Ambitious G-10 - Steel

[WilliamMunny]

Recently I was looking for a new, smaller folding knife for international travel. I like the idea of a smaller knife having non-threatening size and a little more chance of being more friendly to foreign law enforcement. I came across the Ambitious G-10 and thought this fit the bill but I was a bit put off by the lower quality steel. I am also not looking to speed too much money as the chance of losing it overseas is higher.

Does anyone know if they will upgrade the steel on this knife to something more mid-grade? How good or bad is the 8Cr steel? From what I can tell it’s just okay, serviceable. Is there another 2”-2.5” knife under $100 or even better $75, that I should look at?

[JRinFL]

If properly heat treated it is meant to be in the same category as Aus-8 steel.

I think the Spyderco Cat may fit the criteria.
Is a locking blade a requirement?

[JRinFL]

The Squeak, the Urban, and the UKPK (Salt included) all come with better steel and being non-locking are accepted in even more areas.

[WilliamMunny]

If properly heat treated it is meant to be in the same category as Aus-8 steel.

I think the Spyderco Cat may fit the criteria.
Is a locking blade a requirement?

I am a big fan of locking, I don’t need something closing on my figures accidentally.

[JRinFL]

The Cat and the Alcyone are worth a look in that case.

[WilliamMunny]

If properly heat treated it is meant to be in the same category as Aus-8 steel.

I think the Spyderco Cat may fit the criteria.
Is a locking blade a requirement?

That Cat does look like it might also work well. But if a step up in steel quality and not made in China.

Is there anything wrong with 8Cr Steel or would I notice that big of a difference with the Cat? Currently I edc a Manix S30V and another knife in D2. Both steels are good but I do find the S30V dulls faster than I like.

[JRinFL]

Neither 8Cr or BDN1 will have the edge retention of S30V or D2, however both are much easier to sharpen than S30V or D2. So it's a bit a tradeoff.

[ladybug93]

spyderco does a really great job with their 8cr13mov. it won't hold an edge as long as s30v though. maybe you could try the persistence in s35vn?

[WilliamMunny]

Thank you for all the great ideas. Part of the reason I hate Spyderco is all the cool knives they have. Seems like there are a few good choices I need to pick from.

[twinboysdad]

You be William Munny outta Kansas?

[SSD_777]

I recently purchased a Roadie. This knife was designed for your needs.

https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C189/906

[tactikool]

Hasn’t been mentioned yet, but the Dragonfly could fit the bill. Lots of handle FRN color options, G10 option, SS option. Wharncliffe blade shape is available. Lots of steel choices as well if you can flex a little over $100 you could get K390. Wire pocket clip that doesn’t scream knife. Also a corrosion proof Salt version if that is a requirement.

[WilliamMunny]

You be William Munny outta Kansas?

“That's right. I've killed women and children. I've killed just about everything that walks or crawled at one time or another. And I'm here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you did to Ned.”

[twinboysdad]

You be William Munny outta Kansas?

“That's right. I've killed women and children. I've killed just about everything that walks or crawled at one time or another. And I'm here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you did to Ned.”

Deserve has nothing to do with it

[Bemo]

Really Spyderco does 8CrMov better then anyone else. But the CAT in Bd1N can't be beat.

[zhyla]

8CrMoV13 is just fine. The ambitious is a great design.

[WilliamMunny]

Really Spyderco does 8CrMov better then anyone else. But the CAT in Bd1N can't be beat.

I think that is where is am stuck right now. I like the design of the Ambitious more, especially considering you get the full 2.25 inches, 100%, of blade as cutting edge. But the Cat has the better steel and would work just fine but I hate you only get 2.125 inches of cutting edge on a 2.5” blade.

To make it worse I have not totally eliminated out a slightly bigger knife like the 2.75” persistence either.

This is where I wish I lived In Colorado so I could go to the store and play with all the knives. I would be their best but most annoying customer.

[araneae]

Depending on where you travel internationally, non-locking is going to be the safer thing to carry legally.

[WilliamMunny]

Depending on where you travel internationally, non-locking is going to be the safer thing to carry legally.

I hit some “normal” places but also go to some out of the way ones like Egypt, Israel, India, Ethiopia, Argentina, etc. I find the more normal countries like England, Switzerland, New Zealand, Japan, etc that I go to are more strict.

[Bemo]

I have the Ambitious, the Cat, the Urban, the Robin, and the Roadie. I threw the Urban and Roadie in since they are non-locking if you will be traveling internationally. The Urban is essentially the slipit version of the Cat. Exact blade and handle profile. The Robin is the Byrd version of a Dragonfly but the handles do differ considerably. The Wharncliffe Robyn is really an excellent knife and even better value. The Cat, Urban, Robin all have choils. This provides my medium/small male hands a 4 finger grip at the expense of some blade length. With the Ambitious, there's more blade for sure but my pinkie wants to slip off. And the thing is chunky both in girth and in comparative weight. The liners are substantially thicker than the Cat. I never carry the Ambitious. Now I LOVE the Persistance. To me it's a choil-less Native 5. Great knife. All are just IMHO, hands and preferences vary greatly.