When choosing a folding knife for everyday carry, each of us favors a mid-size Benchmade -- me a 556 Mini Griptilian, she a 585 Mini Barrage. Both are solid, relatively affordable and American-made. In terms of quality, utility and durability, neither gives ground to knives costing two or three times more.
My wife prefers the Mini Barrage's spring-assist -- convenient, sure, but in her male-dominated workplace, every time she snaps the 585 to open a box or cut a wire, she gains a smidgen of cred.
I'm content with my less-flashy (yet easily flickable) Mini Griptilian.
The missus and I also differ on how (and how often) we maintain our knives. I strop mine on a pant leg after each use and on a leather belt at the end of each day. She, ignoring my example, tends to work hers until it's hopelessly dull.
This morning I found her Mini Barrage on her dresser, the blade gummed-up with packing-tape residue, unable to even draw-cut paper. I could've taken advantage of Benchmade's LifeSharp℠ warranty service, but instead I spent an hour with sandpaper, stropping compound and bare leather, coaxing the edge back to respectability.
When I presented the result to my wife, she got a stern (but kind-hearted) lecture -- and I got a hug.
