A Good Pocket Knife

[joel]

An Echo for the Chris Reeves Sebenza.... it is truly in a class of its own. I've owned pocket knives from $5 to $2,000 and my Chris Reeve Sebenza is without question my favorite. Microtech makes a superb knife as well for a little bit less $.

Depending on the occasion and the attire I carry a Large Chris Reeve Sebenza, a custom Darrel Ralph Apogee or a William Henry CF 12.

 

[Creslin]

I grew up with pocket knives so I feel utterly naked without one. I try not to have more than one good knife at a time because I really love edged weapons and could easily find myself going overboard with the collecting; besides if I'm collecting knives I can't afford shaving stuff.

Brands I know of (have experience with) are Gerber, Swiss, Schrade, Buck, Puma, Case, Eye Brand, and Tree Brand.

I don't really care for most stainless knives; in my experience they tend to be too hard to easily sharpen, which is a big deal with me (most of my friends remark on how sharp my knife is when I'm saying it needs to be honed again). The exception that I am familar with (not saying that there aren't other exceptions, I just do not have personal experience with any others) is my current working knife. It is a Schrade "Uncle Henry" 885UH. The blades are a form of stainless that seems to be softer than what is used in a Buck model 110.

For ease of sharpening and getting a really good edge there just isn't anything that can beat a good carbon steel blade. Some of the best pocket knife steel is made in, yep you guessed it, Solingen Germany. The two brands that use this steel that I am familar with are Eye Brand and Tree Brand.

If you are a careful knife user there is even a knife out there with a ceramic blade that advertises never needing sharpening. I have a friend with one of these and it is as sharp now as it was when he bought it several years ago. The downside? The ceramic blade is quite brittle and will not take any kind of prising motion, or any impact along the edge.

If you search around, custom makers can be found that use really exotic woods for the handles. I've even seen some with handles made from wild laminations. Some of these custom makers even make their own Damascus steel which is really very cool stuff.

I'm going to end this post now. I'm allready having to fight off the urge to spend the next few hours browsing the web for kinves. I would rather read the message board here.

 

[modern man]

Smith and Wesson Specal Ops! 3 years 2 tours of duty and still sharp as the day I got her.

Half strait blade, half seraded, Tanto. My K-bar is still sharp as well but I dont use it half as much.

 

[modern man]

I've been eyeing' one of those Smith & Wesson tactical pocket knives on ebay. They're about $10-$20. Anyone have any experience with Smith & Wesson knives?

See above man!

 

[fuerein]

I don't really need a pocket knife much, but I wouldn't mind being able to have one available for general cutting use. I can't really carry one with me all the time. Since I work in a Federal building, they kind of frown on people carrying anything that could be construed as a weapon into the building.

As such, one I've seen that looks nice and looks like it would fulfill my purposes is The Laguiole Knife. I'm not really sure though, it'll probably be several months before I buy one though.

 

[Jim]

Doc you really dug up this dusty old post!

 

[modern man]

Doc you really dug up this dusty old post!

Hey i was checking the new Forum Speakeasy (not many threads) this was in it and I am a big knife user. Good stuff here.

 

[JohnP]

Every man needs a good pocket knife. I just picked up an Emerson mini commander......man this thing is sharp........I bet I could shave with it....lol
Any others guys carry pocket knives?

Funny thing, for years my favorite knife was the full-size Emerson commander, which I got in 1998, not very long after it came out. Wonderful knife, it went through all sorts of things with me, and performed a lot of cutting tasks. It was also fairly easy to sharpen with its single bevel. Unfortunately it walked one day.
The only comment about it in retrospect, is that I'll probably end up buying another one someday, and that I had to be careful when I pulled it out of my pocket. That "wave" feature is quite impressive, but some are quite startled by it (the knife opens automatically when pulled from your pocket or gear, ready to go-no buttons needed) and I started carrying it inside my pocket (not clipped) so it wouldn't automatically open (at least when amongst friends) for just that reason. People unaccustomed to the knife see that SNAP from one's pocket and the normal reaction is fear, something I don't intend to cause when merely cutting a piece of rope or some mundane task, or when asked to cut something by some member of the fairer sex.
Nowadays I have a much cheaper Swiss Army Forester one-hand opening.
Quite a handy knife in it's own right. Not what I'd choose in a fight, (in that situation, the Emerson by far, or better yet, a machete or something that puts distance between me and the bad guy) but extremely useful for day to day stuff. I really like the knife, and it doesn't hurt the wallet much either.
Honestly, to get me into a knife fight you'd have to corner me like a wild animal; and like a few others on here I suspect, I've had training. So much easier just to leave. If that option is taken away, I'll use whatever I can get my hands on quickest.
John P.

