EDC Knife Choice - Want Edge retention and sharpness

[Jesse Jaymes]

probably my favorite edc knife, followed very closely by the para3– PM2 in maxamet:
View attachment 394107
I was actually down at their Golden Co factory today. Felt like a kid in a candy store. Almost got myself in trouble with a sprint run yojumbo in carbon fiber and s90v.

Edit: I understand where you’re coming from, for years I hated the way spydercos looked and could not understand who would pay that kind of money for a fuggly knife…until I held and used one. That was all it took and am now a card carrying fan boy. Function over form.

Pretty cool you wound up in Golden Colorado EARTH....any word or visual on what the hold up is on so many knives?

Shaman's go for a pretty penny due to being hard to come by....as are so many blades right now. My EDC of late has been swapped from a Para 2 to the Manix 2 LTWT. The S110V too difficult to sharpen without diamonds. I'd like to try one w a different steel.

We could critique EDC blades for months....but I am pretty certain the Manix 2 should be in the top 5.

Never really got the BM Osbourne 940. Just does nothing for me. I'd take a Bug Out much more readily.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

Love the look of 80% of the Civivi knives. Just can't get over the origin. A shame.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

It was awesome and totally felt like a school field trip. The guys there were super knowledgeable and take good care of the junkies—I left with a big bag full of swag. The only reason for the low stock that I heard mentioned was that the supply chain on materials is still being impeded by covid. That and the high number of exclusives they have produced this year are most likely to blame.

Shamans have become unicorns and forget about sprints runs, they are gone in seconds. I waited months just to get the S30v version from the outlet. I hope someday the stars align and I can snag one in maybe m4, m390, k390, cruwear, or magnacut…but I’ll keep dreaming.

I would definitely put the manix in my top 5 as well. The ergonomics alone put it there. They just conform so well to your hand and functionally just flat out perform. I love mine—m390 and xl:
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I have a pair of 940s in carbon fiber and s90v that I was issued. I usually only carry them if I’m wearing the monkey suit. Awesome little knife but for Edc a bit anemic for me personally. The thinner blade stock/grind just leaves me a little anxious on anything more that small cutting tasks.

DAMN!

Hey.....I drooled over the Manix XL for a year. I stumbled on a pic of someone who had Caveman Scales do a bronze Aluminum set. May have been a Sprint for......????

Caveman is out of business. No way to get those scales anymore. Had the rear pinky hook deleted.

Any opinons you'd share on the XL? It's not terribly popular. Kinda a Bastard

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

 

[MTMeatHunter]

Benchmade buggy and one of these:
I’ll never sharpen a knife any other way again. Scary sharp, and very very easy. I use it on kitchen knives all the way through my Benchmade altitude and my EDCs.

 

[MTMeatHunter]

Looking at Benchmade myself. Anyone carry or have experience with the North Fork?


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I own a North Fork. I used to carry it daily, but then I got a Bugout. Now my North Fork is my “church knife” and the Bugout handles 98% of pocket duty. I much prefer the weight and slimmer profile over the North Fork. I also like that the Bugout doesn’t have a metal liner against your hand while your hand is pocketed. Why? I dunno, just my preference. They are obviously very different knives and you may prefer one over the other, especially aesthetically. In actual use for me, the Bugout gets the nod.

 

[topher89]

Benchmade: 940, bugout, griptilian or mini-griptilain

Spyderco: native, delica/endura, pm2

 

[KoolBreeze]

Carried a 940 for years, would not be without it.

 

[ztc92]

Another vote for the benchmade 940, it’s a piece of art that can take a beating and the blade shape is extremely versatile for EDC. As others have suggested, the bugout or the bailout would be good as well. If price is a concern the Griptilian line is another great choice and will likely be my next purchase.

SOG and Hogue have some nice knives coming out recently that would also fit your specs, may be worth a look.

 

[ccrider0812]

I picked up a magpul rigger EDC. So far I'm loving it. It's a S35VN modified wharncliff blade made in the USA. I love a wharncliff style blade because I find myself using my EDC to open box constantly. The blade is hefty but the knife is overall really light. It has a secondary locking mechanism that is cool. The lock up with out the secondary locking is phenomenal but it's nice to have when you are really putting the knife to hard use. Plus it has a satisfying click when you engage it. It is by far the most I have ever spent on a knife though.

 

[nobody]

I'm a bit of a knife-knut, have WAY MORE than I can carry, but I enjoy learning about them and researching them and just carrying different things.

Used to be a Benchmade fan until they stepped in it big time. They got caught with their pants down on some 2A stuff and I've sworn off their stuff since. There's also reports of them going downhill since their founder Les De Asis died last year, reports of sub-par heat treat. Plus the "butterfly tax" is a real thing. The axis lock is cool, but the patent has run out and now most manufacturers have a variant on the Axis lock, so it's a moot point. They've also had quite the run of poor QA/QC, with poorly balance edge bevels and blade play and poor centering to boot. I don't mind tinkering, but when Civivi can perfectly center a blade and send a knife out with a razor sharp edge for $50 and Benchmade can't seem to do it for $200, I start to wonder.

My longest-running favorite has been the Spyderco PM2, I've got one in K390 and one in S35VN. Love them both and they're the knives that have gotten the most consistent pocket time. I seem to fall in and out of love with everything else in my collection, but the PM2's just seem to always be in the rotation. The Spydie-hole is awesome for use with gloves, and the G10 scales give plenty of grip in any situation. I highly recommend and love my spydies.

