I have something very similar. It does just about everything I ever need it to do (mostly just opening boxes). It's not very sharp at all any more, but that's fine for my purposes.
OT: Pocket knife
- Thread starter dorndawg
- Start date
I have something very similar. It does just about everything I ever need it to do (mostly just opening boxes). It's not very sharp at all any more, but that's fine for my purposes.
When I first saw this before scrolling down to see it had a knife on it, my thought was that's what I used my entire life as my "emergency knife" .... a key. Also occurred to me that I haven't carried a key/key ring in better than 10 years now with push button cars and garage door openers. Obviously haven't had the need to cut anything unexpectedly in awhile it appears.
Little surprised at the number of folks that carry one today. Even as a boomer I always thought it was an old man thing that my dad did. Pretty sure he always had this one on him for as long as I can remember and always had one of those tiny tape measures in his pocket as well.
I always had issues with stones and diamond sharpeners. I have the Ken Onion knife sharpener and I now always have a sharp knife.
Walmart has a 2 pack for about $10. Easy to have one at, in the truck, at work, in the boat,....
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I have one exactly like that, too. Just ordered new belts for it
I have Chefs Choice 120 that handles most stuff, a few ceramic pull through's and a quality steel.
The bottom of a ceramic plate will work out also (for the simple stuff)
Sharpening a knife is therapeutic to me. Sometimes I just need a blade and an abrasive. It doesn’t matter if they need one another or not.
I don’t even know what this brand is, just bought it at the last Gun Show in Batesville, MS, buddy, it’s a K-N-I-F-E! I clip it inside my right front pocket, but carries in pocket well, or clip anywhere on your person. Easy access, nice feel, sharp, great for everyday chores, or self defense if needed. Sharpens easily. Doesn’t come cheap tho. Think I talked the guy down a few bucks at purchase, got the good cash price. 
The old whetstone & ceramic stick are great combo sharpeners I use for my deer knives, but I purchased this one recently & it works really well.
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Looking at your picture brings up an interesting thing about knives that is actually important but also controversial. I know its getting into the weeds but what type of steel have you found meets the durability, sharpness, edge retention, and sharpening criteria? The knife in the picture has a D2 blade. From the knives I mentioned I have 154CM on the Houge, the AKC is Aus8 and the Kershaw Analyst is 8Cr13MoV. Many cheap knives use just Stainless Steel and that won't keep an edge very long and can be pretty brittle. I know this can cause quite a conversation.
The Houge I have used awhile before I sharpened it for the first time. So I do like that steel. I have not had to sharpen the Aus8 yet using it for the past 4 months. Kershaw only used for a few days so no take on that steel.
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There’s so many different names of steel it’s confusing and a lot of it is just sales BS. You basically have two different kinds of steel, carbon and Stainless Steel. Within these two categories you have different hardness of the metal. It’s a trade off. SS is usually harder than carbon, holds it’s edge better once sharpened, and is more durable to corrosion but is difficult to manually sharpen. . Carbon steel is much easier to sharpen but won’t hold its edge with use. My dad wouldn’t tote a stainless steel knife. If you gave him a Buck it would end up in a drawer and maybe go in his pocket for church or something but during the week it would be a carbon knife in his pocket.
I’m not much into all the in’s & outs of knife blade metals but the guy showed me this same knife in a different metal & I can’t remember what it was, I really wanted it, but it was like $100 more because that metal was supposed to be so durable & so much easier to sharpen. Whatever these brands are, they are great knives, I love this one. Hope I never loose it.
Your knife is a CobraTec Naja. You can look at it on their website. D2 is an excellent knife steel. Not sure if they are still making it. Can't seem to find it for sale.
Hey @Bulldog Bruce, I am possibly the world's worst knife sharpener. Is this thing pretty idiot proof?
I carry a case mini stockman I got from my in-laws when I first started dating my wife, and I carry a case trapper I got from my major professor the night I graduated with my PhD.
Yes. As I stated so was I with stones.
For most sharpening use the finer bands. Only use the more aggressive for doing initial sharpening on blades in bad shape.
