Spendy knives are all well and good, but my favorites are inexpensive!

ZDHart

ZDHart

Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
471
Yes, I've got a number of "high-quality" knives, with more expensive steels and such... and they're all well and good!

But the knives I seem to have the most fun with, and purchase without any hesitation... are inexpensive, but of good quality!

Some of my faves, among fixed blades, are the CRKT S.P.E.W.
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and CRKT Minimalist Wharncliffe
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For folders, I like Spyderco's Persistence and others in that line. And Kershaw offer quite a few inexpensive knives, a few that I have and enjoy quite a bit.

All of these knives are inexpensive, expendable, and I don't worry about needing to baby them or what might happen if I should happen to damage one or lose it. Yes, I really enjoy inexpensive knives! (My expensive knives tend to get babied or see little use.). Weird, I guess. But, I have a feeling that I'm not alone in this.
 
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ZDHart said:
Yes, I've got a number of "high-quality" knives, with more expensive steels and such... and they're all well and good!

But the knives I seem to have the most fun with, and purchase without any hesitation... are inexpensive, but of good quality!

Some of my faves, among fixed blades, are the CRKT S.P.E.W. and CRKT Minimalist Wharncliffe.

For folders, I like Spyderco's Persistence and others in that line. And Kershaw offer quite a few inexpensive knives that I enjoy quite a bit.

All of these knives are inexpensive, expendable, and I don't worry about needing to baby them or what might happen if I should happen to damage one or lose it. Yes, I really enjoy inexpensive knives! (My expensive knives tend to get babied or see little use.). Weird, I guess. But, I have a feeling that I'm not alone in this.
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I'm with you brother!
 
Yo Mama said:
Everybody has a price point that they are comfortable with some different than others and varies widely.
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Yes, I do have and enjoy some slightly higher-priced knives (Sage, Para-Mil, Delica, some Benchmades)... but there are some really wonderful knives in the $30-$50 range, and that price range makes a lot of sense to me.

For some reason, I've never been interested in buying any "special" (i.e. very-expensive, or fancy knives). It's not that I can't afford them - I just don't see the value, personally, nor do I feel the attraction.
 
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Two of my favorites are still the Ontario Rat 1 in D2 and a Maserin Sodbuster from Collectorknives. Both ~$40 shipped to me.

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I admit I don't carry a $20 knife anymore. Not that there is anything wrong with a $20 knife (or less) knife. I still own several SAKs and Kabar Doziers which are $18 or so, I just don't carry them anymore.

I also don't carry anything more then $150 or so. No Sebenzas, Shiro, etc for me.
 
Most of my inexpensive knives don't have more-costly steel, but the steel they do have serves the applications that I use them for just fine.

As a sage member here, moderator @knarfeng, once said:

"There is no 'good steel' there is no 'crappy steel'. There is only steel that is appropriate for the usage. So the question of whether you would like the performance of this steel in your EDC blade will much depend on how you use your EDC."
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
curly_man_good_for_you_meme1.jpg
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Awe.... cute face, Bryce. And, thanks! Class act, for sure. And, kind of you to mention. :)

Looks like you're trying to run a sharpening business? I'll see if I can send some business your way! Or, are you out of business again?

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. (Buy expensive knives, that is. ;) )
 
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ZDHart said:
Thanks T.L.E.! Class act, for sure. And, kind of you to mention. :)

Looks like you're trying to run a sharpening business? I'll see if I can send some business your way!

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. (Buy expensive knives, that is. ;) )
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Any excuse I can get to use that meme. :p

If you can get as much enjoyment out of an inexpensive knife as an upmarket variety then by all means.

I can certainly see getting more enjoyment out of SOME inexpensive knives than SOME expensive ones. There's a lot of very expensive knives that are really trash and some really cheap knives with very little to complain about.

I tend to fall somewhere in the middle. Not holy grail material, but with a more costly level of execution than the budget models. The Microtech Dirac is my most recently coveted and acquired blade.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
I can certainly see getting more enjoyment out of SOME inexpensive knives than SOME expensive ones. There's a lot of very expensive knives that are really trash and some really cheap knives with very little to complain about.
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Indeed... it's not that expensive knives aren't absolutely wonderful. Many certainly are.

For me, it's just that my purposes are simple and un-demanding; and I'm just not motivated to spend a lot of money on a knife. (Guitars and cars are another matter!) And some nicely made inexpensive knives serve my typical uses (opening packages on a daily basis) very well.

I guess priorities is what it's all about. I happily spend $1000 on components to build a great Fender Telecaster from premium components, and have done so numerous times. (Creating music is at the center of my life.)

But when it comes to knives... I'm not motivated to spend more than around $100-ish at most - and typically not more than around $40 to $80. For my simple needs, I enjoy using the $25 CRKT Folts Minimalist Wharncliffe immensely. Awesome little knife! It needs sharpening more often than some, of course, but is quick and easy to sharpen. And... I'm only opening packages with it. :D

I'm the same with firearms and flashlights, as well. I tend to use my less "fancy", less "costly" ones more often than my fancy ones (M&P40 or Glock 30 vs. Custom-grade 1911's, for example. Or Zebralight & EagleTac vs. Surefire). Not sure why, but it just is - the "everyman" models are the ones I tend to grab, and carry daily. My daily carry lately has been the M&P40 Compact, EagleTac D25A, and Cold Steel Mini Tuff Wharncliffe - all pretty much "everyman" products.
 
