Spyderco Military

02/09/2011 by Tom

-Price Paid: $157.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Ignore the Benchmade and Kershaw fanboys who will go out of their way to knock on the Military. It's an awesome blade and more or less unsurpassed in it's price range and length and sooner or later they'll end up buying one and loving it. Anything less than a solid 8 overall is just crazy talk.

So what makes it so darn spectacular?

1) It is long. Much longer than it's 4 inches would suggest due to the handle. It's got a slightly longer reach than the Police because of it's gripability and it has a much more solid feel to it because of the shorter and thicker blade and bulkier pivot (if it's your first Millie you're probably picking between the two, but trust me, there's really no comparison and you wont miss the near 1:1 blade/handle ratio of the Police).

2) It is light. Aside from the Escaliburesque sensation of it this is the first thing you'll notice. The weight distribution gives it a high tech air like feel like nothing else and it's what separates it from just about any other large folder on the market (for this reason I much prefer the original G10 version ahead of the titanium iterations).

3) It is slim. When you're using the clip it wont take up much more space than the Para 2 because of how high it rides in your pocket and they're both incredibly slim. Pocketable? Well it IS long, again especially if you're not using the clip, but the truth is that it's much less obtrusive than say a Manix 2 or a Tenacious once the initial shock of it's length in hand has settled. 7/16 inch in thickness is virtually nothing...

4) It is ergonomic. Spyderco has often been accused, or praised, depending if you like them or not, of being designed in the dark. The Military must have been designed by a blind man using nothing but his hands to guide him cause it's perfect.

5) It's a steal. I could list tons of other knives (both Spyderco and other brands) where a 100+ bucks doesn't feel like a 100+ bucks. I could also list tons of knives that feels like they're worth substantially more. What's unique about the Military in production folders is that money never comes into play like it would the first time you bought a smaller Chris Reeves or Hinderer. Instead; you threw some away some paper and you received a friggin light saber - unless you're a woman or a guy who likes guys your reptilian brain will be doing the thinking for you from the moment you handle it.

6) The quality. I'd say the QC from Golden is about average (ie: due to the G10 and partial liners flexing you might have to adjust it to get the blade perfectly centered). But inspite of this the quality is excellent and it has Fallkniven F1 like quality to it that just seems so great for what it is; it may not be perfect but it inspires absolute mechanical confidence. It's simplicity at it's finest. Functional engineering as an art form.

In conclusion: Buy it. You wont find a 4 inch blade even remotely close to what the Military has to offer in terms of overall lightness, slimness and ruggedness even in the $450+ range. It just works and will continue working for years and years.

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Benchmade 960 Osborne

02/08/2011 by Dan

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I have owned the Benchmade 960 since 2006. Mine is stamped with "Nov. 2003 prototype". This is an excellent knife. The D2 looks very nice and holds a great edge. I have never had to sharpen the blade and it is still very sharp. the aluminum handle is great, but the paint seems to be wearing off after all the years. The G10 inserts feel great. This is a perfect show knife. I just wish that the knife had gimping on back. It would have added some needed grip for the knife. Other then that I would highly recommend this knife to any knife collector. Defiantly worth the price.

Mora of Sweden Mora 2000

02/07/2011 by victgerbsogcamill

-Price Paid: $28.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

I was extremely pleased when I received my Mora 2000. Having only seen a picture on the Internet I ordered it. I was surprised when it arrived, it was so much nicer than the picture.

Yes it has a green handle but I liked it because it didn't look like any other knife out there. It's handle is very comfortable and very grippe.

The blade came with an almost mirror Polish, and very sharp. It feels so comfortable in your hand, great for fine wood working.

It comes with a no frills plastic sheath, but it works well for this knife. The sheath has two holes in the bottom for water/moister drain off. This would make a great boat/fishing knife. Also a great camp knife.

It's not a high dollar, high end knife, but this has got to be the best bang for your buck. These knives do not cost much. In fact the could charge double and it would be worth it.

