looking to upgrade my collection

R

RICHARD BYARS

Joined
Sep 26, 2016
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This year I was all ready to upgrade my collection and buy some knives in the $500 and up category. I have looked at Spartan Harsey, Les George VECP, Rocksteed, Koenig Arius, Chris Reeves Inkosi, Demko AD 20.5. Of these I do want a Rocksteed (looking for used), but not that impressed with the others. I know there are those on here that really like all of these knifes.
For reference the last two knives I bought are Sharp By Design Mini Evo and I Volsteed RSKaoss. I liked the RSKaos, but found it a little too big for EDC. Will use it for camping or when aI know I will be using a knife. The Mini Evo I really like and will be just admired for now.
I have tow questions:
1. Any Suggestions on 500ish knives that I should look at. A little less is also ok.
2. Is there something that will remind me of the Mini Evo at a much less price that I could use for EDC?
Also, as you can see I will buy from China, but I do prefer to buy from anywhere other than China.
Thank you for your comments and don't be too hard on me on the knives I am not that impressed with. I do know they are all great knives.
 
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I really like my Inkosi, but if you're looking for a knife with drop-shut, snappy action, to flip open-closed it's the exact opposite of that. CRK's have great action but it's more of a controlled intentional opening than a flick open knife. CRK fans are gonna flip, but I'd say it's more of a dad-knife, it's a very well put together tool that will last a lifetime of use, but it's otherwise boring. I'd personally go for a Les George or Koenig, but I'm probably saying that because I already have an Inkosi and Sebenza in my collection. I'm actually looking to get a VECP but I overspent on Microtechs...
 
Why would you need anything else?

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Every time I see a picture of a Zaan and it's not in my pocket I'm sad.
 
OP, did you just look at the knives that you mentioned, or have you actually used them?

The reason why so many people are going to suggest a Sebenza is because CRKs are designed and built in a way that feels very solid and practical. You won't get a sense for that just by looking at photos, and probably won't come to fully appreciate it until you've spent a good amount of time with one. Most people go through the same process of being underwhelmed by their minimalist aesthetic but eventually coming to appreciate how thoughtful the design is and refined the manufacturing is. They aren't as satisfying as fidget toys, but if you're actually going to use the knife they're great.

If you want a sleek fidget toy, though, Shirogorov is the more obvious high end choice. Rike's higher end stuff like the Cybertrix and Lamella get placed head to head against much more expensive knives for their drop shut action, too.
 
I'll go ahead and disagree with the above comments and take it in a different direction...

I was not personally impressed with the CRK I tried out. They're great knives... but they're just... solid. Solidly built, solidly useful, etc (everything but solidly priced, in my own opinion). I'm going against the flow here (of course this is all just personal preference), but I feel like you can do a lot "nicer" for the money.

For the general range you're looking at, I would go:

Arno Bernard iMamba. These are basically updated sebenzas with much faster, snappier action (gorgeously glassy smooth as well), and additional features. The only possible con is that they use 154CM on all versions (I think), but that's only a con if you think it is. Made in South Africa, so not American but not Chinese either. Having had both, I would take the iMamba any time.

Shiro NeOn. I recently sold my Mini Evo, and the NeOn is half the reason. These can be a little tricky to find under $600, but if you do they're an excellent smallish EDC in the same size and weight range as the Mini. For me, it's the design and the action that really does it. There are others knives that are "better" in all areas in terms of functional use and even production quality, but I love my R20 for what it is. Made in Russia. Might be better than China to some people, might be worse to others.

Those are the two smallish recommendations I have, but here's a few larger knives...

Vero Isotope. Integral beauty, made by Bestech for Joseph Vero. These can be somewhat difficult to find, but they're excellent knives.

CKF Persian. These are also extremely nice. And I mean extremely. They're also available around, either from ncblade or here on the exchange. I recently sold mine as it was a little too large for me to consistently carry (and I wanted a Holt Haptic), but I may end up regretting that.

My final recommendation is the Reate Torrent and New Torrent, which are basically Chinese made XM-18s. Extremely solid tanky knife (if you like that sort of things), as well as being extremely well made. Mine is the original in M390 from 2015, and it's still going strong in all aspects. Still perfectly smooth, solid, etc.

Similar to the Mini but cheap? That's hard, given that the Mini has some of the best action on any knife I've owned (and for sure near the top for a small knife). I'd recommend a Civivi Elementum. Similar overall profile, can be had for quite cheap, and just a good, usable design. Nowhere near the action and production quality though (you do get what you pay for).

Anyways, just my thoughts and opinions. :) Let us know what you go with!
 
CRK.
iacchus said:
if you want fidgety action but CRK style, look at the Arno Bernard iMamba.
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True.
As somone mentioned above, it can take time to get into/used to CRK. Arno Bernard is more forgiving in that sense too.
 
A lot of good information....thank all for your input! OH, by the way I have not handled any of the knives that I mentioned or have been mentioned. There is not a quality knife shop near me that I am aware of. I have seen a lot of reviews and just haven't been impressed enough to buy any.
 
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RICHARD BYARS said:
A lot of good information....thank all for your input! OH, by the way I have not handled any of the knives that I mentioned or have been mentioned. There is not a quality knife shop near me that I am aware of. I have seen a lot of reviews and just haven't been impressed enough to buy any.
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And that right there is one of the reasons I feel this place is pure gold. Honest, educated opinions by folks that are intimately familiar with knives. It's the great equalizer to online purchasing.
 
RICHARD BYARS said:
A lot of good information....thank all for your input! OH, by the way I have not handled any of the knives that I mentioned or have been mentioned. There is not a quality knife shop near me that I am aware of. I have seen a lot of reviews and just haven't been impressed enough to buy any.
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Kinda what I thought. Just no way to understand what CRK ( or most really) is unless you have handled one. I double down on my Sebenza suggestion. Pick up one on the exchange, give it a try. If its not for you, sell for most if not all of your money back.
 
That Sharp By Design Mini Evo is one fine knife! To be honest, I’m not sure going up to $500 is going to make that much of a difference in quality from the Mini Evo. I have a few of those knives which you listed, including the CRK, and the Mini Evo compares pretty well. Maybe I just don’t realize the small nuances, but don’t expect to notice a significant difference at the $500 price point. Anyway, that’s been my experience.
 
Before dropping that much on a knife you might want to think about the opening method. Do you think you’ll be happy with the slower, more deliberate action of a CRK, Spartan/Harsey, etc.? I only ask because more often than not it seems that many who are new to the higher end knife world or are used to flipping or Spydie flicking their knives open end up extremely underwhelmed when finally handling a thumbstud equipped folder with more of a hydraulic action.
 
If you want to spend near $500
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Mine flicks open easily with thumb or middle finger...though some may have seen that was not the case at first. I sent it back to SHF for a different reason & asked them to check the action because it did not open/close smoothly.
If you want to spend less
PXL_20231112_213453933~2_copy_1184x920.jpg
This took some getting used to, and a bit of KPL, but - afterwards - it was my regular carry for nearly 3 years (and I still carry it at work). It's small; but feels great in hand...and I've never felt under-knifed while carrying it.
 
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