Personal knife categorizations?

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Albatross
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Personal knife categorizations?

#1

Post by Albatross »

As it turns out, my favorite knives aren't always my most used, which got me thinking about how I would categorize my knives. Out of the knives you have, what do you consider to be "best" for each category?

Favorite knife:
Manix 2 CF CPM 154/S90V & P4 G10
Most used knife:
PM2 M390/K390 & Manix 2 CF
Least favorite knife:
Para 3 LW BD1N
Best work knife:
Endura 4 ZDP-189
Best EDC knife:
PM2 M390
Best beater knife:
Para 3 LW BD1N
Best big knife:
Police 4 G10
Best small knife:
Para 3 Rex 45
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Mushroom
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#2

Post by Mushroom »

Favorite knife:
Perrin PPT Black Sprint

Most used knife:
Recently: Lil Native Rex45 Sprint

Least favorite knife:
Not a Spyderco ;)

Best work knife:
Stretch 1 HAP40 Sprint

Best EDC knife:
Lil Native

Best beater knife:
Salt 1 SE

Best big knife:
Ti Frame Lock Military

Best small knife:
Squarehead
-Nick :bug-red
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Sharp Guy
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#3

Post by Sharp Guy »

I have two categories. Knives I like and knives I don't like. I buy the knives I like and don't buy the ones I don't like. Unfortunately, the first category is much larger than the second. Ok....I know that's not actually true but it sure does seem like it
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xceptnl
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#4

Post by xceptnl »

Favorite knife today:
K390 Police 4

Most used knife:
SE AUS8 Catcherman

Least favorite knife:
Any cheap unbranded gas station blade.

Best work knife:
SE Pacific Salt

Best EDC knife:
Superblue Caly Jr.

Best beater knife:
440V SE "Military"

Best big knife:
Hossom Dayhiker

Best small knife:
SE foliage ladybug
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Sumdumguy
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#5

Post by Sumdumguy »

Favorite knife:
Micro Dyad(Caribbean too...)
Most used knife(currently):
Micro Dyad
Least favorite knife:
Anything with a C/BBL
Best work knife:
Caribbean
Best EDC knife:
Caribbean
Best beater knife:
Caribbean
Best big knife:
Ulize
Other best small knife:
Baby Horn
Best fixed blade:
Street Beat
Last edited by Sumdumguy on Fri Sep 18, 2020 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Cambertree
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#6

Post by Cambertree »

If we’re talking Spydies only...

Favorite knife today:
Police 4 K390
Most used knife:
ZDP189 Dragonfly
Least favorite knife:
S30V PM2
Best work knife:
Depends what kind of work, but let’s say the HAP40 Wharncliffe Delica.
Best EDC knife:
K390 Urban
Best beater knife:
Pacific Salt SE
Best big knife:
Police 4 G10
Best small knife:
K390 Dragonfly
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Mushroom
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#7

Post by Mushroom »

Sharp Guy wrote:
Fri Sep 18, 2020 6:32 pm
I have two categories. Knives I like and knives I don't like. I buy the knives I like and don't buy the ones I don't like. Unfortunately, the first category is much larger than the second. Ok....I know that's not actually true but it sure does seem like it
hahah these are basically the two categories I use as well. :D
-Nick :bug-red
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ykspydiefan
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#8

Post by ykspydiefan »

My categorizations,

EDC
Para 3 Spy27 or Tenacious

Hotdog stick cutter/snare set maker
Hogue RSK Mrk1 G2 or Gerber Gator

Fish Cutter
Waterway or 6" kitchen fillet knife

Big Game Cutter
North Arm Lynx

Fidget Blade
Kershaw Knockout or any Spyderco folder

Throwers
Gil Hibben Medium, I'm longing for Spyder throwers

Hide work
ulu (plural ulus or uluit)

House work
box cutter

Cord wrap practice
Mule Pd#1
Spyderco: Tenacious G10, Waterway, Para 3 Spy27, Pacific Salt H1, In the Mule Team Stable(Z-Max, Z-Wear, S45VN, Magnacut, SRS13/SUS405, M398, Aeb-l, 15v)
yowzer
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#9

Post by yowzer »

Not limiting it to just Spydies...

