Favorite “cheap knife”?

For a folder it would have to be a toss up between the Ontario Rat 1 or Spyderco Tenacious.

For a fixed blade either the Mora Kansbol or the cold steel peacemaker 2. Another toss up between two very good Bushcraft knives.
 
I bought a new Buck 110 with solid ebony handles and a leather sheath for $34.99 when the were on sale before Father's Day. Wouldn't call it "cheap", but definitely inexpensive for a quality usa made lockback with a stellar warranty. Love it. The 110 and 112 lts and slims are a great deal as well. I've gifted more of them than I've kept but great knives. For someone looking for something full flat grind style my money is on the Byrd line from Spyderco. I got a cara cara lightweight and a full stainless hawkbill as gifts over the years and they lock up solid and cut great. The cheap steel is easy to get screaming sharp and holds an edge well for daily tasks. :thumbsup:
 
I own a few Opinels and a Mora. Plus plenty of other inexpensive knives. But the one that sees the most pocket time is the Kershaw Injection. Got it on sale, too. A great design that works for me. The problem is that it turned out to be much more expensive than I had planned. I decided that I liked Rexford's designs, and have since ended up with a ZT0801 and 0808.

Runner-up would be my Rough Rider Canoe. Some days, a traditional fits better than a knife with a clip.
 
Used to be a Kershaw Zing until I overextended the lock bar making it virtually worthless. There's no stop for the lockbar travel which is just odd, pretty easy to mess it up. I may try and rebend it some day but honestly these days my cheapest user knife starts @ ~ $60 which is a Delica. I have a drawer full of Bestech, Ganzo, Kershaw, Boker, and the like that I've been slowly gifting out.

Once there's a substantial pile of premium knives it's tough to use a cheap knife even for nasty tasks. My Endura digs weeds in the garden and along w/the Delica they're my hard, ugly users around the farm if I'm not packing a fixed blade.
 
Kershaw has some nice designs in the $20 range that are really only let down by their steel choice or an occasionally goofy pocket clip. I actually love the Fraxion. I know the Atmos stole some of its thunder but minus the steel choice, it's quite a gem.

The Fraxion's detent is strong enough for carrying loose in a pocket while simultaneously helping it to open more effectively than a lot of their assisted models. It is small, thin, and light enough to disappear in the pocket of flannel shirt (especially with the clip removed). The shape of the CF panel provides surprisingly good traction in just the right place. It comes in a bunch of color combinations too. I really hope they get around to offering the Fraxion in 14C28N or another better budget steel.
 
Mine was the Kershaw Scrambler, discontinued but still available for $22.95. It’s sitting on my TV table now as a fidget knife. I must’ve flipped it a thousand times but it’s still solid as a rock.
 
Bought this knife in 1971 when I was 13. I sent away for it from Herters. Back in the old days when forms were filled out by hand, then you went to library to make a copy, then to the post office with coins carefully taped to cardboard.

A few years ago I saw a 1971 Herters catalog in good condition for 5 bucks.

Now I can see that the knife cost $1.90 plus sheath

Herter said knife was some incredible stuff, great marketing guy George. It was 440c

First thing I did in freshman year shop class was to grind off that thumb hump. My teacher helped me to keep it cool so we didnt ruin the temper. Times have changed



 
Mora Companion - excellent and fun to use. Ergonomics and light weight make it a joy to use.

Buck 110 - great warranty, comes with leather sheath, great cutting tool with pride of ownership.

SAK Hiker. Fantastic pocket carry tool that you will most likely use more than all your other knives.

Steel Will Modus- nice fit and finish and fun fidget factor.

All under 40 bucks.
 
Folts Minimalist. Well spent $22
Needs some edge work.
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Kabar Dozier for $20. Solid knife and a variety of handle colors.

The Ontario Rat 1 or 2 in D2 also needs another mention.
 
Do we go by market price for cheapness, or what we actually paid for cheapness? Because my Victorinox Fieldmaster is probably my favorite knife overall and I paid less than $20 at the time on ebay.
 
I’ve had some Higonokamis done by apprentice smiths which were outstanding knives. They are a strange family of knives as the price all depends on which smith made the blade.

Also my two blade + bottle opener + can opener nylon scaled SAK is a great knife I got on sale for dirt cheap. (Under 20$ cdn)
 
http://imgur.com/gallery/Kt9D2RV
The Ontario SP-2 pilot's survival knife is a 1/4 inch thick 1095 beast. The edge geometry is way too thick and obtuse, but I ground out a thinner convex edge. I also sharpened up that swedge. The teeth on the back are designed to rip through plane materials like sheet metal or fiberglass, but don't think it will dig into wood. It has a great feel to it and would survive major abuse, & as a $25 blade, I just wouldn't mind beating the heck out of it. I sent this and a gerber strongarm to my cousin in the army to use for some kind of ranger prep training.
 
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