beater knives?

I do, many times they turn out to be the junk I figured they would be, but sometimes they show themselves to be great knives at a great price.

It's also a low cost way to try slipjoint patterns I have never used before.
 
I've got quite a few beaters, and rarely carry a more expensive knife these days. Some of my favorite beaters are the Douk Douk, Opinel, SAK, Sodbusters, and of course my beloved Moras. they all perform far, far above what thier respective price ranges would indicate. I find myself able to use and enjoy them more than most of my more expensive knives.

Current EDC: Medium Douk Douk, Bradley Mayhem Balisong

Last carried knives on a hike: Bark River Mountain Man, SAK Adventurer, with a Mora Tri-Flexx tucked away in my pack


each of them have thier place, I suppose. Even though a Strider, Busse, etc. is unquestionably stronger than my beat to hell Cold Steel machete, I could never truly pound on one in the same manner.
 
All my knives are users, especially the Busses (why buy THOSE knives if you don't want to beat on 'em?).

However, I have recently begun collecting a small number of 'knives' that are really art objects. Just too beautiful to actually use. A new phase in my addiction, I guess. Of course, I insist that these art objects COULD be used as knives -- and used hard -- I just haven't been able to bring myself to do so. But I admire them -- a lot!

I tend to EDC BM, Spyderco, or Kershaw folders. (Still looking for the eponymous Busse folder, though!)

Yours in the steel addiction,

OldPhysics
 
As I've gotten more and more into collecting knives, I've been buying more expensive ones, but sticking with the cheaper ones to use. I do use my higher end knives from time to time, but I always feel a little reluctant to. I have been trying to ease myself into using them though.
I used to use my $6 Schrade lockback the most, but now I rarely use it. I've moved up to a $30 all steel Leek and 154CM Camillus EDC. Sometimes I carry my SERE 2000. Hopefully in a few months I'll be regularly carrying my other $100+ knives :D Feels kind of wasteful spending all that money and letting those knives sit in my drawer...
 
No way I beat 100 plus knives all the time. Why would you buy it and not use it. I might just be sick' tough because I like the look of my mini manix that has scratches all over the blade I cut sandpaper a lot, I don't try to beat it it just does what I need it to do at that given moment. I will pry with it but not if I can help it. My next knife I'm savin for is a ZT 0300 in tan, I will spend 300 on that one and use it the same.
 
I think nearly all the knives I like would be called "cheaper knives" by most serious knife enthusiasts. Lets face it, folks, most cutting tasks can be easily handled with less expensive blades.

I went through my fancy handmade knife phase a long time back. With the exception of a couple of expensive "automatic" knives locked in a safe, the most costly knives I now own are all made by Cold Steel, and most of them were factory seconds when I bought them (at terrific prices!) and/or were in their Christmas sale flyers. I am also a huge fan of those wonderful Swedish Mora knives that are made of excellent steel and only cost about $10. That about covers my fixed blades, except for a few good old Collins machetes I bought long ago and used a lot then.

I have two back-pocket-behind-the-bandanna folders that I carry but don't use. They are what I call "meat knives" -- just in case I need one in an emergency... One is a Cold Steel Voyager, while the other is a Spyderco Endura. I swap off sometimes. They can be opened easily with one hand, of course, and are flat enough to be comfortable to sit on.

My idea of useful, inexpensive folders are the Boker Sodbusters, the Opinels, and those great Douk-Douks I just found recently. The Victorinox Swiss Army Knives are on the top of the heap, though. I especially like and carry the ones with 4 or 5 blades and the alox handles, such as the Farmer, Pioneer, and Soldier. They are the best and toughest of the SAK models in my opinion. They usually sell for $20 to $25.

I also have bought and given away many other bargain folders made by Schrade (out of business now) and others, and they will all get the job done, too. These usually cost from $3 to $5, yet they seem to be appreciated by the people I've given them to, often the "little people" who have manners, a good attitude, and make life easier and more pleasant as I go about my daily errands. There are a number of young boys and older gentlemen working in the grocery stores I frequent who are carrying my knives. I always keep some in my van just for that reason, and I never give someone a knife that I wouldn't feel comfortable carrying myself. Quality cutlery bargains can still be found if you look for them.

And if you want a bargain big knife, you might try the Cold Steel Bushman. I did only recently and was impressed. I think they are still on their Christmas sale through January at two for $30. They have a 7 inch blade with an integral handle. If some of those do-gooders really wanted to help the poor people in third world countries, they should send them a big shipment of these Bushman knives and issue one to everybody over the age of 10.

Just some more of my cockeyed opinions...
 
i think if your keeping them specificly mint for investment purposes, then its fine.

but for my knives, i dont plan on selling them. so they are already pretty useless if i decide not to use them.
i diddnt pay good money for them to sit around.

plus... nothing lasts forever. so we might as well use them.
 
I have a couple of knives I really consider beaters. One is a Tomahawk folder I picked up from Big Lots for $0.50 (yup, 50 cents!). Has a "420" blade...probably 420J2. Takes an ok edge, slices decently, but sucks at push cutting. The other is a fixed blade I got on sale at Home Depot that was combined with a multitool. Says "440" on the blade...probably 440A. Takes a pretty good edge and cuts pretty decently. I use both for gardening work and cutting up vines and what not into smaller pieces.
 
