1st "nice" knife

I've been hanging out at CPF for a while buying flashlights and I'm looking to buy my 1st "nice" folder. I want something of impressive quality that's great to own and show off a bit. I will carry it occasionally and it will likely get modest use, but I never want to be afraid to use it. Like my first nice flashlight, the Jet-III M, I want it to be tough and functional. I'm not planning to start a collection (famous last words) so I want it to be a great knife even if it's my only one. My short list have S30V blades, are under $200, have <3.5" blade lengths and pocket clips. I'm looking for guidance. Here are my current choices:

Benchmade 940 Osborne (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QA9G2W/?tag=cpf0b6-20)

Spyderco Sage Titanium Plain Edge (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002DUZL3G/?tag=cpf0b6-20)

i just started buying knives again, after a few years away from them.
this past month or 2 ive purchased about 5.
and one of them might fit what your looking for.

Spyderco Para-military 2. price is roughly $100, but you get a lot for your money. s30v, 3.5 inch blade. about 3 inch cuttting edge. the compression lock works beautifully, so far i like its operation more than frame-locks, lock backs, and liner locks.
you can get it in different color options. standard models come in either digicam or black G-10 handles, and satin or black coated blade. i have the black coated blade, and it doesnt come off easily, and has a nice matte look to it.
spyderco arent the best looking blades to me, but their function really makes up for it.
there are also sprint run Para2 out there, with higher end steels. but costs can be alot cause of its limited numbers, and marked up secondary market.

other spydercos worth taking a look at are the manix 2, native 5, caly 3 or 3.5, sage 1,2, and 3. chinese lum, lum tanto, gayle brady... thats about all i can think of for now.

the next folder im looking at is the benchmade 746 mini onslaught, which is also a bob lum design. its a gorgeous piece, but the thin blade is holding me back right now. its also about 3.5 inch blade.

Zero tolerance makes some great folders at around your price range too.

also check out the Bradley alias, and the bradley line-up of knives.

Thanks you skyfire for the suggestions. I had scratched the Spyderco Military off my list because of it's 4" blade - the Paramilitary looks very nice. I was initially focused on Benchmade because of their name, lifetime service, and the axis lock... but I keep reading great thinks about Spyderco.

The Para-Military 2 is definitely on my short list of favorite knives... but if you like beefy knives (the Jet M is a beefy light) then you might also like the Manix 2, which is cheaper and also incredibly nice. Fits big hands nicely and is tough. Personally I prefer to carry the Para over the Manix due to its lighter weight and slimmer handle, but both are phenomenal.

Have you looked at the CRKT Ripple by Ken Onion. It meets your size requirements, I'm not sure about the blande steel. It has a lot of "bling" with a two tone handle and a sweepint design. Thus for light use and some bragging it something to look at.

I got to handle a Carbon Fiber scaled Sage in a passaround. WHAT A KNIFE! I don't remember what steel it had but it wasn't plain old 440!

The CF was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

OK - Thank you for your excellent suggestions (I knew I could count on CPF) I'm pretty sold on the Para-Military 2

Now - Where to buy...

Favorite place doesn't carry that model

I just got a Ti Sage, great knife. I have a bunch of Spydies, Kershaws and a lot more.

gnicky11 said:

Thanks you skyfire for the suggestions. I had scratched the Spyderco Military off my list because of it's 4" blade - the Paramilitary looks very nice. I was initially focused on Benchmade because of their name, lifetime service, and the axis lock... but I keep reading great thinks about Spyderco.

Click to expand...

Spyderco is a top notch company. great warranty, and service. i would say better than benchmade. ive read iffy customer service reports about benchmade. most has been good though and im sure the good outweight the bad, but there have been a few cases of not so great service. best thing about spyderco is they really listen and communicate with the knife community.

if you like axis lock, you might want to check out the sage 3. imo its better than benchmades axis lock design, but the axis lock as been proven to be a good lock over many years.

for beefy folders, zero tolerance seems to be it. high quality materials, and a rugged design.

i dont know if im allowed to list dealers.... so ill pm you with some dealers ive had good experiences with.

For some reason, the "Made in Taiwan" handle on the Sage is a draw-back to me;- With all the imported flashlights I have it might not make sense, but I really like the "Made in USA" engraving on the Para-Military.