 

[ratcheer]

Every man needs a good pocket knife. I just picked up an Emerson mini commander......man this thing is sharp........I bet I could shave with it....lol
Any others guys carry pocket knives?

I usually carry the little Buck Companions. I also have a couple of very nice Case knives (Damascus steel, stag handles, etc), but I rarely even take them out to look at them.

The Buck's are simple, small, very useful, and nearly indestructible.

Tim

 

[PalmettoB]

Schrade Old Timer. USA 98OT model. Sadly, Imperial Schrade no longer is in business, and Taylor is continuing these, but they are now made in China. Guess I'd better hold onto this one.

 

[JohnP]

I know.
An Old Timer is what my granddad used to carry, is the first knife I learned to sharpen, and if they were still made in USA I would recommend them wholeheartedly now. I've carried several, and to this day the smell of 3 in 1 oil makes me think of that first Old Timer knife
Nowadays I would look for a US made alternative (personal preference) or an older US produced Old Timer. Preferably from someone not wanting the "collector" price for it.
John P.

 

[_JP_]

I've carried an original style Leatherman Tool almost dialy for the past 16 years until someone broke into my van and stole it (along with other stuff) last week.

 

[Buzz]

I know I'm not the only one who sports a Sebenza. A little heavy for dress slacks, but fits the bill quite nicely for jeans.

-Nick

I've been eyeing up a Sebenza for years. I have the little brothers --- an UMFAAN and a Mnandi.

I just can't decide which to get. The small would probably be more useful, but it really isn't that much bigger than the Mnandi. The big would be wonderful once in awhile, but too big/scary to carry all the time in the office.

Decisions....

 

[JohnP]

I know I'm not the only one who sports a Sebenza. A little heavy for dress slacks, but fits the bill quite nicely for jeans.

-Nick

Nick, not sure where you got your sebenza, but thought I would throw in a recommendation for people to check out the website in that picture. TADgear has a lot of really neat "real-deal" stuff. Even if you aren't going to buy, it's nice to browse some of the really cool offerings on their site, everything from nice knives (REALLY nice sometimes) to IR lights to use with NVGs.
A really cool site.
John P.

 

[Dinder1]

What about some left handed models? I have a kershaw ken onion that I carry everywhere, but I sure wish that I could reverse the clip. I know that benchmade knives are reversible ,but are there other options?
Cheers, DJ.

 

[JohnP]

SOG makes some reversible clip knives, and my Gerber Applegate-fairbairn folders are reversible, I'm pretty sure. There are lots of good ones out there that will work for lefties, just gotta look.
Might want to check out www.1sks.com usually they have a blurb on each knife they sell that tells whether it is reversible, also.
John P.

 

[murchmb]

Small Sebenza here. Can't top it in my book. I hope to get a CR pouch and titanium clip insert for Christmas.

 

[Abloy]

I've owned quite a few pocket knives and frankly there's no perfect knife for every person. I'm not a huge fan of the idea of carrying a folding knife for fighting, there are far better things to carry, especially from a liability

Currently I either carry a Kershaw Onion, or a Leatherman Micra. I've owned two Micras, and have to say that they're the best deal for the size. I used to think that the tweezers were pretty useless, but I've since started using them to short the A and B pins in the ALDL on pre-1996 GM cars to read the trouble codes.

I've been particularly amazed at how good the flat #2 Phillips screwdriver in the Micra is. The scissors are strong enough for cutting up to about 14 AWG wire, and the knife blade is adequate.

 

[xChris]

Dollar for dollar -- Spyderco is the best deal in mass-manufactured pocket knives.

I am a huge knife collector myself (due to firearms restrictions).

 

[TimmyBoston]

An Echo for the Chris Reeves Sebenza.... it is truly in a class of its own. I've owned pocket knives from $5 to $2,000 and my Chris Reeve Sebenza is without question my favorite. Microtech makes a superb knife as well for a little bit less $.

Depending on the occasion and the attire I carry a Large Chris Reeve Sebenza, a custom Darrel Ralph Apogee or a William Henry CF 12.

Joel,
Got any pictures?