# What's the best assisted-open combat folder for EDC?



## yalskey (Feb 5, 2007)

I need some advice guys.

I want a very high quality assisted-open folding combat knife that I can everyday carry.

I like tanto style blades with serrated edges.

If possible, I would like this knife to be under US$200... but would consider paying more if the knife was really worth it.

Thanks for the help.


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## benchmade_boy (Feb 5, 2007)

i would get the new Benchmade nitrous, it is an assisted opener with G10 handles and you can get it with serration or withought and in tanto configurations for around 160.00 from Benchmade but around 110.00 or so on the enternet.

hope this helps!


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## moeman (Feb 5, 2007)

Kershaw Zero Tolerance:
http://www.kershawknives.com/searchresults.php?search_by=category&search_value=5


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## Sharpdogs (Feb 5, 2007)

Check out the Camiluss models. I have the lower end model, the Heat. The Dominator models are even better.


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## Coop (Feb 6, 2007)

Emerson CQC-7B with wave. 

I EDC the Mini version. Not much out there that can beat the opening speed of a waved knife and they are tough as nails.

http://www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html


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## VWTim (Feb 6, 2007)

I know it's not assisted opening but I absolutely love my Benchmade Griptilians with the Axis lock. Although if I was to get any other type of knife it would be a Emerson, I had an old Emerson/BM and it was excellent.


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## carbine15 (Feb 6, 2007)

VWTim said:


> I know it's not assisted opening but I absolutely love my Benchmade Griptilians with the Axis lock. Although if I was to get any other type of knife it would be a Emerson, I had an old Emerson/BM and it was excellent.



I know it's not assisted open or a combat knife but I like microwave popcorn. :laughing:


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## VWTim (Feb 6, 2007)

carbine15 said:


> I know it's not assisted open or a combat knife but I like microwave popcorn. :laughing:




Well I guess it depends what you call a "combat" knife. I know that if I ever cut someone and sitting in court I'd much rather tell the jury that I was carrying my Benchmade Griptilian pocket knife "it's grippy like that so I can hold it when my hands get dirty cleaning fish" Then when I have to tell them I'm using the new Ninja Kill 'em all combat SEAL knife :-D

And if they're both sharp they do the same things. Axis knifes are also about as fast as any assisted opener around.


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## 270winchester (Feb 6, 2007)

I have a Camillus DOminator and it's a very robust folder that is very handy. It doesn't have the black-tactical-ness to it, just classy Titanium handle and SV30 blade.


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## yalskey (Feb 6, 2007)

So is SV30 pretty much the best of the best blade material?

I bet I just opened up a can of worms on that one. Probably something like... "Well, it all depends" type of answer.

Don't you wish there was always a linear scale of worst to best so decisions wouldn't be so damn hard 

I just picked up a Leatherman Charge TTi and it has a SV30 blade... the other Charges have 154CM blades... didn't know which one was better... all I knew was I liked the Titanium handles


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## ghostrider (Feb 6, 2007)

yalskey said:


> So is SV30 pretty much the best of the best blade material?
> 
> I bet I just opened up a can of worms on that one. Probably something like... "Well, it all depends" type of answer.
> 
> ...


No such thing as "The best blade material". A lot of people like the 154CM and it's used in a lot of top production knives (Benchmade, Emerson, and Microtec come to mind). 

If your looking for the best assisted opening combat folder, then again there is no such animal however, you should definitely check out the Emerson Wave. It's the fastest knife out there with the exception of maybe the Spyderco's that have the Emerson Wave.


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## yalskey (Feb 6, 2007)

Thanks guys...

I just ordered the Emerson CQC-7B SFS Mini on eBay for US$100. It was a pretty good deal and this seems to be a great knife.

Is the WAVE feature actually spring-loaded? Because I saw a little hook where the thumb screw normally is... I'm think this would catch on my pants and make the knife open up... but I hope it's also assisted with some spring action with it.


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## RCatR (Feb 6, 2007)

The wave isn't spring loaded, but it doesn't matter. As soon as your knife is our of your pocket, it's open.


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## blake711 (Feb 6, 2007)

RCatR said:


> The wave isn't spring loaded, but it doesn't matter. As soon as your knife is our of your pocket, it's open.


 IS the thumb part grabbing onto your pocket to open itself? If so does it do any damage to your pants?


