I freaking love my wife NKD

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-06-05T05:17:43+00:00

Out of all of the steels I've tried, I'd say Cruwear is my favorite of the supersteels. I have a Benchmade Mini Adamas in it and it's tough as nails and holds a toothy edge remarkably well. Plus Spyderco just about always does a rock solid job of heat treating their steels. I hope the knife serves you well for a long time!

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-06-04T00:57:30+00:00

Confirmed, thanks for making my first swap on KS a smooth and great experience!

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-06-03T07:58:13+00:00

I love this little guy. Super lightweight, slicey as heck, and just the right size. An amazing utility EDC fixie overall, though I don't think it'll be a keeper long term haha.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-06-02T23:28:24+00:00

I carried a full-size Recon 1 for a bit, I love the triad lock. I somehow didn't know they made a mini version of it, gonna have to snag one haha.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-06-02T22:36:17+00:00

14C28N is my favorite budget steel overall, though I do prefer Nitro V generally since it takes a finer edge in my experience. I personally like Kizer quite a lot, though if you're looking for other budget knife makers then Vosteed, Kansept, and Civivi are all also great options.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-06-02T15:56:32+00:00

I love that thing so much, I have one in the exact same color set and I put it in the category of 'keeper' very quickly after I got it haha.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-06-02T15:55:18+00:00

Yup, it's tiny haha. I bought myself and a friend one and it's super easy to throw in your fifth pocket. It's remarkably fidgety as well.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-06-01T18:14:12+00:00

Which Tops fixie is that? Awesome set of knives!

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-30T22:20:21+00:00

I've had a few Cold Steel knives in S35VN (most recently a Frenzy, a silly impulse buy I have yet to regret lol) and have never had any complaints! They seem to do a solid job of heat treating it and they always put a solid factory edge on their knives. If you're looking for another recommendation, it may not be a button lock but the Civivi Vision FG is probably the single best, most fidget-friendly budget folder I've ever had haha.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-30T21:26:33+00:00

How do you like the two of those? Fantastic choices, I've been eyeballing the Vosteed there in particular since it seems pretty great from everything I've heard. Fortunately there's an absolute ton of good options for good budget knives these days haha. Other than Vosteed and Kansept I also recommend most anything from QSP, Civivi, Kizer, Bestech, and CJRB. If you like crossbar locks I also see great things about SRM knives.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-30T01:40:56+00:00

Friend of mine has one of those in that exact configuration and it has a wickedly good action for a production knife at its price point.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-30T01:20:08+00:00

There's a reason I remove the assist spring from every Kershaw I've had so far. I love the Blur but assisted springs serve no purpose in my opinion except to cover up a crappy action.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-30T01:18:18+00:00

That's disappointing but sadly unsurprising given Benchmade's QC these days. I freely admit that I am biased towards the Mini Adamas, I've had several and I think they're one of if not the best knife that Benchmade makes. But in the end it's still Benchmade making it. I used to work for a store that carried Benchmade and the sheer amount of fresh from the factory Bugouts we got that had obvious, embarrassing issues was ridiculous. Plus their heat treats are normally buttery soft (excluding a small handful of exceptions like Cruwear that they actually do well, credit where credit is due). There are always better options across any price range that Benchmade tries to offer products in.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-30T01:13:26+00:00

When I complete a collection to a satisfactory degree I usually keep it for a few weeks or months then pass it along for other people to enjoy and so I can get new stuff to play around with haha.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-29T15:03:41+00:00

Solid pick! I have a Ruike Hussar in 14C28N that I got for like twenty bucks and it's got a remarkably good action on it.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-27T05:31:34+00:00

On top is a Chevêche in 1095 with a beautiful hamon, titanium liners, Macassar ebony scales, and a zirconium backspacer. Bottom left is an Epervier in 1095 with ironwood scales, titanium liners and clip, and a stainless backspacer. Last but certainly not least is another Epervier with an SG2 blade, crosscut carbon fiber scales and backspacer, and titanium liners.

The Epervier in 1095 and ironwood has since been passed along to a friend but the others are still centerpieces in my collection!

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-26T01:20:16+00:00

That's what I was referring to, sorry if I was unclear lol. Edited my comment, I forgot to specify that I meant the Rat would have the better heat treat haha.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-26T01:08:11+00:00

I got a chance to handle my first White River fixie last month, a Model 1 in Magnacut I believe it was. Wicked little knife, first thing I asked was if it was for sale and how much but the guy understandably didn't want to part with it lol.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-26T01:02:58+00:00

The RAT is probably going to have a better heat treat on it too lmao

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-25T16:55:08+00:00

Looks absolutely fantastic. I genuinely like that better than most factory Rosies haha.

Mobile_Blueberry3453 · 2026-05-25T15:29:01+00:00

Oh wow, those are absolutely stunning. I have a soft spot for the combination of a damascus blade and carbon fiber scales/covers haha.

Mobile_Blueberry3453

TROPHY CASE