Advice for my pathetic collection

JupiterPaladin

JupiterPaladin

Joined
May 4, 2016
Messages
4,453
OK guys so I love knives as much as the next person, but I have a lack of quality so I'm looking for some suggestions for what I actually need and what roles to fill. I will list what I have and the purpose. Be warned, I grew up buying flea market knives mostly.

Victorinox Gardener - Single blade folder, very well worn from repeated unskilled sharpening. 70's model I got at age 4 back in 1984. Takes a razor sharp edge on just a pull-through carbide. Primarily used for wood carving most of my life, occasionally used since then. Just used to carve wood braces for a bed frame last week.

Kabar 1607 Folding Hunter - Buck 110 Inspired, assuming 420J2 stainless. Never been used, though I always thought I would. Solid knife, just never needed anything that large that wasn't handled with a fixed blade instead. Stamped Cleveland, OH on front, HONG KONG on back. I was devastated when I got it home, feeling patriotic to support what I had clearly seen as made in the USA. I was 16 at the time and it was in a display case where I couldn't handle it first, plus I'm sure I overpaid at $28 in 1993.

Mini-Buck 425 - Only marking is USA so I'm hoping that it is in fact made in the USA. It has an upside down U symbol after the 425 stamp. Any ideas what that means? Is this the 425 steel or 420HC? Never used. It was a gift from my father.

Monarch 2101 - Japanese fixed blade. 3" blade, 3" handle, small bait knife. I used it since I got it at age 6 for cutting vines, ropes, digging up wild onions, and all manner of outdoors type stuff as a kid.

Victorinox SD - I found it at a laundromat in a dryer in near mint condition!

Smith & Wesson Cuttin Horse CH0030 - My first linerlock and thumbstud for $5 at Dollar General. I had not purchased a knife in 15 years until I saw this thing for $5 and literally couldn't help buying it. The blade is 3.25" with a recurve, research saying 440C with questionable heat treat. I can honestly say I've carried it for 4 or 5 years now, and only sharpened it twice (which I suck at).

Taylor-Schrade X-Timer XTB - 4" Framelock 3" 7CR13MOV blade. I got this at a Dollar General for $4 because it said Schrade on the blade and I was just hoping for it to be decent because Kabar already taught me the real lesson. I figured it would make a nice EDC for times when the S&W felt like too much mass, but that never happened. Still never used.

Tac-Force 9" Milano Stiletto - I'm half Italian so I joked that I should have a Milano blade to match a traditional Italian sweater my mom bought me for family events. I got a Black, silver, and pearl scaled Ebay special for $4.35 shipped, just as a useful dress accessory. Possibly 440A steel, seems decent, but it is a $4 knife. Noticing a theme here guys?

Tiger MFG 7" Milano Stiletto - Scaled down version I got just to play with and possibly EDC. Advertised as 1065 carbon steel, stamped 1045, and so soft it feels like aluminum! Best edge I can give it is still useless. Only $4.00 shipped. No clue why I really bought it knowing I had the Tac-Force coming. Sad because the fit and finish are nice, blade centered, fits my hand well. Hoping to make a custom blade out of a better steel to drop into the handle maybe :)

Sanrenmu 7010 - After noticing my S&W liners rusting I took it apart to clean it up proper and lost a screw. Got replacement hardware, but in the few days until I found what I needed I figured I'd get a new budget blade. Many reviews pointed at the 710 and for $8.99 shipped I couldn't be more pleased. This is possibly my best quality knife (excluding the teeny tiny Buck 425). Is that sad or what?

Defender 8084 - 5" blade 4" handle full tang I got in the same sitting on Ebay ($4.53 shipped) as the SRM and the 2 Milanos. Yes I fully understand that for the whopping $13 spent on these 3 I could have gotten a single Ganzo that would be much better but I didn't know that at the time and figured it was just stuff to practice sharpening on a stone. No clue what steel this thing is. Some sites say "440 SS" and some just say "Stainless Steel". I did see something I think a Strider 3V that this may be a scaled down clone of. Beater knife for sure.

So what should I do with this assortment of junk?
 
I would suggest one of the following four (depending on size preferences)
Spyderco Delica or Manix 2
Benchmade Mini or Large griptilian in you preferential blade shape.

Keep your eyes peeled in the exchange for a light user for a few bucks.
I know it seems like a big chunk of change, but I definitely feel that coming from where you currently are and given the amount of knives that you own, you will appreciate a user that is a bit higher up the totem pole.

Welcome aboard, keep the ones with sentimental value in a cigar box and use the rest as practice for sharpening.
 
Use those to learn to sharpen, then buy a Case Sodbuster, it's not much more than the cost of what you've been buying, it's nearly indestructable, it'll teach you not to rely on a lock to protect your fingers, and it will be effective for pretty much anything you could do with a knife. Then, if you want, look for a modern folder that you like. The sodbuster will be your "base" of what a knife is- simple, easy and gets the job done. The modern folder is going to be what you prefer to carry, as in what you think looks good, and it'll allow you to look into the vast options available knowing that no matter what, you've got the sodbuster to fall back on!
 
