Quality Control

[recycler]

I see an opening niche for someone to test and filter out the defective examples of mostly good cheap knives.We've seen reports of super cheap knives that performed admirably in tests against expensive quality knives,and we've seen way too many comments about broken or junky knives that have been purchased.People who can't afford high end need a place to go that gives them some assurance of minimum suitability for the intended purpose.A lot of times,a well-made carbon or 440 budget blade would serve if not a lemon.

 

[Mo2]

I buy higher end knives because the cheap knives I was buying were junk. Bokers, Kershaw, basically anything from budget China. A few pieces of gold along the way, cut jack, okc rat's and various others. But overall I'd say if you want a knife without issues, save your cash, make sacrifices and get a high end knife that you want. You don't need more than one. Ones plenty.

 

[gadgetgeek]

So what you are saying is, we need to pay someone to do the QC that the manufacturer didn't do to save money on production. Can't have it both ways. One of the costs comes from having to pay to make the dud items, and the costs are then spread over what is saleable. 42Blades did that with condor stuff early on, buying the knives wholesale, tuning them, and then selling at a markup. For a while that worked as a business model as he was able to provide those services at a reasonable cost. However as Condor upped their QC (I believe with his help) then that budget proposition becomes thinner, and I don't know if he still does that to the same extent.

 

[Hickory n steel]

The problem is such a retailer can check blade play , sharpness of a knife and ,and loctite screws before sending it out, but you can't test long term durability of components.
You have to test each and every example because they vary so much.
Also the factories making the decent knives that are $10 or less are mostly those that do a lot of fakes.


It's a nice thought, but I don't know anyone who can only afford a $10 knife anyways besides teenagers.
Most adults can probably afford more for a knife but it's just not where their priorities are and they wouldn't care or know if it was junk anyways.

 

[Ajack60]

https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/knife-reviews-testing.718/
uTube is also a good source for knife reviews.

 

[buffalo01]

I only buy USA made knives now... So "cheap" knives are not really available to me lol. But that does not mean I have not seen some pretty bad examples for sure.

 

[Hickory n steel]

If someone wants an ultra inexpensive knife, I just recommend a $15 Victorinox recruit.

It may not be the cool modern one handed folder they have in mind, but they need to decide if they want cool and modern or good unless they're willing to spend more.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

So what you are saying is, we need to pay someone to do the QC that the manufacturer didn't do to save money on production. Can't have it both ways. One of the costs comes from having to pay to make the dud items, and the costs are then spread over what is saleable. 42Blades did that with condor stuff early on, buying the knives wholesale, tuning them, and then selling at a markup. For a while that worked as a business model as he was able to provide those services at a reasonable cost. However as Condor upped their QC (I believe with his help) then that budget proposition becomes thinner, and I don't know if he still does that to the same extent.

Oh I do it for literally everything I sell. Every item I sell is given hands-on inspection, and items that need additional "elbow grease" applied to them have the option for "Special Grade" servicing where we tune up the tool in question so it's ready for work right out of the box. Any items with cosmetic or minimally functional flaws are listed at discount as "Grade B" items with the specific flaw noted so the buyer can decide for themselves if they can live with that particular blemish or not. Any outright defective items are returned to the manufacturer. My business is built on this very model.

 

[Comeuppance]

Inexpensive knives (under $20) are typically purchased and used by people who aren't really expecting much. Yeah, a little looking around can get you some pretty decent gems in that price range, but, those knives can be identified pretty easily just by looking at the reviews available for that model.

Once you start whittling out the lemons, you increase the cost of producing the knife dramatically. Let's say a company puts out a knife that they ship for $20. If 1 in 5 suddenly don't match standards, so the only way they can keep their profit margin the same is to build the loss into the knives they actually ship out... So now they're $24. But, wait, they need to hire people and have equipment to test all of these models, so now it's $28. That's a 40% price increase on their production cost. The cost of everything is built into the price of a knife. You're paying for quality control, warranty service, inspections, etc. when you buy a more expensive knife. Inexpensive knives are more of a gamble for that very reason.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Inexpensive knives (under $20) are typically purchased and used by people who aren't really expecting much. Yeah, a little looking around can get you some pretty decent gems in that price range, but, those knives can be identified pretty easily just by looking at the reviews available for that model.

Once you start whittling out the lemons, you increase the cost of producing the knife dramatically. Let's say a company puts out a knife that they ship for $20. If 1 in 5 suddenly don't match standards, so the only way they can keep their profit margin the same is to build the loss into the knives they actually ship out... So now they're $24. But, wait, they need to hire people and have equipment to test all of these models, so now it's $28. That's a 40% price increase on their production cost. The cost of everything is built into the price of a knife. You're paying for quality control, warranty service, inspections, etc. when you buy a more expensive knife. Inexpensive knives are more of a gamble for that very reason.

