I’ve picked up several budget knives over the past year or so. Knives from Enlan, SRM, CRKT, SOG, Svord, and I have a Ganzo on its way. I’ve been really impressed with most of these knives so far, however I think I would like to try something with a little “better” steel from a quality knife maker. I’m looking seriously at a Spyderco Endura, but would love suggestions from you guys with more experience with knives. My only must demands are the blade should be 3 or more inches of a quality steel and a price around $100. Thanks in advance for your help.
The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is the BM Griptillion or mini Grip, you have the choice of a few steels and you can always get a custom if you order online for colors, name on the blade, and blade steel.
Yeah I am a fan of BM and not so much for Spyder Co. these days. Both companies make good stuff, but each time I walk in to a store with extra cash in my pocket. Bm gets the sale.
I really want one of these in black. Don't know anything about that vendor in the product link. Just did a search on "Damm".
Personally I’d go with Spyderco, though the Delica not the Endura, as most people I know who buy the Endura say it’s too big and end up with the Delica.
You’d also be hard pressed to go wrong with anything from Benchmade, either, or maybe some of the made-in-USA Kershaw flippers.
I started out with an Endura, carried it for a year or two then switched to the Delica. That must have been 15 years or so ago. I’ve tried other knives but always end up going back to the Delica, I consider it my perfect EDC pocket knife.
Mora, Opinel. Something made from carbon steel (or laminated if you can tolerate the wood grips). Swamprat has a 3” inch in the ~$100 range, good fixed survival type knife. With spyderco, cold steel, etc. you always* buy the brand name along with the knife… Btw I think the former has some knifes with laminated blades, that might be a bit more impressive than standard VG10. Can’t say for sure, steel is one half, the heat treatment it gets is the other.
*well, usually. There are exceptions, like cold steel’s “vaquero grande” aka voyager xl, pretty impressive 5.5” folder for ~45$ (plain or serrated edge, VG1 steel).
I’d look in the benchmade griptilian, or Enzo folding skandi knife if you like that grind (I do a lot).
I honestly find useless to spend 100$ on a folding knife, which will never be as strong as a 10$ fixed blade knife, so I get by with Ganzo, Enlan and the like or Victorinox simple models (sentinel), or Kershaw medium-end models, and never got disappointed so far (impressed actually).
I love spyderco. I picked up a Native 5 with a S110V blade and it is solid. I vary my EDC with the Native 5 and Resilience in one pocket and a ZL sc52w in the other. On paper I was positive the Delica was the knife I would first get, then I went and checked one out and was instantly turned off. I've got large hands and the Delica is way too small a handle to be comfortable. That and the FRN plasticy handle ... give me G-10 handles any day. The Delica is loved by most but not all, if funds permit try out a Caly 3 it is my next purchase. Beware that some of the higher end steels can be a bear to sharpen if you get them dull. I'm referring to ZDP-189 and S110V type blades among others, great to have the exotic steels but there is no free lunch.
S30V is a good all around steel. The guys over at Spyderco Forums are just like the guys here but with blades, friendly and helpful. The main website has all sorts of good information as well.
Above all try and hit a brick and mortar store and play with the knifes your interested in.
Stay sharp and shine on!
For whatever it is worth, go with your first instinct- Spyderco Endura 4FFG. It’s light, thin, and a great value at $65. If you are a ten year lol kid or a petite woman, maybe a Delica. Maybe.
If I had to pick one piece of gear in every category- lights, bags, knives, MTs, etc.- to the “one” for the rest of my life I would have to think long and hard in every category except the knife one. For twenty plus years, 99.99% of the time, I have an Endura in my pocket.
I’ll toss in my EDC, a Buck Vantage (Mine is a Force Pro)
There are a variety of handle and blade materals available. Lifetime Warranty.
http://www.bladehq.com/cat—Buck-Vantage-Series—611
Link just for display of options.
This is the one I pocket:
I was all set to get a nice new Spyderco until Chenco pointed out the fact that even the best folder is no match for a fixed blade. That got me thinking that although I do spend a fair amount of time in the woods I don’t own a decent bushcraft knife. I did a little research and found that there are some really nice fixed blade knives such as Mora or Condor that are also very affordable. So much so that I could pick up one of these knives and a decent set of stones to sharpen my collection for a little more than the cost of an Endura. Now I’m lost and torn on what to get once again.
Someone mentioned a bit more cash, 150 price range. If you can make the jump to that range you can also check out the ZT 566. Hell of a good knife. (Yes I do carry one. 
) outstanding customer service and warranty.
Or you can stay in the under 100 bucks and check out some of kershaw’s choices. Cryo and few other flippers seem to be a great value if the best bang for your buck is important.
If you spend time in the woods, a solid bushcraft and/or survival knife is a NO BRAINER. No matter personal preference, it’s about safety and preparedness. That would be a maximum priority for me.
Check the Mora Robust (or any Mora, but the Robust is a fantastic balance of heft and sharpness). I owe yourself one, and a portable stone (like a DMT double sided diafold sharpener) for in-the-woods sharpening needs.
There’s too much to choose from,…try to narrow it down a bit by thinking about the other aspects of a knife, which type of lock you prefer, handle material, blade shape, tip up/tip down carry etc etc.
I know that the Endura gets a lot of good reviews, personally I’m not so keen on it, I don’t like back locks.
Spyderco makes great knives and so does Cold Steel. My Cold Steel Master Tanto retained its edge after more than 11 years of abuse and I’m looking forward to my newer cold steel knives to perform the same.
Mora and Hultafors fixed blades both good for hardcore EDC
That’s a no-brainer, you definitely need stones if you use your knifes regularly. Personally I like hard ceramic stones with minimal wear like the shapton glass stone #2000 grid. Large, aggressive/fast like a softer stone, very fine finish for the grit; a bit expensive but was worth it for me after having to deal with planing softer stones way too often. I’d not recommend soft, relatively cheap water stones; they’re made for >60 HRC hard carbon blades, a waste and a hassle for softer stainless ones. Naniwa super stones would be another good choice, I don’t have one but heard their comparable. Neither are portable, idk about good ones for that purpose… it’s not the best way, but I use fine grit needle files to sharpen tools in the field.
Pretty much all about personal preference, ive been a steel snob for quite awhile back then, owning several super steel knives but believe or not after about one year i switched from vg10, 154cm and s35vn back to 8cr13mov and aus8 knives, spyderco endura are great but the handle feels kinda weak to me, and personally i dont go for smaller knives with blade length less than 3~4 inch, tried them and they just dont work for me, probably due to my defensive requirement, most people prefer that but i just dont.
higher quality steel make do make differences in terms of performance but then again both knives do cut, and its fun to keep a blade sharpen, handles and scales striped naked and maintained daily especially on cheaper knives.
I have a Hultafors Heavy Duty Knife, you won’t get a better hard use knife for the money, £5.95, excellent quality as well.