I really appreciate the input - I just have to wait 11 more days to put an order in so the charge hits November. I already purchased a Spark Flashlight and SOG multitool this month...

If you're going to use it for actual knife tasks, I don't think you can go wrong with the Para-2.
Others on my short-list are the BM 940 and the Spyderco Manix2.
The 940 is my current EDC. The size is great for carry, and it's nice and light. The steel holds its edge well, but can be difficult to get razor sharp. The blade shape is unique. It's a cinch to open with either the axis lock or thumbstud. I have large hands, and find it great for light-duty EDC-type tasks, but the handle is a little small and slippery for hard use, for me.
I currently have a Para-Military 2 on order. I've handled it in the store, and it fits the hand like a glove, is nice and grippy, and has a fantastic EDC blade shape. Once it arrives, I expect it to become my EDC.
I have (2) of the Manix2's - one black with CPM154 blade, the other tan with M4. I got the first one as a hard use folder, and hoped I would carry it. I like the shape a lot, but it's a little wide and a lot heavy for EDC, for me. I got the second because it fits like a glove, has a fantastic steel, and is actually a bit lighter with skeletonized liners. If you have good-sized hands, are looking for a user, and don't plan to carry it in a front pocket all the time, the Manix2 is hard to beat.
All 3 are made in USA.
Best of luck with your choice!

My first nice knife was a benchmade mini grip. I've tried several others, but it's still my edc, simple and perfect, ad I don't worry about beating it up.

G,,day i love knives more than torches.
this suggestion might not suit what you want,
but have a look at Gerber Pauls. no longer produced.
but a fair few available on e bay.
the are class, take and hold a very good edge.
and use a unique lockong button.
i collect a few knives , and have also made a few.
cheers
kerry

Check out the SOG Twitch line. My Twitch XL is a DANG fine knife!

So much for patience...I received my Spyderco Paramilitary 2 yesterday. Great fit, finish & operation. Definitely a quality piece of craftmanship. I got one of the later ones with the initials engraved on either side of the 14mm hole. I like the compression lock very much as it inspires great confidence in it's lock. Only issue I have is the clip screws are loose and clip has a lot of play. After a search thru my tools, I confirmed that I do not own a T7 driver, so I'll be stopping at a hardware store on the way home. I do have some blue locktight that I plan to use after I try different clip postions.

gnicky11 said:

So much for patience...I received my Spyderco Paramilitary 2 yesterday. Great fit, finish & operation. Definitely a quality piece of craftmanship. I got one of the later ones with the initials engraved on either side of the 14mm hole. I like the compression lock very much as it inspires great confidence in it's lock. Only issue I have is the clip screws are loose and clip has a lot of play. After a search thru my tools, I confirmed that I do not own a T7 driver, so I'll be stopping at a hardware store on the way home. I do have some blue locktight that I plan to use after I try different clip postions.

Click to expand...

If you stop at Home Depot there is a nice 8-in-1 Torx driver from Husky for about $6. It's not fancy or anything but it works great on every knife I own.

I stopped by Lowes on the way home and had a hard time finding a T7 driver. I did finally find the Husky set for $6.something. It did the trick. Now I am happily admiring/handling my new knife. It did make easy work of opening the Husky driver set.

Now I'm thinking I'd like to have some oil on the knife mechanism. So far I see "mineral oil" is good partly because it's safe with food.

If you're still looking for something to oil the pivot, Militec-1 is a nice synthetic lubricant that doesn't really gunk up.

The trick is to keep from losing them. I'll have a favorite for a couple of years and then be up in a tree one day and find out it's gone later. Also sweaters are pretty evil with pocket clipped knives, a bit of loosely knitted stuff comes along and catches the clip... lifts it out your pocket and there you are.

So far I've managed to hang onto a CRKT M16 for almost four years now, going to go knock on wood now. Once you get used to the two stage safety on it it is a very good knife. I don't know about a bragging knife, honestly I always thought that the tanto style blades were just plain ugly, especially the half serrated ones! But they are very, very functional, and that makes me come around to seeing them as very attractive after all.
Besides being quite strong, the tanto blade makes a decent skew chisel and the secondary "point" between the tip and the belly of the blade makes for a pretty good controllable pull cut as you'd get with mat knife, if you can sharpen it up nice you can cut out paper snowflakes all day long, how's that for showing off?