Folding knives

Shouldazagged-

Was that guide's name Ralph Young? Just guessing. I think he took out Warren Page for bear when Page was at Field & Stream.

I do carry knives daily, even at home. The right pants pocket gets a Swiss Army knife (SAK) because whenever I carry a stockman or trapper pattern, I always need some tool that I'd have had on a SAK.

Which SAK depends on the day and the anticipated need. Usually it's a Spartan; has been a Soldier on occasion. I think the former Soldier is now the Pioneer. Silver Alox scales and thicker blades than on most Victorinox knives. I gave my son my Soldier/Pioneer on his last visit, but may replace it.

If I want a smaller knife in my pocket, I have three examples of the Executive model: two red and one black. That gives a choice of colors and spares. A little Classic rides in the inside vest pocket of most coats. It's handy to reach there if seated and often opens mail. It provides scissors if I don't have them on a larger knife that day, and the Spartan does lack scissors.

I carry a larger, locking blade knife in a discreet black Cordura belt pouch that most observers probably mistake for a cellphone. Tonight, it's a full size Gerber Combat Folder, my usual at-home knife in that role. I sometimes wear the medium sized Covert model, pictured in Guy - Harold's post.
I sometimes clip the small one (Mini Covert?) to an inside coat pocket, but not in lieu of the larger. Neither the large Combat Folder or the medium Covert has a clip now. I don't carry them that way, and the handle doesn't feel good in the hand with the clip.

When I go out, I worry that the Gerbers might impress a cop as being a folding form of a Bowie, stiletto, poniard, or dagger or stiletto, all prohibited here. Having Combat Folder marked right on the blade does leave that impression! So I wear a Benchmade Model 710 or a Puma lockblade, either the Model 0921 or a copy of the Buck Model 110, but with white Micarta scales.

My belt folder has to be large enough to kill a dog or person who attacks, and we've seen a coyote here, too. But it may also cut a seat belt in event of a car accident.

I have a friend in Sweden who writes fan fiction about the TV show, "Criminal Minds." Given her moderate difficulty in English, she does a good job. She just had a chapter where Spcl. Agent Emily Prentiss had to run to an FBI car and rummage in the first aid kit there for scissors, to cut free a kidnapping victim tied to a chair in a house about to explode from a bomb placed right by the victim. She succeeded, but if she'd had a knife on her, it'd have saved vital minutes. An episode of that show also showed an agent who sent another to a car to get his Swiss Army knife from the glove box. Why do these people not have knives in their pockets or purses? Don't most real agents, the men, anyway?

I doubt that I'll have as dramatic a need for a knife as they do, but it's on me, if needed. I have faced down a couple of dogs with knives and stopped three thuggish men in their tracks by opening a Henckels lockblade of the sort carried by many German hunters. (At that time, there were no concealed carry handgun licenses in Texas.)

I have too many knives to discuss all here tonight. I haven't even had dinner yet, and it's nearly midnight. Within reach of me at the computer now are a Spyderco Delica, a Spyderco Endura, a Wenger SAK, and a Grohmann Russell Canadian Boat Knife. A Fallkniven A-1 is close, too. (But so is a CZ-75B 9mm and I'd reach for it before I would the A-1 if someone was forcing entry.)

I've carried pocketknives since I was a kid, and you could do that at school then. I'd hate to be without them. I prefer sheath knives (fixed blades) for outdoors work.

My son usually has a Benchmade locker with a tanto shaped blade and a multitool. I think he should have a SAK, but he seldom carries one. His wife has a Camillus Barracuda (?) that I gave her. My daughter has a Victorinox Executive in her purse. She especially likes the scissors. I'll give knives to a couple of my grandsons. My brother and his sons never carry knives. They have a sort of soft-shoe mentality that precludes them carrying any "weapon". That just baffles me. I can't say more on this board about the underlying issues with them. But it vexes me.

I love good knives. I tend to sharpen blades on ceramic rods to avoid wearing the steel down. I occasionally oil the joints on folders and oil blades, lest they rust.

