Ten Worst Folders, and a Giveaway

Why don't we just let everyone make their lists? There's no need to jump in and start defending the knives on these lists. If that's what this thread is going to become, then a Mod may as well just lock it up now because it's just going to turn into a flame war. Some folks aren't going to like what they see on these lists. Bite your lip and deal with it. You're not always going to like people's opinions.
 
I cannot really think of ten knives I consider to be the worst but I have had a few I just could not bring myself to use or carry.

1. Cold Steel Ti-Lite: I bought one of these when they first came out and I found it to be a nightmare on my pants. The clip was too tight and the liner lock was allowing forward play. I still have it but it has had zero carry time in the last 6yrs.
2. Timberline Pistol Grip: Great concept but poorly executed. The liner lock is dang near impossible to reach.
3. This one is not a single knife, but a design flaw on many, the CRKT AutoLawk. Reminds me of the Xibit meme, "yo dawg, we put a lock on your lock....."
4. MOD ATAC: It is ugly, heavy, and generally impractical.
 
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TheBleedingEdge said:
A lot of people are listing obviously crappy knives with very low prices. I'm going to try something a little different and list knives that you would have a higher expectation of given their higher price points.

Here are my picks, in no particular order.

10. Cold Steel XL Espada. Too big to be practical for anything other than scaring your mother. Hefty, but feels cheap. With an MSRP of $469.99, you'd have to be both wealthy AND out of your mind.

9. Benchmade LFTi. A knife that had so much potential. Up-down and left-right blade play right out of the box. Not exactly the ideal send-off for the late and legendary Bob Lum. $270.

8. Spyderco Poliwog. The lock will fail if you add any kind of lubricant to it. The clip is far too tight for a knife of its size. Poor blade and handle ergonomics, so it's useless for cutting. And all for just $200.

7. Emerson CQC-15. A blade shape that isn't quite good for piercing, or cutting, or utility work. And welcome to Re-sharpening Hell. Your sins will be punished in the order in which they were received. And as always, when buying an Emerson knife you're automatically entered into the EKI "Shit-and-Finish" lottery. Will your knife have burrs, uneven edges, dremel burns, and other unsightly blemishes that can only be found on a "hand-ground" (see: CNC'ed) knife? Buy one and find out. $240.

6. Spyderco SpydeRench. Loose fittings, small components that were easy to lose, and about as heavy and pleasant to carry in your pocket as a wad of elephant dung. The detachable knife was a nice feature, but certainly not worth the price of admission. $150.

5. Buck Rush. Useless paper-thin liner lock that would easily disengage. Secondary lock that was guaranteed to fail. Very slow deployment for an assisted opener. $80.

4. Gerber 06 Automatic. Rubber bands on a Buck 110 would make a better automatic. Poor heat-treat on good steel led to blade chipping. More play in this thing than Six Flags. The world's most sensitive pivot and spring mechanism. This thing stockpiled dirt and grit. About $200.

3. Benchmade MPR. This knife has bigger balls than you do - detents that is. Absolutely impossible to open if you're placing pressure over the detent while you're opening it. Extremely heavy for its miniscule size. Blade play in all directions, and the framelock setting is very shallow. $235.

2. Emerson Combat/Super Karambit. Emerson's patented "Shit-and-Finish", left-handed chisel grind on a knife meant only for combat, and an open karambit ring which would flex and on occasion cause the liner to jump off the scale. $250-300.

1. Kershaw ET (External Toggle). External toggle mechanism that would actually CUT YOU as you opened it. The pocket clip was integral to the opening mechanism, meaning it would come out as you loosened it from your pocket. Worst opening mechanism by far. $100.
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Wow. First good post (well, except the funny one). I agree with you, especially on what you said about Emersons and Kershaw.
 
kitkat52 said:
I feel like this forum should be based on fact like Mike157s comments that his Pakistan/China production knives are junk.I wonder about the merit and merciless rants that can be made on this forum.Has the person who hates a knife ever held the knife in their hands?If a person damn's a brand,store chain,craftsmen from a country,or all production knives then they should share how you have arrived at their conclusions.By the way I think this forum can be read by people from all around the world.It does reach out beyond the USA and Canada.What do you think?
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Tell me the manufacturer and model of a great Pakistan knife? I don't know why you are getting upset. The gas station sells cheap knives. Big deal. The majority of China/ Pakistan knives are cheap and not made very well. Not all of them are but who cares? They are cheap because that is the role they were made to fill. A knife that costs $3 bucks is not going to be an outstanding knife. But someone sees the need for them so they are made and because of global economics they tend to come from a certain area. No one is saying that the people from that area are inferior.

