Help my friend find a knife for gardening and household tasks?

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metaphoricalsimile

Joined
Jun 29, 2020
Messages
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Hi, I have convinced a friend of mine that they should carry a pocket knife. They are a pretty small person with small hands and would primarily be using the knife for gardening and miscellaneous household cutting tasks, so a decent-sized blade and an action that is resistant to getting gunked up are what I'm looking for.

They also have a budget of max $100, but cheaper is better.

So I'm thinking some criteria:

  1. A blade that is about 3" long
  2. Runs on washers but not bearings
  3. Easy to one-hand open and close
  4. A steel that leans towards toughness rather than edge retention (14c28n or D2 are my initial thoughts), but absolute toughness is not needed.
Some initial ideas that sit at the top and bottom of the price range:

Spyderco Para 3 LW Ontario Rat 1 D2

Do you all have more ideas?
 
You may need two or three knives. I find what i need in the garden is totally different to whats needed in the home. Gardening may include pruning, grafting etc and certain blade shapes are better for that. Gardening i personally would go for a victorinox grafting knife and a hori hori. For inside....well the worlds your oyster.

Just my opinion of course :)
 
metaphoricalsimile said:
I think a good wharncliffe or sheepsfoot blade can work nicely for these tasks as well as opening envelopes, breaking down boxes, cutting zip ties, etc.
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Very true of course. I just wonder what kind of gardening she will be doing. Easy going gardening would be great with a wharncliffe/sheepsfoot. And of course be perfect in the house. But personally i would never trust a folding knife for heavy garden use.
 
Ruukuu said:
Very true of course. I just wonder what kind of gardening she will be doing. Easy going gardening would be great with a wharncliffe/sheepsfoot. And of course be perfect in the house. But personally i would never trust a folding knife for heavy garden use.
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Yeah, this is fairly light gardening, just things like tomatoes, lettuces, brassicas and such. Possibly the heaviest thing the knife would be used for is building trellises for tomatoes and such.
 
metaphoricalsimile said:
Yeah, this is fairly light gardening, just things like tomatoes, lettuces, brassicas and such. Possibly the heaviest thing the knife would be used for is building trellises for tomatoes and such.
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Then i would agree with you totally. A good reliable knife with wharny/sheepsfoot would be great. I wish i could recommend a knife but im not quite as knowledgeable as most the guys on this forum as to which one to choose.

Hope you find the right one though mate :)
 
I'd say Hori Hori and a pair of gardening shears. And you would still have enough in budget for a Swiss amy knife after.
 
Spyderco Pacific Salt plain edge. Hose it down, few squirts of WD40 if you want and call it good.
 
metaphoricalsimile said:
Hi, I have convinced a friend of mine that they should carry a pocket knife. They are a pretty small person with small hands and would primarily be using the knife for gardening and miscellaneous household cutting tasks, so a decent-sized blade and an action that is resistant to getting gunked up are what I'm looking for.

They also have a budget of max $100, but cheaper is better.

So I'm thinking some criteria:

  1. A blade that is about 3" long
  2. Runs on washers but not bearings
  3. Easy to one-hand open and close
  4. A steel that leans towards toughness rather than edge retention (14c28n or D2 are my initial thoughts), but absolute toughness is not needed.
Some initial ideas that sit at the top and bottom of the price range:

Spyderco Para 3 LW Ontario Rat 1 D2

Do you all have more ideas?
Click to expand...

Ajack60 said:
Spyderco Delica
Click to expand...
I like this.
Eli Chaps said:
Spyderco Pacific Salt plain edge. Hose it down, few squirts of WD40 if you want and call it good.
Click to expand...
And this, just no wd-40.

Or combine the suggestions and get a Salt 2. H1 plain edge is very tough, holds an edge like AUS8, so not great but should be fine for a non steel-snob. Besides sharpening, it would be a maintenance free, go anywhere, do anything knife.
 
Look at the QSP Penguin. D2. Stout wharnie blade, just about perfect opening and closing action. Open with thumb stud or a pinch. Micarta scales. Thirty bucks. I bought mine a a whim. It's become one of my favorites, over some much more expensive knives.
 
sabre cat said:
Not exactly what you are looking for but, how about a Mora for the garden and a SAK for in purse or pocket?

That would be a good start. The leftover cash could be used for another folder of some sort.
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I agree. If your friend is okay with a fixed blade, a Mora with stainless steel blade will do the trick. It’s reliable and inexpensive. However, do be mindful it’s still primarily a cutting tool. Activities like prying, digging and batoning may result in breakage.

But if he or she needs to have a folder, I recommend the 4” Aus10a Cold Steel Voyager. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a tougher folder at a sub-$70 price point.
 
When my wife asked for a garden knife I got her a Opinel Garden Knife #8. She loves it, but still took my XM-18 sheepsfoot.
 
Another vote for Opinel garden knife. I can one hand open mine, though it is not quick.

I use an Opinel 10 carbon for my garden and yard work knife. The 10 is a little big for a smaller person.

The stainless garden knife Opinel would be perfect.

Best part? Less than 35 bucks.

Your friend could get the garden knife in stainless and another in a pruner blade!
 
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