Opinions on EDC folding knives

[ilikegunspdx]

If I remember right, you have the wood scaled Delica and I can see it being an issue for the pocket clip to generate the necessary friction for proper retention. The FRN scales and G10 scales provide that clip pressure point something to grip against. You might ask Casey if he can bend your clip a little bit more to provide additional pressure to help with retention.

Thx @ORhutner for finding the cause of the issue. I put a 3/8" by 1" skateboard tape on it and it solved the problem but it solved it too well! Felt like I had to use pliers almost to pull out of pocket. I was afraid the tape would abrade jeans so then I tried rubberized grip tape. Held just as well but unfortunately rubber tape was cheap brand and glue didn't hold (skateboard tape was 3m brand which is about only brand I trust for tapes). So now I cut a new peice of the 3m skateboard tape much smaller and I'll try it out (see pic below). Seems like even that tiny piece increases friction a lot.

Haven't heard back from lynch yet but this tape idea may be useful for his clip also (if needed).

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Update re lynch deep carry titanium clip. Thomas said the shorter clip falls short of the "landing pad" on frn delicas (thus their site lists the long clip as the right one for that knife). But he said the shorter clip will work fine for delica that doesn't have the frn scales with their "landing pad", so I ordered the short clip. Landing pad shown with blue arrow for reference (at least I think that's it).


Fwiw the skateboard tape worked wonders as I was outside doing maintenance all day and it never moved in my pocket. Hopefully I won't need it with the deep carry clip. Gave the knife a workout with cutting about 50 bamboo shoots (not yet hard), some thick foil/foam spray jug covers, and plastic drip tubing. Seems to still be very sharp after that fwiw.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Update re lynch deep carry titanium clip. Thomas said the shorter clip falls short of the "landing pad" on frn delicas (thus their site lists the long clip as the right one for that knife). But he said the shorter clip will work fine for delica that doesn't have the frn scales with their "landing pad", so I ordered the short clip. Landing pad shown with blue arrow for reference (at least I think that's it).

View attachment 1191518
Fwiw the skateboard tape worked wonders as I was outside doing maintenance all day and it never moved in my pocket. Hopefully I won't need it with the deep carry clip. Gave the knife a workout with cutting about 50 bamboo shoots (not yet hard), some thick foil/foam spray jug covers, and plastic drip tubing. Seems to still be very sharp after that fwiw.

That's pthirus pubis , actually. Never understood why they chose such a disturbing spirit animal .

 

[ilikegunspdx]

That's pthirus pubis , actually. Never understood why they chose such a disturbing spirit animal .

Interesting. I had to look that one up. Apparently the pubic louse or "crabs" have six legs whereas the spyderco symbol has 8. Found this blurb on a Google search fwiw.

Now what the heck is a portable hand?

Edit: found it

 

[Knobgoblin]

3rd hand hobby tools are pretty neat.

 

[joneb]

Quality construction.
A blade that will hold an edge well.
And......cheap enough. As in......I won't cry, if I lose it.

BTW......for me it's the Kershaw OSO Sweet - model #1830

Kershaw OSO Sweet Knife 1830 Pocket Knife - Black for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Kershaw OSO Sweet Knife 1830 Pocket Knife - Black at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

BTW....IMHO, the once-a-year Kershaw factory sale is a must-attend event.

Aloha, Mark

I look way at knifes advertised with Stainless Steel blades, as these are mostly made with Chinese junk stainless.

 

[ma96782]

I look way at knifes advertised with Stainless Steel blades, as these are mostly Chinese junk stainless.

Tell THAT to Kershaw.

Then.....
I can remember when Americans used to say that about "Made in Japan". Steel and other products.

Aloha, Mark

PS....for less than $25 it suits my purpose.

 

[Dr Prepper]

Just ordered one of these Boker automatic knives for a dedicated cardboard cutter. D2 serrated blade. We order a lot of crap online and it might save the spyderco blade somewhat from cutting so many boxes over time. Of course I couldn't just use an actual box cutter, because that would just be too boring.

They are $53 at grindworx (same company as bladehq). Made in Taiwan. Looks to me like it's a more heavy duty/tacticalish kalashnikov.Their photo of knife says aus8 and description says d2 so I had her check. She said it has been upgraded to D2 like the kalashnikovs have.

