Is there still a "decent" US made budget knife? Maybe...

If you want all-American made and easily disassembled, check out Emerson Knives. They're not cheap, and they're not for everyone what with the chisel grind, but they're excellent cutting tools and top quality.
 
GPyro said:
I've found Kershaw heat treat to be "hit or miss".
Nice knives, but at least in my experience, I wouldn't call them " quality".
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Maximumbob54 said:
I've had a few Leeks off and on for years now that I've never had issues with but that's still a single digit sample size. What problems have you had?
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Dranrab said:
Abide my ignorance here if you will. How does an end user determine that the heat treat on their knife is miss?
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I have about a half dozen US-made Kershaw knives in 14C28N, S30V, CPM 154, and 20CV. The 20CV, I find to be a bit "chippy:", but I've heard that about that alloy as supplied by other makers as well. I've never had any issues with any of the others.
 
I define a "budget knife" as any knife that currently costs less than $50 (MSRP), although for $65, I think that a Buck 110 would still make a great buy.

There are a lot of Kershaw, CRKT, Cold Steel & SAK knives that qualify & I still own a few in this price category myself.
 
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Dude, that's a lot of nitpicky shit for a budget knife!


Go get a Buck Spitfire. Don't get one with the fancy steel or anything. Bone standard spitfire is the best of both worlds. It's just as badass as a 110 but it's modern and not a chunky anchor.
 
Dranrab said:
By the way, as a n00b who has recently taken deeper interest in knives, I am sincere in my exploration of what constitutes quality.

I tend to take a pragmatic approach to things. A knife's purpose is to cut. American made pocket knives that meet the OPs specs have all cut as well as I needed them to. Does a $500 knife make a more quality cut, or is the difference in how well it holds an edge and how easy it is to sharpen? Are those two measure opposed to one another?

Durability is a factor. I don't use a knife for work. I have never worn one out. I would guess most people haven't. How is durability determined absent experience?

Operation is a factor. Some knives are a PITA to open. I prefer one that is slick opening and "snappy" in opening and closing. They can't be overly loose or sloppy or overly tight.

Corrosion resistance is a factor. I take good care of my stuff, so any old stainless checks this box for me.

Fit and finish are factors. For what I want in a knife, it doesn't need to be artfully executed. I may change my mind as my interest grows. I can appreciate artful execution but as it stands now, I am a function over fashion kind of guy.
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Almost every knife is quality these days. I grew up on gas store knives. They all worked. They all lasted, mabye with a bit of tape to hold the handles together.

In comparison a gerber out of the shop is light years ahead,

In comparison a kershaw is light years ahead of that.

I play mostly with Civivis and cold steel which are as American as dim sims. And doubt I will ever need a better knife in terms of functionality.

And they are mid range knives.
 
Yes there are, and I know OP has his reasons, but I do not understand, for me, why it has to be able to be disassembled for cleaning or adjusting, it is a budget knife. Your mileage may vary and my needs are different than others. My Buck 112 slim select does fine and my 110 LT also does fine. The good thing is that there is a good variety to choose from nowadays. My gentleman’s knife is a Kershaw Leek in stainless handle, I like it because it is a frame lock and not a liner lock like some of the other Leeks, just need to decide if I want to take some fine grit sandpaper to give the handle a little texture.
 
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cbach8tw said:
Yes there are, and I know OP has his reasons, but I do not understand, for me, why it has to be able to be disassembled for cleaning or adjusting, it is a budget knife. Your mileage may vary and my needs are different than others. My Buck 112 slim select does fine and my 110 LT also does fine. The good thing is that there is a good variety to choose from nowadays. My gentleman’s knife is a Kershaw Leek in stainless handle, I like it because it is a frame lock and not a liner lock like some of the other Leeks, just need to decide if I want to take some fine grit sandpaper to give the handle a little texture.
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I've thought about trying some hockey stick tape or rubber skate board tape.
 
That's a pretty long want/don't-want list!

It looks like Buck isn't in your running for several reasons. Regardless, I have a Buck 110 that I bought 50 years ago, and it's done all kinds of stuff over the years from gutting deer, to cutting up apples. It still gets used alot, and I've never needed to take it apart for cleaning. A new 110 is about $65, made in the US, and has a lifetime warranty. Everybody has different needs, but that's what I call that a "decent" budget knife.
 
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Buck 110 or 112 Slim Select is made in the USA although it only has 420 steel. Personally, I still carry one of my many 110's or 112's in a horizontal sheath most days. If not a Slim Select rides in my back pocket, along with a Victorinox and small 2 or 3 blade Buck, Schrade or Uncle Henry in the change pocket of my Wranglers.

As with anything manufactured, there will be varying degrees of quality, durability, edge retention, ease of sharpening whether the knife is made in the USA or another country. The small Buck knives made in China sharpen and hold an edge as well as their US made cousins. The new Schrade and Uncle Henry lines also have a good reputation at a very low cost. I have purchased some of the new Uncle Henry 5UH folders for Christmas gifts to accompany my knife sheaths.
 