I have one too, but when I bought Japanese water stones I started having fun sharpening. I use my Ken Onion for axes and hatchets. Using it felt like I was using a power tool, which I was. Stones feel like art and creativity. And for whatever reason, I always felt like the ken onion never got my knife quit as sharp as I wanted. It's a good design though.
knife steel guide
I'm kind of a knife nerd, so here is a link to blade hq steel comparison. Most of the data came from steel engineer Larrin Thomas who is a leading researcher of steels in the auto and knife industry. CPM steels really are better in every way than their counterpart. He is the one who designed and introduced Magnacut steel. There is something, however to say for a bladesmith that forges a good blade. I have a Lon Humphrey Minuteman in 52100 tool steel that is forged and it will hold an edge along with Magnacut, CPM S45VN, and Cruwear. Fiddleback forge also produces a great heat treat on their tool steel. If you'd like to try an upgraded steel and you really like knives you should look at this knife steel guide to see what steel suits your needs the best.
I'm kind of a knife nerd, so here is a link to blade hq steel comparison. Most of the data came from steel engineer Larrin Thomas who is a leading researcher of steels in the auto and knife industry. CPM steels really are better in every way than their counterpart. He is the one who designed and introduced Magnacut steel. There is something, however to say for a bladesmith that forges a good blade. I have a Lon Humphrey Minuteman in 52100 tool steel that is forged and it will hold an edge along with Magnacut, CPM S45VN, and Cruwear. Fiddleback forge also produces a great heat treat on their tool steel. If you'd like to try an upgraded steel and you really like knives you should look at this knife steel guide to see what steel suits your needs the best.
What's your best foldable knife for everyday use, single blade.
Brand/ blade.
Thought on serrated blade
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I am sure your right. I just can't seem to maintain the angle I want and I just never get it sharp all along the blade with stones or diamond stones. Especially with a blade that is curvy like my Hogue EX04. I thought about trying one of those bench vise type sharpeners that holds the blade and helps maintain the angle but got the Ken Onion instead.
I have an AGA Campolin 11 inch lever switch blade that has Bohler M390 super steel and that is like a scalpel. It's not an every day carry knife and is probably only good for killing people. It is a cool knife though.
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Awesome topic!
I am somewhat of a hoarder of knives. I buy a knife every chance I get. One of the things I'm learning is I'm more concerned with the steel used than I am the name brand. Like most people, I have a ton of Case knives and I am a lover of Carbon Steel instead of Stainless. Carbon is so much easier to sharpen. However I use stainless steel knives when I'm on the boat crappie fishing and running trot lines for catfish. I have probably close to 75 knives and use all for maybe 5 and some point and time through the year. I love collecting 70's Case knives and couple are in Mint condition and have a good value staying that way. As far as users
-Most days I carry a Case Slimline trapper of Bear and Son's with 1095 Carbon Blades...if you're not familiar with Bear and Son's you should.....The Ole Timers your grandpa use to tote moved to China and Bear and Son's broke off from them to produce a USA product and its a dang fine knife for a great price.
-For Church I carry some of old Case 1970's users. All have the good carbon blades.
-For skinning deer.....Im gonna let y'all in on secret. Look up Cutco Hunting Knife with DOUBLE-D blade. It will be the last knife you ever have to have for skinning deer or hogs. Unbelievable metal that stays sharp longer than anything I've ever owned. Cutco will also sharpen for FREE for the lifetime of the knife. All you have to do is mail it back to them. I won't get into how many animals I have skinned without having to send it back because you wouldn't believe me but the Double D Edge looks like searated but it's actually not. It only on one side of the blade to keep the straight edge from ever hitting bone. Truly unbelievable
Most folks rave about changing the blades out on outdoor edges and that's fine if it's your thing. But if you skin a deer all the way down and need a fixed blade knife with a backbone to bust through the chest cavity... that won't serve you well.
-Small game hunting I tote a Bear and Son's Cowhand.