Al Mar Mini SERE 2000

02/07/2011 by HawK Pilot

-Price Paid: $175.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 1 year

Comments:

By far one of the sharpest knives I've ever purchased. The exceptional quality of this knife is unsurpassed and my Kershaws and Bucks pale in comparison. I've purchased quite a few knives over the years and these two knives should cost considerably more given their quality. The lines are near perfection and the ease of opening is fluid and mechanically sound. I purchased a Payara after this and was equally happy. Al Mar Knives has a loyal customer for life!

Chris Reeve Large Sebenza

02/06/2011 by Charlie

-Price Paid: $350.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 1 year

Comments:

This knife is definitely in my top 3 knives of my entire life. Chris Reeves is probably one of my favorite knife makers but for a good reason; he knows QUALITY. In terms of the knife, there is just nothing bad that I can really say about it. Sure, I can nitpick small things here and there, but nothing that will seriously sway someone's opinion. Regardless, I'll try my best to hit all the major points.

Blade:

The blade ranges in the 3.6" range with a stonewashed, S30V steel. It has a hollow grind which I find to be extremely great in slicing tasks. Additionally, the steel is great in that it retains its edge very well. I use this knife primarily to cut cardboard, zip ties, and various other hardware uses, and the edge has yet to fail. Granted, there are a few chips here and there, but that is due to the heavy usage that I have put it under. Luckily, sharpening the blade is fairly decent. With an Edge Pro system, I can sharpen it to a mirror edge and get rid of all the small nicks. Sometimes, all it takes is a couple runs down a ceramic rod to touch it up, and it's golden.

Handle/Ergonomics:

The handle is made of titanium and the lock is the Reeves Integral Lock (frame lock). I love frame lock knives mainly because they are easy to use. I can quickly open and close them without any hitches. One minor complaint I might have (and this will probably be heard among new Chris Reeves buyers) is that the thumb stud is rather difficult to work with to open the knife. This is fairly true, especially if the knife user lacks any callus on their thumb/fingers. This can be alleviated through practice and constant opening/closing.

In terms of the handle shape, this also might be something that one has to get used to. However, once the user gets used to the handle shape, he will realize that the handle feels fairly comfortable for hard cutting tasks. Note, this is the Large Sebenza, so the size of the hands might matter also in terms of how comfortable it will be. Of course, like all titanium handled knives, you will have to deal with the scratches that the handle seems to attract. This is something you will have to deal with if you plan to use this knife. Remember, you're spending $300+ dollars on a knife. There is no point in letting it sit in a safe for you to look at.

History/Overall:

Overall, I've found this knife to be one of the most useful knives to date. Not once has there been any noticeable blade play, locking failures, or any form of problems. The knife is ALWAYS centered in the handle and it is easy to disassemble, clean, and reassemble. Another small hit I might have to give about this knife is the price, but this varies person to person. For a person whose life depends on the knife, he will definitely say this knife is worth every penny. It is a great knife. Nothing less. For the person who tends to use his knife minimally, then he won't find this knife to be worth it. This knife needs to be used to realize its full potential.

Nevertheless, if the knife would drop maybe to around $300, I would be more inclined to purchase this multiples of this knife more readily, but at the moment, it seems like the price point will never drop (nor is there a reason for it to). However, the complaints that I have given on it are really minor and it doesn't really compromise the functionality of the knife. Chris Reeve knives should definitely be purchased at least once in your life to appreciate how well the fit and finish a knife achieve.

Benchmade 15030 Bone Collector Axis Mini Folder

02/06/2011 by TxSxB

-Price Paid: $94.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

The Benchmade Mini Bone Collector is a fantastic knife and a pretty good value. The Mini Bone Collector features nicely contoured G10 handles with a "rib cage" cutout in them for increased grip, D2 tool steel for the just under 3" blade which gets nice and sharp and offers great edge retention. The knife also features a thumb-hole opener and Benchmade's butter smooth Axis lock, the knife is completely ambidextrous with a pocket clip position for both the left and right side. All in all the mini bone is a very good knife, tough, sexy, and very well put together. I would highly recommend this knife in the under $100 range.

Benchmade 940 Osborne

02/06/2011 by Charlie

-Price Paid: $130.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

There is a valid reason why I have bought more than one of these knives; this is because they are probably one of the most versatile light/medium use knives available. The slim design with the light weight handle makes this knife easy to carry and at the same time, applicable to every day tasks.

