Solid General Purpose Folder

[Jestik]

Save your money.
Go with an Ontario RAT 1. You can get them on Amazon for $27 shipped.

http://www.amazon.com/Ontario-8846-...&qid=1395248985&sr=8-3&keywords=Ontario+Rat+1

I've had mine for almost a year, and I've abused the heck out of it and it has not failed me once. As you can see, I use my knife. Take that into account. I doubt anyone who has a $200 knife has really used it, and if you've got the photos to prove me wrong, please post them. Here are mine:







The marks on the back of the spine are from me batoning with it, which the knife did without a hiccup.

 

[SoonerBorn]

Nice! Imma check 'em out!


Sent from my meh, using my meh.

 

[heavysmoke]

I like the Emerson models mostly because of the ease of resharpening.

 

[Mike_60]

I'm a ZT fan they are really great knives. I have both the 561 and 300 models.

 

[ez bake]

Save your money.
Go with an Ontario RAT 1. You can get them on Amazon for $27 shipped.

http://www.amazon.com/Ontario-8846-...&qid=1395248985&sr=8-3&keywords=Ontario+Rat+1

I've had mine for almost a year, and I've abused the heck out of it and it has not failed me once. As you can see, I use my knife. Take that into account. I doubt anyone who has a $200 knife has really used it, and if you've got the photos to prove me wrong, please post them. Here are mine:

View attachment 37016

View attachment 37017

View attachment 37018

The marks on the back of the spine are from me batoning with it, which the knife did without a hiccup.

Did you baton with the knife fully open (lock bar engaged)?

 

[Jestik]

Yes, except that it is a liner lock and not a lock back

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

[TallPrairie]

The Ontario RAT-1 occurred to me too. Great sturdy beater knife, which is the kind of thing that makes sense to throw into a bug out bag.

Spend the $170 you'll have left over on ammo, or training, or a fancy folder that pleases your aesthetic, to wear to the BBQ!

If you want a big folder, the Cold Steel Voyager Large (4" blade), clip point, plain edge, model 29TLC, is tough and very versatile. I love mine. About $50. If you want a ridiculously big folder, the CS Voyager Extra Large (5.5" blade) is kinda awesome, though it's so big I'd start worrying about legal issues under Oklahoma's vague knife laws, if you want to carry it. About $60.

 

[ez bake]

Yes, except that it is a liner lock and not a lock back

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

I never said it was a lock-back. I said "lock bar" and batonning with a liner lock folder while the lock bar is engaged means you've probably done some pretty good damage to the lock-face (by most manufacturer's standards, that is abuse and not normal use, so you've also likely avoided Ontario's limited warranty on the knife). I'd wager that there is a bit of vertical blade-play in it now which typically means a lock-failure is on it's way.

If you understood the physics behind what's going on in a liner-lock knife, you'd know that there is only a tiny bit of metal-on-metal contact (just the very edge of the liner contacts the lock-face on the tang) and the liner is likely made of a 440 or other stainless steel (which is not a tool steel and not designed to be beat on).

Michael Walker (the designer of the liner-lock system) has actually weighed in and said that the locking mechanism itself is not meant to handle great amounts of shock (which includes over-strikes, spine-whacks, and batonning).

If you've seriously done any hard batonning with that folder (with the lock-bar engaged), I wouldn't trust the lock-bar to stay engaged while you do any hard stabbing or anything that might cause an over-strike or you could lose a finger. There are better lock-systems out there more suited for chopping/batonning if you're seriously wanting to do that with a folder (but then again, there are cheap fixed-blades that will work even better).

The Ontario RAT 1 is a great little folder (I've owned two and a RAT 2). It's a great bargain and I've listed a bunch of other bargain knives on this site here:

https://www.okshooters.com/showthre...get-Folding-Knives-for-this-Christmas-season&

But just because you own one and beat on it (and posted pictures that don't necessarily prove you batonned with it), that doesn't mean that those of us who own knives that are more than $200 don't use them. I use all my knives - the budget-priced knives and the more expensive ones, and even the limited-production models that aren't made anymore (drives some of my fellow knife-nuts crazy to see me break out my Carbon Fiber Para-2 and use it like any of my other folders). But I use them to you know... cut stuff.

I occasionally stab stuff that needs stabbing, or carve stuff that needs carving, but I go to my fixed blades to do things like batonning and chopping. I like to use the right tool for the right job, but that's just me - I'm funny that way.

I also don't use my handguns as hammers, or my rifles as pry-bars either.

 

[SoonerBorn]

Lol, EB. Good stuff.


Sent from my meh, using my meh.

 

[chask]

One of the most dependable, solid knives I know of is an Emerson knife. I would strongly suggest you check out Emerson Knives before you buy anything. Up front disclosure - as you will soon see I am a big Emerson Knives fan.

