Bladeforums for snobs? I don't think so.

[Inazone]

It's all about perspective, sort of like when someone asks for recommendations on an "affordable" or "inexpensive" knife without expanding on what their actual price range is. My beater knives are, for the most part, cheap Chinese knives bought online or at a hardware store with no regard for quality. By far, the two knives I use the most are Guidesman folders bought at the local Menard's store for around $5 each. I have to sharpen them frequently and tighten the pivot screws, but they are flawless in terms of actual construction. For quite some time, my only EDC knife was an $8 MTech, which never failed me despite horrible blade centering. In contrast to that, I had a $15 Smith & Wesson "Extreme Ops" knife fall apart in my hand when I opened it. As the price doubles, the quality does not; in these cases, it got worse.

That being said, these are not knives with any collector value or a reasonable expectation of long-term durability. They are not classic designs proven over decades, nor are they built with any particular concern to edge retention, ease of sharpening or corrosion resistance. They're just cutting tools, and cheap ones at that. They would not be made better simply by adding a Benchmade or Kershaw logo, but those are brands with established reputations, for whom quality control is not simply an afterthought, even on Chinese knives. If one of my Guidesman knives falls apart, I'll be disappointed like I would be about any broken tool, but I wouldn't feel as though I was let down by a respected manufacturer. If a $150 Benchmade or ZT failed under routine light use, well, I'd be a bit pissed . . . but I'd also feel confident that if it was due to a flaw in materials or workmanship, they'd make it right.

That's the difference - the expectation level.

 

[Buddyleet]

I shy away from that part of the forum whose members wear top hats, pea coats and ride really tall bicycles.

 

[spydercobenchmadekai]

So you don't want to have a discussion? Seems you had no problem before. Instead you just said BF doesn't talk about S&W or Mtech. I know you have enough money to throw around without carrying about it. So keep buying kid! Come on, before you have bills and kids of your own.

And to those that think I should take out the name of a poster due to his age? Come on, he's old enough to discuss on the forum.

No, I don't want to discuss knives which cost $4 and are known to be mall-ninja death-ray zombie-killing crap.

As for having money or not, get over it. I'm not Bill Gates; you're not either. Buy what you can afford, and don't get all offended and act "poor me" when someone doesn't like your favorite knife brands.

 

[Yo Mama]

Anyway, ok, so let me see if I have this straight. Questioning the steel, you are actually only speaking of the Chinese company in the other thread? And that's it? Well, hey, then I stand corrected.

Yet I said it three times and you didn't get it. Please, I'm not trying to be a jerk here, read what I'm saying first. Yes it was clear in the other thread that not many would buy from this new company, I get it. The statement though that was put out there blew me away, saying don't worry about how much a blade cost you, just stay away from S&W and Mtech. How does that make any sense??? How would this look to a new collector? Just spend your money man, don't worry about it. Sounds like the mindset of someone who is easy to scam.

 

[9blades]

No, I don't want to discuss knives which cost $4 and are known to be mall-ninja death-ray zombie-killing crap.

As for having money or not, get over it. I'm not Bill Gates; you're not either. Buy what you can afford, and don't get all offended and act "poor me" when someone doesn't like your favorite knife brands.

So if you didn't want to, why did you?

 

[spydercobenchmadekai]

Yet I said it three times and you didn't get it. Please, I'm not trying to be a jerk here, read what I'm saying first. Yes it was clear in the other thread that not many would buy from this new company, I get it. The statement though that was put out there blew me away, saying don't worry about how much a blade cost you, just stay away from S&W and Mtech. How does that make any sense??? How would this look to a new collector? Just spend your money man, don't worry about it. Sounds like the mindset of someone who is easy to scam.

No, that is not my post. You could at least be accurate in your quoting.

I said that it is better to spend more on the "ReaTe" which has a name for the steel they use than MTech or S&W which don't even pretend to know steel from aluminum. It was a joke between another poster and me. The jokes about AliExpress followed, and how they will make a knock off for $12.