I don't understand people who'll pay a lot to see a movie or a football game, but who shirk at spending much money on a good knife that'll last a lifetime.
 
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Carried a Buck 110 for years when I lived in New York. Then occasionally did carry a Spyderco Mariner when working on the spill response boats. carried the 110 until I retired in 1995. Now a Benchmade Griptillian or another benchmade knife. Small gun shop in town sells the Benchmade knives and usually every Christmas I buy another to keep the other pocket knives I have company. truth be told I really don't know how many pocket knives I own. one of these days will have to round up all of them and count them. The Buck 110 I have had since 1977. Frank
 
I'm surprised to see that there are quite a few Spyderco / Swiss Army Knife combos being carried. I prefer the Victorinox SAK. Another knife I like is the Zero Tolerance ZT301. It's a bit steep price wise so I'm looking at the ZT350TS as a smaller, lighter and cheaper option. About half the price but more than half the bigger knife. Anyone have insights into these knives?
 
I tend to buy a new pocket knife every couple years, currently carrying a Zero Tolerance ZT350 with partial serrations. It has been a very tough knife so far. Blade wasn't super sharp from the factory but has held an edge well. I still need to invest in a decent sharpener. I have not been gentle in the use of this knife but it has handled the abuse well.
 
I carry two knives daily. A Swiss Army Ranger and a Spyderco Paramilitary II. I carry the SAK in my left pocket and the Spyderco in right.

I have a thing for 91mm SAKs since that's what my Dad had. I lost a few and stopped carrying them, people using my knife and not returning it.

Now I seven. I got back into carrying them after I started carrying the Paramilitary. It's not something as innocuous as a SAK. ;)


How severe are South African knife laws? I gather that the SAK's are no problem, but that the Spyderco is iffy? Does it vary by province? Can you carry in Durban what you could in Johannesburg or Cape Town? What about fixed blade knives?
Surely, hunters must carry them.

Do you know about a game ranger there named Harry Wolhuter knifing a lion that was dragging him off to eat? The hide of the lion was on display at Kruger Natl. Park for years, but Wolhuter's injured shoulder never healed right. That's where the lion grabbed him. He stabbed it in the heart with his other hand. The knife was by I. Williams, a London maker, similar to the American Dadley pattern Green River knife. Blade was six inches. Williams's knives were marketed as the Pipe brand, also. It was a type widely used by butchers to "stick" animals such as sheep.

I've read Wolhuter's own account of this and it was a pretty stirring bit of prose. If you've been to Kruger, is that knife and hide still there?
 
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I'm surprised to see that there are quite a few Spyderco / Swiss Army Knife combos being carried. I prefer the Victorinox SAK. Another knife I like is the Zero Tolerance ZT301. It's a bit steep price wise so I'm looking at the ZT350TS as a smaller, lighter and cheaper option. About half the price but more than half the bigger knife. Anyone have insights into these knives?

I'm a big fan of the ZT line and while the 0301 and 0350 models are great knives I like the 0550, (top right) and the 0566 (second from top left side) a little better. I find both the 0350 & 0301 to be a bit wide for my taste.

ZTGroupFront_zps2464f347.jpg
 
How severe are South African knife laws? I gather that the SAK's are no problem, but that the Spyderco is iffy? Does it vary by province? Can you carry in Durban what you could in Johannesburg or Cape Town? What about fixed blade knives?
Surely, hunters must carry them.

Do you know about a game ranger there named Harry Wolhuter knifing a lion that was dragging him off to eat? The hide of the lion was on display at Kruger Natl. Park for years, but Wolhuter's injured shoulder never healed right. That's where the lion grabbed him. He stabbed it in the heart with his other hand. The knife was by I. Williams, a London maker, similar to the American Dadley pattern Green River knife. Blade was six inches. Williams's knives were marketed as the Pipe brand, also. It was a type widely used by butchers to "stick" animals such as sheep.

I've read Wolhuter's own account of this and it was a pretty stirring bit of prose. If you've been to Kruger, is that knife and hide still there?

