"Cheaper Than Dirt" Rough use knife

For my money, the best $10 knife is going to be the Frost's of Sweden "Clipper" Mora (Ragnar's #840). It won't get mistaken for a boat anchor or pie server, but it is a hard-working, good-handling knife. They can even be had tacticool OD green!
 
When the "overly-budget-conscious" lower their expectations sufficiently, I've heard they're rarely disappointed.....:rolleyes:
 
aersixb9 said:
It's a piece of sharp metal. With a rubber handle. What could possibly be bad about it? I think paying $100+ for a piece of sharp metal is absurd, but I'm no expert. I know the local sporting goods store sells knives for around that price, and I know that some $100+ knives break during combat. (Not all $100+ knives are bad, though...I was happy with my $70 kershaw for a while, although now I use my free homemade fixed blade knives) Although the term "you get what you pay for" is usually true, knives are just sharp pieces of metal, and therefore you can possibly get a quality knife for cheap. It's not like it's one of those $.99 microprocessors that they sell these days called "ethernet cards", with all that complicated circuitry and wiring. It's just a pointy piece of metal.
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I've gotta hand it to you... It's pretty hard to unintentionally troll, but I think you've done it here.
 
aersixb9 said:
It's a piece of sharp metal. With a rubber handle. What could possibly be bad about it? I think paying $100+ for a piece of sharp metal is absurd, but I'm no expert. I know the local sporting goods store sells knives for around that price, and I know that some $100+ knives break during combat. (Not all $100+ knives are bad, though...I was happy with my $70 kershaw for a while, although now I use my free homemade fixed blade knives) Although the term "you get what you pay for" is usually true, knives are just sharp pieces of metal, and therefore you can possibly get a quality knife for cheap. It's not like it's one of those $.99 microprocessors that they sell these days called "ethernet cards", with all that complicated circuitry and wiring. It's just a pointy piece of metal.
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You have no idea what you're talking about. I believe you are a troll, especially if you claim you prefer your "knives" over Kershaw or anything pointy or sharp that you can buy at a flea market for that matter.
 
aersixb9 said:
It's a piece of sharp metal. With a rubber handle. What could possibly be bad about it? I think paying $100+ for a piece of sharp metal is absurd, but I'm no expert. I know the local sporting goods store sells knives for around that price, and I know that some $100+ knives break during combat. (Not all $100+ knives are bad, though...I was happy with my $70 kershaw for a while, although now I use my free homemade fixed blade knives) Although the term "you get what you pay for" is usually true, knives are just sharp pieces of metal, and therefore you can possibly get a quality knife for cheap. It's not like it's one of those $.99 microprocessors that they sell these days called "ethernet cards", with all that complicated circuitry and wiring. It's just a pointy piece of metal.
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I have seen your "shivs" and I would rather carry the anchor.
 
"Trolling" aside, I gotta admit - knives are just sharp pieces of metal. It's all the extra we put into it, rating different steels that really give less than 5% improvement, criticizing design when beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or worshipping one make over another because of the idolatry we choose to give it.

Really, most Americans get by with cheap dull stainless pieces of metal doing the most important thing of the day - spreading peanut butter on toast so we can get out the door to work.

As for the knife in question it would have been a highly prized custom 50 years ago and well thought of for it's design. Times change. It looks like a good beater for the truck.
 
Funny this came up. I'm actually going to order a couple of these tonight (the one shown above and the bowie), along with a few other cheapies. I'm quite positive they're not gonna compare to more expensive knives, but my curiosity is getting the better of me. I like to test something myself before I declare it junk. I thought all S&W knives were junk until I got one of their cleavers, and I love it. I have a few Rough Riders that I'm fond of.

As a side note. Before anyone tells me to try a real knife first. I do own a Busse, along with three Scrapyard knives, about a dozen Moras, around 50 SAKs, EKA, Boker, Kissing Crane, etc.
 
What tests are you going to do on the knife? From what I know about, there's how thick the metal is (so it doesn't break), how sharp it is, what angle the blade is, the shape of the blade, the handle...the hardness of the metal (looks like 440 stainless?)...am I missing anything? I like to test my blades by hitting them against a piece of firewood as hard as I can to see if they break. I've also tested knives for kevlar piercing ability. (most knives actually don't pierce kevlar, although good knives do!) Lots of people have spoke to me about the "balance point" (most of my knives balance around 1/3 of the way back on the handle) although I'm not sure what the balance point has to do with anything, or why you would want one at the halfway mark on the blade (as some people suggested) Uh...what other factors go into a good knife? How cool it looks? Full tang? Non-breakingness when prying heavy things? What else?
 
kiahs said:
Funny this came up. I'm actually going to order a couple of these tonight (the one shown above and the bowie), along with a few other cheapies. I'm quite positive they're not gonna compare to more expensive knives, but my curiosity is getting the better of me. I like to test something myself before I declare it junk. I thought all S&W knives were junk until I got one of their cleavers, and I love it. I have a few Rough Riders that I'm fond of.

