This thread is to focus on pocket/folding knives only. No need to talk about your grand daddy's USMC KaBar, or your handed down in the family for the last 300 years Bowie knife...just folders. Now, I have a few folders, from very, very old Boy Scout knife from the 50's, a couple of Swiss Army "tacti-cools", and a dozen or so Schrade pocket knives that were made in Walden, NY when my uncle worked there in the 1950'. Anyway, what brands are your favorite, and why, and what separates each brand from each other insofar as quality, price, value, where it's made, etc?

I will list only 9 of the most popular brands on the poll, and just check OTHER with your choice.

Victorinox swiss army, models pioneer,cadet,bantam. there my favorite knives because they are very easy to carry.

WOW, it's Bench Made at 100% with one vote.

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314th AMS 1983 - 1991

uhhhhh, SOG.

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RIP Shipmate

I've got a Case two-blade folder with stag grips that I like, but never carry. I've also got an Old Timer that is smaller, but has two blades. I used to carry it, but don't anymore. I have a small Swiss Army knife with multiple blades and other stuff (like a scissor and a file) that I used to have attached to my key ring, but took off after 911, for travel restrictions. I don't travel now, at least by plane, so maybe I should put it back on.

I have a larger, multiple blade stainless steel Navy knife that I keep in the console of my truck. I don't consider any of these offensive or defensive weapons, BTW...I consider them utility tools. I know some carry knives as a weapon, but I don't. (No criticism implied.)

My daily carry, pretty happy it's going to be permitted to fly again. I feel positively naked without it. Wearing nice and smooth from years in the pocket.

Second favorite is a Buck 110 but a knife like that can be a real problem carrying in NJ.

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Back to back World War Champs.

I have a bunch of folders, I am a Buck and Case fan both are American made, use quality steel. I have a Buck 110 I have had for years, It holds a edge for a long time and it is easy to sharpen. I have 3 or 4 pocket knives I carry, I change them out because I like them. To me a knife is a tool, I very seldom go anywhere without one. I wish I had the first knife owned, it was given to me by my grandfather when I was 7yrs the first thing I did with it was cut my finger pretty bad. I carried that knife for years, even to school. I dressed squirrels, cleaned fish, and birds with it. It was a 2 blade case with bone sides it had XX on the base of the blade; the blades were long and skinny. I do prefer a locking blade on my pocket knives.

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Carpriver.

All my many many years of gainful employment as a construction worker and after retiring driving CDL for a few years I normally carried first a Swiss Army (officer) and then 2 different Leatherman!

After full retirement I switched off to a couple different SOGs lock blades as daily carry. My DD pick up and my Summertime Vette each has one Leatherman in the console.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

I'm a fan of Kershaw. Today I have my tiny Chive. Nice little knife and sharp enough that I can literally shave which it. I don't, but I tried and I can.

I also like the Kershaw Leek. They're larger but still nice and slim with a great assisted open. Generally I'll carry a Leek.

For heavy duty I prefer my KA-BAR lockback. It's a beast.

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- The Federalist #46 -

I've had two Buck Folding Hunters, both of which were stolen.

I currently have a Stanley lockblade folder which has served me very well for over ten years. I picked up from a Tractor Supply store up the road from the 600 yard range where I used to shoot in Malvern, Ohio.

My Ohio Concealed Handgun License (CHL) covers HANDGUNS and NOTHING else. Here, you're subject to concealed knife laws in every city and little podunk town you pass through, so I don't carry a knife other than the Stanley boxcutter I sometimes carry for work.

I have carried Buck knives since forever. I either have my 110 or 112 with me most all the time. My daddy was a whittler and he swore by Shrade and for his purposes he was probably right. But I'm not a whittler. I use my knives more as tools for cutting various materials and, I don't like to do it or admit to doing it but I sometimes use it as a hammer.

The good thing about the Bucks is that they can take it. I once was at a gun show and a fella there had a knife sharpening deal set up he charged $2.50 to sharpen any blade but Bucks. He charged $5.00 for a buck blade because the steel in a buck knife is so hard it wore out his stones and hones.

I bought a Buck Lite once but I just could not get used to it. Probably just as good a knife but it didn't feel right being so light and all. I loves the feel of my Bucks!

NOTE: Alnamvet68 May I suggest a new screen name for you sir? How about The Polster?

