Knife talk.

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Gerber/Kershaw

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Had many of them when I owned a lawn service. Did great for what they were worth. Did not last and once that original edge was gone, it was gone forever.

Never owned a Spyderco. Bout to buy their knife sharpener and this is what started all of this.

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The differences between a $40 folder and a $200 are incredible.

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I Kige this.

And I only say under $200 because that's what I paid for my Osborne and you would be hard pressed to find a better knife, IMO.

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Spyderco

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For the money, this is the best knife I've ever had. If I remember right, I spent about $90 on mine and have had it for 4 years and use it regularly. I couldn't imagine spending $200-$300 for a knife that my $100 knife does just fine.

That's a pretty damn good deal. Even amazon has the Osborne for around $180 right now. I got the coated blade and like it but not sure how much extra it's worth.

Steven, I am not opposed to a spyderco. Just never owned one and am looking for suggestions. As far as the price difference, my Kershaw was a great knife and did everything that I wanted but doesn't hold a candle to my benchmade. Price has a lot to do with the quality and I understand the of diminishing returns but the $100 price point isn't it.

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I like my mini griptillian, it was $92 I believe.

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Cutlery Shoppe sells the satin finish Mini-Grips for $63.75 after using the coupon codes I mentioned.

I have the same, but straight blade and trident tip. Great EDC knife.

In addition to what has already been mentioned, you should check out a few of these.

Benchmade 710... This is a classic imho. It's nearly 4 inches long, but weighs like 4.5 ounces. D2 stool, which will require some care, but will hold an edge well.




Benchmade Contego. This is the heaviest blade I'll mention at nearly six ounces. It's a 4 inch blade made of CP M4 super steel. It will also require some care, but edge retention is amazing.



Of course, the always popular Mini-Grip. It comes with a 2.91 inch blade, made of quality 154 CM steel. It's very light, at like 2.5 ounces.



Now we'll venture into the land of Spyderco. IMHO, they make they absolute best blade for your buck.

My absolute favorite Spydie is the Para-Military 2. It's light (3.75 ounces), and comes with a great 3.4 inch FFG blade (s30v). The handle feels great, and comes in a bunch of different colors/patterns. There is a major downside to the PM2...it's never in stock. At Cutleryshoppe or Knifeworks, the regular models sell for $105 or $115, depending on whether you want the black coating. You may be able to find it somewhere else, but you will probably pay closer to MSRP.





The big brother to the Para-Military 2 is the Military. It's a little heavier at 4.25 ounces, but the blade (S30V) is a full 4 inches long. Great knife.



I mentioned the Zero Tolerance line earlier, and they are beautiful knives built like tanks.

The 0561 I posted ealier has a $325 MSRP... That $208 deal on Amazon is about $50-$60 cheaper than you'll find it anywhere else.

However, it's still slightly more than your $200 limit, so check out the ZT 0550 and the ZT 0566.

They can both be found for less than $200 (about $190 for ZT 0550, $150 the ZT 0566). The 0566 is brand new, and is basically a smaller 0561. It has the same Elmax steel as the 0560/0561 series, but uses stainless steel instead of titanium for the back of the handle. SS is obviously cheaper and heavier than titanium.

ZT0550:



ZT0566:

I'd option the Spyderco Manix 2XL. Deeper blade (S30V), better grip, and better lock than the Paramilitary. If your skinning game the extra belly in the blade will help.

I bought from this guy when he was a relatively unknown knife maker. Still worth every penny. He makes heirloom quality blades...

Wayne Hendrix Custom Knives

Never been a fan of ZT knives. Almost always overpriced for what they offer compared to other premium production knife companies. Elmax is nothing special compared to powdered steels made in the US and Japan. At $200 range I'm looking at Extrema, Emerson, Al Mar (Mini SERE is second only to my classic Sebenza in how smooth it opens), and a few others. I look at ZT the same way I looked at Blackhawk folders when they first came out, great at making lower enlisted poor...