# Good pocket knife....



## Woodchuck (Nov 1, 2012)

I have always liked a good pocket knife. Learned as a kid how to put a razor edge on a knife. It is really HARD to find a proper piece of steel these days, and have 8-10 vintage knives that I use as carry knives...I rotate the one I carry so I always have one straight razor sharp....All of my knives are various models made by Gerber....Most pocket knives are too soft...Need Rockwell "C" above 46...


----------



## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

Is it just me, or have you been obsessing over weapons and self defence lately? =/


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

Ooooh just my topic!

I have several SOG folding knives, a couple of custom made sheath knives, a Ka-Bar and a Gerber full auto folder (illegal, tee hee). 

But my main carry knife right now is a nice little bone handled Bear and Son stockman. It has good high carbon steel blades and keeps a good edge.










And it is made in the USA!


----------



## Woodchuck (Nov 1, 2012)

RandomDude said:


> Is it just me, or have you been obsessing over weapons and self defence lately? =/


A pocket knife is no more a weapon than a claw hammer, tire iron, base ball bat, 2 x 4, chain saw, or straight razor......


----------



## Woodchuck (Nov 1, 2012)

bandit.45 said:


> Ooooh just my topic!
> 
> I have several SOG folding knives, a couple of custom made sheath knives, a Ka-Bar and a Gerber full auto folder (illegal, tee hee).
> 
> ...


Looks like a nice carry knife....useful blade profiles and compact....


----------



## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

Woodchuck said:


> A pocket knife is no more a weapon than a claw hammer, tire iron, base ball bat, 2 x 4, chain saw, or straight razor......


Or a meat hook


----------



## Woodchuck (Nov 1, 2012)

RandomDude said:


> Or a meat hook


Those things "SCARE" me.....


----------



## Forest (Mar 29, 2014)

Ah, the good ole pocket knife. I wish I could get back in the habit. When I was a kid it was standard equipment. I had a Buck two blade.

I went to a rural school, and it seemed there were always pencil sharpener problems, so the teachers would ask the boys to sharpen pencils with their pocket knives at recess. Can you imagine that today?


----------



## chillymorn (Aug 11, 2010)

I never leave the house without a pocket knife.

I prefer a high carbon steel blade as opposed to a stainless. sharpens better and a good strop will bring it back to life as long as you haven't abused the edge.


----------



## Woodchuck (Nov 1, 2012)

Forest said:


> Ah, the good ole pocket knife. I wish I could get back in the habit. When I was a kid it was standard equipment. I had a Buck two blade.
> 
> I went to a rural school, and it seemed there were always pencil sharpener problems, so the teachers would ask the boys to sharpen pencils with their pocket knives at recess. Can you imagine that today?


Check on ebay for a GERBER SILVER KNIGHT model 250....It is wafer thin, great for dress pants....no longer made, but you can get good used for under $30....


----------



## EVG39 (Jun 4, 2015)

This post and Forest's response sent me down memory lane. Grew up in the south, all us boys had a pocket knifes. Seemed like mostly Case or Barlow as I recall. We would play mumblety - peg at recess, all the girls would gather round and watch us. Can you imagine that happening today?
Compliments on your knife shown in the pic Bandit looks like a nice one especially glad to find out it was made in the USA. Maybe I'll put that on Santa's list this year.


----------



## happy as a clam (Jan 5, 2014)

Woodchuck said:


> I have always liked a good pocket knife. Learned as a kid how to put a razor edge on a knife. It is really HARD to find a proper piece of steel these days, and have 8-10 vintage knives that I use as carry knives...I rotate the one I carry so I always have one straight razor sharp....All of my knives are various models made by Gerber....Most pocket knives are too soft...Need Rockwell "C" above 46...


If I could like this post a thousand times, I would!!

One of the things that drew me to my SO was his awesomely cool knife collection. He is 54 years old and has more than a hundred REALLY cool knives, some that were given to him by his great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his father. Some he bought and collected over the years. He is part Mohawk... so some are handmade Native American gems.

He takes such good care of them, regularly uses them, cleans them, sharpens them, displays them. Each knife has a "story"... know what I mean?

I have learned so much from him (and about him) regarding knives and knife-keeping. Interestingly, an old boyfriend once gave me a limited edition Smith & Wesson hunting knife with a cool leather "hip holster." My super-confident SO has no jealousy about its origins... He recognizes the rarity of this knife and has added it to OUR collection...

Love this thread!


----------



## Woodchuck (Nov 1, 2012)

chillymorn said:


> I never leave the house without a pocket knife.
> 
> I prefer a high carbon steel blade as opposed to a stainless. sharpens better and a good strop will bring it back to life as long as you haven't abused the edge.


