Bad quality knives you've seen in use

CyberRacer said:
If you want to nerd out on really bad quality stuff, Nick Shabazz goes over piles of stuff usually confiscated by TSA.

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I say never trust a man from up north with a squirrely voice, precious hands, and reviews other people's knives because they're cheapskates. To hell with Nick Shabazz.

 
Danny Linguini said:
The cool thing, though, at least as far as I can tell, is that all are welcome here, whether they’re sporting a drawer full of $2000 Pro Techs or a $20 SAK. I haven’t seen a hint of snobbery here - everybody seems to appreciate what everybody else is carrying. It’s a great place for anybody from the life-long collector to serious users to short-time idiots like me who don’t know squat.
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Great place to talk, share and learn, but we do have our moments!! And the occasional troll jumps in to rub some hair the wrong way, and sometimes we get our undies in a wad. :)
 
I purchased a really cheap knife once for pocket change. At the time I figured I could use it to hone my sharpening skills. But, had half expected it to fall apart during the first week. That was 25 years ago and the knife still rides in my pocket every day. It does everything an office dweller needs and has grown comfortable with use. It is easy to appreciate a quality knife: but even a lowly knife can be a good tool if you give it a chance.

n2s
 
Srtr said:
A lot of people, even on here seem to think that some super thick "overbuilt"(which a nice way of saying lazy design) knives are how to tell a knife is quality.
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That reminds me of my thoughts at the very, very beginning of knives for me. I thought thick and heavy is reliable, like Boris the Blade.
 
I've seen a few co-workers use Mtech or TacForce. It pains me to see those in action. I have gifted a Kabar Doziers to those folks. I tell them "It might not be as tacticool as what you have but it is a quality knife".

I also feel for those that buy S&W knives. They might be a step up from Mtech and Tacforce. As a long time owner of S&W handguns, I can attest to the quality of the firearms (at least in my experience). The knives ... well ... they are riding on the S&W name.
 
Since knives are nominally verboten in my workplace, I almost never see knives during the course of a day.
not2sharp said:
I purchased a really cheap knife once for pocket change. At the time I figured I could use it to hone my sharpening skills. But, had half expected it to fall apart during the first week. That was 25 years ago and the knife still rides in my pocket every day. It does everything an office dweller needs and has grown comfortable with use. It is easy to appreciate a quality knife: but even a lowly knife can be a good tool if you give it a chance.

n2s
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We have a saying here: “Opinel and Mora. All else is vanity.” It is a truism, but not quite completely true. There are lots of knives that serve their intended purpose quite well, while doing nothing at all to feed one’s vanity.

i have a couple of knives like that. One is a Browning liner lock that came as a throw-in with an LED headlamp my sweetie bought me. It was my first one-handed opener, first with a thumb stud. That was about ten years ago, and it started me on the path of the knife knut. On the one hand, it isn’t much of a knife. On the other, it goes way beyond what I actually need in an EDC.

The other came today from my son. He had ordered a Coast flashlight. The knife came as a free throw-in. Also a Coast brand, not really a respected name, but not completely despised. The steel is 7cr10 in a black finish. In addition to the liner lock, it has a supplemental locking lever that resembles CRKT’s much-derided LAWKS system. I don’t expect to carry it, but only because it is not a type of knife I carry much any more. It seems well-enough made, and is probably overkill for any EDC tasks I might give it.
 
I used to exclusively use cheap knives, between the time I lost my first beautiful Buck brass bolstered folder and the time I bought my Buck 119. There were still times after that I used cheap, expendable knives at jobs where they could easily be lost or damaged, especially back when I didn't have as many knives.

I still keep a bunch of decent budget folders and Mora/Cold Steel (I like the Finn Wolf) fixed blades stashed around the house and sheds that get used a lot, even though I have better options available. I'm not about to start stashing $200 knives in a garden shed for anyone to use for whatever reason, anytime soon. Seeding my property with budget knives is one part convenience and one part creating a layer of protection for my nicer knives. If someone grabs a Mora or Rat1 for something I'm not going to ask them with apprehension what they're going to use it for. It also means that everyone can relax and just get on with getting things done.
 
Reminds me of having some decoy chisels on a construction site. Some plumber comes up and asks to borrow a chisel, you know he’s going to cover it in plumber goo and drive it through nails, so you give him one that it won’t matter. And if you like him and want to appear generous, when he brings it back you can say, “Tell you what pal, why don’t you just keep that one. No really, I’ve got another one.”

I’ve got another set actually, never touched by plumber’s hands, honed up keener than an eagle’s eye, with oiled handles and unindented strike rings, that I use for shaving end grain on blanket chests.