So if you didn't want to, why did you?

It was a JOKE with someone else.

See:

Dont anyone panic,im sure theres plenty of numskulls who will pay 350 for it.

Well, it's better than someone buying a S&W or MTech... At least they have a name for the steel! Even if it isn't what they say it is.

_______ Much later:

What's wrong with S&W or MTech? My first 2 blades were a S&W SWAT II, and some unknown Mtech model. Both were solid performers, the SWAT II has beat out many more expensive blades. I've done things to that SWAT II that make me cringe, and it kept going.

You ask that on BladeForums? I'm not even going to get into it...

Stay on topic.

You're going to stand by your statement that it's better to spend a lot of cash (which you have a lot of) to get steel that's probably not as advertised vs. a Taylor made knife that's given me tons of use and cost 20 bucks?

New thread in General made to discuss this in more depth.

 

[Yo Mama]

No, I don't want to discuss knives which cost $4 and are known to be mall-ninja death-ray zombie-killing crap.

As for having money or not, get over it. I'm not Bill Gates; you're not either. Buy what you can afford, and don't get all offended and act "poor me" when someone doesn't like your favorite knife brands.

But have you owned one? They are not 4 bucks, and as far as mall-ninja that's really easy to throw around. I could say many expensive blades are mall-ninja, especially those marketed as tactical.

I didn't mean to throw money into the equation. You have a great collection, and I encourage you to keep at it. I wish I had started sooner, but parent would not allow it at all.

I wasn't offended that you didn't like my knives, I'm not like that. I was concerned that you'd rather stay away from a blade due to being a cheap blade, vs. spending a good amount of money on a blade you're sure is not as advertised. If you want to clarify and help me out here I'm open to it.

 

[paulhilborn]

He wasn't the OP. It was a thread about a completely different knife from "ReaTe," a new Chinese maker with a price of $350. Morrow even jumped in and reminded us to stay on topic.

SBK, Joe Duder was referring to the op of this thread not the ReaTe thread...

Paul

 

[Yo Mama]

......

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Whatever you do, buy quality. Don't get mad at others that can't afford what you have. Don't get mad at others that buy better knives than you do. There is a lot of envy on here, as well as a bit of, I wouldn't say snobbery but I would say looking down upon purchases. If all you can afford is a Mora, then great, get that. If you can afford a custom bushcraft knife, go for it. No one should look down upon you. Just buy quality. In my honest opinion, SW is a company that puts out some useful knives but mainly gimmicks. Mtech is a brand you should stay away from. Junk. So, depending on the SW model, yeah, no problem there. I haven't seen a quality Mtech knife, and I owned a ton of them. All of them broke or lost their edge sitting on the counter.

 

[Yo Mama]

I don't have any opinion on your knives but that movie is absolutely horrible. You can do better.

I know! It was part of another forum thread that had knives matched with their namesakes. In hindsight, that movie was pretty bad.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

IBTM, maybe.

Bottom line, buy what ya want but when ya buy a cheap knife and it fails don't expect any sympathy here when it does.

 

[AddictedToGear]

I would answer but I am too busy eating my Caviar!

Perfect reply. BF is for everyone that is a gear or knife fanatic, everyone starts somewhere and improves from there. I do not dis on people who own those knives or the knives themselves. I started with Mtech and when I was young as my first real modern folder. I am now into midtechs and customs, we all have to progress. My dad used S&W knife for about 3 years until this year I bought him a BM Grip which has changed his perspective on knives. He needed a quality knife as he uses it everyday.

 

[taldesta]

My sense is that BF is a place for all things sharp, *all things needing sharp (food, heat, signalling, defence, art ...), all activities involving sharp (camping, hiking, canoeing, climbing, fishing, hunting, ...) and for all people who value physical competence in life. Otherwise I might have been kicked to the curb on my first post.

Oh, yes, there is the political and 'whine and cheese' for the serious and funny, or perhaps vice versa. Competence of a second order! * In haste, I have left out much, so I trust to your interpretation.

