A stuped question. Dont eat me alive.

Steelhog

Steelhog

Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
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I have been trying to shy away from production companies like spyderco and benchmade lately and looking more at custom and individual makers at this and other forms for future purchases. I would much rather give my money to a single individual rather than a company. The only problem is finding a folding knife. I have found many very nice fixed blades in the 150 to 250 dollar (sweet spot) but no locking folders. I'm not trying to low ball by any means and I know why they cost what they do. But is there any makers that make a locking folder at near production prices. I will pay the 300 to 400 dollar price if needed but would never use it. I just didn't know what the average price for a locking folder would be. I hope this doesn't offend anyone I fully appreciate the hard work and beauty of the knives being made. But didn't know if there were rookie makers selling a less refined folder that I didn't know about.
 
Ommnomnomnom

A perfectly good question for sure. Folders have a lot more little pieces that need to be fit together, so there tends to be more work and/or time involved. This isn't to say that fixed blade makers don't require just as much skill to create a fantastic blade. It's just a different process. A nice place to start is to go over the knife maker's section (http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=741) and ask to see if anyone can make a folder that could work with your budget. I'm sure they can point you in the right direction if no one there can do it.
 
We have some makers here that are in your price range and make some really nice knives. Can't remember the name off hand but he makes a knife that looks like a EKI CQC-8 with carbon fiber handles and S30V. Check out the knife makers for sale section I'm sure you will find it.
 
Will Zermano makes nice Frame Locks in a very reasonable range. He is a member here
 
Check out Mykulmorris, a maker/member here on BFs. I'm not sure if his prices have gone up, but he makes a decent Ti frame-lock with 440C steel for around $200 or so.

I'm sure there are others & I agree with the previous poster that you should check out the makers section.
 
pat crawford makes some good stuff for $400 and up up up, most folders start around $550 or so though imho, the ones i tend to like anyway, and of course go up up up from there lol.

one plus to customs is if ya take care of the things ya can send them in and for a small fee get them refurbished to 100% condition and usually get your money back out of them, even make some every now and again, as long as ya get it at a decent price, which is why i edc my emerson CQC13 custom and even use it some.
 
There's a number of sellers on e-bay in that price range that make locking folders with gorgeous materials. Most of them are from thailand.

Although they're not built to tolerances that you'd expect on a $400 custom, they're quite nice for the price.
 
Ive seen a few custom slipjoints go for around 250 or so. generally you will be paying around 300 for a custom folder. They take much more time to make than fixed blades as they require much more tweaking and such to make sure the lock fits etc. It is worth the cost though. Take a look at Yuna knives. He has a couple smaller folders that are really neat (eq2). It was my first custom folder and I am very happy with it:

IMG_7426.jpg


IMG_7428.jpg
 
Your best bet for what you're looking for might be a maker in your area just getting started.
I've picked up some nice hand-mades this way for $150 to $250.
 
TaTaToothy said:
The Burger website seems to be down - is there anywhere else to buy their knives?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately not now no. Trevor mentioned he wants to contact knifeart.com as they use to have Burger knives long ago and revisit that arrangement in order to get his knives more available in the USA. He said he is going to do a lot of maintenance on his site as he feels it is not where he wants to be with it. It is 8pm here so I guess he decided to do it now rather then later. If you want the email, if you have any inquiries for Trevor until the site is up again, send me a PM and I will email it to you. I cant PM you with the details, no link and many spammers love if a email pops up on forums.
 
if you search ebay for customs, you can sometimes find some real bargains. you can also look in the exchange section of this forums,also a great way to buy customs at a lower price....
 
Wow I must say Mr Sangster you are a very talented man. I think your selection and prices are amazing. I believe I will be sending you a PM soon.
 
Thanks , steelhog , for the compliments & for looking ! IF you will let me know what style & materials you prefer, I might have other folders I can show which are not on my website or I can build to your specs. If a knife is purchased , it can be returned for refund if not satisfied. (unless , of cource , it has been abused ). I look forward to hearing from you .

Joe Sangster
 
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