Recently took my family to Pigeon Forge for my son to play in the Cal Ripken World Series and got to visit Smokey Mountain Knife Works. 3 floors of knives...it was great. I walked out with a Spyderco Sage with Magnacut Steel and a Case Collector's knife in the Sea Dragon color. I want to tote it but its just too dang pretty.
I am somewhat of a hoarder of knives. I buy a knife every chance I get. One of the things I'm learning is I'm more concerned with the steel used than I am the name brand. Like most people, I have a ton of Case knives and I am a lover of Carbon Steel instead of Stainless. Carbon is so much easier to sharpen. However I use stainless steel knives when I'm on the boat crappie fishing and running trot lines for catfish. I have probably close to 75 knives and use all for maybe 5 and some point and time through the year. I love collecting 70's Case knives and couple are in Mint condition and have a good value staying that way. As far as users
-Most days I carry a Case Slimline trapper of Bear and Son's with 1095 Carbon Blades...if you're not familiar with Bear and Son's you should.....The Ole Timers your grandpa use to tote moved to China and Bear and Son's broke off from them to produce a USA product and its a dang fine knife for a great price.
-For Church I carry some of old Case 1970's users. All have the good carbon blades.
-For skinning deer.....Im gonna let y'all in on secret. Look up Cutco Hunting Knife with DOUBLE-D blade. It will be the last knife you ever have to have for skinning deer or hogs. Unbelievable metal that stays sharp longer than anything I've ever owned. Cutco will also sharpen for FREE for the lifetime of the knife. All you have to do is mail it back to them. I won't get into how many animals I have skinned without having to send it back because you wouldn't believe me but the Double D Edge looks like searated but it's actually not. It only on one side of the blade to keep the straight edge from ever hitting bone. Truly unbelievable
Most folks rave about changing the blades out on outdoor edges and that's fine if it's your thing. But if you skin a deer all the way down and need a fixed blade knife with a backbone to bust through the chest cavity... that won't serve you well.
-Small game hunting I tote a Bear and Son's Cowhand.
Recently took my family to Pigeon Forge for my son to play in the Cal Ripken World Series and got to visit Smokey Mountain Knife Works. 3 floors of knives...it was great. I walked out with a Spyderco Sage with Magnacut Steel and a Case Collector's knife in the Sea Dragon color. I want to tote it but its just too dang pretty.
I have a bunch of cheap knives and have carried Old Timers for the majority of the years. This year my fathers day present was a Case Blue Pearl Kirinite Small Texas Toothpick that I absolutely love. A few weeks ago while on vacation in Branson I visited a knife store and picked up a Case Copperlock with a cross on it. It is a great knive too.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs just whipped out his Zero Tolerance after cooking his steak in the fireplace.
There are tons of good foldable knives, but I'm partial to spyderco. I carry a paramilitary 2, which some may consider big, but it's thin and I like the shape of the blade and the opening and closing mechanism. It's super sturdy. Mine is CruWear steel, which is a CPM super steel. It is super strong, fairly corrosion resistant and known for holding a wicked edge for a very long time. All of the spyderco blades have a great heat treat and get the most out of their steels and most of their steels are higher end modern steels. Having said that, the bench made bugout is arguably the most popular single blade folder right now. I just don't like the cheap handle on it and I don't like Benchmade's political stance. CIVIVI is the best bang for your buck and makes a heck of a knife for less money if you want something made outside of the U.S.
Serrated blades are not my thing. They are good for people in the military where you may use your knife roughly and never sharpen it. They are good for cutting through things where you may need to saw on it a little, but they don't excel in areas that other knives do, like slicing. Serrated blades also seem to get stuff stuck in the serrations after using them. A partial serrated blade is trouble for me because the tip is not very long. I'd rather have a full serrated or a regular blade.
If you want a really good traditional folder I would go with a single blade GEC made on the traditional equipment of the old knife factories in Pennsylvania. The walk and talk on them is perfect and the fit and finish are superb. For a knife guy, they put Case to shame. On the flip side they get bought up immediately and are around $200- $400 new on eBay. I have two and I enjoy them.
