be found for under $80 and is a great knife for the price.
 
How about a Kizer Ki3304B? Design is a little out there, but darn good steel and titanium framelock for around $80 is hard to beat.
 
I have added a few more requirements that I didn't think of before. Thanks for the help so far! I have looked into the endura before. If it had that spyderco compression lock, I'd jump on that bad boy in one second.
 
Coondog27 said:
I have added a few more requirements that I didn't think of before. Thanks for the help so far! I have looked into the endura before. If it had that spyderco compression lock, I'd jump on that bad boy in one second.
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May be able to grab a used PM2 for 80 if you hawk the exchange/the bay...
 
My top pick would be the Spyderco Manix 2 LW... It can be had for around $70 at amazon. No it doesn't have steel liners but I've put mine through an unbelievable amount of crap and the knife is still PERFECT. The ball bearing lock is very strong and will take anything you throw at it! Cts Bd1 holds a very good edge and is stupid easy to sharpen.

If the no steel liners issue bothers you I would recommend the Boker Urban Trapper or The Buck Vantage Pro...

IMHO the Manix LW is what you're looking for.
 
Thanks, that manix was on my watch list too. I like the way it locks up. Very ingenuous for one hand
 
A Kershaw Blur might fit your needs - the recurve could come in handy for cutting rope and the like. For $80, you could pick one up in S30V (Kershaw does run theirs a little on the soft side to make it easier to sharpen, as I recall) or just the normal 14C28N for a nice medium of sharpenability and edge-holding.
 
2nd the Blur. Still my favorite EDC.

If you don't like a/o and-or prefer deep carry clips;
Buck Open Season folding Skinner in s30v is right at your max, comes with a sturdy leather pouch though if you prefer an alternate carry method. For a bit less the Buck Vantage Pro in s30v is a nice little no frills work horse. Both come with Buck's great warranty, and the bos heat treat on the s30v is solid. Also a tad bit on the softer side, making it easier to sharpen, but still a nice upgrade from any 8cr I've encountered...
 
snipa said:
Try an Endura 4, it's so lightweight for its blade length.
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Seconding this so hard. The Endura 4 is a spectacular knife.

Also gonna recommend the Cold Steel Voyager. That thing is an awesome value, comes in 3 different blade shapes, and is likely the strongest folder around for the money.
 
Tongue in cheek but perfectly serious as well :

The Geber EAB lite. The silver knife that is open and closed and is clipped to the money in the photo bellow.
Good stuff for what you want it for; really.



PS: I resharpen rather than replace the blade(s).
 
Cold Steel Voyager
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That would be ONE HECK OF A plastic sack and twine cutter !

You could cut the tires off one of your tractors with that !
Rims and ALL !
 
I use my knife for the same tasks you mentioned and I rotate my knives so I have a good feel for them. I would recommend the Buck Marksman. It's outstanding. Second choice Buck Vantage Pro in S30V and third....Manix 2 g10 FFG. If your dollar mark was a bit higher in would tell you to get a PM2, its my go to favorite, especially if I'm in sweats or PJ bottoms while feeding critters.I've also really enjoyed my Victorinox Hunter XT, the curved blade is awesome for cutting bailing twine. But it dulls quickly.
 
Kwon Kwang said:
Seconding this so hard. The Endura 4 is a spectacular knife.

Also gonna recommend the Cold Steel Voyager. That thing is an awesome value, comes in 3 different blade shapes, and is likely the strongest folder around for the money.
Click to expand...

However, the Voyager is made from AUS-8A, which is ranked (according to Wikipedia, at least) as comparable to 440B, or the 8CRMov13 he said he wanted to avoid. A difference in heat treating between the two companies might make the Voyager viable, but I got the impression this needs to be right the first time. He doesn't have the budget to experiment.

@Coondog - any knife is easy to sharpen with the right tools. Get something that uses diamond, and any knife sold today is easy to sharpen. That runs more money, though. If you go with softer (and cheaper) sharpening methods, the better the edge retention, the harder it's going to tend to be to sharpen. To some degree, you can pick which way it's harder - takes longer or costs more money.

Also, if this is for carrying around on the farm, is it set in stone that it be a folder? Pretty much all the knives mentioned have been in some form of stainless, which most folders are. If you open things up to the non-stainless steels (and especially to fixed blades, also), you get a LOT more options to get the kind of bang for your buck that you want. The non-stainless ones require a lot more care to keep them from rusting, something I personally hate, but if it doesn't matter to you, there are many, many fixed-blade knives that would meet all the other requirements easily. (You pay for the added complexity in a folder.) If it is non-negotiable, *shrug*, no biggie; you're the one paying for it. I just wanted to make sure that if that was a nice-to-have, you knew about the options.
 
I have a Kershaw Burst laying around that I can send you. It's 8cr13mov but it holds an edge well enough in my janitorial job. I cut boxes, rope, plastic, and carpet all the time.
 
Charles Lacour said:
However, the Voyager is made from AUS-8A, which is ranked (according to Wikipedia, at least) as comparable to 440B, or the 8CRMov13 he said he wanted to avoid. A difference in heat treating between the two companies might make the Voyager viable, but I got the impression this needs to be right the first time. He doesn't have the budget to experiment.

@Coondog - any knife is easy to sharpen with the right tools. Get something that uses diamond, and any knife sold today is easy to sharpen. That runs more money, though. If you go with softer (and cheaper) sharpening methods, the better the edge retention, the harder it's going to tend to be to sharpen. To some degree, you can pick which way it's harder - takes longer or costs more money.

Also, if this is for carrying around on the farm, is it set in stone that it be a folder? Pretty much all the knives mentioned have been in some form of stainless, which most folders are. If you open things up to the non-stainless steels (and especially to fixed blades, also), you get a LOT more options to get the kind of bang for your buck that you want. The non-stainless ones require a lot more care to keep them from rusting, something I personally hate, but if it doesn't matter to you, there are many, many fixed-blade knives that would meet all the other requirements easily. (You pay for the added complexity in a folder.) If it is non-negotiable, *shrug*, no biggie; you're the one paying for it. I just wanted to make sure that if that was a nice-to-have, you knew about the options.
Click to expand...

I find Cold Steels AUS8 to be miles ahead of 8Cr13MoV from Kershaw in my personal use and experience.

Either way, a decent Cold Steel (any model really) would be great for farm work.
 
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