Spyderco Tenacious v. Kershaw Blur v. Ontario Rat

The winner? RAT 1, of course.

Spyderco Tenacious- takes up to much pocket real estate and price is to high for what you get.

Kershaw Blur- recurve blade, metal scales, assisted opening all kill it. Price a little high.

Give me a Blur with a G10 handle, no assist, and a straight cutting edge. Then I will purchase. Like the ergonomics.
 
Ontario Rat is a phenomenal knife for the money.

I had a Tenacious. My particular Tenacious had problems with micro chipping. I couldn't get it sharp. The edge would just crumble. And the action wasn't great. Loctite was neccessary.

I've heard too many good things about the Tenacious to think it's a bad knife. But I certainly had a bad one.

The Blur is a great knife, but I despise sharpening recurves.
 
Ontario Rat is a phenomenal knife for the money.
I had a Tenacious. My particular Tenacious had problems with micro chipping.

When I first started being interested in Spyderco knives, I bought a pair of identical models, one with S30V and one with VG-10 blade steels to compare them for myself. I don't remember for sure, but I think they were from the Native line.

Anyway, one of them (can't remember which!) continually chipped during use. But after about two or three sharpenings, it completely stopped doing it. It made me think the edge had been over-hardened somehow... maybe by overheating while being ground or something like that? No idea, but it stopped when I got it ground back to "fresh" blade steel.

I think my first D2 blade was on a Benchmade 710. I was, and am, very impressed with it. I've read many times that D2 makes for a "toothy" edge and it's hard to get a smooth or fine edge with it. I've never had that trouble with D2 blades.

I need to try an Ontario Rat 1!
 
When I first started being interested in Spyderco knives, I bought a pair of identical models, one with S30V and one with VG-10 blade steels to compare them for myself. I don't remember for sure, but I think they were from the Native line.

Anyway, one of them (can't remember which!) continually chipped during use. But after about two or three sharpenings, it completely stopped doing it. It made me think the edge had been over-hardened somehow... maybe by overheating while being ground or something like that? No idea, but it stopped when I got it ground back to "fresh" blade steel.

I think my first D2 blade was on a Benchmade 710. I was, and am, very impressed with it. I've read many times that D2 makes for a "toothy" edge and it's hard to get a smooth or fine edge with it. I've never had that trouble with D2 blades.

I need to try an Ontario Rat 1!

Believe me, I gave the Tenacious a solid chance. I sharpened it several times. I have had a few Case knives that took a couple sharpenings to bring out their best edge, so I can be patient. But this knife was showing no signs of improvement.

I have had bad luck with D2, personally. I struggle getting a good edge with D2. Maybe that has more to do with the blade geometry of the D2 knives I've had?

I've been very curious about Spyderco's VG10. I really want to try it. I'm a fan of blade steels that are easy to touch back up.

And yes sir, do yourself a favor and grab a Rat 1 at some point. Great action. Mine had [very nearly] fall shut action when clean, and flicked open as fast as an assisted opening. The knife was easy to get very sharp.
The only real downsides to the knife, for me, were the slick scales and edge retention. But a great knife I wouldn't mind to EDC again.
 
I have had bad luck with D2, personally. I struggle getting a good edge with D2. Maybe that has more to do with the blade geometry of the D2 knives I've had?

I'm guessing heat treat more than anything... I can easily get my D2 710 to shaving sharp and generally keep it that way by just touching it up on a loaded strop. I remember reading somewhere that D2 is one of those steels whose qualities are greatly affected by the heat treating.
 
I'm guessing heat treat more than anything... I can easily get my D2 710 to shaving sharp and generally keep it that way by just touching it up on a loaded strop. I remember reading somewhere that D2 is one of those steels whose qualities are greatly affected by the heat treating.

Ah, I'm sure you're right!
 
I have had all 3 except the Blur but I have used one of them. The Tenacious has an amazingly made steel that holds an edge like a butter knife yet the tip snaps off as if it were made of ice.

the Rat was ok. The Blur can be had in s30v on sale fairly cheap. That gets my vote.
 
Good thread! I think very highly of the Kershaw Dividend. It’s more robust than the leek, it’s also made in the USA, and it is available in several different steel options.
I like the looks of the Dividend as well. Unfortunately, they've been out of stock for awhile on that knife. The price has also gone up. I know Amazon is out. I do have the Kershaw Link which I really like. I wish it had a deeper pocket clip though.
 