I'm still trying to figure out best solution for an edc serrated blade (would be carried along with delica plain knife). I could replace my skeletool blade with a skeletool rx 154cm serrated blade but I would have to buy the whole tool just to get the blade which is kind of silly. Also dragonfly or ladybug serated in coin pocket might work. Still unsure of best way to go for that. Open to suggestions for small lightweight serrated knives with good steel (d2 or better). This one too big for me as an extra edc knife but big size should help with cardboard I would think.

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View attachment 1190484

AND YOURE TELLING ME THIS NOW! AFTER I RECIEVED MY TWO KALASH's

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Here's a weird one. Love the blade and the cpm-m4 steel. ball bearing lock is interesting. Too bad handle isn't small could be a useful coin pocket knife. Expensive at $175 but collectors will probably buy them up fast I think.

A couple charts to show how cpm-m4 stacks up to other steels:

 

[ilikegunspdx]

AND YOURE TELLING ME THIS NOW! AFTER I RECIEVED MY TWO KALASH's

Thinking of getting a mini kalashnikov serrated blade. Trying to find options for a small 2nd blade that is serrated. Price, d2 steel, and automatic make it tempting. Spyderco delica k390 steel serrated is another one that is tempting but over twice the price.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Here's a weird one. Love the blade and the cpm-m4 steel. ball bearing lock is interesting. Too bad handle isn't small could be a useful coin pocket knife. Expensive at $175 but collectors will probably buy them up fast I think.

View attachment 1191908

A couple charts to show how cpm-m4 stacks up to other steels:
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View attachment 1191911

I dig the whole " beak" blade profile.

Hideously attractive to my eye.

 

[joneb]

Here's a weird one

I think "doo doo" would be a more appropriate name.

 

[Knobgoblin]

I think "doo doo" would be a more appropriate name.

Knives are like your children. None of them are ugly, just unique or different looking.

Other people's kids...eh.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Received the boker auto knife. Passing on my observations here FWIW in hopes it might help others. I'm impressed for the $.

Pros: Centered blade when closed, no blade play when open either up-down or side to side, authoritative very snappy and strong opening, D2 steel, nice aluminum handle with good texture and feels very solid in the hand. Choiles (sp?) on the handle top and bottom are in the perfect spot to be comfortable. Bottom of handle protrudes so if cutting something like cardboard it acts as a stop.

Cons: the bevel is wider on one side than the other and I will need to do some reprofiling to make symmetrical. Arrived sharp but not super (eg shaving) sharp. I wish very end of handle was wider top to bottom wise because front feels absolutely perfect and back feels too short (top to bottom I mean) to be super comfortable for my hands anyway. Would be more of a concern if this was a $150 or more knife but for the price really I'm just being nit-picky probably. Safety feels a little flimsy like someday after it wears it might randomly float from safe to fire or something.

Neutral (not a pro or con really) observations: when opening you can feel the spring winding up to open. It's a fraction of a second and probably is true for all side opening automatics I would guess. Barely noticeable and I think it's a function of having a really strong opening spring. Not bad to close despite strong spring. Safety is probably a good idea because opening button is not recessed and would keep it from accidentally opening in ur pocket I would think.

Have not tested yet on cardboard which is it's designated use so we'll see on that.

Size relative to some others is shown in 1st pic, from bottom to top:
1. Beater Amazon otf dual action auto knife (unknown blade steel)
2. Civivi asticus flipper (D2 blade)
3. Beater spring assisted opening kershaw 2200 flipper (813crMov)
4. Boker strike auto (D2)
5. Spyderco delica (HAP40/Sus410 laminate)







Also a general observation (not on this knife cuz haven't used it yet really) is I'm impressed with D2 steel. Seems to me from my layman's perspective that D2 is a mid range steel for a budget steel price. The Civivi one has stayed super sharp despite cutting multiple types of stuff. But then my frame of reference is cheap knives that go dull really fast. Fe the 420 stainless on basic leatherman skeletool (drove me nuts cuz it went dull so fast, but the serrated part stayed pretty sharp). 420 is dull after cutting almost anything. The 154CM on skeletool cx is much, much, better but I would prefer even longer edge retention. D2 seems to offer that based on my limited "testing"/use so far. I'm coming to the conclusion that blade steel is probably the #1 factor for me overall (fwiw, I don't know that much about knives yet).

Fwiw for those who may be interested, here is some blade steel info from knifesteelnerds website. I've been mainly focusing on spyderco knives so I highlighted some common spyderco steels or ones I'm familiar with and also some common steels such as Aus8 and the craptastic 420 mentioned above. Note that these charts don't address corrosion resistance and important factors like blade geometry. In the first chart TCC equates to edge retention. Anyone can correct me on any of this stuff, just what I understand so far.



