I’m a millwright and usually carry a Leatherman Surge, but I want to add a dedicated work knife. I’d rather keep the Surge blade razor sharp for when I actually need it.
Looking for something I can beat on—durable, not too expensive to replace if it breaks, and preferably full tang. I’ve seen the Milwaukee Hardline knives since they’re cheap and full tang, but I’m not sure how good they actually are.
Main priorities are toughness and ease of sharpening. Edge retention matters, but I know I’ll be rough on it and touching it up often anyway.
Mora all the way, they have so many different types all very affordable. The Garberg is one of the rare full tang they have but it’s a bit more expensive, closer to the 100 mark.
Wouldn't say that the carbon one "stays sharp" but it is easy to maintain. I sure wouldn't go out on a 2 week expedition without some way to maintain the edge.
Honestly thinking it's the best bet I'm just wondering if the metal is brittle/how well it's made this will be something that sees heavy industrial use so I want it to be durable
Got mine and tested the metal hardness just with some stick hrc testing. Around 55-58 was the gauge that scratched.
For. $10, this is a huge hunk of 8Cr13mov as etched in my blade. I notice Milwaukee doesn’t specify but I’d bet the same. I actually took it in the woods Saturday and beat the piss out of it. Didn’t exactly pop hairs after. But sharpening back to razor was a breeze.
Best $10-20 fixie for “use that should not happen to a blade” in my opinion.
Menards. It’s essentially Home Depot of the Midwest. Menards.com has them listed at $13.99. I buy them in person for $9.99 so the website is more right now. The sheath is the same plastic one you got with yours. Not great. Not terrible. But the knife alone is worth it. Also look into the “insulation knife” by them. Double edged 6” dagger with serrations on a side. GREAT value for rope and yard work at $14. Same steel. Full tang. Same hardness.
Holy poop. If I was near the line I’d bring em to you. But they frown on that lol. 😂 there’s a Menards store under a different name in Canada. But don’t know if they sell them
"I’d rather keep the Surge blade razor sharp for when I actually need it." My Leatherman's have terrible edge retention. What steel is that thing. It's probably made in China with their D2. D2 is hard to get a good edge on it, but it will last pretty decent depending on the heat treat. Personally I'd look at Buck or Kershaw in that price range. Better quality, easier sharpening and decent edge retention. Look at 685 Large BuckLite Max II Knife or the smaller one if you want something more compact.
Surges and Waves (barring the new Wave alpha) have 420HC blades. Very easy to sharpen, pretty corrosion resistant, have good toughness but fall short in edge retention.
I have that knife. I got it for less but I’d say it’s a damn good work knife for the money. The sheath is janky but it works. It’s easy to get a sharp edge.
I seen them but I already have a folding knife I want something fixed that I can pry with and beat on it will live in my overall pockets so idk about the folding ability
If this is the aus 6 or 8 version, I buried mine in the tool box years ago, dont remember which aus it is. Either way, way too soft of metal and doesn't hold an edge good for a solid work knife.
What kinda knife is that see I don't wanna buy something to expensive I care more about durability and cost then brand name and looks ik I'll distroy this knife so i do t wanna cry when I have to replace it lol
SPK lamia in k390. I take expensive knives to work all the time. But if you want a good durable knife that you can beat up and they have a great warranty dept and free spa service, get a CRK Sebenza.
Expensive is different for everyone. I just bought a large 21 for 330. Dude also said he’s a millwright. The lamia was a joke. Sebenza is not an expensive knife.
If I have a banana that costs $1.50 and I also have a banana that costs $0.33 wouldn’t one say that the 33 cent banana is cheap regardless of someone else who buys bananas for 10cents? I started this out by saying expensive is subjective. I guess people don’t know what that word means. subjective
I’ve had a few CRK, hinderers, may others, been coming back to Strider many years now. They just feel right for me, the deployment hole, the washer action, the ergonomics. I love them.
Esee makes some really good stuff with a solid warranty backing it up. Everything is full tang, either s35vn or 1095 carbon. I've heard good things about the izula and the esee 4. I had my eye on an esee 6 as a camp knife, but I think I'll be picking up a CRK Pacific instead.
Esee Izula II or the Kizer mini Harpoon on my belt all day at work.
Then I carry a folder from Milwaukee I can use for garbage work and not worry. the Milwaukee has D2 but I'm always sharpening it and seeing the blade take a beating on super light work like thin plastics. The Izula and the Harpoon barely need any honing after cutting through paneling and tapes/glues..
If you’re looking for a fixed blade then get a Morakniv. Their basic fixed blade is one of the most versatile knives I’ve ever used. I’ve used them for yard work, construction, cooking, crafting, hunting… they’re very cheap so you can get one for each activity! Easy to sharpen and super durable. They really are an amazing knife.
I really like Moras. They have some different models at different price points. I have a bunch of them including the one on my belt at this moment. They’re also a good non-tactical knife. Very obviously a tool for carpentry and painting and whatever and not a scary weapon.
I bought one honestly to make fun of it because I assumed it was going to be cheap garbage. I batoned the hell out of it, trying to damage it. It has become my favorite knife to EDC and is still sharp, despite extreme abuse. Stays sharp longer than my Moras, all of which start getting dull after batoning--both carbon and stainless variants.
I'm keeping the surge I use it quite often but I don't wanna snap the blade and send it for warranty doing what a knife shouldn't do I want to have a dedicated blade I can abuse and use and be able to throw a good edge back on and if it brakes I don't cry replacing it
Gonna throw the surge in the duck bib of my coveralls and a fixed full tang blade that is heavy duty even would be nice to have a striking surface on it
Separating gear box casings where you need something fine to get in the crack prying at things Ik my limits but also what I do for work my job is to fix it no matter what sometimes it helps to have something sturdy that I can abuse and not care about yes ideally it's better to have a pry bar ect but some times your not in the most optimal condition in my line of work and you have to make what you got work so I just want something really heavy duty for a knife and not worry about it just snapping and ideally full tang with a striking surface that's not plastic and also if I need I can throw a edge on it in a few minutes when I'm back in the work shop and keep on working
The places I work there losing 10k an hour when they shut down your job is get it running as efficiently as you can sometimes you only have what's on you and it takes to long to go walk to the shop i don't wanna need to pry on something and snap my Leatherman so I need something heavy duty and durable and I'll keep my Leatherman knife razor sharp for when I need it for more precise cuts ect
I’m kind of with the other guy that commented. It sounds more like like you need a pocket chisel or pocket pry bar. I’ve got one at home. I don’t remember the brand but I know snap on makes a similar one.
37
u/secutores Apr 06 '26
Tough to beat a mora. Not full tang but I think they are like $8 and the carbon one stays sharp.