I was thinking about buying a small edc sized knife. And then I started to think that I do not have any spring assisted knives yet, so maybe I should get one of those?
It is quite hard to search for them, since the spring assisted ones seem to be quite rare, and often not even mentioned in the descriptions. I would prefer small ’ish knife with plain and simple look, no serrations, cheap and good quality. :bigsmile:
Do any of the better Chinese manufacturers make something like that?
Edit: I like the “Gerber mini-fast draw - fine edge”, but even tho it is made in China, it does not seem to be sold there.
NO small spring assisted and is less than 11.00$.reverse tanto it has become me favorite EDC not as fancy as Gano ’ s or England but after using it a while it’s has no become my EDC as it can easily be opened by one hand.
I have the Harnds Nyx, which I believe comes from the same factory as the Kershaw Brawler. It’s okay but there are nicer examples of assisted opening from Kershaw catalog, I think.
What I dislike most is the flipper having not much room to deploy comfortably, so it stays open in the kitchen for cardboard duty. The spring also had some rust right in the spot where they usually break.
I am a big fan of the Benchmade mini Barrage and the Kershaw speedsafe knives. You can’t go wrong with any of the axis-assist. I have the non-assist of the BM tanto 913. The axis-assist has a solid lockup and can be made so that it can be manual opening.
I have the discontinued large Kershaw speedsafe Speed Bump, this is a first generation of the Ken Onion speedsafe design…very smooth opening. It fits nicely in my hands with the contour handle and there is a flipper to open the blade quicker than any thumb stud assist opening knives.
Volcan Coronado. Not many people know about this knife. It is small and scalpel sharp. Super fast, assisted by dual springs. Superb quality. I have three.
My wife EDC’s 2 A/O kershaw’s, a leek in her pocket/purse and a chive on her keys (both of them in rainbow TiNi finish). She doesn’t know it yet but soon she’ll have a brand new kershaw Camber to replace the leek (she likes A/O and wanted something a little bigger since she still has the Chive for smaller tasks) plus I’m a steel snob so I’m happy to see its S30V.
This isn’t near what your asking but I have to mention it, IMO one of the best EDC knives on the market is the ESSE Izula2, its a small fixed blade that they make 100 different sheaths for, you can carry it any way from loose pocket carry, neck, clipped to your pocket, horizontal / vertical on your belt, inside the waistband, small of back. I know your not looking for a fixed blade but to anyone looking to EDC just a single knife (I carry 2 or 3 daily plus a keychain knife, my wife carries the one plus a keychain knife) it’s always my first recommendation.
I EDC my small CHris Reeve small CF Sebenza (general use EDC) and my spyderco P’Kal (as a dedicated SD tool) and when I need something heavier my spyderco Gayle Bradley in M4 steel plus a spyderco manbug on my keys (I have a pair, one in ZDP-189 steel, one in Aogami Super Blue steel).
Meh, more I look into the knives more confused I get on what I should buy. I’m afraid it might take long time to find the “perfect” one, and I might eventually become knife nut and end up spending too much time and money on knives (just like I do on flashlights).
The latest thing on my mind right now is kershaw chive - I’m just not sure if the blade is too short for me or not. And then there’s all those other brands that I have not even looked into yet.
Maybe the way out of this is to just find some good knife that fills almost all of my requirements for cheap and hope that I can stop searching for more
I have several A/O knives, Kershaw Chive , small and without glueing some wet/dry abrasive paper to both sides of the frame much too slippery when wet/sweaty handed.
A Buck Quickfire plastic broke from the force of opening but not important as the piece that broke off is just a cover for the liners near the front of the handle. good action but expensive.
An UZI that is so hard to open it sits in it’s box in a drawer. POS
United Cutlery Tailwind, not bad, can’t find the exact model.
FastTech have the Ganzo G620 range
Not a great steel but easy to sharpen, the ABS scales actually don’t feel bad at all and I normally don’t like, must be the pattern. Assisted opening is not as fast as the Chive (but that thing is ridiculously quick), opens with a good solid clunk, you know it’s opened and locked.
They are by no means perfect, black and silver hardware on the same knife is not a good look and the printed on “Damascus” is a bit “tacky”. One out of the six is reluctant to flip open and they all are slightly off centre, not enough to touch the scales.
A bit rough and ready but they look O.K. and they come sharp. They have full liners unlike the G611 that have mostly plastic.
The very cool thing about this series of knives is the price, and the choice, $8.56 each, delivered. Bloody amazing value.
