Do you buy cheap knives anymore?

Sure, gotta admit CRK have spoiled me but I still think Spyderco and Victorinox has the best value out there.
 
I make every effort to not buy poorly made knives, but I do buy inexpensive knives (hell, all of my knives might qualify as 'cheap knives' for some folks, I'm not sure...). My three most recent knife purchases were an Opnel no.8 (12$), Victorinox Farmer (25$), and Cold Steel American Lawman (70ish$). All of them are examples of what I would consider quality knives, although they're cheap by many people's standards.

To put this in perspective, all of the knives I currently own fall into the 12-100$ price range, although I've bought a few knives around the 150-200$ range (expensive for me, although I suppose this would be modest by some folks' standards.)
 
probably one of the worst things to befall a novice knife user is to become a passionate knife collector who might then ultimately end up as a knife elitist of sorts.
it would be most tragic, to see an ordinary commonplace item be elevated and turned into some fanatical passion.
there will be no end once the senses are overtaken by the over zealous dogmas of "superior tech specs".
it's a certainty that every individual has in his/her head,
a ceiling price for what's affordable and what's totally insane.
for the still sane, it boils down to affordability.
and $50 might just be the new sane figure for something with a reputable brand name.
though i imagine that such a handsome sum still might not be a presentable figure enough for those who do not yet see the present reality of today.
 
Not really. I think that in most cases, you get what you pay for. I don't need to own a large quantity of knives, instead I prefer to have fewer, more expensive knives. The knives I do have aren't all that expensive in relative terms, usually between $100-$250. There are great knives to be had below $100, even $50 but I enjoy the stronger designs and high-end materials that come when you pay a bit more. Spyderco easily offers-up the best value. Their Delica blades are fantastic. Ostensibly, your knife is a tool for cutting, if you just needed a cutting tool, $<10 would be all you'd need to spend, but that's not why we're all here.
 
Yes I do. Honestly, I am not wealthy yet and my budget varies month to month. Nevertheless, my blade hunger must be sated. Last month I picked up a Kulgera, a Blur in s30v, and a limited 50 run Mini-grip in s30v. This month, its an SRM.
 
I plan on getting a couple of CRKT’s just to see if I like the designs enough to buy the custom versions. They’re both under $30.
The CRKT NIRK: The original version being the Brian Tighe NIRK Tighe. This looks like a totally original design and CRKT’s version gives me an inexpensive way to try it out.

The CRKT Shrimp: The original version being the Gerry McGinnis Shrimp.

That said, Benchmade, Kershaw, Spyderco, Al Mar, and many others, make some very good knives at the lower price point. Don’t let price be your yardstick for what constitutes a good knife. There are a lot of 400-500 dollar folders out there that aren’t all they’re made out to be on these forums. Design is more important than price most of the time.
 
GIRLYmann said:
probably one of the worst things to befall a novice knife user is to become a passionate knife collector who might then ultimately end up as a knife elitist of sorts.
it would be most tragic, to see an ordinary commonplace item be elevated and turned into some fanatical passion.
there will be no end once the senses are overtaken by the over zealous dogmas of "superior tech specs".
it's a certainty that every individual has in his/her head,
a ceiling price for what's affordable and what's totally insane.
for the still sane, it boils down to affordability.
and $50 might just be the new sane figure for something with a reputable brand name.
though i imagine that such a handsome sum still might not be a presentable figure enough for those who do not yet see the present reality of today.
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Excellent.

I've got knives that range from "free" to over $200. I buy what I like and feel is good quality to me.
 
I've recently purchased a Meyerco Kirby Lambert Shockwave and I have an Ontario RAT Model 1 folder on the way but the lower cost knives are further and fewer between for me. I do indeed find it hard to carry them when I look at my rotation in the morning consisting of higher end production knives.

The big difference between today and yesteryear is that the vast majority of my knives are not under $100 anymore.

Let's face it, I didn't know what I was doing back then and I didn't know myself or what the knife maturation process would bring to me.
 
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I consider the practice of buying a authorised clone of a maker's design a real money saver. I can carry and use as usual a clone for a few days or weeks to decide whether to consider the often times 5 to 10 times as expensive "real thing" from a custom maker. Did this with a Buck/Strider and a Greg Lightoot design rom CRKT - I knew that in my hands - the real things were going to be a pleasure to use and they are.Scratches on a custom can cost you hundreds of dollars when you go to resell -scratches or other use marks on a clone might cost you half the price of that knife -but that's only 30-50 bucks in almost all cases -consider it tuition money.
And frankly , on the general subject - fit,finish and cutting ability on both the Taiwanese made small KaBar Doziers and the USA made Buck Vantage series knives is simply outstanding - these are available well under the 50 buck range .
 
I like ta buy gently used slip joints for well under $50, also even more expensive Tactical knives can be bought gently used for around $50, just gotta look around.

Some people have an aversion to pre-owned knives, since I buy users, so long as the knife isn't abused and it was taken care of, than I can afford a lot more knives compared to buyin' BNIB.
 
Sargent 666 said:
I get busted for using the word cheap. I now try and say inexpensive.

A SAK and Opinel are inexpensive but not cheap IMO.

I fully understand having a nice knife, bike or car but it doesn't mean that inexpensive and cheap are the same thing.
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That is the key right there. I just got an Ontario Rat-1. Very good knife as far as I can tell and very inexpensive. Mora and Opinel are names that speak for themselves in terms of their quality for what they are intended to be.. Cheap? In my mind cheap are gonna be the flea market knives, the gas station knives, the funny store-brand knives made from "surgical stainless" that may or may not be able to deliver on the price you pay. Nobody in the know is going to question that a Mora or an Opinel (and hopefully the Rat-1) is going to deliver value at or above the cost.

Conversely, one can apply that logic to very high end knives. I may be letting myself in for some guff here but here goes: Is a Hinderer XM-18 4 times the knife the Spyderco Paramilitary is? I don't think so. Is it better? Well I am sure it does some things better. I am actually confident it is worth it to those who would be willing to pay. Much of the value in something like an XM-18 or a Sebenza etc lies in the extreme attention to detail, materials, fit and finish, craftsmanship that is worth a premium.

So value is the key and thus expensive vs. inexpensive is the concept. The specific dollar amount just doesn't work to judge value either way.

So no, I no longer buy "cheap" knives but will always be fond of many "inexpensive" knives.
 
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Cheap as in junk? Or cheap as in inexpensive?
 
I usually buy higher end knives, mainly folders. But there are several under $75 Kershaws that are excellent buy's. In the past 3 months I have purchased some Steel Warrior and Hammer Brand slipjoints that many consider to be cheap, me included, until I actually got them in hand. They are not cheap, rather, they are inexpensive knives.
 
I have an extensive collection of knives bought from display cases and counter-tops at truck stops. They're all knock-offs from other designers, which I really think is cool because I don't believe in intellectual property rights. Also, they're all made in China, which is where the knife scene is really popping these days. I try to support regimes that blatantly ignore basic human rights whenever I can. Also, these knives are great because they dull easily and I am able to practice my sharpening skills with abandon. I and my paper wheels have become favorite mainstays in the Maintenance subforum. Several of the knives don't really lock up like they're supposed to, but that's okay because I get to practice knife safety, and I've only been cut a half-dozen times. Just nicked really. I think of them as little Chinese love kisses.
 
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