I'm planning to get a knife as a gift for 8 men in engineering/design/field service roles on my team. I'll figure out a way to prioritize them to make their own choices from the lot I end up with. They're mostly in their late 20's to early 40's, mixture of single guys and married with multiple kids. Some outdoorsy, some city types. These are NOT meant to be defense/tactical/combat, but utility pocket knives and tools. Most of these guys either don't keep a knife handy, or have the cheapest gas station chinese junk. I'd like to at least give them something usable, no matter how they're going to use it (or not use it).

Budget is $30 each, give or take.

I have 4, in need of another 4 at least. I'm looking to diversify the options and styles, but not opposed to some duplicates. Everything I've purchased is something I wouldn't mind keeping if it ends up that way.

Looking for good steel, usable features, easy maintenance etc. Decent fixed blades, folders, tools, etc. Shying away from the budget steels like 8Cr13MoV (sorry, budget Spydercos!) that tend to require more edge maintenance for a daily user, no serrated blades, no carbon steels, no oddball deployments or locks, etc.

So far I have;

Esee Avispa D2

RAT Model 2 D2

Kershaw Al-Mar AM4 (this one kind of breaks the rules but is for a specific person)

Gerber Suspension NXT multitool.

After getting those Esee and Rat knives I'm slightly unimpressed with one scale being low-end plastic with no liner, but they're cheap, lock up solid, and have D2 steel, so they make the cut. No pun intended.

Some of the items I'm looking at;

Morakniv Kansbol

Cold Steel SRK

Maybe a slip joint, gentleman's folder?

Hiroaki Ohta custom wood refillable box cutter

Would love some input, suggestions, etc.

Thanks

I have and like a couple of the Boker Kalishnikov knives. Lots of choices on the same knife. Different blade shapes, colors, auto, non-auto.

Usually in the $70 range, But looks like almost all are on sale at BladeHQ right now for $43

https://www.bladehq.com/cat--Boker-Kalashnikov--3519

There are some Ken Onion knives that are around that price that have some minor blemishes. Onion makes some great knives for the money and I think on Kershaw Guy, there are some blems for $30 and new ones for $34 range.

The Kershaw Link is close to your price range and is also made in the USA. I gave them to 4 of my salesmen a couple years back for Christmas. They love them and all still carry them daily.

Buck Vantage Select Large...made in the USA, their 420HC steel they do well, and can be found for under $30. You don't have to be a 'knife guy' to know the Buck brand

Boss.

The Kansbol gets my vote. Great knife for all-around. Weighs nothing, feels great in the hand and has a complex grind that gives the blade a distal taper. All in all a neat and useful tool, best in class.

Take a look at Boker's lineup. I haven't looked recently, but they used to have some decent folders that wouldn't break the bank.

Hmmm... Just took a quick look. Looks like they've gotten a good deal more expensive than they used to be. Disregard.

I'm always impressed with the CRKT line, the CRKT CEO would be one I'd consider, right around $31.00.

I've got one of the Ohta boxcutters, pretty cool. Would be something different, for sure.

quote:

I'm always impressed with the CRKT line, the CRKT CEO would be one I'd consider, right around $31.00.

I was going to suggest the CEO as well, but it lists on the CRKT site for $55. However, I now see it does sell on Amazon for the low 30s.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
I have and like a couple of the Boker Kalishnikov knives. Lots of choices on the same knife. Different blade shapes, colors, auto, non-auto.

Usually in the $70 range, But looks like almost all are on sale at BladeHQ right now for $43

https://www.bladehq.com/cat--Boker-Kalashnikov--3519

Thanks! Nice price on some autos. I think I'm going to pass, an auto without a safety isn't something I'm comfortable giving to a knife newbie. They are legal here, only recently, and the mini kind of falls below the size I'm going for, and the 3.25" is technically over our 3" "unlawful use" ambiguous carry limit, so I can see there being a potential for a 3.25" auto causing some trouble with my particular case in Michigan.

quote:

Originally posted by patw:
There are some Ken Onion knives that are around that price that have some minor blemishes. Onion makes some great knives for the money and I think on Kershaw Guy, there are some blems for $30 and new ones for $34 range.

