Comparable Brands

[PaperTargetOperator]

I used to be a huge fan of CRKT and Cold Steel (I still think they are good knives for the price). I have about 5 CRKT knives, a Cold Steel Rajah III, and a Ti-Lite. They have held up very well. (However I think i may have cracked the handle of my Rajah III hammering a peg into the ground, might just be dented, but, now I do not trust the Cold Steel torture test videos as much) However, I recently got a Spyderco Delica. This changed my outlook completely. For the price, the quality of the knife blows away any CRKT and CS knives I have. It has really changed my outlook on blade steel. I used to be ok with AUS8, and other similar steels. But now since I have a VG10 blade, I feel like anything else i get with lesser steel is going to be a "meh" experience. (I did by a Tenacious, because i thought it looked cool, and it is a great knife for the price) What other brands do you guys gravitate towards? Of the cheaper blade steels, which ones do you find to be the best? I was looking at CRKT knives the other day at Smoky Mountain Knife Works, and they just don't seem nearly as solid. Is that particular brand lowering its quality, i remembered them being great knives...but I may just be spoiled by Spyderco. In closing, what brands have knives comparable to the delica as far as quality and blade steel? Does anyone else have problems with screws coming loose on cheaper knives and will this happen to my delica? Should I lok-tite the screws or let them be? Sorry for the long complex post that seems to have no purpose, just my thoughts.

[zhyla]

Paragraphs man, paragraphs.

Most knife companies have at least some of their models produced in China and that usually implies 8Cr13MoV blade steel. It's not a bad steel and I don't hesitate buying a knife wih it if the design is interesting and the fit/finish are ok.

CRKT and Boker are both doing a lot of collaborations these days using their Chinese factory lines which is pretty cool. It's the opposite of Spyderco where a collaboration is usually $200 and of amazing quality.

Benchmade and SOG I would say are the most comparable brands to Spyderco. A Benchmade fan would probably recommend a Griptilian in place of your Delica and a SOG fan would recommend a mini Aegis most likely. There are many other companies to look at but I don't know much about them.

Loctite doesn't hurt but I've only ever had clip screws loosen.

[GoldenSpydie]

Spyderco...spyderco...spyderco, man.

But occasional journeys to Benchmade, Kershaw, Zero Tolerance, Chris Reeve, and similar brands can be fun.

ETA: I forgot about fixed blades. Besides Spyderco, Busse (and kin), Falkniven, Bark River, BK&T, and ESEE make good blades.

[Blerv]

Spyderco...spyderco...spyderco, man.

But occasional journeys to Benchmade, Kershaw, Zero Tolerance, Chris Reeve, and similar brands can be fun.

^- this. Others you might consider on the production side are Lionsteel, Al Mar, and Fallkniven. The last two have some/all their knives made by Moki in Japan. My Mini SERE (Al Mar) is one of my favorite folders.

[bearfacedkiller]

There are a few american made kershaws that can be had at a very great price. They are not as nice as my spydies and do not cater to the steel geek in all of us but the value on models like the Leek, Piston and Skyline is really hard to beat in an American made knife. The only non spydie folder that I carry for EDC is a Composite Leek. I personally think the leek is an outstanding EDC for a number of reasons. You can snag a Skyline (made in USA) for about 35 bucks, it comes with 14c28n or something like that and makes an amazing user/EDC knife.

It is not a comparable brand really but quality to value victorinox is a winner all the way. If they doubled their prices they would probably keep selling them because they are such a great value.

Don't get me wrong though, the Manix2, Manix2 LW S110V and Para2 are hands down the best values you can get in a knife at this time.

My knife interests involves users/EDC (I am not a collector), I favor made in usa when I can and my knife buying definitely involves a budget so that may explain why value is one of my biggest factors.

[bearfacedkiller]

Spyderco...spyderco...spyderco, man.

But occasional journeys to Benchmade, Kershaw, Zero Tolerance, Chris Reeve, and similar brands can be fun.

^- this. Others you might consider on the production side are Lionsteel, Al Mar, and Fallkniven. The last two have some/all their knives made by Moki in Japan. My Mini SERE (Al Mar) is one of my favorite folders.

Al Mar knives are really nice. Just nice clean designs and some of their smaller folders are airweights.

[Skywarp]

If there was no Spyderco, then I would get by with Benchmade. The Doug Ritter mini griptillian was a great knife but chunkier and felt less solid than my Delica...
Spyderco are above comparison in my eyes.

Mindi McCready should have asked for a Paramilitary 2 for her birthday!