I carry a MiniBuck for fingernail work and a Kershaw Leek for defense.

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Dick

I don't really have a favorite but for EDC at work, with slacks I carry a Case pen knife with sambar stag scales. So many good knife makers. I love my Syderco, Boker, Browning, Buck, old Queen, etc folders.

Three older knives that I don't know anything about:

The top was my first knife and from my dad. It's about 11 3/4 inches total length. All it says is "stainless steel Japan". It used to have a dark grey / blue / black leather bound grip which dry rotted.

The middle knife is a Case XX Whaler. On the other side of the blade it says "1199 SH R".

The bottom knife reads "Schrade Walden NY USA 136".

Nothing special, just random knives.

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- The Federalist #46 -

I have 2 that I normally use. The daily carry is called a buckle knife custom made for me. It has a magnet that holds it to a special buckle.

The other is a Buck 110 that I carried in VN in the early 70s.
Russ

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US Veteran 1970-1974

My edc is my Leather e33. It is my favorite of the few I have.

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Livin’ Life From The Blindside

I carry an old Marble's Stockman (made in Gladstone) with Sambar scales.
Once in a while I'll carry my Kershaw pocket clip model, but the Marbles is definitely my favorite.

Fallkniven Mod.P
I also carry a Spyderco paramilitary when heavier lifting required, and the small Gerber drifts around in my pocket, (I leave those lying around all over the place)

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Halfway and one more step

Old school, what else would I own

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

I like a Old Timer 80T for rough work use. The very first knife I ever bought was a 8OT. The stockman design is one I've always found very useful. I have a 4" Trapper by Hen and Rooster that I bought for my father. It has beautiful stag scales and is a very smooth operating knife. After my father passed away, the knife was given to me. I think it is wonderful. It demonstrates a very high level of fit and finish.

My Sunday knife is a Benchmade Auto-Benchmite. In my opinion the Auto-Benchmite is just about ideal for anything short of heavy work.

My everyday knife is the Benchmade 5000 Auto Presidio. The 5000 is my everyday knife simply because I like it. It is a very solid knife. It locks up tight. It is very quick and easily used with one hand. About three years ago an incident occurred. I had nothing available but my knife clipped to my pocket. I was very thankful to be able to get my hand on that knife. It was out and open in a split second. That settled things down. I very much like that knife.

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<><

I have a handful of folders but IMHO, the Benchmade Mini Griptillian seems to be the best for; form, function and fit (in the hand and in the pocket). I lot of great knives out there but the Benchmade stuff is very well thought out and build.

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paws for friendship

OK, y'all have got me in a knife buying mood, and after several days of angst, I've narrowed down my choices to 2 knives, The Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn Covert or the Spyderco Native Lightweight Black Blade Combo. Can y'all help a guy decide?

P.S. They're both USA made, btw.

You could substitute my name on this reply and it would all ring true except mine was a 3 bladed Case Stockman and it sounds like yours may have been a muskrat trapper type.

I prefer a folding knife to be assisted opening with a flipper. I have about 20-25 knives including Bucks, Gerbers, Benchmades, Spydercos, Camillus, Kershaws, etc. and I think Benchmade MAY hold an edge slightly longer than the other brands. With that being said all knives still need sharpening eventually so the $20-$30 Kershaw OSO Sweet, Burst, and Volt II knives are the most appealing to me for their light weight and low cost.

I've carried a Schrade Old Timer for years, a Model 897 with 3 blades. Lost my first one around 25 years ago.Now they are made in China so I hope this one lasts.

It needs to fit in you pocket, but geez, ya gotta leave it behind when you go to certain buildings, in areas where you need it the most.

It needs to have a button on the blade that takes it to open and lock quickly.

I had a Gerber that fit his bill, 4". My wife and I were returning from down town STL late at night, we take the train from the closest parking lot.

The gent slyly, on his part he thought, slid up behind me and as he grabbed for me I spun and held the Gerber close to his breathing apparatus. We talked, he decided something else somewhere else was calling and left.

He did not understand that walking point or even training to walk point keeps one vigilant. The Gerber saved us and or our wallets. I vote Gerber or a reasonable facsimile.

Keep both the knife and your focus very sharp.

Have carried a case trapper since i was a boy. They have always served me well.

Cold Steel AK 47 black finish.

