Knife Test - 15 blades, who's on top?

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
21

I have several of the French Opinel knives.
They are carbon steel so they rust like bandits - and, as we know, rust never sleeps.
But the trick is to give them a patina like the knives of yore.
Like a rust finish on a gun. Lemon juice works.
Carbon steel is way easy sharpen compared to most others.

The blades are very thin and are not in the rugged outdoor use class.
But one of these will work for food prep MUCH better than the rest of the knives tested.

The problem with all of them I’ve gotten is the factory prep.
A close look at the edge and a blue temper line is seen where Francois got to heavy handed with the final buffer, overheated the steel, and took the temper out of the near edge.
You have to sharpen that back to get to the harder steel.

The blade is so wicked thin it can be sharpened at a shallow angel. Good for food, not good for wood.
They weigh next to nothing. And cheep!
They come in sizes from #2 to #12

All the Best,
Jeff

22

Have you seen the jacket machete version? Opinel No13 Stainless Steel Folding Knife - OPINEL USA

23

CollectEverything,
Great Googly Moogly!
That thing is huge and expensive. Don’t think it would stand up to much abuse.
Didn’t know it existed.

I’ve got a #12 and it’s really already a bit unhandy.
All the Best,
Jeff

24

I agree. The marketing claims it’s good for camping but I have my doubts. I think it’s more of a conversation piece, but for $110 I’m not sure the value is really there. Maybe I just don’t love conversation enough. :smiley:

25

That’s an extremely difficult question to answer.

There’s a reason why there exist hundreds of knife brands and thousands, if not tens of thousands, of knife models.

In the knife world, it’s literally one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

A generally good starting point, I’d say, would be Spyderco C81 Paramilitary 2, Benchmade 535 Bugout, 940 Osborne, Civivi Elementum, etc. They’re very well regarded and popular general-use EDC knives with great quality and value.

Any more specific suggestions would heavily depend on your specific needs and preferences, and knowledge and skill with using and caring a knife.

For example, the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 comes in two blade shapes and four regular productions steels: S30v, S45vn, S110v, Maxamet. Not to count the endless sprint-run versions. Which steel to pick really depends on your use scenario and knife sharpening skills / equipments.

26

It depends. For instance, S110V is extremely stainless, has excellent edge retention, but low toughness. LC200N is effectively rust proof, has high toughness, but relatively low edge retention (still better than 8Cr13Mov).

I don’t have experience with Vanax but it is also supposed to be rust-proof, with lower toughness and higher edge retention versus LC200N. MagnaCut is still new but is supposed to be a great all-rounder. MagnaCut’s corrosion resistance doesn’t match H1, LC200N, or Vanax; but it is better than S110V or M390 and that’s impressive. (Spyderco is now using it in their Salt series.) MagnaCut isn’t as tough as LC200N but is still fairly tough, and should have edge retention at least on par with S35VN.

On the budget end, 14C28N has good corrosion resistance, reasonable edge retention, and some of the highest toughness among stainless steels. BD1N has similarly good corrosion resistance, a little better edge retention, but much lower toughness.

27

28

Personal experience, with normal folding-knife uses (Cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, PVC tube, pencils, occasional hard plastic stuff, etc):

LC200N’s “high toughness” doesn’t really mean anything in terms of edge performance, and MagnaCut vs LC200N in real use does not feel like conventional “high toughness vs high wear resistance”, but feels like MagnaCut is the far superior steel overall (technically slightly worse rust resistance, of course, but I’m not a fisherman nor do I have a boat, so I don’t feel it).

I own and frequently use a Spyderco LC200N Caribbean, and acquired and tested a MagnaCut Mule testing blank (Spyderco MT-35). I grind all of my sub-4” blades to 18 DPS v-edge in favor for cutting performance while maintaining some basic edge toughness, but also for a universal edge geometry so I can feel / compare the differences of steels.

