Knife brands to stay away from

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GBell14

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What knife brands would you never buy from or tell people not to buy from and why. I am still kinda new to knives so I just want to know.
 
Anything that is sold on TV after midnight because they suck, accept for the Ginsu Knife, the Ginsu is awesome.
 
Don't ever buy anything from Kershaw, Spyderco or Benchmade....because you will inevitably want more. ;)
 
GBell14 said:
What knife brands would you never buy from or tell people not to buy from and why. I am still kinda new to knives so I just want to know.
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Not knowing how much you want to spend, or what kind of knives you like, or what you want to do with your knives, that is an unanswerable question.

Just to say "never buy Brand X," or "never buy knives made in Y," is, in my opinion, a naive overgeneralization.
 
CubeLW said:
99.9% of anything made in china
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I have a few Kershaw's that have been through hell and back and would beg to differ. Unless those are the .01% :)

Don't ever buy anything from Kershaw, Spyderco or Benchmade....because you will inevitably want more
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True story

Gerber
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This seems to be the general consensus but I know some folks that swear by them. Mostly older guys though with older products so maybe their QC got really bad idk I only own one that a buddy gave me an "LMFII Infantry knife". It looks and feels great, hard to keep a nice edge on but I like it overall but especially because of the sentimental value (Friend that gave it to me was seriously wounded in Iraq and has never been the same since)
 
Frost.

Not to be confused with Frosts.

:)

Gerber was good, now it's fairly bad. That usually irks folks. It's like the new Schrade being only pretty poor but they seem appalling in comparison to the old good stuff.
 
From what Ive read, I personally would stay away from Mantis/ Quartermaster knives.
 
Marcinek's right for the most part, but I usually tell people to stay away from anything by companies like Mtech, WarTech, Smith and Wesson, or anything else in the ten dollar gas station folder spectrum. Mantis, sog, Gerber are also pretty far down on my list as well. My best advice is to be suspicious towards any brand you havent heard named a thousand times on BladeForums:p:D So what Im really trying to say, is that you should just spend some more time on here..... Thats the easiest way to get a feel for which brands to avoid:thumbup:

For now, just stick to the big ones to be sure you are getting good quality:

Spyderco
Benchmade
Kershaw
Cold Steel
ZT
CRK

Theres more, but these seem to be the most popular. They all fall into the mid-high end production folder spectrum, and they are all very good companies.
 
Avoid any knife with a gun manufacturer's name on it. They just license out their names and 95% of the time they are the worst or the worst Chinese shit. S&W is particularly bad.
 
Scurvy092 said:
Avoid any knife with a gun manufacturer's name on it. They just license out their names and 95% of the time they are the worst or the worst Chinese shit. S&W is particularly bad.
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I was gifted an S&W knife by a friend and it was all I could do not to show my disdain at that POS when I opened it. Now, there are exceptions. H&K Benchmades come to mind.
 
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Avoiding brands is a bit unfair in my opinion. Before I ever purchase any knife, I research that specific knife. Every brand has its duds. Some more than others of course but every brand also has its standouts. Personally, I typically don't care for the American brands that are exclusively overseas produced (S&W, Winchester, Camillus, Boker's Magnum line) or that intentionally rip off their designs from others (Mtech). Brands that aren't bad but are a bit overpriced imo (SOG, Gerber's U.S. made knives, most CRKTs). Then I'm wary of brands with controversy (Mantis/Quartermaster). Generally, you'll have to decide for yourself. I suggest staying open to most brands and find out for yourself through research and experience which ones you love or loathe.
 
Well, the only American Bokers are the ones made in Argentina. BTW, their Plus line is quite good and are made in China.

Surprised no one has mentioned Dork Ops :D
 
Yeah I kinda lumped that boker Magnum line in because I'm on a mobile device to save time. Boker Magnum and Boker Plus are worlds apart if you ask me. Still, some of the plus line is pretty lackluster too.
 
That question is just about impossible to answer I think. Every brand out there has their supporters. I've read many posts from guys using the Walmart off shore made knives cause they beat the crap out of them, or lose them, then just buy another. For their particular needs, they'd never use, say, a Sebenza or Hinderer. And many feel that spending over $25 for a knife is just crazy.

You may be better served identifying what you'd like your knife for, and your budget range. Check the online vendors to see which models appeal to you. Then search the forums and odds are, you'll find reviews already given. If not, everyone here is pretty helpful and not shy about giving their opinion. Lol.

If you can in your area, attend a gun or knife show and try to handle as many different kinds of knives that you can to see how they feel. I've bought quite a few knives that looked great in the picture, but then felt terrible in my hand. It may not be the exact knife you're looking for, but similar enough to see if the ergo's will work for you.
 
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