Do yourself a favor and buy a CHEAP knife!

[jill jackson]

Much wisdom is contained in this quote.



There's a problem here.

Superior steels? Most users don't want that, even for free. They want something that can be honed out in a second, and get back to work. I know I don't want that in a working knife- 1095 and 420HC are good enough, anything else is more of a PITA than it's worth.

Build quality and locks is one where I'd ask you to define your terms. I've put some $20 knives through the wringer further than most anyone will put their "superior" high-dollar piece. My go-to work knives for years were a Camillus Scout, a Schrade stockman and a Buck 450. Those are cheap knives, but I'd put them in a work environment against anyone.

Treasure your Rolex as much as you want, but there are times when a Timex is just what you need.

Like I said they don't get it. They aren't into knives enough to look at what I and most that post here do. That's fine too. Not everyone is deeply involved in knives.

 

[Ankerson]

Like I said they don't get it. They aren't into knives enough to look at what I and most that post here do. That's fine too. Not everyone is deeply involved in knives.

I really believe most people just buy what the Big Box stores carry and really don't give it a second thought.

I hardly ever see anyone carrying a mid range to high end folder or even fixed blade.

Some even might buy what their sporting goods store might have, but there again most of that is what they Big Box Stores sell.

You really have to want to buy high quality knives and look for them today. You won't find them in the stores for the most part so you have to look on the internet, but then you have to have some idea of what you are looking for.

For most people who are not really knife people spending over $50 on a folding knife just isn't going to happen when they can buy a knife for $20 or less. The thought of spending $100 on a knife is not even there let alone over $200+.

For fixed blades, well don't even get me started on that one. LOL

 

[Sword and Shield]

Like I said they don't get it. They aren't into knives enough to look at what I and most that post here do. That's fine too. Not everyone is deeply involved in knives.

Should they be?

If it works for them, and I know guys who have carried the same "cheap" knife for 20 years, what exactly is the need to go further? My father carried a Camillus lockback for 20 years. A good friend of mine has carried a Gerber LST since the late 70s, the same one. If it works, why should they be pushed to improve it?

 

[jill jackson]

Should they be?

If it works for them, and I know guys who have carried the same "cheap" knife for 20 years, what exactly is the need to go further? My father carried a Camillus lockback for 20 years. A good friend of mine has carried a Gerber LST since the late 70s, the same one. If it works, why should they be pushed to improve it?

No they shouldn't be. Just because I enjoy the features of better knives doesn't mean anything. They certainly have the right to do as they please.
Last time I tried to impose my knife buying habits on a friend with a cheapo he just changed the subject.

 

[CID25]

I've found that carrying a decent, but not too expensive folder (recently its been a spyderco endura) and keeping one of those olfa utility knives with the replaceable blades in my toolbox rounds out my utility uses nicely

 

[pinkfloyd101]

Most people don't buy knives in the $100 plus range to have a knife that cuts better than a cheaper one. A cheap china made $5 knife and a $400 dollar custom will cut for the most part the same if both sharpened right. Its the fact of owning something special to them that they like. i worked my ass off to save up for the knife i wanted for a long time(CRK Umnumzaan), and i finally got it, that is why it is 100% worth it to me to have an expensive knife, because it shows the effort i put into getting it. PLus like said earlier the steel, ergos, F&F, lock are 5x better than a cheap-o knife. I'm sorry but i DO think steel does make a huge difference. I have had cheap knives with 440A steel that gets dull in minutes of cutting cardboard, when s30v would last all day. Then when getting home i spend 5 min stropping it back to razor sharp vs. spending a hour throughout the day using stones. And as the rolex goes...I don't even have a watch at all...My cell phone i got for free tells me the time It is what YOU cherish in life.

 

[Confederate]

I have had nothing but grief with most cheap knives; however, I'd be less than honest if I didn't admit that I've bought some knives that have surprised me. None that I'd want to carry, but some that have surprised me in terms of locking ability and the ability to cut.

This one, for example, I keep downstairs in the event I need to open or cut up boxes. It's a frame lock and has one of the most dead-on locks I've seen on a knife. The blade is sharp, stays sharp for a respectable amount of time for what it's used for and is, for most of the time, tight (though I've had to tighten it twice). It's butt ugly and the quality is admittedly cheap, but it was worth the five bucks I paid for it. I've used it for things I wouldn't have used a better knife for and, strangely, it's no worse for wear.

