Let's Talk About Folders/Pocket Knives

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.

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.

carpriver said:

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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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.

Alnamvet68 said:

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.

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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.

Alnamvet68 said:

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.

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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






.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

CW Spook said:

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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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