There are laws relating carrying dangerous weapons particularly to public meetings like protests or demonstrations for example. Self defense is not a reason for carrying a knife for example, you must justify why you are carrying it, e.g. as a tool.

A dagger, i.e. two sided blade is by law a dangerous weapon so that's a no-no. Single sided blades less than 10cm long is not regarded as a dangerous weapon.

The law applies throughout the country but there is no guarantee that specific policeman is conversant with the specifics of the law relating to knives so it's best to avoid trouble.

I can't comment on the Kruger National Park. It is vast with numerous "camps". I haven't heard about the hunter either but that is some feat. I've been around some lions up to 3 months old and they're pretty powerful so an adult would be vicious. The roar of a lion can be felt inside your body... they exude power.
 
I'm a big fan of the ZT line and while the 0301 and 0350 models are great knives I like the 0550, (top right) and the 0566 (second from top left side) a little better. I find both the 0350 & 0301 to be a bit wide for my taste.

ZTGroupFront_zps2464f347.jpg

That is an impressive collection of ZT knives!!! :cool: I've envious. Unhappily I don't have access to many different models of ZTs. Apart from those mentioned I've seen ZT560/700/770. Cost is a big issue here. The ZAR/$ exchange is about 11.50 to the $ plus taxes and profit so for me that's thousands of Rands. ;)
 
The man who held Alaska Guide License #1--can't recall his name, but I read his memoirs years ago--used a Buck 110 as his primary knife for dressing out thousands of animals up to and including brown bears.

There are two general replies to that. The first is that he's not me, he was probably way better at field dressing than I'll ever be, and he was probably fastidious about cleaning that knife, too. Alternatively, he kept it sharp but didn't bother to clean it because it was just going to get dirty again really soon. Somehow I doubt that, though. As to the cleaning, I'd rather clean a fixed blade when it comes to blood and guts and hair. :eek:

Not "tactical" (I've never been sure what that means when applied to knives unless it means blades designed for fighting, which generally are very limited as to other uses), but they and similar lockback folders have cleaned untold millions of game animals.

Actually, same reply. You can do it if you want to but I have the choice of so many knives I can't imagine selecting a lockback of any kind to do this type of chore. I don't gainsay what other folks do; that's their choice. Some people carry .22s for self defense, some carry .44s. It's a choice. :rolleyes:

When I was still able to hunt I preferred a fixed blade; but I would have been quite okay using any of several folders I've owned, including Schrade's carbon steel clone of the 110, the Old Timer 125OT.

I have a host of folders that will do the job, too. Lockbacks, jackknives, etc. I carry an Old Timer around my house for chores. Just because I have them doesn't mean I will use them for field dressing. Being expert at the use of lockbacks to clean your game animals is a choice.

But I will admit I sometimes use my belt knife in restaurants. It's sharper than the knives they give me and it makes me laugh to watch people's reactions. It's totally unnecessary but I make the choice just for fun. :D
 
Lots of help so far, guys, and its appreciated.

So far I'm leaning towards Kershaw, Spyderco, and Gerber, but still open to others.

A couple questions...

For general EDC...flat edge or partial serrated? Thumb button or Spyderco style "hole", and why?

Thanks again.
 
For general EDC...flat edge or partial serrated? Thumb button or Spyderco style "hole", and why?

It all depends on the blade length. The longer the blade length then the more I open to having part of the blade serrated. For a 3" blade or less then no serrations. For a blade 3" or more, then I don't mind them. It really comes down to personal preference. Some guys love them and some guys hate them. I will say the better the steel, the less likely you will need serrations.

I very rarely cut thick rope, but if I did I would use my Ontario Rat 1 (has a 3.5" blade) and use the serrations on it. For every day tasks, non serrated blades with good steel work just fine for me. My every day tasks would include cutting plastic zip ties and barn twine and opening cardboard boxes and sealed plastic containers that contain whatever you purchased.

As for your other question, in order of my preferences from most to "less most" preferred: Flipper (like kershaw) > spyderco hole > thumb stud. Again this is personal preference. I like assisted opening knives with flippers, but for non assisted opening knives I really like the spyderco hole. It all comes down to ease of opening for me, personally.
 
