Ever Bought A Cheapo Knife, No Name Brand, Imitation etc. That You Absolutely Loved?

Ogien

Ogien

Joined
Jan 30, 2012
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233
Last time I tried doing a thread like this it ended up in a total debacle and it was my fault for mis-stating the intention of the thread.

So, like the title says, have you ever bought some cheapo knife that is either a made up "Brand" or is not claimed by any brand that you absolutely loved?

I've had a few knives like this where the design and quality of materials were way better than the percieved knife "cheapness" suggest that they should be? Please post any and all pictures and you may want to stay away from posting Knock-offs with a fake brand on the knife. I made this mistake and some didn't even read my posts effort to be the first to flame me.

So please post the story of how you happened upon that loveable cheapie that turned out to be better then you ever thought it could be.

While we wait I'll see if I can find any pics of some of the "cheapo" no brand knives I've owned over the years that impressed me. One knife, that I've had for over 20 years is the "Torero." I've done everything with this knife since I was a kid including using it to work on several engine rebuilds (along with other tools obviously) and so on. See picture below of my Torero in all it's majesty. (LOL Watch it turn out that it's some uber-high end knife that I'd just never heard of.) Also it is made in Japan if the stamp on the blade is to be believed.

If I had to guess I would say this knife has been in my posession since the late 80s.

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I once bought a folder on eBay when I was 15. It was a folding trench knife with an Americanized tanto blade. It was $8, so I said "Why not?". The blade was stamped "China knife- Steel Surgery" and the aluminum handle boldly stated "US 1917". It locked up pretty solid, came really sharp (surpristingly), and was my edc for a year before I tossed it aside for a Cold Steel.

The only markings on the box were a string of numbers, China, and "Razor Knife". The box sported a photo of the Terminator in front of a flaming background.
 
Well one of my first cheapo knives that I absolutely love and used the heck out of was a old Mtech in 440C. I did not know much about knives when I got it, but that was one of my first larger folders besides from swiss army knives and it really got me going. I bought and used chinese knives for awhile because I could afford them and did not know the differences between a good knife and a bad knife. That was when I was 11 yrs old I think. At the age of 14-15 I learned more about knives and that is how my addiction led up to what it is now at 18 yrs old.
 
wvryn said:
I once bought a folder on eBay when I was 15. It was a folding trench knife with an Americanized tanto blade. It was $8, so I said "Why not?". The blade was stamped "China knife- Steel Surgery" and the aluminum handle boldly stated "US 1917". It locked up pretty solid, came really sharp (surpristingly), and was my edc for a year before I tossed it aside for a Cold Steel.

The only markings on the box were a string of numbers, China, and "Razor Knife". The box sported a photo of the Terminator in front of a flaming background.
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LMAO, the Terminator on the package absolutely cracked me up. Sounds like you had some fun with that knife, do you still have it or is it lost to the ages?

AddictedToGear said:
Well one of my first cheapo knives that I absolutely love and used the heck out of was a old Mtech in 440C. I did not know much about knives when I got it, but that was one of my first larger folders besides from swiss army knives and it really got me going. I bought and used chinese knives for awhile because I could afford them and did not know the differences between a good knife and a bad knife. That was when I was 11 yrs old I think. At the age of 14-15 I learned more about knives and that is how my addiction led up to what it is now at 18 yrs old.
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Yeah, pretty much my knife addiction word for word. Do you still have any of those old Chinese knives?

Personally I know I've given away/lost more of them than I can count but some I remember very fondly.
 
Ogien said:
LMAO, the Terminator on the package absolutely cracked me up. Sounds like you had some fun with that knife, do you still have it or is it lost to the ages?
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I gave it to my brother, who in turn traded it to a kid at school for some video games. I wish I had that box to show you guys. The only rival to that kind of silliness was the box of a 'katana' I had purchased at 15 from eBay. The sword was brandless, made of "carbon steel", was a quarter inch thick with a 42 inch long, 2 and a half inch wide blade. The box said "Ninja Sword", China, and had some Asian writing on it. On the front was Tom Cruise from The Last Samurai.

