6 month long knife test. -Need you to vote please-

[Fred Sanford]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. It's looking more and more like the UK Pen Knife. That's pretty cool actually.

I'll let this poll run until Wednesday morning and then I'll order up a knife. :)

Also the reason I didn't pick any larger knives was so that I could essentually carry the knife everywhere.

Even though I did include the ATR and the Paramilitary I think both of those knives would probably be fround upon if I were to use them in front of folks at work. Usually with the Para at work I'm a bit more descreet about it.

I'm surprised that the Harpy and Tenacious are getting so many votes. Kinda neat.

And yes, 6 months is a long time but I'm gonna do it just because I've never used 1 single knife that long before. I tend to swap around too much. I'm looking forward to this very much.

[kbuzbee]

Hi David, while these may not be options for you, the top three I would recommend in order:

Lil'Temp
Sage
Caly 3 G10

Ken

[Th232]

Also voted for the UKPK. As others have stated, I think we all know how well locking folders perform, but I think this should get a fairly definitive answer as to how a non-locking folder will really stand up.

[anthonyc]

what about a lava?

[Fred Sanford]

Hi David, while these may not be options for you, the top three I would recommend in order:

Lil'Temp
Sage
Caly 3 G10

Ken

Well the Lil' Temps are very hard to come by, and I used to own one and hated the pocket clip. The Sage is a liner lock and I hate those. :)

The Caly 3 is very similar to the UKPK but I actually like the choil on the UKPK better.

what about a lava?

I like the Lava but there is not much blade there. I need a bit less belly and more of a tip at least for the whittling that I do.

[Left Hand Path]

So with that said, I voted for the Mini Persian. It is a great knife that I think tends to be pigeon-holed as just a fancy, dress knife to be saved for only formal occasions.

I agree with Billy. I think a Mini Persian test would be great.

Sounds like a cool experiment David. Looking forward to hearing your reports, regardless of the knife you pick.

[Piercieve]

PLEASE put the Captain through the test. I would really like to know how that blade shape works out with daily cutting chores/how it's effectively used. It would be VERY interesting.

I feel like all these other knives have been extensively tested and reviewed.

After further reading I say either the
UKPK to test the slipit's worth or
Captain to test the blade shape

[Fred Sanford]

PLEASE put the Captain through the test. I would really like to know how that blade shape works out with daily cutting chores/how it's effectively used. It would be VERY interesting.

I feel like all these other knives have been extensively tested and reviewed.

After further reading I say either the
UKPK to test the slipit's worth or
Captain to test the blade shape

Piercieve,

Wow you bring up a good point. I think I could whittle with the captain but it lacks a point like the Lava does also. I do sit out on the back porch and whittle little things. Right now I'm in the middle of whittling a baseball and a bat for my daughter.

I'll have to think about the Captain.

I think I could get past the liner lock on the Captain because it's made by Spyderco (even though I hate liner locks). I have had fantastic experience with the liner lock on the Military.

At the end I will put up a poll in a new thread and I will put only the most popular choices along with the Captain and maybe another knife or two suggested. Here's what I have so far.

-UKPK
-Paramilitary PE
-Mini Persian
-Harpy SE
-Tenacious PE
-Rookie
-Captain
-ZDP Delica SE

[PSU]

Piercieve,

Wow you bring up a good point. I think I could whittle with the captain but it lacks a point like the Lava does also. I do sit out on the back porch and whittle little things. Right now I'm in the middle of whittling a baseball and a bat for my daughter.

I'll have to think about the Captain.

I would strongly suggest not selecting the Captain. It's liner lock is a real pain to disengage (literally) and it lacks a tip. IMO, these two aspects of the knife make it a poor choice for an EDC. Let alone a dedicated 6 month EDC. For that task, I would probably pick any of my other Spydies before the Captain.

I would love to see you choose the Para. It seems to be your favorite knife so it must have most of the features you look for in an EDC. It would be interesting to read your reports on using it and nothing else for 6 months. The UKPK would my second choice, although its lack of a lock may be limiting.

Whichever way you go, I look forward to reading about the experience.

[MountainMedic]

David,
I picked the UKPK. I primarily would like to see the long term, normal usage viability of the ol' slip joint. We survived many decades without locks on our knives(for those of us who are old enough to remember what "pocket knives" used to be like before the Golden :D Age of knives). Just curious to see if we can still make it "lockless".