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## ghostrider (Feb 6, 2007)

blake711 said:


> IS the thumb part grabbing onto your pocket to open itself? If so does it do any damage to your pants?


That's how it works. As far as excessive wear goes, I find that most of my knives wear on the pocket, and I've noticed others have the same problem. You don't have to wave the knife every time you deploy it so you can save on wear that way. I would imagine that it would wear fasster on the pocket, but it also opens faster than just about any other knife out there.


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## yalskey (Feb 6, 2007)

blake711 said:


> IS the thumb part grabbing onto your pocket to open itself? If so does it do any damage to your pants?




Yeah!!! That's what I want to know.

I kinda pissed that it isn't spring loaded, because that is what I wanted... but if taking it out of my pocket makes it deploy that's fine too... but would it do it with sweat pants? dress slacks? or just jeans / tight pants?

I don't want to engrain a survival conditioned response that doesn't include me deploying my knife and have the thing not deploy for me... in other words, I don't want to get used to or rely on something that may not work all the time.

With a spring loaded knife, I get in the habit of deploying the blade myself so I know that's what I would do by reaction. I just don't know about this... maybe I should hold off judgment until I try it out for a while.


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## Coop (Feb 6, 2007)

blake711 said:


> IS the thumb part grabbing onto your pocket to open itself? If so does it do any damage to your pants?



It has a disc shaped thumbstud for norman onehand opening. It also has the wave (the hook thingie) that does indeed grab onto the pocket. I usually wear Wrangler Texas jeans, and use the wave multiple times a day, after a year its starting to show some minor wear at the corner of the pocket. I wouldn't try it on your dress pants though. Practicing your wave-technique will also help to reduce wear a lot. Also, if the knife is just partially opened (even if the point of the blade just 2mm out) it will only take a light flick of the wrist to open it and lock the blade.

Take a look at the emerson website for some demo movies of waved knives opening:

http://www.emersonknives.com/EK_Video_Vault.html


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## cy (Feb 6, 2007)

EDC is a Strider SMF. 

my personal test is.... can it skin a deer? including chopping through tail bone. will knife stay sharp enough to skin several deer? 

how's the grip when wet with deer guts? do ya gotta baby the knife? is the clip strong enough to be secure deep in the woods? 

how's the balance in a spinless throw? can you flick open knife in an instant? 

Strider SMF passes all these tests with flying colors! a little more than your budget, but you may get lucky and find a used strider.


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## gorn (Feb 6, 2007)

VWTim said:


> Well I guess it depends what you call a "combat" knife. I know that if I ever cut someone and sitting in court I'd much rather tell the jury that I was carrying my Benchmade Griptilian pocket knife "it's grippy like that so I can hold it when my hands get dirty cleaning fish" Then when I have to tell them I'm using the new Ninja Kill 'em all combat SEAL knife :-D
> 
> And if they're both sharp they do the same things. Axis knifes are also about as fast as any assisted opener around.



I don't care what a knife is called. If I ever had to defend myself because I used a knife on someone I wouldn't play games over a name. I would just tell the court what the badguy did that forced me to have to use a knife on him.


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## yalskey (Feb 7, 2007)

Somehow I agree with both Gorn and VWTim on this issue.


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## VWTim (Feb 7, 2007)

gorn said:


> I don't care what a knife is called. If I ever had to defend myself because I used a knife on someone I wouldn't play games over a name. I would just tell the court what the badguy did that forced me to have to use a knife on him.



While I do agree and would proceed accordingly the idea of a name is in the back of my mind when I purchase something for personal defense. The problem is no matter how "unbiased" jury's are they're humans and certain things stick in your mind and subconscious.


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## blake711 (Feb 7, 2007)

If I have to defend myself against someone it ain't gonna be the name of a knife I am telling the court. Exibit "A" is gonna be a Glock or a HK. I have some nice tacticool knifves and their great for cutting rope, opening boxes, cutting up apples and all kinds of useful stuff. As for self defense. I personally don't want anyone to get close enough to me for that to matter. This thread reminds me of the numerous "Which light is best for Self defense?" Threads. The answer is lights aren't for self defense. GUNS ARE.


