Can't figure out what's wrong with this knife...

K

KennyB

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Jan 19, 2010
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I bought a Colt "CT28" 4" fixed tanto. I really like it, it has a full fixed blade and the ergonomics are extremely comfortable, jimping in the right spot, etc. It's not all that fancy though, alluminum handle liners, rivets, and 440 steel.

Still, I can't figure out what's "wrong" with the knife, but I can't shake the feeling there is because I cannot find it for sale online anywhere. I managed to find one on eBay, and it was the only one being sold there either. Past that, I got it for a whopping $9.95! It even came with a really nice leather sheath.

So I'm perplexed. Why does this knife that seems so good have such a low price and popularity point? Am I just a bad judge of knives or something? Granted it's not a very high quality knife, 440 steel, alluminum handles, etc. On the other hand, I've seen knives of much less quality sell for five times the price--and they're much more common. I can't figure out why this knife seems like a relatively high quailty knife can't be found aywhere and if it is it's found for cheap. Two of my friends were given the same knife as a Christmas gift by their father a few years ago and I've been searching for another ever since, so I know it's got to be a production knife, yet I can't find anything about it anywhere.

I kind of wonder if maybe there was some kind of manufacturing problem where only a handful of them were produced. Or maybe they're made with lead or something and were recalled. I can't find the story about these knives, but it just seems to be a steal.

Here's a pic of it ( from the thread where I was trying to ID it)
img00150.jpg


Anyone else got any knives like this? It's kind of interesting to me to think about that since when thinking about this I've considered, "Well, hey, at least you're one of the few that has this knife." Makes me wonder what other cool little knives are out there that for some reason never became popular.
 
I have never seen this knife before. Price usually, but not always, reflects the quality. 440A is the steel used on many cheap imports. Knowing where it is made might answer some of your questions.
 
i like the ergs of the handle
id carry it
cheap steel can sometimes be an advantage depending on what your purpose for the knife is
one of my favorite fixed blades was a generic subhilt from smkw for 10 bucks

(wow 10 posts and i sound like ive been here 10 years)
but dont listen to me
ill bring it to the top for more learned folks
 
rpttrsn said:
I have never seen this knife before. Price usually, but not always, reflects the quality. 440A is the steel used on many cheap imports. Knowing where it is made might answer some of your questions.
Click to expand...

Back of the sheath says made in the U.S., and as far as I know Colt knives are made by "United Cutlery".

Also, I meant to post this in general knife discussion...
 
Go and play with your knife.It was made in China that is why it is so cheap.Many very well made knives are made where the labor is almost free.Enjoy your knife and eat a fortune cookie.
 
KennyB said:
Back of the sheath says made in the U.S., and as far as I know Colt knives are made by "United Cutlery".

Also, I meant to post this in general knife discussion...
Click to expand...

The SHEATH says made in USA. Things like that are a typical ploy to get you to think the actual item is US made.

I've seen packaging stamped "made in USA" only for the item to have CHINA stamped on it. Apparently the packaging was made in the USA??

Anyways, it probably cuts well enough. Depending on the heat treat it might even hold its edge for awhile.

If it wasn't Tanto, I'd think it was a cool knife.
 
It's not popular because most people just see a cheap $10 Chinese mall ninja knife. If you see something beyond that, more power to you.
 
Speaking of a cheap, but well-made knife that's made in China...My wife bought me a MTech copy of the full-sized Camillus CUDA CQB-1 from Big 5 for a whopping $19.95 a few days ago. I am still amazed at the quality (fit & finish is perfect) of this knife for that $19.95...:thumbup:.:thumbup:.
 
To modify a phrase, "lack of beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Price is often related to demand and I'd guess that there aren't enough people who like that tanto fixed blade design. Personally, I think it's f-ugly and would not own it under any circumstances. Mayhap there are more people who agree with me than agree with your assessment that it's a cool looking knife.
 
Let's see, it's described as 440 steel (not 440A, not 440C, just 440), it's a tanto tip, it's made by United Cutlery in China (with a USA-made sheath just to try and trick you)...sounds like cheap truck stop fodder to me. It's mass-produced, throw-away stuff.

If you like it and it works for your needs, then have at it and enjoy. To me, it's not worth the inevitably low price.
 
If this knife works for you then enjoy it.

I find that the steel/heat treat combo on many low cost knives are unable to take or hold the sort of edge I expect from my cutting tools. Combined with a tanto tip and what appears to be a steep sabre grind I suspect that its actual cutting performance would frustrate the heck out of me.
 
knarfeng said:
To modify a phrase, "lack of beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Price is often related to demand and I'd guess that there aren't enough people who like that tanto fixed blade design. Personally, I think it's f-ugly and would not own it under any circumstances. Mayhap there are more people who agree with me than agree with your assessment that it's a cool looking knife.
Click to expand...

That explanation works for me. My tastes in things have always kind of hovered around what would be undesirable to most of my peers--worked for me with dating in high school though. I mostly actually like this knife for the feel of it in my hand rather than the aesthetics though. I find it hilarious though since all of my friends are obviously inspired to stab someone by it because their comments always graduate to the lack of a guard.

Good info PurpleHaze. My guess is it never reached popularity because of that $80 price tag. I sure wouldn't have bought it for that much.
 
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