Age Old Question: A lot of Cheapies or a Few Expensives Ones?

anthony cheeseboro

anthony cheeseboro

Joined
Aug 8, 1999
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I have become a great fan of Chinese Kershaws, and I love their Hinderer designs, but I also want a ZT561 or Spyderco Southard, what should I do?
 
Really?

You been here over a decade, 50+ transactions in the FS section......you feelin ok?

EDIT: For the record, buy what makes you happy. However, if you havent learned by now....cheap knife luster will fade fast.
Buy quality. Buy once, cry once.

That being said, I have about 1000 cheap knives lol....also I find it easier to abuse a $20 knife as opposed to a $300 knife. However, I EDC a BM 710 in M390.


YMMV
 
While I like value knives, I would say that a few really great knives(more expensive) are better than a whole bunch of decent knives(cheaper).
While it's nice to have a lot of knives, it feels even better to just pick up one of your really nice great knives to carry and be in awe of it every time.

I don't have a huge collection but the most of them are $100+ and I love and enjoy them more than I do my cheaper knives. The steel, materials, fit and finish, etc, are so worth it to me.
 
Been here a while, as well. Haven't spent less than $100 on a knife, for quite a while. I did buy a tiny Higonokami last week just because it's cool.

I've found that the "cheap" knives don't really do much for me for the most part, but I do have to say that A. G. Russell's Chinese-made knives don't fall into that category yet. Some of them aren't that cheap, either, but they exude the quality of a much more expensive knife.

Go ahead and get the Southard (that would be my choice) and if you don't like it, send it to me.:D
 
Don't buy price, buy VALUE. What do you get for your money is important, expensive not always=better.
There are a lot of good quality knives for decent money, nothing wrong with buying a Kershaw Cryo for example
 
You could do a lot worse than a Cryo. I vote expensive, but I just bought a Mcusta (kinda cheap looking and high quality at the same time) so what do I know?

C_Becker said:
Don't buy price, buy VALUE. What do you get for your money is important, expensive not always=better.
There are a lot of good quality knives for decent money, nothing wrong with buying a Kershaw Cryo for example
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I have been here for almost fourteen years, and the only thing I know for sure is that for me, knives are like potato chips: I can't have just one! I honestly love cheap and expensive knives, but my kids have eaten up my knife budget over the last six or seven years. I do think that I really want a few titanium frame locks, especially flippers. I love the way the 561 can fly out of the handle, and the Southard feels like a genuine custom. I also would not mind a small Bradley or a Spyderco Sage 3.
 
I think you get more of your money back if you sell a more expensive knife than a cheaper one if you find you don't like it or want something else. I do believe there is a learning curve to this hobby that often starts out with the less expensive knives and usually works it's way up the bank account!
 
Expensive, assuming that the only options are a few expensive or a lot of cheap. On the other hand, why not do both?

Maybe I'm just trying to justify my recent purchase of a dozen inexpensive knives, but in my defense I also bought a nice Benchmade just the other day as well.
 
I started collecting back in the late 60's and accumulated over 110 knives. Many nice Bucks, Schrades, Gerbers, Bokers, Westerns, etc.. Problem is they mostly sat in a safe. I have probably traded up/sold about 40 of them resulting in maybe 10 nicer knives. For me it's trade up & kick in a little cash. Bit by bit and Momma doesn't catch on. :D
 
I have enjoyed good-quality, inexpensive knives quite a bit: my long-term EDC is a Kershaw Skyline, and also have a Chill. My best friend gave me a Benchmade Griptillian for Xmas last year, and I'm reminded about the benefits of good knives. A bit more than 10 years ago, I lost an Al Mar Hawk Ultralight, which I loved, and still miss.... I could probably toss the Kershaw Chill over the side of a boat and never think about it again. Of course, all expensive knives are not good knives.
 
Well, since you only listed cheap knives, then go with cheap.

Yep, it's all relative. $50 for a folder is expensive if you usually spend $20. $200 is expensive if you usually spend $75. $400 is cheap if your last custom was $3000. And that isn't pricey if your buying tastes now have you on 10 year waiting lists and auctions by the maker. Add a Kramer to your kitchen and then wonder if a Sebenza is worth it.

Like someone else posted, go with value. The dollar price is only for bragging. Quality can be had at most price levels, so it is only important to satisfy your needs. Don't spend $10,000 on an art folder if what you genuinely need for EDC is a Victorinox with scissors.
 
hardheart said:
Well, since you only listed cheap knives, then go with cheap.

Yep, it's all relative. $50 for a folder is expensive if you usually spend $20. $200 is expensive if you usually spend $75. $400 is cheap if your last custom was $3000. And that isn't pricey if your buying tastes now have you on 10 year waiting lists and auctions by the maker. Add a Kramer to your kitchen and then wonder if a Sebenza is worth it.

Like someone else posted, go with value. The dollar price is only for bragging. Quality can be had at most price levels, so it is only important to satisfy your needs. Don't spend $10,000 on an art folder if what you genuinely need for EDC is a Victorinox with scissors.
Click to expand...

For me expensive starts around $100, and my current upper limit is $300 provided everything important has been done already. The most expensive knife I ever owned was a $600 custom. I got out of customs after I lost one.
 
I buy the knives I want, regardless of price. If it is too expensive I wait. But I don't buy cheap knives just because they are in my price range, then I end up buying knives I don't truly like.
 
itssteve said:
I buy the knives I want, regardless of price. If it is too expensive I wait. But I don't buy cheap knives just because they are in my price range, then I end up buying knives I don't truly like.
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Yep. :thumbup:

If I want a cheap knife, I'll buy it. If I want something more expensive, I'll wait until I can afford it. If I don't like what I ended up with, I get rid of it.
 
A.P.F. said:
Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.
Click to expand...

hardheart said:
Well, since you only listed cheap knives, then go with cheap.

Yep, it's all relative. $50 for a folder is expensive if you usually spend $20. $200 is expensive if you usually spend $75. $400 is cheap if your last custom was $3000. And that isn't pricey if your buying tastes now have you on 10 year waiting lists and auctions by the maker. Add a Kramer to your kitchen and then wonder if a Sebenza is worth it.

Like someone else posted, go with value. The dollar price is only for bragging. Quality can be had at most price levels, so it is only important to satisfy your needs. Don't spend $10,000 on an art folder if what you genuinely need for EDC is a Victorinox with scissors.
Click to expand...

Good posts. :thumbup:
 
Check my EDC rotation in the photo below. From cheapest to most expensive is a range of about 5 to 1. I just finished carrying the 0561 and switched to the Tenacious this week.

One reason that we buy so many knives is that we like them and we like the variety. If they were all the same then we could buy just one and be done with it for awhile. I see knives that I like in a variety of price ranges, and I've even become interested in the really cheap Chinese knives so I may buy one of them to try out. Also I was looking at some of the knives announced at SHOT 2013 and I see some expensive new ZT's that appeal to me as well as some imported Kershaws, and there is a big price difference between these.

The key to this is to buy what you like, but also keep in mind if you might have an inner prejudice towards really cheap knives. If you buy them but can't respect them or can't enjoy carrying them, then don't buy them. Only you can tell this about yourself, and you might even have to buy some knives and try them before you discover the answer to this.

IMG_2783b_zps719441d5.jpg
 
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