The “high toughness” of LC200N means it doesn’t really chip. However it rolls so easily that I find myself almost constantly checking for edge reflections and stropping it. On the other hand, the MagnaCut requires much less maintenance, and keeps an adequately sharp, chip and roll free edge for much longer.

IMO, for a small cutting folder, high toughness alone doesn’t really mean anything, unless it’s paired with proper hardness.

On a side note: I can wholeheartedly recommend the Caribbean sheep foot for anyone need to use knives in public. For an EDC it has a large size and very long cutting edge, while the tip-less sheep foot design doesn’t raise the eyebrows of even the most sensitive what they call “sheeples”, which I unfortunately got many around my workplace.

29

Degrees-Per-Side.

It’s the universal term referring to edge angles.

A smaller DPS edge will cut much longer and better, however become much “fragile and brittle”.

30

Lots of factory edges are wider than they need to be. Taking them down to 18dps can help but why stop there? I try to stay within the 15-17dps range depending on the knife. A lot of EDC folders seem to do really well at 15dps.

31

Good video, thanks for sharing.

As others have said, H1 is hard to beat around Saltwater.

And if you sharpen a plain edge correctly, it will cut rope just as well as a serrated. Leave the edge a bit “rough” (not polished) and it cuts rope great. Sharpening the plain edge this way kinda leaves it with micro serrations.

That us how I sharpen my plain edge Spyderco Atlantic Salts & they cut just as well or better than the serrated blades.

32

I do that with most of my kitchen knives, in fact I bring them down to ~12 DPS, except for one or two hard-food knives obviously.
I cut food on top of either Tosaryu hinoki board or Hasegawa rubber board, both of which widely used by professional Japanese sushi chefs. Those materials are incredibly soft (as far as a cutting board goes) and do a great job protecting their half-a-million-Yen 10-inch 12-DPS 30000-grit sushi blades.
That’s why I love those traditional Chinese “cleaver” kitchen knives. They look like cleavers, but in fact their blade stocks are 3”–4” wide, full flat grind, yet only 0.08”–0.1” thick at the spine, making it incredibly easy to bring them down to a super narrow edge angle.
If you’re interested, make sure you grab one next time you go through your local Chinatown. You’ll be amazed.

As for EDC folders. I take into considerations that there might be sand particles in some nasty cardboard boxes, or some plastic bottles might use harder plastics, or I might need to cut in a much less controlled environment and accidentally run my edge / tip into some hard surfaces. A 15 DPS or lower edge might get damaged beyond easily repairable, especially on some “brittle” yet hard-to-sharpen steels, like S110v or Maxamet.

33

More than the steel its also a lot to with the blade geometry and even the handle and weight will affect how much pressure you put into the blade.
All pocket knifes cut terribly when you compare them to a proper chef knife.

34

As much as I respect the skills of some of the knife users that spend an hour making an m4 or better blade into a knife that will last 1000 cuts on a manila rope, I am not that type of guy.

I simply want a knife that works as a knife for the duties I need it for. Some people need them to last longer, cut more, or cut through things that I never will, and more power to them.

Personally, 90% of the time I’ll use a knife to open boxes with that clear plastic tape that is hard to break by hand, or to cut through cardboard when the box opening is not convenient to my purpose.

Some experiences I’ve had:

1. Opinel #8 - when I used to smoke cigars outside regularly, I tested a couple knives shaving dead wood near my chair. I was surprised at how long this knife could go without needing sharpening (probably because of it’s thin blade stock). The Opinel #8 and 9 would probably be carried more by me if it was easier to open one handed. The knives take on a completely different level of comfort when you grind/sand the handle to your hand’s preferences… especially because my preffered grip is the hammer grip.

2. Since I sometimes need a knife for food on ceramic plates, a butter knife with sharpened serrations (off of the blade edge) can cut well, and the sharpened scallops never touch the plate and therefore don’t get dull as easily. 90% of what it cuts would still cut with a butter knife, but things like gristle or harder vegetables benefit immensely.

