Do you buy cheap knives anymore?

Apparently I like cheap knives that are long on value. My Vic Huntsman, KaBar Dozier Folding Hunter and Becker BK-11 all fall in your cheap knives bucket and I expect all three of those to outlast me.

Glad you can afford to pony up for vastly more expensive knives though. That's cool.

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Beckerhead #42
 
I love my customs, mid-techs, and high end production knives, but I still have a soft spot for a good cheap blade. Not cheap in it's construction, but cheap in it's price. I absolutely love the Boker Exskelibur / Exskelimoor series and think they did a fantastic job on these knives. I don't think I paid over $45 for any of the ones I have and I believe I paid $25 for one of the Exkelibur I's. Kershaw also makes some outstanding knives in the under $50 category as well. Spyderco's new FRN UKPK's are around $35-$45 right now and are an unbelievable deal.

I am always on the hunt for a good deal on a custom, but I'm also always on the hunt for a good deal on a good knife that I can beat on, lend out, or even give away.
 
Tony_A said:
I usually carry a Sebenza but will still buy knives under $50 like Victorinox SAKs and Buck 110s.
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Same here plus Case knives also. I love those yellow handle cv blades. They aren't expensive but they really cut.
 
I work in an office and 'adventure' for me right now is hiking around county parks in NJ.

I like 'em cheap for my uses. I appreciate the high end, high quality stuff, but just won't ever make use of it...at this point.

Cheap ones I really like so far
CRKT Ringed Razel...really really like this blade shape
CRKT Folding Razel...gee what a surprise ;-) love this one and it is my new EDC
CRKT Crawford/Kasper...$20...it was $20, well until I ordered another one.

In the mail, Buck 655, my 'field' knife to be. After driving myself completely batshit insane weighing much more expensive knives, I delayed long enough for reality to set in. Chances are this will see a few branches chopped and some whittling a few months each year at most. It's more capable than I am. $45 with shipping vs $200 of some of the others I'd been mulling over.

The razels are actually quite nice steel and once reprofiled from the miserable factory mismatched angles are just razor sharp and hold the edge nicely.

The Crawford/Kasper is the one I grab to slam into clamshell packing, cut duct tape or otherwise abuse most of the time. Steel is half o.k., factory edge is still being fixed, and if I dull it, hell sharpening them is just something for me to do as part of this being a 'hobby'.

I might have different thoughts on all of these depending on what I did for a living or even for serious sport, but for my office bound ass, they are all more than good.

Actually when I worked in security, my Gerber LST Magnum served me just fine and I still have it and it's sharper than it has ever been...another good cheap one, $17 or so now.

I own some nicer ones, but in the end, for what I do with them....do I 'need' them? Do I even get any real value out of them? It gets hard to say.
 
the best thing Bladeforums has done for me was introduce the Mora line of knives into my life. i have developed a habit of tacking a couple of Mora clippers onto every knife purchase i make.


c'mon, $20 for a damn fine knife? i'll take two thanks.
 
my all time favorite user cost me 30$

the benchmade monochrome. discontinued You can still find them.
 
GingivitisKahn said:
Apparently I like cheap knives that are long on value. My Vic Huntsman, KaBar Dozier Folding Hunter and Becker BK-11 all fall in your cheap knives bucket and I expect all three of those to outlast me.

Glad you can afford to pony up for vastly more expensive knives though. That's cool.

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Beckerhead #42
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U sound bitter.
 
I am a user not a collector, but I do appreciate a quality tool. I could care less about price and learned years ago that, after a certain point, price was not necessarily an indicator of quality and that each knife had to be evaluated on its own merits. I use a Randall every year during deer season. I EDC'd an Emerson CQC-10 daily for the last year until I started carrying a Spyderco Tenacious - about a $30 knife. This is the best knife deal on the planet in my ignorant and humble opinion. My favorite knife is a case medium stockman - about a $50 knife.
 
Chinikaylo said:
U sound bitter.
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Wasn't intentional - sorry it came across that way. I intended that to be sincere - glad the OP has the cash to spend on the knives he really wants.

Personally, I dig high value / low cost stuff like the knives I have - so it all works out.

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Beckerhead #42
 
I already have all the higher end knives i need. Now all I really buy are moras. I was always looking for the perfect knife, now i found it. All I really ever use are moras and a brkt bravo 1.
 
I have a number of expensive knives, and like many here I can still be charmed by interesting cheap yet capable knives. Many of these are modern classics, like Opinel, Victorinox, Mora, Douk-Douk, Mercator, etc.
Yet these days there are also interesting made in china products. I'm thinking specifically about:
- several Böker Plus products (the Rhino, Pocket Bowie and Exskeliburs are all great),
- a number of traditional Rough Rider knives,
- and a few from Sanrenmu who actually is an outsourcing partner for several western companies. Sanrenmus which I find particularly good are the 710 (the one resembling the small Sebenza), the clever 763, the gentle 728 and the great for food prep 939.
- the current Byrd line with flat ground blades

All of the above offer decent midrange performance with these days also nice fit and finish.
 
Sure I buy inexpensive knives. I'm interested in the knife and it's capabilities and aesthetics, regardless of price. Admittedly, most of the ones I buy are in the $200-$400 range, but I'm always game to spring for a $20 folder if it grabs my attention.

- Mark
 
I usually carry an SnG but I recently purchased a Sanrenmu 710 for about 8 bucks. So yeah if I like the knife I'll buy it regardless if some think it's cheap.
 
OrdnanceBubbaUSMC said:
Cheap knives are almost the only knives I buy. Only 3 times I can recall spending over $60 for a knife since the late 80's. It's all personal taste and what you want (and if you have a nice income).

I've waited 2-3 years for a model to drop in price even though I really wanted it, my conscience is always telling me how much the materials actually cost and that there are knives under $50 that can take care of any/all needs.
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:thumbup::thumbup: I was browsing another running thread about what EDC people are carrying today, and somebody had a picture of an emerson cqc 10 that was in pristine shape, not a scratch to be found, and that was their EDC.:confused: show and tell maybe?

I "might" buy more expensive knives if I could afford it, but I use the hell out of my knives and my $30-50 ones work just fine :D
 
I LOVE cheap knives. And moderately priced ones. And especially the expensive, out of reach ones.

My Sebenza has never complained about the cheap knives it shares a pocket with.
 
knarfeng said:
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.
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Extremely well said! :thumbup::thumbup:
 
I've got many expensive knives, and I don't mind carrying and using one of these on regular bases. Weird thing is, that my favorite EDC knives are all under the $60 mark. Not because they're rather inexpensive, but because they just rock! Swiss Army Knives rock! Opinels rock! ESSEs and BK&Ts rock too!
I buy whatever knife I like. As long as the quality and capability is there.
 
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