A d2 rat is basically unbeatable at that price point. I live in Houston, TX and I haven't had a problem with d2, 3v, m4 whatever. Now I'm primarily just pocket carrying and not mucking about, but still never an issue. D2 has 12%(?) Cr, maybe 14%..in any case, it's just a tad under what is considered "stain-less". If it were my money (and it has been), I'd take a rat 1 in d2 all day.
Hmmm, that's interesting. The only thing that has kept me away from D2 has been corrosion resistance. I'm on the coast, and it's a really moist climate here. I've heard some people complain that they had a brand new knife in D2 steel, and on the first day, it rusted just from being in the pocket with sweat after a hard day's work. Who knows? Maybe they lied. I don't have a lot of time to spare for maintenance cleaning on my budget EDCs, but I'm damn tempted to try the D2 Rat after what you said.
 
The Rat in AUS-8 continues to be a solid value. My wife carries a Blur. It's a cool knife and 14C28N is a great budget steel. I just don't like aluminum handles and have fallen out of love with assisted opening. A big part of that is the proliferation of excellent manual actions among budget knives. More on that in a minute. First...

The Tenacious is NOT a good deal at its current price. I have a hard time justifying 8Cr13Mov on knives that cost $20-25. It's NOT a good steel relative to AUS-8, 12C27, 14C28N, Acuto 440, 9Cr18Mov, or Chinese D2. Sure, D2 can be an issue in some environments. If corrosion resistance matters though, every other steel besides AUS-8 on that list is also more stainless than 8Cr13Mov. To put this in context, the Byrd Meadowlark in 8Cr13Mov was a good deal when it cost $20. Now it costs $28.50 and I could only recommend it to someone who absolutely needed that form factor and had a severe budget restriction. Even then, I'd recommend going without and saving up.

Now for the good stuff. Have you tried Civivi? The Baklash continues to be one of their best knives. The Chronic is nice for a small knife. A lot of people are putting the Ortis up for budget knife of the year but I haven't tried it (yet). All of those use Civivi's 9Cr18Mov, which gets an excellent heat treatment and can outperform a lot of the Chinese D2. If you want D2 though, the Elementum is another gem of a small knife. Besides Civivi, I recently picked up an Artisan Arroyo. So far, I really like it. It uses their new AR-RPM9, which is a slightly modified PM version of 9Cr18Mov.
Yes, I do have a Civivi Baklash now, and I love it! I couldn't agree with you more. Lots of great info. there. I will have to look up the Artisan. I'm still on the fence about D2 steel. I haven't had much of a problem with 8cr13mov steel with regard to corrosion resistance. I actually did have a Rat in AUS 8 rust up on me, but I don't mind that so much because they're so inexpensive. I cleaned it up anyway. Thanks for the comment.
 
T
two budget knives that i recently got that i really like and feel are great values are the cold steel double safe hunter and the cold steel bush ranger lite, both are in the $30 range and are well made and decent sized folders, the double safe hunter is slimmer and lighter

double safe hunter
Image1.jpg


bush ranger lite
Image8.jpg
I love Cold Steel, and I've got the Voyager in AUS10, AD10 (my favorite knife), Recon 1 (can't have no fun if you aint got no Recon 1), and I have the 4 Max Scout (awesome). I have often wondered if any of their smaller EDC options were as good as their bigger knives. These both look good. I like the Ranger Lite the best from an aesthetic standpoint. Both great knives!! Thanks!!!
 
Hmmm, that's interesting. The only thing that has kept me away from D2 has been corrosion resistance. I'm on the coast, and it's a really moist climate here. I've heard some people complain that they had a brand new knife in D2 steel, and on the first day, it rusted just from being in the pocket with sweat after a hard day's work. Who knows? Maybe they lied. I don't have a lot of time to spare for maintenance cleaning on my budget EDCs, but I'm damn tempted to try the D2 Rat after what you said.
I had a rat in D2. I had zero problems with it. I ended up giving it to a friend that lost everything in the Paradise CA fire.

Also had a Benchmade 551 in D2.
No problems with that one also.
 
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These are some of my favorite value knives. I threw in a large Rat, and a Tenacious for size comparison.
Kizer Begleiters
VDnYbkt.jpg


Artisan Cutlery Archeo, Bestech Scimitar, Bestech Kendo
KD3JJQ1.jpg

Civivi Baklash, Civivi Praxis,damascus, Civivi, Praxis,

AFrpmyz.jpg
Those are ALL really sweet knives. I've got the Civivi Baklash and a Kizer Beigleiter. Love both! It really looks like companies like Civivi are the future for quality budget EDC knives, especially since even Spyderco budget knives like the Tenacious are over 50 bucks!! Of course, as stated by so many others, the Ontario Rat line remains a quality budget EDC option. You know, I have really nice knives, but there's a lot to be said for having a variety of quality budget EDC knives that you don't mind banging around to get the job done. The knives you listed all look really nice, though!
 
I have had all 3 except the Blur but I have used one of them. The Tenacious has an amazingly made steel that holds an edge like a butter knife yet the tip snaps off as if it were made of ice.

the Rat was ok. The Blur can be had in s30v on sale fairly cheap. That gets my vote.
I've got a Kershaw Blur in S30V which can be had in the $75-85 range, and I just love mine. For S30V steel, the Kershaw Blur is an outstanding option IMO.
 
