Hey... I look at all the folding tactical knives etc. out there and shake my head.

It appears that most of them are cool toys made to impress wanna be SWAT cops.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good quality folding carry knife that might appeal to a "regular guy" like me?

I'm a Realtor, avid hunter, fisherman and not a knife collector.

I don't want to be embarrassed to pull it out to open a box at the office or in front of my friends but would like to think it would be a good knife to have on me if I lost my carry pistol.

Something that opened with one hand and I absolutely hate serrated blades.

I'll still carry my "hunting knives" when I hunt so I have no interest in multipurpose use. I want a "fighting knife" that looks like a normal knife.

I'd also like to stay under $50 but will look at anything under $150.

Ideas???

$bob$

I don't know if this will fit all of your criteria, but how about a microtech mini-UDT?

Mark,

That surely fits all my qualifications. Looks fairly tame too. Thanks...

Bad Ass RG Knife <grin>

And another...

MT Socom Elite Auto

Anyone else? Maybe something cheaper?

$bob$

You could look at the Spyderco line as well. they make high quality production knifes at a fair price. Take a look at the Endura in a non-serrated balde. It may be what you are after. BTW I have bought several Spydies on Ebay at good prices.

many of the benchmades will fit your requirements nicely.

Thanks guys...

$bob$

The best "Normal" looking folder that is also a good tactical knife is a Chris Reeves Sabenza. They are simply superb. Quite a few of the top custom makers tend to carry a Sabenza folder if they don't make folders themselves. The only problem is that they are $300 and up.
The other knife I can strongly recommend to you is the new Spyderco "ATR". If you shop around you can find one for about $200. It is money very well spent. It comes with titanium sides and an superb S-30V Blade. It has the best pocket clip I have ever seen on any folder including the Sabenza's and other high end folders. If you can somehow save up another $50 you will be very glad you did with this knife. I've probably been through 2 dozen different large folders and these two are by far better than the others.
If you just can't spend more than $150 a Spyderco Military model with the S-30V blade can be had for just under that. It doesn't have as good a pocket clip or scales as the ATR but is a good servicable knife for the money. You can use it while you are saving up for an ATR or Sabenza.
Some of the benchmades are pretty nice knives especially if you can find one with D-2 or S-30V blades, you might find one that fits your hand particularly well.
The Micotech's are well made but the better ones are over you're budget and aren't as good as the ATR. The Microtechs to me tend to be too large in the pocket. I like a knife that rides flat in your pocket and doesn't prevent you from getting keys or whatever else is beneath the knife.



The ATR is second from the bottom and the Military model is third from the bottom.



The Sabenza's are the folders on the right. One has wood panels......



The Folders on the left are all pretty good but in my had the ATR has a better feel and S-30V steel is better than anything in the benchmades other than the top knife in the box which is S-30V.

Sorry for the long post I hope it helps. PM me if any more details might be helpful in saving you some bucks on buying to many knifes like I did.........DJ

dj,

Wow... I'm overwhelmed... I'll look into them and consider getting the "right knife first time".Of course.. If the wife finds the receipt... Well.....

Thanks...

$bob$

Spiderco Military plain edge and G10 scales

Cold steel Ti-Lite folder or the GERBER SPECTRE KNIFE


Cheers,

André

I would go with a Cold Steel Recon 1 folder.They cost about $60 and are strong as nails.If you can get one that was made in Japan the blades are made with better steel.Go to Ebay you can always find them there.

quote:

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Cold steel Ti-Lite folder or the GERBER SPECTRE KNIFE

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Andre',

Do you mean the Gerber Vector?

Vector

***edit***... GAK!!! Never mind.. I found it... I only see serrated and it's discontinued but here it is...
Spectre

$bob$

yotecaller,

That Cold Steel Recon folder is serrated... I prefer smooth edges... But thanks anyway.

$bob$

bob,

I recently ordered a Benchmade Griptalian plain non serrated blade from Cabelas based on the recommendation of djpaintles. It has D2 steel which is used in many fine knives like Dozier and Ingram. I haven't put it through the pases yet but it seems quite nice. Here is the link to the knife.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jhtml?id=0022073516108a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnString=hasJS=true&_D%3AhasJS=+&QueryText=griptalian&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jhtml.22&Go.x=19&Go.y=14&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=griptalian&noImage=0&returnPage=search-results1.jhtml

Mbrook, glad to hear you got your Griptillian. Do you like the fit in your hand?
I like the Griptillian more as a Hunting knife than a tactical but of course it would work OK in that role.
LD, my Griptillian is the knife in the bottom picture on the left hand side, bottom knife. Mine doesn't have as good of steel as MBrooks does but it's still a pretty good knife, especially with D-2 steel and for only $79.95........DJ

No competition,
Any folder from either Emerson or Strider.
Both are very well made and the Striders come with a no questions asked warranty, no ifs of buts if you break your knife they will fix of replace it for free.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jindydiver:
No competition,
Any folder from either Emerson or Strider.
QUOTE]

If the contest is for the most interesting looking knives there may or may not be a contest depending on your tastes.
The cheapest Strider folder is $350, and that is for a knife with an ATS-34 blade. ATS-34 is certainly good steel but doesn't compare well against S-30V. Though harder to sharpen S-30V IHMO is far superior in toughness and cutting performance.
The Emerson's are more reasonably priced than the Striders but use 154-CM, which is near identical to ATS-34 other than .1% more Manganese. Again a good steel but nowhere near the performance of S-30V.
Benchmade and Spyderco typically reserver ATS-34 and 154-CM for their Mid-Range knives and use D-2 and S-30V for thier upscale offerings. I have and have used multiple knives in all of these steels and much prefer D-2 and S-30V......DJ

Djpaintles
I also think that S30V is great knife steel but whether or not you believe it to be tougher than ATS34 is beside the point when you take the Strider guarantee into account. The heat treatment of any good knife steel is very important also and with the Paul Boz treatment of the ATS34 in the strider knives I think you will find their knives out perform any other companies offerings in S30V (unless they also have been using Mr Boz). If you are looking for a knife that you know will not let you down when you most need it then Strider is the way to go. Someone who is willing to guarantee their knives as Strider do must sell a product that lives up to expectations or they would be quickly out of business. If on the other hand you want a knife more for the looks then there are literally hundreds of offerings by hundreds of companies.