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## yalskey (Feb 7, 2007)

blake711 said:


> If I have to defend myself against someone it ain't gonna be the name of a knife I am telling the court. Exibit "A" is gonna be a Glock or a HK. I have some nice tacticool knifves and their great for cutting rope, opening boxes, cutting up apples and all kinds of useful stuff. As for self defense. I personally don't want anyone to get close enough to me for that to matter. This thread reminds me of the numerous "Which light is best for Self defense?" Threads. The answer is lights aren't for self defense. GUNS ARE.



Although I see your points, and understand where you are coming from, I believe that flashlights and knives can be used in certain scenarios for effective self-defense purposes.

Unlike what you proposed (they are NOT for self-defense, guns are), I beleive that just about anything around you can be utilized for self-defense if need be, and in many situations you don't always have the luxury of saying what is or is not for self-defense.

I find that if you do that, you limit your dynamic options available to you in a time where options are oh so valuable.

The key to a proper violence prevailance mindset is NOT to envision the same proto-typical scenario over and over in your imagination, but to build a intuitive, natural, and threat-specific triggered response to many diffferent scenarios.

In other words, don't constantly see yourself (for example) at the bar with a big guy coming at you with a knife and you drawing your gun to protect yourself. This engrains a response pattern into your amigdala (mid-brain) that may or may not be the best option for you at the time / place / context of the actual incident.

These static "visions of prevailing" are common with many people who study self-defense and martial arts (note that I do not combine those two different terms). The problem is, it gets you into a groove of thought (deep primal thought) that, when the scenario is even slightly different then how you saw it so many times before, it tends to put you into a hypervigilent mode / frozen in the headlights / irrational panic.

I do want to point out however, that it is a good thing to "see yourself prevailing in dire situations". That does in fact serve an excellent role in your psychology. However, if you can, try to vary your "visions of prevailing" to many different situations / attacks / threats / environments / encumberances / etc.

So I would advise that you DO in fact go through the motions and explore inside yourself what you would do in many situations... including if you only had a knife or flashlight as good tools at hand. Don't limit your response options... because many times, you are lucky if you even get to pick between 2 or 3.

My comments are made with all due respect my friend... just something to consider.... and maybe you already have; you sound well educated on this subject. So, maybe I'm the one who will learn from you


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## VWTim (Feb 7, 2007)

Wow there Charles, I was gonna say that but much shorter. If all you have is a hammer, all your problems look like a nail. If all you have is a gun, then how do you solve all your problems?

I've taken a couple hand to hand and knife defense classes and up close the last thing I'm going to want to do is draw a gun, I'd rather do whatever, make room, then draw if nessesary.

A knife, gun, light, OC, Kubaton....they're all different tools/options to keep in the toolbox.


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## blake711 (Feb 7, 2007)

yalskey and VWTim you both make valid points. I made a statement in response to the standing before a judge and explaining what type of knife you used on said victim. I do agree though that you use what you have at the moment. Still I think more importantly than what tool you have is to be aware of your surroundings and to avoid or prevent incidents when ever possible. So many of the scenarios you listed I wouldn't find myself in. For example I wouldn't be in XYZ bar so that the drunk idiot could charge me. I don't want to discount the fact that you use different tools in diffrent scenarios. My comment was pointed more to the don't bring a light to a gun fight thinking. I deffinalty opened up pandoras box with my comments. My appologies for the thread highjacking..


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## VWTim (Feb 7, 2007)

No apology necessary. In many situations I'm not worried about being seen as a "wimp" or anything. My first rule of defense? Avoid. Second rule? RUN adjust accordingly


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## yalskey (Feb 7, 2007)

blake711 said:


> yalskey and VWTim you both make valid points. I made a statement in response to the standing before a judge and explaining what type of knife you used on said victim. I do agree though that you use what you have at the moment. Still I think more importantly than what tool you have is to be aware of your surroundings and to avoid or prevent incidents when ever possible. So many of the scenarios you listed I wouldn't find myself in. For example I wouldn't be in XYZ bar so that the drunk idiot could charge me. I don't want to discount the fact that you use different tools in diffrent scenarios. My comment was pointed more to the don't bring a light to a gun fight thinking. I deffinalty opened up pandoras box with my comments. My appologies for the thread highjacking..



I agree with you.

The scenarios I listed were just examples because I don't have the luxury of knowing you and your particular life / habits. They could be swapped out with any other situation you tend to experience.

