Truck Stop Knives Rule (apparently)

Monofletch said:
I can’t lie.....
There are a couple of gas station knives that have my attention!
I have always liked the way the Benchmark Backpacker looks.....
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Nothing wrong with that knife- full tang, lanyard hole (which I do like on this style of knife) handle looks good, sheath isn't cheap nylon, no weirdness like rainbow colors, no goofy names on the blade (Death's Edge, Specops, Ninja, etc), may need sharpened more but I don't see that as a bad knife at all. I'd probably think more of a guy I saw carrying that than I would some skulled up rainbow monstrosity. Yes, it's Chinese but it's not a clone or ripoff, it's under $20 so nobody is fooled and nobody is trying to fool them, fair play in my opinion.
 
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Alot of the people I know carry really cheap knives, because when they use them it could be for anything from prying, as a scraper, a screwdriver, or anything else that happens to come up. They buy cheap knives so they can do all that & not feel bad about ruining a good knife. Most of those people also have a good knife or two, but choose not to use them for work, in the shop, or in the garage.
 
One of my neighbors is a knife collector and has a huge collection of really nice knives. Chris Reeves, some custom stuff, etc.

His EDC carry knives are from the Phillips 66 gas station down the road from my house. He told me that around his farm, he found that he'd rather use the crap beater stuff around his farm. Said it breaks his heart when he uses something good to pry or scrape so he very rarely carries his "church knives". I see his point.

On my land, I carry a Rat a lot for similar reasons.
 
Jocephus1 said:
One of my neighbors is a knife collector and has a huge collection of really nice knives. Chris Reeves, some custom stuff, etc.

His EDC carry knives are from the Phillips 66 gas station down the road from my house. He told me that around his farm, he found that he'd rather use the crap beater stuff around his farm. Said it breaks his heart when he uses something good to pry or scrape so he very rarely carries his "church knives". I see his point.

On my land, I carry a Rat a lot for similar reasons.
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I'd still use a mora companion for hard use/farm use/prying/scraping etc is no problem and it touches up very easily

is $15 really too much? is saving an extra 5 dollars really worth using an unknown quality/ht/steel?
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When I drove truck I had an M-Tech or some such thing with assisted opening.
I can't tell you how many hundreds of caned food it opened, without damage to the blade or knife, nor how many boxes it opened, or miles of "saran wrap" it cut.

I did eventually upgrade to a new made 7OT and bought a Marbles rendition of the old Camillus "Demo" knife for the can opener.

The company I worked for didn't care what knife we carried, so long as it couldn't be confused with a "weapon".
They felt assisted opening moved a knife into the "weapon" category. (I always kept it in the truck, anyway, especially at pick ups and deliveries with "NO GUNS OR KNIVES ALLOWED" signs posted.
 
I've owned knives in this range, including a few MTechs that are probably going on twenty years old now. Most had been "what the heck" purchases, won at the county fair, or picked up when I had to travel and didn't bring a knife. The quality isn't good but at the same time, they did cut things and the assisted actions did whip them out okay. The mystery steel didn't keep a fine edge for long but even when feeling dull, they could still be forced through materials.

I imagine that's how a lot of people use them. (Well, that and flicking them out to feel like a badass at the local mall or junior high.) They could be sharpened up without difficulty, or someone could just buy a new one at that price. On thing I did notice, on all of the MTechs I had, is that none of the screws want to stay put. Having some of these while away from home for extended periods, I ended up just JBwelding them together. :eek:

Sadly, I've gotten a few cheapies from Schrade or Gerber over the years that seem to validate the quality of MTech. Much more recently, I've been seeing manual knives on bearings for $10-15 from China. The actions can be surprisingly good. The blade steel might not be great but occasionally, you'll get 8Cr13Mov on par with a Chinese Kershaw. Part of the problem with those is that it's hard to know for sure and less scrupulous companies will just stamp things like "D2" on the blade. o_O
 
There's a lot more people that shop at Target than Macy's.
If it's good enough for what they need, then why spend a lot of money.

I have a contractor friend who's had Spydercos and Benchmades. He lost them.
So now he carries a $10 Milwaukee lockback special he got at a big box hardware store. He recognizes the difference in performance, but it still does everything he needs it to do and he doesn't worry about losing it.
 
