EDC recommendations?

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Looking for a EDC knife. I have zero knowledge of what is out there. Usage would be basically my last defense in a bad situation.
Looking for: blade under 3", folder - able to open with one hand, clip so I can clip to pocket - rather than fish out of pocket.
Budget: lets keep it under $100

Recommendations?
 
Check out SOG Trident. Looks like a long handle but supremely easy to open and keep a solid grip.
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Only downside is the unnecessary lock tab that can flip and lock in your pocket. I just removed that feature.
 
if you ever go into downtown Boston then make sure your edc blade is less than 2.5" due to Boston city knife laws.
 
The last time I bothered to look into it (a while ago!) Salem and Lynn were 1.95".
So do your homework and assess your risk factors.
 
I thought it was 2.75" for Boston. I know one of the other cities had a 3" law, but Boston was weird.

I treated myself to a Sypderco Sage (carbon fiber scales, plain edge) when I started commuting in years ago. Looks great still. Carry's very low in the pocket and almost invisible. Doesn't look military Scarry and didn't scare people when I occasionally used it around the office.

If it's below 2.5" now... (Sage is 2.70 ) I would carry a boker subcom. They cost like $20 and are pretty durable. I have one in every bag as a spare. Alternatively, Spyderco Dragonfly.

One of the cops doing a detail in Cambridge stopped me while walking by and asked to see the Sage once. Of course I'd been walking by his car every morning for two weeks at that point.

I did the boys out hold the blade thing for a moment but he didn't say thank you. Let him have it anyway and he opened the blade, held it up to his name tag to I guess measure the length, was about to hand it back, and then spent almost a minute just looking at it. I then asked if he wanted to see my LTC-A. He laughed and passed it back to me.

Asked what model the knife was and a few other questions. A few days later while I was walking by, he got out of his car, and waved a Spyderco box at me. Said his wife wouldn't let him go out to eat with her if he had his griptillia because it was too scary.

I like the benchmades a lot, and they are every bit worth it, though big. The delica 4 line and sage just fit me better and have never let me down. I also usually prefer back locks. (Sage and Booker's are the only liner locks I have in regular use.)

My delics need new belt clips now, so I needed a second knife and usually have a Gerber LeBear with me. It's my dedicated knife for camping and hiking and any work. If I'm going to be diving into a project or moving boxes, working on a car thing or getting dirty, it's what I grab. I've abused the hell out of it and will buy another from Walmart if it's lost.

It was my "I'm flying and can't check a bag but refuse to not work without a knife with me" purchase. I thought it was gonna crap and disposable, but it's been with me for ten years.

Knives I bought but moved out of regular use:
Kershaw Leek: extremely sexy. Well built. Not very grippy. Instantly stained when touched with salt water and still look icky. Blade edge grind is sharp, but not very good for serious work. I would carve delicately with it, but never try and hack through a half inch rope for example.

CRKT: don't like their liner locks at all. One had a funky flipper flap which never really worked right. They feel flimsier than they were originally. They got tossed in toolboxes for cutting tape or being trashed.

Smith and Wesson 2000 anniversary knife. Nice little folder and my first pocket knife. It's on my range bag where it stays.

Leatherman folder with the integrated flip out gated clip. Good solid knife, but heavy for the size. It's in the garage some where near a door and is sort of a toolbox knife.

Smith and Wesson with seat belt cutter and window breaker in every car somewhere secure..
 
Ah! I wasn't a complete idiot. The first run sages had a deeper Coi (or wherever it's called) cutting edge was 2-1/2"

Newer versions are 2-5/8.

Screw you Boston .
 
I like my PLAIN edge Spyderco Dragonfly (small and light - cuts well with flat grind w/ 2.25" OAL blade). Removed pocket clip & attached a lanyard on it so it is easier to find. I grew up in Boston - glad I don't live there any more.
 
Ah! I wasn't a complete idiot. The first run sages had a deeper Coi (or wherever it's called) cutting edge was 2-1/2"

Newer versions are 2-5/8.

Screw you Boston .

I only ever looked into it because I bought the groomsmen in my wedding engraved edc knives and a lot of them work in Boston. went with the buck nobleman.
 
+1 on the Griptillan.
Axis Lock is much stronger than Liner Locks or Spine Locks.
If you're going to be "rolling dirty" anyway, consider carrying it like a fixed blade.
 
Not much faster than a Kershaw Blur, short of a real automatic.