I agree you don't JUST bring a light to a gun fight. I would bring a light, a gun, body armor, maybe some other things too, etc. If you statement is, "don't expect to win a battle if they have a gun, and you only have a light", I would agree with that... obviously. Of course a light is less lethal a weapon then a gun.

I agree with you, that if your knife is an "Assassin's Blood Gutter III" knife... that wouldn't put too good of a spin on your legal defense... but overall, I don't really think it would be a major factor in the hearing / trial. Other factors are far more important in that regard. It's still a factor, but it won't be what sinks your legal defense ship so to speak.

Good chatting with you my friend. 

VWTim --> Sorry, I talk too much... but you already know that


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## Ignoramus (Feb 7, 2007)

The wave feature that Emerson has the patent on is faster than any assisted opener and automatic knife on the market. The axis lock is just as fast as any auto as well. The Spyderco Endura/Delica waved knives are an Emerson/Spyderco collaboration, but the wave is much bigger than any of the Emerson models and works more effectively. It's also less harsh on the pockets. The Emerson knives may be more difficult to open on certain types of pockets, but you won't have that issue with the Spyderco version. BTW the Endura Wave is about half the price of the Emersons.

To be clear, you don't want any waved knives to be spring loaded in any way. Once you get a feel for how it works, you'll understand why.


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## Washburnapp (Mar 10, 2012)

Personally my favorite knife is the Sog flash II it comes either straight edge or serrated and Tanto or drop point on knifecenter.com you can get it for about $60 and it's spring assisted


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## eh4 (Mar 11, 2012)

I don't understand the "assisted opening" requirement. Spring loaded knives are neat but I stop at "neat".
There are a number of great knives that can be opened in less than a blink of an eye with just a little bit of practice. 
A little bit of practice is the fun part anyways.
Ok, here is a really great liner lock knife that Really Does lock open, you need to do a little bit of fun practice to learn how to shut it one handed. Opens faster than you can even think "switchblade", but it's all powered by your thumb and wrist: It's the CRKT M 16-12 . I carried the Zytel handled model for about a year before losing the thing, replaced it with the aluminum handled model 3 years ago, it's clipped in my pocket every day -just a Great knife, makes for a fine exacto knife too.

With the context of the conversation above, I gotta say that I hardly consider my knife as a weapon at all, it's my most basic tool and I feel naked without a good cutting tool, just wish we lived in a more reasonable society where people worked a bit more with their hands, had a general grasp of basic physics and weren't so afraid of tools.


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## bigdean (Mar 16, 2012)

I would take a ZT 0350 or if you like it heavier and larger then a ZT 0300.


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## lightinsky (Sep 16, 2012)

I am going to have to go with my CRKT M16- 14DSFG Desert Tan Tanto with veff serations. It's not assisted but certainly fast as or faster than any of them with the dual carson flippers and at a bit over 9 inches in length a beast to reckon with. Don't get me wrong I've got plenty of knives and some are assited that I like better yet here's what I've got, a Benchmade Full Size Griptilian, Kershaw Blackout Assisted, Kershaw Black Blur Assisted, CRKT M21 12G, Benchmade HK Monochrome Black and a SOG Trident Assited. 

I'm going to stick with the CRKT M15-14DSFG IMO to be the best combat folder for EDC even though it's a little big it's easily hidden and pretty light and heavy duty.


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## TheExpert (Sep 22, 2012)

yalskey said:


> Yeah!!! That's what I want to know.
> 
> I kinda pissed that it isn't spring loaded, because that is what I wanted... but if taking it out of my pocket makes it deploy that's fine too... but would it do it with sweat pants? dress slacks? or just jeans / tight pants?
> 
> ...



I do like assisted knives, but everyone I have had has broke or worn out over time. IMO waves are much more reliable they are a part of the blade. If you want to take that one step further fixed blade will always be the most reliable. Blade steel is just one of those things you will just have to decide for yourself I like s30v, m4, and 3v all of which are cpm. Just remember as far as self defense goes with blades I suggest to be careful about that, would rather be in a court room saying " The assailant demonstrated deadly force towards me and I preceded to defend my life when I shot him." than stabed/cut him. But if you really think you will indeed die, then you use what you got. Here is a site everyone should visit..............nononsenseselfdefense.com


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## AznDragon567 (Oct 3, 2012)

I would say the best would be Emerson "wave" feature , it is definitely the fastest to deploy


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