If you need a knife and know little about them, they are a good first knife. Usually sharp and cuts for a while, and if it gets broke or lost, it isn't a big deal to most people other than maybe a kid. Lots of these knives are sold
 
robgmn said:
Ignorance can be bliss. Sure, "truck stop knives" are dull, dangerous, poorly made, bad for your teeth, bad for the environment, and cause body odor.
But the fact of the matter is that they serve the needs of thousands of people just fine.

'No different than the Harbor Freight versus SnapOn arguments...
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That’s also why there are professionals and then there are non-professionals. Some strive for excellence while others don’t give a care and lack of understanding leads many astray.
 
... just thought of a couple more blades which are around $15-17 which would sell at a 'quality' truck stop ; )

kabar dozier folders - aus8
buck bantams - 420hc
 
Lesknife said:
That’s also why there are professionals and then there are non-professionals. Some strive for excellence while others don’t give a care and lack of understanding leads many astray.
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I suspect there are a lot of knife owners and potential knife owners that would fall into the middle ground. So, where do Victorinox SAKs fit into this professional > non-professional range? You can buy a pretty good knife under $25. Like everything, it is a matter of knowledge, interest, and your financial stature. Pretty good is often plenty good for the average person.

Take your average deer hunter or hiker who hunts or hikes a few times a year.... a Mora is plenty of knife. Mora's don't particularly give me pleasure owning one or using one, but they function quite well. Now take most Vic SAKs, they work too and I am proud to be a regular user.
 
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22-rimfire said:
I suspect there are a lot of knife owners and potential knife owners that would fall into the middle ground. So, where do Victorinox SAKs fit into this professional > non-professional range? You can buy a pretty good knife under $25. Like everything, it is a matter of knowledge, interest, and your financial stature. Pretty good is often plenty good for the average person.

Take your average deer hunter or hiker who hunts or hikes a few times a year.... a Mora is plenty of knife. Mora's don't particularly give me pleasure owning one or using one, but they function quite well. Now take most Vic SAKs, they work too and I am proud to be a regular user.
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Yes that’s perfectly understandable. And I agree, but when someone tells me I don’t need a better/ more expensive knife than what they use I have to say they don’t understand. Some people work or live in an environment or life style that requires a knife that is not ordinary and performance is essential. It would be nice if the type of knife I need were under $20 or a SAK but it isn’t. I’ve tried a few but they fail.
 
Lesknife said:
Yes that’s perfectly understandable. And I agree, but when someone tells me I don’t need a better/ more expensive knife than what they use I have to say they don’t understand. Some people work or live in an environment or life style that requires a knife that is not ordinary and performance is essential. It would be nice if the type of knife I need were under $20 or a SAK but it isn’t. I’ve tried a few but they fail.
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How did they fail? Or did you just give them a failing grade based on your knowledge and use?

There is no question that I like a better knife, but my "better knife" falls way below a Sebenza or some of the other $300+ knives (folders). I do spend more for fixed blades because I like them. That said, of late I have been carrying a little Condor Compact Kephart to accompany my SAK. I am finding that I like it and use it and it is essentially a $50 knife. It is not a heavy use knife, maybe heavy cutting, but not heavy as in lots of force cutting type knife since it's a three finger knife. Quite honestly, I am tickled to death with it and I'm learning that I don't need a bigger knife very much.
 
Velitrius said:
Most folks won't sharpen a knife either.

This means that for $2 they can have a brand new "sharp" knife instead of doing the work themselves.

They are the Bic Lighters of knives. Once it "runs out of sharp" just grab another one with the Doritos and Marlboros.
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This is true about sharpening or the ability to sharpen a knife unless they run it through some sort of "kitchen knife" sharpener. This works for cheap knives by the way even if you grind away a bit more metal than necessary.

One needs to be aware that Bic lighters are the more expensive option for disposable lighters. I prefer Bics, but they do cost a bit more and I guess that is a reasonable analogy for knives and choosing something "better".
 
I found myself a quarter of the way through skinning a deer with a knife that dulled.
It was then that I started to appreciate different steel qualities and what they were capable of.
 
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