Need help on a new slim EDC - no lockbacks

[ZMW]

I need some opinions! I am looking for a small/mid sized EDC knife. Slimmer is better. Sub $100. But, I do not like lockbacks. I am fine with liners, compression, axis/ball bearing, etc.

Any ideas? The best fit I can find is the sage 1, but I was hoping for something a little less wide/more pocket friendly. I am fine with any handle type. Just slim EDC with no lockbacks.

What do you guys recommend?

[Cujobob]

What sort of specs are you looking for?

The GB Air is on sale at Massdrop right now. It's slim, I believe.
A lot of knives, without the pocket clip, are pretty slim. The Sage 1 may be slimmer than most that aren't FRN lockbacks.

[bearfacedkiller]

Your criteria may be a little specific for Spyderco's lineup. Most of their knives are backlocks and with the hole not many of them are slim. Then throwing in a $110 limit. Options may be limited. Here are a few. The Sage is a nice knife. :D Raising your budget would open up a few more options like the Positron.

des horn
air
equilibrium

[bearfacedkiller]

oops

[farnorthdan]

I'd grab an Air, so much goodness packed into such a small package.

[Johnnie1801]

Roadie?

[ZMW]

I know I am getting picky here, but was trying to see if there is a great knife that I did not know about. I am still eyeing the Sage 1, but was curious what you guys think are some good options.

If a Delica came in any other lock option that would be an instant win for me. But, I will check out the GB Air, I did not know about that little guy. No pocket clip though, but it looks amazing!

[GoldenSpydie]

Well, since you didn't say specifically that it had to have any lock at all, I'll recommend the UKPK. It comes in FRN currently, but with a little searching and waiting you can find them in titanium, carbon fiber, and G10.

[farnorthdan]

Another popular wee-ish :spyder: is the Techno, more of a tank than a slicer but a lot of folks dig it. :cool:

[sal]

Perhaps the Mantra?

sal

[ZMW]

The Mantra looks impressive! A little pricey for my budget, but I will take a good look at it. Thanks Sal

[elena86]

Try Positron

[EDC Honeybee]

Maybe the cat or persistence? Gonna agree with others though. The spyder hole makes these knives wider in most instances. The air might be pretty close, but is above the price you set I think. My advice, get a solid spyderco (delica, chaparral, dragonfly, sage, PM2, etc), but budget enough to also get a slim knife of another brand. Urban trapper, leek, swindle, etc. My bet is that you will favor the spyderco over those as you use them. My first 20+ knives were not spyderco, but since I bought some I understand why they are so widely liked.

I didn't like back locks for a long time. I always thought of the buck 110 and didn't enjoy it. To me, it seemed like framelocks were what were used on nice knives. Then I bought my spydercos. I actually like the sage the least of the ones I bought because I have begun to favor the backlock used on the chaparral and caly 3. The way they are designed as a mid-lock makes them more ergonomic. All of my spyderco backlocks are flickable (except maybe the chaparral), and they are easy to close with one hand safely.

[Blerv]

I'm assuming width as the distance from scale to scale instead of height (a good point by EDC Honeybee).

You certainly are going to be best with single-liner/scale designs. That and thinner blades. The Air is quite thin but I expect ones like the Mantra would be even more slim.

Here is a great thread. I would grab a Cricket if you don't have one. :)

//forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.php?t=52094" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ZMW]

Blerv - I was think width as scale to scale, and scale to back of the blade (in closed position). Does that make sense? For example, the Manix is far wider than an endura due to the leaf shape blade

Height is not a concern.

[twinboysdad]

Why no back locks? Some of my favorite knives are back locks!

[ZMW]

Mostly due to ease of closing the knife one handed. I know you can close a lockback one handed, but its nothing like liners, axis, etc. It is a pet peeve. Maybe I can get it over it because it does push a lot of great affordable knifes out of the mix.

[SG89]

Des Horn, air, memory

[senorsquare]

Des Horn

[TheOutdoorNerd]

Des Horn