Different tiers of knife quality? And how drastic are they?

Ive been collecting for about two years now and the whole first year I didnt own a knife over 40$. At the time I didnt believe the higher priced knives were worth the money, its a knife as long as it cuts it works were my feelings. I couldnt have been more wrong! Now in the second year I dont really buy many knives under 100$. Its because I now what I like more mostly but also Ive seen what you get for the money. In most cases your get better steel, materials, warranties, holds edge longer, and just last alot longer. Thats what I like and look for now

I always thought it was funny when people balk at spending a little extra money (Maybe $50 - $150) for a better knife that will last them the rest of their lives while not even thinking twice about spending tens of thousands on a car that they will just trade in or whatever for a huge loss in a few years.

Spend $30K to $50K + on a car that will decrease in value by $10's of thousands in a few years but not even thinking about spending over a certain amount on a knife that is considerably less than a single car payment......

Each to their own I guess.
 
Ive been collecting for about two years now and the whole first year I didnt own a knife over 40$. At the time I didnt believe the higher priced knives were worth the money, its a knife as long as it cuts it works were my feelings. I couldnt have been more wrong! Now in the second year I dont really buy many knives under 100$. Its because I now what I like more mostly but also Ive seen what you get for the money. In most cases your get better steel, materials, warranties, holds edge longer, and just last alot longer. Thats what I like and look for now

I arced back. I went from cheap knives to spendy ones and now my edc is a sak and my most used fixed blade is a mora. The only drawback is edge holding but even there my O1 laminated mora holds an edge longer than some spendier fixed blades I've had and the sak literally takes a minute on the strop to pop hairs. The more I used my knives and the better I got at sharpening the more I gravitated to older patterns because they just plain worked better for what I needed a knife for. Geometry trumps materials with knives in most cases. I'm not saying that good steel, f&f and all that is a bad thing to want but there are some inexpensive gems out there that work just as good as their spendy counterparts. I think too many people equate dollar value with performance and too many people love their precious too much to admit that it just doesn't cut as well as an opinel. :D
 
I arced back. I went from cheap knives to spendy ones and now my edc is a sak and my most used fixed blade is a mora. The only drawback is edge holding but even there my O1 laminated mora holds an edge longer than some spendier fixed blades I've had and the sak literally takes a minute on the strop to pop hairs. The more I used my knives and the better I got at sharpening the more I gravitated to older patterns because they just plain worked better for what I needed a knife for. Geometry trumps materials with knives in most cases. I'm not saying that good steel, f&f and all that is a bad thing to want but there are some inexpensive gems out there that work just as good as their spendy counterparts. I think too many people equate dollar value with performance and too many people love their precious too much to admit that it just doesn't cut as well as an opinel. :D

Yeah, there are some pretty spendy knives that cut like a brick and some really low end knives you shave with and are great slicers.
 
I always thought it was funny when people balk at spending a little extra money (Maybe $50 - $150) for a better knife that will last them the rest of their lives while not even thinking twice about spending tens of thousands on a car that they will just trade in or whatever for a huge loss in a few years.

Spend $30K to $50K + on a car that will decrease in value by $10's of thousands in a few years but not even thinking about spending over a certain amount on a knife that is considerably less than a single car payment......

Each to their own I guess.

Well said.
 
Bottom line to me is people buy what they like in price range they can afford. If the higher end knives didnt out proform the lower end ones than there wouldnt be a market or need for them. I didnt believe this at first but now I can say I do......thats just me tho
 
The cheap plastic covers are the only thing not stellar about the rat folders. You will midst likely not see a big jump in quality in a $200 knife. It will have more exotic materials, but construction and manufacturing will likely be similar from a user stand point.

I could get by with a small traditional slip joint and a rat 1 and a medium fixed blade for the rest of my life, the rat is that good.

About tiers: I don't have enough high end to know, but in my experience its more your taste+use+the company/manufacturer+materials which can be really varied in consumer price.
 
For me, it's all about the feel. Few inexpensive knives have that firearm quality click when opened, or the solid back vault like lockup without tightening the pivot to the point that the blade won't swing freely. Then again, there are some out there, and no one really wants to thrash on what they consider to be an expensive knife.

Ultimately, if you can get your hands on a few high end (again subjective to your budget) knives you can decide for yourself if you feel the differences justify the cost.
 
Well said.

Also take into count that there is a lot of truth in most people are living a paycheck or two from bankruptcy.

That's from all the other stuff they buy other than knives so that likely has a lot to do with it. ;)

Although most will never admit it.......

Then if they lose their job etc there is a for sale sign on their house within a month and the flatbed pulls up in the driveway to take their car(s).

Very few people actually buy things that are worth something (Hold their value) down the road, they blow all their money on gadgets, clothes and cars that drop in value faster than a cannon ball dropped off the roof of a building.
 
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More expensive doesn't mean better, compare a good For or Ram truck to an expensive car with hauling and other things of that nature, then vice versa. They have different purposes. Some knives are just plain bad though, but when you get a knife from a good company you're really just comparing apples and oranges for the most part.
 
Up to $150, you are likely to notice a fair bit of improvement (if you aren't getting ripped off, that is).
Above that the returns diminish more, but you may still get extras that do it for you.

Buy what you like...that's my main advice.
I'll still buy a $60 or $80 knife if it has what I'm looking for.
Sometimes it's a $500 knife that has the features I want.
 
You get what you pay for.
If you pay $500 for your car, it may run, but it's gonna leak and make funny noises.
If you pay $50,000 for your car, it will be flawless.

I put the cut off line at $150. Over that, it will be close to perfect.
Over $200 it will be CLOSER to perfect
And on, and on, and on

A lot of times, what I do, is save up and buy something around $150.
Adamas, Native 5, ZT 0200, and I can see and feel a difference over my RAT knives. Not much, but it's there.
 
You get what you pay for.
If you pay $500 for your car, it may run, but it's gonna leak and make funny noises.
If you pay $50,000 for your car, it will be flawless.

I put the cut off line at $150. Over that, it will be close to perfect.
Over $200 it will be CLOSER to perfect
And on, and on, and on

A lot of times, what I do, is save up and buy something around $150.
Adamas, Native 5, ZT 0200, and I can see and feel a difference over my RAT knives. Not much, but it's there.

Very far from the truth $$$ does not equal quality. There are high performance cars out there that cost a very large amount of money but they have crappy reliability and a barebones honda civic will be significantly more reliable and get you from point A to point B reliably and will probably cost less to drive, cheaper to own, cheaper up front costs, etc. If I remember correctly I knew a guy who picked up a old ford expedition for around $500 that ran good right when gas prices shot up through the roof a few years back. There are quite a few newer cars with poor reliability.

Now if we were to start comparing 2 well built quality knives from reputable companies than the lines get a bit more blurred. And your just paying for added features, fit and finish, edge retention, etc. At end of the day were knife enthusiasts and pay for stupid things when a razor blade or $10 knife will get the job done just as good and sometimes better depending on the task and what is being used.
 
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