Cheapest combo to cover all your knife needs? More suggestions is welcome

I hastily opened this thread to, I must admit, critizese it. Surely no one needs cheap knives.

Then I saw the suggestion and reminded myself that not only is this a good thought experiment, but there are actual "cheap" combos that real knife people would recognize as "good" buy-it-for-life setup included the aforementioned SAKs, K55s, Opinels, Old Hickory, Case, Bucks 110s, etc.

We all like the fancy Titanium handled, multi-layered blade wonders, but a "poor man's knife collection" does not have to be a bad collection, it can actually be a very good collection.

My recommendation, stay away from anything made in china in this price bracket and you will be alright. Any knife still produced in first world countries at a low price has something going for it.
 
So much depends on budget - from meager to cost is no object.

For a fixed blade I prefer a Becker; the BK-9 is "The King" for good reason and the shorter BK-2 is darned near indestructible. Sacrificing reliability, durability, hand comfort for real use and customer service to save money you could use a Schrade of comparable size/shape; down from there you're into inexpensive imported machetes of various shapes and sizes. They work, but give me a BK-9 for my money and heavy duty use.

Folder would be a 4-Max, AD-10 (my favorite) 4-Max Scout, Recon 1, Voyager - they all have the TriAD lock and will service you well. For less money, a Buck 110, RAT-1 (or RAT 2 if you want smaller) or perhaps the new Becker BK-40 folder offer value for the price point ... as do many Kershaw folders.

SAK; gotta have a SAK and while there are good suggestions in this thread, there are so many SAK offerings that you can pick one that suits your fancy.

Mora or box cutter; both about the same price - both good enough for the stuff you don't want to use a better knife for and both not nearly as durable as a "proper" or more heavy duty fixed blade.
 
Alox (Electrician)

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And a chisel Mora

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If I was going budget but wanted dependabilty I would look at the following combo:
Ontario Rat 1
SOG SEAL Pup
 
Ontario Rat 1 aus8
Cold Steel SRK sk5
Cold Steel Trail Hawk
Cheapo fillet knife

Under $100 easy.
 
Other options could include a MAM

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And the Ontario Journeyman

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Yes, I have a thing for sheepsfoot knives, and no, I'm not going to try and size-match pictures. Sorry.
 
kobold said:
Why the chisel?
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I'm not much into woodscraft, but I'm "the guy" that other people turn to when something needs to be moved, taken apart, or put back together. I look for sturdy tools that can take a little bit of being used for things they weren't intended for.
 
A Buck 110 would cover all my needs outside of the kitchen. A pairing knife is all I need in the kitchen.

edit to add a Stanley fixed blade utility knife.
 
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It depends a little on how much this is what we could live with and what we could be happy living with. For instance, there are a bunch of pocket knives close to the $50 mark that could be good long term solos. For instance, either the Baklash or Riffle from Civivi could deliver years of enjoyment in a solo EDC capacity. Another big consideration is how much use they get over time. For instance, does your EDC knife see miles of cardboard in a year or get other intensive use?

For a fixed blade, the Mora Companion can be a great choice. You can upgrade to a good sheath and mounting system and maybe stay under $50. Do you need something more robust? Maybe a hatchet, axe, or machete would make sense.

Stones and a bottle of mineral oil are obviously part of the equation.
 
It doesn’t matter what we think. We are all outliers. Most of the population in the US (and other developed countries) manages to get through life just fine with nothing more than a few supermarket kitchen knives. Just a couple of dollars and a visit to your local thrift store and your done. The better households may have a kitchen knife block purchased at a big store, and if there is a craftsman or scoutmaster in the home there may also be a gas station knife in his pocket.

For most people the idea of spending any kind of money on a knife is entirely alien and an indication of (fantasy driven) insanity.

For each of those who enjoy hanging an expensive painting, from a well regarded master, in their foyer; there are millions who consider a paper poster or a completed jigsaw puzzle, wall art.

n2s
 
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not2sharp said:
It doesn’t matter what we think. We are all outliers. Most of the population in the US (and other developed countries) manages to get through life just fine with nothing more than a few supermarket kitchen knives. Just a couple of dollars and a visit to your local thrift store and your done. The better households may have a kitchen knife block purchased at a big store, and if there is a craftsman or scoutmaster in the home there may also be a gas station knife in his pocket.

For most people the idea of spending any kind of money on a knife is entirely alien and an indication of (fantasy driven) insanity.

For each of those who enjoy hanging an expensive painting, from a well regarded master, in their foyer; there are millions who consider a paper poster or a completed jigsaw puzzle, wall art.

n2s
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It's usually people in third world countries or rural areas that need knives that can be used hard.

And those people are also usually the ones with limited budget, so whole point of this thread is to give them some recommendations and get them some direction into what to look for when buying a knife. There's lots of talk here about steel and different knives, but those are usually very pricey for majority of people.
 
Smiling said:
It's usually people in third world countries or rural areas that need knives that can be used hard.

