$7 Edc?

[UnknownVT]

Once in awhile I see something that looks just right for a particular purpose.

This is very rare for an EDC knife - especially for my away from Home EDC -
but it happened ........

I was in my local Dick's Sporting Goods looking at their Wenger SAKs when my eye caught sight of this Mountain Quest Lightweight Liner Lock - it looked neat and compact and very handy

- the price marked was $6.99 .... can't be any good......

A few days passed and I thought more about this knife and felt it would be a very good supplement to my normal away from home EDC SAK model that I have been carrying for over 17 years - not to replace it but to have something quick and handy.
Being an off my property EDC it has to be non-threatening and with no questions about its legality - that's why I EDC a SAK.
eg: I love that Kershaw Leek but will only EDC it at home -
(yes, I do know very well the assisted-opening of the Leek is legal in most states - but it still acts and looks like an auto - I know I can show it's legal -
but I can do without any hassle of being detained, knife confiscated and having to prove my innocence - that's just me YMMV).

So I went back to Dick's Sporting Goods and asked to see the knife and and actually thought that the blade was good - as the hollow grind - did not thicken (too much) toward the edge - a cheap knife that gets the hollow grind right? It also claimed to be 440 steel (probably only 440A - anodized aluminum scales and even "hand honed". So I bought it for that princely sum of $6.99 .........

So is it any good?

It's real neat -

Size comparison with a regular 91mm Victorinox SAK -

It has very slim/thin scales and the lockup was real positive -

The blade stock looks just under 1/8" which is pretty thick for such a small bladed knife.

Even though the anodized aluminum scales are slim/thin - they are rigid and there is no flex.

There is only a liner on one side for the lock - looks thin but the lockup is positive albeit almost all the way across. The spring of the liner is strong so that when closed the ball-bearing detent is very positive and there is very little chance this knife will open accidentally - I really tried to shake/snap it out and could not do it at all.

Sharp?

Well my first few cuts were when I got the knife and straight out of the packaging - hmmmm.... it's kind of sharp but not really that sharp, a bit disappointing after my thoughts about the hollow grind.

OK get home quick touch up on V-hone crock-sticks and strop on cardboard and test cut paper - it would cut, but not that well......
Hmmmm.... what's wrong - bad steel?
(er.... I was being facetious - even mild steel can be sharpened to slice paper)

Examined the edge under a 30x illuminated microscope - and there it was - one of the edge bevel was too obtuse so that the V-hone crock-sticks were only honing the shoulder between the face and actual edge........ no wonder I thought I felt a mild burr on the edge after honing on the crock sticks - it was honing the actual cutting edge on one side only.

Blade - pre-sharpening - side with the obtuse bevel

This forced me to sharpen the knife - and since I was going to use my "stones" I might as well convex the edge - using fine grit diamond stone this took less than an hour to recut in a bevel and make it convex on one side and convex the other (already correct) bevel. Graduate to hard Arkansas (white) stone, and finish by stropping on cardboard -

Blade post-sharpening with semi-convexed edge -

and man does it now zip through paper - it will cut through cardboard on my ad-hoc test about as well as a regular Victorinox SAK (un-convexed) - considering the substantially thicker blade stock - this is actually a good performance - the convexing was easier because the hollow grind did not thicken too much toward the edge.

This $7 knife makes a handy little EDC to supplement my SAK - something that allows me to quickly extract the knife, cut and put it away - even if people notice it - it's not exactly intimidating......

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/

 

[kozak6]

Well, I';m glad you like it.

I'm curious to see how well it will stand up after a month, though.

 

[Laceration]

Actually, the packaging say 400 series steel so it's probably 420J2.

 

[UnknownVT]

Actually, the packaging say 400 series steel so it's probably 420J2.

Oooops - sorry - thanks for that catch -
(mutters: got to clean my glasses...)

Well, I';m glad you like it.
I'm curious to see how well it will stand up after a month, though.

I obviously had serious doubts about such a cheap knife too - that's why it took me a few days before even considering parting with a mere 7 bucks.....

However everything still looks good ...... so far.....