As the price of most of their production line ranges from around $180-250, your budget limit of $200 puts many of the knives in the Emerson line just above your price limit. But there are online dealers who will sell them at a discount, bringing several of the most popular models below or into your price range. If you don't mind a used one you can get one even cheaper, but not much. Emersons are so well built that unless they have been cosmetically abused the resale or trade value is very good. If you go the used route, I would buy one from someone you know or trust as there are a lot of cheaply made immitations around that look an awful lot like the real deal.

You also said you were looking for a bargain and I think with the quality you get with an Emerson they are well worth the money. They use 154CM tool steel for the blade, and aerospace titanium and stainless steel for the liners. They are designed and built for hard use. I have seen a couple of videos where a guy used the thumb disk (what you use to open it with your thumb) to hammer several pretty big nails into or through a 2x4, cut through one of those thick plastic kiddie pools without much trouble, slice through a handful of tie-wraps, cut through a 2-3" or so thick tree hacking at it like an axe, throwing it about 10 feet or so into a tree (hard to judge the distance in the video) and several other equally crazy uses. This was after digging it out of a couple of inches of dirt or sand. The videos were appropriately called "A Day in the Life of an Emerson" and "A Day in the Life of an Emerson Part 2".

I noticed your avatar is a 2nd Ranger Battalion scroll. If you are in the military they offer discounts and will take very good care of you - before, during and after the sale. I have several buds in the military who swear by them. One friend (was a squad leader in the 101st) carried his through tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He used his to open a car door jammed shut by an IED in order to free the driver. If I remember correctly he said he jammed it into the door then pried it open. None of this is what the knife was designed for but all it did to the knife was take the very end of the tip of the blade off - I think my bud said about 1/16" or less. He sent his knife back to Emerson from Iraq, with a note saying he knew this was outside of the normal use defined in their warranty but being in a combat zone he wanted to get it fixed. He had his knife back in about 2 or 3 weeks - that's Iraq to southern CA and back. And I've heard several stories like that.

Emerson has designed and produced knives for many special forces units around the world and builds the knives for that kind of hard use. I've got a pretty heavily used one that spent 10 years as a SEAL's every day carry (EDC). Except for a few scuffs on the black Cerakote finish it works like new. Well . . . actually I think it's a bit better. Just like a gun, a little use breaks it in and makes it operate very smoothly. With 10 years of use this one is very smooth. With a new CerakKote job it would look just like new, but I kind of like the character it picked up being used; not to mention having it broken in really nicely too.

Another neat feature is their patented wave. It's a little hook on the top of the blade near the pivot that when carried tip up is designed to catch on the pocket as you draw it, causing the blade to open. It's way faster than any auto or assisted opening knife I have ever seen. Heck by the time the knife has cleared your pocket it's open. With an auto or an assisted opener you'd still have to push the button or do something else at that point to get it open. This also works from a pouch, when caught on your shirt or pants or about anything else you can catch the wave on. The gist is one handed opening, just like an auto, but without any legal hassles. If you are injured and can't use both hands it's still easy to open an Emerson. If you can hold it in one hand you can open it. BTW - in case you did not know, an auto or assisted opening knife is illegal unless you are law enforcement or a first responder.

The other thing I really love about Ermesons is something you do not appreciate until you have had one or more of them for a little while. They are very ergonomic. I don't know what it is about the designs but each and every one of their knives I have owned have felt incredibly good in the hand and somehow felt easier to use than most blades. Even the designs I thought I wouldn't be caught dead holding (let alone owning) have proven to be like this. for the record I've ended up owning a few of those over the years. And it's not just my opinion - I know a lot of people who share this opinion about Emersons.

Emerson designs have been adopted by several makers. Among a few other makers, Benchmade uses/used the Emerson CQC-7 for years. Emerson makes recurves, tanto's, bowies, combination tanto/recurve and several other nice designs.

I notice you are in Edmond. I believe there is a dealer in OKC but I haven't been by that shop since I heard they were going to become an Emerson dealer so I don't know if they stock them. If they do it would be a great place to see a few - they also sell other brands too. An alternative, I'm in north OKC and north Norman a lot (mostly north Norman). I have a couple of their models and would be glad to show you some of mine. PM me and I'd be glad to point you to a couple of online and storefront dealers and a few other places you can find one, and/or arrange to show you a couple of mine. I would suggest you check out the Emerson Knives website first though to get an idea of what kind of blade style you like.

I know it's a fair amount of money to spend on a knife but this is one you can use hard all your life then pass on to your kids. You could also sell or trade it and get a pretty good portion of your money back - I've got a couple of used ones I rotate around as my EDC that were not a whole lot cehaper than a new one. If the knife breaks they'll fix it as long as you did not abuse it or modify it in some way - some people 'pimp' their knives (put special scales on them, coat them, completely redeisgn the blade, etc.) and like most manufacturers Emerson will not guarranty a product you modified. There are some online forums and auction sites where you can sell one pretty easily but I'd be careful about buying one on one of those. THe counterfiets look pretty good, expecially in pictures.

Hope this was helpful, and be sure to let me know if I can do anything else to help.

Good luck. I hope you end up with something that works well for you.