Plumbers get to use the decoy chisels.

Parker
 
Few years back my CC instructor with a cobratech OTF.

I see people with S&W partially serrated tantos (stupid phone) occasionally.

However, I've also seen quality knives in use as well, often when I least expect it:

An ER doctor with a Spyderco leafstorm
Firefighter with a battered Cold Steel Recon 1

A duck with a Microtech in downtown Chicago

My dad's best friend is a high end carpenter, and after a lifetime of carry crap knives and tossing them when dull, he asked me about something better. He bought a PM2 in S110v and a sharpmaker. It's been his edc for 5 years now.
 
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I had a fishing buddy with the classic drunk uncle, who could fill a cooler in an hour. Drunk uncle relied on a knockoff Case Texas Toothpick with no detent and wouldn’t even hold when open. He slung that blade around with pride and thought its dysfunction was the feature. Calloused and nicked hands made it even funnier every time he needed to snip a line or use it as a pry bar. A true enthusiast.
 
James Y said:
I wear an inexpensive Timex watch that watch afis would turn up their noses at, but so far it's given me 10 years of reliable service, and still going strong. And instead of paying thousands for it, it cost only about $30 to $40 at most. Cheaper than many 'budget' knives.

Lots of people the world over use a simple, cheap machete for the vast majority of their work knife chores, use them hard, and use them very skillfully.

I'm not being critical of knife afis; I am one. I own, use, and like both expensive and very inexpensive (but not poor quality) knives. But if someone else is happy with whatever they've got, that's fine with me. They probably have interests of their own that I'm totally ignorant about.

Jim
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If you apply your watch logic to knives, all we need is Opinel. A lot cheaper than Hinderers and Sebenzas, but they cut the same stuff.
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
Since when is the Boker Mermaid "bad quality"? Possibly poor taste, but I've never heard any complaints about the build.
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The Boker Mermaid knife is just a Tac-Force TF-864RB that's been relabeled for Boker. Boker marked up the MSRP two to three times over the Tac-Force because they have the inventory of all those knives they paid Master Cutlery to rebrand for them. A lot of people got duped by Boker and retailers on that knife.
 
I have offered many times to upgrade my wife’s knife. Hinderers, Spyderco, WE…. You name it. She loves this one. I wish it was that simple for me!!

A7CB63F9-62D8-4509-871B-289324CFE60B.jpeg
 
Frotier76 said:
The Boker Mermaid knife is just a Tac-Force TF-864RB that's been relabeled for Boker. Boker marked up the MSRP two to three times over the Tac-Force because they have the inventory of all those knives they paid Master Cutlery to rebrand for them. A lot of people got duped by Boker and retailers on that knife.
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It retails for about 30% more ($30ish vs $20ish). But I still haven't seen anything that suggests it is worse quality than any other Boker Magnum products, which are "meh" quality but not what I'd consider "bad."
 
jackknife said:
Lots of people the world over use knives that most on this forum would turn their collective noses up at. Its the natural
arrogance of the cut worship object people, like car nuts, gun nuts, knife nuts, motorcycle nuts. The Harley people look down their noses at Jap bikes, the Glock fan boys look down their noses at Rugers or whatever, and knife nuts look down their high held noses if it isn't what they worship. What isn't recognized is, that we, the over obsessed knife nuts, are the 1% of society. Most of the rest of the world doesn't even bother to carry a knife at all. How many times do you see someone opening a package with a key? In reality, the 500 dollar cult worship knife is not really needed 99.9% of the time. That piece of twine or plastic packaging is not that tough. A small keychain size SAK is all most people in an urban environment need most of the time. The lowly gas station knife will cut packaging, open mail good enough for the non knife person. All they care is, that it works, sort of. Just like for the non gun nut, a low cost Ruger LCP will shoot a mugger just as well as a Sig or Glock.

The non knife person simply doesn't care.
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J jackknife , what a great post. You won't make that case here, but I have to say in my several decades of carrying and using knives, this is true. I see folks here practically vomit over the use of inexpensive, cheap or "common" knives. So in my world, it is a pleasure of being a contractor for longer than I would like to admit that I get to carry "good knives". Love my Cold Steels and old ZTs and a few others. Yet, those are pretty meager offerings in the world of those that find some way to dismiss any knfe they don't like as "total garbage", "pure $h*t" and "absolute junk that should be illegal".

Out on the site, you just don't see $200 - $250 knives to strip wire, clean up a wood notch, do light prying, scrape off debris, open an air hole in a metal can, etc. Not done, not by me, either. I have certain knives that are up for real work and it doesn't include many of the knives lusted after here that have to be returned for spa treatment on occasion. The guys don't know about running on a specific kind of bearings, being "drop shutty", the need for rapid deployment, or the requirement of being an manly fidget toy.