I like carbon steel, In a pinch, you can use it to strike a spark for fire making...The Gerbers I have are all stainless, but they sharpen and cut like high carbon...EXCEPT for the ones made in China....Their paraframe is well made, but when you stone the edge down to a good edge, it crumbles...POS...


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

It is very hard to find pocket knives with carbon blades, especially the crap coming out of China. The only good carbon steel blades you can get nowadays are from the Scandinavian makers like Mora and Helle, but they do not make folders. 

There is nothing wrong with good high-carbon stainless, like the kind that Case and Bear&Son use in their knives. Gerber stainless is good too, but Gerbers are harder than fvck to sharpen. Schrade and Buck are both using Chinese stainless.


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

Have you guys seen this site?

Pocket Knives from around the World | World Knives LTD


----------



## Blondilocks (Jul 4, 2013)

Glad to see that there are still men who carry pocket knives. The only men I have known to carry one was of my father's generation (WW2). Asked my brother once if he carried a pocket knife and he replied "No, but I carry a gun. Will that do?". Pocket knives have come to the aid of many a damsel in distress.


----------



## WorkingOnMe (Mar 17, 2012)

http://www.amazon.com/Benchmade-Osb...&ie=UTF8&qid=1444336003&sr=8-6&keywords=940-1

Rockwell C rating: 61.


----------



## Woodchuck (Nov 1, 2012)

bandit.45 said:


> It is very hard to find pocket knives with carbon blades, especially the crap coming out of China. The only good carbon steel blades you can get nowadays are from the Scandinavian makers like Mora and Helle, but they do not make folders.
> 
> There is nothing wrong with good high-carbon stainless, like the kind that Case and Bear&Son use in their knives. Gerber stainless is good too, but Gerbers are harder than fvck to sharpen. Schrade and Buck are both using Chinese stainless.


You are right about them being hard to sharpen...I found out about them when I was at a DILL party. The host showed me his Gerber. and I noticed it was dull....I told him if he had a stone, I would sharpen it for him....His only stone was a really fine hard Arkansas.....It took me over an hour to put a really good edge on that blade....My next knife was a Gerber....

I use a Smiths 6" tri hone....It has 3 stones mounted on a bracket. You have a 240, 1000, and 3000 grit stones....They don't make this set now....screwed it up with diamond stones... Wusthof cutlery now makes one like it....

I can make a pocket knife really sharp in 10 minutes....I lube the stone with lots of soapy water...


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

Woodchuck said:


> You are right about them being hard to sharpen...I found out about them when I was at a DILL party. The host showed me his Gerber. and I noticed it was dull....I told him if he had a stone, I would sharpen it for him....His only stone was a really fine hard Arkansas.....It took me over an hour to put a really good edge on that blade....My next knife was a Gerber....
> 
> I use a Smiths 6" tri hone....It has 3 stones mounted on a bracket. You have a 240, 1000, and 3000 grit stones....They don't make this set now....screwed it up with diamond stones... Wusthof cutlery now makes one like it....
> 
> I can make a pocket knife really sharp in 10 minutes....I lube the stone with lots of soapy water...



I have the Smiths too. Same one. Its a good one.

I also go to auto parts stores and buy wet/dry AL oxide sandpaper in grits from about 600 to 1200, and I take those and use 3M spray glue and attach the sandpaper to paint paddles, then I trim off the excess. Then when I am through running a knife on the Smith's sharpeners, I use the fine grit sandpaper and some honing oil to bring the edge down to razor sharp. Then I strop it on an old leather belt. 

When the sandpaper is worn out you just turn the paint paddle over and glue a new piece on that. Then eventually you just junk it. 

Now, if you want to get fancy, you go on Amazon and order some of those Japanese whetstones.


----------



## happy as a clam (Jan 5, 2014)

Blondilocks said:


> Glad to see that there are still men who carry pocket knives.


My SO never leaves the house without one tucked in his jeans pocket/waistband, and usually another one tucked into his boot.

And I must say... I ALWAYS carry one in my purse, except when I fly ... _*sigh*_

One more secret, whenever SO is out of town, I ALWAYS sleep with my Smith & Wesson hunting knife under his pillow, fully open, ready to use.

Anyone who knows me (SO, kids, sisters) know NEVER to startle me awake from a dead sleep without calling or waking me first by flashing the lights... or they will likely get gutted up the groin/midriff butterfly style!

(P.S. I also keep a Glock handgun and a chainsaw-style Mossberg shotgun near my bed. Trained well to use both!)










