Spyderco Sage

12/13/2012 by Jensen

-Price Paid: $108.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 1 year

Comments:

nicest knife i own, hands down. taiwan built spydercos are on a whole 'nother level, please dont let that stop you from trying this masterpiece. remember, its not where its made that counts, its who made it.

i have no complaints after carrying this knife the better part of a year, its comfy, solid, carrys like a dream, and looks fantastic. lock up is solid and it makes a great, loud, percussion like sound when opened and held just right. super smooth open and close. fit and finish are flawless.

compared to other carbon fiber, s30v knives i think the price is more than fair and worth every penny. i buy other knives and carry them while theyre new, but the sage always ends up back in my pocket.
i gave a 9 for ergos because i have large hands and it can feel cramped if im not choked up using the choil, no big deal at all but woth noting. not the knifes fault.

Benchmade 890 Torrent

12/13/2012 by Jensen

-Price Paid: $130.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

This was my 1st benchmade. i expected top notch fit and finish and craftsmanship. for the most part it lived up to my expectations but there were some kinks.

first is the thumbstud, it was loose and free spinning. the screw was loctited to the stud but it wasnt tight enough, no big deal it was a quick fix but still not what i expected from benchmade, especially at this price point.

second was i had to loctite and tighten the pivot screw within 2 weeks, ive never once had to do that to any of my spydercos.

last but not least, the lock up was late for such a new knife IMO. that was also easily solved by adjusting the blade stop pin.

SO, now that all that is taken care of, its probably my favorite knife in my collection. the assisted opening is great and well thought out, seems to be nearly unbreakable compared to kershaws torsion bar method. although a safety feature would be nice, it will open if dropped. the ergos are outstanding, the size is perfect for me, the deep carry clip is also perfect. it came shaving sharp out of the box which i hear is a new thing for benchmade, i had read alot about them being dull. on top of all that, its a fine looking knife IMHO.

Spyderco Delica FFG

12/13/2012 by Jensen

-Price Paid: $61.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

great little knife! i always avoided the delicas due to the fact i grew up seeing and handling the fake knock-offs you see in the gas stations and flea markets. then one day it clicked, for it to be SO widly copied, there has to be a reason.

my only complaint is the paint on the pocket clip. it wears within hours of first use and doesnt wear well like a DLC coating or similar. a simple fix was a quick sanding and it was good to go.
i own a couple other spydercos and a benchmade, the delica is my go to knife when i know im going to be doing alot of cutting, solid EDCable workhorse.

SOG Trident

12/11/2012 by Boomer

-Price Paid: $90.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I own three versions of the Trident: a digicamo/TiNi tanto point, an all-black tanto point, and my most-used all-black clip-point. I love the action of the assisted opening and the ergonomics, but my main reason for choosing the Trident over its competition is the safety.
I work in a school setting and feel confident that should a student manage to misappropriate my SOG, the safety would prevent him from opening it before I could retrieve it. Another benefit for carry at work is the black version blends well with black dress pants and the camo version works fairly well with khakis.

One note: the AUS8 blade has held up well for the 2 years I've carried my main knife, but the black finish did not. One weekend I had to stand outside in a monsoon for about 16 hours, and it began to rust. I cleaned it with Flitz, but the black came off, leaving naked stainless to show underneath.

TOPS Knives CQT Thunder Hawke

12/10/2012 by jake

-Price Paid: $140.00
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for 1 year

Comments:

A bargain for a titanium frame lock! TOPS is a great brand that gets less respect than it should but this model is sourced out to Fox of Italy and it is built very well with everything fitting perfectly, the blade just a wee bit off centre but with awesome/smooth opening action. There are some machine marks on the inside ti surfaces which deducted points but overall a very well assembled piece with excellent materials including G10, titanium and Bohler N690Co blade steel. The latter has left me undecided because I just find it difficult to get a razor edge on but that could be me. It is great at maintaining the edge it has. I also like that this blade has a decent geometry for actual cutting, unlike TOPS fixed blades, this thing is thin enough to be an effective slicer. I'd put this against an Emerson anyday and its far cheaper plus the lock has tons of life despite repeated openings. A solid knife that doesn't get enough respect.

