Not in your $25 price range, depends on what you classify as long though. The only "decent" knife I can think of at the price you want is one of those Ontario old hickory knives. But as already mentioned above, your best bet is to save up a bit more money and get something a lot better.
Is Master Cutlery REALLY so bad? Low Budget Knives
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Not in your $25 price range, depends on what you classify as long though. The only "decent" knife I can think of at the price you want is one of those Ontario old hickory knives. But as already mentioned above, your best bet is to save up a bit more money and get something a lot better.
I'm gonna look through all the brands you suggested again. Answer the question above plz
Again, it depends on what you classify as long, tough and heavy, but check out the Morakniv 749 with an 8" blade in stainless or the 731 with a 5.8" blade in carbon steel.
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You could contact the shops you were browsing and see if they can order one for you. Seems like if they already stock Master Cutlery brands it might be possible.
My local knife shop has ordered stuff they don't usually stock for me several times and it was never an issue at all. Of course, if you're overseas that might change things, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.
If you're not planning on "hard use/abuse" (batoning/prying) or cutting extremely abrasive materials, you should be fine.
Just limit the amount you spend on cheap knives - depending on how deep you go in this hobby, you might be surprised at how many $100-500 dollar knives you pick up and not use.
Just limit the amount you spend on cheap knives - depending on how deep you go in this hobby, you might be surprised at how many $100-500 dollar knives you pick up and not use.
What blade length are you looking for?
The Marttiinni Timberjack is a bit more robust than your typical Mora, and can be found here in the states for ~$15 typically. Its not a especially long blade though (~4in). The Mora Robust/HD is similarly thicker than the normal Mora, and costs about the same as the timberjack. There are longer bladed Moras, but most aren't as thick as it sounds like you're wanting.
Old Hickory knives are all cheap, and they have some larger options (including 7in, 10in, and 14in blade length options). They don't come with sheaths, nor are they very "tactical" in appearance. They are quite tough though, even if the blade stock isn't super thick. They run ~$15-20 or so here.
Schrade makes some pretty good knives for cheap, but most of those are in the $35-40 range, which sounds like its out of your price range.
The Cold Steel GI Tanto is an incredibly tough knife, that around here can be had for $25-30. The Cold Steel Trueflight thrower is also cheap, but less comfortable (again, mostly designed as a throwing knife), that is usually less than $20.
Have you thought about a Machete? Those are incredibly tough, cheap and large. A Tramontina 14in machete chops great, and can baton surprisingly well. They also usually cost less than $15.
Good luck finding something that works for you
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The Marttiinni Timberjack is a bit more robust than your typical Mora, and can be found here in the states for ~$15 typically. Its not a especially long blade though (~4in). The Mora Robust/HD is similarly thicker than the normal Mora, and costs about the same as the timberjack. There are longer bladed Moras, but most aren't as thick as it sounds like you're wanting.
Old Hickory knives are all cheap, and they have some larger options (including 7in, 10in, and 14in blade length options). They don't come with sheaths, nor are they very "tactical" in appearance. They are quite tough though, even if the blade stock isn't super thick. They run ~$15-20 or so here.
Schrade makes some pretty good knives for cheap, but most of those are in the $35-40 range, which sounds like its out of your price range.
The Cold Steel GI Tanto is an incredibly tough knife, that around here can be had for $25-30. The Cold Steel Trueflight thrower is also cheap, but less comfortable (again, mostly designed as a throwing knife), that is usually less than $20.
Have you thought about a Machete? Those are incredibly tough, cheap and large. A Tramontina 14in machete chops great, and can baton surprisingly well. They also usually cost less than $15.
Good luck finding something that works for you
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Hickory n steel
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I can certainly understand people having doubts regarding the quality of the brand, I had my doubts as well, and based on my doubts there are several models of Master Cutlery knives that I would never be interested in trying. What I find strange are blanket statements condemning the quality of the entire brand when there are at least two people in this thread who say they own Master Cutlery knives (different models), and we are both satisfied with their performance. So obviously the entire brand isn't "garbage".
But I can only speak for the knives I own and have used. And I would definitely say that the Master Cutlery knife that I regularly use is worth far more than what I paid for it. If I had paid $50 for it I would still consider it a great deal.
I don't know who actually made my Master Cutlery knives, and I don't even know what steel they're made of. All I know is that I own a knife with Master Cutlery stenciled on it, and after using it hard I've come to the conclusion that it's a quality knife, so much so that out of my Wilson Tactical, Al Mar, Entrek, and Lionsteel fixed-blades, my Master Cutlery is now my #1 fixed-blade.
But don't anybody get me wrong, I'm not going to lose sleep or break into tears because someone said something disparaging about Master Cutlery. I'm happy with my knives, they serve me well, and that's all that matters to me. People are free to express any opinion they want on this forum, even if they are expressing opinions on knives they have no experience with.
By the way, I also have some United Cutlery boot knives. And after torture testing one a bit, and having it survive without any sign of damage, I've come to the conclusion that United is also capable of producing some quality knives (quality, as in tough).
Nothing wrong with that.
There certainly can be and are some good cheap Chinese fixed blades out there. Pick one up on an impulse that's fine, but buy one because your on a budget and need a serious working knife no way. They don't yet have a known quality control and you can't afford to waste money to find out if you can get a good one. If a whole bunch of people on here are able to share positive experiences with one particular master cutlery knife model the we'd at least know that the majority of them are decent.
