I was reading MikeG’s thread about knives and thought I would start an information thread about them. I know that there are several blade enthusiasts at these boards and I think many people could benefit from some extra information about them, myself included.
The first rule of knives is that there is one and only one true Swiss Army Knife and that is the one made by Victorinox. No other Swiss army knife exists that holds a candle to the Victorinox product. I have pulled the corkscrew on a Wenger into a nearly straight, kinked piece of wire. Their product is so obviously a “me too” piece of junk that we will cease to mention them as of now.
There are many other rules as well. I think we can safely assume that any product with a spoon or fork on it may not be called a true knife. Please submit your own perceptions about them. I’m interested to see the virtual fist fights we can start here over microserration and serrated blades versus what I’ll refer to as straightedge blades. I will always prefer straightedge blades myself. They give the cleanest cut and offer the most control. Maximizing an entry wound cavity is of little import to me for how I most often use my blades.
Personally, I have found Buck knives to be totally overrated. They do not hold an edge and their pocket tool design reeks of “me too” engineering. I always used to favor the Gerber pocket tool over the Leatherman because you did not expose the sharp inner edges of the blade case when deploying the pliers. However, the hinge on the Gerber absolutely stinks in comparison to the Victorinox pocket tool, which is the finest I have seen so far.
I’ll pose a question to Mister M and the other blade fans here. I’m looking for something to replace my Gerber folding lock blade that I have carried for the last 20 or so years. I have always liked the Puma dual blade folding knife. I believe it was the model called the “Forester”. The steel seemed of good quality. Is there any other brand that is better without breaking the bank? I’m looking to spend less than $200.00 USD on this.
Some hardwood or bone handles would be nice. I really like Damascene blades but know very little about them aside from their stratospheric price tags. If I can find one for under $200.00 it would almost certainly be a lock. One of the highest priorities is retention of edge, next would be ease of sharpening. I prefer a hollow ground blade but will consider other styles. I have always carried a Gerber because they were so much thinner than the Buck “Ranger” folding blades. The Puma was equally thin and caught my eye for that reason. The blades must lock in place and a brass frame would be really nice. A “cutout” type of perforated frame might be considered, but I like for a blade to receive maximum protection from the elements when folded.
So, all of you cutups out there please check in with your knife stories and any suggestions about what sort of knife I should buy. I’ll go research Puma and see if I can identify the model I was talking about for reference here.
Although product testimonials are a bit tacky, I’m also hoping that Army knife enthusiasts like myself will check in here with proclamations of their superiority. Personally, I cannot imagine life without them and refuse to leave the house without one. I keep a “Champion” model in my clean room semiconductor service tool kit. People do not understand how useful they are until they own one themselves.
So tally ho, and off we go with the knife thread!