That's pretty much it.

Now there are ultra cheap knives out there that are consistently decent considering how little they cost, but they have a huge retailer moving them which offsets the cost of the minimal QC inspection they seem to be going through.

In general though there's definitely a reason gas station and flea market knives are either so hit or miss or consistently bad, even the Chinese can't put much in them and make much at $5.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

It's possible to design knives to balance cost and function effectively and efficiently. It's just a matter of designing in such a way as to reduce the number and/or complexity of the manufacturing process. Many of those low-cost knives then perform better than more expensive knives that put more money towards things like increased complexity of construction.

 

[buffalo01]

It's possible to design knives to balance cost and function effectively and efficiently. It's just a matter of designing in such a way as to reduce the number and/or complexity of the manufacturing process. Many of those low-cost knives then perform better than more expensive knives that put more money towards things like increased complexity of construction.

As someone that has taken a stab at designing a folding knife, that could easily eat up a LOT time and money very fast, just working out a design. Especially for more expensive models that do not just copy existing designs... Im still trying to think up a new locking mechanism. I wish I had grant and gavin hawks natural engineering skills... hahaha

 

[gadgetgeek]

Oh I do it for literally everything I sell. Every item I sell is given hands-on inspection, and items that need additional "elbow grease" applied to them have the option for "Special Grade" servicing where we tune up the tool in question so it's ready for work right out of the box. Any items with cosmetic or minimally functional flaws are listed at discount as "Grade B" items with the specific flaw noted so the buyer can decide for themselves if they can live with that particular blemish or not. Any outright defective items are returned to the manufacturer. My business is built on this very model.

Thanks for jumping in there man, I figured if anyone knew about that sort of thing it was you. I just didn't want to speak out of turn as I haven't been following your adventures that closely. Glad to know its still working!

 

[GIRLYmann]

When I need to cut stuff I pray I don't fall victim to accidents.
As a precaution to faulty or substandard equipment,
I tend to look for sturdy constructed cutlery.
At times, during unforeseen circumstances
When such a tool is required,
One has no choice but to use what's at hand
Just hoping that it would hold up and deliver the required results.
That's a dicey situation to be in.
But it's a fact that when it comes to disposable blades and box cutters
And the likes, well...
I don't think of paying more than necessary.
In fact, because these blades come razor sharp,
Folks Should warrant more attention to the handles
Which house these working disposable blades.
Sometimes it kinda amazes me to see just how flimsy
cutters are... (Picture thin and bendy plastic handles
With no steel liners, because that cuts material cost)
Now That's really leaving things to chance.
For pocket knives, cheap mostly means a soft steel type
Of the common kitchen knife variety, which isn't heat treated.
Sure you get a few slices and cuts outta it before
You find that it's sometimes impossible to hand hone such soft steels
Because the edges curl up at the slightest pressure.
Oh, and be wary of how the knife is fasten togather.
The screws and spacers might just be a brittle lead based alloy,
Which frankly might have been better replaced with epoxy instead.
But I guess that would have been a far more expensive manufacturing step.
Well, all said the frequency in which cheap knives break down in use
Makes it uneconomical and certainly not environmentally friendly.
And so the problem with cheap knives is that they are
Manufactured by a bunch of nameless invisible folks who are in it to make a quick buck.
And don't intend to act responsibly to ensure the quality of their products.
There seems to be an utter lack of liability by the parties which manufacture these items
As it's mostly products which comes with no known direct contact with the manufacturers.
Hence, plenty of rip offs, clones and unlicensed goods to fool the unwary.

 

[GermanyChris]

I'm sure most of us here understand a good $40 knife will serve us but that's not what we want. I go to work everyday so I can buy what I like within reason and not the bare minimum I've lived that way and didn't like it. The best budget knives will come from known and reputable manufacturers if you or google have never heard of it don't buy it.

https://www.bladehq.com/cat--Byrd-Manual--126# has a couple pages of good serviceable knives generally under $40

 

[rje58]

The Byrd Cara Cara 2 G10 is one in particular that I have some experience with and is a fantastic value at well less than $40.

I'm sure most of us here understand a good $40 knife will serve us but that's not what we want. I go to work everyday so I can buy what I like within reason and not the bare minimum I've lived that way and didn't like it. The best budget knives will come from known and reputable manufacturers if you or google have never heard of it don't buy it.

https://www.bladehq.com/cat--Byrd-Manual--126# has a couple pages of good serviceable knives generally under $40