Note that I don't see cpm-20cv on the charts above but my understanding (fwiw) is that it's an excellent steel. Bladehq puts cpm 20cv in the top teir of knife steels:


FYI good info on knife steels here in more understandable terms than knifesteelnerds extreme level of detail:

Knife Steel Guide - Knife Life

In its most basic form, steel is just iron and carbon, but people have been studying, experimenting with, and perfecting steel with other elements for specific applications for millennia. The study of steel is now so complex and nuanced that one can acquire a graduate degree in the subject and...

www.bladehq.com

 

[coop44]

Always a gerber and kershaw fan, have a gerber ats34 titanium I have had for 20 some odd years. Good tight knife, but a bear to get sharp. Have a kershaw wildcat ridge 4" folder, my dad gave it to me 23 years ago, so I don't carry it much, very similar to the buck folder (#110?).
I have a few more but rarely carry them.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Most current delicas come with flat grind.
This appears to be flat ground, and yes I see the line where the different steels meet. I'd call it a Hamon ,buy the real knife nerds would probably crucify me for legitimate reasons I don't understand.
The saber(sabre?) grind was once available on delicas. Both grind styles have their fans.

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Are these 2 Sabre grind? What is the benefit of this blade grind over flat grind? I assume for the combo blade delica they had to use this kind of grind to have a blade thick enough for serrations?

 

[ORhutner]

Are these 2 Sabre grind? What is the benefit of this blade grind over flat grind? I assume for the combo blade delica they had to use this kind of grind to have a blade thick enough for serrations?
View attachment 1193184
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Yes, the delica is a sabre grind. I would call the Gayle Bradley a hollow grind though because the grind goes up the majority of the blade vs. the delica.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Received mini boker kalashnikov. Trying to find a small serrated 2nd carry knife and this one is half the price of buying a new skeletool rx just for the blade. Similar to other one everything tight and snappy. Symmetric bevel thank goodness. Tiny, comfortable in hand, drop point blade would probably be better at this size. No safety due to recessed button. D2 steel. Very comfortable in hand. Aluminum scales. Weight is only 1.95 oz which is great for an auto knife I think.

Boker is an interesting company. Has been making swords and knives since 1700s in Germany. Existing company started in 1869 or something. Boker magnum is lowest tier. Boker plus is next (these auto kalashnikovs are boker plus). Regular Boker in Germany is highest along with arbolito. Some of those arbolito real stag knives are beautiful to my eye.

This link has info on boker if interested:

Breakdown of the Boker Knife Brands

Written by Timothy Martinez Jr. The symbol of Boker knives is a tree, which is inspired by a giant chestnut tree that stood near the Boeker tool factory in the 17th century. The tree is an apt symbol for Boker because over its more than 150 year existence, the company has branched out and...

knife-depot.com

Mini kalashnikov size comparison:



I like the box

A couple boker arbolitos

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Yes, the delica is a sabre grind. I would call the Gayle Bradley a hollow grind though because the grind goes up the majority of the blade vs. the delica.
View attachment 1193200

Interesting that the combo blade delica has Sabre grind. I was/am? waiting for a k390 serrated delica to come in stock and I noticed it's a flat grind. I wish I knew more about benefits in one grind vs another.

But best way to learn sometimes is try stuff out and see what you like for ones own use I guess. That's one reason I bought an el cheapo dual action spear point from Amazon. I wanted to see if I like the concept before spending boku $ on a microtech or something of similar quality. I like the action but size and weight are not a good fit for my needs. Fidget factor is good though ha ha.

Pic of delica k390 serrated. Seems like good value to me at $123 for k390 blade and light weight with FRN.

I also like this one. Same size and weight and high quality steel (but not as high as k390 in terms of edge retention as I understand it anyway, I have never owned either steel).

 

[ilikegunspdx]

A note about mini kalashnikov if anyone is interested is I noticed website says the one they were selling was originally a manual open knife and a third party added spring to make it auto. So if u happen to have mini or full size kalashnikov u can probably make it an auto by buying and installing a spring (I'm guessing here). I think mine may be one of these modified ones I don't know (or care actually). I noticed seal on box was cut so it must be one of those.

Also the pocket clip is a pain to remove compared to spyderco. It isn't mounted on outside you have to remove a few screws and wiggle it out cuz it attaches on the inside. But man without that clip this thing is SO slim and light in the pocket. I'm thinking I will just add it to my little mag holster on my belt. It should fit fine with the mag in there.


Pic to show how slim it is: