Worst EDC folders you've had?

[Joe13]

I refuse to comment since the OP talked bad about my second mostest favorite knife
Really I'm like IM if it ain't much good it don't get carried.
But I like all knives as I'm trying to collect all kinds. Not expensive ones just those with a little character

Maybe I've only held the cheapo spiderco's?

 

[mjbskwim]

Maybe I've only held the cheapo spiderco's?

Could be. I have a few I have to look at to make sure they aren't the China knockoffs. But they do have some that are as nice as my Benchmades. That brand I believe is the top all around price/ quality brand.

 

[teflon6string]

Jeans and suit. Nothing fancy. All-purpose tools stashed inside the waistband above my wallet with a belt covering the clip. Tried a springer for a week and poked a couple holes in my skivvies tooling up for the day, so I just use wrist-snappers instead.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Can I re-animate this one please?

It's a hot trend right now, and none of my actual threads ever get off the ground.

 

[omenwolf]

My favorite EDC knife is the Kershaw Blur, with the tanto point. Love those knives! The take a beatin' and keep on flippin'! I've never liked cheap knives! If I can't bring it back to razor sharpness in short order, can't use them! I have five knives that I do carry, running from $280-$50. Oddly, my favorite, Blur, is the inexpensive one!
I buy a large, cheap, Chinese, spring assist knife after I fly into a destination, first thing! A pepper spray too. Actually like them, they're beefy, come sharp and cost around $12.00. I dispose of them before entering the airport to fly out.

Check your lock, give a few taps on the spine on some wood make sure the fingers are out of the way. The blur has one of the worst lock ups I've ever had.

 

[Joe13]

Had my blur in rotation for 14 years before letting it retire in my drawer of stuff to good to get rid of - started to get a little sentimental on it and never had a lock issue.

My work edc is an Esse Avispa and while a pita to resharpen it stays sharp forever and doubles as a pry bar. Honestly I'm surprised I haven't snapped it yet.

 

[The B]

Had a 9050AFO my father gave me (he worked at Benchmade at the time - may have even machined it or part of it himself, don't remember), which took 4-5 years of daily abuse wonderfully, until I lost it. Course they'd just discontinued the line, for some reason.. But my wife scoured the Internet and found one in a gun shop in Tennessee she had em Mail her to give me for Father's Day in 2006.... Still have it, still swings out smartly and sharpens up nicely.

Great knives

and ive now since lost that 9050AFO also...

i havent even carried a knife for the last couplefew years.. usually have one or another semi-swiss-army style within reach somewhere, but i find i just dont have the mental pocket space for carrying crap anymore. folded up wad of cash in one back pocket, cigarette case in the other, lighter up front, phone up front on the other side.. its already way too much payload on board..

 

[Knobgoblin]

Had my blur in rotation for 14 years before letting it retire in my drawer of stuff to good to get rid of - started to get a little sentimental on it and never had a lock issue.

My work edc is an Esse Avispa and while a pita to resharpen it stays sharp forever and doubles as a pry bar. Honestly I'm surprised I haven't snapped it yet.

I like Aus8 . It takes an edge pretty easy, imo. Maybe your esee folder is a different blade steel than what I see listed.

 

[edzz]

and ive now since lost that 9050AFO also...

i havent even carried a knife for the last couplefew years.. usually have one or another semi-swiss-army style within reach somewhere, but i find i just dont have the mental pocket space for carrying crap anymore. folded up wad of cash in one back pocket, cigarette case in the other, lighter up front, phone up front on the other side.. its already way too much payload on board..

Sounds like the solution is easy.

Quit smoking.

 

[The B]

Sounds like the solution is easy.

Quit smoking.

i did! 16 days ago

<puffs cigarette>

 

[JeremyK]

I've had a few of the cheaper Gerber folders basically fall apart just sitting in my pocket, like the tiny POS screws they use just backed themselves out....

 

[Knobgoblin]

This was one of the worst knives that should have been a great one.
M21 from Columbia River. First time I got the Veff serrations (nice) .
The thumbstud placement is lame , but it has a small flipper so no biggie. The thing that soured me is that stupid autoLAWKS. If your lock design sucks bad enough to require 2 separate movements, maybe it's a better idea to start fresh. Not make closing my pocket knife a 2 handed job.

 

[HA556]

I didn't read all the comments but, all I can say is, if it was a bad knife, it wasn't an EDC.

 

[titsonritz]

I didn't read all the comments but, all I can say is, if it was a bad knife, it wasn't an EDC.

Exactly this. I try not buy POS let alone carry them.

 

[HA556]

I try not buy POS let alone carry them.

Ditto and those that were POS's, they were usually gifted to me or acquired in a trade of some sort. They usually went to the kids to destroy as they seen fit!

 

[Joe13]

I like Aus8 . It takes an edge pretty easy, imo. Maybe your esee folder is a different blade steel than what I see listed.

I got the D2 option and carbon fiber scale

 

[ilikegunspdx]

View attachment 1194999View attachment 1195000

This was one of the worst knives that should have been a great one.
M21 from Columbia River. First time I got the Veff serrations (nice) .
The thumbstud placement is lame , but it has a small flipper so no biggie. The thing that soured me is that stupid autoLAWKS. If your lock design sucks bad enough to require 2 separate movements, maybe it's a better idea to start fresh. Not make closing my pocket knife a 2 handed job.

Good info! I studied all the available Veff serration knives I could find the other day and I think all of them were made from 4116 German steel. I have nothing against that steel cuz I haven't used it really, but was looking for some type of higher end steel.

I contacted Tom Veff (he's in Or City) to do some custom serrations but he must not be interested because he never responded.

I'm mainly interested in trying out those serrations to see if there is a big difference or not. Do you recall was there a big difference vs other serrations you have tried?

Today I cut up an empty doubled up milk bottle just to test some various knives for giggles and surprisingly my inexpensive boker D2 tanto partially serrated blade won due to the serrations. I would love to do a halfway "scientific" test of serrated vs plain on different materials sometime. It seems to me that for some things serrations are the bees knees (like hard plastic, rope, other?) And other things it's not so good at.

These two serrated knives are calling me... must resist!

Spyderco matriarch 2 (vg10 steel). Spyderco says warranty is void if you use it as a utility knife. I'm guessing this must be due to the tip breaking on the earlier(?) civillian model? My understanding is that matriarch has a thicker tip for this reason, but inky what I've read, no personal experience.



Spyderco native 5 (S30v or S35VN)

 

[Knobgoblin]

Good info! I studied all the available Veff serration knives I could find the other day and I think all of them were made from 4116 German steel. I have nothing against that steel cuz I haven't used it really, but was looking for some type of higher end steel.

I contacted Tom Veff (he's in Or City) to do some custom serrations but he must not be interested because he never responded.

I'm mainly interested in trying out those serrations to see if there is a big difference or not. Do you recall was there a big difference vs other serrations you have tried?

Today I cut up an empty doubled up milk bottle just to test some various knives for giggles and surprisingly my inexpensive boker D2 tanto partially serrated blade won due to the serrations. I would love to do a halfway "scientific" test of serrated vs plain on different materials sometime. It seems to me that for some things serrations are the bees knees (like hard plastic, rope, other?) And other things it's not so good at.

These two serrated knives are calling me... must resist!

Spyderco matriarch 2 (vg10 steel). Spyderco says warranty is void if you use it as a utility knife. I'm guessing this must be due to the tip breaking on the earlier(?) civillian model? My understanding is that matriarch has a thicker tip for this reason, but inky what I've read, no personal experience.
View attachment 1199111
View attachment 1199112

Spyderco native 5 (S30v or S35VN)
View attachment 1199113
View attachment 1199115
View attachment 1199116

I carry a civilian daily, but I wouldn't do chores with it. It's strictly for the wrists , arms,and faces of anyone who merits such attention.

Those little veff serrations do big work on the draw stroke. I will definitely pick up any other examples that I find in my travels.

 

[joneb]

Worst EDC folders you've had?

A few US made Gerbers with their mystery SS and a Kershaw Chill with 8Cr13MoV, get them sharp and cut 2 feet of cardboard and resharpen.
Absolute crap steel or bad heat treat.
On a side note I bought a Ganzo FH 41 and a Geo Knife 940 with D2 blades and they have performed very well.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Worst EDC folders you've had?

A few US made Gerbers with their mystery SS and a Kershaw Chill with 8Cr13MoV, get them sharp and cut 2 feet of cardboard and resharpen.
Absolute crap steel or bad heat treat.
On a side note I bought a Ganzo FH 41 and a Geo Knife 940 with D2 blades and they have performed very well.

Similar experience here with Gerber. Only mine also broke in half in my hand. I could never buy another Gerber after that. It wasn't one of their cheapest models either (also not highest end).