Spyderco Junior

12/24/2013 by pat

-Price Paid: $105.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

great knife love the lock,no blade play very light,after getting used to handle really love this for edc,only thig is price if it was cheaper I would give 10

KaBar TDI Law Enforcement Tanto

12/24/2013 by Larry

-Price Paid: $37.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

I bought this KA-Bar TDI Folder after purchasing the smaller fixed blade variant TDI Ka-Bar model. I like the sharpness of the blade of course but I'm not comfortable with the lockup its mushy because the spring lock is to weak. I won't buy another it may close on your hand I think it will fail under heavy use.

Spyderco Pacific Salt

12/23/2013 by The Giant Skunk

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 1 year

Comments:

I have owned my Pacific for about a year now. I bought it in a dive shop while snorkeling and probably paid too much but my other EDC knives were unsuitable for, well, the Pacific. I always EDC and the Pacific fits very nicely in the pocket of, or clipped to the waistband of, my swim shorts. It's light weight makes it easy to forget it's there. I purposefully did not rinse or dry the steel after a swim in the brine to test the rust proof qualities and it has been perfect. No rust at all and still very sharp. Have not felt the need to even touch up the edge. I have no issue with the pattern on the handle. Would not necessarily use this for a heavy duty survival knife but for a beach, pool, fishing, rainy season or other wet environment it is a great choice.

KaBar Johnson Adventure Piggyback

12/21/2013 by Aaron

-Price Paid: $10.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

This is one pathetic little knife. You can buy this on it's own or it comes with the Large Johnson Adventure blades the Bacon Maker or the Potbelly, either way it sucks. It is made out of a very low quality Chinese steel and is too small to do anything, but some lite carving or skinning. Look else where for a good small neck knife.

Victorinox Camper

12/19/2013 by BradGad

-Price Paid: $24.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

There are about ten Victorinox knives that I consider truly top tier, and the Camper is definitely one of them. If the Galactic Overlords decreed that everyone must carry one and only one SAK, and they assigned me the Camper, I'd be thrilled that they picked this one for me.

It's a Victorinox, so the standard comments apply: great value, fit and finish very good, time-tested tool designs. The blade takes an edge very well and is extremely corrosion resistant, but edge-holding ability is only so-so.

It's essentially a Spartan (another top-tenner) with a saw. And what a fine little saw it is! It's self-cleaning and seemingly never needs sharpening. It handles branches up to two and a half inches in diameter with ease. When camping (hey!) it's useful for partially sawing thicker firewood... make a substantial cut in a thick branch, then you can whack it against a tree and break it into smaller pieces. For detail work, it's about as good as anything you could get at a high-end woodworking shop. This knife came in super handy when I was building a chicken coop this past spring. I needed to cut openings in particle board with a reciprocating saw, and the Camper was perfect for getting the cuts started: I bored a hole through the board with the awl, then used the saw to make the first have inch or so of the cut. Once this was done, I could fit the reciprocating blade in and go to town. Not sure how I would have done it without the Camper.

The knife also has a really nice form factor. The Camper is the thickest SAK that I consider truly comfortable for pocket carry with any clothes. (The Climber/Climber Plus is just a fraction of a smidge over the line.) Comfortable in the pocket but satisfyingly substantial in the hand.

In my review of the Huntsman, I said I carry it the most often, but that seems to be changing. The Camper (with a micro-screwdriver in the corkscrew and a straight pin in the little hole) paired with a Manager on my keychain gives me an excellent tool set in a form that's noticeably more comfortable to carry than the Huntsman. This combo is becoming my go-to EDC set up.

Heckler and Koch Nitrous Blitz

12/18/2013 by RB

-Price Paid: $93.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

Hear me out on this. It has a good blade geometry for stabbing through whatever needs to be stabbed through. It has an alright steel but nothing especially spectacular. The handle is flimsy. The serrations are good. Blade came sharp and centered. Good lock up at about 40% and doesn't stick when disengaging. Very light knife and good for small hands or those who are looking for precise cuts.

Onto the bad. For the price, there really are better options. The G10 is slick. The black coating from benchmade notoriously comes off to easy with real use and this knife is no different, which leaves the knife looking pretty bad pretty quick. Ther was a small amount of horizontal blade play. The nitrous assistee opening is literally the worst assisted opening mechanism I've seen, and that includes cheap Chinese knock offs. I'm comparing to zero tolerance, kershaw, protech, gerber, and the other assisted opener by benchmade. The knife just doesn't feel sturdy and doesn't feel like it's made for rough use.

Now after saying that, it looks cool and stabs through cans and cardboard better than any knife I've tried and it keeps an ok working edge for awhile despite real usage. It takes a very good edge, easy to get razor sharp. I'd only suggest this knife for light use or to stab an attacker in the middle of the night, and for those two things, I think it would serve quite well. It's up to you if you want to spend 90 bucks on something that performs not much better than something that costs much less. If you want to go ahead and buy one, look me up and I'll sell you mine, scratched up crappy black coating and all.

Zero Tolerance 0561

12/18/2013 by RB

-Price Paid: $270.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

Just got a 560 CBCF which accounts for the bigger price tag. I will only comment of what's the same. This flipper is impressive. Seriously. For a production knife, I couldn't see asking for more. It's extremely comfortable to hold, feels as solid as a fixed blade knife. I am very impressed with how it feels in my hand. Lightweight for how big it is and sits well in the pocket. If you want a hard use knife that's comfortable to use and carry everyday, I don't believe you'd be disappointed with this knife.

