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Did CHEAP Knives Reel You In?
- Thread starter Confederate
- Start date
I started out with victorinox known to you as SAK.
Had a few wooden handled Adola (main dutch holesailder) with prob 1000 plus carbon steel for aprox 5 dollars !!! in the seventies which two of them i still own and outperform down of the line gerbers coldsteels and other knive brands.
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Carbons need a good swipe of tuff glide cloth or other protection to keep them a live time going
I am a person of the wilderness and the streets. I have been hiking for about five years and have been studying self defense for 10 years, including knife fighting. For the outdoors I always carry a good Buck or Gerber that can stand the beatings I give them in the woods, but for tactical purposes I found that the cheap knives hold a good edge that I can rely on for cutting and stabbing if necessary (I pray that I will never have to do that, but who knows what can happen on the streets?). BUT, I would never take a cheap knife into the woods. I have sharpened some Fury knives where I can shave the hair on my arms with them. That takes a little time, but it's worth it.
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2005
- Messages
- 2,826
It's surprising how many people with quality knives still use cheap knives on occasion. I have to admit I do it, too. I have a small Chinese linerlock knife that I use primarily to open boxes and small canisters of pain medication I take. For small jobs, opening a 5-inch blade tends to alarm some folks, and there are occasions when people want to borrow a knife.
There are certain occupations where having a tough, sharp edge is nice, but even campers often use cheap knives that can be used and abused. I don't know any campers who use Mercworx knives in the wilderness. Retail priced at $400-$450, they are made for folks who have more dollars than cents. Any outdoorsman who takes a four hundred dollar Mercworx into the wilderness and a sixty dollar Ka-Bar will later tell you there's not a whole lot of difference between the two.
And I don't consider Ka-Bar to be a "cheap" knife in any regard. Recently, however, I bought a Frost Cutlery Delta Force with plastic grips and a crummy sheath. Price? Thirteen bucks. If an outdoorsman had all of his gear swept away in a flash flood and had nothing left but this cheap, crappy Delta Force knife, he'd sure be better off with it than a $100 Spyderco folding knife. It's not that the Spyderco is a better knife; it's that the Delta Force is a bigger, more robust knife that can be used for cutting, chopping, prying and digging. And it's daddy, the Smith & Wesson H.S. Tanto, is even bigger, heavier, stronger and better made. Price for that? I paid $29.99. And it comes with an excellent sheath and a sharpening stone. It, too, could pass as "cheap," but price isn't a consideration if it's the only thing you've got, and the S&W Tanto is better than most folks give it credit for.
Anyway, it's like the old saying goes, "The knife you have with you is always better than the one you left at home!"
There are certain occupations where having a tough, sharp edge is nice, but even campers often use cheap knives that can be used and abused. I don't know any campers who use Mercworx knives in the wilderness. Retail priced at $400-$450, they are made for folks who have more dollars than cents. Any outdoorsman who takes a four hundred dollar Mercworx into the wilderness and a sixty dollar Ka-Bar will later tell you there's not a whole lot of difference between the two.
And I don't consider Ka-Bar to be a "cheap" knife in any regard. Recently, however, I bought a Frost Cutlery Delta Force with plastic grips and a crummy sheath. Price? Thirteen bucks. If an outdoorsman had all of his gear swept away in a flash flood and had nothing left but this cheap, crappy Delta Force knife, he'd sure be better off with it than a $100 Spyderco folding knife. It's not that the Spyderco is a better knife; it's that the Delta Force is a bigger, more robust knife that can be used for cutting, chopping, prying and digging. And it's daddy, the Smith & Wesson H.S. Tanto, is even bigger, heavier, stronger and better made. Price for that? I paid $29.99. And it comes with an excellent sheath and a sharpening stone. It, too, could pass as "cheap," but price isn't a consideration if it's the only thing you've got, and the S&W Tanto is better than most folks give it credit for.
Anyway, it's like the old saying goes, "The knife you have with you is always better than the one you left at home!"
I started my addiction with cheap, made in Taiwan, China, etc. POS knives and loving them. Two I remember vividly are a Pakistan knife with Rainbow wood handles and a S&W all black 'tactical' tanto folder that had blade play soon after I used it.
got to crawl before you walk (EDCing a Sebenza now )
got to crawl before you walk (EDCing a Sebenza now
)- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 13
Reel me in? I guess so... it's all I ever buy. My most expensive blade is my Leatherman TTi, but I only felt I could splurge on that because it's so much more than just a knife. I use it several times a day. I'm always on the lookout for a deal on new knives though, cheap.
