KNIFE thread!!!

[13lstuner]

Hey guys I searched on this site and didn't see one? If there was one it's lost in the deep abyss on the off-topic subforum.

So I just wanted to start this one! We have a weapons selection thread, but knifes are generally have less legalities to content with and I would imagine more people are able to get their hands on them. So hopefully this thread will be popular!

You may post anything up! It doesn't matter whether it is a Swiss Army knife that you carry everyday, or a strider! It could be a knife you made, or a knife passed down to you by your grandfather! Anything goes! So guys keep it clean and respectful. No bashing what other peoples preferences are.

You may just simply post a picture up of your every day carry knife, or you may feel free to post up a full review.

Things to put up in a simple picture
The name brand of the knife.
The model of the knife.
Maybe blade length, blade steel, and blade style!
Price if you feel so inclined

Things to include in a more in depth review
All of the things in a simple picture.
Blade thickness
Handle thickness
Handle material
Edge retention
Type of pocket clip(how deep it carries etc..)
Blade play(if any)
Handle retention
Type of action(manual, assisted opening, auto, fixed)
Ease of opening
Ease of sharpening
Weight
Type of blade coating and how it wears (if applicable)

I will throw up a picture of a few of my knives to show an example of how to do a simple picture post at the bottom of this post.
I will then use the second slot to do a review of one of the knives.

Knives in the picture from top to bottom:
A very old case knife given to me by my grandfather(holds a lot of sentimental value to me). This knife was rusted and pitted when it came to me. As well as, dull to the point you wouldn't imagine. I sanded with 1500 grit sand paper and went all the way up to 3000 grit to remove rust. Then sharpened it.
Then the benchmade 810 contego. This has been my EDC for the past 5 months.
Next is the benchmade 9100 auto stryker. This was I gift to me from my dad 4 years ago. I EDC'd this thing for 4 years most of the time.
Next is the Benchmade Adamas 375 fixed blade. Excellent woods blade(aside from batoning) and self defense blade.
And lastly is the Gerber AR series first production run. Bought this from Walmart and it is just great.

This would be the "barebones" way to throw up a picture of your knives!

Knives from top to bottom:
A very old case knife given to me by my grandfather(holds a lot of sentimental value to me). This knife was rusted and pitted when it came to me. As well as, dull to the point you wouldn't imagine. I sanded with 1500 grit sand paper and went all the way up to 3000 grit to remove rust. Then sharpened it.
Benchmade 810 contego: 3.98" blade, cpmM4 steel, black cerakoted blade, lightning fast opening
Benchmade 9100 auto-styker: 3.48" blade from the factory(this ones tip broke off and I had to reform it so it isn't that long any more), 154cm steel, recoated blade, this knife has been discontinued and was replaced by the 9101 Stryker.
Benchmade 375 Adamas:4.2" blade, D2 steel black cerakoted blade, paracord handle.
Gerber AR series knife: (I'll have to measure blade length), 8cr13mov steel Teflon coating.

This is a more thorough review of the knives but not to the extent of a full review.

[13lstuner]

Benchmade 810 contego
Knife Review

General Specs

Blade Length: 3.98"
Blade Thickness: 0.156"
Handle Thickness: 0.550"
Blade Material: CPM-M4
Blade Hardness: 62-64HRC
Blade Style: Reverse Tanto
Weight: 5.92oz.
Pocket Clip: Tip Up, Black with Butterfly Logo, Deep-Carry
Lock Mechanism: AXIS
Overall Length: 9.28"
Closed Length: 5.30"


Overall 9/10
I love this knife. Simply put there is very if anything to say bad against it. The things that keep it from getting a perfect 10/10 are the: insane jimping around the knife(making gripping the knife for hard cutting tasks somewhat hurtful) and the weight might be too much for some although it's perfectly fine for me.

Blade Style 11/10
The reverse tanto has to be one of the best most useful blade styles ever. It has excellent belly, an extremely strong tip, superb slicer, and has excellent piercing capabilities. Just absolutely astounding for EDC use, skinning game(verified by me on three deer this season), and self defense roles.

Blade Steel/Edge Retention 10/10
M4 is used in many cutting competitions. I was actually surprised to find CPM M4 in this cheap of a knife. The CPM simply put means that the steel was mixed up extremely throughly before molding occurred. Think of it as cake batter being throughly mixed in a mixer. This gives the still more consistency, no weak points in the blade , and better edge retention.
While we are on the topic of edge retention this knife has the best of any knife I've ever owned. This steel is ran slightly hard at 62-64 but it still doesn't chip(thanks to the thick blade stock). So with the extra hardness and the general amazingness of M4 it is just excellent.

Handle Retention 10/10 for me
This is a subjective aspect of the knife. Some people like a knife to be really hard to get out of the handle eliminating the chances of it coming open in your pocket. This knife does that but it doesn't have a hard time getting past that point to open. The Omega springs that Benchmade uses in their axis lock design for blade retention and lockup when deployed some have complained about failing. I've never noticed that but will update if I do.

Blade Lockup 10/10(now)
When I first got this knife(bought it from sooner state knives and won't be going back) it had quite a bit of blade play side to side. And when tightening down the pivot point it would slow the deployment down considerably. So I sent it into benchmade and now it is a bank vault. Absolute perfection for a knife that deploys this quick. All it cost me was shipping to benchmade.

