Thoughts on Smith & Wesson knives

Personally, I've had satisfactory experiences with them. Yeah, most of their prices are in the $10-$40 price range as far as I've seen, I'd say they occupy a lower end niche. Obviously, if you compare them to $90+ knives from Benchmade or Spyderco, then you'd consider them to be trash, but they're lower priced for a reason. I'd take a $20 S&W over a no-name brand knife of the same price. I've found their M&P tanto and their Border Guard tanto sharp enough to cut paper (although obviously not paper-shaving sharp) and water bottles cleanly, and I've tested their liner locks with spine whacks and overstrikes. They haven't failed on me yet or gotten any blade play. So for their low price, I'd say they're knives you can use and abuse without cringing over how much money you spent. My biggest problem with them was with the M&P's misnomer of a "spring assist" when it can be classified as an automatic by my state laws, and the teflon coating's delicate nature. I've also had no loose screws or faulty parts with my two S&Ws, while I once got a Cold Steel AK47 with a cracked pivot screw. Do they hold a candle to the AK47 or a Benchmade Griptilian in quality? Of course not, but the S&Ws were $20 and ~$35 while the AK47 was over $70. So I'd say it's all about preference. If I wanted the sharpest, toughest knife with awesome steel and handle material for big bucks, I'd get a Cold Steel or Benchmade. If I only had about $25 on me and I needed a knife that I could depend for decent quality and a warranty, I'd get an S&W.
 
S&W knives were my gateway drug. I didn't know that locking folders existed, but I stumbled across S&W on Amazon. I ended up buying 3 at once -- one a complete waste of $20, a second that's OK (though the thumbstud loosens regularly and the ergonomics are horrible) and a third that is frankly not bad. I can't get what claims to be 440 very sharp, but the third is a comfortable user-type knife.

And I think that's the takeaway for S&W: you might hit on something very usable for $20 or so -- or you might not. And with more reliable alternatives available for a couple bucks more (Rat-1, Tenacious and its kin, the Byrd line, any number of Kershaws, etc.), I think it's hard to justify playing the S&W lottery.

But, hey, if you already have an S&W that's working out for you, you already won that lottery.
 
richard thurman said:
for the money you cant beat them. I sell a whole lot of them at the gun and knife shows. $10.00- $15.00 each. people keep returning with there friends to buy more of them. if you destroy the knife you lost $15.00 so what. please tell me a better knife for that kind of money.
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Mora. Kershaw also has a few knives in that price range.
 
I've EDC'd S&W extreme ops auto for about 5 yrs, prior to discovering the knife passion in me. For $40 it's not a bad knife. Would I buy it now, knowing what I know now about knives? Probably not.
as a discaimer--my S&W was made in Taiwan. I lokked at one my buddy had that was made in China. It was a crap.
 
I bought a S&W "homeland security" model or something like that 4-5 years ago. I was at the S&W manufacturing place in Springfield, MA and it looked cool for 25 bucks. I guess if thats your price cap on a knife its alright. It did what a knife is supposed to do, cut things, and i didnt feel bad about beating on it. The only serious downside was if you held the handle and put pressure on the spine of the blade, not even a lot of pressure, the liner lock would slip and disengage. So that turned me off to getting another S&W knife. A couple years after that i got into Spydercos and found out that id rather spend a little more money and get a lot higher quality.
 
Always wondered why (and thought it would be fitting for) S&W to use Buck to make their knives. The two just seem to go together from an 'Americana' standpoint.
 
Good design, bad materials. I have a Extreme Ops folding Bullseye clip point that I purchased for my emergency kit. The good news is the thing is built like a tank and whoever did the design work knew what they were doing. Solid blade lock up and no wobble. Now for the bad news, the materials are junk. The steel was advertised as 440C, but takes and holds and edge like my 420J2 kitchen knives. The torx head on the screws holding it together strip out with only a few in*lbs of force. It's getting replaced some time in the forseable future, but I'm not sure with what (Mora, Olfa, Stanley, Buck, or Swiss Army).

EDIT: Mine was made in China, not Taiwan or the US.
 
depends what your expectations are?

most here as you already have seen...taylor/s&w named knives don't fit the bill, even for the low money. for a regular person who just wants a cheap knife that works....they are not all that bad depending on the model.

as for myself, i don't hate them but all the goofy "tactical" names and allot of the designs are over the top for my tastes. the few i own work fine for what i paid, and do as well as any of the american brand named, but made in china knifes i own.

that said there are better knives for not much more, so it's worth doing your research and price shopping, etc. as usual ymmv......
 
I also started with a S&W SWAT II, it's one of the only liner locks I have as I moved to lockback and axis. I'll tell you with alot of use, and I mean alot, not one chip and really easy to sharpen. It's gone through countless dove wing bones, and really is a solid knife. I still take it camping, as I'm never going to be comfortable bringing a high dollar safe queen.

I bought for 12 bucks, a steal for what it is.
 
richard thurman said:
for the money you cant beat them. I sell a whole lot of them at the gun and knife shows. $10.00- $15.00 each. people keep returning with there friends to buy more of them. if you destroy the knife you lost $15.00 so what. please tell me a better knife for that kind of money.
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Mora
Opinel
Sanrenmu
Enlan
Kershaw
CRKT
Buck

You can get a CRKT Pazoda, Kershaw Half-Ton or Buck Bantam to your door for ~$15 off of the 'Bay. Includes a lifetime warranty from a respectable company.
Knock $5 off and go with the SRM or Enlan, get the same F+F as the CRKT or Kershaw but lose the warranty.
Or get an Opinel #7 in carbon steel for ~$13.

There's cheap and there's value. The majority* of S&W knives these days are just cheap.

*Just because I haven't tried them all. I'm sure there are a few good ones somewhere in the line.
 
Owned one., Well it was given too me.. I would NEVER buy one.. JUNK...
 
S&W's got me interested in knives again, back in '04. I've got two or three that I still use on occasion.

For the most part, S&W's have some good working & beater knives, but they have some real stinkers out there, too. That goes for most brands as well, I think, but the inexpensive imports seems to have more than their fair share, from my experience. In the end, for not too money, you can get several decent knives, and give away, or throw away, or just plain 'lose' any that you don't like.

I joined the forum here in '07, and started learning about knives other than the inexpensive ones I was used to. I don't think I've bought a S&W in a couple of years.

~Chris
 
I have had numerous and they have all worked great for basic uses like cutting cardboard, cordage, making feather sticks, etc. I have an 8" Search & Rescue blade which is a decent chopper with great ergonomics, two smaller fixed blades that are good little workers and a S.W.A.T a/o folder with the 4 inch blade which is a tank! It got one of the most powerful openings I've ever seen and despite all the use, I've never had to worry about any play in the blade, and its very easy to sharpen...for the most part anyway since I messed up an got the partially serrated one. Try the bush hog kukri for a chopper or either a SWAT or M&P for a folder, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the quality and even more so with the price.
 
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