Bad quality knives you've seen in use

[Deino]

I'm a trade man in construction, rather young compare to people around me. Most people I worked with use all kind of beater stuff. Might you, my backpack Leatherman Wingman (league behind the Wave+) is considered super fancy 95% people. They care if it works, they don't care if it is beautiful or better "on paper". Within the parameters of what "work", the hardware store brands tick every boxes. I, too, have beater tools, which include knives. I bought a QSP as a Chinese beater when it was 20$, yet even that is something out of ordinary on the worksite. (I replaced the QSP with a hardware store stuff because, to be honest, the QSP does look good and so damn smooth to open)
Then I have meet other diverse groups of people, like seasonal hunters and fishers, who uses the Browning. S&W and random brands, and no one seems to care much more than functionality.
Though, like Mtech is only found on tryhard people and mall ninja.

 

[Hashishiin]

I'm a trade man in construction, rather young compare to people around me. Most people I worked with use all kind of beater stuff. Might you, my backpack Leatherman Wingman (league behind the Wave+) is considered super fancy 95% people. They care if it works, they don't care if it is beautiful or better "on paper". Within the parameters of what "work", the hardware store brands tick every boxes. I, too, have beater tools, which include knives. I bought a QSP as a Chinese beater when it was 20$, yet even that is something out of ordinary on the worksite. (I replaced the QSP with a hardware store stuff because, to be honest, the QSP does look good and so damn smooth to open)
Then I have meet other diverse groups of people, like seasonal hunters and fishers, who uses the Browning. S&W and random brands, and no one seems to care much more than functionality.
Though, like Mtech is only found on tryhard people and mall ninja.

Huh, I have an S30V Wave+ and a Wingman, I find the Wingman super convenient, you really take the Wave+ as a truly superior tool?

 

[Another Shepherd]

The only person I have ever seen actually trying to use a really crappy knife is me. I bought a Blackhills Trapper because I thought it was amazingly crappy and it would help to round out my knife collection. (I also have the world's dullest Spyderco out of the box.) As an experiment, I tried to cut butter with the Blackhills; it worked after I held the blade over a burner on the stove for a minute or two. Since then, I have seen a Youtube video with a much crappier knife, so my collection is still lacking.

Almost every man around here carries a knife in his pocket. A lot of women carry knives, too. I have seen a lot of these knives, mostly Case, Buck, Kershaw, CRKT, Benchmade, etc. I have never seen an obviously crappy knife come out of someone's pocket.

A friend and I both have several back-lock Paraforce knives because they sell for $7 at the store where I buy feed and stuff. I have used mine for work for a few weeks. They cut just fine if I strop them after use or sharpen them every week or two, but I have them mainly just in case somebody wants to borrow a knife. My friend has tuned his Paraforces to where they will open with a one-hand flick and drop shut with one hand, and they still lock up with no blade play. I am impressed. I wish I could get some of my expensive Spydercos to do that.

I still like my Bugouts and PM3s better.

 

[justjed]

I know people who buy cheap knives simply because they never remember where they put the last one, or who borrowed it, or whatever.

My EDC is a $300 fixed blade. My 'anybody got a knife?' knife is a $35 folder. Decent quality, but not crying if it gets hurt 'on the job.'

Inexpensive and cheap are not necessarily the same thing.

 

[ADBrown]

Hold up... I thought I finally cracked the code that donkey shows are a myth made up by Americans. My whole childhood I thought donkey shows were something that definitely happens in Mexico and would joke about it from time to time. Over the past decade or so I became friends with quite a few Mexicans and donkey shows came up in conversation at one point or another. Every Mexican that lived in Mexico that I've asked so far has no idea what I'm talking about and says that doesn't exist. You're saying you actually DID go to a donkey show??

I lived in El Paso as a teen in the early 70s, and some friends used to go see them. Since then I guess they’ve petered out due to folks finding their curiousity sated by the internet. That and good donkey fluffers are hard to come by…

 

[Deino]

Huh, I have an S30V Wave+ and a Wingman, I find the Wingman super convenient, you really take the Wave+ as a truly superior tool?

If I don't have with my tool bag or I go camping, I think that the Wave+ is better because of the extra tools. But yes, for EDC, the Wingman is more convenient.

Back to the topic of bad knives, big hardware store brands, as other members mentioned, are cheap, but not even half bad for the price. The products from these hardware brands, not limited to knives, usually honor their "life time exchange/guarantee".
I had this thing for 5 years, it is gritty and doesn't slide out well.

Last Saturday, I went to the store chain where I got it from, I would be less a hassle for me to pick one up for 15$, but I decided to try the "life time exchange" and they did! Exchanged for a another model, since the previous is discontinued, at no charge. That alone would makes them way better option than buying Mtech or other random tacticool .

The group of people I see using tacticool knives the most are the people I meet at comic-con or military-con. They probably bought them on place... well, what can I say?