Cheap knives.....

L

liliysdad

Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
90
I confess. I am a knife nut. However, being the broke small town cop I am, I must fixate on the affordable knives. I have found this to be quite interesting, as there are some very good knives out there for decent prices.

So far, I have found four that I consider to tbe great knives, at a decent cost.

Benchmade Pika.....we all know its made in Taiwan. The steel is only 440c, but its a good knife for general use. For 20 bucks, it makes a great general purpose knife.

CRKT M1 Lightfoot....Good, cheap semi heavy duty knife. Its a bit thick, and the asymetrical edge is a little weird, but it has been my primary for over a year now, and has served me well. I think I paid 35 or so for this one.

KaBar TDI....This littl eknife is scary sharp, and far more utilitarian than I ever imagined. It is truly at hoke on my duty belt, and has cut everything from oranges to seatbelts, and remains extremely sharp. 22 bucks, IIRC.

BladeTech Professional Hunter Lite.....this knife replaced my CRKT as my primary. I LOVE the balde design, and the ergos are out of this world. I couldnt ask for a better knife under 40 bucks. After breaking the very sharp edges on it, it is even better. I paid 37.00 fo rit a few days ago.


Anyone else have any picks for good, cheap knives?
 
Fortunately, like you mentioned "cheap" doesn't have to mean "crappy" necessarily.

Off the top of my head:

$39.98 gets you a Spyderco Native in S30V at a Wal-Mart that carries them. Really good deal. In that same display case, for the same money, you could get a Buck Mayo-designed Cutback, which is an attractive, smooth, and wicked sharp framelock. It too, is impressive and well made for the price.

About 42 bucks gets you a Spyderco Delica 4. VG-10 steel. Phosphor bronze washers, full steel liners, 4-way clip positioning, tough/reliable lock, grippy handle scales. Adjustable pivot and all torx build means it's serviceable, too. You'd be hard pressed to find more complete features for less I think.

You mentioned the Benchmade Pika, a good choice. There's the Monochrome framelock as well...I don't think that's too expensive either. Also check out the Benchmade/NRA line of folders. The Steigerwalt designs are nice and really reasonably priced.

Uhhh..what else...there's the Byrd line by Spyderco. Hard to beat for 20 bucks from what I've read.

Kershaw Storm series look nice for the dough. Large and Small Vapors, too.

I'm sure there's more.....
 
always Opinels and SAKs (I stop by Target sometimes just to hawk closeouts) and I like Frost's of Sweden
 
Although not tactical, Queen Steel makes a 3 1/2" sodbuster called the Country Cousin. The blade is made from their renowned D2 steel which holds an edge forever, for less than $25.00.
 
The D`allara drop point is absolutely the most knife you're going to get for 55 dollars. It's an 80 dollar knife for under 60. VG10, ball bearing lock, the nicest of FRN scales, full ss skeletonized construction--I mean, this thing is beefy. I think of it as a cheap Manix.
 
And don't forget the Frost(s) Mora, the greatest fixed blade for $6-$8 on the planet!

For folders, I think the Opinel is the King of value, though maybe now the Spyderco Byrd line is. Though twice the price, you do get pocket clips and larger sized blades and all. So I'd say maybe better value, though an opinel at $8 is probably the cheapest decent quality folder out there.

Any Victorinox you consider to be inexpensive will fit the bill too!
 
Zytel handled six inch Ti-Lites from Cold Steel. Unlike a lot of inexpensive knives, including other knives from CS, they have really strong steel liners. Mine locks up strong and stands up to wacking the spine on my workbench. I've even thrown it at a plywood target. Lots of people hate these knives. In fact, none of my friends like them. Perhaps it's because they're so thick. Or maybe the blades are too pointy for them. Mine was pretty stiff to open out of the box, but that was easily fixed with a little work. Once you've loosened them up, they're great and can be quickly opened by hooking the quillion on the edge of the pocket as you draw the knife. I've worn out a few pockets practicing it. And the blades on current production are AUS-8A, even though CS's website and catalog still say 440A. This knife is my EDC now. I prefer it to my Applegate-Fairbairn, though most folks will probably think me nuts for saying so.
 
