Knife Blogging
I’ve mentioned that I’ve been pretty happy with my Spyderco Endura with the Wave (and others like that recommendation too). But the Spyderco is a functional knife and more work oriented. And the blade, while functional, is rather bland. But Tam brought my attention to the Kershaw CQC-5K. I wanted to try it out as more of a knife I carried when I wasn’t working. A few observations:
The blade is better, I think.
The smaller Wave makes opening a bit more work and required some practice
And it’s thicker
Overall, though, I like it.
October 20th, 2014 at 6:00 pm
8cr13mov blade steel takes a good edge but in my opinion doesn’t hold it nearly as well as vg10.
October 20th, 2014 at 6:49 pm
And I thought you didn’t like Kershaw..;-)
October 20th, 2014 at 6:56 pm
They’re great so long as you don’t get them at Walmart.
October 20th, 2014 at 10:50 pm
I’m not really a knife person at all. I’ve got a cold steel twistmaster that I bought like 20 years ago and I love the blade on it, but I want something smaller/thinner so I can have a knife for cutting boxes/packages/etc around the house/work.
Basically I want something small with a good blade.
Recommendations?
October 20th, 2014 at 11:59 pm
Jim W, Swiss Army knife. Either Victorinox or Wenger will have one that fits both your pocket and your wallet. Big selection. Also check out the midsize Bucks and Gerbers, if all you want is one easy-opening locking blade. They’ll all last a lifetime.
October 21st, 2014 at 12:36 am
But I am wondering why the Buck 110 50th Anniversary is $10.00 cheaper at my local Menard’s than it is at Dick’s or Knife Country USA. More like $18.00 cheaper if you factor in the shipping. Something to look out for. If you are going to buy a brand name knife, don’t get a factory second from a big box store unless that’s all you can afford to pay. Not that the Menard’s knife is necessarily a factory second, but it makes me suspicious.
October 21st, 2014 at 12:51 am
Jim W —
Victorinox Swiss Army knives are a good recommendation; seconded. Don’t go crazy getting a super thick one with a zillion tools. A lot of people swear by Victorinox’s little Alox Cadet, which has thin, tough anodized handles.
The other thing I thought of for your needs was a Spyderco Delica 4. Get one of the full flat ground (FFG) versions; these have a thinner (from above) blade profile that slices really well. Plain edge blade, no serrations.
They come with different handle colors: blue, brown, green, etc. Light knife to carry, good pocket clip, easy to open, sharp-ass blade. Blade length is sub-3″, so should be street legal everywhere, except the worst liberal metros (Boston/NYC/Chi etc.).
October 21st, 2014 at 12:01 pm
Used to use a Victorinox “Tinker” which served me well at the time. Since then, I’ve gone to a Gerber “Diesel” multitool (comfortable, you don’t have to squeeze on edges) plus a Bradley Kimura 2 butterfly, but we can have switchblades in IN now, so I got one of those. I feel so luxuriantly dirty.
October 21st, 2014 at 10:21 pm
I ended up getting a gerber air ranger that was on sale for 18 bucks. Girlfriend saw it and I ended up going back to the store for another one.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:10 pm
Gerber is a terrible brand, poor QC, lots of gov’t mandated product safety recalls. Not a good choice, but that said I wish you good fortune.
October 22nd, 2014 at 2:10 pm
I just bought the Menard’s Buck 110 that I was talking about. Just as I thought, factory second as far as fit and finish go. Wiggle in the lock. That’s bad. Sloppy fit and gap on backspring. Badly ground edge bevel, practically a gouge at the point. My $8.99 Chinese lockback, with the exception of 440A instead of 420HC for the blade, is far superior. Feeling: A $30.00 made in the USA knife is not as good as a $10.00 made in China knife. Big box store? Prepare to be disappointed.
October 23rd, 2014 at 8:52 am
Update on the Gerber. As I said, I went back for a second knife for the gf… and I had to go back to the store again to actually get a knife where the locking mechanism had been assembled properly. Most of them were either way too tight or way too loose (ie, either the blade would wobble or it would take a crowbar to unlock and close). Doing this without the benefit of being able to open packages in the store and inspect them would be agonizing, so I can see why people avoid them.
That being said, once you get one that has been properly put together, I have no complaints.
October 23rd, 2014 at 1:29 pm
I’ve had my Gerber Bolt Action since 1985. I’ve cut through a toilet seat with it, pounding it with a hammer. It’s the knife I carry most.
And I’m keeping the Buck and giving it the TLC it should have gotten. I already tightened the action, and I know how to reshape a bevel. I can’t do anything about the spine, but I’m getting a little hunchbacked too. đŸ˜‰
October 25th, 2014 at 2:00 pm
Maybe I’m just lucky, but my Gerbers have served me well. Now, I had a Benchmade butterfly that couldn’t hold an edge if it had a handle on it, but my Bradley rawks.