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All true, almost mentioned it myself. My 14" Tram came with a convexed edge from Baryonyx. It can really handle a lot more than I expected. Most of my large knives these days are Busse/SYKCO, but my Tram still gets used.
(Eta: The Tramontina chops well for what it is, but obviously there are going to be some big differences between a light machete in 2mm stock vs. a shorter "chopper" type blade with 5-7mm stock.)
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What blade length are you looking for?
The Marttiinni Timberjack is a bit more robust than your typical Mora, and can be found here in the states for ~$15 typically. Its not a especially long blade though (~4in). The Mora Robust/HD is similarly thicker than the normal Mora, and costs about the same as the timberjack. There are longer bladed Moras, but most aren't as thick as it sounds like you're wanting.
Old Hickory knives are all cheap, and they have some larger options (including 7in, 10in, and 14in blade length options). They don't come with sheaths, nor are they very "tactical" in appearance. They are quite tough though, even if the blade stock isn't super thick. They run ~$15-20 or so here.
Schrade makes some pretty good knives for cheap, but most of those are in the $35-40 range, which sounds like its out of your price range.
The Cold Steel GI Tanto is an incredibly tough knife, that around here can be had for $25-30. The Cold Steel Trueflight thrower is also cheap, but less comfortable (again, mostly designed as a throwing knife), that is usually less than $20.
Have you thought about a Machete? Those are incredibly tough, cheap and large. A Tramontina 14in machete chops great, and can baton surprisingly well. They also usually cost less than $15.
Good luck finding something that works for you
Marttiini seems like a finnish company, so i expected the knife to be really here in Europe. I was horribly wrong. The only store i found it in had it for... $90. They either mistyped the price or they are a really terrible shop.
Tramontina is just 60 PLN (convert it to USD if you want i'm currently busy and on my phone sry) so it'll be my last resort.
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MT-092
What do you think?
Several years back, the retailer Cheaper Than Dirt offered a line of "Rough Use" fixed blade knives for around $15USD, and there were torture test videos circulating showing that - when tested alongside other, more expensive knives - those cheap knives were extremely durable. Chopping wood, stabbing cinder blocks, supporting the reviewer's weight when jammed into a tree, etc.
Well, I ordered one drop-point version and one spear-point version, and they turned out to be M-Tech knives like what you posted. Now, I never actually used them for anything, as I was simply caught up in the "tactical" craze in those days, but compared to numerous other knives in that price range, these were sharp, had no finish flaws, and didn't rattle due to loose screws, broken tangs or ill-fitting components.
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I can only add that in most cases you get what you pay for.
There is a proven method and a general cost associated with that method/materials to get a knife to perform at a certain level of expectation.
I guess it depends on what you expect a $20 fixed blade to be able to do?
The thing is, using a knife that can't hold up to what you want to do with it is not only a waste of $, but can be very dangerous.
Just some things to think about....
There is a proven method and a general cost associated with that method/materials to get a knife to perform at a certain level of expectation.
I guess it depends on what you expect a $20 fixed blade to be able to do?
The thing is, using a knife that can't hold up to what you want to do with it is not only a waste of $, but can be very dangerous.
Just some things to think about....
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Junk means different things to different people... just sayin'...
Yeah, with Marttiinni being Finnish, I also thought you'd find it for cheaper there
. $90 is quite a bit more than I'd be willing to pay for a Timberjack.The Tramontina is the same price it is here though (~$15), so that is a good option.
Have you looked at the prices of Condor blades where you are? The Condor rodan is a good solid cheap blade. Costs ~$30 here. They're from el salvidor.
The svord general outdoors knife is similar, and can be had in the $25-35 range here. They're from New Zealand.
And, have you looked at using a good hatchet? An estwing is cheap here, and does well at the whole chopping/battoning requirement. You could then pair it with a Mora or similar to cover your bases.
Good luck finding something
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I'd recommend a Cold Steel G.I. Tanto as well. I bought one to use as a "beater", doing rough work like limbing small branches, chopping up wood (where an axe was cumbersome), and other general cutting tasks. Very sturdily built for such a cheap price and comes with a decent sheath. You'd be hard-pressed to do any real damage to the knife. Won't be the most handy for smaller cutting tasks like whittling and food prep though, but isn't overweildly like a machete.
It's almost twice my budget. Said that already.
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And, have you looked at using a good hatchet? An estwing is cheap here, and does well at the whole chopping/battoning requirement. You could then pair it with a Mora or similar to cover your bases.
Good luck finding something
This is a great recommendation!
OP, a mora and a decent hatchet won't put you too much over your budget, and you'll have 2 tools that excel at their job that way.
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Go to youtube there is almost certainly a video review of the knife you are looking for. There is a channel called: We All Juggle Knives and he has reviewed and tested some low cost knives to surprising results. A good portion of the budget import stuff is actually high quality. I don't personally have any experience with Master cutlery but I have picked up knives by MTech and some of them are really good. Elk Ridge is another company. My advice is stay away from the gimmicky fantasy stuff and stick to traditional designs. You may end up with a dud but it will likely cost you less than $25. I've been burned by companies like Gerber having spent $90 on a knife.
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