I have multiple Blurs in three different steels, and Rat 1/2 folders in both steels. I have no interest in 8cr13mov in the Tenacious, but I really like the design. The recent upgrade in steel has caught my attention.

I carry a Blur more often than the Rats. I don’t know why, I just do.
 
Ontario Rat is a phenomenal knife for the money.

I had a Tenacious. My particular Tenacious had problems with micro chipping. I couldn't get it sharp. The edge would just crumble. And the action wasn't great. Loctite was neccessary.

I've heard too many good things about the Tenacious to think it's a bad knife. But I certainly had a bad one.

The Blur is a great knife, but I despise sharpening recurves.
This is very interesting. While I've had no problems with Tenacious, I have had a microchip issue with my PM2 (yes, it is authentic). I have also not used it hard at all. So, I don't if it's the very fine edge that it has or a bad heat treat. I mean, it's very small, granted, but it's there.
 
I have multiple Blurs in three different steels, and Rat 1/2 folders in both steels. I have no interest in 8cr13mov in the Tenacious, but I really like the design. The recent upgrade in steel has caught my attention.

I carry a Blur more often than the Rats. I don’t know why, I just do.
I love my Blur, too. Yeah, I have also heard that Spyderco is upgrading their Tenacious and other budget line knives with better steel. The price will obviously go up, but with the ergonomics of the Tenacious and S30V steel (or similar quality), how can you not want that knife when it comes out? When they do come out, I will be there in line to get one! Again, though, it appears that Spyderco is pretty much done with budget line knives.
 
When I first started being interested in Spyderco knives, I bought a pair of identical models, one with S30V and one with VG-10 blade steels to compare them for myself. I don't remember for sure, but I think they were from the Native line.

Anyway, one of them (can't remember which!) continually chipped during use. But after about two or three sharpenings, it completely stopped doing it. It made me think the edge had been over-hardened somehow... maybe by overheating while being ground or something like that? No idea, but it stopped when I got it ground back to "fresh" blade steel.

I think my first D2 blade was on a Benchmade 710. I was, and am, very impressed with it. I've read many times that D2 makes for a "toothy" edge and it's hard to get a smooth or fine edge with it. I've never had that trouble with D2 blades.

I need to try an Ontario Rat 1!
This is very interesting. While I've had no problems with Tenacious, I have had a microchip issue with my PM2 (yes, it is authentic). I have also not used it hard at all. So, I don't if it's the very fine edge that it has or a bad heat treat. I mean, it's very small, granted, but it's there.
 
This is very interesting. While I've had no problems with Tenacious, I have had a microchip issue with my PM2 (yes, it is authentic). I have also not used it hard at all. So, I don't if it's the very fine edge that it has or a bad heat treat. I mean, it's very small, granted, but it's there.

My PM2 chipped on me when it was still new. I don't hard use the knife. This always bothered me, because I've heard that sometimes S30V can be chippy.
I didn't know if I was going to have a "chippy" knife, so just the other day I did some whittling on hard wood with it. I'm thrilled to say I had no issues with the edge. I was able to touch it back up to hair shaving sharp using a ceramic stone and a couple passes on a strop.

I see you said Spyderco is coming out with better blade steel for the Tenacious? They should. $50 for 8CR13MOV isn't a good thing.
The ergos on the Tenacious are very well done. I do like how the knife is built. It has a potential to be a really awesome edc.
 
Over the years, when I thought of value EDC knife options, the Spyderco Tenacious, Kershaw Blur and the Ontario Rat would come to my mind the fastest. It's not so different now, because I own all three of these great knives and they have served me well in my EDC rotation. However, is the Spyderco Tenacious still a great value at over $50.00? It definitely was at $37.00. What about the Kershaw Blur at $60-65.00? And, finally, the Ontario Rat can still be had for at or even below $30.00.

I own each of them and the best "value" and best blade design IMO belongs to the Ontario Rat 1.

Was never really fond of the Blur (although I still own 2) and while I like the Tenacious (and the related models) it does not provide the best value especially considering the continued use of 8Cr13Mov steel and a 3.375: blade as compared w/D2 and a 3.625" blade on the Rat.

The Blur w/its higher cost w/a 3.375" and Scandik 14C28N blade and a blade shape what is the least useful, IMO, cannot compete w/either the Tenacious or Ontario Rat 1.

But, if you're like me, you'll just end up buying all 3 anyway. LOL!!! ;)

BTW, I bought all of these knives very EARLY on and I would never consider buying them again now. I keep them only for "completeness" but I really have no "need" for any of them. In fact, I'm considering selling off most of my earlier Kershaw and CRKT "budget" knives just to make room in my safe for others.
 
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