Leatherman Surge

12/09/2012 by Nike

-Price Paid: $65.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

Before 3 months i decided to replace my Victorinox SwissChamp with this - a very good decision!
The tool is great - heavy, sturdy but comfortable. I sow complaints in forums about mass of Surge and that this tool is not suitable for belt carry. Sheer nonsense - the case is extremely good and comfortable and on waist I not feel the weight of the tool at all.
My only remark is that the plain knife can not be opened quickly (by flip) with one hand. Serrated blade - yes but not the plain!
Other - I buy additional pocket clip for this tool. The clip is OK but when I carry it in my pocket, and pull out - the preferred blade in this case is serrated not plain! which by my opinion is not right! I usually use much more plain knife than serrated

Kershaw Clash

12/09/2012 by agile_1

-Price Paid: $24.00
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

I am fairly new to higher end folders but own two Kershaws, a serrated blade Clash and a serrated blade Blur.

For the money the Clash it seems a sturdy well constructed folder. These are the spec right from Amazon where I bought it:

Steel: 8Cr13MoV, Black oxide coating
Partial two step serration
Handle: Glass-filled nylon
Blade Length: 3 1/8 inches
Closed Length: 3 7/8 inches
Weight: 3.4 ounces
Tip up or tip down pocket clip
Speed safe and flipper opening systems
Liner lock locking system

I'd say my favorite feature is the flipper opener. One firm pull and the blade jumps out with a satisfying thwack - no wrist motion required. There is no thumbstud but you can pull the blade out manually if required.

I think the screws holding the clip on are t8's. I ordered a t8 wrench so I can move the clip and try carrying it tip up. That way my finger will be on the flipper when the knife comes out of my pocket.

There is a nice contour for the index finger to wria around, and some contour for the other fingers. This is needed because the handle is pretty smooth. If this knife gets wet it's gonna be hard to grip well.

I usually carry this knife to work but I don't have much opportunity to give it a work out so I cannot comment on how it holds it's edge. But it was sharp out of the box.

Leatherman Surge

12/08/2012 by Jarvis Skoog

-Price Paid: $60.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Great tool. Big, heavy, but not bulky or impractical. Most of it's tools are useful and well designed. I keep this one in the truck and use it especially during deer season (to completely field dress, skin, and butcher) The saw blade is great, and the knife blade is perfect for that type of work. That being said, it is a BITCH to clean this tool afterwards (lots of little places for blood, sinew, hair, meat,

Case Dark Red Bone CV Slimline Trapper

11/29/2012 by centexagman

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

Comments:

This is a decent knife for light every day use. It will get extremeley sharp, but I find that it doesnt hold an edge very well. (I also use the crap out of mine) I've owned several of these knives thoughout the years, primarily because they are reasonably priced and fits well in my pocket.

Benchmade 530 Pardue

11/27/2012 by Joe

-Price Paid: $85.00
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

This was my first of many Benchmades. Purchased from my local REI store in 2006, I was in the market for a light weight knife for backpacking and had a Swiss Army 'Tinker' in mind; the sales associate suggested I try a 530, this in 440C, and I was hooked with the quality and how sharp it was out of the box. Six years later (this being 2012) I still have this knife in my EDC rotation and love it. Many models from that time period are long discontinued, but this one remains a staple to this day, and for good reason!

CRKT Lift Off

11/26/2012 by Mike

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

Comments:

I purchesed this knife about 3 weeks ago. It's a great looking knife, and the blade is just what I like. Out of the box, the blade is shaving sharp. I really do like the blade locking system CRKT uses. A little pressure on the thumb stud with a little flick and the knife snaps open. It opens very fast. It's comfortable in the hand and I have a good grip with it. Working in the produce dept. of a grocery store, I use it everyday. It holds and edge very well, and it's easy to sharpen. For years I used the Buck 110, I like this knife much better. It's so easy to open with one hand, plus, everyone that sees it wants to play with it. Just the looks of the knife alone draws attention, and when they see how fast it opens they want to know where to get one. If I ever wear this knife out, I wil buy another one.

---

SOG Aegis Tanto

11/23/2012 by alec cindros

-Price Paid: $49.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

Great value. Ready to go out of the box. Super sharp and sturdy. Lightweight. Just a great knife.

---