Are there really a lot of differences between a $50 EDC knife and. $250 one?

At the end of the day, yes and no. It is all in the eye of the beholder. I carry everything from really cheap to expensive.

And after going through maybe 70 different knives or so I know what I like and don't like. And in that range of liked knives are ones that are $10 to a out $400. I really like alot of the knives out there from the $50 to $180 range though.
 
The differences are primarily:

Blade steel
Handle material
Frame material
Locking mechanism
Construction
 
Sometimes you get better steel, sometimes better handle materials and sometimes just better tolerances or higher paid workforce assembling it. If all the specs are equal you'll probably need to dig a little deeper and see if there's a consistency or quality control issue.

As a user of closer to the $50 mark knives ive never been able to justify the difference and actually pull the trigger.
 
Not really.

You can get outstanding quality for $50. Above $100 you're mostly dealing with more exotic metals and/or higher end craftsmanship.

Just like cars. A $50k one will get you around just as well as a $250k one. So what's the difference? ;)
 
I would say yes.

I've EDC'd folding knives ranging from $15 to $450.

You almost always get what you pay for but the difference doesn't scale equally with cost.

Overall quality/performance/build/ergonomics/etc seems to scale almost linearly 1:1 up to around the $50-75 range. After that, you have to pay 100% more each time to get a knife that gives maybe a 10-20% overall improvement.
So while a $400 knife is better than a $100 knife, it's not 4 times better. Whether it's worth paying the premium is up to you.
 
Depends on how much your interested in knives.

If your asking that question then your answer is No.



For me I can't tell the difference between fine wine and box wine

And I dont care, just lookin for a buzz.
So in the end,
Some people just want something that just cuts and thats fine.
 
Heck, I can purchase a $33.00 Case CV pocket knife and get the job done. I bought a $25.00 Colonial 7001 and obtained a dandy mid-sized pocket knife. It, too, holds an excellent edge. I have also purchased some $200.00 knives and have enjoyed owning it. It stays sharper and holds an edge longer than an $8.98 knife.

i do, however, enjoy them all.

Captain O
 
My sebenza got drawer duty while my victorinox got bumped to pocket time.
I don't use my knives hard enough to notice a difference in steel quality and whatelse...
 
As others have pointed out, in terms of actual "use" no there isn't much difference. However, knives are similar to firearms in that I find quite a few of them,
if maintained well, will retain their value or close to it. This seems to hold true far more with the $200+ knife than the $50 knife.
This is leaving aside value influencing factors like the model/make being discontinued or heavily sought after by collectors.
 
I'll never find out. I don't think I've spent more then $100 on a knife and I probably never will. I'm not a collector and I have other things I'd rather spend my $ on. My self imposed limit is also influenced by my wife. If I spent $250 on knife, she'd kill me.

Honestly, my $50 Delica 4 FFG from the marketplace or a $40 SAK are all I need.
 
After about 200 the law of diminishing returns really comes into play. I used to race bicycles. You can get a good basic race bike for around 2000.00. It's easy to spend 6-10k no problem, but it's going to make very little difference in the outcome of your race. Same with knives.

Mike
 
As price goes up, blade steel tends to really important improve on production knives, not so much for custom knives. Even that might be variable because some European knives are pretty expensive, but use good, not great steel. Handle materials are also nicer on mor expensive knives too. One great benefit of more expensive materials is that expensive knives are often much lighter. Even things like milling whole in liners is an expense, and is less often seen on cheaper knives.

The good thing about cheaper knives, is that once you know what to look for, you can find extremely well made budget knives from makers like Spyderco and Kershaw that can last for years if you can live with a bit more weight, and more frequent sharpening.
 
In my experience, between $50 and $250, yes there is a definable difference in materials, workmanship, and QC. After $250, not as much, it's more refinement and craftsmanship at that point.

I own knives which cost up to $500, and I do think they are worth it or I wouldn't have bought them. That is an individual value judgement.
 
I don't carry $250+ knives because they cut better. I carry them because they fit my style and taste better...

When getting into custom knives, prices normally are well over $200. That said, the price tag is well worth the relationships you can build with these makers. It's cool when you call a maker, and he/she knows you by name when answering the phone. Its a very humbling experience and that alone is worth the extra cost of a high-end knife.

It's almost like shopping at a small local farmers market versus Walmart.
 
TravisH said:
Not really.

You can get outstanding quality for $50. Above $100 you're mostly dealing with more exotic metals and/or higher end craftsmanship.

Just like cars. A $50k one will get you around just as well as a $250k one. So what's the difference? ;)
Click to expand...

Emphasis added. This is exactly it. A really cheap car, say a $5k used car is a lot less of a car than a $50k car. You're going to see a big difference. But as you start climbing from $50k to $100k things will improve, but the improvement really isn't comparable to the jump from $5k to $50k. And then above $100k you are going to see increasingly small improvement, and then it is mostly about really specific things you might want, style, looks, and fancy branding. That is not to say that a $250k car is not worth it if you can afford it, but it is hard to argue that the extra $200k is a necessary investment if you can't afford it easily.

It is exactly the same with knives, and about the same increments if you just drop the "k." $5, $50, $100, $250. You see improvement at each increment, but as the money gets bigger the quality increments actually diminish.

That said, I really like my $250 range knives
 
There are VERY nice EDC's from $65 to $100.

I find that typically, $100 to $200 is my sweet spot where most of my knives are priced. Knife companies seem to be hell bent on moving that price range higher into the $300's and I have no problem going back down to the 100's to stick it to em right back.
 
Depends on the knives you're comparing and your demands on said knife. Sometimes the difference will be huge...with some comparisons the difference will be minute.
 
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