[Piercieve]

I would strongly suggest not selecting the Captain. It's liner lock is a real pain to disengage (literally) and it lacks a tip. IMO, these two aspects of the knife make it a poor choice for an EDC. Let alone a dedicated 6 month EDC. For that task, I would probably pick any of my other Spydies before the Captain.

Can you explain more about the liner lock? Does it kind of stick to the point where alot of force is needed for the initial disengagement, and then it's smooth? It sounds like you may have cut yourself closing the knife, but it seems the choil would keep that from happening.
It still has somewhat of a point, in some form of the word. puncturing things wouldn't seem to be a problem.
Sorry, I am just really interested in that design... Maybe I'll buy one for myself :D

Plus I've felt one up at a SG store, and the ergos are outstanding.

[PSU]

Can you explain more about the liner lock? Does it kind of stick to the point where alot of force is needed for the initial disengagement, and then it's smooth? It sounds like you may have cut yourself closing the knife, but it seems the choil would keep that from happening.
It still has somewhat of a point, in some form of the word. puncturing things wouldn't seem to be a problem.
Sorry, I am just really interested in that design... Maybe I'll buy one for myself :D

Plus I've felt one up at a SG store, and the ergos are outstanding.

The ergos of the Captain are outstanding and it folds up to a fairly compact and lightweight package. These are its strong selling points. Its liner lock is very secure but I find it hard to disengage. Unlike the Millie and the Sage, there is no cutout for easy access to the side of the lock bar. To close the knife you have to jam your thumb against the edge of the lock bar and press it sideways. For occasional use it was ok but I found that my thumb would get sore after only a few openings and closings.

Regarding its blade, I never realized how much I use the point of a blade until I trying EDCing a Captain. Its blade does have somewhat of a point but i found it lacking for many tasks.

Hope this helps. Sorry for diverting the thread a bit David.

[Piercieve]

Unlike the Millie and the Sage, there is no cutout for easy access to the side of the lock bar. To close the knife you have to jam your thumb against the edge of the lock bar and press it sideways. For occasional use it was ok but I found that my thumb would get sore after only a few openings and closings.

Regarding its blade, I never realized how much I use the point of a blade until I trying EDCing a Captain. Its blade does have somewhat of a point but i found it lacking for many tasks.

Hope this helps. Sorry for diverting the thread a bit David.

Allright, thank ya sir.
I'm sure he wont mind... hopefully he'll still add it to his next list

[Kim Lau]

How about a Caly 3? Or a Stretch? Both are great knives and I'm interested to see how either one performs.

[slice22358]

I would have to say the Harpy because
1. It's a Harpy
2. You never really see many reviews on the most sacred of hawkbills(at least in my experience)
3. It's a Harpy

Just my 2 cents

[Phalanx7.62]

I am writing in my choice for the Lum Chinese. I realize this is not on your list nor will you be buying it, but I want to see how almite holds up to EDC. I also want to here how all that flat-ground ZDP189 cuts through everything like a light saber.

Otherwise go with the Harpy as hawks are really fun to carry, but seldom see EDC use IMO.

PS-> I wish :spyder: would reintroduce the Lum tanto as a tribute to Bob. Then that would be the EDC of choice.

There, I am sure all that did not help in any way but there you go!

[Fred Sanford]

Thanks Phalanx, but right now I'm kinda on a budget. :)

I'm trying to stick to some knives that real folks can afford. I can't find the black handled ZDP Lum anywhere for cheap. Everyone bought 'em up and now they are on ebay and are pretty expensive.

I would love to include the Stretch II but it is also "out there" away from my budget. Plus if you notice all of the knives I have included have pretty much a 3 inch blade so they should be good for just about everyone. The Tenacious is the only one in that is a bit over 3 inches. I thought it was like 3.25 inches. :)

[LeeCQC]

PE Para! :spyder: :eek:

[So-Lo]

I say full SE Caly 3.

The SE does not snag if you keep them sharp, and vg10 makes that task easy. Honestly even if your not a full SE fan, I think a SE Caly could convert you!

Paired up with a nice slippie in your watch pocket you would be set for anything. In fact this combo is going to work with me in the morning :cool:


Edit: Maybe a small slippie like a carbon Case peanut.

[RIOT]

i picked the harpy, reason is: its the knife i would carry out of all those Spydies, light, simple, ruthless blade