Well this was unexpected..

Aquaholicc

Aquaholicc

Joined
Oct 17, 2016
Messages
1,027
How many of you here have felt satisfied enough with your collection to finally look at cheaper options just so you can cope with that little voice in our heads that says “Yes, you need to buy more knives”.

Since I begun this hobby I’ve seen/heard the Ontario Rat being referenced more times than I could count and I just recently pulled the trigger on a Rat2. The messed up part about this story is I’m actually more excited about this $30 beater knife than I have been about my say, $500-$600 mid-tech knives. I simply cannot wait to put a Wicked Edge (no pun intended) on this thing and thrash the hell out of it! :D

With this being said what other “iconic” cheap EDC knives have you all carried throughout the years?
—Pictures strongly encourage so I can see how they have held up!
 
marcinek said:
Glad to hear about people who have reached a point in their knife sophistication where they realize a knife does not have to be expensive to be good. :thumbsup: Opens things up for them, which is a good thing.

Let the "Opinel" and "Mora" comments begin.
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And by the way, it's not "volume of knives owned" that get folks to that point, I think. In fact just the opposite...it seems so many think a high end buying frenzy means they know knives. Certainly is the YouTube reviewer case so often.

Nothing wrong with owning a lot of expensive knives, it just doesn't, necessarily, teach anything about good knife design.

Buying and using on Opinel does!!!
 
marcinek said:
Glad to hear about people who have reached a point in their knife sophistication where they realize a knife does not have to be expensive to be good. :thumbsup: Opens things up for them, which is a good thing.

Let the "Opinel" and "Mora" comments begin.
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I have never once reached a point where I thought anything in my collection would slice 10 times better than an Opinel for 10 times the cost.
I learned that perspective here a long time ago.

That being said, that is one of the reasons I like the Svord Peasant line. Take a simple alloy that can take a beating, make it with a simple construct method that folds and most folks can carry one just about anywhere, and it should take your daily needs in stride...
 
And for the record, after years, I now carry a Vic Classic everyday. Phenomenal knife. Cheap, ugly, boring. But great.
 
NJBillK said:
That being said, that is one of the reasons I like the Svord Peasant line. Take a simple alloy that can take a beating, make it with a simple construct method that folds and most folks can carry one just about anywhere, and it should take your daily needs in stride...
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Yup. Own one of those too. It does take a lot of knowledge/experience to understand that a knife that ugly could work as well if not better than a custom or midtech 10 times its price.
 
I very much agree with this strategy. Just like any good watch collection, you need a beater or two - the rented mule.

You have the purebred stable, and then the mule stable...

As stated, they also make great practice knives for sharpening.

Mine has been a Bucklite lock back over the years - it's a recurve now. ;)


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Every Knife nut needs to get their fix. If that means buying something outside your norm, so be it. Traditional knives is an itch I like to scratch once in awhile even though I'm a modern folder guy. Same with fixed blades. Hell, once in awhile, I'll just go down to the flea market and look at the crap knives they sell there. Give em $5 for fun for something interesting that would fall apart in my hand just because its a knife
 
Dfunk1210 said:
Every Knife nut needs to get their fix. If that means buying something outside your norm, so be it. Traditional knives is an itch I like to scratch once in awhile even though I'm a modern folder guy. Same with fixed blades. Hell, once in awhile, I'll just go down to the flea market and look at the crap knives they sell there. Give em $5 for fun for something interesting that would fall apart in my hand just because its a knife
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I feel like I can relate to you the most sir, hell even this holiday I must have received 6 different “flea market” knives and I was more than happy to accept them, for the sole purpose of like you said being a knife. Plus I’ll take any knife I can get my hands on just to take my WE stones to it to break them in.

I mean..check out this bad boy..lol
 
Eagle Scout said:
I very much agree with this strategy. Just like any good watch collection, you need a beater or two - the rented mule.
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So, to continue with my analogy, I suppose one could own a vast collection of Audemars Piguets and Patek Philippes, and that is not going to teach one that a cheapo digital chronograph tells time just as accurately. :)
 
Aquaholicc said:
I feel like I can relate to you the most sir, hell even this holiday I must have received 6 different “flea market” knives and I was more than happy to accept them, for the sole purpose of like you said being a knife. Plus I’ll take any knife I can get my hands on just to take my WE stones to it to break them in.

I mean..check out this bad boy..lol
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I can't believe you posted this pic, lol. A truck driver at work who knows I'm into knives came in the other morning and pulled this monstrosity from his pocket to show me how excited he was. Oh well, at least it makes him happy.

Oh and as far as the Rat 2 goes, it's great. I actually find myself carrying one more than most of my other expensive folders. Now that it's finally available in D2 steel it's an even better value.
 
I've been on kind of a Benchmade kick lately. I guess my thought process is that I can use one as a beater if I wish and worst case scenario I can probably have it repair for free or, at most, at a price that is approximately the same as replacing a Rat. I don't drink much anymore so I'm pretty good about not losing stuff so the up front cost isn't a killer to me. If you buy one on the exchange for a decent price you can probably get your money back worst case scenario. Mid-techs and such have become less attractive to me in general, though.
 
cashville said:
I've been on kind of a Benchmade kick lately. I guess my thought process is that I can use one as a beater if I wish and worst case scenario I can probably have it repair for free or, at most, at a price that is approximately the same as replacing a Rat. I don't drink much anymore so I'm pretty good about not losing stuff so the up front cost isn't a killer to me. If you buy one on the exchange for a decent price you can probably get your money back worst case scenario. Mid-techs and such have become less attractive to me in general, though.
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Ehh, I’ve seen all BM can offer I feel and nothing strikes my fancy unless I buy a Griptillian and have custome scales made for it. But I’m not looking to scratch that sort of itch just yet.
GB940Rookie said:
Of my carry rotation, the one with the most hours on it is my least expensive. A work knife that I’ve been carrying for about 14 yrs.
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Care to share what this is?
Cscotttsss said:
I can't believe you posted this pic, lol. A truck driver at work who knows I'm into knives came in the other morning and pulled this monstrosity from his pocket to show me how excited he was. Oh well, at least it makes him happy.

Oh and as far as the Rat 2 goes, it's great. I actually find myself carrying one more than most of my other expensive folders. Now that it's finally available in D2 steel it's an even better value.
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Lol, don’t get me wrong you’ll never see this in my rotation but as stated earlier I’ll throw it on my system just to break in some stones. :cool:
 
I have been known to peruse the $3.99 Walmart knives and my wife buys one for me everytime she goes there.
 
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