The Spyderco Centofante 3 for $40'ish should be in the running. A fine knife.
 
Here is a thread I posted on the same topic and the list I made from it.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=373458

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$10 and less:

CRKT Ryan Plan B (http://www.eknifeworks.com/)
Old Hickory kitchen knives
Opinel knives on Internet
Central Valley Wholesale SAKs

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$20:

Victorinox SAK
Ka-bar Dozier
Buck 110 set at WalMart ($22)
Boker Magnum chinese made slipjoints
Mora-style knives (http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html)
Browning Sportsman knives (Ebay)
Benchmade Pika and Mini-Pika (as low as $25)
Benchmade Benchmite II (http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/st...html?s=BM10610)
Spyderco Byrd series
CRKT Rollock 1 (http://www.gpknives.com/item/Columbi...lock-Blue.html)
AG Russell Hunters Scalpel
Vintage Bruckmann knives, common on eBay in mint condition for $20-$40
Buck Taclite Linerlock w/ Wood Laminate Handles (http://www.eknifeworks.com/)

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$30:

Buck Mayo Hilo
Benchmade Monochrome
AG Russell Featherlite AUS 8 for $35
Timberline Envoy
USA-made Schrade Old Timers
Buck 119
Buck Nighthawk
Polkowski/Kasper Companion by CRKT

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$40:

Spyderco Native at Walmart
Buck Strider 889 for $45 on ebay
Buck Rush
Spyderco Endura and Delica in VG-10 for $40 - $50
BKT BK-7
CRKT M16s and M21s
Spyderco Centofante
Kershaw Centofante
Kershaw Chive
Kershaw Leek
Kershaw Scallion

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$50:

AG Russell Featherlite ATS-34 for '$50
Spyderco D'Allara

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$60:

Buck 110 Alaskan Guide 110 in S30V steel from Cabelas
Benchmade Griptillian
Cold Steel Voyageres

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$80:

Spyderco Spyderfly

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$90:

Buck/Strider 880SP (http://store.irawoodinc.com/bu88stsp.html)

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$100+:

Benchmade Skirmish
Al Mar SERE 2000
Kershaw Bump
Benchmade/Blackwood 630
Buck/Strider 882SBTG Tarani Police Knife (http://store.irawoodinc.com/bu88tapokn.html)
Spyderco Manix or Mini-Manix

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Other:

Ranger knives RD series
Becker (BKT)
Forschner kitchen line from Victorinox
 
hardheart said:
always Opinels and SAKs (I stop by Target sometimes just to hawk closeouts) and I like Frost's of Sweden
Click to expand...

I'll second those three as some of the best knife buys on the planet.

Add in the Okapi, Douk-Douk, the K55 Mercatur, and the 12 inch Ontario machetes and you can cut up anything you need to.
 
You can get some awesome Spyderco's for GREAT prices!! Like Artfully Martial already mentioned the D'Allara 2!! THAT is a fantastic knife! You can get a Delica 4 or Endura for $50 or less.
 
Hang in there, LD.
Won't be long now before you make Chief, and then you'll be up in the SIXTY DOLLAR range! ;) :D
Denis
 
As a matter of fact, just this morning I was comparing my Kabar Dozier Folding Hunter ($20) to my BM Mini Skirmish ($150) and contemplating what the real difference in performance is. I'd say for 99% of what I use a knife for, one is as good as the other. You could probably say the same about a small Sebenza, which costs twice as much as the mini Skirmish and 15 times as much as the Kabar.

Point being, the Kabar Dozier is an amazing value for the price.
 
Paid $6 for it. I chipped the edge when I hit a piece of concrete on a hard swing but I don't think my $25 Martindale would have fared much better. It didn't come with a perfect grind but no worse than a machete that cost five times as much. It will take a pretty keen edge and I haven't had the handles loosen up, either. It's a simple but honest working tool.

Frank
 
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