Out of Box Sharpness 10/10
Just perfection. Perfect relief edge. Nothing else need be said

Traction 10/10-8:10
Why give it two ratings? Because it's all relative. This knife is NEVER slipping in your hand, and your fingers would NEVER end up on the blade slicing yourself open if used in a self defense role. It wouldn't matter if it was raining, if your hands were sweaty, or hell if your hands were covered in baby oil. The extremely high traction g-10 scales along with the astonishingly high amount of jimping give the user confidence when using.

Now the catch to this amazing traction is the jimping that is found on every nook and cranny on this knife can be uncomfortable to a bare hand when using extremely hard. I never notice it doing common tasks, but if you are making a feather stick or cutting copious amounts of rope it might not be great on the hands. My recommendation is that if you plan on using this knife extremely hard just wear gloves, or use a fixed blade you crazy person!

One thing to note with this high traction g-10 is that it causes wear on pants pockets if you are wearing thin or not well constructed pants if removing and returning the knife a lot. Jeans not so much.

Features 9/10
It has the axis lock system, which allows for great lock up, and lighting fast deployment. If you are in a state were autos are illegal to carry, buy an axis lock knife and you won't care anymore.
It has a glass breaker which small and not in the way yet functional. It is in this steel backstrap(which has crazy tank tread jimping) so I do not foresee it ever falling out or failing in any way. This would also be a viable non leathal way to impact someone and stop them in their tracks.
The Deep carry pocket clip is awesome. Revers able for right and left hand carry TIP UP which is how it should be IMO. Excellent retention. Hides the knife extremely well. It is skinny like a pen or pencil clip making it not attractive to someone's eye. It has a butterfly on it for crying out loud!!! That can't be a huge knife that it's connected to!! Extremely good for low profile carry in a college or workplace setting.
My one gripe no the clip is the coating. It's just black paint and it will chip. Why they use such a cheap coating is beyond me.

Blade Coating 8/10

The coating is cerakote. Even the "satin" finished versions of this blade are coated with clear cerakote. This is done because M4 is a semi-stainless tool steel, and it will rust on you. So if you are going to store this knife for extremely long times make sure it is in a climate controlled area and you may want to coat the edge with oil. The coating is very wear resistant in the aspect of wearing down to the actual blade. But the coating itself smooths out creating some smooth areas. So they are visible but the actual blade isn't exposed to the elements. It got an 8-10 because a perfect coating IMO is DLC(diamond like coating) and even SOG's TiNi coating is more durable than this. It gets the job done though.


The photo below shows the satin version, and the picture above you can find , my personal knife, the black coated version. Both non serrated of course.

[FenwickHockey65]

Gerber Outrigger XL.
3.38 inch half serrated blade.

[13lstuner]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Gerber Outrigger XL.
3.38 inch half serrated blade.

Nice knife! How long have you carried it?

[FenwickHockey65]

About six months or so now. I've had 4 or 5 Gerbers since I started carrying in college.

[ChrisBlair]

I'm not a knife guy although I have a nice Case folder and a Western folder that was my Grandfathers. Does this one count?

The name brand of the knife: Springfield Armory
The model of the knife: Model of 1905, 1919 production
blade length: "16 inch" was the spec but in reality it's just over 15.5 inches
blade steel: carbon
blade style: fullered bayonet, spear point
Price: this one was $170 when I bought it
Handle material: walnut panels
Handle retention: same hunk o' steel as the blade
Type of action: non-closeable but has a spring catch for bayonet lugs
Ease of sharpening: I don't dare
Type of blade coating and how it wears: Parkerized. Phosphate coatings wear pretty quickly

(This SOB scares me just a little bit when I handle it)

[ChrisBlair]

The name brand of the knife: Western
The model of the knife: unknown. Old though

[Camaro_Corvette]

My current carry. Love this thing. Kershaw shallot, 3.5" blade, assisted open. Freaks people out.

[Rock on]

This is a Schrade that my grandfather (1903-1970) carried and my father(1927-2009) it has been sharpened down nothing still has a good edge I keep it in my safe

[2012-1822]

Can I play?

I am a knife guy, but through a few moves over the years maybe misplaced my Gerbers. Anyway, the two on the stand in the pic are cheap Chinese made hollow blades I got in Chinatown in San Francisco just for decoration(Ancient Warrior brand I think). Don't try and chop a beer bottle with them no matter how many beers you've had. The blade takes more damage than the bottle.

The one not on the stand is, according to the antique shop in New Orleans I got it at, a WW2 Japanese officer's sword. So not some super collectible item that was crafted by a master sword maker, but definitely nicer than the cheapos above it.



It's possible someone that knows what they are talking about might have more to say from the pics.


Don't forget my Thai Buddha on the right in the wide shot. My brother brought it to me from Thailand, although like everything else it was probably made in China.

[Unrulie]

I carry a Spyderco Endura
Stainless Steel
Blade Steel: VG-10
Blade Thick: 1/8"(3mm)
Hole Diam.: 17/32"(13mm)
Blade Length: 3 7/8"(98mm)
Closed Length: 4 7/8"(124mm)
Cutting Edge: 3 7/16"(88mm)
Overall Length: 8 3/4"(222mm)
Weight: 5 5/8oz(161g)
Hardness: Rc 57-58

[Camaro_Corvette]

Knife that's always by my side. 8.5" blade with full tang. Only knife I've ever owned that can put up with my had it for years, beat the hell out of all the time. Still as good as the day I bought it. Want another.

[ratfinkharley]

The one knife that I DON'T carry was my uncle's from when he returned from WWII.

[IMG][/IMG]

[13lstuner]

Originally Posted by ChrisBlair

The name brand of the knife: Western
The model of the knife: unknown. Old though

Both of your knives are extremely beautiful! And I'm assuming of great sentimental value!