I forgot about Kershaw Guy blems, $29 Olive Leek is a pretty nice option. My Leek feel victim to a "professional" sharpener and the knife hasn't been the same since. I absolutely loved it prior to that.
https://kershawguy.com/product...s/1660ol-olive-blem/

quote:

Originally posted by Boss1:
Buck Vantage Select Large...made in the USA, their 420HC steel they do well, and can be found for under $30. You don't have to be a 'knife guy' to know the Buck brand

Boss.

If I buy a Buck, it's going to be something like the 110 that is the quintessential buck knife. As I mentioned, I might get stuck with these so I kind of want to keep them to things I'd own, and I feel the gift is a bit more personal with my "endorsement" as it were.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
The Kansbol gets my vote. Great knife for all-around. Weighs nothing, feels great in the hand and has a complex grind that gives the blade a distal taper. All in all a neat and useful tool, best in class.

I have several cheaper Moras that I use as utility knives and quite like the value to performance. I know knives like the Garberg are well regarded, didn't know if their intermediate knives in this region offered enough over the basic ones. Great to hear an endorsement. The Outdoor 2000 model is also right at this price and looks to be a very similar blade size/shape/grind with a polished finish and different handle/sheath. I'm thinking the Outdoor 2000 would be a pretty decent toolbox knife for our service guys, and the caution orange, which would serve well in that type of role, is $26. I could probably get one of each and see how they feel.

quote:

Originally posted by UTsig:
I'm always impressed with the CRKT line, the CRKT CEO would be one I'd consider, right around $31.00.

I've got one of the Ohta boxcutters, pretty cool. Would be something different, for sure.

Can you let me know your thoughts on the Ohta? I've had my eye on one for a while, I'm hoping the fit of the wood is tight and stays in place with use.


Thanks for the comments so far!

“These are NOT meant to be defense/tactical/combat, but utility pocket knives and tools.”

Makes me think of a Swiss Army knife, like the Climber. A knife I carry nearly every day.

quote:

Can you let me know your thoughts on the Ohta? I've had my eye on one for a while, I'm hoping the fit of the wood is tight and stays in place with use.


Thanks for the comments so far!

To be honest I never used it, I bought a lot of knives from Ohta and this was in a box he sent me. It's not very heavy duty, more for cutting tape, opening envelopes. Very well done, he's a very good maker and his prices are great. He, also, made Loveless style knives in miniature, Bob Loveless collected them.

Maybe take a look at what member Downtownv has to offer.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
“These are NOT meant to be defense/tactical/combat, but utility pocket knives and tools.”

Makes me think of a Swiss Army knife, like the Climber. A knife I carry nearly every day.

Good call. I did a little poking around, I think the German Army Trekker is getting the nod. At $40 it's at the top of the budget, but with a one-hand-open locking 3" blade it's a bit handier as a knife first vs. most of the Swiss Army knives.

https://www.amazon.com/Victori...83704273&sr=8-4&th=1

quote:

Originally posted by 21bubba:
Maybe take a look at what member Downtownv has to offer.

The Cold Steel I was looking at was an SK-5 steel model that runs about $35. Everything in his ad is $100 or more though. I did a sweep of the classifieds before I posted in case there were some gems sitting out there.

https://www.knifecenter.com/it...de-black-gfn-handles

I also have a few Victorinox in the classifieds for around your price range.

Spyderco Tenacious.

Off the top of my head:
Kershaw Leek, Scallion, Dividend, Skyline - all made in USA
SOG Twitch II - made in Taiwan
Buck Bantam - made in USA
many Victorinox 3-layer SAKs are under $40 (e.g., Climber, Camper)

Maybe SF member policetruck could make you a deal. https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/8910041064

Why not a small Leatherman type tool?