cheap knife to buy under 15$?

There is no need to get into a spitting contest. The OP asked for a $15 or less knife. We need to stay within his $15 price.
For folders the hands down the best choice is going to be one of the Chinese made Kershaws, like the Half-Ton, Crown, and etc. For a neck knife the Outdoor Edge Wedge is the best choice (I have two). For a fixed blade, the Benchmark fixed blade 3.25 is tops.
 
Last edited:
I just purchased a Kershaw Crown $12.02 delivered from the river and it looks like a good knife. I noticed the back of the blade that engages the liner lock is very rough. The back of the blade that engages the stop is machined.
When the knife is closed and the blade pivot is facing you and the pocket clip is up, on the right side the blade the steel is very rough. The liner lock edge goes to the center of the blade and locks nicely.

Is this the condition on anyone else's Kershaw Crown?
 
SUPERFITTER said:
I just purchased a Kershaw Crown $12.02 delivered from the river and it looks like a good knife. I noticed the back of the blade that engages the liner lock is very rough. The back of the blade that engages the stop is machined.
When the knife is closed and the blade pivot is facing you and the pocket clip is up, on the right side the blade the steel is very rough. The liner lock edge goes to the center of the blade and locks nicely.

Is this the condition on anyone else's Kershaw Crown?
Click to expand...

I bought the 4 Crowns I purchased at the Big Blue W. So I had an advantage of being able to look into the blister pack to observe the open knife, fit an finish. Let's face it, it's an inexpensive knife. They have to cut corners somewhere, and from my long look at the examples in the store there was some nagging wrong on every knife. One thing I fixed on two of the Crowns that I couldn't tolerate was the bad bevels. But the steel is easy to rebevel, then sharpen, then hone. No big deal.

The big thing I did to really make the knife pocketable and comfortable was to sit with a piece of 220 gr sandpaper and knock off all the corners of the micarta scales (wow... what an improvement!) and polish up a couple of spots on the blade.

I wouldn't worry too much about the appearance of the internal parts if the knife locks up well and where it is supposed to, if the action is smooth and if it stays closed in your pocket. Everything else you can fix pretty easily. You won't find any $10 - $12 knives that have ALL surfaces nicely polished or ground completely smoothed.

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
I bought the 4 Crowns I purchased at the Big Blue W. So I had an advantage of being able to look into the blister pack to observe the open knife, fit an finish. Let's face it, it's an inexpensive knife. They have to cut corners somewhere, and from my long look at the examples in the store there was some nagging wrong on every knife. One thing I fixed on two of the Crowns that I couldn't tolerate was the bad bevels. But the steel is easy to rebevel, then sharpen, then hone. No big deal.

The big thing I did to really make the knife pocketable and comfortable was to sit with a piece of 220 gr sandpaper and knock off all the corners of the micarta scales (wow... what an improvement!) and polish up a couple of spots on the blade.

I wouldn't worry too much about the appearance of the internal parts if the knife locks up well and where it is supposed to, if the action is smooth and if it stays closed in your pocket. Everything else you can fix pretty easily. You won't find any $10 - $12 knives that have ALL surfaces nicely polished or ground completely smoothed.

Robert
Click to expand...
Can you post an image of your Crown?
 
assassino said:
Can you post an image of your Crown?
Click to expand...

Here you go. An "in hand" shot. I wear XL gloves, so you can see this is still a pretty good amount of knife. The knife isn't that clean as I have used it for some time as a work knife. The scales used to be a lot lighter blue, but hand oils, grime, work dirt, sweat and solvents have made the micarta a lot darker. Over time though, the blade hasn't worked loose at all, no doubt in part to the oversized bolster.



Pile side view:



Clip side view (note - rust spots on the blade are from weeks in my sweaty pocket at work with NO maintenance other than a sharpening now and then):



I rounded the scales and any sharp edge all the way around as I found the scales too square and sharp. No kidding, if you round the scales carefully on this knife and polish up the spine a bit with the same sandpaper (I used 220 gr and a light touch) you will think you are holding a $40 knife. The rounded scales:



Take a little time with this knife and you will turn a $10 bargain into a great $40 knife.

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
Here you go. An "in hand" shot. I wear XL gloves, so you can see this is still a pretty good amount of knife. The knife isn't that clean as I have used it for some time as a work knife. The scales used to be a lot lighter blue, but hand oils, grime, work dirt, sweat and solvents have made the micarta a lot darker. Over time though, the blade hasn't worked loose at all, no doubt in part to the oversized bolster.



Pile side view:



Clip side view (note - rust spots on the blade are from weeks in my sweaty pocket at work with NO maintenance other than a sharpening now and then):



I rounded the scales and any sharp edge all the way around as I found the scales too square and sharp. No kidding, if you round the scales carefully on this knife and polish up the spine a bit with the same sandpaper (I used 220 gr and a light touch) you will think you are holding a $40 knife. The rounded scales:



Take a little time with this knife and you will turn a $10 bargain into a great $40 knife.

Robert
Click to expand...

Robert
Does your Knife have this condition?
I noticed the back of the blade that engages the liner lock is very rough. The back of the blade that engages the stop is machined. When the knife is closed and the blade pivot is facing you and the pocket clip is up, on the right side the blade the steel is very rough. The liner lock edge goes to the center of the blade and locks nicely.

Dennis
 
SUPERFITTER said:
Robert
Does your Knife have this condition?
I noticed the back of the blade that engages the liner lock is very rough. The back of the blade that engages the stop is machined. When the knife is closed and the blade pivot is facing you and the pocket clip is up, on the right side the blade the steel is very rough. The liner lock edge goes to the center of the blade and locks nicely.

Dennis
Click to expand...

After looking it over, yes. The surfaces in that area aren't that rough, but in a couple of places they look like they just came off the stamping die. The divot that mates to the pin is a bit rough, but the surface that engages the lock bar is smooth. Not polished by any means, but smooth.

Honestly, I never really paid that much attention to those details. I bought it, liked it, and decided I needed to "make it mine" with the improvements I wrote about. Once they were done, I dropped it in my pocket and it is now on the rotation list of work knives. All it gets is a drop of oil on the pivot now and then, an edge refresh, and a cleaning if I get gunk on it. All in all, still a great deal.

Robert
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top