High End vs. Medium End vs. Low End

milefile

milefile

Gold Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2025
Messages
16
I’ve not been into collecting knives for very long. I’ve always had a few and been kind of picky about them, but this year something clicked and I guess I’m a bit obsessed now. There were some pricey knives I had to have, and plenty I have yet to acquire. And there are some eye wateringly expensive knives I can’t ever picture myself paying for. What’s a little unexpected, though, is how much I appreciate budget knives. Recently I picked up a QSP Penguin and a Vosteed Raccoon and they’re both great. You can for sure tell the difference between that and a Pro-Tech or an Axial OTF (a couple at the higher end of my collection), but I still really enjoy them. I have a Kizer Original Copper on the way. And I just impulse bought a Spyderco Tenacious in carbon fiber. Anyway, just wondering if any of you guys also have diverse collections of budget knives and nicer stuff or do you focus just the nicer stuff or whatever. Thanks and have a great weekend.
 
I have an "accumulation", rather than a "collection", of knives You could call me a "power EDC'er", always looking for something better than what I'm carrying, or curious about how some feature or steel would work for me.

It's been my experience over the decades that bad things sometimes happen to knives. I have lost a few here and there due to various reasons. So there's only so much money I'm willing to place at risk by spending it on a knife that's going into my pocket...and they all end up in my pocket, at least for a spell.

My interest in a knife starts to vaporize if it costs more than $150 at today's prices (used to be lower back when you could get a US-made Benchmade Griptilian for $55 and a Spyderco Native IV for $50.). I have made a couple of exceptions, but only a couple.

I have some well made inexpensive knives (Mora, Opinel, etc.); but I have no cheap knives. I tend to avoid knives made in China, though I have made some exceptions.

Welcome to the madness.
 
I’m with you here. There are a surprising number of budget knives that are of very good quality. Many use more affordable steels that aren’t the latest trends, but still more than up to the task for most of us. I have a bunch in my modest collection that feel and work as well or better than some ‘higher-end’ stuff. The most expensive knife I’ve bought was an Arno Bernard iMamba, which I’ve since traded back to the seller for a Hinderer Eklipse. I seriously doubt I’ll ever spend that much on a knife again. I went on a tear awhile back and bought four CRK’s, but ended up selling two. For the most part, I think I have more appreciation for the more affordable stuff, mainly because they’re actually going to get used, while the more expensive ones are just lookers because they’re too nice to chance getting messed up. That’s just a thing with me. I have a handful of mid-techs, but many of the knives I’m happiest with are of the ‘budget’ variety.
 
Sometimes budget knives are remarkable. After being impressed with the Cold Steel Recon 1, I bought a 4MAX Scout and was blown away by the quality of the knife. Heavy knife, but you can always grow stronger ;)
 
“Anyway, just wondering if any of you guys also have diverse collections of budget knives and nicer stuff or do you focus just the nicer stuff or whatever.”

Nothing you listed in your post is a POS. I carry high quality, made in USA blades, but I’m not above carrying a Kizer, Civivi, etc. here and there and own a few.
 
I don't think I have ever spent over $200 on a knife yet. I know I have come close. I spent just under that for a 535 Bugout recently. Fortunately, my wife did it for me.

As I consider a new knife, I find myself asking what I am gaining with my purchase. Steel upgrade? Better ergonomics? What? Most of the time, it is not worth the purchase.
I have pretty much stopped chasing steel and now focus more on blade geometry and overall knife ergonomics.

Most of my favorite knives are budget blades. One of my all-time favorites is the US-made Kershaw Zing, a $50 knife when new.
 
Low end for me would be what you could buy cheaply in a e.g. supermarket, sometimes with the shop's name on it or no-name. We are talking a few dollars, no brand or surgical steel, stainless, a working basic knife.

That may shock many here, but that is what most people carrying a knife would carry.
It cuts, can be sharpened if needed, without worrying about spoiling the geometry, or you bin it and get anew one.

QSP, Sencut, Buck, RR, would be considered expensive by most knife users.

The same way I buy a very cheap hammer and use it for years. whereas I assume there is "hammersForum" (HF ,patent pending) somewhere where they are discussing high end hammers and would consider a 100 dollar hammer as a low end, beginners tool.
 
