Trying to find a cheap USA made edc

+1 on the kershaw skyline. Good steel, USA made, smooth opening, G10 handles, and its cheap(ish). Got mine and I don't regret it at all. Easy to get hair shaving sharp and stays that way. Solid lockup too. At the end of the day though its up to what knife you like the looks and feel of. Let us know which one you decide on!
 
Kershawguy has the Leek for $31, Scallion for $30, Zing for $35, or Red Blur for $40 (all non-blem). He's also got Blem Skylines for $29. The Leek is one of my favorite and most frequently carried EDC knives, and that Red Blur for $40 is a fantastic deal.

Also, check out USA Made Blade. All they sell are US-made knives. They have some traditional style knives from Case and Buck for around $30.

A couple others to consider... Case Sodbuster is a tried and true design. The Leatherman Crater knives have a carabiner that also works well as a bottle opener. Leatherman Freestyle has decent light to medium duty pliers.
 
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For $30 you can't go wrong with a Buck with 420 HC blade. Might not be flashy, but it will do the job. I have a leek and wasn't sure how well the blade would hold up, but was talking to a guy who lays carpet for a living. He couldn't say enough about his beat up leek. It was well worn and had been through the ringer. It looked like it had been resharpened on a flat rock (like we used to do when I was a kid). But he was gushing about it. You don't gush about a knife if it doesn't hold up. Some really good suggestions here and decent options if you can stay committed to your budget.
 
The Buck Bantam series is solid for light edc right in your price range. USA made like you requested.
 
Buck Vantage Pro is a good one. The Kershaw Needs Work is another one I highly advocate. Tough knife, American Made and Cheap to boot! For a fixed blade I don't think you can get any cheaper than the Becker Eskabar!
 
I think I'll go with the bucklite max 3" blade. It's a good size for edc, has a tip up carry pocket clip, is made in the US by a reputable company, and is well within my price range. Does anyone know of any significant drawbacks to it?
 
JKLnHYD said:
I think I'll go with the bucklite max 3" blade. It's a good size for edc, has a tip up carry pocket clip, is made in the US by a reputable company, and is well within my price range. Does anyone know of any significant drawbacks to it?
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I think you made a good choice. Here is a current thread about the Bucklite Max in the Buck forum: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1174918-Bucklite-Max-folder?p=13464935#post13464935

The good features, besides what you mentioned, are light weight, forever warranty and pinned construction (yup, I like it).

Drawbacks: non-detachable clip (I guess you don't mind), liner-less design is not as strong (but strong enough), traditional lock-back design does not open fast (tough to flick).

I prefer pins to screws. Screws get lost and loc-tite is messy. Once you learn how to re-tighten pins by peening, you will not worry about the pins. You can't disassemble for cleaning, but for a user knife like this, wash with hot water, blow out the old fashioned way, wipe dry, and call it good. Here's how to peen pins tight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySqwxPmF4-k

Buck has a lot of affordable, decent, made in the USA designs. I think their best designs are the 300 series (such as the 303, 302) and the 500 series (501). As many have already said, the Vantage select line is great; I have large and small. See how the large flips. For a 3" blade, I would look into the 112 ecolite. The ecolite series are being discontinued, but I think they are solidly made and in your price range. They are a little on the heavy side and don't have clips or thumb studs. However, it's a knife that will last a long time.
 
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Kershaw Blur is an awesome EDC. Tons of versions out there, all US made, they run (new) in price from about $55 to about $85 depending on the specific model. It has a very fast assisted opening system with an inset liner lock and is nicely sized for EDC (3.3") and light weight. You can get one from KershawGuy (BF Sponsor) for a great price, especially a blem.
 
The vantage is fun in that you can zip tie the blade and it will open from the pocket like an Emerson wave knife.
 
2TONYB said:
Buck Vantage with paperstone handle. Less than $30.
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I agree. I've got one in the smaller and larger size. Not a lot of bells and whistles, but dollar for dollar, it's hard to beat. And I love the feel of the paperstone handles, and the satisfying click of the blade locking into place using the flipper. I paid about $50 for the pair, and they have been well worth it.

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JKLnHYD said:
I think I'll go with the bucklite max 3" blade. It's a good size for edc, has a tip up carry pocket clip, is made in the US by a reputable company, and is well within my price range. Does anyone know of any significant drawbacks to it?
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It's a very comfortable knife in hand.

But I would say it depends on how hard you plan on pushing the knife.

Lockbacks need to be perfect to not have vertical blade play under hard cutting pressure. I use my folders for bend cutting brush on my property which causes strong cutting forces. Both of my Bucklite Max folders lasted less than a year before they developed really significant vertical play. Buck notes that the linerless Bucklites can develop more play. My Ecolite lasted a bit longer but still opened up.

If your set on a Buck lockback, I would look at the Duke 500 which is all metal but lacks a clip. It carries very well. I would avoid the Bantam which has no liner and uses softer plastic than the Bucklite. Another alternative is to look for used used 112 or 110s with 2 or 3 dots as they just made them better back then. Suggest searching the Buck sub forum for threads on vertical play for more info.

A liner lock like the Vantage is less prone to vertical play than the lock backs but as mentioned by others, may require some tweaking the pivot.

Bucks 420hc is great. I think the Bucklite fixed blades are incredible values.
 
Kershaw Leek. It's a great knife. Get a blem if you have to keep to your budget.
 
Kershaw Barrage/Salvos are USA made framelocks and are on sale at Botach for $19.95 shipped. At least they were about three days ago. I picked one up as a beater and it's nice. Not the prettiest thing to look at but boy is it functional and SOLID.
 
I edc a humble Case Mini Blackhorn. It's just a very economical, easy to carry workhorse, that I can even open one handed without problems. Last I looked they can be found at Lowes for about $11.
 
The Buck Spitfire looks like it could fit the bill. I don't own one though. The Spyderco UKPKs are good US-made folders with a 2.9" blade (cutting edge slightly smaller.) I picked up an SE GIN-1 blade for about $28ish and have been happy with it... doesn't need a lock, imo.

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-Brett
 
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