Outdoor/EDC/Survival blades

Discussion in 'Outdoor World' started by fraggler, Jul 23, 2020.

  1. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    I have a couple of BM's (but no BM grips) and the Hogue is every bit their equal from an action standpoint. I actually like the G10 and clip more on the Hogue (although I really wish everyone would just do away with black painted clips that look like crap in 3 months). Supposedly the Hogue springs are stronger than those on the BM, but I've never had a BM spring fail before so who really knows.
     
  2. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    I hadn’t looked into knives in a long time because I’ve been perfectly satisfied with carrying my Benchmade Mini Griptilian for the past 10ish years and I’ve never really been a collector of things. However I’ve been increasingly annoyed at not having a pocket knife since we went on vacation from China and have been stuck outside for the past 16 months. My beloved BM is still there! I have been hearing about Civivi and decided to check it out. I knew I wanted something that was better about corrosion than D2. Picked up a Keen Nadder in Bohler n690 last week. I’ve never been a huge tanto fan but it’s ok. The lockup and mechanism on this thing fees so high quality though. Rock solid and smooth. I like it a lot though it feels heavy after years of carrying the super lightweight BM.
    [​IMG]
     
  3. will_f

    will_f Friend

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    Nice looking knife.

    I’ve never been a fan of spyderco knives but was in a knife store recently and found one I really like. No idea what model it is but it has a push button lock release that works astonishingly well and it’s easier to flip than other spydercos. Decent quality steel (S30V), light, and feels really solid.

    Edit: I looked it up- it was designed by Kevin Smock and is named Smock (Not super original, but that’s ok)

    8E0C1CB8-121C-468E-9E79-B53F2CC5B43B.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2021
  4. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    yeah I think if I was gonna get a Spyderco it’d probably be the Smock. Not a huge fan of the beak-shaped blades that are their trademark.
     
  5. Claritas

    Claritas Friend

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    It's the Smock. I've been considering buying it. I do carry a Cold Steel Lucky in my shirt pocket. It's not a weapon: it's a tool. Having had to defend myself twice with a knife, I'm just not sure I want to have one on my person.

    6F22E396-6946-4145-A1C0-FB172D0123D0.jpeg
     
  6. will_f

    will_f Friend

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    Never used a knife to defend myself, but I did surprise a would be mugger with a can of bear spray. Pro tip- don’t try to mug someone in bear country.
     
  7. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    I’m aware, of course, that one may find oneself in a defensive situation with a knife but I literally never put it in my pocket while thinking of it as my protection.
     
  8. will_f

    will_f Friend

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    I picked up another knife recently- one I really like-

    9E5D56A5-B41C-4BA5-9F83-E84E2D36E25E.jpeg
     
  9. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    Scored the knife that I’ve had my eye on - the We Banter. I went with the BladeHQ special edition that has a 20CV blade vs the standard s35vn. I may dye the natural G10 scales in the future. We’ll see. Love it though. Shaving sharp out of the box and really sweet, smooth action.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    I still don't really do EDC since I have worked from home for years nor do I know if I would use it outdoors instead of my Mora knives, but when I saw it, I had to get it. This is a folding, single bevel knife made out of Aogami Blue #2 steel. It is from Okeya which made a somewhat recently acquired Santoku knife that I posted about in the knife thread in the cooking subforum. It cuts anything cleanly, but it is a take on the Kiridashi style of wood working knives. I use mostly single bevel blades for leatherworking so a "pocket" knife with a similar bevel does make it more familiar to sharpen. At any rate, I love it.
    [​IMG]
     
  11. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    If you sail in British waters, even in summer, you soon realise that a knife you can't open with cold, wet, numb fingers (or even, with gloves on) is better off left at home. Hence...

    [​IMG]

    I've had this knife since my sailing days in 1980s. My health got bad in 90s, and I stopped sailing. When health got fixed, Indian music had already taken over my weekends.
     
  12. Mithrandir41

    Mithrandir41 Friend

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    Swapped out the scales this weekend on my purple/s110v para 3. These are dark matter gold scales by G10.It (suingab). The texture on these is amazing. Not as grippy as the original G10, but so much more custom and cool looking. I also put a stud where the lanyard hole would usually be. PXL_20230129_191207062.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20230129_191127949.jpg
     
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  13. Claritas

    Claritas Friend

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    Neat.

