Decent folding knife for £25?

[rick6point5]

Sadly we live in times where the illegal use of knives in crime is an every day occurrence, It's a shame that a classic, simple, practical, everyday use knife like the 'Opinel' with a slow simple manual safety is regarded by law as illegal, I will for one will continue to do what i have been doing for years.

 

[private fraser]

Opinal, great steel. You can sharpen them on a brick,aduse them , loose them. Dosent matter they are cheap. best value for money folder there has ever been.
Tusker.

Best thing you could do with them if you value your fingers.

 

[bennyblanco]

Best thing you could do with them if you value your fingers.

I cut the crap out of my fingers the first time I used my Opinel and hadn't grasped the rotating lock, they take a wonderfully sharp edge.

If the OP wants a little lock knife then I can recommend the EKA, very cheap here EKA Swede 8 Wood - Ronnie Sunshines
Although I do like the previously recomended Moonraker knives for most things.

 

[jimbo1984]

Opinal, great steel. You can sharpen them on a brick,aduse them , loose them. Dosent matter they are cheap. best value for money folder there has ever been.
Tusker.

A big +1 opinel all the way cheap and take a great edge

 

[jimbo1984]

Best thing you could do with them if you value your fingers.

Really if you can't figure out the locking collar then that's natrual selection at its best ....

 

[Claret_Dabbler]

A folding knife that doesn't lock is just dangerous in my view for anything other than very light tasks - opening a parcel or sharpening a pencil for eg.

I live on a farm, I always have a good reason for having a locking knife in my pocket.

 

[JTO]

A local traveler was told, by a police officer, that an Opinel was ok because the locking collar was manual.

 

[JTO]

Great little knives

And if you want the locking model: C.K Classic C9038L Locking Lambfoot Pocket Knife: Amazon.co.uk: DIY Tools

 

[Klenchblaize]

Really if you can't figure out the locking collar then that's natrual selection at its best ....

That's both harsh and less than fully honest in recognising the challenges of blade retention in the horizontal plane. Note I do not say locking.

Having used a number Opinels back in the day I found that under regular and intense use the blade retention ring would often loosen. Further, I recall several that after a while the ring could be rotated past the high spot.

I don't see them as a lock knife but assume the Home Office does.

K

 

[caorach]

Thank you to everyone for the ideas and suggestions. I'm passing them on. Like I say this wasn't for me so the decision will be made by someone else but lots of good ideas here.

 

[bigyin]

Try "blades and bows " nick has a massive selection and is real decent bloke ,hell have something decent for well under your budget

 

[jimbo1984]

That's both harsh and less than fully honest in recognising the challenges of blade retention in the horizontal plane. Note I do not say locking.

Having used a number Opinels back in the day I found that under regular and intense use the blade retention ring would often loosen. Further, I recall several that after a while the ring could be rotated past the high spot.

I don't see them as a lock knife but assume the Home Office does.

K

I see your point sir however I've been using them for over 20 years now and I agree that sometimes the locking ring can loosen but if you keep an eye on it then you should have now problem I've used one to gut and " leg " well over a hundred rabbits in a day wothout proble plus lots of grallochs over the years without issue .....

 

[private fraser]

Opinal, great steel. You can sharpen them on a brick,aduse them , loose them. Dosent matter they are cheap. best value for money folder there has ever been.
Tusker.

Best thing you could do with them if you value your fingers.

Really if you can't figure out the locking collar then that's natrual selection at its best ....

See posts #130 and #131 on this thread...

Need to replace a lost knife: any experience of Puma? - Page 13

 

[willie_gunn]

A local traveler was told, by a police officer, that an Opinel was ok because the manual locking collar was manual.

Sadly that's not exactly definitive case law.

For the avoidance of doubt, here's what the Governments own website (Buying and carrying knives: the law - GOV.UK) says on folders:

Lock knives (knives with blades that can be locked when unfolded) are not folding knives, and are illegal to carry in public without good reason.

Nothing in there about the locking mechanism being automatic or manual.

Case law does exist (DPP vs Harris, 1993), however, defining a lock knife as any knife that has a mechanism that prevents folding. A folding pocket knife, by contrast, must be readily and easily foldable at all times, simply by the folding process.

An Opinel with a rotating collar clearly does not fall under this latter definition.

 

[Pedro]

The OP, I think is after a recommendation for a do-it-all tool in the knife department, having read his first post. He mentions Swiss Army knives, which would be a good choice. If this is the way he's thinking, then perhaps a Leatherman is the way to go. Or perhaps a good quality similar effort.

No small choice of knives with the often used necessary ability to be able to remove stones from horses hooves!

 

[User00001]

I've had a couple over the years but never really seen the appeal of Opinels. The folding element is either too stiff or too loose, same for the locking ring until it gets a bit of detritus in it then it seizes altogether. Obviously someone must like them as they have been around for a day or two.

In addition to stalking knives, I have a Leatherman Wave on my belt virtually all the time and, when this isn't appropriate, a Victorinox Huntsman in my pocket. Technically I suppose the Leatherman is a locking knife but, with a bit of common sense applied, I can't imagine there ever being a problem.

The only time I've ever had an issue with having a knife in public was on a visit to the Natural History Museum when my SAK was picked up by a metal detector. It was no drama, the security guard simply pointed me to a bank of tiny little lockers and asked me to leave it there and collect it on the way out.

 

[private fraser]

I wonder what happens to all those lovely little Swiss Army knives you see in the perspex case at airport security check in.

 

[AN DU RU FOX]

try the carbon peasant knives can be customised easily, comes with high viz scales and razor sharp ,price around 14-50 posted willie gunn got me onto those,simple does what its supposed to,

 

[sauer]

+ 1
On the peasant carbon knife
Plus if requiring it to be UK carry legal ((EDC))
Then they do the peasant mini which complies , can also buy a sheath seperatley but still
Cheap
Love mine

Paul

 

[willie_gunn]

I wonder what happens to all those lovely little Swiss Army knives you see in the perspex case at airport security check in.

I don't know, but as someone who travels through Heathrow on a weekly basis I do know that the knives in the perspex case change as the weeks go by!

By way of contrast, this is what's in the perspex case in Helsinki airport:

Can you imagine a perspex case at a UK airport showcasing the finest Sheffield cutlery?