For general EDC...flat edge or partial serrated? Thumb button or Spyderco style "hole", and why?

My favorite blase lock is far and away the Benchmade Axis lock. Assisted or not, it is the slickest, strongest opening/locking system I have tried. It is almost better if unassisted because you can close it with one hand. The assisted ones are a lot of fun, though. Sog has something similar; I think it is pretty successful on the Spec Elite in particular.

Of course, with Benchmade you are going to spend a lot more money. For less-expensive knives, say $20-60, I like the Kershaw assisted flippers best. You are going to pay the most for the USA made models like the Ken Onion knives, but you can find some nice Kershaw flippers for not much over $20.
 
There are laws relating carrying dangerous weapons particularly to public meetings like protests or demonstrations for example. Self defense is not a reason for carrying a knife for example, you must justify why you are carrying it, e.g. as a tool.

A dagger, i.e. two sided blade is by law a dangerous weapon so that's a no-no. Single sided blades less than 10cm long is not regarded as a dangerous weapon.

The law applies throughout the country but there is no guarantee that specific policeman is conversant with the specifics of the law relating to knives so it's best to avoid trouble.

I can't comment on the Kruger National Park. It is vast with numerous "camps". I haven't heard about the hunter either but that is some feat. I've been around some lions up to 3 months old and they're pretty powerful so an adult would be vicious. The roar of a lion can be felt inside your body... they exude power.


I concur: the roar of a big lion is frightening and goes right to your soul. Their odor is also distinctive.

I recently read a full account by game ranger Harry Wolhuter, who was attacked in Aug., 1903. And I found a site that showed a replica of his knife by a South African custom maker, although not one I've heard of. He probably saw the knife in the park display.

I think the late Peter Capstick mentioned this case in his safari writing, and it was cited by a SA author in the big annual, "Knives."

Have you seen custom knives made there by Piet Grey and others?
 
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A fine knife with hard steel that will take a razor edge is great in the kitchen and for field dressing game, but for around the farm I like a cheap knife with a softer steel blade. It takes time to hone and strop an edge on a high quality knife. Takes half a minute with a coarse stone to put a useable edge on a softer steel. Plenty good enough for most chores.
 
A couple questions...
For general EDC...flat edge or partial serrated? Thumb button or Spyderco style "hole", and why?

I like serrations only in a rescue knife format. I don't know if they still make it--mine was stolen years ago--but Spyderco made a rescue model with a blunt tip and serrations only on the tip end, a one-inch set of very aggressive teeth. It was perfect for cutting seat belts or clothing in an emergency, without risking hurting the victim.

Other than that very specialized use, I don't care for serrations.

I like the Spyderco hole for opening a knife with one hand; but I also have a SOG assisted opener that activates with a nudge on a thumb button, and like it. My preference for the Spyderco Endura involves a lot of factors such as weight and strength, but one is safety. It just isn't possible to accidentally activate the opening system or accidentally unlock the blade while using it. Either takes a positive decision.
 
Y'all are the best...thanks for all the info.

Its not firm, but I've narrowed it down to these three...finances keep me from adding a couple more y'all have mentioned that I like but simply cannot afford:
The Spyderco Endura 4 with the comboedge
The Kershaw 1670BW Blur
The Gerber Covert Knife with partially serrated edge

Thoughts? Plusses and minuses? More alternatives in this price range ($50-$100) or less?

Edit: The Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn is also on my list, though at the top end of what I can afford. Compared to the others, is it a good bit of a better choice?
 
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That was a flat blade Kershaw Nerve for $20.00. I almost ordered it but decided to look around first. I found a Kershaw Nerve with the combo edge, a 3420ST ...new, still in original packaging...on EBay for $17.95 with free shipping:
Kershaw Nerve Lock Blade G 10 Pocket Knife R J Martin Serrated KS 3420 St | eBay

That takes care of a knife for my 3 day bag...:D...still trying to decide on one for EDC, either one I listed above or another that y'all might suggest.....?
 
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