And those people are also usually the ones with limited budget, so whole point of this thread is to give them some recommendations and get them some direction into what to look for when buying a knife. There's lots of talk here about steel and different knives, but those are usually very pricey for majority of people.
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There would already likely be a settled market for them. If I were to wake up tomorrow as a missionary contemplating a project in some remote corner of the 3rd world, I would likely procure any Knives or other standard tools locally. First, because these tools would be familiar to the target audience and likely best suited to the tasks. But, also because I would not want to single out a subset of the population by giving them something that might make them a target. Nor, would I want to upset the local supply chain.

Back in the late 90s there was an article in one of the knife magazines, it might have been Fighting Knives. In it, one of their contributors who specialized in survival and outdoor skills, packed a few high end knives ( perhaps Busse, Randall or similar) and took a trip through a South American jungle. He reviewed the knives but commented that no matter how hard he tried, he had been unable to gets his guides to take any of these knives seriously. They just continued to use their machetes for their tasks and he had the distinct impression that they were laughing at him. Just because we are able to have expensive knives made by hand from the “best” materials does not make these knives are any more useful. The same story is often mentioned by African big game hunters, where they leave their custom hunting knives in their sheath and watch in amazement as their guide swiftly and efficiently process their game with a locally obtained Okapi knife.

Our knives may offer a lot of advantages, but it is arrogant to assume that those advantages transcend to the local needs.

n2s
 
Mora and Opinel. All else is vanity. For low price, I would take the cheapest Mora, the Bahco carpenter’s knife. From six feet away, it looks just like a Companion, for $6.99. The 511 is also under 10 bucks. The 510 Allround used to be the price leader, but when they revived it, they had to retool, which pushed the price up to twelve bucks.

When I used to buy Opinels by the fistful, it was all 7s and 8s. These days, I carry a 6. For maximum utility, the Opi No.10.

For the kitchen, and general use as well, i look to Old Hickory and Dexter-Russell Green River, whose 5” fish knife is a favorite of mine.
 
not2sharp said:
There would already likely be a settled market for them. If I were to wake up tomorrow as a missionary contemplating a project in some remote corner of the 3rd world, I would likely procure any Knives or other standard tools locally. First, because these tools would be familiar to the target audience and likely best suited to the tasks. But, also because I would not want to single out a subset of the population by giving them something that might make them a target. Nor, would I want to upset the local supply chain.

Back in the late 90s there was an article in one of the knife magazines, it might have been Fighting Knives. In it, one of their contributors who specialized in survival and outdoor skills, packed a few high end knives ( perhaps Busse, Randall or similar) and took a trip through a South American jungle. He reviewed the knives but commented that no matter how hard he tried, he had been unable to gets his guides to take any of these knives seriously. They just continued to use their machetes for their tasks and he had the distinct impression that they were laughing at him. Just because we are able to have expensive knives made by hand from the “best” materials does not make these knives are any more useful. The same story is often mentioned by African big game hunters, where they leave their custom hunting knives in their sheath and watch in amazement as their guide swiftly and efficiently process their game with a locally obtained Okapi knife.

Our knives may offer a lot of advantages, but it is arrogant to assume that those advantages transcend to the local needs.

n2s
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This is very true. The working population doesn't care about what steel and grind and and and. They need the steel to cut and keep an edge as long as necessary, but preferably on the softer side so that an edge can be brought back on the nearest rock, like all real working knives. Here in South Africa, the rural population carries a well worn cane knife and maybe an Okapi folder, both in 1055 steel. Both very normal sights in rural areas. Both easily sharpened with a file/rock. Fancy is not needed. Useable is wanted

So on that note if someone is on an extreme budget, my recommendations would change to:

1) Opinel No. 8 as a pocket knife. Light, slicey, easy to sharpen and very sharp when sharpened
2) Cane knife/heavy machete. Can cut down trees with this shape if needed (I've done it many times). Or if a machete is not needed, then a cheap plier type multitool. These things do 95% of what a Leatherman can do. The only thing is the wire cutters don't have good tolerances, so cutting thinner wire is difficult, like thin fishing wire, but cutting zip ties and normal electrical cable is fine. Very handy tools to have around
3) A 4 to 5 inch drop point blade hunter style fixed blade. Can do food prep with this and a whole bunch more. Works well as a heavier duty knife

Can pretty much do whatever you need for life with this combo
 
I don't know what's available out there, it's been a long time since I did any knife shopping.

However, if you asked me what are the two cheapest knives I own (folder and fixed) that I would have been comfortable using all day at my shipping dock job, on my most knife-heavy work day, I would choose the two pictured below.

The fixed is a Master Cutlery brand, I got it on sale from Amazon for $8. Although I didn't own it when I worked the shipping job, I did use and abuse it on construction sites. So I'm sure it would have served just fine prying open packing crates and cutting heavy plastic packing straps, etc.

The folder may seem an odd choice. It's a Rite Edge stiletto (heavily customized, bottom knife), and coincidently, it also cost $8. I was going to choose my old Buck 110 that my parents paid around $25 for back in the early 80's, but at work I preferred folders that I could easily open and close with one hand, I can't with the Buck, but I can with the stiletto. It takes a shaving sharp edge and for the light cutting I used my folders for at work (twine, pallet wrap) I'm sure it would have worked just fine. And as an added benefit, I love folding stilettos, so I would have enjoyed getting use out of it.

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