[PaperTargetOperator]

Ya sorry for the long paragraph, as I hit the submit button, I realized I forgot to break it up. The Sog Aegis Mini looks sweet, but for 80 bucks, I would want a better blade steel. There are a lot of Boker designs I want to take a closer look at, with the exception of a few models, Cold Steel is not catching my eye anymore.

[HotSoup]

After 6 years I still only carry Spyderco 90% of the time.

Any other production brand just doesnt cut it for me, and Ive owned them all.

I strongly dislike Benchmade's styles (who I think is a primary competitor)

I dont like CS outlandish styles

Kershaw offers a pretty mehhh product despite its US production (not bad just, boring imo)

ZT is ugly

Emerson is overpriced for what you get

These are just my opinions.

I have a Sebenza on the way because not owning one has been eating away at me for years.

Im certain is quality is there -- styling is pretty basic, but I appreciate the simplicity, and I've seen the kind of attention to detail that goes into them. That being said -- they are not competitors to Spyderco. Theyre in their own league.

[Skywarp]

The only area where I prefer Benchmade is looks. For me, Bowie over leaf any day. Problem is, Benchmades just don't feel as good in the hand or the pocket. The hollow griptillian scales feel brittle and too chunky and I wouldn't want to take an axis lock knife on a dessert island as I'd be buggered when the little springs break.

[zhyla]

The Sog Aegis Mini looks sweet, but for 80 bucks, I would want a better blade steel. There are a lot of Boker designs I want to take a closer look at

Mini Aegis is only $45-ish. Not the best steel but it gets great reviews. The arc lock is my favorite lock by far.

Boker Plus has so many cool designs it's tempting to just buy them all. The Kwaiken gets a lot of attention.

For price/performance Spyderco nearly always wins, but it's fun to mix it up once in a while.

[Laethageal]

If you've gotten your first spyderco and feel VG-10 is awesome, I'd recommend you to try one with S30V steel (Any model you feel drawn to that have this steel option, and there's so many for you to choose), Superblue one cause it get scary sharp so easily, and one high carbide/high wear resistance steel like S110V, S90V, ZDP-189, CTS-20CP or CTS-204P. Then try to look for a comparable brand to Spyderco

[Evil D]

Closest in my mind would be either Benchmade or Kershaw, but neither are as good IMO. Both definitely have their pros and cons as do Spyderco, but I feel as a whole Spyderco hits on more pros than cons vs. the others.

If I had to choose to EDC another brand though, it would likely be Kershaw. I've owned many of their knives, and the ZT line of knives is very nice as are every Leek I've ever owned.

[Liquid Cobra]

I'm tempted to get a hinderer one of these days.

The Kershaw leek is pretty nice and would probably be the first non spyderco should I stray.

[Evil D]

I'm tempted to get a hinderer one of these days.

The Kershaw leek is pretty nice and would probably be the first non spyderco should I stray.

Definitely a lighter use knife, but if you can score one of the G10/S30V versions I would highly recommend it if you can get a good price. Those in particular were really nice knives. Also if you like D2, they have the composite version which is really cool. I have a real soft spot for the all black version, that is one classy knife.

Here's my used and rescued G10/S30V. I bought it with a pretty badly chipped tip and had to reprofile it. Then I decided since it's a fairly light use knife anyway I'd take the edge down to 10 degrees per side and even went so far as to do it by hand (which is a very rare thing for me these days). It mainly serves as a letter opener unless I need a small/light/discreet knife on special occasions.

[MacLaren]

I would love to try an Al Mar.

[Strong-Dog]

I remember back when VG-10 was the best steel I had, and I considered it good. Now I consider it trash. Soon you'll see what I'm talking about. Just wait a few months

[MacLaren]

I remember back when VG-10 was the best steel I had, and I considered it good. Now I consider it trash. Soon you'll see what I'm talking about. Just wait a few months

I can imagine :)
But, comparable to Spyderco, I like the looks of Al Mar.

[Strong-Dog]

I remember back when VG-10 was the best steel I had, and I considered it good. Now I consider it trash. Soon you'll see what I'm talking about. Just wait a few months

I can imagine :)
But, comparable to Spyderco, I like the looks of Al Mar.

Maybe trash was a harsh word considering VG-10 is a better steel than probably 95% of people will ever use. I guess its all relative. When you have S125V and K390 to play with, you kinda become aloof to "lesser" steels

[3rdGenRigger]

I remember back when VG-10 was the best steel I had, and I considered it good. Now I consider it trash. Soon you'll see what I'm talking about. Just wait a few months

I hear you...I like VG-10 and it's a good steel, but once you start playing with Aogami SuperBlue, CPM CruWear, M390, K390, CTS-XHP, CTS-204P, H1, ZDP-189, or even more comparable (But slightly better IMO) CPM-S30V/S35VN it becomes a whole new experience.