Good Knives on a Budget

A

Adventure Wolf

Joined
Sep 1, 2012
Messages
160
Let’s face it. The country is facing hard economic times and not all of us can afford knives that cost $100+ dollars, yet still enjoy collecting knives. Try as I may, I could not find a thread that talked about good knives that were in my affordability range.

I can spend an upward of 60 dollars a month to buy a good knife. Is there any good knives in my affordability range or will I have to save up to buy a good knife?
 
Any idea what you'd be wanting to use it for, where, how you'd be carrying it, and any preferred features? The number of high-quality budget-friendly offerings out there are staggering if you know what you want and what to look for.
 
Up to 60 bucks? You can get a ton of fun!:

Spyderco Endura
Spyderco Delica
Victorinox Trekker (best value for the money I've ever spent)
Becker BK14
Becker BK16 (62 dollars)
Gerber Profile (made in China, but doesn't show up on the blade)
Mora #1
Leatherman Sidekick or Wingman
Kabar Heavy Bowie
Kabar Kukri
Spyderco Native 4
Estwing Camping Axe
 
A lot of Case knives are well under 60 dollars as well as a big part of the Buck catalogue.
 
In light of your original statement about the country facing tough economical times. I would chose a knife made in the USA.

Case sod buster
Buck Vantage
Becker bk16
Sypderco native
Izula one or two
 
Anything by Kershaw, Spyderco, Ka-Bar, Becker, Ontario, Condor, Imacasa, Marble's, Buck, Queen, Case, Wenger, Opinel, Mora, or Victorinox in your price range will almost certainly be excellent.

I can give a qualified recommendation to Cold Steel, Boker, Sanrenmu, and CRKT. Those three companies make many good knives, and some knives that might disappoint. All I can say is: always research your purchase, and pay attention to the negative reviews as much as the positive.

Something else you might want to do is hang around the Himalayan Imports forum and watch for Deals of the Day and blemish sales. You can occasionally find beautiful and functional traditional Nepalese knives(designed for average American sized hands) within your price range if you are fast on the draw there. Make sure you read the ordering information in the Himalayan Imports Link Library sticky there if you go this route.

Also, Kershawguy and FortyTwoBlades on here each have websites where they sell blemished knives. Both have excellent customer service.

And of course, watch the knife exchange forums on here for good deals.
 
I recently purchased a Cold Steel American Lawman and I am impressed, especially for $55.
 
My recommendation is, if you need a knife now, just buy the dirt cheap yet over-achieving Enlan EL01. Keep the rest of your money, and save the next two months as well. Then you'll have something like 165 dollars to spend on a top class knife...
 
+1 for <$60 Spydercos, and Kershaw.
IMHO, Kershaw has many outstanding value offerings at that price point.
Especially if you watch the forums for lightly used.

~ Edge
 
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