I have handled the majority of knives mentioned in this thread at either gun shows or flea markets and they are pretty bad. And they are for the most part cheap knives made with cheap materials that do not perform well and sell for not a lot of money. It is a given that if something does not cost a lot of money that expensive materials or a lot of labor were not involved. They aren't going to work as well. Who cares. Some of the knives mentioned cost a lot of money. The Mantis knives are cheesy. Who cares. Someone with an over active imagination and some money decided to design and make some knives. Just because you have the money to make something doesn't mean it is going to be great. I handled most of their models at Blade and I would never own one. For some people that makes them in their top ten worst knives. Big deal.

Do you think that because someone from Pakistan logs on and reads that someone thinks cheap knives come from Pakistan that they are going to go out and commit suicide?
 
rogerchrisj

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The forum is not fun because the little blues the mod.is watching you waiting to act like 1984.
 
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Tony8179 said:
It actually wasn't. I liked the idea, but someone's always gotta ruin a good thing. :jerkit: Idealistic Crusades and all. :rolleyes:
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I think it would have been better if it was phrased differently, 10 least favorite folders would have been fine. But with 10 worst, it turns into arguments.
 
There has been quite a bit of bagging on stuff made in China and rightfully so as a lot of the stuff made there is complete junk. However, they are beginning to step-up their game. I recently handled a few examples of Rough Rider slip joint knives that were made in China. I was VERY impressed, especially for the quality at such a low price point ($15).
 
The Buck Tarani Strider is by far the worst folder I've ever
owned. The only good thing I can say about it is that it was
given to me so I never actually spent my $$ on such a POS.
 
kitkat52 said:
FLAMTNBKR

Do you think that somewhere in Pakistan or China there might be some craftsmen who make knives that are some of the best on the planet?What if their knives are never at gun or knife show in the USA?Is it possible that you might have missed some knives from China or Pakistan that are made well that people on this forum might like to buy if they saw one?I am trying to follow your reasoning.
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Some of the best knives in the world might come from Pakistan or China. But that doesn't change the fact that cheap, low cost knives from Pakistan or China are usually not very good. I'm trying to figure out the cause of the bunched up undergarments and I would guess it is because of the generalization of cheap chinese knives. But it is more a description than a generalization. Cheap knives made in China aren't usually very good. Neither are ones made in Pakistan. And more than likely a $3 knife made in the USA would be pretty crappy too.

So why exactly are you upset about some of the things in this thread? Do you find that the bucket of knives in the gas station are superior in some way? This thread is about the knives that we do know about, not some theoretical idealistic knife that might exist in some country that also happens to make cheap knives.
 
Tony8179 said:
Why don't we just let everyone make their lists? There's no need to jump in and start defending the knives on these lists. If that's what this thread is going to become, then a Mod may as well just lock it up now because it's just going to turn into a flame war. Some folks aren't going to like what they see on these lists. Bite your lip and deal with it. You're not always going to like people's opinions.
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I am not going to rewrite what Tony has already said so nicely. None of this is personal fellas, just opinions:)
 
Here are some pieces of crap that I have used for personal entertainment over the years. Boker "Magnum" folder that grenaded after the "wrist snap opening technique" method was employed.A CRKT K.I.S.S. folder that met it's ugly demise in a test of it's suspect lock, when I drove it's dull "Tanto style" tip into a block of wood with the correct amount of motivation from a small sledge hammer.(Yes...the lock did fail)
 
FlaMtBkr

Some of the best knives in the world might come from Pakistan or China.I agree with you.
 
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