I don't worry about being hassled by the cops for having an over-length blade unless I had to use it for self-defense, in which case I believe that I'm just as screwed as if I had shot someone in self-defense, whether I had a legal length blade or not. So I just carry what I want and don't worry about it.

I have basically been carrying a "small" CRKT Crawford Kasper folder for nearly 20 years. Haven't yet found anything that I like much better, though occasionally, I pick up another Kershaw or contemplate a Spyderco. Too bad they discontinued the small Crawford Kasper.
 
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I loved my SOG Flash 2 until I lost it.. Couldn't find one locally, so I replaced it with a SOG Fielder G10 (cuz it was 50% off) and a Gerber Instant F.A.S.T. Been carrying the SOG... it's ok, but doesn't seem to hold it's sharpness. The Gerber has an odd pivot point and is a bit tougher to open 1-handed.
 
Looking for a EDC knife. I have zero knowledge of what is out there. Usage would be basically my last defense in a bad situation.
Looking for: blade under 3", folder - able to open with one hand, clip so I can clip to pocket - rather than fish out of pocket.
Budget: lets keep it under $100

Recommendations?

Is this close?

BU119a.jpg
 
plenty out there just avoid made in china , I prefer ZT 350 or Emmerson colabs, Strider SnG, Houge
 
Kershaw leek. Probably not the best thing for a knifefight, handle is skinny and not textured, but it is the EDC I keep going back to.
Another Kershaw Leek fan here. Fast opening, blade holds an edge well and slender enough to hang on the clip in my front pocket and not scrape my hand reaching for change. It isn't terribly expensive and I'm pretty sure it is made in USA.
 
If you think you’re only going to use it as a last line of defense, you’re mistaken.
Don’t cheap out but don’t break the bank either. $75-$100 will get you some fantastic knives.
In reality, you’re going to use it as a screw driver, pry bar, letter opener, box cutter, bottle opener and sometimes a hammer.

Trusted brands are your best bet. Kershaw, Benchmade and my personal favorite, Spyderco. Customer service is far superior with Kershaw and Benchmade though.

Benchmade Mini Grip or Spyderco Delica
 
In reality, you’re going to use it as a screw driver, pry bar, letter opener, box cutter, bottle opener and sometimes a hammer.

That’s why I have a Leatherman Wave at all times in addition to a Benchmade 940-2. I’d recommend the Benchmade to OP but grip is slim for a fight and the price is high.
 
This whole 2.5” - 3” knife thing in Boston is ridiculous. With over 20yrs as a cop in Boston I have never once stopped someone to measure their pocket knife or even heard of anyone doing it. Every little shithead gang banger in the city has a cheap folder larger than that in their pockets from Nubian Notion or whatever other corner store they got it from, from high school kids to adults. Nobody cares.
 
Check out SOG Trident. Looks like a long handle but supremely easy to open and keep a solid grip.
View attachment 263810
Only downside is the unnecessary lock tab that can flip and lock in your pocket. I just removed that feature.

I received a SOG knife for a gift and it is a nice knife.

I tried to make it my EDC but that little lever on the side kept locking the knife closed in my pocket. Drove me freaking nuts. 1/2 the time I took it out it was locked.

It also wasn't very sharp out of the box IMO. But I’m picky when it comes to that.

Bob
 
Thanks everyone! I went with the Benchmade Minigriptilian 555HG.

In reality, you’re going to use it as a screw driver, pry bar, letter opener, box cutter, bottle opener and sometimes a hammer.
Ha! Im sure I could find a few more things to with it as well. Its funny, Ive gone this long without one, but now I will treat it as if I have a large toolbox in my front pocket.

This whole 2.5” - 3” knife thing in Boston is ridiculous. With over 20yrs as a cop in Boston I have never once stopped someone to measure their pocket knife or even heard of anyone doing it. Every little shithead gang banger in the city has a cheap folder larger than that in their pockets from Nubian Notion or whatever other corner store they got it from, from high school kids to adults. Nobody cares.

Nobody cares. Until they do.
 
Thanks everyone! I went with the Benchmade Minigriptilian 555HG.


Ha! Im sure I could find a few more things to with it as well. Its funny, Ive gone this long without one, but now I will treat it as if I have a large toolbox in my front pocket.



Nobody cares. Until they do.

Nice choice!
 
Good choice - for a short blade, the tumbhole or an assisted opener makes for good ergos. Spyderco would have been my other recommendation for their dominance of that easy-open-without-spring space. I like the little assisted Kershaws, but more for carry in utility pockets, not "oh crap, grab knife" - they are just too slim.
 
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