Blade:

The blade is in the 3.5" range with a modified reverse tanto shape. Typically, the blade will come in S30V steel (but the older models might have 154CM). The blade shape is great for most everyday tasks. With a long blade sweep and reinforced blade tip, it can handle slicing and piercing tasks easily. The S30V steel retains the blade edge fairly well, and doesn't need to be resharpened as much. However, when it does need to be resharpened, I find it easy to touch up on a rod to bring it back to a sharp edge.

Handle/Ergonomics:

The handle is made of anodized aluminum. A small complaint that would have to be made of the handle is the fact that it is a scratch magnet. If you have long fingernails and you scratch it as you pull it out of your pocket, it will probably stay there. However, this is similar to titanium handles, so it's not too big of a problem. The knife feels comfortable in the hand as it is somewhat contoured to fit in them. The clip can be modified for left/right handed carry, and is only for tip up carry. There is some minor gimping on the back of the handle, but very minor and hardly serves a purpose.

History:

I've carried and used this knife for longer than a year and I have to say it is probably one of the easiest knives to carry. It is lightweight with a long blade, slim, and tough. Additionally, because it is an axis lock, it acts as an ambidextrous knife. I believe this is a great knife, HOWEVER, I think that the price of the knife is somewhat inflated. I got it for $130 (MSRP is around $175), but honestly, I think the knife should range somewhere between $100-$110. Despite that, I still believe this knife is a great knife, and useful for any occasion.

Gerber Paraframe I

02/06/2011 by JimC

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I bought this knife while my regular knife was being modified.

I like the feel of it its light, slim, fits the hand well, and is convenient to carry. It has an ambidextrious thumb stud (though not necessary for myself). I personally don't care for the serrations on a blade. The blade tends to get loose and tightening it up with the screw helps but makes it stiffer to open also. One complaint is when carried with change it is not uncommon for a dime to slide in beside the blade of a knife, however, it gets locked into this one and can be a pain to open.

The knife is fine for the price and I don't regret buying it.

Buck Squire

02/06/2011 by JimC

-Price Paid: $32.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I've been carrying the Buck 501 Squire nearly daily for over 20 years, I'm on my 2nd one and have two others with different scales. I like slimline size, it doesn't feel bulky in my pocket. With a 2-3/4" blade its not to small for most task. It has a drop point which is less prone to breaking the tip in my experience. It holds an edge pretty good and isn't too hard to sharpen. The nickel bolsters don't seem to tarnish and the wood has stayed in nice condition. I've seen no flaws in these knives, and have no real complaints. Needless to say this is my favorite knife.

Spyderco Chokwe

02/05/2011 by tieno

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Great knife, the sebenza inspired liner lock reduces the thichness of the knife.

It's also a great idea to copy the shape of the original african chokwe knives.

I am not sure however if the pointed blade would resist hard use.

Ontario RD6

02/04/2011 by victgerbsogcamill

-Price Paid: $86.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

This is the biggest knife I own. It is a very large knife, to be honest more knife than I need. If you lived in mountains wilderness, this would be the knife for you.

It has a very thick blade 1/4 in. with a convex edge,5160 Steel, micarta scales.

I wish the scales were contoured, or thinner, it just feels so bulky in your hand. Fit and furnish not perfect but nothing to get upset about. All in all I love this knife, unfortunately it's just not practical for were I live, and the places (State parks, Nature preserves) I visit. It is such a large knife, that it would put people off.

SOG SOGzilla Large

02/04/2011 by victgerbsogcamill

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

My Sogzilla was a gift. It is large (long)for a folder in my opinion. But none the less has been a very good every day carry. After a couple months I got some blade play but once I snugged up the Allen screw, I was good to go. I use this knife constantly at work,cutting bags, boxes,even using it to pry my van door open every day (side force). It has held up. No it's not a hundred dollar knife, but for what they go for, it's well worth it. Very easy to open. I just sharpened it for the first time the other day, so the edge held up nicely. Pocket clip can be moved for either left or right handed persons. My only complaint would be the thumb hole. I do not like the split/separation. It sometimes gets caught on my pants or shirt pocket.