Having said that, I've been loving my Hogue Deka that I picked up a few weeks ago, and it hasn't been kicked out of my pocket since I picked it up. 20CV blade steel, G10 handles, lightweight design, what's not to love? It came out as Hogue's competition to the Bugout, and I think it handily smear the Bugout allover the windshield. The G10 is substantially stronger and stiffer, and it's all at a weight penalty of about 0.25 ounces (still sub 2.5 ounces). Plus it cost me the same money as the Bugout would have, and it's got a more premium blade steel and no plastic handles.

If you want lightweight at all costs, the Hogue Deka is a great upgrade to a Benchmade Bugout both in terms of build quality and 2A support. If you want a "one knife to do it all" then a PM2 is hard to beat.

But hey, I'm just some random guy on the internet.

 

[scosmi]

Another vote for the bugout. I like the griptilian as well. As mentioned above 940s are great. Easy to sharpen and holds up well.

 

[Bump79]

I'm a bit of a knife-knut, have WAY MORE than I can carry, but I enjoy learning about them and researching them and just carrying different things.

Used to be a Benchmade fan until they stepped in it big time. They got caught with their pants down on some 2A stuff and I've sworn off their stuff since. There's also reports of them going downhill since their founder Les De Asis died last year, reports of sub-par heat treat. Plus the "butterfly tax" is a real thing. The axis lock is cool, but the patent has run out and now most manufacturers have a variant on the Axis lock, so it's a moot point. They've also had quite the run of poor QA/QC, with poorly balance edge bevels and blade play and poor centering to boot. I don't mind tinkering, but when Civivi can perfectly center a blade and send a knife out with a razor sharp edge for $50 and Benchmade can't seem to do it for $200, I start to wonder.

My longest-running favorite has been the Spyderco PM2, I've got one in K390 and one in S35VN. Love them both and they're the knives that have gotten the most consistent pocket time. I seem to fall in and out of love with everything else in my collection, but the PM2's just seem to always be in the rotation. The Spydie-hole is awesome for use with gloves, and the G10 scales give plenty of grip in any situation. I highly recommend and love my spydies.

Having said that, I've been loving my Hogue Deka that I picked up a few weeks ago, and it hasn't been kicked out of my pocket since I picked it up. 20CV blade steel, G10 handles, lightweight design, what's not to love? It came out as Hogue's competition to the Bugout, and I think it handily smear the Bugout allover the windshield. The G10 is substantially stronger and stiffer, and it's all at a weight penalty of about 0.25 ounces (still sub 2.5 ounces). Plus it cost me the same money as the Bugout would have, and it's got a more premium blade steel and no plastic handles.

If you want lightweight at all costs, the Hogue Deka is a great upgrade to a Benchmade Bugout both in terms of build quality and 2A support. If you want a "one knife to do it all" then a PM2 is hard to beat.

But hey, I'm just some random guy on the internet.

I've looked at the Deka with Magnacut. Looking at all metrics the Magnacut steel looks incredible.

 

[huntsman22]

 

[Macchia182]

Benchmade IMO is my favorite. Great Edge Retention and Warranty.

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[scattergun]

Looking at Benchmade myself. Anyone carry or have experience with the North Fork?

I had one and, although it was a nice-enough knife with good-looking resin-impregnated wood scales, I wasn’t really into the handling and the blade design — too thick behind the edge, the thumb studs get in the way, and the pointless recurve makes it a ballache to sharpen. After I got the slimmer Spydiechef, I stopped carrying it and ended up giving it away.

I’ve kind of gotten over Benchmade in general, though a standout like the Superfreek in M4 still appeals. For production folders around the same price level, I prefer Spyderco because of what I consider to be superior ergonomics, steel choices, heat treatment, quality control, and lock designs, plus holes are just better than studs.

 

[sndmn11]

. After I got the slimmer Spydiechef, I stopped carrying it and ended up giving it away.

That spydiechef is about the perfect handle offset and blade shape for a skinning knife, I wish they made one in m4/s90v/magnacut/Cruwear/zmax

 

[scattergun]

@sndmn11
For sure!

The geometry really performs on that slim blade too, especially if you reprofile it to something around 17 DPS.

Another nice thing for hunting use is how effortless the simple open construction makes it to sanitize the knife; you can just hose off or dunk the entire thing without worries.

Of course, Magnacut would probably be the ultimate steel for this knife, and if corrosion resistance isn’t a consideration, I’d absolutely love to try the design in K390 or Maxamet too.

But I find that LC200N is still quite good at holding an edge, has toughness that’s pretty unreal for a stainless alloy, plus it’s a pleasure to sharpen and will take a mirror finish like few others. I’m seriously impressed with nitrogen steel!

 

[sndmn11]

@sndmn11
For sure!

The geometry really performs on that slim blade too, especially if you reprofile it to something around 17 DPS.

Another nice thing for hunting use is how effortless the simple open construction makes it to sanitize the knife; you can just hose off or dunk the entire thing without worries.

Of course, Magnacut would probably be the ultimate steel for this knife, and if corrosion resistance isn’t a consideration, I’d absolutely love to try the design in K390 or Maxamet too.

But I find that LC200N is still quite good at holding an edge, has toughness that’s pretty unreal for a stainless alloy, plus it’s a pleasure to sharpen and will take a mirror finish like few others. I’m seriously impressed with nitrogen steel!

I got one for my wife to pair with her Mantra2 (ti liner locks) so we shall see how it does on an animal.

I haven't sharpened it and it will be my first experience with the lcn200 beyond the ultrafine sharpmaker.

 

[chocolab]

Benchmade mini-barrage, D2 steel. My EDC for years now.