Are you seeking better quality knives? Is that what your asking?
 
socalknifecollector said:
Are you seeking better quality knives? Is that what your asking?
Click to expand...

Basically yes. Not much of a budget hence the recent SRM 7010 purchase. With the latest lot, and a few misc items, I think I've spent a grand total of $35 on knives in the last decade. I fully get that none of them are that great. All of the older ones are going to be kept for sentimental reasons with the exception of the Kabar, SRM, S&W, Schrade, and the 3 Ebay junkers. The S&W and SRM are my current EDC blades actually. They both serve me well, but I know I want something better. My real problem is being cheap, not by choice but by circumstance. I also look at something like a Ganzo G727 knife at under $20 and find it hard to top the durability / edge retention for anywhere near the price. Birdshot IV on YouTube did a 3 part comparison vs the Ontario Rat 1 in AUS8 about edge retention. Interesting videos! For a higher quality knife I'm loving the looks of the Endura, just don't have the budget yet. I'm just getting into all the details here so you'll all have to be patient with me. I've always been a knife nut, but never had a super quality knife to compare to. I had a really nice Kabar lockback with a 3" blade that I EDC'd for a decade until it got lost in a snowbank :( After that I had a Steel Warrior pocket lockback with Solingen 440C which was really nice but my wife has it now.

On the sharpening, I hadn't considered until now, but are the 1045 and random Chinese mystery stainless even worthwhile to practice on? The fixed blade in particular seems to not want to take a clean edge, it's OK, but just seems like an excessive amount of time investment for the assumed steel grade. Just random thoughts.
 
I would beat the hell out of those and buy some quality pieces you like and beat the hell out of them too. Life's too short to baby tools that beg to be used.
 
OP, the Ontario Utilitac II is the one I nearly always recommend in the price range I think we are talking about here. I prefer it to the Rat I.

12467868024_1143d0dbb1_h.jpg


When your budget increases, the American Lawman from Cold Steel is sweet. When your budget increases again, I highly recommend a Benchmade H&K 14715 (Axis lock, D2 steel, G10, made in USA). That is a badass knife and the best deal in folders at this time in my opinion.

Good luck in your search :thumbup:
 
JupiterPaladin said:
Basically yes. Not much of a budget hence the recent SRM 7010 purchase. With the latest lot, and a few misc items, I think I've spent a grand total of $35 on knives in the last decade. I fully get that none of them are that great. All of the older ones are going to be kept for sentimental reasons with the exception of the Kabar, SRM, S&W, Schrade, and the 3 Ebay junkers. The S&W and SRM are my current EDC blades actually. They both serve me well, but I know I want something better..
Click to expand...

For <$20, you can't get anything better than what S&W, Schrade and SRM can offer. They can put knives that cost almost 3x as much to shame. If you want something better after having gotten used to S&W, Schrade and SRM, you need to go much higher; think Spyderco or Benchmade or Cold Steel "higher" IMO. And seriously, there is nothing 'junk' about S&W and Schrade knives unlike what many others in here would like to claim. Use them proudly.

For the record, I am a huge SRM collector (some people here will remember a topic i created a few weeks back) and have literally a carton of SRM knives sitting in my storeroom at home. The only thing that turns me off SRM is that they are huge proponents of the "release many, release often" business practice. It's really common to see a new design or model pop up after a few months while another gets discontinued without any warning, which results in me making bulk purchases everytime I see a design I like in fear that it may be given the axe anytime.

Because of this, I have shifted to S&W and Schrade again; for the most part, Taylor only releases new models and designs at the start of every year and they keep their catalog consistent for the rest of said year, which makes it easier (and much more wallet-friendly!) to amass a collection. For example, I think there were only two new designs released for S&W this year, with each design receiving three different model numbers based on their color. Schrade only received about six (i think) new designs this year as well, of which at least three were just minor variations over some of their existing ones.
 
What you need is:

1) to understand and collect what you like....if you dont know what that is, we cant tell you;

2) to realize that inexpensive does not mean cheap. You have some quality knives (the Vics), and there are a ton of other quality low-budget knives (Vics, Opinels, Mercators, etc etc etc)

3) to read up, find out what they are, and stop buying inexpensive crap knives.
 
Etna said:
For <$20, you can't get anything better than what S&W, Schrade and SRM can offer.
Click to expand...

I will take an opinel over those listed above.

All below to be found easily below $20.
Cold Steel mini tuff lite
Kershaw oso sweet
Ka-Bar adventure piggyback
Kershaw Emerson cqc-2k & 3k
Kershaw Nuro 3.0
Svord peasant
A Higo no kami
And more...

Open the range up to $25 and you have the Utilitac 2 and the Kershaw Emerson 4k as well as plenty others.

