Best work around the house/yard folder for under $100

Pilsner said:
Have to second/third/etc. the Rat1 suggestions. Great knife for the price. Would be a good knife for twice the price.
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Absolutely, I love the Rat 1 and 2. Both really amazing quality knives for right around $30, smooth action, very strong lockup with no play, quality grip materials and fit/finish, blade has a nice consistent factory edge bevel that will shave arm hair. If somebody wants a good-size, all purpose economical folder, one of these should be a serious option.
 
Steve6387 said:
Ontario Rat 1, Buck 110, or Buck Vantage Pro in S30v. All strong dependable blades that are high on the value scale.
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All these, and one thing I forgot to call out earlier when I recommended the Vantage Pro as well: OP said he likes flippers, this is a flipper.
 
maximus83 said:
Absolutely, I love the Rat 1 and 2. Both really amazing quality knives for right around $30, smooth action, very strong lockup with no play, quality grip materials and fit/finish, blade has a nice consistent factory edge bevel that will shave arm hair. If somebody wants a good-size, all purpose economical folder, one of these should be a serious option.
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Agreed!

I have recently replaced my old, much used, Rat1 for a new Rat1. It was a dreadful story of alcohol, the desire to take apart my Rat1 because I wanted to and had never needed to, and a drunken mix up involving similar looking tubes of lube and glue. It wasn’t my fault, honest...
 
+1 on the Buck Vantage Pro. Love mine!

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I've become a massive fan of the CS broken skull for around the house and yard. It's a lot of blade in a small and very easy to pocket package with a good hard use steel and lock. I liked it enough I grabbed a 2nd and plan to use it as a folder for hiking/camping/bushcraft as another option aside my fixed blade(s).

I also like my D2 griptilian I found on the exchange but the mini-grip with a modified sheepsfoot is still my favorite modern folder EDC and I like it for around the house. The mini is a bit small for around the yard as the handle doesn't lend itself well to harder cutting like clearing vines or small branches from the landscaping.
 
I never cared for the "GO" directive. It reminds me of someone distasteful.
No flames. You have good suggestions.
 
knoxknives said:
Ontario Rat 1. $28-30 with AUS steel, solid design, larger size than the much renowned edc rat 2.

edit: you can buy 3 for $100 btw. place strategically around the house / garage and never be very far away from a good knife
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RAT-1s are the modern day Buck 110s ... great knife/great value.


JBradley500 said:
Pacific Salt SE.
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+1 on the Pacific Salt SE knives, not in the budget beater price stratum - but great knives in their own right.
 
bikerector said:
I also like my D2 griptilian I found on the exchange but the mini-grip with a modified sheepsfoot is still my favorite modern folder EDC and I like it for around the house. The mini is a bit small for around the yard as the handle doesn't lend itself well to harder cutting like clearing vines or small branches from the landscaping.
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I'm with you on the sheepsfoot mini, but for clearing vines and small limbs, nothing I've got does it better than a hawkbill serrated edge, like the Spyderco Tasman Salt.
 
maximus83 said:
Absolutely, I love the Rat 1 and 2. Both really amazing quality knives for right around $30, smooth action, very strong lockup with no play, quality grip materials and fit/finish, blade has a nice consistent factory edge bevel that will shave arm hair. If somebody wants a good-size, all purpose economical folder, one of these should be a serious option.
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Pilsner said:
Agreed!

I have recently replaced my old, much used, Rat1 for a new Rat1. It was a dreadful story of alcohol, the desire to take apart my Rat1 because I wanted to and had never needed to, and a drunken mix up involving similar looking tubes of lube and glue. It wasn’t my fault, honest...
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Toshibe said:
To be honest, the spyderco tenacious is a tough little knife. Its $50 too!
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I just have a really hard time with a US company outsourcing to China and charging $60 for it, I’m sure the tenacious is a fine knife but c’mon. I feel the same about the RAT-1 and it’s Taiwanese origin. I know this type of overseas outsourcing is common as pretty much every mainstream knife manufacturer has done it now and I’m being a little “old fashioned” but I can’t help it.

The Buck vantage is USA-made. So are Buck’s spitfire and and Bantam.
The Bench mini grip can be had in the OPs price range. A fantastic USA-made tool.
Kershaw has the Leek and the Link and Blur and several good USA originating knives in the $30-$100 range.
Point is there a many good blades that can be had from our own work force in the sub-$100 range.

If I’m going to buy a made-in-China beater knife I don’t want to pay a dime over twenty bucks for it.

$60!...who do they think....?!?!???
 
V84mystang said:
I just have a really hard time with a US company outsourcing to China and charging $60 for it, I’m sure the tenacious is a fine knife but c’mon. I feel the same about the RAT-1 and it’s Taiwanese origin. I know this type of overseas outsourcing is common as pretty much every mainstream knife manufacturer has done it now and I’m being a little “old fashioned” but I can’t help it.

The Buck vantage is USA-made. So are Buck’s spitfire and and Bantam.
The Bench mini grip can be had in the OPs price range. A fantastic USA-made tool.
Kershaw has the Leek and the Link and Blur and several good USA originating knives in the $30-$100 range.
Point is there a many good blades that can be had from our own work force in the sub-$100 range.

If I’m going to buy a made-in-China beater knife I don’t want to pay a dime over twenty bucks for it.

$60!...who do they think....?!?!???
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I know where you’re coming from, even though I refer to a certain metal as aluminium..!

I collect mainly USA production knives, so for reasons distinct from yours I also prefer to see ‘made in the USA’ on the box. I would, however, draw a sharp distinction between China and Taiwan, as do the Taiwanese - much to the consternation of Beijing.

As you say, many others have outsourced and continue to do so; I think an Al Mar Sere 2000, for example, is made in Japan, and it’s a wee bit more than twenty bucks. ;)

The Rat-1 is worth the asking price, regardless of the country of origin. But yeah, having ‘Ontario’ emblazoned on the same piece of steel that reads ‘Taiwan’ does rankle somewhat.
 
Lapedog said:
Depends, if the vines are growing on something like a fence a machete is no good.
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Yep, It does. I would honestly be using a pruner (shears) for the most part unless the vines are really out of control. I like clean cuts on limbs too and you often don't get that with a machete or knife. But even that choice depends on the location. Everything depends.
 
maximus83 said:
+1 on PM2 and both CS options. Plus a couple more:

Buck Vantage Pro large (s30v)
Ontario Rat 1 (Aus-8)
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Agree with these choices, but why not get the Rat1 with D2 steel?
Also look at the Cold Steel American Lawman. And the Griptilian is a fine work knife.
 
22-rimfire said:
Yep, It does. I would honestly be using a pruner (shears) for the most part unless the vines are really out of control. I like clean cuts on limbs too and you often don't get that with a machete or knife. But even that choice depends on the location. Everything depends.
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Don't want to derail too much, I have pruners and if I'm only looking to cleanup branches and vines such things then that's what I go for. Machete isn't going to happen since the vines are tied up in trees. Usually, the scenario is a vine that is wrapped around a tree trunk that constricts and eventually kills the tree so I cut it off at the base and let it die on the tree. If the vine is large I'll start trying to pull it out. I carry the knife around with me when I mow (push) and cut the vines as I come across them so convenience of carry is a consideration.

Hawkbill would be a good choice for this type of work if that's what the OP is doing. I had a farmer jack GEC for a while that worked okay but the longer blade was preferential.
 
Don't forget to look in to fixed blades. A sheathed fixed blade is easier to deploy and put back than a locking folder. Laws regarding carry probably won't apply on your own property, and you're not going to get weird looks at home (no more than normal, anyway).
 
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