Hello, everyone. Quick inquiry on a Smith & Wesson 'cheapie':

[Ry.]

Well, first of all; HELLO! First post, and though I may not be all that active right away (just decided to get back into procuring knives due to my need of their many practical applications), I WILL be seeing you all around, and on a regular basis come the near future.

Now, I bought this knife from a catalog owned by a family member. I have a thing for tanto blades, it was cheap but appeared to be durable enough for extended periods of outdoor use, and I needed a little folder to take with me anywhere I go, since the knife I've BEEN using is a fixed blade, belt-sheath knife which is decidedly too large and showy/obvious if I'm in public (I'm not one to walk around with a 9-10" knife on my hip in public. Makes me feel like a bit of a tool).

My questions are: 1.) Can anybody tell me how long this might hold up while staying fully functional, when used almost every single day (I spend most of my time in the woods) 2.) FINALLY; my first tanto! Now how steep is the learning curve when honing the blade? and 3.) I've tried finding this EXACT one on other 'sites so I can read reviews (there are none from where I ordered it). I was ordering it regardless, but wanted to know what to expect. Apparently, there are VERY MANY different models of S&W's 'Extreme Ops' (which I think is a lame name for an outdoors knife) knives, and I can't seem to distinguish a few models from it. There are completely different looking ones, and then one that APPEAR exactly the same. If anyone could help out with the model, I'd appreciate it greatly.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate any help I receive. So, without further delay, here's a link to where I ordered it from:

[Removed]

 

[Rutha73]

I haven't had that exact model, but I bought two S&W knives for a job that was really hard on blades. The first one was a frame lock version and the blade snapped in 3 places. The second one held up a little better, the blade never broke and it was a tanto design. After finally getting some Benchmades and Spydercos the S&W's feel pretty cheaply made. If it is a light use knife it should be good to go, might have to be sharpened more frequently than a higher end knife, but it will be good practice!

 

[RemyKaze]

The thing about cheap knives is that they require more work to sharpen and to keep sharp, which can be very frustrating for someone who always wants their knife sharpened and ready to work. However the biggest concern is that these items are not made to be safe. They include locks because that sells the knife, but there is no real testing of lock strength or strength of materials; it's all about quantity, not quality.

Best to go with an entry level knife that is proven, like an Ontario Rat 1, a Spyderco from the Tenacious line, or a Cold Steel. The Cold Steel Tri-Ad lock is one of the strongest locks made, so if you get one of those the only improvement you'll get with others knives are better blade steels, and smoother actions. The only locks I see competing with the tri-ad are the Spyderco compression lock, and the Benchmade Axis lock.

 

[DShiflet]

I have a couple of cheap S&W's. One of them, after about 3 months the liner started locking too far to right...once opened, you literally couldn't close it without using something to pry the liner back over. The second one was an assisted opener...the assist quit working right after a month, and there was a bit of blade play as well. The only one that's held up without any issues is the "Extreme Ops Urban Camo" framelock karambit. After a year it still locks up fine, closes fine, and has no blade play. All of them dull fairly quickly due to cheap steel however.

As for sharpening, tantos are easy to sharpen, it's like sharpening 2 straight edges, which is the simplest sort to sharpen...and that's good, cause you'll need to sharpen that S&W quite a bit.

Also, S&W knives aren't outdoors knives, they're primarily marketed as "tactical/self defense" knives, though due to the quality they're best used as just light utility knives-opening boxes or envelopes, cutting the occasional zip tie, that sort of thing. They are not meant for serious outdoor use, and the tanto shape in general is not considered an outdoors knife, it's considered a tactical/combat knife. If you're wanting a knife for serious outdoor use, don't get a S&W, and look for something other than a tanto.

 

[GWashington1732]

Welcome to Bladeforums.
Honest answer, S&W Knives aren't great, they're not even good. However, contrary to pessimist belief they probably won't self destruct on you and leave you bleeding with little blade bits stuck in you provided that you don't smack them with a hammer or some other popular internet stupidity. They will cut things, most of the time.

