From $13 to $250, Project Farm is at it again.
His methods may not agree with other testers, and his voice….
Interesting none the less.
All the Best,
Jeff
Thanks! I like the SOG but prefer slightly larger knives.
Cool vid, thanks for posting it.
Interesting video. It’d have been nice to see a Victorinox in some of those tests. Of course not the lock test, but the edge retention and rust tests would be nice for comparison.
I like his videos and he had some good data in his tests. The sharpness tester is a pro tool, as is his sharpening method. He chose a nice variety of knives too. I think it’s a valid test and one that doesn’t steer his viewers wrong. Thanks for sharing the video.
Some thoughts:
-Out of the box sharpness isn’t much to go by other than giving the customer a general idea of the quality control the company puts into their product.
-Most of those knives can easily be adjusted to open and close easier by adjusting the pivot.
-I love how an inexpensive knife can still be made to cut really well and that a high performance tool is available to everyone. This is the best take-away for me by a mile.
-Care for your tools and they’ll take care of you.
-Stainless is exactly that, stain-LESS. They’re still going to rust if you abuse them.
-Some cutting ability over time is due to the thinness of the blade right behind the edge and a thin knife can often perform really well, even after it’s dull. I’m thinking of my Grandmother’s old paring knife. Cheap steel, super thin, served her well for decades and my Mom still has the knife. Probably never been sharpened. A thicker knife might show its dullness quicker as it wedges its way through thicker material. Just something to consider.
–1. Absolutely agree. OOB sharpness doesn’t matter all that much. Instead of amazing OOB sharpness I’d prefer an edge ground slowly with proper cooling.
–2. It depends. On most folding knives I own, adjusting the pivot is a delicate balance game. Loosening the pivot will likely make the blade off-center, as well as introduce “blade play” (do they call it that?) when holding the tip and apply sideway force.
I always try to oil the pivot first, before loosening it.
IMO a quality folding knife should simultaneously open smoothly, perfectly center when folded, and has no blade play. Most of my Benchmades and Colorado Spydercos can achieve this. I’ve encountered some major QC issues with Seki Spydercos, though.
–3. There are knives that are “stain-proof” (given one don’t use them in chemistry experiments, of course). However there’s always a catch.
The highly stainless steel options include H1, LC200N, Vanax, and MagnaCut. The first three I’d call stain-proof, the MagnaCut very close.
H1 is perhaps the most stain proof knife steel option one can buy, and it’s quite affordable. However it doesn’t perform that much better than a Titanium knife. I wouldn’t recommend it unless one’s a fisherman and is seriously allergic to any rust.
LC200N and Vanax are almost on-par with H1 in corrosion resistance, meaning that one will likely not see any rust even if he’s a fisherman.
However, performance wise, LC200N only meets the bare minimum requirements for a modern quality knife (still better than H1 though).
Vanax has rust-proof and performance, however Vanax knives are very rare and likely very unaffordable. The only major well-known brand that I can think of that uses Vanax is Shirogorov.
MagnaCut perhaps has the best balance of corrosion resistance and performance. Rust wise, it’s only a tad bit weaker than LC200N / Vanax; Performance wise, depending on the HT and use scenario, it can be on par with CPM-CruWear (which is INSANE for a stainless steel). However, it’s a very new steel. The only mass-produced MagnaCut model I know of is 2022 Spyderco Native 5 FRN.
Many major knife brands and custom / mid-tech makers are jumping on though, so I expect to see a lot more MagnaCut knives in just a couple years.
–4. This is a very good mention. Edge angle actually has a bigger impact on edge retention (positive) and edge toughness (negative) than blade material. If one wants an amazing slicer, it’s easier to grind an OK knife down to 15 DPS than buying a “super steel” knife w/ 20DPS edge.
Have you tried a serrated H1 knife? Edge holding is up there with serrated ZDP-189.
Good to know.
I’ve never really used anything serrated. I know it cuts ropes extremely well but that’s about it. I rarely cut ropes. For the things I normally cut, a serrated knife will “rip” it open instead of cut it open cleanly.
For the ropes I occasionally cut, a well-sharpened plain edge does the job sufficiently well.
Overall I like Project Farm’s videos, but I think this particular video will be misleading for the uninitiated. To someone who doesn’t know any better, this video seems to indicate that specific brands are better for edge retention, chip resistance, and rust resistance. There was no discussion of blade steels and heat treating at all. As many here know, knife manufacturers generally offer knives in a variety of different steels that have pros and cons depending on what the knife will be used for. Heat treating methods can also affect how a steel performs from manufacturer to manufacturer.