3. My first Spyderco was a Paramiltary 2. On the second week it fell out of my hand onto a tile floor and broke off the tip. I reground the tip and it’s fine enough. Although not common, I have dropped a knife or two in the day, especially when doing manual labor.

4. The few times I’ve had to cut through thick cardboard or other material giving resistance that requires more pressure than a thumb (therefore hammer grip required), I’ve really appreciated a fatter handle. This is why I don’t carry the PM2, BM 940 and 942, or any other high quality thin handled knife.

5. Over the past 5 years, the knife that I usually reach for is a LM Crater (the one with the tools since it has a thicker handle and I use the phillips often enough). The blade steel is mediocre, but the blade is thin enough and is easy enough to touch up that it gets the job done for small tasks when a more work/task specific knife isn’t around. I was rather happily surprised that the serrations cut though wires (like the ones that plug the fridge into the wall… unplugged of course) with little effort… I don’t like sharpening serrations though. The blade did show some slight signs of damage when cutting through some aluminum down spouts and related elbows when reconfiguring a down spout to run from the second floor to the first floor gutters, but it was easy enough to touch up after the job was done. It was a small job where I forgot my snips.

5 1/2. Although my LM Crater is my go-to, for casual carry one of my favorites is a Buck 112 w/ finger grooves.

6. I’ve cut a couple hundred feet of R13, R15, and R19 fiberglass insulation. My ZT 0909 with S35VN steel (that particular model was known to have been heat treated a little too soft) cut about 10 feet before becoming so dull I could run the blade accross my skin with no damage. My 89 cent boxcutter (extra blades included) cut about 100 feet with the original blade and was still usable (blade shape/tip was a factor). THe box cutter also made short work of a couple rooms of wall to wall carpeting for cutting into strips for the garbage collection. I wonder how a carpet cutting blade (like a hawks bill) would work on insulation.

7. I’m still figuring out how to sharpen my kitchen knives well… I should really invest in a good wet stone, but have made do with the ceramic tri bars from Spyderco and a few diamond coated sharpeners. I can get them sharp, but they don’t stay sharp very long. Maybe my cutting board is too hard (OXO Utility Cutting Board). My most used food prep knife is an 8” Vic Fibrox.

8. I got yelled at (at least the equivalent of yelling on a knife forum) when I suggested using a limited run knife for actual cutting. It’s great that some people are passionate knife collectors, but that’s not my thing.

35

Lots of good input in this thread! I’m having fun reading it and comparing it to my own experiences.

As for stainlessness, I like VG-10 in my kitchen knives. It sharpens easily, can attain a very fine edge and resists rust with minimal care. Not too expensive either. For my go-to camping knife, I’m seriously considering moving my new-ish MagnaCut Spyderco Mule to the top spot. I’ve read a lot about it that is favorable and looks to be a solid all-around steel. It’s definitely in the honeymoon phase in the knife world, but some videos I’ve seen seem to support its popularity. I always wondered about the Spyderco Salt models and had heard less than stellar things about their edge retention. Looks like Spyderco is now offering a Salt model in MagnaCut to satisfy folks who want better edge retention. For boating, I always keep a Mora 2000 stainless in my dry bag. It shrugs off rust very well (but I haven’t used it in salt water), is affordable and cuts like mad. Once I retire and head to the coast, I wonder what I’ll use in the salt water. I’ve got a few more years to ponder it and see what’s available.

For a great choice of pocket knife for anyone, I’d seriously consider the Spyderco Dragonfly. It’s super easy to carry, being so small, but the handle is designed so well and with your finger on the choil, it offers wonderful control. Many folks will disregard it being such a small knife, but for 99% of the cutting MOST people do in their everyday lives, it would fit the bill.