Swiss army. I know it's not very sexy or macho. But the flat blade/Phillips screwdrivers and bottle & can openers get used alot more then the blade.

I'd get the Gerber, if it won't violate any laws. But mine didn't come very sharp. I think you can use an Allen wrench to remove the clip if you use only pocket carry. I did take the clip off of some knife, I think my Benchmade 710. But it and other knives that size go in belt pouches, so I answered Victorinox in the poll. My large Applegate-Fairbairn folder has no clip, but I can't recall if I removed it or it came that way. It's a fairly early one. It lacks the secondary lock that was introduced with the Covert. I think that lock is on all three sizes now.

Whenever I carry a nice Puma or Case stockman or Schlieper trapper, I need some tool on a Swiss Army knife. So, my normal pocketknife is a Vic. Spartan. Occasionally, I sub. a Vic. Executive and for woods use, might sub. a Camper, which is a Spartan plus a saw. Yes, the saw does work, used within reason. The corkscrews also work, but I really prefer the larger one on a Puma folding hunter, Model 943.

If I went on a picnic, I'd probably carry that 943. It was a gift from Baron Otto von Frankenberg und Ludwigsdorf when he headed Puma. His wife was a daughter of the Lauterjung family which operated Puma from 1769-mid 1990's. I treasure that knife dearly. I either wear it in a coat pocket or in a tan belt pouch originally meant for a Carl Schleiper lockblade. Besides the main spear blade, it has a saw blade that works as a screwdriver, a bottle opener, and a stuck ctg. extractor. Not that I've ever had a ctg. get stuck in a rifle's chamber... It has a very nice dark brown suede pouch in case someone wanted to carry it in a German hunter's pouch, sort of like a big purse, where spare ammo, a camera, lunch, etc. might go.

I always have a pocketknife on me, plus a larger lockblade folder on my belt, a little Vic. Classic in my inside coat pocket, and a Vic. SwissChamp in a fine leather SOS pouch in my briefcase. And a Spyderco in the glovebox. A BuckTool goes in there, too. Its pliers are bigger and stronger than those on the SAK, and that occasionally matters.

BTW, the small screwdriver on the standard size SAK's will turn Phillips-head screws, as will (usually) the screwdriver on the Executive.

Jest an ol hand-me-down Kinfolks






.

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

My late father-in-law was a great knife fan and I inherited his collection to add to my own, so I have multiples examples of most of those mentioned. The one that always gets carried every day, no matter which other knife may be clipped in my pocket is my 30-year old Victorinox Huntsman.

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Rick, W0FG
CTR2 68-72

I keep a medium sized Victorinox or Wenger SA in every vehicle and range bag. Great value and quality. On my person, I go with Emerson folders or the Gerber AF. The Emerson are top of the line performance knives, and the AF is a perfect compliment to the full size fixed blade version. Never had a problem with any of them.

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I'm with the banned ...

Case. Definitely Case. And I prefer the trapper.

Several years ago, I packed in supplies to an old guy, his brother, and his grandson, who had backpacked into the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area of Northern California. They'd been up there for almost a week and planned on staying there for several more days and were running a little low on grub. We'd made previous arrangements for me to take the pack string back in there to re-supply them about halfway through their trip.

Around the campfire that night, the old guy noticed the relatively small, 3½-inch blade sheath knife I had on the belt. He looked at it, admired the edge, and then we started talking about quality of steel. We found that we both appreciated good knives with good quality steel.

He asked if I had any Case knives. I told him that I wasn't impressed with Case anymore since they started cheapening the quality back in the 60's. He explained that they were under new ownership (Zippo lighters), and they had brought all their old metallurgists out of retirement in order to start making great knives again. He then explained that he was a distributor for Case and he'd get me any knife I wanted at his price to try.

I took him up on the offer. He sent me a large trapper with some nice high-carbon steel blades. And I've been hooked ever since. Oh, I own other brands, i.e. Boker, Buck, Puma, Swiss Army, Kershaw....but my everyday carry is always a Case trapper.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

Photo later and if you're old like me there is
some confusion and loss of memory, wait, I
just remembered it a week later. I have many quality folding knives. Factory and I do have a passion for
custom.

I have what I believe is the ultimate in custom folders.
A Jerry Fisk waterfall damascus "Old Thorny" with fluted Ivory scales.
He advertised it as "being able to shave a sleeping mouse and not wake it up"



Took two years to get it. Nice man to deal with! National Living Treasure! How bout them apples...

