SOG SOGfari

02/28/2013 by Miika

-Price Paid: $20.00
-Used for Other
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Suggest a knife... well I suggest you do not buy this machete unless you are chopping down brushes or something soft like bamboo.
I walk daily in the woods on trails created by me and my wife and especially after heavy snow fall there are trunks and branchess all over our pathway so I needed something to cut them down.
SOGFari is a light weight machete with a hand saw serration on the back and it has very comfortable rubbery handle.
After one hour the edge was pretty much bent out of shape, the serration was pretty much useless (unless you are willing to spend an hour or two to sharpen the thing). Problem wasn't the 10" diameter trunks but the more sturdy branches. When you hit the branch with too steep angle the blade bounces of leaving a dent on the edge.
I think SOGFari is at its best in the rainforest or with bamboo trees where the things you cut down are a lot softer than the trees here in Finland.

SOG Daggert 2

02/27/2013 by Miika

-Price Paid: $70.00
-Used for Self Defense
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I don't know if it's even wise to write a review about a knife that isn't been manufactured anymore, but you still can get this from stores.
I bought this knife mainly as a boot knife, but the sheath that came with it ruined the idea.
Daggert 2 as the name applies is a daggert. Straight serrated edge ending with a kraton rubber handle. Daggert 2 has a solid steel finger guard, handle provides a good grip and at the end of the handle on a steel knob there's a hole for lanyard.
As for daggers, this knife isn't very good at carving wood, but in a situation where this is your only knife, it will do just fine. For EDC/Survival/Outdoor use this isn't at it's best.
Only negative about the package is the sheath, which has this bulky and ugly quick-release belt loop. I recently took the belt loop thingie away and replaced it with nylon loop.

Kershaw Shallot

02/27/2013 by Mike H

-Price Paid: $37.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Let me start out by saying that this is, by far, the best knife I have ever carried. For me. I have other knives with better quality knife steel or have more attention to detail or were more expensive, but this is the knife I carry ever single day and I will not replace it with another model.

Ergonomics:
Subjective, but to me, they are superb. The handle, to me, is flawless in both saber and reverse grip. There are no hot spots. The finger grove fits my index finger perfectly and the back of the knife nicely fits in my palm in either grip. Some complain about how slick the knife is because it's aluminum scaled. Personally, I prefer this. I hate the damn annoying "Trac-Tek" inserts on knives like the Blur and Ener-G. And because the knife has uninterrupted aluminum scales, you can easily add grip tape to the entire scale if you so desire. And, thank god, the pocket clip is just nice and sturdy and straight. There's no nonsense like those terrible "question mark" of "spoon" pocket clips that some Kershaw models have. This clip is sturdy, small, and slight. Yet it does the job well of securing the knife without too much pressure. I've been carrying my Shallot every day since 2010 and it has never fallen out of my pocket.

Build Quality:
My Shallot is the 13C26N steel variant. I do like Sandvik series steel. I think it's quite adequate and while there are certainly much better steels out there, Kershaw gives one of the best heat treatments to their knife blades in the production knife industry. The good? This knife is ridiculously easy to sharpen. And if you're sharpening knives, you should be using rods to begin with so the VERY slight recurve in this blade will not be an issue. The bad? I have chipped my Shallot's edge and quite severely before. I was actually using it to cut some food and accidentally went through a tendon and hit the glass plate I was using. It chipped the living hell out of the blade by about 1-2 millimeters. I was not using the knife that hard, either. So, my recommendation would be to get one of the better knife steel options. There are damascus, S110V, and other options out there. Unfortunately, Kershaw has seen fit to produce these models and variants in very small batches so if you can somehow find them, be prepared to pay handsomely for them. I do think they're likely worth it, however, because the design on the knife is nearly flawless.

The recurve on the blade is what drew me to the knife. Recurves are immensely useful in an EDC piece because the recurve on the edge actually helps make slicing easier and quicker by acting as a "catch." It's the same reason why karambits can slice through a ridiculous amount of material with ease. Also, the recurve helps with edge retention by allowing the knife to use less required edge to do the slicing. Meaning smaller amounts of real estate is used and therefore letting you keep an edge longer. As I said before, if you're sharpening you should be using rods (ceramic, diamond, doesn't matter) to begin with so the recurve shouldn't be an issue. That said, you can even sharpen this knife with its recurve on a sharpening stone if you know what you're doing.

Now... the best part of the knife and what turns this from a good knife into an excellent and amazing knife design... The width. I don't care about weight for the most part. I'm not nutnfancy, I have carried 6 ounce knives before. That doesn't bother me. But I've had enough of and given up on carrying wide body or "thick" knives. They are annoying as hell to carry and take up far too much space in pockets. And when you sit, you can feel them constantly. Not with the Shallot. This knife is so incredibly thin that when I first got it I was actually concerned that it would break. Which is ridiculous, I've been carrying this same knife going on almost three years now and ANYTHING that will break this knife will also break nearly any other folding knife on the market. Oh, and it's still light, too. A mere 4.2 ounces, which isn't a lot for an aluminum scaled knife at all.

