Cheap knives are a bad idea.

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I agree that knives should have a good heat treatment. If they don't, they can be useless or just not great tools.

OP added prices into the mix and that's where things are going to go down hill in the debate.
 
Chapp said:
Cheap knives are a bad idea.

It's true that not everyone can buy a Paramilitary 2 or an Esee knife. Even fewer people are willing to put half a grand on a Sebenza. Some have families, some have low-income, some don't like to spend much on things and I'm not here to judge. Still, from my personal experience and after a lot of thought and testing, I strongly think cheap knives are a bad idea.
What do I call a cheap knife ? A low-price knife, basically. Everything sub-90$ is a cheap knife for me.

Sure, Esee knives are expensive, especially for 1095. But what you get is a solid knife, with great design and a close-to-perfect heat treatment. It's a knife you can actually rely on. A good heat treatment is a key when it comes to prevent the blade to snape on your eyes or fingers for exemple. Heat treatment is often overlooked by cheap knives companies.

A knife isn't a typical tool, like a prybar or a pair of sunglasses. It's an insanely sharp object that you must trust. It's like a gun. You can cheap out on everything, but playing it cheap on knives or gun isn't something I'll recommend.

It might be controversial, but I'd rather have no knife than a cheap knife. No-knife can't hurt me, having no blade means it won't slap on me, having no lock means it won't fail at the worst moment... Sure, those cheaper knives are fun. It's always fun to think something that cheap can actually be a decent knife to play around. That doesn't mean they're good tools at all.

Disclosure : not all expensive knives are great.
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Although I think I see what youre trying to get at, you've eliminated a large portion of really great blades simply based on price. Spyderco has several under $100 that are outstanding, Delica, Endura, Dragonfly, etc, even the tenacious is a decent blade. You've eliminated basic Griptillian and Minigrip models from Benchmade, Kershaw, ESEE Avispa, even the long revered Buck 110, not to mention traditionals like Case and GEC. I don't know about you, but several ESEE's come in under the $100 mark and are outstanding.

I agree that several REALLY good blades come in between $100-200 (or more if the suit you), but quality is based on more than price alone. Its not even about getting people into the "hobby" really. I cant imagine that the majority of people actually using their knives as real work knives are using $3-500 knives, most probably fall in the under $100 category and the $100-200 category second.
 
rogatsby said:
Get another one, bro!

Seriously, the only improvements I would want in the Atmos would be the blade steel and maybe some refinement in the G10 chamfering along the inside edge. The latter is an easy DIY fix. Everything else continues to surprise me about this knife. The detent is amazing. I never miss a flip. Runs on bearings, and is almost fall-shut smooth. Has a true deep carry pocket clip out of the box, and doesn't hang up on your pockets at all. And I was able to disassemble/reassemble it easily, and it was even better after the lubrication. The blade was still centered and I still got a rock solid 40-50% lockup after reassembly. On top of all of that, you get an amazing design from Dmitry Sinkevich with carbon fiber overlays, in a knife that weighs 2 ounces. Now for $30, that's what I call value.
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when they do an atmos in 14c28n, it will be epic... until then my leek is happy to be my usual edc
 
I smell Troll ! :mad:

But , yeah ...junky tools can cause time delays , frustration , ruined work and even serious injury . :(

:) However , there are plenty of under $90 knives available that are just as functional as any other more pricey . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
jc57 said:
.....So while I don't agree the the sweeping generalization of the OP, I do agree that you should be willing and happy to pay up for quality, when it matters.
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Inexpensive knives apparently sell very well. My Rough Ryder slippies perform pretty darn well for a knife that cost between $8 and $15. What matters is being able to see the value of a more expensive knife. If the differences can't be seen or understood, go for the inexpensive stuff. Knives are one thing. Power tools are something else.... I generally buy better than average quality power tools because they last longer and you can depend on them to do the job without having to run to the home center or hardware store to buy a replacement to finish a job. I've done that and I've learned.
 
Nice bait. You got more responses than I would have thought for such a poorly thought-out point of view. Goes to show how much I know about being a troll. This thread is 4 pages and counting!

Well, here’s my $.02:

Cheap knives are not the problem. Bad knives are. Sometimes there is a correlation between the two. However just because a knife is inexpensive does not mean it is either cheap or bad.

>99% of the knives used throughout the history of man would not be worth using according to you. And during pretty much all of that time had your ancestors chosen “no knife” you would probably not be here today.
 
dirc said:
when they do an atmos in 14c28n, it will be epic... until then my leek is happy to be my usual edc
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The Leek is nice. But it's an assisted knife. One of the reasons I love the Atmos is that it has amazing action without the Speedsafe assist.

Now, you mentioned an Atmos in 14c18N. That would be sweet!
 
The problem with knives is you don't realize you need better until you have better. Just like cheap tools you adapt, but once you finally experience the better tool the ignorance is gone and you will want the better one because it enriches your life.
 
Hanover Fiste said:
Nice bait. You got more responses than I would have thought for such a poorly thought-out point of view. Goes to show how much I know about being a troll. This thread is 4 pages and counting!

Well, here’s my $.02:

Cheap knives are not the problem. Bad knives are. Sometimes there is a correlation between the two. However just because a knife is inexpensive does not mean it is either cheap or bad.

>99% of the knives used throughout the history of man would not be worth using according to you. And during pretty much all of that time had your ancestors chosen “no knife” you would probably not be here today.
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Great points! I think my $25 Tangram Santa Fe and my $39 Civivi Baklash are pretty good knives.
 
Totally disagree with the OP, many decent knives that are not exspensive. This $11 Mora Companion is only one example.
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Chapp said:
Cheap knives are a bad idea...

A knife isn't a typical tool, like a prybar or a pair of sunglasses. It's an ... object that you must trust. It's like a gun. You can cheap out on everything, but playing it cheap on knives or gun isn't something I'll recommend.
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I've shot some really expensive really unreliable guns... I've also shot some really cheap guns that are more reliable than you can ever expect any gun to be.

Practicality and safety generally aren't the best arguments for expensive items. The only justification I bother to give for purchasing a pricier knife is: "Because I like them."
 
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