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

blade dude said:
I love that ring dude
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Thanks! It was done by Esteban Acosta at Ti Survival.

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I carry mainly Emerson or CRK knives anymore. I do have a ZT 560 in each the car and truck so I always have a sturdy knife handy.

If it's not one of those it might be a PM 2, and that is usually in addition to an Emerson.
 
I've got a couple of Benchmades and a nice Northwoods folder, which are expensive by my standards, but I still carry a SAK regularly, and sometimes a little Case slimline trapper. I'll probably pick up a Spyderco Delica, which is just too useful not to have, and maybe a Rat II, which I'd like to have for camping, and happily carry those.
 
Kinda depends on what one considers "cheap".

Technically, my least expensive folder is also my hardest user.. a Benchmade 761.

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I do carry inexpensive knives and I do own and carry quite a few knives that cost a little north of $500. And in 45 years of knife buying , I've learned cost is not always a factor in quality. I carry a Buck 110 or a Bear and Sons folding hunter whenever I deer hunt ( less than $60).

But it's more complicated, because knives used as tools should perform like a favorite wrench or socket set and fit like a favorite sweater or pair of shoes.

And since there are so many different patterns out there, how could a knife nut ignore great knives like a $10 Opinel or Cold Steel Kudu?
 
I've tried the lil BM with the aluminum grip. It's nice, but not my thing, however, I've never owned one of those ZT's and that does look to be my thing. If you feel like it, PM me any thoughts you have about those zt's please.
Jasonsdman said:
Most of my daily duties can easily be accomplished with a sub $100 folder with ease, but I was carrying my ZT0392s for most days just because of how much I love them. I've recently been rediscovering my BM940 again. I bought it pre MAP pricing for around $125. The point is, for as much as the 0392 costs, I still feel that the 940 is an equally capable EDC, and I love it just as much. Crazy, right? Well, I guess I don't see the difference quality wise between them. I have not tried to buy anymore knives due to the fact that I believe that the quality and usefulness of more expensive knives will not be worth the extra cost. Seeing the response from most of you guys/gals on carrying a SAK confirms that.

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I prefer to carry what i love and whatever that doesnt get into my rotation, i eventually sell off. quality over quantity i say. id rather have 4 awesome knives then 8 mediocre ones.
 
My poor man's EDC - Kershaw Link. Paid $39 for this one from Kershawguy.
 

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Lots of thoughts, opinions and practices here.

My meager collection spans a range and I do tend to choose based upon anticipated used for the day. I just about always have a SAK of one iteration or another on me and most often an Emerson. I also carry a Leatherman when dress and situations allow. My 9-5 is S&T so i rarely have a large Leatherman handing on my belt during the week but am hardly without one on the weekends.

While mt Sebenza 25 is certainly capable of the "beater" tasks, I prefer (in folders) one of my AUS-8 Voyagers for those tasks. The same logic applies with my pick-ups. The $50,000+ diesel is certainly capable of thrashing about in the woods come hunting season but I prefer my old 1995 step side lifted with 35s and the carpeting removed.

So, to answer your question: sure, I use the daylights out of <$50 folders all the time and get enjoyment out of their use, notwithstanding my desire to get the Sebenza and it's ilk out once in a while.
 
If I am lucky enough to get an almost high end knife (150 to 200 is my usual limit) and really really like it I will make room in the knife budget to get another one to EDC. The only knives I own that are over 200/300 price are ones that I bought two of many years ago. One to use, the other to keep mint for collecting or resale. I don't know why I do it as I have never sold any of my pricey stuff. I have actually gifted more good knives to friends and family than I ever considered reselling, except in times of dire financial needs.
 
whateatsrabbits said:
The top one is a duane dwyer custom and the bottom on is a MSC preformance series.
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That MSC is to my liking. I've been trying to decide which strider to pick for my first (and possibly only, hey, it could hapen) one. I like the DGGs but that msc is pretty nice. Looking at reviews on it now, thanks for sharing.
 
I don't carry low-quality knives. I will carry inexpensive knives as well as expensive knives, but I don't think it makes sense to measure a knife's quality by its retail price. There's a lot of expensive garbage floating around. Quality, to me, is about materials, construction, attention to detail, design and heat treatment. I consider an Opinel, a Mora or a Douk Douk to be far superior to some of these $400+ tacticlol toys we see on the market.

What I do tend to buy and carry is a high value knife which gives me bang for my buck. Right now I've got both a Spyderco Ti Military and a Cold Steel Super Edge in my pocket. To me, these are both high-value blades. I consider the former the best large Ti framelock for the money (or maybe I'm just a Spyderco fanboy;)) and the latter's quality and performance is just way out of proportion to its price. As usual, I also have my SwissChamp on my belt. I only paid $60 for it, but it's very high-quality and reliable. Plus, it's got all these awesome tools!

Yesterday I carried a HAP40 Delica, and the day before that a Cold Steel Recon 1....but Medford, Quartermaster, CRK and Emerson are brands that do not interest me as a consumer. Meanwhile, I'm super excited for the EK&T Companion I've got on the way. This should give you an idea of my tastes and how I feel about value.
 
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Kwon Kwang said:
I don't carry low-quality knives. I will carry inexpensive knives as well as expensive knives, but I don't think it makes sense to measure a knife's quality by its retail price. There's a lot of expensive garbage floating around. Quality, to me, is about materials, construction, attention to detail, design and heat treatment. I consider an Opinel, a Mora or a Douk Douk to be far superior to some of these $400+ tacticlol toys we see on the market.

What I do tend to buy and carry is a high value knife which gives me bang for my buck. Right now I've got both a Spyderco Ti Military and a Cold Steel Super Edge in my pocket. To me, these are both high-value blades. I consider the former the best large Ti framelock for the money (or maybe I'm just a Spyderco fanboy;)) and the latter's quality and performance is just way out of proportion to its price. As usual, I also have my SwissChamp on my belt. I only paid $60 for it, but it's very high-quality and reliable. Plus, it's got all these awesome tools!

Yesterday I carried a HAP40 Delica, and the day before that a Cold Steel Recon 1....but Medford, Quartermaster, CRK and Emerson are brands that do not interest me as a consumer. Meanwhile, I'm super excited for the EK&T Companion I've got on the way. This should give you an idea of my tastes and how I feel about value.
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That's good info, thanks for posting. I guess people really like those HAP40 Delicas, I'm kinda curious about those. One blade I have no interest in, never owned one yet, but prolly will one day, is the para military. It just looks like a slightly suped up rat 1. I know this goes contrary to what most of the folks on this forum think, but I just have a hard time loving blades with big holes in them. Blades that have to be 3/4" wider near the base due to that hole. I don't get it. I'd much prefer a flipper or thumb stud even. I do have a sprint persian and a navaja and I love both of those, the persian is in my top 5 favorites. One day I'll own a PM and then I'll know for sure I guess. If I do own one though, it's gotta be the ti version.

I had never seen that cold steel knife. It's like the short and fat cousin to the next blade I'm gonna get which is the SOG Pentagon. Anyway, got moving to do today, opening a new studio, gotta run, thanks for the response, good info.
 
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Never thought I would ever carry 8cr13mov again, but I bought this Tenacious recently and can't take it out of my pocket. Wonderfully designed knife.
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For the last couple of years, I've carried only Benchmade or Spyderco knives (with some brief departures to Case and CRK). But during this same period I bought several cheap brands, mostly Chinese, for novelty or curiosity purposes. Some of those cheapies were really very good and certainly worthy of carrying.
 
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