High priced knife to low priced knife.

D

Dazed

Joined
Jan 10, 2013
Messages
14
I noticed there's some cheapo folder knifes out there (10,15,20 dollars blades) say compared to spyderco's or a higher quality blade manufacture pricing certain blades at over 100 dollars. What makes the difference in this quality, and how do you tell?

-Thanks
 
First, welcome to the forums, now as to your question, there's no simple answer, I've been collectin' for 35-40 years and I still learn somethin' new everythime I come on here.

The biggest difference in cheap vs expensive knives is fit and finish, how well is it put together, how smooth is the action, (aka walk and talk) are the scales fit well, no gaps ect, although as off shore manufacturin' sites get more acclimated to the equipment and the workers become proficient at their jobs some of their more traditional patterns are reasonable knives for a economy price. (Now if yer talkin' cloned tactical knives that's a different story altogether, I've never seen a modern clone that wasn't a POS and dangerous to boot)

The next big difference is materials, premium steel, premium scale materials and more complex patterns will increase the cost but not necessarily the quality or resale value.

As far as learnin' how to tell, read everything ya can about what yer interested in, (pattern, makers, materials), handle as many knives as you can and ask questions as you can from knowledgeable members and search the forums and archives here at BFC.

Hopefully this answers at least a few of your questions, I'm sure there will be no shortage of advice from other members here.

Again Welcome To BFC and sorry for the addiction you're about to become part of. ;)
 
Materials I.e. (Handle materials like Ti,carbon fiber, mammoth tusk. Better blade steels) and quantity of said materials
Fit and finish
Craftsmanship
Original design and development
Performance
 
One last bit of advice, be patient, there are hundreds of new threads from all over the world every day, ask and you will get answers but be patient, ask and they will answer, ask every 10 minutes and all you'll get is the sound of crickets.
 
Welcome!

FYI, bumping a thread after only 17min has passed is excessive. Usually 'bumps' are done a day at a time.

What the others said is pretty much spot on. All about materials and whether they're made in the US or foreign. My current EDC is an Ontario RAT 1 which I picked up new for $25. If I didn't know better I'd say it was a $50+ dollar knife. Sometimes you come across items like this, where what you get is actually much better than what you'd expect for the price. These gems are what keeps me around as I haven't been bitten by the bug that allows you to spend $200+ on a single knife. To each their own!
 
In addition to what others have said, the better knifes are typically backed by better customer service and warranties than cheaper knives. Reliability over a long period of time is a consideration as well.
 
Yep, fit and finish, quality of materials and manufacturing, and most difficult to assess without owning the knife, the quality of the heat treatment.
 
When you ask, we'll answer, just be patient.
I know how antsy you can get when wanting an answer though.

The difference between my $100+ Spyderco Para 2 and $20 Spyderco Kiwi is unmistakable. The things you will see changes in are:
Blade Steel - A more expensive knife normally has a better steel that can take more use, abuse, and hold an edge much longer.
Materials - Handle materials are a big thing, on cheap knives you may see Aluminum or a cheaper steel, when you have a more expensive knife you'll see differences in the materials such as G-10, Titanium, Thick Steel.
Locking mechanisms - As you get into higher knives you'll see All kinds of nice super reliable locks. You'll also see simple locks made better.
Fit and finish - You'll begin to see cleaner lines, less likeliness to fall apart, you'll feel the solidity and quality.
 
Ultimately, the price difference is what the manufacturer can charge for the knife the people are willing to pay and will net the manufacturer some acceptable profit (who's expenses are well beyond the cost of raw materials for the knives).

That said, though, the factors that seem to contribute most towards big steps up in price are:

- Blade steel - This seems to have the most consistent and significant impact on prices. Edge retention is probably one of the biggest differentiators, but there are many other properties (toughness, stain resistance, hardness, grain size, etc.). This isn't remotely close to being an exhaustive list of steels, but some common ones include: low cost - 420HC, 440A, 8Cr13MoV ... moderate cost - Sandvik, AUS-8 ... high cost - VG-10, S30V, 154CM ... really high cost - ZDP-189, Elmax, S110V

- Handle materials - Most materials don't seem to have a big impact on knives, but there are a few that tend to drive up the cost quickly. Stuff like plastic, FRN, steel, aluminum, and G10 don't seem to affect cost much. Some natural materials (eg. bone or wood) can have noticeable cost impact if that particular is uncommon or scarce. The premium materials I can think of that significantly drive up costs in production knives are titanium and carbon fiber.

- Brand/manufacturer - This is more difficult to quantify, as it doesn't directly track to materials, designs, fit & finish, or anything else that can really be measured looking at just the end product (ie. the knife) itself. This falls more on the business side. Each company is likely to have different business costs (eg. employees, equipment, property, licensing, etc.) and different profit goals (eg. target margins for each product sold). All those get factored into pricing the product. Also, there's just plain ol' branding. Some brands will charge more for their name simply because they can and people will buy it (reputation, pride of ownership, or any number of arbitrary rationales).
 
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