Best bang for your buck knife company?

For $150 or so, I could have a Skrama and a Terava 110, with sheaths, and possibly a SAK Farmer Alox thrown in. That would have my Bushcrafty cutting armoury sorted.
So the answer this month is: Varusteleka

(I quite like Spydercao too, and pushing the boat out a bit then Survival Knives; but you didn't ask for three!)
 
craytab said:
A title asking what knife company is best bang for the buck and then limiting it so drastically is sort of misleading and reduces the diversity of answers.

Even with your very limited criteria I'd say it is spyderco for me.
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I don't see how my question was misleading. I just wanted to know out of the three I mentioned..which were best value. Not sure what confused you there. I mean I guess knife company isn't really important...but within the price range I originally entailed is important
 
BizzarroBladeWorks said:
I get some of what you are saying.

I just sold a 10" Bowie and two sheaths, one leather one Kydex for $420. First thing the man said was, "I think I'll try and chop a tree down with it". Good!! It comes with a lifetime guarantee just try and break it.

You'd need a hydraulic press to break that blade. ;-)

I suppose you do have a point about reliability from knife to knife.

After all a CNC machine will sure make reproductions exact matches.

Too each his own I guess.

Personally I like carrying a knife no one else on the planet has. I'd also put my knife and most other small time Smith's knives up against any production knife, for performance, toughness, edge retention, fit, finish, etc. Of course that's for fixed blades. If you want a flipper then I agree as an EDC a CNC machined knife will definitely beat handmade for tolerances and such.

My eyes are pretty good, but they cant tell if one side is .002 off from the other.


Sooo..... back to "Bang for the Buck Knife"

Interesting thread.
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I can't bring myself to spend more than 100$ on a flipper...I know people on here love them, but when I think of money for a knife, if I have cash to burn there are always fixed blades on the top of my need-to-have list...

I think we agree with each other on this point...From how you talk about the craft of bladesmithing, you have me very intrigued, and I am legitimately interested in seeing your knives...I would definitely even think about buying one. All I'm saying is, I wouldn't call that knife a "Bang for your buck knife". I would call it a premium custom piece of art/ functional tool.

Here's the difference to me...I spent last sunday fishing from shore and using a 30-35$ small but heavy knife for light-medium chopping and brush clearing for clearing out new spots/making a fire. As well as this knife performed, if at any time I had accidentally thrown this knife into the pond, I would not have been crushed. I probably would have cringed for a second, thought about it, and then ordered another knife on amazon. That is the difference between a "Bang for your buck" knife and a custom made piece. Because if that knife had been a custom made 10" bowie from a skilled craftsmen, I would not have just left it in the pond, I would go in the water to get it. That is why you can't call a custom piece, "Bang for your buck"
 
JDX said:
I don't see how my question was misleading. I just wanted to know out of the three I mentioned..which were best value. Not sure what confused you there. I mean I guess knife company isn't really important...but within the price range I originally entailed is important
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I said title. Is this a discussion thread or a recommendation thread.

A title asking what the best bang for the buck knife company is and then limiting the discussion to 3 companies is misleading.
 
Spyderco but look into the chinese company Rike. They have incredible fit and finish and fantastic action!
 
Mo2 said:
spyderco and zt. benchmades cannot be in this party, they are overpriced and have horrible fit and finish. heck even the materials they are offering in comparison to other brands are more expensive.
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i have only had one of each but i think my benchmade 940 is better than my delica 4 just saying
 
andrewralso said:
i have only had one of each but i think my benchmade 940 is better than my delica 4 just saying
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ive got a benchmade 940-1 (and a 494 and have had more in the past) ... and i have an assortment of ZT's and spyderco's. just sayin a delica is like $70 and the 940 is like $180 how are you comparing your knives? LMAO ones aluminum scales and the other a composite scale. mucho different.
 
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craytab said:
I said title. Is this a discussion thread or a recommendation thread.

A title asking what the best bang for the buck knife company is and then limiting the discussion to 3 companies is misleading.
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Well having a title that's a paragraph long tends to be ignored and annoying. The title is meant to give the basic idea of what the OP is asking. Then I include extra information so the readers understand better what I'm
Looking for. I'm sorry if that's a difficult concept for you to understand
 
Mo2 said:
ive got a benchmade 940-1 (and a 494 and have had more in the past) ... and i have an assortment of ZT's and spyderco's. just sayin a delica is like $70 and the 940 is like $180 how are you comparing your knives? LMAO ones aluminum scales and the other a composite scale. mucho different.
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In terms of comparison, I don't care about price. It's more about which knife will last the longest given what you're paying. For example, you pay 30 for a spyderco tenacious with 8cr and it you obviously have to sharpen it every so often, compared to the Manix 2 in s30v which can be had for $80 on certain sites and lasts longer but it's more than twice the price of the tenacious.

Basically which knife or which knife company offers the most durable, longest lasting knife for the money. If it's a $250 dollar knife, that's okay as long as it's super worth it, the fit and finish is perfect and it stays sharp for a very long time. I mean it would only be used for General EDC but even then, it gets worn pretty quickly.this isn't much of a recommendation thread as it is a discussion thread. I'm just trying to get people talking about what they think is best and why.

Thanks for your input!
 
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Warranty should be taken into consideration as well. When you consider benchmades excellent customer service and blade replacement policy for $30 then they certainly start to seem like a lot better deal. If you just look at materials then not so much.
 
I have gotta say Spyderco has been the best bang. Year after year they have consistence in their quality that I keep trusting. Some of the new quality Chinese brands do also deliver the same value. They are still relatively new. While they are currently good but I gotta see these brands in long run.

Oh, Mcusta hit the value department too.
 
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I'm really curious as to why the OP sold his PM2 and is considering replacing it with another more expensive Spyderco. If longevity is the main criteria then surely the PM2 would suffice? JDX?
 
JDX said:
So to try and make this simpler, let's say the budget is $150-$250.

Out of these threee company's, which is the best in terms of fit and finish, materials, and overall quality? I'm not counting warranty as a determining factor.

Benchmade, spyderco and zero tolerance. I'm 23, I'm working on my second bachelors so financially I haven't been able to test out many benchmades or zt's. I've held a mini grip and used a zt 350 but that's it. I mainly have purchased spyderco.

Pm2, Manix 2, native 5, southard, Techno, Delica 4 and Sage 3 are the ones I've owned. Ive been selling them as I realized I just need one good knife and don't need a rotation which I know many of you have.

So out of these three company's which would be my best bet? Which company is less about the name and more about the knife??

Thanks
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I've said it before: for the next short period of time, all authorized Spydie dealers are selling off stock of the Police 3. You can pick up this knife, brand new, for 117.00USD, including S+H. Can't beat that price for a knife that is near legend.
 
I just posted a link on the Camillus thread , $27 for VG-10 blade. It's surprisingly good-quality that's arguably equal to Spyderco.
 
RLDubbya said:
I've said it before: for the next short period of time, all authorized Spydie dealers are selling off stock of the Police 3. You can pick up this knife, brand new, for 117.00USD, including S+H. Can't beat that price for a knife that is near legend.
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I forget the specs, is the blade over 4 inches? If so I don't think I can legally carry it
 
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