James6591

Ok, the topic is subjective and the opinions may be many and varied, but,
What brand/make do you consider to be the Rolls Royce of Knives?

Rugerismisticness

Microtech I guess, but it doesn't quite seem fitting. The Benchmade osborne series is my favorite quality wise.

GPman

For a fixed blade, I consider Randall to be best of breed.

Hairtrigger

The Microtech is a very cool auto knife.
For a fixed blade... there ate tons of custom knife makers that make HIGH quality knives
Here is a fine example
MWT Custom Knives
Mike Miller is another personal favorite

okami515

for fixed blades, non custom, would have to say randall, hands down. for folder I am partial to spydercos but not sure I would call them the best, but they are way toward the top. Not sure who the top would be.

BearcatShack

I'm in a lower price range of vehicles and knives. For me, Buck is a consistently well made knife for the money.

ncspeedsix

I would go with Emerson knives as the best in class non-custom folder that I've ever used.

Tracer

I have a lot of knives but my main knives are made from very good carbon steel, such as files etc. These hold an edge for me much longer, are easy to sharpen and I don't mind the fact that they will rust, so will stainless.

There are far to many good knife makers out there and picking just one for the top spot is a matter of personal appeal only. They all make good products.

four70nitro

Speaking as a knifemaker I'd have to say the absolute most important aspect of a good knife is proper heat-treatment for the steel used. You can take a simple, inexpensive piece of steel and make a truly great knife out of it with proper heat treatment. You can take an exotic, expensive piece of steel and make a real piece of garbage out of it - if not proper heat treated.

Design and style, as with beauty, are in the eyes of the beholder. If you like the design and the form and function fit your purpose and it has received proper heat treatment then it is a good knife. I see a lot of clunky, graceless knives that have become quite popular, does that make them a great knife? Not for me, but for those that like them they can be a great knife.

Fit, finish, style, blade material, handle material, size, balance, weight all play into the equation. The beauty of buying custom made knife is you can have input in all these areas and more. It'll cost you more than a mass produced knife, but almost anything hand-made will.

As to the discussion of carbon steel vs. stainless steel it is completely up to the user and maker as to what is acceptable. For example O-1 is a good carbon steel, forges well and can make a very serviceable knife but the dang stuff will rust every time it thunders. Stainless steel is much more resistant to corrosion and some like the bright shiny finish you can put on it, but it is virtually impossible to do a differential heat-treatment on the stuff. The forging community won't have anything to due with stainless and the stock removal crowd won't touch carbon because it rusts. There is validity to both arguments. The truth of the matter is that if you could come up with a steel that wouldn't rust, forged well, and could be differentially heat-treated everyone would be using it.

Buy what you like, if you can't find what you want talk to a knifemaker - if he doesn't make what you want he probably knows someone that does......

gunsnknives

Outside of custom-made knives, Chris Reeves Knives pretty much fit the category of "Rolls Royce" of knives. They are hand made one at a time, very expensive (relatively), kinda hard to find, made of top quality materials, and set the standard for smoothness and lockup. Come to think of it, they are kinda semi-custom, but I think they still qualify since you can (if you catch the timing just right) find them at dealers.

I haven't had enough fixed blades to make a fair comparison, but I really like my Bark River knives. I'm not exactly sure they're what I'd call "Rolls Royce", but they're the best I've handled so far.

Of course, this will be very subjective...

Seneca

I always though the Case knife was the Cadillac of pocket knives...Rolls Royce? ya got me?...I dunno? something made by Sheffield?

bwinters

It depends on what you mean by rolls royce. If you mean the most indestructible stride or graayman come to mind if you mean the most beautiful many custom makers exist and to my eyes a damascus stell bowie with ivory or similar handle is the most beautiful.

BlkHawk73

I'd rather have practical in both vehicles and knives rather than something flashy and showy such a Rolls Royce. Same with a knife. I'd want something that was comfortable and could care less if it's glamorous, flashy, shiny or have any elegance to it. That said, I like Benchmade but am fine with Buck or even those with the replaceable blades I buy from Home Depot.

jaxrider14

There are so many upscale knife makers that it's hard to say who makes the Rolls Royce of knives. Maybe Chris Reeves Sebenza line.
Owning both knives and firearms, I just can't make myself buy a knife that costs as much as a fine firearm. The best knife in my collection is a Benchmade Adamas folder, but it's more like a Range Rover than a Rolls Royce.

Seneca

I buy mid priced knives that are practical and useful...

These days It's easy to get a quality knife at an affordable price...from numerous suppliers...If I had the Rolls Royce of knives it wouldn't get used for fear of breaking it or chipping the blade...