Victorinox Huntsman

12/17/2013 by BradGad

-Price Paid: $28.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I was interested to see TheBoss call this the Honda Accord of pocket knives. On a knife forum I frequent, someone called it the Fender Stratocaster of pocket knives. And both comparisons do capture something about the knife. It's extremely capable, it's an excellent value, certainly gets the job done... but it's just not all that sexy. Fr'instance, the Huntsman has much less cachet among SAK aficionados than, say, the Farmer or the Compact.

Build quality -- as with all Victorinox knives -- is top notch (though either I'm getting rougher on knives or the Victorinox handles are getting a little more fragile than in days of yore). The tool designs have stood the test of time, and all work well... especially the saw, which is amazingly capable for a tool its size. As with all SAKs, the blade steel takes an edge very well and is extremely corrosion resistant, but doesn't hold the edge as well as that of many high-end folders and slipjoints.

The Huntsman is also available in a Plus version, which adds a ballpoint pen, micro-screwdriver, and straight pin with no additional bulk. (NB: the much maligned parcel hook tool comes into its own on Plus models: the pen can be inserted into its grove, then the hook closed over the pen, to make the skinny, slick Vic pen actually quite comfortable to write with.)

The Huntsman is the slimmest SAK that has all the tools I really want... but, that being said, it ain't thin. At four layers, it's a bit too thick for easy pocket carry. A belt sheath -- such as Victorinox's Zermatt pouch -- can be used, but to me this works against the whole idea of Swiss Army Knives: you really appreciate their elegance and usefulness only if you carry one all the time, and most people simple can't wear a knife pouch on their belt all the time. An alternative is to set up a rig where the knife hangs vertically in your pocket, rather than resting across the bottom of the pocket. This can be done with a clip such as the TEK P-7 suspension clip, or with a weighted lanyard that hangs outside the pocket.

I use this latter method and it works very well. A lanyard made from four feet of paracord, holding a firesteel and a Photon Freedom Micro-Light, hangs just outside my pocket; the firesteel (useful for itself, of course) gives the lanyard enough weight that the knife hangs vertically, just inside my pocket. With this set up, A) the knife is quite comfortable to carry, B) I can easily pull it out my pocket when sitting or driving, and C) I have a powerful flashlight literally at my fingertips all the time... something that's turned out to be just about as handy as always having a SAK!

I have a number of 91 mm Swiss Army Knives, and carry the Huntsman the most often. If the scissors or saw aren't crucial to you, the Climber or Camper may well a better choice. If you really want both these tools, the Huntsman will serve you well.

Ontario RAT 2

12/14/2013 by Darren

-Price Paid: $26.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

The Rat 2 is one of those rare knives that actually lives up to the hype. Build quality is remarkable for a <$30 knife. Heck, it's better than knives I own which cost significantly more. I now own three and quality has been consistent. Deployment is smooth as silk. Lock up is solid and early mid. Even grinds. Scales mated perfectly to the handles. Blade centering is dead center. All around fit and finish is flawless on mine.

I make custom micarta handles, but have no complaints about FRN from a functional standpoint. AUS8 doesn't hold an edge like S30V, but it seems less prone to chipping. Easily stroped back to sharpness in the field on my leather belt. The full flat grind is very slicey.

My first impressions were that it was more suited to gentleman carry, but so far they've all held up to more serious use within the limitations of size and design.

Not my favorite when it comes to ergos, but better than most and actually provides a fairly secure grip. I do think some minor design tweeks could bring the edge a little closer the handle. The thumb ramp and jimping is great. I can very easily lay my thumb over it up onto the spine if need be. Quick and smooth flick opening, but a slowed controlled opening is difficult for me to accomplish. The clip has functioned well. My only complaint is the paint wears off very easily. They should have just stonewashed it and left it bare.

There are a few decent folders out there in this price range, but the Rat 2 is by far my favorite. Sold some of my higher priced folders because I actually prefer the Rats instead.

Kershaw Injection 3.0

12/13/2013 by Aaron

-Price Paid: $30.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

Get a custom looking blade for a production blade price! Kershaw did a great job putting a lot of focus on the little details of the Injection 3.0.

GOOD- ergonomic, FFG, good deployment, great blade design.

BAD- Chinese made 8cr13mov steel with a price tag close to the USA made Sanvik 12c28n steel leek.

Gerber Powerframe

12/11/2013 by

-Price Paid: $23.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

This was my first true EDC. I was a noob when I bought it, but it still holds a special place in my heart. Overall it is what it is..a decent lower level folder. It can get semi sharpe (isn't going to shave hair off your knuckles though, however it does not keep an edge well and you have to resharpen in often. You could do better, you could do worse. Not terrible for the price.

Spyderco Delica FFG

12/11/2013 by Alex

-Price Paid: $56.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

I really can't imagine getting a better overall EDC with this pricepoint. Great steel. Out of the box this is one of the sharpest knives I've seen. It will truly shave the hair off your knuckles. The overall feel is light and the ergonomics are hard to beat. Highly recommended!