Quality Knife Companies?

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Wallbright

Joined
Jan 1, 2012
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I apologize if this topic has been discussed before. I was wondering what knife companies are of better quality overall. Now this is not to say that some companies are incapable of producing quality knives, I just am very new to the hobby and wondering which companies I should steer clear of and which are good buys. I know that some of this is personal preference etc. but as I have said I am totally new so I have no idea where to begin. I have primarily been looking at folding knives but this discussion can extend to any knife style really.

I apologize if this is all vague but what I am trying to get at is which companies have worse quality control etc. compared to others.

From what I can gather these companies make higher quality knives consistently (I know I missed alot):

Benchmade
Columbia River Knife & Tool
Spyderco
Ka-Bar
Buck
SOG

Now on the other end of the spectrum I have no idea which companies to be weary of. I am trying to stay away from name bashing companies so I will phrase it this way "what companies would you rather see the knife in person before buying? As compared to ordering online and trusting it will be a good knife."

I am probably making this post too confusing and vague but I have been looking at knives on a very popular auction site and honestly have no idea what companies to look for. I also don't think I am ready to spend more than $50 for a knife yet as I am still trying to learn more about knives and what makes one of higher quality than the next. Also, if this thread already exists else where or this information is in other threads please feel free to post links. Thanks and I hope this isn't just another confusing rant. :D
 
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It's all relative, but to me those you mentioned are generally medium quality. Busse, swamp rat, scrapyard, Chris Reeve, strider, Andrew Demko, zero Tolerance, Emerson, Greg light foot, Fallkniven, extremaratiousa and lion steel are high quality and high price(relatively) but their are great knives to be had for $50 or less. I have been on a kershaw kick lately and have been impressed with some $30 folders like the clash and tremor and one ton. I have a sizeable cold steel folder collection and am impressed with my recon 1. Hang out here a while and you'll learn quickly...just don't become a snob like soo many here. P.S. check out Boker too.
 
Companies and brands that I've been impressed with, rarely or never gotten a 'stinker' from any of these:
AG Russell
Buck Knives
Boker, traditional pocketknives
Great Eastern Cutlery
ESEE
Becker, whether from KaBar or Camillus
Benchmade
Victorinox and Wenger
Opinel
The File & Wire Series, from Schatt and Morgan (Queen)
Any of these Scandinavian fixed blade brands: Ahti, Mora, Karesuando, Helle, etc.
USA-made Old Timers from Schrade
Kershaw
Paragon (no longer in business)
Bark River

Companies that could put a little more effort into quality control, based on multiple personal purchases:
Case
Columbia River Knife and Tool
Spyderco
Imperial, post-1980s imports from Ireland were the worst. Of course they were often very inexpensive too, and are now out of business.
 
Hmmm, just a general guide, but:

High End:
Chris Reeve
Hinderer
Busse
Randall

Regular Production, Good Quality:

Kershaw/ZT
Spyderco
Benchmade
Böker (the German-made ones)
Buck
Ka-Bar
ESEE
Al Mar
Mcusta
Emerson

Production, Second Tier:

CRKT
Cold Steel
SOG
some Gerber

Crap:
other Gerbers
Schrade and Smith and Wesson (both Taylor Cutlery)
Master
M-tech

Of course, there are some companies that make both high end knives and low end knives, but the quality for the price is fairly consistent. It also depends on the type of knife. Based on what you listed, I'd assume you're mostly looking for modern folders between $50 and $100, which would be the forte of Kershaw and Spyderco.
 
Welcome to the Forums, Wallbright!

I say if a knife piques your interest, it's worth your time to do your homework before purchase no matter what manufacturer it comes from and, whenever possible, try to handle the knife before buying. Every company is capable of turning out winners and losers, imo, and your personal preferences may not reflect popular opinion... so watch out for the hype and stick to buying knives for you.

Disclaimer aside, the company I am most impressed with is Spyderco. An excellent company run by good folks. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never bought a lemon from them, and most of my collection is Spyderco--for quality, materials and customer service, Spyderco is extremely high-value, imo. Another stellar company is Victorinox... their QC is astounding, especially considering the volume they produce. If you don't have a Swiss Army Knife by now, you ought to get one. Like now. ;)
 
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Tsujigiri said:
Hmmm, just a general guide, but:

High End:
Chris Reeve
Hinderer
Busse
Randall

Regular Production, Good Quality:

Kershaw/ZT
Spyderco
Benchmade
Böker (the German-made ones)
Buck
Ka-Bar
ESEE
Al Mar
Mcusta
Emerson

Production, Second Tier:

CRKT
Cold Steel
SOG
some Gerber

Crap:
other Gerbers
Schrade and Smith and Wesson (both Taylor Cutlery)
Master
M-tech

Of course, there are some companies that make both high end knives and low end knives, but the quality for the price is fairly consistent. It also depends on the type of knife. Based on what you listed, I'd assume you're mostly looking for modern folders between $50 and $100, which would be the forte of Kershaw and Spyderco.
Click to expand...