I honestly can't fault it -
other than the cheap price (and that's a complaint? )

I liked the design and size - enough that I was willing to pay for it -
fortunately it was only $6.99 and from a local store where I could return it if needs be -

but I do like it so far - and once I corrected the bevel and made them convex - the knife cuts really well - as well as can be expected, and probably would surprise some.

Of course I am not claiming for a moment (or have any expectations of) this being the "best" -
afterall it's a $7 knife -
but it seems to be a lot more than that suggests...

I'll see in a month too.

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/

 

[W.T. Beck]

Another 400 series steel is 416. It is used for stainless gun barrels. It isn't supposed to be suitable for making knives, though.

 

[UnknownVT]

Another 400 series steel is 416. It is used for stainless gun barrels. It isn't supposed to be suitable for making knives, though.

Boy! you guys are really making me feel stoopid -
for just thinking this might not automatically be rubbish

 

[Cliff Stamp]

You can go fairly far with pretty low end knives if you adjust the edge profiles optimally. I have reworked a bunch of really cheap flea market knives and you have to do quite a lot of work with them on something like hemp before they will be outcut by "better" knives with much thicker edges.

The real drawbacks are seen when you try to cut abrasive media, I had one over to a friends house when he was putting in carpet and I cut up a bunch of it for ease of removal and it actually wore a notch right into the blade.

-Cliff

 

[Gryffin]

There is only a liner on one side for the lock - looks thin but the lockup is positive albeit almost all the way across.

That's gonna turn out to be a real problem some day. Soft blade, (probably) soft liner... and it looks like just a little more wear and the liner will jump the blade tang.

At best, that means it'll jam and be difficult to unlock, and probably develop major blade play; at worst, the liner will slip between the blade tang and far-side liner, and allow the blade to close.

 

[UnknownVT]

That's gonna turn out to be a real problem some day. Soft blade, (probably) soft liner... and it looks like just a little more wear and the liner will jump the blade tang.

At best, that means it'll jam and be difficult to unlock, and probably develop major blade play; at worst, the liner will slip between the blade tang and far-side liner, and allow the blade to close.

Thanks for the warning -
I will keep an eye on that -

That liner is probably about 7/8 across the tang - looking at it more carefully - it would seem that the very prominent ball-bearing detent may actually prevent the liner from going too far and between the tang and far side scale.

The steel is probably only 420J2 - during my sharpening/reprofiling, I did see the edge bent/wrap over when I used the V-hone - so the steel is soft - but further work on the profiling thinning the convex eliminated that.

I do like the design, size and form-factor - with the re-sharpening/profiling I think it cuts great - being small it's only meant for light duty, quick cutting -
but I wouldn't want an unreliable knife either.......

As already mentioned only time will tell,
and I certainly will tell if something negative happens.

But please do continue to suggest other possible weaknesses/negatives -
as I would much prefer to be warned -
and would appreciate it.

Thanks


--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/

 

[Bob W]

Any side-to-side blade play?

And where is the knife made? I assume China?

Thanks for the review,
-Bob

 

[UnknownVT]

Any side-to-side blade play?
And where is the knife made? I assume China?

No side-to-side play, nor any vertical play - the lock-up is solid - albeit a bit more across the tang than I'd like - as pointed out above.

The knife is indeed made in China.

The negatives so far are - most probably soft steel - probably 420J2 - but it does sharpen up well - survives ad-hoc cutting of cardboard without showing flats.

The liner lock goes too far over which may cause problems when the knife wears - however I think there's very little danger of the liner slipping between the blade tang and the opposite scale, as the ball-bearing detent (very prominent) would prevent it.

I'm sure the thin'ish liner would fail if really stessed - but I only bought this for a light duty knife - and will very much bear in mind its limitations when using it.

Fore-knowledge is being fore-armed -
I am gratful for the input - even if it is negative - and even if it seems that I should be resentful -

I'd much rather be warned than have the knife fail on me when I really need it.

However I would like to get over that inexpensive does not always = poor quality -
as Victorinox SAKs and Opinels can be found at or below the $7 mark........

