Knives you expected little out of that surprised you

J

J.Davey

Joined
Feb 10, 2004
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This is about knives you bought for one reason or another (on a whim, for a specific limited purpose, etc.) that you expected little out of, but surprised you in the end.

KaBar TDI, small and large: Admittedly bought because they were unique in design and easy to carry for self defense. In the end, they are now 2 of my faves, and are much more useful for utility than you'd expect.

Spyderco SPOT: Bought it for the cool factor, but it became one of all time favorites for concealed carry.
 
A few that have surprised me

Byrd line up, I started with a C/E CaraCara , expecting very little and got a lot for the bucks paid, that has led to four other byrds of various sizes ( all lock backs though) that have all been equally as good as daily users.

I know there are a lot of Cold Steel haters out there but the CS AK 47 is very good bang for the buck, I got one just for the novelty thinking this thing is Fuuugly, feels good in hand, waved, I have no probs with the AUS8 for daily use, I am in fact aiting for the G10 slabbed version to come out. Ak 47 is now in my top five EDC rotation.


My spydercos/kershaws/BMs cant really be added to this list as I have come to trust and expect high performance automatically based on past experience.

A
 
Buck 501

For a tad over $30 it delivers solid performance.
Buck did a really good job with the 420HC and thinning
out the edge on this little hollow grind slicer.

It will cut with the best of them.
 
Gerber Paraframe 2. $10 at wally-world. Bought it after I had to fly to WI.

It's a peice of crap, But I love 'em. I give them as gifts, and every now and then I EDC one. Great beater knife.
 
Vic, Cadet, I've used the he ll out of it and it just smiles at hard work. I've also been very amazed with it's edge holding I've thinned and convexed the blade.
 
Camillus Heat.

I really didn't expect much, bought it at a closeout price,
and now I'm addicted to it.
 
SAK midnight manager

WOW I carry this everyday. It is the one edc that does not rotate. It's not on my keys either! I carry it rf pocket everyday. The pen is great, I use the light everynight, to check on my two son's, the light is just enough. It's not so bright as to wake them, but lets me see them. I was watching a show on the history channel and they had the SAK owner/big wig/CEO guy on their and they asked what he had in his pocket, and............it was...........

a MIDNIGHT MANAGER!!!! Just a great little SAK, and the blade is low key to use when I need a low key(NKP) knife. And the pen is great, light is great. It has what I need and nothing more, and I'v never wished I had something it doesn't.
 
VERY surprised by this Böker Magnum Bullfrog I got recently, small and fatty but a useful compact size,cheap but has reasonable cutting performance. Not quite so sure about the lockup, it needs watching or pushing rightwards with a screwdriver or blade tip! Certainly better and more workmanlike than I imagined, looks good in a Jack Russell sort of way too! Worth a try.
 
Buck Ghost Rider.Solid lock-up.G-10 handles.Takes a hair shaving edge.About $30.00 on Ebay.Wish it was plain instead of combo edge.
 
Interesting thread IMO.

I like the wide variety of responses.
Maybe we'll unearth some hidden gems.
 
I didn't expect my first Cold Steel knife, the Ultimate Hunter, to be very good after seeing what a thrashing they take on these forums. I bought it on a whim because I wanted a tough folder for cheap and figured I would try out a Cold Steel product while I was at it.

Though I have sold the knife simply because it's too large to EDC (but would go great in a backpack or glove compartment), it is without a doubt one of the toughest folders out there for ~$50. The entire knife is very stout with a 4mm thick high hollow ground blade and thick nested, skeletonized liners. I didn't get the chance to take it apart and measure things when I got my calipers, but the liners were 1.5 to 2mm thick and iirc the pivot pin was pretty thick as well.

The thing also locked up like a tank. The spring in the lockback mechanism was by far the strongest I have ever handled. I struggled to open the thing one handed because the strength of the lock and the shape/placement of the thumbstud. Had a hard time putting it back together as well due to the stiffness of the spring.

For a thick saber ground blade, it was also very sharp and had a pretty thin edge (~.022 iirc).

For the price it was very impressive and I now own a bunch of other Cold Steel blades as well.

Another inexpensive knife that impressed me was a regular steel framelock Kershaw Leek, which is my most used knife now.
 
Another thumbs up on the SAK Midnight Manager. Probably the best combination of tools and knife I've ever come across!
 
27 years ago I bought a Bolo in P.I. for $8.00. It was to go through the J.E.S.T. school. I have now carried that Bolo from the equator to the arctic circle, 13 country's,two combat zones,three police actions, two major forest fires, a couple of rescue missions. and a lot of camping trips.
I don't leave home with out it. If I could get away with it as an EDC I would.
 
Kershaw vapor. Bought it fot about 16$. After reprofiling it I had a steel framelock with AUS6 steel that would cut like a much more expensive knife. I typically don't buy made in China knives but I was bored that day. I'm glad I did buy it. Joe
 
I really didn't expect much out of my first SAK, which was a soldier. I had read many negative things about the steel, and the general utility of SAKs, but buying that soldier changed my mind. All of my SAKs (50+ now) deliver way beyond their price-point.
I didn't expect much of my Camillus EDC, but I bought one because I liked it's looks and the size. After toting it around for a while I have found it to be a great knife. The slight recurve blade gives it excellent cutting utility, and it is easy to make/keep sharp. It was/is a great value.
 
Knives that surprised me.

The all stainless Byrd Cara Cara given to me as a gift. I'd never have given these a second thought until seeing and using one. Great knife great price and super quality. Only turn off was the stamping for China but a great knife is a great knife.

The Storm II. Never been much for recurves but this one caught me and I like it. Still carry one quite often. This knife have changed my whole opinion of Kershaw before getting to know Thomas or anyone else there other than Ken Onion that I met in passing and it also woke me up to the wonderful 13C26 steel. Since buying that one SII on a whim at Wal-Mart I have bought many others from Kershaw and they just keep impressing me.

Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter folder. Another whim purchase but what a solid strong knife it is. Say what you want about Lynn Thompson or Cold Steel it does not change the fact that this knife is about as good as it gets in a $50 folder. I've literally held my weight (215 in my underwear) with one of these stuck in a slot in the wall of my shop and it not only held me but didn't suffer from it in the least. Just a great user plain and simple and the whole package, big as it may be really surprised the heck out of me. Its a better knife than some of their premium folders for a bare bones user friendly get after it beater knife.

Thats my top three

STR
 
You know, I had forgotten all about the Storm II, but it was another one that I didn't really expect to like. I was thinking at the time that if I didn't like it, I could toss it into my kit or something and forget about it, but after carrying it for a while I became quite taken with it. Superb fit and finish, great ergos and nice steel.
 
The knives that have most pleased and surprised me are the Tramontina 14" bolo machete and the SAK OHT. Those are two cheap knives that really work in the real world.
 
Byrd Raven
Byrd Meadowlark G-10
a no brand Tanto.. My first serious knife. Beat the shit out of it, still doing o.k.

Tanto2.jpg
 
Another Paraframe vote.

Should be a piece of junk, but its not. I'd take it as my only knife into nasty places where I'd prefer other knives not to go. Like the concrete under my car, a stinking mud hole, canoeing (the kind where you KNOW your going to get wet) ect.

If it gets overly nasty, just throw it away, or power wash it spray it with something and put it in a tool box or somewhere where it could be useful later.

If someone made a hand fitted version, I'd probably buy one. I like the open frame design, drawbacks and all.
 
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