But I digress...
 
It happens from time to time, but I have been avoiding those kind of purchases. I have a nimravus knock off that I haven't got rid off because it has my first-ever made by myself kydex sheath, and after convexing it got a scary sharp edge, solid chunk of steel that has been thrown and abused quite a bit. I also have a folder with only a "440 steel" mark with a push button lock, after a year using it and finding about auto conversions, opened it up and sure enough, I only had to drop a spring in the well and screw back up. Hardest firing auto that I have put a spring on.
 
zuluninja said:
It happens from time to time, but I have been avoiding those kind of purchases. I have a nimravus knock off that I haven't got rid off because it has my first-ever made by myself kydex sheath, and after convexing it got a scary sharp edge, solid chunk of steel that has been thrown and abused quite a bit. I also have a folder with only a "440 steel" mark with a push button lock, after a year using it and finding about auto conversions, opened it up and sure enough, I only had to drop a spring in the well and screw back up. Hardest firing auto that I have put a spring on.
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Yeah, some of these things the repairs aren't that difficult if you're at all technically minded. I've often wondered if that "440" mark on almost every knife I've seen actually was legit or was it just decoration. lol
 
gadunz said:
An edc of mine. Pacific Cutlery, China.
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Jobless, I can picnic everyday.
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I have a similar one made by, I think, Imperial but I could be mistaken. Pretty cool little gadget though, no doubt about that. Bring on the zombie apocalypse cause we've got out fork, spoon and knife along with a few extras.
 
Ogien said:
I have a similar one made by, I think, Imperial but I could be mistaken. Pretty cool little gadget though, no doubt about that. Bring on the zombie apocalypse cause we've got out fork, spoon and knife along with a few extras.
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I have one of those. It's actually a pretty nice design because it separtes, and it has a can opener which IMHO is an absolute requirement for a hobo tool. The factory grind on the blade is a joke though - you would have to sharpen it before committing suicide.
 
The best cheapie I bought a over the last two years is the Canadian Belt knife made by cold steel. I cannot recall what moved me to buy it but I just love using the knife. The performance it just unbelievable at the price. Ok, most use so far has been for kitchen type of functions. I also cannot keep up buying enough of the knife. I've bought about ten so far and keep on giving it away so that people can feel what a nice little worker it is. The good thing is that every time I give one away it is the one I am busy using.
 
Kletsou said:
The best cheapie I bought a over the last two years is the Canadian Belt knife made by cold steel.
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He's looking for no-name brands...love 'em or hate 'em, Cold Steel is definitely a major name in the knife world, far from being a no name brand.

I once bought a $5 gas station folder when I was a lot younger...it was small, had a fully serrated karambit style blade, but the handle(black metal, aluminum I assume, with textured red inlays, no designs or anything) curved in the opposite direction and and was not karambit style. I carried that thing for years, using it to open boxes and mail, and occasionally cutting a zip tie...worked fine, centered well, locked up nicely, never had any blade play, but I have no clue what it was. The blade was stamped China, but nothing else, and there were no markings or brand names on the handle either.
 
Had a no-name, made in china, wanna-be Buck 110 Copy when I was younger. I carried it for almost four months and used it a lot. Sadly, the cheap steel ended up getting a burr on the rounded pivot-point where the knife folds, making it somewhat hard to open. Then I purchased a real Buck 110 (Huge Difference). Later on I ended up selling that no-name folder for $2 at a garage sale. Not a bad deal for a knife that cost me $5.
 
Well, this is in my EDC rotation, despite the poor quality just because I love the ergos, and it does look nice (IMHO)... Despite being by a German company, I have no reason whatsoever to belive it's anything but low quality Chinese product.

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A caddie slicer for my kitchen.

bought it for work ($25 is dirt cheap), as backup knife, turns out it performs like a champ and does not bend chip or dull, not easily anyways.

I still use it after 7-8 years and shows no sign of aging either.
 
Enlan IS a brand, and they make really good bang-for-the-buck folders. Let's try to avoid the SRM family drama that is sure to follow, shall we? :D
 
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