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I like owning decent things if I'm going to buy something, I hate having to replace anything. I thought it would be smart to have a decent knife in my dayback when walking, even if I don't go anywhere very remote. The rest of the time it could be in my emergency kit in the car.
So I looked up some reviews and settled on the
Cold Steel Recon 1 spear point
I know folding knives can be controversial but for my very limited use that's what I wanted, I'm more likely to take it.
Smallish but had the serration on the top edge, good reviews
I'm not sure I like it.
The handle is....not deep? enough (I'm not talking how skinny, that's fine). I mean when I wrap my hands around it I can't get a good feeling grip in the places where your fingers go. I'm not sure how a man holds it but I want to grasp it wholey(sp) in my fist and its too narrow.
That and trying to close it. The bar you press on is hard and narrow and takes a lot of thumb pressure and just the right kind of thumb pressure to get it too release. From an emergency standpoint when you may be very cold, a little shakey - i don't want to be able to know close the knife.
I may have already thrown away the receipt but may still be able to return it (bought on Amazon) but why if I don't know what else to buy?
You need to assess what you want our of this knife as far as functionality first.
The best knives usually aren't the coolest mall ninja looking.
Go to a good sporting goods store and handle all the knives that interest you if you have no previous experience. As a matter of fact go to several stores.
Recommndations are fine but you really need to handle many knives in different configurations then think about how you will use it.
For everyday carry and emergencies I have a leatherman supertool. Plenty of knife for most jobs and tons of tools which I use more of than the knife.
For hunting and survival I carry an original 1991 Schrade Old timer Son of a Gun with a four inch blade that has gutted many deer and other large game.
Knives, with a few notable exceptions are made for a man's hand size, not a woman's.
The blade was "factory sharpened " so it has "some edge " but it really needs to be finish sharpened, to be truely usefull. The most dangerous knife is one that is not REALLY sharp.
I agree it is tuff to find a good feeling knife so the best thing to do is to try them out at a store. Keep the one you bought for around the house duties or give it away as a gift.
I really like my swiss army knife with a bunch of goodies on it. Leathermen are also good multi pupose tools.
You really need to handle them, or at least look at some youtube videos and also gage your intended use - which I take is meant as an everyday carry knife from your description. For that a folding knife should fit the bill. For the size of course, you have to make some compromises, you don't need a full handled knife that you can skin a bear with or meet Rambo's requirements. I think any knife in the utility (not tactical) category is going to have a relativly limited grip. Cold Steel isn't a bad company, the recon is a good knife, but I swear by my Kershaws.
I'm going to return it if I can. Still haven't tracked down the receipt or figured that out.
Watched some youtube vids and looked at more websites. Can't find quite what i want although
SOG seems closest. It looks like a button press release to fold the knife back up.
I hate shopping!
What I kind of wanted is one that had some serrations on top of the blade but I guess with a folding that doesn't work so I got the Recon for the serrations on the blade. I was thinking of stripping down wood branches for chips for a fire.
Are some serrations important to you? The SOGs don't have them. That Spyderco looks nice but again I'm not sure I like that narrow little thing you press to release as it looks similar to the Recon.
I'm going to return it if I can. Still haven't tracked down the receipt or figured that out.
Watched some youtube vids and looked at more websites. Can't find quite what i want although
SOG seems closest. It looks like a button press release to fold the knife back up.
I hate shopping!
What I kind of wanted is one that had some serrations on top of the blade but I guess with a folding that doesn't work so I got the Recon for the serrations on the blade. I was thinking of stripping down wood branches for chips for a fire.
Are some serrations important to you? The SOGs don't have them. That Spyderco looks nice but again I'm not sure I like that narrow little thing you press to release as it looks similar to the Recon.
I like serrations but that's just personal preference, some think it just leaves you with half a blade of actual cutting surface.. A pocket knife for carrying makes a poor saw but it helps cut other items in my opinion. If you want one robust enough for emergency cutting of firewood I would say you have to move up from a typical carry knife class for various reasons - one being blade length may not be legal, the other issue is weight. Check out the Kershaw Blur - which is about at the limit of what I would carry in terms of size and legality. Big fat blade, comes serrated, assisted opening. Tanto or drop point (personally I would not recommend the tanto design).
Hey, that Kershaw looks pretty good.
For use, well I'm a fat 56 yr old birdwatcher. The idea of me being in a truly outdoor emergency situation seems pretty ludicrous but...I do sometimes drive around in the middle of nowhere, no cell phone reception so the possibility of being stuck out somewhere overnight with a car issue is not beyond the realm. And it would be just like me to go 10 ft into the woods and get lost since I have zero sense of direction. I mean, at least I realize that I'm clueless so (1) I'm a bit more careful and (2) I try to carry a small minimum of 'stuff' in my car (though not rentals which is also an issue).
So I figure, having a good knife is a good thing regardless right? Having a good knife and a lighter in my fanny pack with my id book isn't a bad idea. 99.9% sure I'm never going to be in an outdoor emergency situation. No need to start lugging around a big survival kit. But a little bit of help is not stupid either.
I've seen that tanto thing, not sure I like the looks of it and from comments not many other people recommend it. Why is it out there?
My one question about serrations is doesn't it make sharpening harder?
Hey, that Kershaw looks pretty good.
For use, well I'm a fat 56 yr old birdwatcher. The idea of me being in a truly outdoor emergency situation seems pretty ludicrous but...I do sometimes drive around in the middle of nowhere, no cell phone reception so the possibility of being stuck out somewhere overnight with a car issue is not beyond the realm. And it would be just like me to go 10 ft into the woods and get lost since I have zero sense of direction. I mean, at least I realize that I'm clueless so (1) I'm a bit more careful and (2) I try to carry a small minimum of 'stuff' in my car (though not rentals which is also an issue).
So I figure, having a good knife is a good thing regardless right? Having a good knife and a lighter in my fanny pack with my id book isn't a bad idea. 99.9% sure I'm never going to be in an outdoor emergency situation. No need to start lugging around a big survival kit. But a little bit of help is not stupid either.
I've seen that tanto thing, not sure I like the looks of it and from comments not many other people recommend it. Why is it out there?
My one question about serrations is doesn't it make sharpening harder?
I use my everyday carry knives just for daily activity around town, and it's amazing how much I use it. Now for day hiking, a knife the size of the Kershaw blur should see you through and also serve that EDC usage in town as well. But, regardless, a walk of a mile or two alone into the woods, it this is in some remote trailhead or untrailed hiking, should warrant some other safety gear besides a knife - water obviously, some snacks, compass, matches, flashlight, maybe one of those emergency blankets. Nothing wrong with getting a larger folding knife for those purposes alone. I have a really sturdy folding knife for 20 years with 3 seperate 4 inch heavy duty blades made by a now defunct company called Camillus - 1 non-serrated, 1 serrated, and 1 saw that can and has actually be used as a saw. It's like a giant swiss army knife. It was my standard hiking knife for years and served me well from the Alaska outback to The Smokies, I even took it to South Africa with me. But at its weight and size it was just slightly too large to carry for everyday usage. But on hiking trips it was perfect.
The tanto blade thing is just a gimmick in my opinion. Marketed because it looks cool to the Rambo wannabe crowd. In reality, the pointed edge sacrifices the utility and functionality of the rest of the blade.
Oh and you can sharpen serrated edges, here are specialized sharpening tools that you use - with stone like a toothpick shape (well, thicker obviously) in which you run it across to serrated gaps. I got a real cheap but excellently rated sharpener from Amazon that has this attachment.
Last edited by Dd714; 10-17-2012 at 01:29 PM..
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