No matter what I 'edc'. can buy, have to use, need to know ... my welcome on BF is something I have absolutely no cause to hold in question.

 

[Dcaggie06]

No, that is not my post. You could at least be accurate in your quoting.

I said that it is better to spend more on the "ReaTe" which has a name for the steel they use than MTech or S&W which don't even pretend to know steel from aluminum. It was a joke between another poster and me. The jokes about AliExpress followed, and how they will make a knock off for $12.



It was a JOKE with someone else.

See:





_______ Much later:

SBK, its becoming more and more where these kind of antics tend to escalate in threads you're commenting in. It'd behoove you to take a step back and reevaluate how youre commenting to people. Character is everything in a community like this. Many will give you a pass because of your youth, but sooner or later little things like this come back upon your character. Wise up youngin or this high wont last. Just my humble opinion.

 

[crom]

" ride really tall bicycles."

It's Pennyfarthing to you, peasant. Hehe!!

 

[HwangJino]

Buy what you can afford and enjoy it.

I don't pick on people with $10 knives or people with $2000 knives.

 

[Strong-Dog]

With so many high quality, affordable offerings from Spyderco or Kershaw (for example), I wouldn't buy an Mtech or a S&W, but I don't judge others based on what knives they own.

Knife enthusiasts and collectors are dying out these days, and it would be stupid to exclude someone from discussion just because of what type of knife they own. As knife enthusiasts, we are a small enough community without acting like people that own inexpensive knives don't belong. Most people out there probably don't even own a knife besides the ones in their kitchen.

 

[paulhilborn]

SBK, its becoming more and more where these kind of antics tend to escalate in threads you're commenting in. It'd behoove you to take a step back and reevaluate how youre commenting to people. Character is everything in a community like this. Many will give you a pass because of your youth, but sooner or later little things like this come back upon your character. Wise up youngin or this high wont last. Just my humble opinion.

Dcaggie06, sent you a PM...

Paul

 

[RevDevil]

Late to this party, but here is my take on this.

Mtech and similar companies make poor quality knives, when compared to higher dollar knives (for the most part). People can and will buy their CCC (clones, counterfeits, and knock offs), nothing we can do about that aside from trying to educate people that it hurts the hobby in many ways. Whether they listen or not is obvious in the way they reply to being given that information. Personally, I will not buy knives made in China, I don't care who the manufacturer is or how "sweet, perfect, or affordable" the product is. Just my personal choice.

If someone wants to buy Mtech/S&W, and other assorted companies, then good for them. Based on the list of manufacturers that are on here, it seems that the brands mentioned in the OP are missing. Most folks here like, buy, use, and own higher dollar/higher quality items. There is a strong element based on trust when buying items from Spyderco, Kershaw, Emerson, etc. The steel you are paying for is what you are getting. It's also a learning experience for some. Of all the people on the planet, the majority that own and use pocket knives do not own 10, 25, 50, or 200 knives from various manufacturers. They own something that is either a Victorinox type knife, Leatherman style multitool, or something purchased at either Home Depot or Walmart ($25 or less). They don't care about steel, G10, Frame locks, Titanium, Carbon fiber, or anodized this or that.

For the casual user, those knives are terrific because they are comfortable paying what they cost. Now, think of the person that buys a Honda Civic, reliable car, gets you from A to B, good on gas, etc. WHen you enter a community where people have high performance cars with $15-$20K invested in performance parts in that same vehicle it is obviously not the same. Snobs? Not likely, rather that guy with the stock Honda might be lost. This forum is for everyone, but overtime most people get an affinity for wanting to try something in Ti with S90V, or a Sebenza, or maybe a custom from one of the talented makers here. Is that wrong? Nope. I just do not see that the casual user would want to be part of a forum that lends itself to expansion leading to a hobby. Rather than I have this one knife type of people. Another thing to consider, if you have any disposable income at all, after your bills are all paid then chances are you have a hobby and all hobbies cost money. This should be pretty much common sense. Sorry for the long winded reply, but here it is.