And as usual, Project Farm’s tests don’t account for long term wear either. Locking mechanisms requiring light pressure to open were considered as positive across the board. What if it indicates weak spring tension for some designs and the knife will stop locking properly over time?
Dropping a knife on its tip is, in my opinion, a stupid test. It would have been better to stab them into some tough wood and rock them back and fourth repeatedly for a set number of times.
I would also have liked to see a before-and-after for lock rock and blade play after the abusive testing of the locks.
Great points made there Collect—can’t wait to see your test results video too.
Right, I forgot. I’m not allowed to criticize something unless I personally do it better. So where’s your post where you make actual points instead of talking shit?
So what's a good knife everybody should have?
Well I would say everyone should own at least one Victorinox Swiss Army and a Spyderco to start……maybe a Farmer, Huntsman, Ranger, Compact or Hunter SAK and a Stretch, UKPK, Dragonfly, Atlantic Salt or Calypso JR Lightweight (if you can find one) Spyderco….whatever floats yer boat.
What does DPS stand for?
I normally prefer plain edges, but serrated edges have their place, particularly when working on a boat. Spyderco serrations are better than most and I can get hem nice and sharp on a sharpmaker so that they cut cleanly, but most serrations are too aggressive and tend to snag when cutting. My favorite serrations are the tiny ones Victorinox uses - they cut smooth like a plain edge but dig in and cut like a serrated edge when they need to - a lot of commercial fisherman use Victorinox serrated paring knives on their boats.
I don’t think there is one knife that is the best for everyone. That’s like asking which flashlight everyone should have. Opinions will vary based on what individual posters like. Uses-cases will play a large role, aesthetics too.
I think lists that highlight one product and say, “The best X for most people” are generally not good. Wirecutter recommends the CRKT Drifter and if you look at the comments there you’ll see a lot of people disputing that choice. CRKT is not known for using great metals, having the best quality control, or best price/performance. They are known for striking designs that make people wish they were made with better materials.
Ok, roger that.
But if someone is not into flashlights, and they want to know what a cheap, good flashlight is to start with. I recommend the Convoy S2+, and maybe even choose the options myself, so they don't get something strange.
So, is there are commonly known, good quality knife, and a good start?
I guess the Convoy S2+ of knives is probably the Ontario Rat 2 or Spyderco Tenacious. They get recommended a lot to beginners and that’s probably why they made the Project Farm video. At first glance the Spyderco may look ugly to the uninitiated but once you hold one and feel the ergos and build quality I think you may be won over. If the Tenacious is too big get the Ambitious. It’s basically a smaller Tenacious.
A less hard-use option that’s more fun to fidget with would be a flipper from Civivi. They have caged ball bearing actions which are great fun to use. I’m not sure how well they’d stand up to physical abuse and grime. They can be disassembled for cleaning though. If you are worried about the blade steel after the Project Farm video, choose one with 9Cr18MoV steel which is more stainless and tougher than the D2 that was used in the knife in the video. 9Cr18MoV is similar to 440c steel and it’s said that Civivi heat treats it to a point where it exceeds it’s potential in edge retention. (Similar to how Buck is known for its 420hc heat treat)
There is a lot of stainless that will rust up in a single day around salt water. Those PF tests showed that. 420 stainless for sure.
H1 material is, IMO, best in salt water for sure. Great stuff, I’ve got multiple Pacific Salts and had a Spyderco H1 fixed blade on the boat that I had a fixed scabbard right by my had in case the prop got rats nested with line so I could pull it pout with one hand and slash- which did occur once. A descent alternative is the Boye Cobalt knives. They cut rope well, the material (cobalt) is not as strong as H1 and the grip is not as big as the Spyderco Pacific Salts, but the other big downside is that they are expensive. The Boye Marlin Spikes are world class happiness when you need one. Mine never rusted out on the salt water. (it’s in my car door pocket now).
Best serrations for cutting rope of any knife I’ve ever used: CRKT - Vett Serrations, everything else is a distant second, including spydercos stuff. I have not seen one with H1 or even cobalt material, but I’d be a buyer if I found it.
Well, truly stainless steels sacrifices a lot of toughness and edge retention. If you have that seawater use-case I guess H1 or equivalent with serrations must be pretty nice to have.
I was wondering if anyone would mention Veff Serrations. I’ve been meaning to try them but wasn’t fully satisfied with any of the offerings for the price. I saw a video where they showcased those serrations and it was pretty impressive.