I'm a throw a tru dat, and a word; at this post...


Or in English: "Yes this about sums it up."
 
My top three favorite for folders are:
Spyderco
Benchmade
Zero Tolerance

I will also add that with the exception of Hogue (from the ones I've handled and from what I've read they're up their in the top production tier of quality with BM, ZT, and Spyderco) and H&K (Benchmade Line) avoid all gun branded knives. Another Brand not mentioned: Sanrenmu (AKA: Bee, Enlan, Navy) made in china knives, with lower end, but decent steel, fit and finish is reported to be good, with very low prices, however they are very controversial due to using w/o permission Trademarked/copyrighted/etc design traits (Benchmades AXIS lock, Spyderco opening hole, Sebenza look-alikes, etc) so for those you'll have to decide for yourself whether its worth it or not.
 
Thanks for all of the info fellas! I will keep researching and look around for my next purchase. This is quite the enabling place though haha.
 
Overall, Kabar gets No. 1 in my mind for consistent design, material quality, manufacturing quality and customer service.
 
archieblue said:
Böker (the German-made ones)
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That's the spirit!
God... Why is there any other Boker?
Click to expand...

I've had mixed results with the Argentina-made Boker knives. The 1990s Bokermatic was pretty poor - on mine the blade tip was ground down to not protrude past the handle end when in closed position. But the couple of Argentine fixed blades have been A-OK.

Their German traditionals though - Wow! Amazing and consistent quality, especially considering the low prices.
 
My first nice knife was a Boker canoe. $45 from 1sks.com in 1998. Man that was a nice knife. I lost it in the Rio Grande.

As for me... I stay away from outsourced knives. I prefer USA made but the bottom line is that I have ZERO respect for outsourcing.
 
So I thought the name A.G. Russell sounded familiar so I looked them up. It looks like their headquarters/store is located 30 minutes from my house and I pass by it quite frequently. I might stop by this week and see what they have for sale. I wonder if they have a deal/clearance section?
 
Wallbright said:
So I thought the name A.G. Russell sounded familiar so I looked them up. It looks like their headquarters/store is located 30 minutes from my house and I pass by it quite frequently. I might stop by this week and see what they have for sale. I wonder if they have a deal/clearance section?
Click to expand...

Your wallet is gonna hate you!
 
I'm not a big fan of CRKT, personally. I have been disappointed with all of the knives I've gotten from them to date. I'm not a fan of SOG either, not because I think their products are bad, just because I don't think they're worth what you pay for.

I do think it would be hard to go wrong, in your price range, with Spyderco (Tenacious or Endura are good starters for that line), Benchmade (all kinds of good stuff here in your price point--if you can, get an AXIS lock version to try out), Kershaw (I for some reason never end up carrying my Kershaw knives, but there's no denying that they have some of the best ones in your price point-Blur, RAM, Leek might be good ones to look at).

If you're in the mood for a fixed blade for EDC, the IZULA 2, Becker 11 or 14, Bark River Bravo Necker 2, or maybe an ESEE 3 are all great buys.

If you're used to cheap knives, you're in for a treat. Welcome to the addiction!

For when you start thinking about dropping serious money on knives, you'll doubtless hear about Chris Reeve and Ralph Hinderer. But you might also want to check out Darrel Ralph (he's got a semi-custom line called HTM with it's own subforum here), and other custom makers around here. I'm particularly fond of Peter R's work, for instance.
 
I've been impressed with some of Cold Steel's ( in the 50-60 dollar range ) current offerings also for inexpensive knives it's hard to go wrong with companies like Rough Rider, Opinel, and Mora.
 
If you're new to knives, I'd say stick with BM. You might pay a little more out of pocket than you originally wanted to, however, if you take care of it, it'll last forever. Try to get you hands on some though before you buy. I have bought a few BM's that I only saw on-line and didn't care for the feel once I received them.
 
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