Cool stuff, eh?

Benchmade. Their service is second to none.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

My favorite everyday knives are Benchmades, a 585 Mini Barrage, and a 551 Griptilian. I have a number of knives I can carry, but these are nicely made, open easily and quickly and feel good in the hand. If had the money, I might own a couple of others, notably the Mini Griptilian and the Presidio.

If I am wearing business attire, I will probably carry a Kershaw Leek: thin and elegant, it disappears in a pocket. Sometimes I will carry the SOG Flash I bought because Midway had it on sale cheap.

I used to carry Swiss Army knives, but gave them up in favor of the more utilitarian tools of the Leatherman. These days a Leatherman Micra is always in my pocket for the tools, no matter what else I am carrying.

An Opinel No.7 or No. 8 used to be in my pocket almost all the time, too. For about $10 it is a great little knife that takes a really sharp edge and does everything that you really need from an everyday knife. I have given all my kids Opinels and Micras for Christmas at various times, so none of them has an excuse for going about unequipped.

Mith my neuropathy, I have weakness in my right hand and wrist. I have difficulty opening such things as a bag of chips or a Slim Jim so I just cut them open with a knife.
I needed a knife I could open and hold easily and ended up with a ten dollar Pawn Shop knife. It's assisted opening, has ambidextrous thumb studs, a flipper and a handle with a belt clip wide enough for my gimpy hand to hold onto.
I wouldn't use it for hunting but it does hold a decent edge and serves my needs well.

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I'm intrigued that you carry a Huntsman in your pants pocket.

I once needed to decide which Swiss Army knife (SAK) a character in a story I was writing might carry. This is fan fiction based on the former TV show, "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World", a series filmed in Australia from 1999-2002. It still has loyal fans who read the fics. Episodes still air in some countries.

Anyway, Finn is one of my favorite characters, but her snug black shorts would not hold too thick a knife, even if one of the other girls made her a new pair with good pockets. So I tried to see how thick a knife she might find viable, having brought it in Challenger's time cave from New Amazonia in the 21st Century. (The show was set from 1919-1922.)

I tried various models, finding that the Camper was the thickest knife tolerable for her, and for me. Mind you, I don't wear cute little black shorts, but even in my Dockers slacks, the Camper was the limit, and I did want her to have the saw that makes the Camper more versatile than the basic Spartan, which I initially favored. She needed the saw to cut the ropes holding a cage shut where her friend Veronica was imprisoned in the hostile Tecamaya city of Xochilenque in one of my stories. She could then use one of the usual cutting blades to free her wrists.

This worked out well, and I had Lord John Roxton, V.C. make her a nice little leather pouch for her belt and one that fastened to her crossbow holster, so she didn't usually have to carry the knife in her shorts. Later, when she acquired a S&W .38 M&P to replace the crossbow, the knife pouch went on her gun belt.

But I still recall vivedly trying to wear my black Huntsman in my pocket. It was just over the line in thickness. I carry it in a leather pouch sold by Swiss Army Brands. The scissors do get used at times. (When I wear a SAK on my belt, I put a Fallkniven U-2 or a small Gerber lockblade or Gerber Covert in my pants, so I still have a locking knife in case of need.)

The absolute limit in my pants is the Vic. Camper. And I usually have a Spartan there. Anything thicker than the Camper creates an outline and is uncomfortable. If you can tolerate the Huntsman, Thou art a better man than I, Gunga Din. (Apologies to Rudyard Kipling.)

I like Great Eastern. Learned about 'em on the forum here a couple of years ago. They have three brands, I think. I bought a Northfield Trapper with sambar scales. These are old fashioned, slip joint, carbon steel pocketknives made in the USA.

Northfield Cutlery - UN-X-LD Knives

The REAL Schrade Old Timers were wonderful tools. The 8OT was my favorite, and I recently lost the only one I had left; but I have several others I like. When they went under and began being made in China I lost interest. I haven't used any of the new ones, but people who have tell me they're not close to being as good.

I also carry a Victorinox Pioneer, or whatever the hell they call the one that used to be the official issue of the Swiss army. Cuts okay, but I carry it for the tools, and a REAL Old Timer or D2 Queen slipjoint for cutting.

