Hey TW! Let's see your knives!

Got this in the mail today! Another one for the pile.
Yes, I know its another production benchmade...
but its been discontinued and I've been wanting one for soooo long! Plus it was brand new, and I got a great deal on it.
Its a very fine knife. If it had a pocket clip, it would make a great gentleman's EDC.

#440 opportunist

 

Nice. man. I feel like Benchmade has nestled into a nice modern pocketknife niche for collectors. Lots of neat designs out there.

 

It's called "American Hero". Got it on Ebay from KY knives based in Kentucky. Solid folding knife. All quality parts and just very sturdy in your hand. The spring assist is badass too.

 

Anyone have an opinion on the ZT Elmax steel?
I was looking at the 770cf and I kind of like it.
Like this. http://www.bladehq.com/item--Zero-Tolerance-0770-Knife-Aluminum--15193
I jus picked up a few Benchmades the 810 Contego and 555 mini Griptilian.

 

still waiting for this one........
http://zt.kaiusaltd.com/knives/knife/zt0454

 

I have a few ZT elmax blades. I have read some bad reviews, but I love mine. Similar to S30V. Stays sharp, but like some of the harder knife steels, its better to use a diamond sharpening stone.

 

Would you compare it to the M390 or S90V? Never used either. But I have used both the 154cm and CPM M4. Sounds like diamond sharpeners are the only quick way to put a great edge on these steels.

 

Never used either of those
Similar to CPM M4 to me tho.

 

Got some more since I last posted on this thread. Started looking for a good pocket knife to have when hiking trails. Started off with some small ones. Then started hiking in more undeveloped trails so got some beefier knives but not too big. Then it just got so addictive. I love the spring assisted knives. I would rather have a good fixed blade knife, but not a lot of them come with a sheath for left handers.

 

- Gerber Gator w/ Bell and Carlson handle, S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini-Griptillian, D2 steel
- 2 3/4" 12ga for size comparison

Both knives are/were Cabelas exclusives. These are the only 2 knives I own excluding my Leatherman tool

 

Any reccomendation on a knife? Ka-Bar, Ka-Bar short, Seal Pup, Tanto, or get them all? I have two Benchmades and a Gerber already but was looking for something a little more Rambo! But still want it to be good quality not just Tacticool! Lol!

 

Esee4. Perfect all around camp survival knife. Built like a tank and will stand up to hard use.

 

There are absolutely hundreds of excellent choices as can be witnessed in the many contributions to this thread. And I'm sure you will get many other recommendations and opinions.

That said, your post seemed to imply that you are looking for recommendations for a general purpose, fixed blade utility/bushcraft knife, as opposed to a dedicated fighter, pathfinder, or some other purpose-built tool.

Assuming that is the case then my suggestion would be that you first set out to determine the following:

1. What feels right/best fits in a hand the size of yours (what feels correctly balanced, what will be your typical grip given your most frequent use of the knife, do you prefer a hilt or a self guard and ramp arrangement, etc.)
2. What are your expectations/needs regarding the properties of the steel (there are many tradeoffs to consider for the steel, not the least of which is price. Also consider hardness - how easy is the blade to sharpen vs. how long will it hold that honed edge - and corrosiveness - will the blade be wet quite often or will that be a rare situation, etc.)
3. What are your expectations/needs regarding the properties of the handle/scales (do you need bright orange canvas micarta that is easily located when lost in leaves on a forest floor, or might that same color be an unwanted queue to your presence. Is your grip firm enough to be effective on a smooth handle, or would jigged bone, stacked leather, or rubber be a better option, etc.)
4. What is your intended means for carrying the knife and what material will best meet those needs (will your carry component need to accommodate tinder and/or a stone, do you place a higher emphasis on inverted carry which might be more conducive to Kydex or other, etc.)
5. What is your budget (Is your price range one that requires you to look more closely at production made knives vs. custom ones. There are great production choices, but nothing like something built for you specifically that is made of materials you specify, but then you have to ask yourself if you are willing to really use a purty, relatively expensive custom knife etc.)

Although I am a big fan of custom, I won't suggest anything custom here; that's just too much a matter of personal preference. So with the self-imposed recommendation criteria of general purpose, fixed blade, production knife, my personal top 3 suggestions are:

1. Bark River Bravo 1
2. Fallkniven F1
3. Kabar USMC Full Size-Straight (it pains me to put this third as I carried one for quite a few years and it never failed me)

Of course I also like your "get them all" idea.

 

Big fan of Emerson knives...



But this little guy has to be my favorite..It's a custom Michael Morris friction folder...the blade is fashioned from a salvaged auto shop file...if you havent heard of Michael Morris, you should really check him out...great guy to do business with...

 

i just checked out morris he makes some pretty sweet blades, i like how some of the bigger ones still have the files teeth on them!

 

Now thats what I love Tacoma World for, I can get the best answers in the quickest time on something that has nothing to do with Tacomas! Thanks guys!

 

Sorry, it will be used for self defense mainly as I would love to learn more about using it properly and in the field aka camping, and survival. Can 1 do it all or would dedicated knives be better. Not apposed to buying more than 1 as will be passing them down to my son. What do I look for in material and hardness?

 

I have a kabar Becker 2 (bk-2), its my stout backpacking knife. The thing is about
.25 " thick I love it and it fit my hand real good not too expensive either is give em a look if I were you all of kabars Becker series are pretty sweet!