Do y'all still carry cheaper knives once you've bought higher quality ones?

Sillyship

Sillyship

Joined
May 23, 2015
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790
I just can't bring myself to carry my CRKT Mah Eraser, or my SOG Vulcan over my CKF Sukhoi or any of my M390 Reates or my tricked out ZT's or Spydercos or my M390 BM Contego. I'm not even at the customs level yet and I already feel like filtering out the lesser quality knives. I really like my Mah Eraser, but the blade gets dull quick, and why does the SOG Vulcan have to include every opening device known to man? OK, I'm exagerating, and they both are great knives for the money. I try to carry my 154cpm spyderco manix 2, but I just don't seem to want to. I just always feel like I might get caught out really needing a good knife and end up short because I've been screwing around carrying something with a lesser quality and for what? Why carry them? I mean I like those knives, but....Is this what happens when you get better knives? I know some guys are totally against carrying expensive knives, or big knives, but I have great pants with knife pockets and we can carry whatever the hell we want in New Mexico.
Opinions on this?
 
And seriously, I don't even have Hinderers, or a Strider, or any CRK's yet. Does anyone who owns those carry other knives? It almost feels like if I'm gonna own them, I'm gonna use them. I do have some safe queens, but they are more like ladies in waiting.
 
Interesting question because right now I'm tending to carry a lot of my "cheaper" knives. I try to carry everything I own now and then.

Usually it's a case of re-introducing myself to a cheaper one I haven't carried in a while, then remembering why I bought it in the first place.....and it tends to stay in my pocket for a while.

Be careful--like so many aspects of the knife hobby, it can begin to become just a mind game....which can lead to OCD....which takes some of the fun out of it. :) If you have a knife you like, carry it. Creating scenarios as to what you might run into where you'd "end up short" has no end....
 
I carry my "value knives" more than I carry my "better knives". I'll carry my ZT0550 or 0350, or some of my more expensive Spydercos, but not on a daily basis. Right now I am carrying a Kizlyar Ute in 440C. The past few weeks I carried a Spyderco Endura in VG10. Over the course of the past year, the knife I've carried the most is my Ontario Rat 1 (AUS8).

I don't have any really expensive knives. My ZT0550 is probably the most expensive knife I have left. I sold them because I didn't want to carry them and lose resell value. I think that is the key that no one really likes to talk about. We don't carry our expensive knives, because at some point we may want something else that isn't in the budget, and we're concerned about the resell value of our "better" knives. With an Endura, it's not that big a deal.
 
Life's too short. I use the best things I can afford to. I love cutting things with my ZT0777.
 
I sure do!

Today I carried a $1,200 Rockstead and a $30 SAK Super Tinker, and guess what? The SAK was way more useful than the Rockstead:D;)
 
I've got a drawer of knives worth a bunch of money but I've been carrying an ESEE Izula the past few weeks.
 
Yes. Carry mostly my PM2 or BM grip. Very rarely carry my CKF blades but love flipping/flicking them.
 
Absolutely. Vic soldier in the pocket brings me home a bit.

I don't feel undergunned with an Opinel either.
 
I have some SAKs which I enjoy and carry from time to time. But my EDC over the past five yrs or so has been one of the following:
CRK large Classic Sebenza
CRK Umnumzaan
Brad Southard AVO

yes, each is rather expensive, but well worth it to ME. Not everyone agrees, and that's fine.
 
Absolutely. I love carrying my BM Grip, but recently my Kershaw Leek has seen more pocket time.
I love my Becker BK16, but actually carry my Condor Bushlore in woods more often.

These are just representative examples. There are others as well.
 
Yes and no. When I want to carry something on the larger side I rarely carry anything other than my ZT 0562CF. I prefer the slimmer profile and lighter weight of my Kershaw Thermite, but the 0562 feels much better in the hand, and it's far prettier to look at. On the other hand, when I want to carry a small knife I carry one of my Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lites and rarely carry my Boker Plus Subcom Titan or my VG-10 blade Spyderco Meerkat.
 
Evidence shows that I don't. My knives fit into a fairly narrow price range. I still have my Spyderco Tenacious that I bought a few years ago but I don't carry it since I have a Manix 2 and a Para 2.
 
I still carry my g10 cryo once in a while, but mostly because of the modifications I did. Brings an added element of enjoyment.
 
Any decent budget knife( and that's subjective) will perform the same tasks that any other knife will do for the most part. I don't carry CRK's, Hinderer's and Striders because they are more expensive, but rather because I've evolved in my personal taste for knives. I now appreciate the attention to detail, resale value, durability of more expensive knives. But, at the end of the day, the Hinderer doesn't do any more than the Kershaw. I still have and carry my gateway knives. Some days, the CRK may not be pulled out at all, but I have more confidence in the CRK in terms of dependability.
For me, it all depends on what tasks I have to do that determine what knife I'll use. Believe it or not, I'd never reach down in mud/water and cut duct tape off a pipe with a Kershaw, but I don't hesitate to use the CRK, Hinderer or Strider because in my mind, those knives will not be affected like the gateway knives.
I don't worry about sand, dirt, mud, pocket lint getting into my knives and affecting the lock up of the blade. I can wash them down with soap and water, put back in my pocket and use them the next day without any issues.
 
I have a hinderer, curtiss, multiple limited edition ZTs...and today I had a spyderco manix 2 lightweight in my pocket. I carry whatever suits my mood for the day. My $30 CRKT ripple cuts as well and flips as smoothly as any knife in my collection. After buying them, the price doesn't matter!
 
you have to separate cost from quality. They are unrelated. You have to decide, is this knife good enough for me to carry today. Cost may factor into that, if say loss is a risk, or if a knife is irreplaceable due to sentimental reasons.

I have a lot of knives to choose from, of varying quality, but in general they all have some factor to distinguish themselves for certain uses. I've been getting rid of the redundant ones.

If you have a knife you like the look of, but doesn't do what you need it to do, stick on a shelf to admire. If it doesn't rock your world anymore, send it along. As your tastes change, so will your carry, that can be due to quality, or simply aesthetics, both are totally valid reasons.
 
I do, and some of my cheaper ones i actually like more then some of the more expensive ones. When i used to have a spyderco persistence, i liked how it looked and performed over my delica and endura. Price/quality doesn't effect my use or carry of knives anymore. Same goes with guns.
 
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