Politics aside, I have been disappointed for some time about Benchmade's inflated pricing and questionably low heat treatment, but I've grown fond of the axis-lock design. I know that Hogue has been manufacturing Sig Sauer branded folders at 1/2 the price point of Benchmade for some time but have not got around to giving them ago until now. Wow, just wow, these folders are fantastic. The action is considerably smooth, pivoting on phosphorus bronze washers, lockup is rock solid, and the blade is perfectly centered. The fit and finish are on par with folders twice its price, while sporting a 3.5" stonewashed magnacut blade with a reported HRC of 62-64. The well-shaped finger choil and triangular Spidey hole are both functional and intuitive. It comes with 3d contoured anodized aluminum scales and a deep concealment pocket clip. Did I mention that it is made in the USA for only $161.96 as a Knife Center exclusive. Benchmade who?

There is also the Deka (I have one in my pocket right now), the Ritter folder, and Counterstrike OTF. A lot of their designs I don’t care for, but they are all very high quality, reasonably priced, and sharp out of the box.

quote:

Originally posted by Voshterkoff:
There is also the Deka (I have one in my pocket right now), the Ritter folder, and Counterstrike OTF. A lot of their designs I don’t care for, but they are all very high quality, reasonably priced, and sharp out of the box.

The Deka looks like a solid choice for EDC, and I am also eyeballing the Mysto as well. Hogue is such a great company; I've been using their grips for decades and have never been disappointed.

We're big fan of the Hogue Ritter models here.

Besides myself, the wife & 3 of our 4 kids carry them.

Have shopped at KnifeCenter a bunch and they're great, KnifeWorks are the exclusive dealer for the Ritter version and they're also excellent vendor.

quote:

Originally posted by soflaac:
We're big fan of the Hogue Ritter models here.

Besides myself, the wife & 3 of our 4 kids carry them.

Have shopped at KnifeCenter a bunch and they're great, KnifeWorks are the exclusive dealer for the Ritter version and they're also excellent vendor.

The starburst pattern on the Ritter scales appears functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. Thanks for the recommendation on both knife and vendor.

That's a really good looking knife. I haven't felt the need to buy a knife in a long time, but that gives me the itch.

I also love magnacut. It may have become my favorite steel. I've got a Spyderco Native in Magnacut. It's proven itself rustproof from quite a few dunks in the ocean, but it's also pretty tough. I'm not a hard user, but I do use it some every single day and I haven't felt the need to sharpen it yet.

quote:

Originally posted by Perception:
That's a really good looking knife. I haven't felt the need to buy a knife in a long time, but that gives me the itch.

I also love magnacut. It may have become my favorite steel. I've got a Spyderco Native in Magnacut. It's proven itself rustproof from quite a few dunks in the ocean, but it's also pretty tough. I'm not a hard user, but I do use it some every single day and I haven't felt the need to sharpen it yet.

Spyderco is also a great company, I have been looking at some of their Golden Colorado offerings as well. Spyderco excels at grinding blades with excellent geometries for slicing. There are always tradeoffs when considering a knife, finding the right blade for tackling a specific task is far more satisfying than pursuing the elusive do it all one and done model that always leaves a person wanting.

It's nice to see that Hogue is starting to upgrade their blade steels on their older models. I love my Compound OTF, but I would prefer a better steel than S30V. Even Spyderco has started moving to S45VN for several models.

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:
It's nice to see that Hogue is starting to upgrade their blade steels on their older models. I love my Compound OTF, but I would prefer a better steel than S30V. Even Spyderco has started moving to S45VN for several models.

Most definitely, the interval between required sharpening is lengthened with modern "super steels", thus the service life of the blade is inherently greater than that of its predecessors. Ease of maintenance is also a factor that must be considered and is why I still use blades in D2 and CPM 154 when afoot.