Value:
Isn't even up for debate. You get a knife design that is top-notch with excellent attention to detail. There isn't and has not been anything wrong with my Shallot. And even if there was, Kershaw would fix it because they have an excellent warranty.

In summary:
I've handled many knives. And I still think that, as far as the design goes, the Shallot is nearly flawless. The only thing I would like is to see a slightly larger flipper and perhaps 4-way carry. Other than that? The design is perfect - for me. It's slim, it's thin, it's light and it's non-threatening. It's a gentleman's folder that can kick ass and take punishment and ask for me. As a sub $100 knife, you will have difficulty finding a knife that measures up. I intend to take my Shallot with me to the grave, and I have no indication otherwise that it won't last that long - or longer.

Leatherman Wave

02/26/2013 by Jimder

-Price Paid: $60.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

Overpriced for what you get. While design is very good, construction appears to use cheap cast steel on some tools, which break with normal use (i.e., screwdriver will snap off without too much torgue), and sloppy quality control (i.e., uneven knife grinds, overtight tools, etc...).

The Wave's weight (half a pound) and fragile quality does not justify its $60 price tag.

Kizlyar DV-2

02/26/2013 by Miika

-Price Paid: $240.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I got this knife by accident (ordered wrong one). I have never liked large knives because I find them clumsy, too heavy and it just looks stupid on anyone else but Rambo.
This is a full tang knive with a thick blade made of russian 65x13 steel (HR 58-59). Blade is very sharp and quite easy to re-sharpen. It has quite good cutting power because of its size. Blade has a finger groove for more delicate work (if that's possible with a knife this size).
Handle is smooth made of Caucasian walnut. Bacause of smoothness, its very slippery in hand unless you use little water or better, resin on your palm.

Kizlyar KO-1

02/26/2013 by Miika

-Price Paid: $200.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

Ok say this isn't a survival/EDC/outdoor knife as such, but I still have used it as one.
Like all military grade Kyzliars, the blade is made of 65X13 steel and its hand made and serial numbered. This knife is a dagger, other edge is straight and other serrated. The edge is straight lengthwise so it is very easy to keep sharp with a flat sharpner.
Handle is rubber-like material with some minor pattern to improve the grip. At the end of the handle is a pointy piece of steel with a hole for lanyard. That pointy part is also very handy glass breaker.
KO comes with a leather sheath which has quite nice picture encarved on it.
If you are looking for a Kizlyar knife as a all-around-knife, I'd go for Phonenix-2 over this.

Kershaw Vapor

02/23/2013 by grifhunter

-Price Paid: $19.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

This knife is IMHO suitable for carry in New York City as it seems to me to be unable to be opened by flicking or centrifigal force. If you carry a knife in NYC, you know why this is important.
Stays sharp. Light. The knife handle is a little too smooth to use for dressing game or serious defense work. Good EDC knife.

SOG Visionary II

02/22/2013 by jason

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Been a great knife. Bought mine when they first hit the market (worked for a place that was a SOG dealer). Beat the hell out of it, and it's still going strong. The pocket clip leaves a lot to be desired. I'm on my 3rd one is about 5 years.

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SOG NW Ranger

02/22/2013 by Jason

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Picked it up for my bug out bag and occasional hunting trip. Really like the knife overall. Not a big fan of the sheath it comes with, or that these knives are made in Taiwan (prefer their Seki City Japan stuff). I've owned a lot of SOG stuff over the years, and I'd recommend this one to friends or family.

SOG Spec Elite 1

02/20/2013 by Andrew

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

I always have his knife on me. It is lightweight and easy to carry, we'll built so it lasts everyday at work. This is primarily my work knife and it is just amazing. The blade is excellent and holds a good sharp edge. I sharpened it when I first got it and the blade is still easily cutting everything I need it to, from paper and tape to cardboard and anything else I need it to do around a machining shop. This is just overall a great knife.

ESEE Izula 2

02/20/2013 by Zakar

-Price Paid: $80.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Much prefer the Izula 2 over the standard Izula, gives you a really good grip. I purchased the kit with the belt clip and all the other goodies. I carry IWB weak side appendix as a backup. Clip holds very snugly. I really like how the knife had been overbuilt in the blade length to width ratio. Makes for a very sturdy yet concealable blade. Also makes a great lil bushcraft blade.

Benchmade 810 Contego

02/20/2013 by Zakar

-Price Paid: $140.00
-Used for Self Defense
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Got a great deal from knifecenter with free shipping. Nutnfancy does a good review. Great ergonomics and love the blade shape. Awesome steel and I really dig the addition of the carbide glass breaker. I did find it helpful to sand down the outer edges of the scales and to cover the scale with a small patch of JB Weld at contact point of the pocket clip to reduce friction on clothing.
Dispite having to apply these mods to a $140 dollar knife, I am still very pleased with my purchase. Currently my favorite folder of all time. The Adamas would be a close second.