I also have a Frost fixed blade that has solid plastic handles and a heavy blade. Cost me $10 shipped, and it's a great yard knife. My wife uses it to dig up weeds and to cut back vines. We've also put it in the trunk for long trips. It stays sharp longer than I would have thought possible and makes a formidable weapon. Also cuts through ice in the winter with no problem. How could one go wrong?

It's patterned after the S&W Homeland Security, which is a much better knife, and a respectable one, actually.

I buy only good knives now because I just don't need garbage knives, but in a pinch even cheap knives can offer some functionality. On the whole, though, it's better to buy quality, though I'd never let my wife use a good knife for what she uses that Frost Delta Force knife for!

 

[blackjackdan08]

I got some good crkt knives for 15 bucks and less...I know many knife lovers hate crkt..but for a drag in the mud knife..thaey have some decent designs..made from decent materials for little money...

 

[Ken44]

My Dad said when he was growing up in the 60's and 70's, cheap knives was the norm.
He'd go to town with his Mom and there was a big display case at the Dollar store, with about 50 different models of Imperial folding knives. All sorts of patterns copied from American models such as the Barlow and 3 blade Case. They were made in Japan and so cheap they had hollow bolsters. Priced at 1.00 each he must have bought nearly every pattern they sold from the time he was 6 to 12 years old. He'd carry them to school and trade them with other kids. He hasn't got a single one today, as they were so poorly made they'd never withstand much abuse and that's something kids do well.
Having owned all sorts of pretty poorly made knives as a kid, he says we don't know how lucky we are with the vast selection of decent affordable knives today. Back then they wasn't nearly as common. So he doesn't have to look for cheap knives today, in order to appreciate good ones!

I must be about your dads age also,48. Had a friend in school whos dad was the local knife club president and had a hardware/knifestore near the school.
The hot knife in the later 60's was a Case barlow. They were under $5 and almost every boy in school had one. We traded knives at school like BB cards and Hotwheels.

But when the 70's hit there where plenty of nice knives to chose from. The Gerbers made in the 70's were my favorites, along with Puma's. I had a Puma Hunters Pal (stag) fixed blade and there Whitetail Hunter as a folder in 1978.
Both were great knives, much better than current Puma's. Also glad I kept all those mint Case stag Trappers I bought back in the 70's. Worth a good bit now. Those were good times for sure:thumbup:

Bought my first modern knife(spyderco indura) around 1980 and sure did love the hole. When that first one hand'ed liner lock came out I was really in heaven!

 

[MikeC]

Someone posted non-knife people won't consider spending over $50.00 bucks on a knife, I don't find that the case most of the people I associate with hunt, fish and generally spend a fair amount of time out of doors and while not "knife people" per say they all spend around a $100.00 or so on their folders and most have a fixed blade that is in the $150.00 to $200.00 range.

My mom and Dad go to Canton, TX for dollar days or whatever its called and theres always a guy there with a booth selling the el cheapos. My dad always buys a bunch as the guys special is 3 for 5. He's bought rite edge, maxam and some other assorted crap. He does it for kicks and always gives me a bag full when he returns. I give em away to my clients for their kids and stuff, whats funny is I'll once in a while taken one and carry it and the things come apart quick. I have even reached for some in the box by my desk and the knives both blades and metal in handle have started rusting and rusting bad just sitting in my office.

Will say this though one of the maxams he bought was a stag handled trapper and the thing is tight, solid and sharp and hasn't started rusting yet while sitting in my office I guess even a blind squirrel can find an acorn.

That said I've had some high end knives and there is simply no comparison to the cheap stuff, none at all. The cheap low end stuff is just that bad and the few quality high end pieces I've owned in the past were just that good. There is a obviously apparent and readily visible disparity in quality, let alone handling and using the two side by side then the difference becomes even more easily identified.

 

[A_Blade_Afficionado]

I've converted 5 of my coworkers to an S60V Blur, in all, 10 have been shipped to either me or some of my friends. They appreciate the quality.
At first, they wondered what a $60 (S60V Blur blem, quality on par with $100 folders when you consider materials) knife could do that their el-cheapo box cutter couldn't.
But once they held it, sliced paper, and felt the quality, they knew the difference.
Cheap knives are the first step to being a knifeaholic. But for anyone on these boards, I don't think any of us need to buy crap knives to appreciate the quality of our nice knives, we've already had crap knives, we don't need to relive those days.