As a side note. Before anyone tells me to try a real knife first. I do own a Busse, along with three Scrapyard knives, about a dozen Moras, around 50 SAKs, EKA, Boker, Kissing Crane, etc.
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I have owned both and the S&W model is way better is has a sturdy sheath and a diamond sharpening stone. The copy has no stone and the sheath is horrendous. You can Get the S&W models for around $30.00 on the bay.
 
aersixb9 said:
What tests are you going to do on the knife? From what I know about, there's how thick the metal is (so it doesn't break), how sharp it is, what angle the blade is, the shape of the blade, the handle...the hardness of the metal (looks like 440 stainless?)...am I missing anything? I like to test my blades by hitting them against a piece of firewood as hard as I can to see if they break. I've also tested knives for kevlar piercing ability. (most knives actually don't pierce kevlar, although good knives do!) Lots of people have spoke to me about the "balance point" (most of my knives balance around 1/3 of the way back on the handle) although I'm not sure what the balance point has to do with anything, or why you would want one at the halfway mark on the blade (as some people suggested) Uh...what other factors go into a good knife? How cool it looks? Full tang? Non-breakingness when prying heavy things? What else?
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Kevlar is not designed to stop knives. I have stuck many knives through military flak and leo issue vest. Apply the right force and it goes through. Many leo's have been stabbed through the vest. OBTW the S&W model is 440 stainless steel. You really should use the search function and do some reading up in this forum before giving your own mangled advise.
 
ashtxsniper said:
I have owned both and the S&W model is way better is has a sturdy sheath and a diamond sharpening stone. The copy has no stone and the sheath is horrendous. You can Get the S&W models for around $30.00 on the bay.
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Actully these knives appear to be sold by several different importers. Frost, Mtech, Maxam, CTD, and probably others have their name on them. They also seem to be sold without a brand name. The sheath you get seems to be dependant on the importer from the pics I've seen. I don't know if the S&W version is the same knife with a different sheath and a S&W logo or if it is a different knife all-together. Are there differences in the knives themselves that make the S&W better, or just the sheathes?

I got my S&W cleaver in a set with a caping knife and a skinner (both suck by the way). While looking on ebay, I saw the exact same set made by Frost. My curosity got me and I bought it. When it arrived I found that the S&W had a much better sheath, a much better coating, and the handle was softer and more comfortable. I have also seen this set sold under the Elk Ridge brand. I'm curious as to whether S&W makes all these knives and then other companies copy them, or if the blades are all made in the same factory, and the extras are done elsewhere.

Also, while I forget the names, S&W has a couple of fixed blades with urban camo blades and G10 scales. If you look around, Frost has exact copies with plastic scales for less. And for even less, you can find exact copies with no brand name that again have G10 scales.

What tests are you going to do on the knife?
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If this is directed at me, I'll probably just take them out in the woods and use them. If anyone wants to see it, I'll take my camera, and do a head to head comparison with my Scrapper 6. That should be interesting.
 
S&W models has a better finish and a softer more kraton like handle where the other models have hard plastic handles.
 
kiahs said:
If this is directed at me, I'll probably just take them out in the woods and use them. If anyone wants to see it, I'll take my camera, and do a head to head comparison with my Scrapper 6. That should be interesting.
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Take it out to the woods and do what? Harvest lumber? Skin animals? Dig a hole? Fight an animal? (Can you catch an animal with a knife?)
 
ashtxsniper said:
Kevlar is not designed to stop knives. I have stuck many knives through military flak and leo issue vest. Apply the right force and it goes through. Many leo's have been stabbed through the vest. OBTW the S&W model is 440 stainless steel. You really should use the search function and do some reading up in this forum before giving your own mangled advise.
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dont chase him away. i haven't been this entertained in weeks!
 
aersixb9 said:
Take it out to the woods and do what? Harvest lumber? Skin animals? Dig a hole? Fight an animal? (Can you catch an animal with a knife?)
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:D :D :D

I guess I should have been more specific. I meant using them for basic bushcrafting. Chopping, batoning, carving other tools. As for:

Harvest lumber? - If you mean shortening firewood, yeah. I tend to use a saw or fire to shorten logs, but chopping can come in handy.

Skin animals? - Not legal this time of year for anything in my area. Besides, I can tell you right now that they would suck for skinning, they're way too big.

Dig a hole? - Digging a hole with a knife seems kinda silly to me. A digging stick can be made in a matter of seconds. If you want me to dig a hole with these as a durability test I will, but I'm not gonna purposely shove my Scrapper in the dirt, no matter how tough it is.

Fight an animal? (Can you catch an animal with a knife?) - I'm sure the comments are already coming, so I'm going to leave this one alone. :eek: :) :D
 
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