Having said that - this does not preclude the $6.99 Mountain Quest from still being rubbish -
it's just so far it seems OK -
OK, better than just OK -
I'm still pretty impressed even given the negatives and limitations.

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/

 

[UnknownVT]

Not quite 2 weeks and this might be a case of "I told you so" -
and I may have to eat crow.......

I noticed the pocket clip on the knife seemed a bit less springy - and wondered if the clip had lost some of its spring - but a bit more examination revealed that the lower retaining screw seemed to be loose.

Got out the torx driver and T-6 fitted - but the screw did not seem to want to tighten.......

Basically came down to the threaded hole in the aluminum had stripped -

I'm pretty sure the knife did not come with a loose clip - otherwise I would have noticed - and this has happened just from the "rigors" of carrying the knife clipped to my back pocket.

So it could be the aluminum scales are too thin for enough thread; alumimum is too soft for retaining threads; or the threads were crossed when the screw was installed - which resulted in the stripping.

I am obviously disappointed - this is not where I would have expected the knife to fail.

I am probably going to exchange for another sample ......

and have to go through reprofiling and sharpening the blade again , and see if the replacement unit lasts any better.

As I've said I like the handy design, size etc. -
but if the quality is an issue then even at less than $7 it's not worth it......

I'll report back if I managed to exchange for another.

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/

 

[Cliff Stamp]

On lower end items QC is often a concern, it could be simply when it was set initially the threads were forced.

-Cliff

 

[the possum]

I might be tempted to just disassemble the knife, and rivet the clip in place. Heck, you could probably even just use the origional screw as a rivet and whack it a few times with a hammer.

'Course, I'd probably be more apt to throw it in the trash or give it away than exchange it or do the above...

 

[UnknownVT]

'Course, I'd probably be more apt to throw it in the trash or give it away than exchange it or do the above...

Why trash it, when I can so easily get a refund?

That's why I only bought it (after procrastinating) from a local store with repute.......

Of course if throwing money away is your thing -
who am I to....

.....give away a knife with unacceptable quality?
to an enemy ?

However I am still willing to exchange it, just to see if another sample is any better -
I could well be wasting more time -
but hey, it keeps me off the streets, and gives me something to write about -
and more opportunity for slings and arrows?

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/

 

[Cliff Stamp]

If there is an address on the package you could also write them a little describing the problem including a picture and a pointer to this thread. It would be interesting to see what responce if any would follow.

-Cliff

 

[DaveH]

One issue to consider is how much of your time did it cost to re profile and return the knife? If you pay youself $10 an hour, say, then the real cost of the knife is $27.

Is the knife really worth $27? If not you're better off just tossing it and forgetting about it if there is a problem.

One big Caveat is if you enjoy tinkering, then it's doing something you enjoy so costs don't much matter.

 

[UnknownVT]

One issue to consider is how much of your time did it cost to re profile and return the knife? If you pay youself $10 an hour, say, then the real cost of the knife is $27.

Is the knife really worth $27? If not you're better off just tossing it and forgetting about it if there is a problem.

Ha-ha! Knife Knut logic and economics

Well I have to confess to having knives in the hundreds of $$$'s that don't get any real use......

My most used knives are my EDC(s) and kitchen knives that just did not cost that much.........

Can I justify my spending? .....

No.

Can I justify the use of my time?

to whom do I have to justify myself?

Would anyone else like to account for their time and spending ?

For example this post probably cost several minutes which = $$$'s ?

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/

 

[db]

I think when it comes right down to it for a user edc knife what it is made from just isn't that important. How well it fits your hand, needs, and comfort in useing and carrying, even how it looks, is a bigger factor than most will admit. If this knife does it for ya by all means give it a second chance.

 

[Confederate]

One cheap knife I've liked is the M-Tech 005B. I bought a couple of boxes of them to use and throw away and this was months ago. I'm still on my first knife! It won't handle carpet cutting, but does a fine job on cardboard, paper, plasticwrap, shrinkwrap and so forth. (Jobs most people use knives for.) When the blade needs sharpening, it sharpens well. You won't see photos of it spread across two pages, but it'll do for an inexpensive, nice looking and functional knife.

Confed