:lol:


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

Holy sh!t....


----------



## happy as a clam (Jan 5, 2014)

bandit.45 said:


> Holy sh!t....


bandit... I would love to post pics of my "practice targets" but it might be a violation of TAM rules... 

Love my second amendment rights...!!! 

:smthumbup:


----------



## Average Joe (Sep 2, 2015)

I trust the northern Europeans when it comes to keeping my family warm. Going into the fifth winter with my Fiskars X15, my fav non-gas blade. Fantastic ergonomics. It makes chopping a truly pragmatic affair, if not just damn fun. Cord after cord. And that fresh oak smell. 

Also have various little pocket blades for bale cutting and such around the farm.


----------



## 4x4 (Apr 15, 2014)

Earlier this year I lost a little monogrammed pocket knife I've carried for some 25 years.  I think I'll treat myself to a new one for Christmas this year. I had my eye on a really beautiful one done with native American inlay work.


----------



## Dycedarg (Apr 17, 2014)

Get a Benchmade.


----------



## Bananapeel (May 4, 2015)

I used to carry a benchmade and always drooled over a chris reeves sebenza, but now I just carry a leatherman. The quality isn't top notch, but the warranty is excellent and the pliers, bottle opener, and box opener make up for it in overall usefulness. Now that I am divorced and have more play money I've been thinking about getting a really nice knife.


----------



## brooklynAnn (Jun 29, 2015)

I have a leatherman. I love that thing, I use it all the time with the kids. I buy my son Swiss Army. He has a collection of them. I am getting him a newer one for Xmas. It's our thing to look at them and check out the latest designs.


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

Average Joe said:


> I trust the northern Europeans when it comes to keeping my family warm. Going into the fifth winter with my Fiskars X15, my fav non-gas blade. Fantastic ergonomics. It makes chopping a truly pragmatic affair, if not just damn fun. Cord after cord. And that fresh oak smell.
> 
> Also have various little pocket blades for bale cutting and such around the farm.


I have a couple of Gransfors-Bruks axes from Scandanavia. The steel they use is superb. I have a 28" felling axe and a 22" "forest axe" which is like a big hatchet. The workmanship is awesome. They have totally rewired my brain when it comes to what you should expect from an axe. But they are expensive.


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

brooklynAnn said:


> I have a leatherman. I love that thing, I use it all the time with the kids. I buy my son Swiss Army. He has a collection of them. I am getting him a newer one for Xmas. It's our thing to look at them and check out the latest designs.


Leathermans are awesome. I never go camping or hunting without mine. That little saw blade is the most handy thing on them.


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

Dycedarg said:


> Get a Benchmade.


I have never owned a Benchmade. I need to rectify that.


----------



## Average Joe (Sep 2, 2015)

bandit.45 said:


> I have a couple of Gransfors-Bruks axes from Scandanavia. The steel they use is superb. I have a 28" felling axe and a 22" "forest axe" which is like a big hatchet. The workmanship is awesome. They have totally rewired my brain when it comes to what you should expect from an axe. But they are expensive.


Ahh I'm a cheap bastard ...

Edit: But I'm going to look those up. The way you feel about your Gransfors-Bruks is how I feel about this little Fiskars POS ... changed my thinking as to how much splitting was possible, compared to my even sh!ttier POS axes. It's like butter. I feel like a killing machine out there.

And W finds it very impressive to watch, which is never a bad thing. And she's a compound bow/AR-15 shooting girl.


----------



## Dycedarg (Apr 17, 2014)

bandit.45 said:


> I have never owned a Benchmade. I need to rectify that.


My brother got me one when I was 17. I still have and carry it.


----------



## Lordhavok (Mar 14, 2012)

I'm a kershaw man myself


----------



## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

I have about as much attachment to a knife as a can opener =/


----------



## As'laDain (Nov 27, 2011)

Lordhavok said:


> I'm a kershaw man myself


since my wife and i sell kershaw knives,i typically carry one as an all purpose utility. i like ken onions designs for general utility.

my knives fall under three categories: utility, which include folding and non folding, combat, which includes mostly tantos and kukris, and practice/training, which again is mostly tantos and kukris. however, i was recently introduced to the pesh-kabz, and will likely get a few.


----------



## Woodchuck (Nov 1, 2012)

As'laDain said:


> since my wife and i sell kershaw knives,i typically carry one as an all purpose utility. i like ken onions designs for general utility.
> 
> my knives fall under three categories: utility, which include folding and non folding, combat, which includes mostly tantos and kukris, and practice/training, which again is mostly tantos and kukris. however, i was recently introduced to the pesh-kabz, and will likely get a few.