They use Milwaukee knives, Coast knives, DeWalt knives, and all other kinds of knives that come and go on the racks at the big box stores. A couple of the old timers like me carry CASE knives on occasion, but rarely pull them out unless for specific cutting jobs. Without exception, when I have a knife like my CS SR1 in my pocket or my Spyderco Valloton they are the most expensive knives on the job. I carry the SR1 constantly; it isn't pretty, it cuts some things well but doesn't slice worth a crap, but it is indestructible. It meets none of the group criteria! But the boys on site really like it a lot as they can tell it's well made and to them that is the "boss's knife". It has been estimated by my group that the SR1 is probably a $50 knife, maybe more... Not beyond their pay grade, but beyond their level of practicality as most are family men with a few kids and in some cases a wife to support.

A couple of years ago they closed out a certain model of COAST knives at one of the big box stores. I bought a handlful and gave it to some of the guys on the job. They absolutely loved them. And they put them to work right away. They did things with those knives you would only do if you hated it, and since they stood up, they loved them. I saw them a year later with broken tips, ground down on belt sander to renew the edge, missing scale inserts, etc. But still on the job, still at work, still catching hell every day. The guy that had his the longest cherished that knife as a gift, and though he had "remodeled" the original blade shape a great deal still took pretty good care of it.

So I have a standing deal with my contractors and employees; if they see any "working man's knives" on sale, let me know, and I will re-equip the group.
 
midnight flyer said:
J jackknife , what a great post. You won't make that case here, but I have to say in my several decades of carrying and using knives, this is true. I see folks here practically vomit over the use of inexpensive, cheap or "common" knives. So in my world, it is a pleasure of being a contractor for longer than I would like to admit that I get to carry "good knives". Love my Cold Steels and old ZTs and a few others. Yet, those are pretty meager offerings in the world of those that find some way to dismiss any knfe they don't like as "total garbage", "pure $h*t" and "absolute junk that should be illegal".

Out on the site, you just don't see $200 - $250 knives to strip wire, clean up a wood notch, do light prying, scrape off debris, open an air hole in a metal can, etc. Not done, not by me, either. I have certain knives that are up for real work and it doesn't include many of the knives lusted after here that have to be returned for spa treatment on occasion. The guys don't know about running on a specific kind of bearings, being "drop shutty", the need for rapid deployment, or the requirement of being an manly fidget toy.

They use Milwaukee knives, Coast knives, DeWalt knives, and all other kinds of knives that come and go on the racks at the big box stores. A couple of the old timers like me carry CASE knives on occasion, but rarely pull them out unless for specific cutting jobs. Without exception, when I have a knife like my CS SR1 in my pocket or my Spyderco Valloton they are the most expensive knives on the job. I carry the SR1 constantly; it isn't pretty, it cuts some things well but doesn't slice worth a crap, but it is indestructible. It meets none of the group criteria! But the boys on site really like it a lot as they can tell it's well made and to them that is the "boss's knife". It has been estimated by my group that the SR1 is probably a $50 knife, maybe more... Not beyond their pay grade, but beyond their level of practicality as most are family men with a few kids and in some cases a wife to support.

A couple of years ago they closed out a certain model of COAST knives at one of the big box stores. I bought a handlful and gave it to some of the guys on the job. They absolutely loved them. And they put them to work right away. They did things with those knives you would only do if you hated it, and since they stood up, they loved them. I saw them a year later with broken tips, ground down on belt sander to renew the edge, missing scale inserts, etc. But still on the job, still at work, still catching hell every day. The guy that had his the longest cherished that knife as a gift, and though he had "remodeled" the original blade shape a great deal still took pretty good care of it.

So I have a standing deal with my contractors and employees; if they see any "working man's knives" on sale, let me know, and I will re-equip the group.
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I got a free Coast knife when I found it in the trunk of a used car I'd bought. Sold the car years ago, but the knife is in the trunk of my current car. It's 8Cr13MoV linerlock, reminds me a bit of the CRKT M16, with overall similar quality. Not enthusiast grade, but far from "bad"
 
Srtr said:
99% of knives I see people carrying or using are low quality garbage and yet all the owners seem to be perfectly happy with them...and then there is us, complaining about the tiniest thing on our $1500 folder that we're too afraid to actually use so that tiny detail that annoys us doesn't really matter.
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[I'm in this picture and I don't like it.]

REPORTED!

🤣 🤣
 
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