I like this Case, I think it's called a "Doctor's Knife" because of the flat solid base opposite the hinged end. Supposedly, old-time docs would use the flat base to crush pills during house calls. It just feels right in the pocket anytime & place. For work I carry this old Camco (Camillus economy line I'm told) Electrician's knife. It's a bit beefier, maybe stronger than the Camillus version which is OK with me. It's an estate sale find so if I lose it at work (which I'm prone to do) I won't be heartbroken. The Case cost a few bucks, so it's for leisure time only.
Like a lot of you, I've got a drawerfull. Just like them, pick them up at sales & shows.

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Say Dave,

Is that a dollar and cinco peso?

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Halfway and one more step

My daughter and I met Jerry Fisk at a Hammer-In at the Texarkana bladesmithing school founded at the behest of my pal B. R. Hughes and a few other knife fans. Leslie was quite taken with Jerry. She was 14 then and it caused some amusement and I was a little embarrassed by her obvious admiration of the knifesmith. Leslie thought it was funny that Jerry had a big Bowie that he called his "truck knife."

He is a VERY skilled knifemaker/smith and I think he is the only American knifemaker to be declared a living human treasure as are some swordmakers in Japan.

If he said that your knife is sharp, I believe it! But German maker Dietmar Kressler told me that Damascus steel not only rusts too easily for a normal carry knife; the overlapping layers of steel create soft and hard spots along the edge, making it hard to get and keep a uniform keenness on the blade. His customers who actually carry his knives while hunting discovered that and they tend now to prefer 154CM stainless blades.

He told me that some years ago, before achieving a position in Germany and internationally similar to that enjoyed by Jerry Fisk. In other words, he is a very celebrated maker, so famous that the German edition of "Playboy" did a major color feature on him, which had some terrific photos. Kressler knives are now so expensive that I doubt that many still use them. It'd be like hunting with a Loveless knife that might be worth a thousand dollars. I think that some of his knives sell new for that or more. But at one time, many customers did use his knives and what he said stuck with me.

I presume that you keep that Fisk knife oiled and don't carry it too often in a sweaty pocket in August. But I'm pleased that you really carry and use that fine knife, and imagine that Jerry Fisk is delighted to see it used.

Do you have any problems with the ivory handle scales? I've read that an occasional drop of baby oil rubbed in keeps ivory from cracking.

BTW, I like the design of your knife, which is similar to one I got from the late Harvey McBurnette, except that I specified 154CM steel and burgundy Micarta scales, to make it a practical "carry' knife. The bolsters were treated to talented scroll engraving, too. But it has a conventional nail nick, not a thumb stud.

One of my SAK's saw blades saved the day, years ago, when while camping in the Florida Keys on some tiny uninhabited sand-spit island, we went exploring in our vessel, a tiny one-design Penguin class sailboat. I can't recall the particulars, but there was rudder failure (much less complicated on a boat of this size than on a Carnival line cruise ship, but serious nonetheless). I think that the bolt around which the tiller pivoted in its vertical axis had worked loose and fallen overboard. This would have been a race-losing catastrophe in an around-the -buoys race, but would have been an even worse disaster if we hadn't been able to get back to camp, and eventually back to the mainland.

I perceived that we could "fix" this problem by wedging the tiller into the "socket" at the rudder "stock", if we could find a bit of wood of sufficient size to wedge into the space behind the tiller's tilting arc. But, alas, there wasn't any wood at hand, apart from some red-barked mangroves, which don't produce any substantial limbs, only many small branches. At last, I found a short segment of branch of sufficient size for the task, but too short to be gnawed away by a knife blade, but the narrow kerf cut of the tiny saw blade saved enough wood to serve the purpose... A wedge was made, steering was restored, the day and the trip were salvaged, we lived to tell about it, all thanks to the tiny SAK saw. It ain't much of a saw, but it's way better that no saw at all in exigent circumstances...

I have a few Benchmades that I carry regularly. I have one Spyderco that I use as a utility knife. I also have several Leathermen and a handful of old Case knives that never see the light of day.....

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Even older, even crankier....

PIZZA and a PUSH PUTTON.... Why am I not surprised

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP

Stag Buck... and oh yeah Nickel Pre 27

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP

Mot sure what my next knife will be but I am sure of what holder to get.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Kershaw Ken Onion 'Scallion' because it fits perfectly in the small "watch" pocket on my jeans.