I would throw in my vote for one of the Bucks. The Spitfire series is a great model that I have several of in various configurations. The base model is solid enough and meets your requirements. While they dont advertise each as having a BOS heat treat, they do claim that all of their blades are heat treated to the same standard per this statement on their site:

"We are known for our blades. Buck is a market leader in edge retention thanks to our steel selections and heat treat process pioneered by industry famous, Paul Bos, whose heat treating system has proven to be the best in the business. Each blade is put through a rigorous heat treat process and quality performance test."

Another good option while they still have them in stock is the Vantage Force in 13C26 for around $67 on their Web Specials section but they are plastic handles with steel liners.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
First off I'm setting some ground rules...
US MADE, not just assembled is #1.

The rest are all my own desires so of course everyone can/will argue but this is my list:

The word "budget" is going to mean many things to many people but I'm going to say under $100. Scrolling a few retailers shows a lot of listings at $99.95 or $99.99 but I won't look at those since you still have to include tax and shipping.

No plastic no matter how fancy. So no FRN, GFN, Grivory, polymer, any of the above. To be decent means micarta, G10, or better as a minimum.

The blade should be at least 2.5" or longer to really be an EDC useful for most any cutting task. Shorter may work but a line in the sand must be drawn.

No mystery blade steels to include surgical steel, 440 without an ABC at the end, or any other such unknown quantity.

No pinned or riveted together construction. Their is no denying your bone stock Buck 110 in 420HC isn't a great knife but I want knives that can be fully broken down for deep cleaning, swap out worn or damaged washers or whatever other fix.

Last, it has to have some kind of lock so no slip joints or friction fits. No getting your knife stuck in something leading to a bandaid fix. I love a SAK, I daily carry a Case, but neither one is my primary knife and I would cringe to hand either one to a non knife person. And while some places are relaxing a knife law here and there, no butterflies, autos, or any other legally gray area knives.

No links since I'm pretty sure there are rules, it's not like I scanned every available retailor but most carry a similar enough selection. By all means post up suggestions!!!

Bear OPS Rancor IV
14C28N Clip Point at 2.75"
Aluminum grip with a slide bar lock

At the time of this post this is a sub $50 knife, but not having one I haven't a clue of the quality. It does checkmark all the boxes so it's just up to the fit an finish if it would be worth it or not.

Bear & Son Slide Lock Folding Knife
D2 Tool Steel at 3.375"
Cocobola Wood with Stainless Steel Bolsters

The cocobola looks real in the pics as in it's not just red dye in laminate wood. Steel bolsters and construction means it's probably a little hefty but otherwise this seems like a decent knife at just over $70.

Buck 722 SpitFire
420HC at 3.25"
Aluminum handles with a lockback

Curious they don't advertise this as a Bos heat treat, maybe that's a cost reduction? Just looking at the pics this looks like a decent knife at $50.

Kershaw Leek
14C28N at 3"
Aluminum handle with liner lock or steel handle with frame lock

I've had several of these and I used to think for sure I would break the dainty little tip or the assisted open would skewer my leg. Nope but I'm also not a guy that uses his knife to pry at anything. These can be found most places well under $100 and you can often upgrade to 154CM or S35VN for just under that max price. These have my vote since I've bought and carried several as well as given them as gifts to fellow knife people.

And one knife I've never heard of or seen:

Mantis MT7.2
S30V at 3.25"
G10 with a liner lock

This is an $80 knife of a decent size and construction and while I'm not keen on the "Besh Wedge Tip" I'm sure it still cuts anything as needed. Definitely a tough looking little knife well under the max price.

Apparently Mantis has a dubious history that makes this a questionable recommendation at best and at worst a mislabeled steel with partially or fully imported material.

This is a subject near to my heart since I've looked at my collection and buying habits. I like supporting US business when they make a good product and I really feel like sometimes the imports push our US production hard to meet the price vs production cost. So my point in this post is you don't have to resort to imports for a good EDC. You may have to sort through what you define as decent but they are out there. And this was just the few I found in a few minutes!!!
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Too many rules designed to favor what you want in a budget knife. We all have different uses and design opinions.
 
For anyone that's wondering, I'm super serious I'd love to see anyone else's list. Just like I was curious what others here think of as a "budget" price and that's been both interesting and informative.
 
SharpBits said:
I thought it was a good challenge and it avoids the typical auto-responses of Smatchet, Sebenza, Buck 110. 🤣 If it gets your jimmies rustled, just skip the thread.
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Fun fact I recently learned, the inventor of the Smatchet was the same person that co developed the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife...

William Ewart Fairbairn
 
Rules be damned.

I like most American made Bucks under $100. About the best cut for the Buck. Some of the Gerbers like the Prodigy and Strongarm. Kershaw had some great knives made in America 20 years ago, some under $30 you could find at big box stores. Many went on to be made overseas.
 
The Kabar BK18 sells right under $100 or better sometimes. American made 1095 steel and full through tang and Zytel plastic grips. I got no problem with plastic, most small arms combat weapons come with plastic furniture for good reason, much tougher than wood.
 
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