What are your most "value for the dough" knife choices?

Boats

Boats

Joined
Aug 7, 2003
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My choices:

Fixed domestic: Ka-Bar USN MK1 Kraton (Got mine for $52.00) Decent length, sharpness, and grip comfort, triple retention sheath. I like it more than I ever thought I would.

Folding domestic: Buck Vantage Avid. ($35.00) Blade is Swedish steel, but if you get one put together correctly, the knife is a great EDC with an especially good pocket clip.

Fixed Foreign: Mora 2000. Love it or hate it, it's hard to beat for the $30.00 I paid. Ugly but effective friction sheath, light weight, unusual blade grind of part scandi where you'd power carve wood, and part flat tapered grind toward the tip for delicate work.

Folding Foreign: The twenty dollar toss up between the Victorinox Farmer and the large Douk-Douk. Both have their virtues, and both are utterly expendable.
 
Fixed domestic: ka bar marine hunter, almost presentation quality looks while being a purpose built hunting knife

Folding domestic: CRKT M16

Fixed foreign: any martiini

Folding foreign: kershaw skyline
 
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Fixed Domestic: Anything in the Ka-Bar Becker line up. These are great knives that anyone can afford.
Folding Domestic: Benchmade Adamas. This knife could sell for $50 more street value and still be a great knife at it's price point.

Fixed Foreign: Mora Companion. While I am not in love with Mora's like some are I am still smart enough to know they are a great value at $15.
Folding Foreign: Ganzo G704. For a $15 knife this has G10 Handles and nice thick steel liners. A great edc knife that is very tough and well built.
 
I just got a Rat 1 and am very impressed with it. Great knife and design!
 
Surfingringo said:
What about the spyderco Gayle Bradley?
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Have you gotten one yet? I remember reading your thread and it seems that you opted for the PM2, not criticizing, just hoping that you finally ended up with a GB. :thumbup:

I think for a folder it would certainly have to be the Benchmade 810 Contego. Large folder, full G10 scales, axis lock and M4 blade steel, all for around $140! I have one and I think it's worth $200+ easily, it is a big bad mother made out of some of the finest materials in knife making for a very reasonable price. Not much will get in the way of this knife.

Now that I've mentioned my beloved 810, let me also mention my other beloved, you guessed it, the Gayle Bradley. Fit and finish like a custom, killer M4 blade steel, smooth as silk, and am amazing hollow grind that is a slicer's dream.

I'm mostly a folder guy, so I'm not going to pontificate on my choice for a fixed blade like I did for the Contego or the Bradley. My choice for the best value for the dough fixed blade is the Becker BK7. Solid, comfortable, 1095CV that's easy to sharpen and gets sharp as hell, and less than $70! It's a nice compromise between a really large fixed blade and a medium sized fixed blade. An amazing knife, but I think you could say that about most of the knives in the Becker lineup.
 
Kershaw Cryo
Victorinox Cadet, Recruit, pretty much any one of the cheaper SAK's
 
Best value? Probably my Spyderco Native with S30V that I picked up at Walmart for $45 (give or take) several years ago yet since use almost everyday.
 
Fixed domestic, Buck Reaper

Fixed foreign, Mora Companion HD.

Folding Domestic, Case 3138 Sodbuster

Folding Foreign, Opinel 06-08
 
Some of m favorites in the bang-for-buck category are:

Opinel
Douk Douk
Mora
Old Hickory
Cold Steel Krupp series (Kudu, Finn Bear, etc.)

In a higher price category, I think A.G. Russell's Chinese made traditional style folders are phenomenal.
 
Fixed domestic: Becker BK16
Folding domestic: Spyderco Manix 2XL
Fixed Foreign: Mora 2000-I agree 1000 percent!
Folding Foreign: Spyderco Endura
 
Accelerator said:
Have you gotten one yet? I remember reading your thread and it seems that you opted for the PM2, not criticizing, just hoping that you finally ended up with a GB. :thumbup:

I think for a folder it would certainly have to be the Benchmade 810 Contego. Large folder, full G10 scales, axis lock and M4 blade steel, all for around $140! I have one and I think it's worth $200+ easily, it is a big bad mother made out of some of the finest materials in knife making for a very reasonable price. Not much will get in the way of this knife.

Now that I've mentioned my beloved 810, let me also mention my other beloved, you guessed it, the Gayle Bradley. Fit and finish like a custom, killer M4 blade steel, smooth as silk, and am amazing hollow grind that is a slicer's dream.

I'm mostly a folder guy, so I'm not going to pontificate on my choice for a fixed blade like I did for the Contego or the Bradley. My choice for the best value for the dough fixed blade is the Becker BK7. Solid, comfortable, 1095CV that's easy to sharpen and gets sharp as hell, and less than $70! It's a nice compromise between a really large fixed blade and a medium sized fixed blade. An amazing knife, but I think you could say that about most of the knives in the Becker lineup.
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No, not yet. Thats why I formed my response as a question. I was fishing. I've just heard sooo many people say what you just said that its hard not to believe. Hopefully I'll see for myself soon! I'm hoping the chicky has me one for my birthday. I guess we'll see how good a girl she is. ;-)

p.s. If it turns out she's not such a good girl, I'm buying one for myself, but come on...we've got to give em a chance right?? Hehe
 
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Gayle Bradley has my vote. It has great blade-steel, nice blade thickness, carbon fiber, tough as heck, solid in the hand. I've had more than a few pass-throughs; presently have three NIB.
Of course, I don't carry one; I just admire the heck out of it.
The Spyderco Superleaf is another great buy. Recently discontinued; is available for about $100 NIB in VG-10, 4mm blade thickness. Great heavy-duty blade. Has compression lock like the PM2.
Sonnydaze (I carry CRK)
 
Fixed blade domestic: Buck 119
Fixed blade foreign: Condor Bushcraft (El Salvador)
Folder domestic: Buck 110 (Especially the Buck Custom Shop 110's!)
Folder foreign: Boker Tree Brand 'Classic' slipjoints (Germany)

At the opposite end of the spectrum... the most moola for the 'least' apparent quality!

It isn't CR knives - my small Sebbie, Umnuumzaan, & Nyala I feel were good values. Foreign knives would have several of my Boker (Germany) folders & fixed blades as examples. The domestic folder has a new winner (loser) - flame suit on - the ZT 0777. Of course it's lunar level MSRP has become celestial in nature due to the limited production and crazy secondary market. My wife gifted me with one last month - nice knife, just not that nice. By comparison, I still adore my TILT!. JMHO.

Stainz
 
Mannlicher said:
Ontario RAT 1 and RAT II folders. Amazing knife for very little money.
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Came here to post this. I gave away one Rat, and lost the other one a week later..........I'm sad. They were the best slicing folders I had. Good blade shape. Rock solid, opens with authority.

If I were looking for a beater that I could replace for very little $$$, the Rat line would be my pick.
 
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