    I've been working on precisely the same project: same knife, same scale craftsman, very different color (translucent jade). I still have to figure out which deep carry clip I want to buy.

    Today, I ordered an SOG Pentagon.


    E177741D-1B92-4A89-ACB7-A52B5EA5B536.jpeg
     
  14. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    An old Marine buddy gifted me what I would call the Magni of EDC, a Kershaw 1660 Ken Onion Leek torsion bar assisted flip blade—3" and stainless steel. I'm sure most EDC aficionados have either had one or heard of it. Its place on the list of cheap and cheerful blades has probably lost a more than a few points since I had one in 2012, however; I'm sure there are other great options for 3" blades now, but at the time it was the pick. I lost it when moving house, but I still think about that knife... Only used it to open boxes, but it was so sharp and sleek in the pocket, I loved it.
     
  15. Mithrandir41

    Mithrandir41 Friend

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    Nice! With that color scheme you mentioned, I would go with a matte or polished TI clip
     
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  16. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    I'm a newbie to folding knives, but I've been window shopping through some local classifieds and these couple Benchmade caught my eye... wondering if I should just take a shot on one of these or try out some more budget things first. Maybe I should meet up with @Kernel Kurtz and check out his knives.

    https://www.kijiji.ca/v-fishing-cam...hmade-mini-crooked-river/1648530024?undefined
    I absolutely love the aesthetics of this. That price hurts though, but it seems to be upgraded S90V steel and brass hardware. @Mithrandir41 do you still have your Crooked river? How has it held up?

    https://www.kijiji.ca/v-fishing-camping-outdoor/winnipeg/benchmade-940-2/1646967525
    The classic Osborne

    https://www.ebay.ca/itm/394429304091
    Seems cheap for a mini Griptillian, even with the scratches. Makes me wonder if it's a knockoff.
     
  17. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    I also like the aesthetics of the Crooked River knives a lot. I will say that BM is overpriced and often lacking in attention to detail for that price. Lots of blades not centered, imperfect grinds, etc.. regarding whether or not the last one is a knockoff - there are indeed a lot of Benchmade knockoffs. Unless we have an expert here you could join a knife group on Reddit, Facebook, etc., and post a pic to ask people there. It’s not a crazy cheap price for a used, previous gen Mini Grip with some wear on the clip and blade. I have one in 154cm that I carried for a long time. That looks legit to me but I’m not an expert in what to look for in fakes. Only difference I see in mine is it doesn’t say the 154cm above Pardue, it’s down closer to the pivot.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2023
  18. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    Actually just did a quick web search and I don’t see any that say the steel type above Mel Pardue like that so that’s a red flag for me.
     
  19. Mithrandir41

    Mithrandir41 Friend

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    Mine has held up really well. But s90v is a bitch to sharpen well. Check the Benchmade custom shop price for a config that you would like.
     
  20. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    I'm not at all a knife collector. I do EDC a small folder, currently a mini-grip, and do use it every single day for urban ninja stuff like opening letters and packages but I don't have a big selection of knives that I alternate from day to day. I'm more just pick one and done. I expect this little BM will last me many, many more years. I do have a big Gerber Bowie for camping, a couple game knives for hunting (which I rarely do anymore), and a a Henckels chef knife for cooking, and that is about it.

    There is lots of info out there on the characteristics of various steels, I've seen your posts on kitchen knives so you probably have a good grasp of the tradeoffs. If you want to look at Benchmade knives in person Cabelas has a good selection. For selection and price have a look at House of Knives in BC. I could spend a lot of money there, but alas my other hobbies are a limiting factor.

    https://houseofknives.ca/sport-knives/

    Likewise with my CPM-M4 mini-grip. I find the best solution is to just not let it get very dull to begin with. I touch mine up on the Work-Sharp a couple times a week and typically don't have to use any of the coarser belts. Of course my knife only gets mild use, so this won't work for everyone.
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2023

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