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IMO you like more what you use more
Using a tool makes you more familiar and more comfortable with it

at the end if you own some expensive knives and use them less than the inexpensive ones, it make sense that you will appreciate the cheaper ones more

I don’t have a collector mind set so for me it safe queens don’t make any sense

i have some expensive and some cheap knives and I use them all
And I can appreciate a cheaper one way much than an expensive one, or vice versa ;)
 
Therom said:
IMO you like more what you use more
Using a tool makes you more familiar and more comfortable with it

at the end if you own some expensive knives and use them less than the inexpensive ones, it make sense that you will appreciate the cheaper ones more

I don’t have a collector mind set so for me it safe queens don’t make any sense

i have some expensive and some cheap knives and I use them all
And I can appreciate a cheaper one way much than an expensive one, or vice versa ;)
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Hmmm... I should dip into my knife bin and pull out some long un-used knives and use them, just for the heck of it. Perhaps they will become more appreciated. I don't have a lot of use for knives, aside from packages, so they will be carried more than used.

I agree that there isn't much sense in having "safe queens". My problem is that over the many years, as I've bought more firearms, more flashlights, more knives, etc. that you wind up with some just becoming safe queens, even though that wasn't the original intent. And for some reason, selling off some of the safe queens is easier imagined than done.

I've concluded that continuing to buy knives because I like them, rather than "needing" them is just a sickness!
 
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I agree
That is the reason why, time to time, I cut down my collection and sales the knives I don’t use

I have sold 25 knives last year for this reason
I still have ~25 knives
But >50 was too much
 
I have Spyderco
I have Benchmade
I have ZT
I have CRK to name a few
(And a few others, of course)

I carry my Large 21 micarta pretty often, especially when I’m working in town. But I’ll say with complete honesty, there is no trust like the trust I have in my Buck knives. Those will always be my go to for harder use, farm use, and without hesitation or thought of damage. I’ve always trusted them and they never let me down.

Its not really about money, although I will admit I don’t ever see myself buying a thousand dollar knife or anything crazy. It’s always been more about appreciating the search, appreciating the work of art for what it is, and being here on bladeforums enjoying all of you guys.

I started selling off a good majority of my knives, still have a few more to go. The Large 21 stays, and all my Buck knives stay. Other than that, I’m really not sad to see any of the rest of them go. Nice knives, but just not for me for real time use.
 
I get what he’s saying, I recently acquired a combat troodon which can probably take a beating, however couldn’t make myself do much with it probably due to price or fear of not being able to resale. But I’ll beat the shit out of a cheapy with no remorse lol
 
ZDHart said:
Yes, I've got a number of "high-quality" knives, with more expensive steels and such... and they're all well and good!

But the knives I seem to have the most fun with, and purchase without any hesitation... are inexpensive, but of good quality!

Some of my faves, among fixed blades, are the CRKT S.P.E.W.
49632730263_7e2c6fe09f_b.jpg


and CRKT Minimalist Wharncliffe
49046772222_f80c456fb2_h.jpg



For folders, I like Spyderco's Persistence and others in that line. And Kershaw offer quite a few inexpensive knives, a few that I have and enjoy quite a bit.

All of these knives are inexpensive, expendable, and I don't worry about needing to baby them or what might happen if I should happen to damage one or lose it. Yes, I really enjoy inexpensive knives! (My expensive knives tend to get babied or see little use.). Weird, I guess. But, I have a feeling that I'm not alone in this.
Click to expand...
I enjoy expensive and inexpensive knives alike. For me, there is a difference between inexpensive and cheap, value being the main factor. Inexpensive offers a lot of aspects I consider benefits (design, materials, execution) and while still not costing much. Cheap just doesn't cost much. Unfortunately, the examples I have had from the brand you give as an example were all cheap. I've had 5 or 6 CRKT fixed blades and none was worth the price paid, or worth keeping, mostly because of Q/C, Fit & Finish, or execution issues.
 
my mora's gets more actual use than just about anything - that's because I use their short fillet knife in the kitchen for anything that doesn't need a full size chef blade, and the companion in the garage gets all the hard/abusive work

I wish they made folders ; P
 
The most expensive knives I've ever owned have been 4 or 5 around the 100 dollar price range. I bought a lightweight manix 2 on the exchange for 70 bucks. I've carried it everyday since I've bought it. Love it. But I've carried a tenacious aeadowlark 2 Raven 2 and bunches of Kershaw's . To he Kershaw knockout and dividend and the cryo 1 and 2 are some of my favorites. I have a case yellow stockman and buck 301 I carry often. Also have a vantage that I love the shape and Fri d of the blade on. Other than the manix 2 lightweight or native 5 , I always carry knives that cost 60 or less. If anyone wants more expensive knives that is fine,but personally I want something that I don't care to use hard.
 
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