Here's my latest acquisition. CRKT Rollock 2. I actually tried buying 6 of them because they were on REI website last week for $6.83/pc with free shipping. To get the free shipping though, I had to order one product by a specific shirt manufacturer. It said when you do that, your whole order will be shipped free. So I ordered a $25 shirt too. Can always use a shirt anyway... It so happened that 4 out of the 6 knives I ordered, and the shirt, were out of stock on REI's Outlet site, so they sent just 2 of the knives, shipped free. I was fine with that. I hadn't planned on collecting them. I thought this unique knife, as cheap as it is, might be a cool gift idea for poeple not "into" knives.
It's kind of a fun knife. Opens by pushing on the thumb grip near the end of the knife, and the blade tilts out to about 30 degrees. The blade then slides out and locks into place. It's made in Taiwan from AUS4, but should suffice for opening mail and cardboard boxes. To close it, you press the lock tab, and the blade slides back in. You then push it closed and it stays closed with a click. I wish I would have ordered more, because as cheaply made as it is, and could win some ugly knife contests, it's really unique, and now I want to keep one for myself, so only have one to give away.
Here's my latest acquisition. CRKT Rollock 2. I actually tried buying 6 of them because they were on REI website last week for $6.83/pc with free shipping. To get the free shipping though, I had to order one product by a specific shirt manufacturer. It said when you do that, your whole order will be shipped free. So I ordered a $25 shirt too. Can always use a shirt anyway... It so happened that 4 out of the 6 knives I ordered, and the shirt, were out of stock on REI's Outlet site, so they sent just 2 of the knives, shipped free. I was fine with that. I hadn't planned on collecting them. I thought this unique knife, as cheap as it is, might be a cool gift idea for poeple not "into" knives.
It's kind of a fun knife. Opens by pushing on the thumb grip near the end of the knife, and the blade tilts out to about 30 degrees. The blade then slides out and locks into place. It's made in Taiwan from AUS4, but should suffice for opening mail and cardboard boxes. To close it, you press the lock tab, and the blade slides back in. You then push it closed and it stays closed with a click. I wish I would have ordered more, because as cheaply made as it is, and could win some ugly knife contests, it's really unique, and now I want to keep one for myself, so only have one to give away.
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2016
- Messages
- 2
yeah I think the majority of knife enthusiasts start with something cheap, virtually no one is willing to drop enough money to get a really nice knife their first time that would be ridiculous
I got reeled in with a green Kershaw Scallion (NIB) I got on ebay for $27 shipped (auction). It took me several weeks to win one so cheap, but I really wanted something green, and made in the US.
Before that, the only other knife I owned was a SAK classic (gift) and a gerber mini LST (again, US made, $10).
After that, I got into working in LE/FIRE/EMS stuff as a trainer, and after getting a couple Benchmade rescue hooks, took a trip to their factory for some questions. Ended up leaving with a black Griptilian.
From there, I went crazy, and my money is basically to keep me alive so I can buy more knives.
Before that, the only other knife I owned was a SAK classic (gift) and a gerber mini LST (again, US made, $10).
After that, I got into working in LE/FIRE/EMS stuff as a trainer, and after getting a couple Benchmade rescue hooks, took a trip to their factory for some questions. Ended up leaving with a black Griptilian.
From there, I went crazy, and my money is basically to keep me alive so I can buy more knives.
Sounds like a winning plan to me.
They are great Knifes.
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2011
- Messages
- 5
I think the SOG Targa fits in this category. However, they charge $140 on their site for this new knife. It is also available at Walmart for $90. I don't think it's worth $40
Love my Old Hickory Kitchen Knifes.
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2016
- Messages
- 11
I got started on antique bucks and old timers. However, I will never spend 100$+ on a knife. 50 is my limit. And only after I research it to death. I can do everything g with buck that I could with a benchmade. I see no point in paying that much for a knife. None. Unless you have too much money to just play around with. Anyway. Still love my inexpensive knives.
Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk
Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk
tinfoil hat timmy
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2014
- Messages
- 21,017
Inexpensive, high value knives reeled me in. Mora, etc. Bang for the buck ratio is where I started.
My best cheap knife is a chinese Enlan EL06 with 9Cr13MoV - costs about 20-25 bucks. This knife has seen a lot of abuse and is still perfectly operational and has no damage whatsoever. I used to carry it in environments where there was a possibility of loss/damage, so if I ever do it I wouldn't mind. The steel is decent, clocks around 60HRC, it's very easy to sharpen (sharpened it a lot on dishes and mugs) and holds a decent edge. Probably this is why I have a couple of cheap chinese knifes - I don't mind if they get damaged or lost.