What do you think the best folding knife

[Limit_hex]

I really like Spyderco Delicas, have several in different steels.

 

[fogdart]

I really like Spyderco Delicas, have several in different steels.

+1... I will occasionally carry something else, but I always come back to the Delica. For me, it's the perfect ECD.

 

[59ride]

How long is a piece of string, depends on ya budget, your use etc etc etc, but chris reeve knives are some of the best on the planet

 

[kerneldrop]

Here's my best to me at least right now....I have found this tanto blade profile to be most useful to me.
Although I can appreciate custom lockbacks, I don't have any.
I now prefer side folder automatics. I'm spoiled to that button firing.

 

[colin.p]

Generally, I have a 940 in my pocket and out of those, it's usually the green aluminum handle version. This is an old picture from when I was working. Now retired.

Edit: Since this thread started in '17 (serves me right for not checking the start date). I do indeed hope you found what you were looking for.
For anyone just starting their quest, have at it.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I like my Spyderco Native with VG10 steel blade. Gave my sister one in pink with S30V steel blade. Hers has a stronger steel, but mine is a longer blade. Both are excellent.

 

[dc38]

Picked this Caly Jr. up from a fellow cpfer YEARS ago, never carried it myself, it was too shiny to ruin lol...instead, I have a serrated H1 dragonfly which i don't mind sweating on.

 

[3_gun]

Another line that isn't being mention much if at all is pocket folders. A good SAK (Swiss Army Knife) will still handle 90+% of everyday chores w/o breaking the bank or raising an alarm in the HR dept. Plus SAK has a few lighter duty multi tools that are still pocket friendly. Of course Leatherman has a few low profile, pocket friendly items also

 

[bykfixer]

My pop explained to me what makes a good knife is all about how well it holds an edge. I used to watch older fellows chat with one another while sharpening a knife. Some used a swipe/flip/swipe/flip method while others rotated their blade.

He said "son go back in my room and grab that sharpening stone". An almost brick sized block with a smooth side and a course side. It was his grandfathers. He then commenced to swipe/flip sharpening his little 3 blade German made number that was also his grandfathers. It had been sharpened so many times there was a C shape missing from the blade.

He rubbed and rubbed the blade against the smooth side of the block as he explained why. I pulled out my little lock back and asked was that one any good. He explained to me why it would not hold an edge well. Partly because of the metal the blade was made of and partly because I was sharpening the blade too steep.

Before I left that day I had changed the edge of my cheap knife from really blunt to fairly thin about 1/3 up the blade itself. He gave me that sharpening stone that day. And at times I'll use it for a few minutes to add a crisp edge to a daily that just needs a touch up for a task, using a swipe/flip motion for a few minutes but other times I'll rub, rub, rub to remove metal up the blade then swipe/flip to "dial in" my new edge.

Sure I can go to Wall Mart or Home Depot and buy a razor sharp number, but to me there's an art form to taking a fairly dull surgical steel blade and turning it into an almost scapple-like tool, even if it takes me several hours to do it.

When my pop passed away I gave his knife to my older brother who then gave it to his son. My daily is a plastic body US made Gerber old school lock back that serves me well, as long as I sharpen it from time to time.

 

[Lumen83]

A steep angle/very sharp blade will hold is edge a very long time if you are careful to remove the burr after sharpening with a strop. A lot of the sharp knives "going dull quick" problems are in fact caused by the failure to remove the burr and then the burr rolling over upon use. I prefer a very low angle edge and have reason to believe that a low angle edge, sharpened properly, does in fact stay sharp longer than a higher angle edge on equivalent steel.

 

[aginthelaw]

How long is a piece of string, depends on ya budget, your use etc etc etc, but chris reeve knives are some of the best on the planet

I thought How Long was a chinaman? It's an old coast guard joke that I'm sure was removed from the curriculum because of its racial connotations

 

[dc38]

I thought How Long was a chinaman? It's an old coast guard joke that I'm sure was removed from the curriculum because of its racial connotations

It's a funny joke, and by definition it is only offensive to those who find it offensive...

 

[chip100t]

I have more than a few locking folders. I don't know why I bought them as British law prevents me from carrying them.

And if I could, I would carry my leatherman wave over any of them🤦‍♂️

But my favourite would be my black bladed Osborne 940.

 

[vicv]

The one in my pocket

 

[jackrussell8200]

Have had great results with Benchmade and Spyderco. These days I prefer Zero Tolerance.