Especially over the last decade, the budget market has really exploded with quality options in the $40-120 range. More companies are using 14C28N, Nitro-V, and 154CM at competitive prices. Both 9Cr18Mov and 10Cr15CoMov are solid with a good heat treatment, such as on the Civivi and Sencut knives. Kizer and Kubey have been especially impressive lately. (Below is my Kubey Hyde in Ultem.) Most run on ceramic bearings now and some of the Kizers are even using multi-row bearings.

There are occasional gems under $40. Petrified Fish has some bangers in D2 at the $30 level. Compromises can become more obvious under $40 and most stuff under $20 is junk. Especially with the way inflation has gone, this end of the curve of diminishing returns just offers so much improvement for so little more. The difference betwen $20 and $40 knives can be a veritable chasm and $60 opens the quality floodgates. I think I got that Kubey Hyde in 14C28N for around $60.

Higher end stuff is cool but there, the curve of diminishing returns goes the other way. Just conisdering steel, the decent budget steels mentioned above are all pretty good and while super steels might hold their edges longer, it's never by enough that it really matters with a large rotation or occasional sharpening. (All are way better than 8Cr13Mov and lesser steels.) That would matter more if I actually carried the same knife every day but still, you really need a lot of hard use or to be cutting up lots of dirty cardboard to be seriously disappointed by 154CM or even Nitro-V.

Given the increases I mentioned, build quality might not start getting appreciably better until you're spending like $300. For instance, the North Arm Skaha II is easily my best liner lock but at $300, I have lots of sub-$100 knives that get close on action, lock-up, and/or ergonomics. I've had $500+ frame locks and where they really only tend to excel versus a lot of the $200 stuff I have in the heat treatment on the steel. (Again, that can matter depending on your use.) Honestly, most of the $200ish frame locks I have from WE, Kizer, and Kubey actually have better action than the $500+ stuff I've had.

Of course, the overhead in losing or damaging stuff is another factor. (Edited to add, if you want some really nice for your money, get a custom fixed blade on the exchange here. Your money will go a lot longer than with higher-end production folders.)

mct5uDv.jpeg
 
Last edited:
I find a $200 knife plenty nice, and I have had $500-$800 knives, still got a couple. The two sun , Vosteed and kizer that sport the m390 and ELMAX, those are some of my favorite, no big expenditure to get a few. If I see one I got to have I’ll post some to sell and keep a slowly moving inventory , with maybe 30% keepers. I don’t focus on any certain price range, but buying 3 for the price of 1 is more fun. Right now I only have a couple I might sell, so I’m getting way too many keepers. You start out here buying the “guttermost” and a few years later you buying the “uttermost”. 😉
 
calm said:
The same way I buy a very cheap hammer and use it for years. whereas I assume there is "hammersForum" (HF ,patent pending) somewhere where they are discussing high end hammers and would consider a 100 dollar hammer as a low end, beginners tool.
Click to expand...
My family has been carpenters for generations, they take very good care of their hammers and spend a bunch on them. Maybe not as much as back in the 70-80s due to nail guns. Depends on the tool. Chefs are probably the same way about their knives.
 
High End . . .Low End . . . .I try to buy quality as I perceive it.

My limited experience in knife buying runs to one Randall and two Chris Reeves knives. I also have a box of knives that I got as gifts from family . . .some pretty nice (a big Spiderco), a few medium nice (two Buck folders) and one or two I am embarrassed into keeping. I also have a couple of WW-II era pocket folders issued to the Marines, the so-called Engineer's Knife.


Buy what you like. Use 'em or hold 'em as you see fit. In using knives, what works best as you use 'em that makes the difference. When it comes to collecting knives, it is what satisfies you that counts.
 
I remember when my son bought a Sig/Hogue OTF. He proudly showed it to me. I asked how much. When he told me I was just stunned. I couldn’t have imagined spending that much on a knife. Now I’ve spent more than that a few times.

Thank you for all the great replies. I concur on all accounts.

It seems like in recent years actual junk is more rare than it used to be and there are good values to be had. The assumption that Chinese made stuff is automatically garbage really isn’t true anymore. But it definitely can be.

I have a Chinese mechanical chronograph that I paid $105 for. It’s an homage to a Breitling that costs $5000. The Chinese watch is good, fit and finish is good, the movement is an older Swiss movement sold to China over 50 years ago and they’ve been making them since (Seagull). I used to turn my nose up at that kind of thing. I’ve definitely become more flexible in recent years. But I still like expensive things too. It’s just that my bank account disagrees.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top