Recommendations for a European traditionalist

[Palestrina]

What I did not totally get so far:

- Do you, Palestrina, just want "dabble" into the world of modern folders a bit, but stay as close to "traditional" as possible (in this case perhaps something like a Chaparral with wood scales and its liners would be a good choice, also great for being carried without the clip) ?

- ... Or do you wish to make a more "radical change" (in this case linerless FRN, a serrated blade and a "modern" lock would be a way to go: Something like a Para 3 LW in SE for example) ?

I really want to carry a modern blade, and stop ruining my traditional folders for EDC tasks. I usually carry a Nontron Violon in a Böker Leather Sheath with the magnet clip, I don't want the knives to fly around in my pocket.

My Buck 110 is a bit too bulky and heavy to EDC at work.

A friend of mine showed me his Zero Tolerance ZT350 (???), and it felt nice an sturdy, I just did not like the looks. For some reason I scrolled through the Internet quite aimless not finding anything which appealed to me, until I needed to sharpen a kitchen knife, that's when I thought "Yeah, maybe I could check out Spyderco. I like their Sharpmaker, might give it a shot."

Yeah, and now here I am. Oh, and im quite a collector myself, so my wife already rolled her eyes when I started showing her Spyderco knives

[Wartstein]

What I did not totally get so far:

- Do you, Palestrina, just want "dabble" into the world of modern folders a bit, but stay as close to "traditional" as possible (in this case perhaps something like a Chaparral with wood scales and its liners would be a good choice, also great for being carried without the clip) ?

- ... Or do you wish to make a more "radical change" (in this case linerless FRN, a serrated blade and a "modern" lock would be a way to go: Something like a Para 3 LW in SE for example) ?

I really want to carry a modern blade, and stop ruining my traditional folders for EDC tasks. I usually carry a Nontron Violon in a Böker Leather Sheath with the magnet clip, I don't want the knives to fly around in my pocket.

My Buck 110 is a bit too bulky and heavy to EDC at work.
.......

Well, I think "modern" in the sense of a real departure from "old school" (NOT meant negatively!), traditional folders would be the Para 3 LW Salt https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C223YL/2483for example (not available yet though!):

The Para 3 is not my personal favorite platform and I personally prefer a backlock, but with the Para 3 LW Salt you´d get a maximum of "modern features" in a way:

- Linerless FRN handle
- Compression lock (and first implementation of this locktype in (almost) linerless FRN)
- Wire clip
- Very "modern" and rustproof Magnacut steel
- Very "modern, un-traditional" color (yellow... you could always dye it if you don´t like the color)
- Not sure if there´ll be a serrated version though, and serrations is what I´d highly recommend (and you have a sharpmaker already, percect for keeping serrations sharp even a bit quicker and easier than a plain edge)

Keep in mind though this is a rather small knife when it comes to available cutting edge!

If you want to stay a tad more "traditional" and also get an a bit larger, imo more universally useful size:
Endela SE in VG10 (also rather affordable) https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C243BK/1782

- backlock
- liners plus FRN
- a more "traditional" color (black)
- actually thinner blade stock than the Para 3 on a longer blade
- a lot of grip area
- very good serrations, for me personally better than a plain edge in almost any folder task.

[Palestrina]

Thank you guys for all your kind and informative replies.

I've settled on the Lil Native and it arrived last week. My wife said it looks cute, it was available on Knives and Tools, so I pulled the trigger :)

[Doc Dan]

Did you get the back lock or compression lock model? I have the back lock and it is a dandy little knife, to be sure.

[Palestrina]

Did you get the back lock or compression lock model? I have the back lock and it is a dandy little knife, to be sure.

Hi, got the backlock, which was the logical choice for me since I am left-handed.

And I really love this knife. It's lightweight and feels strong at the same time.

[Wartstein]

Did you get the back lock or compression lock model? I have the back lock and it is a dandy little knife, to be sure.

I may link the thread my fellow Austrian country man made about his new Lil Native (backlock, btw) since he posted a really nice write up about it which you might want to check out, Doc!

viewtopic.php?p=1777511#p1777511

[Doc Dan]

Did you get the back lock or compression lock model? I have the back lock and it is a dandy little knife, to be sure.

I may link the thread my fellow Austrian country man made about his new Lil Native (backlock, btw) since he posted a really nice write up about it which you might want to check out, Doc!

viewtopic.php?p=1777511#p1777511

Thanks. I didn't see that one.

[Bill1170]

In my limited experience Austrians like the endura and chaparral.

I seriously wonder what the background of this statement is and what distinguishes Austrian preferences for pocket knives from other nations? Maybe I'm a little too superficial, because after almost 20 years here in the forums and especially after 64 years of life in Austria, I have not yet found out.

Bernhard seems to be a nice guy and if he lives in my area (ich bin aus Niederösterreich), I can possibly help him, because I own one or the other Spydie

I was a making a small joke. Wartstein is the only regular poster who I know is from Austria and he often endorses those two models. Therefore in my extremely limited experience, Austrians like the endura and chaparral. It's a small sample size joke. And much funnier now that I've explained it, as all jokes are.

I wasn't trying to stereotype or offend any Austrians. I love kangaroos.

I got the joke!