The Opinel is a great example of a useful knife with what many people would consider serious drawbacks, but it simply works, is inexpensive, easy to sharpen, comes in a number of sizes, isn’t intimidating in looks and is ridiculously popular and has been for years and years. Simple carbon steel blades that are thin married to a comfortable handle is a match made in heaven. I wouldn’t baton firewood with one, but for opening deliveries, mail, cutting up an apple and whittling shavings for a firestarter, you don’t need to ask for much more in a knife.

36

Great video. I love that guy's work. Not a perfect series of tests, but lots of good info. The blade retention was of most interest to me, as I generally expect that blade sharpness out of the box isn't indicative of how sharp the blade can truly get.

One thing that I wish he'd done is first a good honing and sharpness compare, then later do the aggressive sharpening. I've found a good honing can help align a blade well enough to be reasonably sharper than out of the box. I rarely sharpen my knives, preferring to hone until a good sharpening is really necessary.

Very impressed with the SOG and Spyderco. I'd largely discounted the cheap end of Spyderco, but it's impressive how good they are for the price.

lt depends a lot upon intended usage, desired size, needed features, and budget.

Victorinox makes excellent slip joint knives (non-locking) and in multiple sizes. You can get them smaller than your pinky finger, or as large as a 3" blade. For a start? I highly recommend a Victorinox Alox money clip. It has a pen knife, scissors, and nail file. All are very useful. It's basically the size of a typical metal money clip. Thin enough to be unassuming. Great for keeping money, a credit card, and driver's license. I use mine just for cash, and put the others in a mini credit card wallet. I do not use the nail file for filing nails. I use it as a probe or mini pry tool. It can also substitute as a screwdriver in a pinch (if matched to the slot). Very tough metal that doesn't bend easily.

But if you want something more substantial than that, with a lock (frame, liner, axis)... Kershaw is a good place to start. CRKT is also great. Ganzo, Sanrenmu and Petrified Fish are other Chinese brands worth checking out.

This is a Blade HQ exclusive version of the CRKT Squid. It's about the perfect entry level EDC knife, IMHO. Easy to manage 2.25" blade. Frame lock. Generous studs. A variety of color & material themes. Even has a D2 steel option. You can often pick up a D2 steel version for around $35 on sale. If you must spend under $25, consider one in 8Cr13MoV for as low as $23.

37

Right on! I have the C33T (plain blade with drivers) and I carry it a lot because it packs so much utility in a light package. It’s in my pocket right now.

38

How I would love to use Spyderco MT35 as my go-to camping knife. If only they made it 0.16”.
At 0.113”, I can’t see myself whittle wood with it. Which is understandable, though. Mule Team are made for testing steels, thus are suppose to break under some load.

I also love the Dragonfly. However either the Seki Spydercos have some serious QC issues, or my go-to dealer received a lemon batch. 2 of 3 K390 Dragonfly I received have their tips badly off-center. I’d recommend anyone wanting one to purchase from sources with reputable after-sale services.

39

The convoy S2+ has been around a while and there are a lot of variations. The Spyderco Delica has been around a long time and the current Delica 4 has a ton of variations also. I would say it’s a Goldilocks model. Not too big, not too small. I would recommend the vg10 PS (partially serrated). With that knife you can cut through anything thrown in front of you. I carried one for a few years with zdp189 PS. I’ve moved on to the Tenacious S35vn PS which on paper doesn’t appear that much bigger. In actual use and carry it is substantially larger. Still do 90% of everything with a slightly modded Gerber EZ Out Junior PS that has been in my pocket for about 25 years. Two is better than one. If you have to pick one, the delica is “just right”.
I like most PF videos but that one was a total waste of time.

40

I’d second the Spyderco Delica as the Convoy S2 of knives. Excellent performance, but with lots of models and colors to choose from. I used to collect knives like I collect flashlights now. I bought a Delica in ZDP 189, and I haven’t felt the need to buy another edc knife since. It just does everything I need so well I never feel like I’m lacking. I’ve bought a few special purpose knives since then, but I doubt I’ll ever find a better general purpose knife than the Delica.