Favorite knife:
Kapara.
Most used knife:
Tie between Benchmade Valet and Urban in AEB-L, since I usually carry one or the other at work.
Least favorite knife:
Manix 2 LW.
Best work knife:
Dyad.
Best EDC knife:
Stretch 1 or Benchmade 531.
Best beater knife:
Mora Companion.
Best big knife:
Hundred Pacer.
Best small knife:
Case Swayback Jack.

And a few more

Best Large Fixed Blade
Bark River Aurora or Spyderco Serrata.
Best Small Fixed Blade
Mora Eldris.
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Lumpy
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#10

Post by Lumpy »

Without using any knife for more than one category. Also Subject to change at any moment but...

Favorite knife:
Manix 2 20CV

Most used knife:
Para 3 S110V

Least favorite knife:
Artisan Classic D2

Best work knife:
Endura VG10

Best EDC knife:
Delica K390

Best beater knife:
Tenacious

Best big knife:
Amalgam

Best small knife:
Lil Native Rex 45
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Naperville
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#11

Post by Naperville »

With self defense in mind:

Favorite knife:
Spyderco Province in 4V

Knives of mine dying for Kydex Sheaths so they can be carried:
Spyderco Province in 4V
Spyderco Sustain in 20CV

Best completely legal EDC knife for me:
Spyderco Yojimbo 2 in 20CV

Best big folder:
Hinderer XM-24 Whancliffe in M390 BUT, you cannot get one so buy the Spyderco Yojumbo!

Best Large Fixed Blade:
Spyderco Province in 4V

Best small knife:
Bastinelli Picour

Best Sword:
Dawson Knives, CPM-3V, 16 and 19" Praetorian Sword

Best Mid Size Dagger:
RMJ Black Raider Dagger
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aicolainen
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#12

Post by aicolainen »

Categories are really the basis of my knife interest. Besides general EDC, where I like to rotate or adapt to the ever changing agenda for the day, I try not to have more than one knife in each category, so whatever I have is usually my current favorite. I also have very few knives that falls outside of my defined categories, because then I basically don’t need it.
My system is also very modular, so my favorite in each category might not be the best suited as a standalone option, but rather what I find to be the best option in a complementary system.
The complementary knife is often carried in a backpack, and usually a folder if my primary is a fixed blade. Or vice versa.
I’m kind of new to this, so while the hunt for the perfect setup is a never ending one, I’m still in my early stages of fulfilling the categories as well as correcting some of my beginners mistakes. So for that reason I took the liberty to include some prospects that are in the pipeline atm;
«->» Indicates that I’m in a process of replacing an item, pointing to the item I project will be my favorite/choice for this specific category going forward.

Office / general EDC:
Chaparral LW / BM Bugout / CRK small sebenza. Can’t rank them, each best in their own right. It’s a tie.

EDC backpack knife:
LM Skeletool

Shorts and work out clothes:
Dragonfly 2

5th pocket carry:
Manbug Salt

Short walks in the wood / walking the dog:
Salt 2 (usually I take what's already in my pocket, but if I put in the effort to make a deliberate choice, it's usually the Salt)

Home repair, carpentry:
Para 3
I’m not too excited about the Para 3, but I have two and have to use them for something. They work great for this application, but would rather change to a similarly built backlock at some point.

Workshop / garage work:
CS Amercian Lawman
Kind of redundant to the Para 3, I could get by very well with just one of them, but their slight differences make me prefer one over the other for some type of work.

Travel knife:
Victorinox Sportsman

Fishing / outdoor fixed blade:
None dedicated ATM -> Waterway

Fishing / outdoor folder:
Native salt PE -> Siren / Native CF S90V
The Native salt is often what I currently end up choosing for this type of use, but it’s not perfect.
I wan’t to try a combination of Siren and the S90V Native. The Siren I suspect is better when I want slightly longer blade, typically in a folder only setting. I also suspect that the Siren will be quite on the large side in some situations, so I want to try a CF/S90V Native to have a more compact option with a more comfortable grip than my current Native while, while still providing decent corrosive properties in fresh water environments.