Don't pin yourself down to a few brands. There are a bunch of brands out there, see what you like and expand upon that point towards a higher end as money and passion permit.
-------
With all of that said, I think you need an opinel. Their stainless is of a good quality, and won't leave you wanting for their carbon steel.
It is Very light
The handle can be modded to fit you perfectly
They take a Fantastic edge
Most are under $15
 
We all started with not so good knives. We all learned. Don't be so hard on yourself. You can give them away, of like someone suggested, if you are interested, use them to learn how to sharpen. Or you can can try to trade them, or sell them. Now, you can move up to something better.

And there is nothing wrong with Victorinox's, by the way.

Perhaps you could venture into some Spyderco's, Benchmade, Kershaw's, ZT's.....
 
Hey Jupiter. My names Springy. I want you to email me your address. I've got something for you. But firstly, I just want to say whatever your budget, the fact you love knives is awesome. Don't think your collection is pathetic. I don't. Circumstances can be great or they can suck. And they can lie anywhere in between. You've made the most out of what you can afford and that garners respect from me..

Now, recently I was done right by someone in a manner that I was not expecting and it truly humbled me. And the only thing they asked was for me to pay it forward. I want to pay it forward. I want to give you my Spyderco Endura in VG10 and my Becker BK14 which is made of 1095cv. Below is a picture:

20160525_003108_zpsxawxj8oc.jpg


They have both been used but only for basic carving of some sticks and $#!+ when I have been camping. The Endura has a stock edge and has zero play in the pivot and the Becker has a hand ground convex and whilst not shaving sharp it is still very usable. I've put an Aboriginal styled motif in a patina made from Japanese mayonnaise (believe it or not) and attached some 550 as a small lanyard. There is a very small amount of minor surface rust but I will attempt to get rid of this and properly convex the edge before I send it to you. The 14 will also have the sheath with it. I just need your address. I'll cover the postage from Australia to Ohio and any other stuff that goes with it. My email address is:

spoonman319@gmail.com

Don't sell any of your collection. Keep them. They're your knives. Not anyone else's. And so will these be.

All the best brother. Look forward to hearing from you..

Springy..
 
The biggest difference in my knife buying habit now from when I started is, instead of buying 4 or 5 low to mid priced items, I buy one high quality knife. It's quality over quantity. Also, I stopped buying safe queens. Every knife I get is intended to be used.

One thing I need to do is either sell off or gift the excess items in my collection. I haven't reached that step in my knifaholics 12 step program. ;)
 
You mentioned in your post that a few were well used, so you're not really missing anything.

If you want to step up to higher quality knives, there's plenty of choices and you'll get a ton of recommendations.
Fortunately there's plenty of high quality knives available today that don't cost a fortune.

The last low cost knives i bought that were nicely made, was one of the Kershaw Emerson colabs. ($25) and a few Ganzo folders , under $25 ea.

BTW, I collect stiletto knives, my grandparents were Sicilian, so it must be in my blood.
I've been buying cheap (and not so cheap) stilettos since the early 1970's .
I have the larger Milano knife you mentioned....
 
If you want quality blades.
Stop buying Flea Market knives.

And buy in the For Sale section.
I find great deals.
 
At least you came to the right place pal. Newb myself here and sought advice from guys who know steels, makes, and models and referred me to what was quality for a decent price. Like some have said often quality can be had without spending a fortune. Not able to spend a lot myself but I feel the most important thing is to have "quality" even if you have a meager collection like myself.
 
Take it slow. Decide what size of knife seems to fit your carry or use preference and focus on a limited overall size range. If you feel your knives are mostly junk, I would simply start looking at the bigger "name" brands and perhaps set a minimum dollar amount to push the quality up a bit. Knives are a journey, so journey-on. I like Spyderco knives and feel if you think you like them, I'd focus on that brand and pick up a few over time to expand your experience base and skip such brands as Taylor, Schrade, Smith & Wesson, Frost, and so forth.
 
Wow I didn't expect such a large response. I will list quick responses first.

Jazub - The Utilitac II looks like a sweet knife to consider. Is it hard to sharpen a blade with the recurve in it?

Etna - My CH0030 was also discontinued. I found out when I tried to get one for my brother as a gift :(

Marcinek, JDP1998, Uxo2 - I have only bought the few cheap knives recently. Before that I purchased 3 Kabar folders, the 1607, one I lost, and one as a gift for my dad which he still carries daily. I will make use of the Exchange now that I know it exists :)

NJBilk - Not particular to any brand, those just happened to be what caught my eye.

TKC - I absolutely love my Victorinox blades. The SD is just too small for a lot of jobs and the gardener is heavily worn and sentimental so I'm retiring it from daily use.

Dsmegst, 22-rimfire - I don't normally go for quantity except the last purchase. I usually would buy a single knife only when it had a purpose.

Redcanoe - Thanks! I should be able to find steel grade and if it was really made in the USA :)

Abbazaba - I like how they look and I handled a cheap knockoff but it fit pretty well I think.

BeeKayNutCase - I will gladly E-mail you if you are absolutely sure about your offer! I don't think I've ever been offered anything quite so nice, and for that I appreciate. I would proudly EDC that Spyderco! It's even the color I would have chosen. After losing an expensive Kabar folder I've been more inclined to go with colors easy to spot!
 
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