So ladies and gents, those of you who buy beaters for tough work, What do you use your Spydercos and Benchmades for? Not being nasty, just being curious.
 
My beaters are my most expensive knives. I'd put a $600-1000 Strider through anything without a second thought, but baby my CF Millie because I know I'll break it treating it with the same disrepect.
 
knarfeng said:
So ladies and gents, those of you who buy beaters for tough work, What do you use your Spydercos and Benchmades for? Not being nasty, just being curious.
Click to expand...

my Spydercos and Benchmades,Mircotech, Kershaws, that are high dollar I carry them and feel like i'm ready. at least more ready to defend myself than without.;)
 
I used to purchase knives mainly from Gerber. I still have 2 Harsey Air Rangers that I like to do light work with (although they seem to dull quickly). I have since sold or given away the rest of the "cheapies". I prefer inexpensive knives for use and collecting (most all my knives have made it to rotation - some are kept in the glovebox and toolbox). Most used are my BM Mini Ambush (red class, I believe), Byrd Cara Cara and Meadowlark, and my Victorinox OH Trekker and Alox Cadet. I do find myself looking at higher-end / priced knives from Benchmade and Spyderco now-a-days, but when I purchase those, they'll get used too.
 
My only beaters are Olfa type utility knives or the serrated blades on multitools . These items are consumable , Prybabies get a lot of other dirty jobs . My other blades get used hard but not abused .My cutters and pliers do a lot of dirty work on the jobsite .

Chris
 
I don't specifically buy "beater" knives. I also don't carry anything that can't be easily replaced, whether due to availability or price - my current carries are an Opinel and an AG Russell Hunters Scalpel.

I also never abuse or "beat" up a knife; my carries are like new, except some wear from being carried and sharpened.

-Bob
 
I use/abuse all my knives, all the ones I can leave the house with leagally anyway;) . I think of it like carrying three multi tools. Right now its a sog vision, a delica, and a cara cara. The delica gets less abuse, but its new. The cara cara has even chomped its way through #8 awg a few times.
 
Dr Mudd you are truly a conisouir of beater knives. I have come up with my list of the best knife value's
Mora knives-obvious first choice
Byrd folders- shockingly good
Cold Steel- Bushman,tru flight in carbon V,machete kukuri(the shovel is not a knife but is awesome even better than a real spetznaz version)
Buck 110 and 119- the 119 is the best value in a fighter
Opinel
SAK
honorable mentions
K Bar birds head bowie's
Red Box Benchmade
CRKT Sting

I just ordered the most expensive knife(not sword though) I ever bought.
A scrapyard streetscrapper 4 in INFI steel. I intend to use the hell out of it.
 
When I think of beaters I think of the knives Joe Public uses that are readily available so they are easily replaced, lesser expensive knives than those that a knife knut would buy or look at seriously yet capable of doing a job for a while. These are the knives people use to do anything from flick out rocks in their tires, to digging in the garden with to kill a weed growing in it, or as I said in another thread, to dig out a section of ground around first base to sit it down better in the ground or clean off build up on spark plugs. Thats what I call beaters anyway. The classic tool box knife that gets beat up banging on other tools, that has a broken tip that you now use as a flat head screwdriver because it doesn't matter.

This doesn't mean that there are not beaters out there that are in a higher end price range. I am sure there are guys using $2000 knives like beaters because they can afford to, or because they don't care, or because they just figure knives are meant to be used. I mean if I could buy a new Jag everytime the ash tray got filled up with ashes or as the case may be for me, pocket change since I don't smoke. I would probably have a different perspective on what a beater was also. For me though a beater is a Winchester/Gerber from Wal-Mart for $6 on up to a $50 knife. I can use, abuse, lose or break one of those with little concern or care. If I any of the above happens to one more valuable than this it might ruin my day and even pinch my wallet, not to mention get me an a$$ chewing from SHMBO. (she who must be obeyed. :D )

STR
 
I have an on-again-off-again thing going on with regard to using the cheapies as beaters. Used to be I didn't use the more expensive stuff, but, I've come to the conclusion that I'm only going thru this life once and I might as well use the things I've acquired. So, sometimes I use the Frost's of Sweden Moras for the ruff-stuff and sometimes I'll grab a $200.00+ knife for same.
 
I normally carry a large folder or small fixed blade for knife tasks. My go to beater knives are normally the blade on my multitool or my superknife. By beater I mean scraping, cutting construction materials like shingles sandpaper,things that would do damage to my edc folder. I prefer to keep it sharp for mundane tasks and use in an emergency survival situation. I also carry a small sak for use around sheeple and when a larger blade is not warranted.
 
my beaters/users are cqc 13, 7, 12, sebenza, busse heavy heart. so i guess i do both, use expensive knives, dont use expensive knives.

cheap is relative, to me 150 for an emerson is cheap. 700 for a busse is expensive.
 
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