So Ganzo does make some assisted open models after all! Why, oh why, cant they mention the assisted opening in the description? It’s not quite what I was looking for, but for that price I will buy one just to test the assisted opening. Surely I will find some use for it, and it costs way less than postage for some of the better knives.
Several of the newer Kershaw models; Thermite, Scrambler, Cryo II are all Speedsafe A/O. The Thermite & Cryo II are Rick Hinderer designs w/ 8Cr13MoV blades. The on-line prices are pretty good, plus you get the Kershaw warranty. All three models have 3.4-3.5” blades. Just checked Amazon and both the Thermite & Cryo II can be had for about $30. The Scrambler is about $40.
Amazon has the Brawler, too. It’s a good knife. The wife even has one because she has problems opening a regular knife because of her arthritis.
The Mini-Barrage sure does look nice. I still haven’t managed to own a BM yet. Most of their knives look kind of bulky but I’ve had my eye on the Mini-Grip for a while but didn’t know about the Barrage … nicey nice.
As with many things in life. Spend a little more to save yourself in the long run. Kershaw, Or any of the other big named knives would be my recommended starting point. I would shy away from some of the no named questionable steel knives out of China, not because they are cheep, but because you have no clue what steel is in them. Steel being the major point about a knife and one of the reasons you spend a lot on a knife. For your first knife get a good quality name branded knife, It will take yo u a long way in life and last you well past the cost breakdown of buying a new knife 2-5 times a year. (I generally recommend a Kershaw leek, OSO, or Cyro for a first assisted knife.) Your mileage may vary, but once you start carrying a more expensive knife you start to realize why spending a bit more is well worth the investment. (says the guy who just bought his 4th ZT… LOL )
Wonder no longer, spring between liner and scale, one end bent to fit hole in tang other end captured by the scale, everything oiled and no signs of rust.
Edit…………….Out of the six the black/fake Damascus one was the only one that didn’t open very well, with taking it apart and putting it back together again it now works well. The pivot screw on all of them are one side easy unscrew other side no chance luckily or by design the side that is easy is the side with the A/O spring. No dramas taking apart or assembling so don’t be afraid to try it if you get a sticky one. Everything inside is remarkably well made for the price apart from really tiny washers on the A/O side. I’m not going to be using these for much other than opening mail but everything is good inside, fully coated liners so there’s less chance of rust destroying the spring.
It’s about a 6 or 7 out of 10 for me, the blade is sharp and a named steel, only 440 so the chance is that it is genuine it sharpens easily but won’t hold an edge very long, it opens easily closes easily and the black bladed ones look decent.
The Kershaw Strobe looks good. I’ll be getting one for sure.
The Skyline isn’t assisted but it’s a flipper and it’s smooth as silk to open. Made in USA for about 30 bucks.
Not a big fan of the Cryo, or at least my Cryo. It would be a good design if it wasn’t built so poorly.
It’s true you may not know the steel for a Chinese knife, but you can make a reasonably educated guess. Chinese steel is almost always softer but it holds a good edge and it’s decent for EDC. Who cares if it’s USA made steel for opening packages or chopping up cardboard around the house. There’s a few Chinese knives in my collection that I really, really like. But yeah, if I’m on the road or out in the woods, or somewhere I have my serious face on, I’ll probably have my Delica or Native with a USA made fixed blade like a Becker or Tops as backup. But for EDC, and to experiment with the hobby and get a feel for what you like, I think Chinese knives are a great starting point. And some of Kershaw’s line like the Brawler and Cryo are made in China anyway.
The Kershaw Chill is another one of those gems from Kershaw. It’s not assisted either, but deploys smoothly just like the Skyline. It is made in China, but the $20 price tag reflects that—you’re not overpaying. I carried mine quite a bit until my adult son claimed it. He’s carried it for the last couple years and loves it.
Honestly, if I could go back in time and tell myself which knife to buy, I’d start with the Spyderco Dragonfly. It’s 50 bucks but still one of the best values out there. At only about one ounce, it’s like having a knife several times the size, and the Japanese VG-10 steel is a workhorse. And if the Dragonfly is too small for your liking, move up to the Delica, or even the Endura. I can open my Spydercos just as fast as a flipper without worrying about whether I’m standing somewhere that flippers are illegal.
But flippers are just cool, so I will continue to collect them, even if I’m more likely to carry one of my Spydies day to day. Or the SanRenMu GB-763 I paid $6 for. Almost as much knife as the Dragonfly and almost as light. And with the “axis” lock on it, I can open it even faster than a flipper.