I prefer to use D2 and RWL34 in my knives and the heat treater I use does a great job with these steels.

If you are looking for the functionality of the Strider knives but don’t want to pay the price you could buy the Buck-Strider collaboration knife, but of course you wont then have the Strider guarantee.

OK... It appears that, for my needs, the Benchmade Griptilian with D2 steel and the "plain blade" (non-serrated) is the ticket and is within my stated budget.

I've spent quite a few hours looking at all the recommended knives and reading about them.

Thanks to everyone for their advice and assistance.

Now... I have a question.

Why are the serrated blades so popular? It seems that they would be a PITA to sharpen and all they are good for <?> is sawing rather than slicing...

Also Cabela's seems to be out of them so I thought I'd save some money on ebay anyway so I jumped on there and it appears that they're also made in 440 stainless which I'm sure is inferior to the D2. In fact I couldn't even find D2 mentioned so I'll prolly backorder from Cabela's.

$bob$

LD, Hopefully Cabela's will get some more of the D2 Griptillians. I beleive that they were a special run just for Cabela's. My local dealer said that they weren't part of the normal production but that he had heard of a special run.

ATS-34 is simply not as good of a knive steel as S-30V IMHO and for my preferences YMMV. I have a few Custom ATS-34 knives some of them with BOS heat treatment and they are nowhere near the performance of my S-30V blades. Strider knives are good as are several others, many with equal warrenty's. Striders would be even better if they used superior steels that now are available. For what they charge for blades they should be able to afford the more expensive grades of steel. On high end knives I like to have high end steel................DJ

Oh yeah, LD I hate serrated blades too.......DJ

djpaintles
can you name even one company that has a warrantee the same as Strider?

Buck, Gerber, Kershaw?

quote:

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Buck, Gerber, Kershaw?

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All make good knives, but break the blade in two and no way in hell any of them will give you a new knife.

Chris Reeves, Of course you are much less likely to somehow break one of his S-30V Sabenza's than you would a ATS-34 blade... ..........DJ

bob,

I checked with Cabelas and they said that the Griptilians are backordered in Black, Plain Blade, but they expect to receive more on the 20th of January. You can order and they will ship when they come in.

Chris Reeve does indeed make great knives, and his Sebenza has to be one of the best users around, but his warrantee does not cover you if he deems you to have “misused, abused or neglected†one of his knives. Strider knives do not have any such qualifiers on their warrantee, if it breaks they will replace it.

you mentioned one handed opening, check out the Kershaw ken Onion knives. there are many styles and profiles. Check out Outdoor Source in Dothan Alabama, good prices and selection. i realize these knives aren't up to some peoples standards but they are a very good value for the average guy.

I love half serrated blades if you need to cut a rope in a hurry they are the trick and they arent that hard to sharpen.Two years ago we had a young horse tied to a stock trailer while loading a bull,the bull frightened the horse and he lost his footing and slipped under the trailer with his head and neck straight up he was thrashing around no way to untie but I was able to slash the rope w/my benchmade and got him out unhurt.w/regards

Take a look at the Buck Odessy (sp). It is available in a serrated or nonserrated style, good one hand knife, pocket/belt clip, liner lock. Takes care of just about everything right up to fixed blade requirements. It is easy to replace when someone "borrows" it for a year of two. I have many pocket knives, this is the one that seems to always be there.

Edit to add, JMHO on this one, but the only thing "bad ass" about a knife is the guy holding it.

That griptillian does look nice. How thick is it? Thick knives in my pocket bug the heck out of me, but that is where I like them except if I am working outside in the summer, usually I have shorts with no pockets so a belt clip is handy to have too. The mini griptillian even looks nice, though it may be too small for my tastes, have to see one in real life.

The Griptillian is a little thicker than average. That is one of the reasons they usually feel very good in hand.
If you prefer a flatter knife you might prefer a spyderco.......DJ

I received a notice from Cabelas that the Griptillian with the D2 steel plain nonserrated blade is again available for shipment. It had been on back order.

Mbrook, How are you liking you D-2 Griptillian. Have you sharpened it yet?

DJ,

The first Griptillian that I ordered was given away as a Christmas present. I ordered one for myself during the backorder and it should be here any day.

Thank you again for your help.

I would recommend a Camillus EDC with plain edge.

Under $50, not too radical looking, and a CM154 blade. American made too, if that matters to you.

ASS_CLOWN

Ak Mar SERE

dj etal,

Just ordered my Griptillian today... Plain blade (not serrated) and green handle. I'll let you know how I like it.

Thanks for all the free advice and support.

$bob$

The Griptilian is a great knife. I am sure you will be happy with your choice, but can you stop at one.

Yeah... I've never been the collector type. It's just a great tool to me.

$bob$

OK... I've had the Griptillian for a couple of days now and I am convinced that it's so far better than any knife I've ever owned that I finally stopped carrying my Gerber 500 that I've carried for about 8 years now.

The Griptillian is my everyday knife now. And this damned thing is SHARP!!!!!!!!!

It's actually sharper than the razor blades I've compared it to.

If it holds a edge as well as you guys have indicated it will then I have found the "perfect knife" for me.

Quite simply an amazing cutting tool!!!

$bob$