Hunting / outdoor fixed blade:
Fällkniven WM1

General outdoor fixed blade:
Fällkniven F1

General outdoor folder:
Spydiechef -> Pacific Salt FFG SE

Search & rescue / mountain rescue folder:
Salt 2 PE
I could elaborate on this, but it’s a complicated matrix of considerations that culminated in this choice, so to keep things short(ish) and simple I choose not to. For now.

Disposable knife:
Mora Companion
I don’t believe in the concept of beater knives/hard use knives. I always bring along a quality knife that I deem most suitable for the task at hand (ref list above), and I expect the knife to handle what it’s designed to do. However, I do believe that knives in some situations can be a great general purpose tools to get you out of a bad situation. In such situations the knife will be used for whatever is required to resolve the situation. Not just cutting tasks. I’ve chosen the Mora for this, not because I’m afraid to ruin an expensive knife (I don’t find myself in bad situations all that often), but because I have several deposited around in strategic places, like my vehicles, SAR backpack etc. and I don’t want to tie up more money in these just-in-case items than strictly necessary.
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Wartstein
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#13

Post by Wartstein »

Going by your categories and of course only listing Spyderco folders I currently own - and heavily influenced by my quite recently developed preference for SE in ffg (that´s the sole reason the Endela SE wins in three categories)

Favorite knife:
Endura 4 in HAP 40

Most used knife:
Endela SE

Least favorite knife:
PM2 [EDIT: Again, "least favorite" just among the Spydies I own right now! Generally the PM2 is a good one of course!]

Best work knife:
Endela SE

Best EDC knife:
Endela SE

Best beater knife:
Pac Salt SE

Best big knife:
Endura 4 in HAP 40

Best small knife:
Chaparral FRN
Last edited by Wartstein on Mon Sep 21, 2020 12:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
bdblue
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#14

Post by bdblue »

Favorite knife:
PM2 K390
Most used knife:
Manix 2 G10 M4
Least favorite knife:
knives I don't have
Best work knife:
Manix 2 LW Rex45
Best EDC knife:
PM2 K390
Best beater knife:
Manix 2 G10 M4
Best big knife:
Manix 2 XL M4
Best small knife:
no such thing
bearrowland
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#15

Post by bearrowland »

Favorite knife today:
Endura 4
Most used knife:
S30V PM2
Least favorite knife:
That's a tough one
Best work knife:
Depends, but I'll say my Autonomy
Best EDC knife:
Delica 4
Best beater knife:
Endura 4
Best big knife:
Tatanka
Best small knife:
K390 Dragonfly
Barry

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Hobnob
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#16

Post by Hobnob »

BEST POCKET JOCKEY
Delica
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The Deacon
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#17

Post by The Deacon »

Favorite knife:
Bolstered Cocobolo Stretch & Sambar Stag Kiwi
Most used knife:
K04 Utility Knife modified into a Mini Santoku
Least favorite knife:
ParaMilitary 2 Forum Knife
Best work knife:
CF Chaparral
Best EDC knife:
Lignum Vitae Stretch
Best beater knife:
Tenacious SE
Best big knife:
Respect Bowie
Best small knife:
Burgundy Micarta Jester
Paul
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brj
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#18

Post by brj »

Most carried: Military, Kapara, Ikuchi, Watu
Favourite knife: S90V Millie (both the liner lock and frame lock versions)
Summer knife: Pacific Salt
Beater: Police 4 LW
joeldworkin307
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#19

Post by joeldworkin307 »

Favorite knife:
Jot Singh Khalsa or Terzuola (just is)
Most used knife:
Caly3 Hap40
Least favorite knife:
Rescue
Best work knife:
Native 3 440V SE
Best EDC knife:
Double Bevel
Best beater knife:
PM2 52100 or Lil Temp 3
Best big knife:
Endura
Best small knife:
Dragonfly Hap40
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TkoK83Spy
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Re: Personal knife categorizations?

#20

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Favorite knife:
Manix 2 Rex45 with Putman Micarta scales

Most used knife:
Can't say, I rotate a knife on a weekly basis

Least favorite knife:
Dragonfly V-toku2...but only because it's not really cut out for my job

Best work knife:
Shaman 4V

Best EDC knife:
Manix 2...any of them!

Best beater knife:
PM2 S30V, it's been reprofiled and scratched up, scales are dinged.

Best big knife:
Shaman...any of them!

Best small knife:
HH UKPK
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

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