Don Carlos Andrade, Bruce Bump, Bill Burke, Murray Carter, Saign Charlestein, Jeffrey Driscoll,
Erik Fritz, Gary House, Bob Kramer, Captain Bunshichi Koyama, Randy Lee, David Lisch, Kikuo Matsuda,
Mareko Maumasi, Andrew Meers, Mardi Meshjian, Michael Rader, Ole Pedersen, Michael Quesenberry, JD Smith,
Tom Sterling, Shane Taylor, Devin Thomas, Henry Torres, Alan Warren, Aaron Wilburn, Francesca Wilburn.
While we are on the subject of “the best”? I thought maybe a few of you would get a kick out of this You tube/sales pitch? I don’t know if they are #? 1 but boy oh boy? Talk about not on my pay grade? I’ll I will ever do is look and wonder? It ain’t happening!!! :whistle: :blink:
I got that news letter the one thing I don’t like about it the information they give is rather scant ; if I were to be enticed I like to know a lot more about what I am buying.
It seems that Kenichi Shiraki is a renowned maker of honyaki blades these are hand forged and folded etc in the same way a samurai sword is made so the prices are actually very good for this maker.
I can say owning an entry level honyaki that they outperform any other knife the more you pay the higher the quality they are made usually of high carbon steel they are not laminated some are stainless and certainly the finish on that collection is of the highest level.
There are honyaki yanagibas that are literally thousands to buy so these are well priced it is a shame that knivesshipfree have not rendered the story of them.
Spyderco-Endura 4. VG-10, 61 Rockwell, 20dps. Sharp enough to slice a tomato paper thin or push cut a frozen bunker when the wife and I go crabbing at the Jersey shore. Love this knife and only paid $65 for it.
I like their VG-10. Got a Delica. Like it a lot. A little small, but not too bad as I like 3" blades for EDC office carry. Got the Endura, quite a big knife for me. Really wish they had something exactly between a Delica and Endura.
For me, for daily office EDC carry I pretty much go with Benchmade Doug Ritter mini griptillian with Keven Wilkins scales. I like the Ritter blade shape, hight flat grind, over the regular mini grip and I definitely prefer Kevin Wilkins scales in Aluminum over the stock BM handles. The Wilkins are flat and much better in pocket. These knives I carry in pocket with no clip.
Well, I’m just a humble old hippie living out here in the boonies…
My Benchmade, no idea what model. Only marking on it is ATS-34. Bought at Andy and Bax in Portland, OR some thirty-odd years ago:
That one has a pocket clip on the other side, mounted for hinge-down, and lives in my right back pocket. Been there for a long time.
This is a newer addition to my EDC line:
Opinel Gentleman w/cocobolo grip. I love the shape and thinness of this blade. Perfect for fish and birds in the field. I’ve been carrying it in my right front pocket for about a year.
When out in the woods:
My grandfather’s old Marbles often finds its way behind my belt.
I’m sure I’ve done three or four of the Marbles just like the one shown in the photo. No… maybe more than that. When I was trying to get more experience, I invited friends to bring in their entire collections for sharpening. Seemed like everybody had an old Marble or two. They seem to take a keen edge very easily.
The Marbles is a nice, tiny bowie. It does take a good edge easily (I took to 1K diamond), but of course, it loses it easily too. Lots of touch-up when breaking down a carcass, and I wouldn’t use it for dressing a critter out. The mud and dust in the hair is extremely abrasive for the harder steels. The Gerber Shorty with its 62 Rockwell high-speed tool steel is for that.
I still haven’t been able to find an exact match for it on the 'net, so no idea what model it is. Something like 3 1/2" blade (not here right now), 7" OAL or so. I wear a size 8 glove and the grip is a little small for me.
I also haven’t found a match for the Benchmade. I lost it for a few years–found it again in the engine compartment of a rig I had worked on for a friend–and tried to replace it, but BM no longer seems to make anything that slim and light, which is what I like about it. I think I paid $85 for it back in the late '80s.