That said, they are not made to last, speaking of folding knives, they loosen up and gradually fall apart over time, how much time depends on the individual knife and how much you use it. They're incredibly soft and lose their edge in a hurry. They look like they were designed by 12 year olds and are shaped like wedges. They may have a dragon painted right on the blade. So, essentially, they're disposable junk knives worth a couple of pennies short of the $4 you can pick them up for at the flea market.

There are plenty of cheap knives that, if used correctly, will last forever. You can get some of the cheaper Buck, Kabar, or Kershaws easily in the $10-$15 range. Even at that price range, the difference between them and the S&W will be night and day. If you're serious about getting into knives, steer clear of S&W.

 

[Comeuppance]

Cheap knives are rarely, if ever, worth it. They may look cool and not cost much, but they will break, lose their edge quickly, and fall apart with all haste - potentially injuring you, or leaving you without a tool or weapon at a time of need. You'll likely find, if you get deeper into knives, that you start becoming more focused on manufacturing standards and materials. If you gave me 40 bucks and told me to get a folding knife to go into the wilds with, I would have some options:

• 4-6 gas station knives
• 2-3 Smith and Wesson knives
• 1 Cold Steel Large Voyager

I'd go with the last one every time.

I've had about a half dozen Smith and Wesson knives. The blade steels were soft, lost their edges after very little use, and were very difficult to sharpen. The liner and framelocks very quickly wore completely to the point of touching the other handle scale, and they all had fairly noticeable blade play. The handle materials were often not particularly pocket-friendly when used with a pocket clip - rubber on one, causing it to catch on the fabric, and the other had an extremely aggressively-textured aluminum handle scale that was basically sandpaper.

They're basically producing knives on the quality level of the no-name mall-ninja gas station knives. They look kinda neat, most are assisted, and they're extremely low quality at a price that doesn't justify the manufacturing standards they have.

For the same price as many of the Smith and Wesson knives, one can get Kershaw, Cold Steel, Spyderco, CRKT, and Boker+ knives that have almost immeasurably better quality control and materials. Those companies also have good warranties and customer service.

If you want to stay on the cheap at the cost of having no warranty, SanRenMu and Enlan make very good knives at low prices. I've purchased about 15 knives from those companies combined, and only one had a manufacturing defect. Given that I paid less than $20 per knife - often less than $15 - shipped from China, I can accept getting one bad 9-dollar knife that I was just mildly curious about to begin with.

If I might make some suggestions:
Spyderco Tenacious (Not suited for work in the woods, but a quality level that blows S&W out of the water at a similar price point)
Spyderco Dragonfly (One of the most utilitarian knives made)
Kershaw Leek (Probably the only assisted knife people here will strongly recommend)
Kerhsaw Junkyard Dog (Great steel, great blade shape, maybe outside your price range, but worth it)
CRKT Drifter (A classic, well-tested, well-loved cheap knife)
CRKT Ripple (One of the smoothest flipper knives you can get for under $150)
Cold Steel Voyager (Tough as nails folders)
Cold Steel Code 4 (Similar to the Voyager, different handle and size)
Cold Steel Kobun (5.5" Tanto fixed blade)

The Chinese knives:
Enlan EL-01 (A sturdy and well-made large flipper that can be had for less than 20 bucks)
Enlan EL-08 (A heavy as hell beefy beater knife, typically runs about 25-30 bucks)
Sanrenmu 710 (A small EDC folder with a classic, if not arguably plagiarized design. Cheap, reliable, sturdy.)

All of the aforementioned knives run less than 40 bucks (with the exception of the Cold Steel Code 4 and the Kerhsaw Junkyard Dog) if you do some searching through some sites, say a large retail site named after a south american rainforest or a very famous online auction site.

That said, fixed blades are really where it's at as far as outdoor use. Check out Ka-Bar's Becker line, ESEE's knives, and Ontario Knives. All of the brands and knives I mentioned have pictures, information, specs (and slightly inflated but roughly reasonable prices) at BladeHQ.com.

Welcome to Bladeforums, knives in general, and a rabbit hole that just keeps going down and down and down.