How hard are kershaw blades?


----------



## As'laDain (Nov 27, 2011)

Woodchuck said:


> How hard are kershaw blades?


it varies from knife to knife. as in, they use different types of steel for different types of knives. some are pretty easy to sharpen but dont hold an edge well against heavy use, some are harder to sharpen but hold up longer, etc. 

depends on what you want.

i use their serrated leek, which has a blade made of 14C28N. im not sure how to best describe the steel... its not the hardest around, but it takes an edge pretty easily and holds it well as long as you arent putting it through serious abuse. i mainly use it to cut cardboard, cordage, and rope. after using it, i can usually just strop it and it seems to be razor sharp again. it holds a razor edge better than most steels i have used, but other steels (like S30V) seem to hold a wider bevel better. 

hard question to answer...


----------



## Fozzy (Jul 20, 2013)

My daughter recently bought me a Bear Grylls gerber folder. She's really in love with that guy.


----------



## Joey2k (Oct 3, 2014)

Dycedarg said:


> Get a Benchmade.


I can't buy the nicer, pricier knives. The more expensive they are, the more hesitant I am to use them for fear of messing them up somehow. Most of my knives are in the $20-30 range. Although I do routinely carry a Leatherman Skeletool for work.



RandomDude said:


> I have about as much attachment to a knife as a can opener =/


I've got a Zyliss Lock N' Lift I've been pretty happy with. Opens cans like a pro, looks sweet too.


----------



## ThePheonix (Jan 3, 2013)

For utility, I have found its hard to beat a swiss army knife w. blade, punch/drill, can opener and screw drive.


----------



## As'laDain (Nov 27, 2011)

my brother recently gave me one of these:

Multi-Plier 600 - DET Black, Sheath

he is EOD and has quite a few of them. so far, it has turned out to be pretty useful. I don't really think of it as a pocket knife though. like the swiss army knife, I tend to think of it as a tool that just happens to have a blade. it certainly does more than a typical pocket knife...


----------



## Woodchuck (Nov 1, 2012)

As'laDain said:


> my brother recently gave me one of these:
> 
> Multi-Plier 600 - DET Black, Sheath
> 
> he is EOD and has quite a few of them. so far, it has turned out to be pretty useful. I don't really think of it as a pocket knife though. like the swiss army knife, I tend to think of it as a tool that just happens to have a blade. it certainly does more than a typical pocket knife...


You are correct about knives. I have several Swiss Army's and a couple of multi tools. When I think of a pocket knife, it must be small enough to carry ALL THE TIME...And yet be rugged and sharp enough to skin small game, clean fish, cut rope, open packages, etc..I once skinned a deer and cut off it's head with my everyday Gerber.....Not the perfect choice, but completely up to the task...


----------



## Fozzy (Jul 20, 2013)

My dad acquired a stag handled Puma White Hunter in Vietnam for like $30. My brother (who never leaves town) got it.


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

Joey2k said:


> I can't buy the nicer, pricier knives. The more expensive they are, the more hesitant I am to use them for fear of messing them up somehow. Most of my knives are in the $20-30 range. Although I do routinely carry a Leatherman Skeletool for work.
> 
> 
> 
> I've got a Zyliss Lock N' Lift I've been pretty happy with. Opens cans like a pro, looks sweet too.


Go to Amazon.com and order yourself a couple of Mora #1s. They cost $10 each, are made of excellent Swedish carbon steel and are very easy to keep sharp. I have six that I keep oiled and shiny for use as steak knives because they are sharper than hell. 

You can use one for cooking, whittling and bushcraft. Cody Lundin swears by them. And if you break one or lose it? Big deal. It only cost you $10.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## bandit.45 (Feb 8, 2012)

Fozzy said:


> My dad acquired a stag handled Puma White Hunter in Vietnam for like $30. My brother (who never leaves town) got it.


That is a beautiful knife.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Joey2k (Oct 3, 2014)

bandit.45 said:


> Go to Amazon.com and order yourself a couple of Mora #1s. They cost $10 each, are made of excellent Swedish carbon steel and are very easy to keep sharp. I have six that I keep oiled and shiny for use as steak knives because they are sharper than hell.
> 
> You can use one for cooking, whittling and bushcraft. Cody Lundin swears by them. And if you break one or lose it? Big deal. It only cost you $10.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I have a companion and a craftline pro, and I've got my eye on a 2000. Love them, but they're not really pocket knives. 

And I prefer stainless.


----------

