Cpm-s30v model is great value - Gerber USAssist Folding Knife

There isn't much to fault this knife for. First off, this knife is a great value. Currently less than $80 for a made in the USA, quality S30V blade knife with G10 scales. I payed $160 for a Benchmade of similar size, same blade material, etc. The trade off is that the USAssist is not nearly finished as nicely as a Benchmade, nor is the lock-up as 100% flawless; however, it is plenty good and at half the price it is a great choice for a user knife you don't mind beating on while the prettier knives collect pocket lint.

With the ball bearing system and assisted open, this knife will fly open to the locked position without fail every single time. While not as buttery smooth as an axis-lock, it has always locked open, while the axis-lock knives sometime require a second flick if I flub the first one.

I was coming from the Gerber Bear Grylls assisted opening knife, which was cheap, but I loved the ergos of the plung-lock system. I bought 4 of them and keep one in the truck, one on the boat, one in my pocket and one in the house. However, after a few years, I was frustrated by the edge retention of the chinesium steel on the Bear Grylls AO. When I saw the USAssist with S30V steel I had to give it a shot. The steel on this USAssist is light-years ahead of the chinesium steel on the budget-minded BGAO. The only thing to keep in mind is that it holds an edge much longer at the expense of some sharpenability. I just maintain the edge with a few passes on a ceramic honing rod and I can keep it hair-shaving sharp.

I recently had to repair an electric hose fence, and the USAssist had no issues cutting through the metallic strands in the fence lines. The edge had no damage and was still sharp.

Not this knife, but my comparison between 420HC and S30V steel is in a couple of Buck knives I used to skin and butcher a couple of deer this season. The S30V holds up at least twice as long as the 420HC as far as edge retention goes. In a folding knife situation, I would take the edge retention of the S30V over 420HC any time. Just don't use the S30V as a screw driver, or you might chip it.

If you're looking at a USAssist, I can't recommend strongly enough to get the S30V version. The edge retention is worth the small increase in price!

One comment on the assisted opening aspect for those used to non-assist knives: I can still one-hand close this knife, it just cannot be closed with a simple wrist flip. Either, press the plunger and use your waist or thigh on the spine of the blade to press it closed; OR, press the plunge lock and let gravity and the ball bearings drop the blade out of the lock position and fall until it hits the AO spring, then just use your thumb to pull down on the thumbstud to close the knife. Easy!