Do you buy cheap knives anymore?

interesting thread. I started off with my current knife mania focusing on what ill call medium priced knives. which to me means $50 to $100. my focus shifted to spyderco`s early on after i got a tenacious. pretty much been all spyderco since then. My focus switching to a more moderate priced upper end knives. theres only so many low priced knives that you might need and use after all. my focus now is more into collectable spyders and sprint runs. but im not limiting myself to just spyders, i just got a mint crkt s2 titanium folder that is a little jewel. i got my eye on the hest folder thats due out soon, i still want to score a titanium mimitary. not that im going to edc some of these, i have a orange sprint run manix comming soon. this one will be a collectable at some point as will i hope some of the others i get, some i will edc. with care. like my gayle bradley, just to awsome to leave in its box. i suspect the ti millie and hest folder will also be seeing pocket time as i manage to aquire them. i enjoy them all, hope someday my relative fight over who gets my collection. lol:D
 
Judging a knife by its price tag is like judging a book by its cover. Having said that, I have some Pakistani knives to sell for $50.00 each. :)
 
Not for myself. But I have gifted some sub-$100 knives to people who I know wouldn't appreciate a higher quality knife and/or would abuse the knife beyond reason.
 
For the most part, no. But I don't necessarily consider inexpensive knives low quality.

If the quality seems good for the dollar value, I will consider purchasing.

Kevin
 
I still buy good inexpensive knives - Mora's and FRN Spyderco's. They do the job with no hesitation with hard use.
 
I stll buy inexpensive knives. I bought a $15 Falcon swinguard the other day.
But I try to stay away from junk.
 
Chinikaylo said:
Ever since I really "got into" knives, I dont care much for cheaper folders. I edc a zt 0200 and absolutely love it. Whenever considering a new knife or looking at knives in general, if its below $50 I wave it off($50 being tops, im talking more about knives around $10, 20, or 30).

I think its because my next purchase is prob going to be in the $200-400 range(either a large sebbie or a bm630bk-503 if I could find one lol). I kind of feel "snobby" because I only want hgiher end knives now, as opposed to junk ive bought in the past. Anyways,

Do you buy knives that are around or under $50?

Are there any particular examples of good knives for around this price?

I think its pretty ironic that before coming to bladeforums I wouldnt buy a knife over $10 because I thought it was overpriced(it cuts stuff, what more do you need ;)), now I think a knife is of poor quality in some way if its below $50. Am I being unreasonable?
Click to expand...

Do I buy cheap knives? No, but I do buy less expensive knives. Falcon and Frost etc, might be cheap junk. But a $10 Opinel, is less expensive.
 
I'll buy a cheap knife as long as it's not a POS. And sometimes I'll buy a POS to save my good ones. A while back I was visiting a friend and just happen to have a new POS that I got for $1-$2. He was doing some emergency toilet repair and needed a something to scrape with. I just wanted to get it done so that we could go do something else, so I gave him the POS. He said he didn;t want to mess it up. I told him that is what that one was for. and he could put in in his tool box so that if he needed it again.

Also I always buy a small cheap knife when I'm salt water fishing. depending on how it looks I normally toss it in the trash as I leave the pier at the end of the weekend. But if it's not in bad shape I'll give to one of the younger guys that don't have one.
 
Very good :D

Guyon said:
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.
Click to expand...
 
Recently purchased a Boker Plus Exskelibur II for slightly over $30. Excellent EDC IMHO. Titanium liner and pocket clip, contoured G-10 scales and a 2 7/8" 440C stainless hollow ground blade weighing in at 2.2 ounces. Couldn't ask for more in a sub $50 folder.
 
I wrote off cheap blades for a while. My edc was a Bradley alias 2 which cost me $175 shipped. Just got a crkt drifter (stainless steel frame lock version) that cost $18 shipped. I still love the Bradley but I'm digging the drifter right now. High quality at a low price.

So to answer the question, I buy both.
 
Last edited:
Right now I've got my eye on a Boker medium stockman with tortoise shell celluloid. A local smoke shop has it for $42. It might just end up benig my Christmas present to myself. That's about my price range.

Frank
 
I bought a Victorinox paring knife for $3 that gets used almost daily. It's extremely thin and makes a great cutter.

It was inexpensive, but it isn't cheap. I'll still buy inexpensive knives but I won't buy cheap ones.
 
generally i wont by cheaper knives, ive got enough saks and anything under $200 is very unlikely to kick my sebenza out of my pocket. As a quick note, i have owned many many many knives including very popular choices in the sub $200 range but i never end up keeping them.
 
I'm weird, I buy an expensive knife and I won't use it just cause I am afraid of marking it up. Same thing with guitars, I buy an expensive one and I won't play it to much just cause I am afraid of marking it up. Weird but true. So decided last year to not buy anymore expensive knives. 200 bucks is my upper limit. I am very impressed with the NAVY line off ebay. Same folks make this brand that make the Byrd brand for Spyderco. I just picked up a 99 7b for very cheap off the bay and it is what I consider MINT. Lucky snag for sure. I have a real expensive Richter tactical that I have beat to hell and back and that has stood the test of time, but bought it used a few years back, sold it and then bought it back again.

My cheap favorites are the NAVY line and the RAT1 folder. Just an excellent well made folder and truthfully I think it would perform well with about any folder out there today. keepem sharp
 
Chinikaylo said:
Do you buy cheap knives anymore?
Ever since I really "got into" knives, I dont care much for cheaper folders. I edc a zt 0200 and absolutely love it. Whenever considering a new knife or looking at knives in general, if its below $50 I wave it off($50 being tops, im talking more about knives around $10, 20, or 30).

I think its because my next purchase is prob going to be in the $200-400 range(either a large sebbie or a bm630bk-503 if I could find one lol). I kind of feel "snobby" because I only want hgiher end knives now, as opposed to junk ive bought in the past. Anyways,

Do you buy knives that are around or under $50?

Are there any particular examples of good knives for around this price?

I think its pretty ironic that before coming to bladeforums I wouldnt buy a knife over $10 because I thought it was overpriced(it cuts stuff, what more do you need ;)), now I think a knife is of poor quality in some way if its below $50. Am I being unreasonable?
Click to expand...

I carry my knives to use them. And over the 50 years I've been doing so I found out that stuff happens to knives. They get lost. They get used. Nature of the beast. So there is only so much money I am willing to invest in a knife. Because, as you say, they cut stuff.

I admire those who are willing to use a $400 dollar knife on a daily basis. Good for them. I don't have an issue with those who collect and have safe queens. I just don't fall into either of those two categories.

However, I do take exception to having the knives I choose to carry being called junk. And, yes, if you call my knives junk, I will call you a snob. And if you call knives like the Delica, Buck Vantage Pro, or Benchmade Griptilian (just to name a few) "junk", then I consider that you have a poor understanding of the actual value of cutlery.
 
There are a lot of good knives to be had in the $30 - $50 range. I would call them inexpensive, not cheap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top