What is the LEAST you'll pay for a knife?

Um, I guess $2 a piece. For $10 total I got four Vics (2 were regular classics, one was a classic alox, and one was a classic with the pen), and a Spyderco Ladybug VG-10 :) They wanted 4 little assorted knives for $10, but I negotiated for 5 for $10. That craigslist seller was awesome. I got a huge chunk of my collection from buying high quality knives from her. Earlier in the transaction I dropped $55 for about 10 knives, and some of them were stuff like the SwissTool, Leatherman Wave, assorted Gerbers (the made in USA kind), etc.

To her it was just a box of folders that her brother gave her. To me, it was paradise :)
 
I've gotten nearly a dozen little SAKs for .50 each

I got two decent Buck folders and two decent Winchester folders for about $5 each

Minimums? We don't need no stinkin' minimums!
 
I am a knife virgin of sorts, I have an extensive collection of guns pistols, fishing tackle, flies and fly fishing gear, hunting gear for every imaginable pursuit and manner of pursuit..wood working Stanley planes, and Diston hand saws...the thought of a knife collection to add to my other collection would really put the poor better half into thinking--I better get this guy committed before he becomes any more dangerous...I need another hobby collection like I need another hole in the head......cheapest?? free---knives as a gift from dad cheapest bought??---Swiss army...Steve
 
Sword and Shield said:
Give me a week and I'll build one for a buck that'll survive your "tests". I'm still waiting for your point- all you're saying is that you can overbuild a knife, and it'll survive more than a cheaper one. Care to go round for round- say, a CS GI Tanto against the ZT? Fairer game.
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Oh you would, would you? :jerkit:
 
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cz375hh said:
I am a knife virgin of sorts, I have an extensive collection of guns pistols, fishing tackle, flies and fly fishing gear, hunting gear for every imaginable pursuit and manner of pursuit..wood working Stanley planes, and Diston hand saws...the thought of a knife collection to add to my other collection would really put the poor better half into thinking--I better get this guy committed before he becomes any more dangerous...I need another hobby collection like I need another hole in the head......cheapest?? free---knives as a gift from dad cheapest bought??---Swiss army...Steve
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Don't worry, we know what to do with YOU. Just hang around BF a while and you will be knifejonesing just like the rest of us. ;)
 
Well I never thought I would spend as little as $20.00 on a knife again. It would just never happen! Well as I have said before, never isn't that long. I paid under $20.00 for a folder today NIB at Gander Mountain. Less tax of coarse. I purchased a Benchmade Fecas Snipe PE today for $19.97. And yes there was only one. They were selling the Gander Mt. brand folders for $27.00 which look like rubbish. I was shocked. I wasn't there to buy a knife, but I did!:D

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PayetteRucker said:
I would rather spend 25 dollars on a good knife that I know I will use than 80 on a knife I would be hesitant to.
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I guess that reflects different circumstances and different viewpoints. I don't worry about using an $80 knife, and indeed I use several knives as EDC that cost more than that. On the other hand, while a lot of inexpensive knives are junk, there are certainly some gems to be found if you look carefully.

Get as cautious as you want but most of you guys that insist on spending 50 dollars minimum on a knife rarely ever use them outside of opening letters anyway.
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No need to get insulting just becuase some of us might have a bit more disposable income than otheres. The fact is, most of the $20-30 knives I have seen are junk and are not even worth the modest selling prices charged for them. I have no issues with buying and using a good, cheap knife, but the good ones are the exception rather than the rule.
 
Your knife works for you then fine, I just think the people who are routinely attracted to a five or a ten dollar knife are cheepskates! The price is the dominating factor in their decision and that's that. Then they try to re-write the rules of the market place and say things that amount to them saying "you don't get what you pay for, there is no value beyond what I get for my 2 dollar knife".

You people are deluded howler monkeys. Probably the same people who buy the cheapest oil for their car, cheapest cheese at the store, cheapest socks and on and on, then try to justify their cheepness with posts like the one I just talked about. Probably saying, "yum, that 35 cent cheese was delicious, and these 47 cent socks are great and the 99 cent oil works just fine"

People, there is a reason WHY we get what we pay for, and all your rationalizations won't change the fact. WON'T CHANGE IT. Me, I am a regular working guy, I use hand and power tools at work, I don't make a fortune but I do OK. Knives are actually an arena where we CAN have the knife we want as opposed to never being able to drive the car we want etc. WE CAN HAVE THE KNIFE WE WANT, I don't care if you make $2 an hour, or whatever you do or where you are from, as long as your floor is not made out of dirt, then with willpower and good planning you CAN HAVE THE KNIFE YOU WANT, be it a $500 custom or a $200 production model. DON'T GIVE ME THIS SONG AND DANCE ANYMORE, IF YOU "WANT" A 5 DOLLAR JUNK KNIFE THEN FINE! BE MY GUEST! AND MAKE SURE YOU NEVER TELL ME ABOUT WHEN YOUR JUNK FAILED...PROBABLY RIGHT WHEN YOU NEEDED IT TO WORK THE MOST!!
 
Ryou said:
People, there is a reason WHY we get what we pay for, and all your rationalizations won't change the fact. WON'T CHANGE IT.
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While I agree you cannot have it both ways (very best quality for rock bottom price) there is no direct relation between price and quality. You can buy a more than decent knife for $20, very very high quality for $200 and the absolute best for $1000. Is the best 5x as good as the high quality one? Of course not.

So I do not think there is anything wrong with limiting oneself to Byrds, CS Pocket Bushmen or Kudu's, or any other $20 quality knife. I certainly don't think a person doing that is in any way a cheapskate.
 
I want to know how much mdauben paid for the knife in his avatar

I can't believe I got a brand new Victorinox Bantam for $7 a couple years ago. What was I thinking buying such cheap crap.
 
I've been buying knives (seriously) for 7 years. For a knife that has everything I want, $300+ is expected. I have become a bit anal. Many production knives, Emerson for example, are nice but need thicker liners. I end up sending it off to have it made into a Ti framelock ----> (ahhh) perfection. The original Emerson + customizing can easily reach $500.

For that price, I can have a knife custom built to my specs. When you've been spoiled by a custom made for you, its hard to look back.

PS... My knife buying eats up anything a normal person would budget for "entertainment". Mortgage, food, bills, and knives. I have no life, but I have a great marriage and a killer collection;)
 
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but 'strict value' is not, although value can be an individual thing as in the case of the $1000 knife - to that buyer it is worth it if his value criteria is 'status symbol' or 'art', as well as the guy with the 5 dollar cutter that cuts, it gets "the job" done, whatever the job in his mind might be. But is Mr. 5 Bucks seeing life as a snapshot or a movie? I prefer movie! I'd just like to say value is much more than a price, value is capability, length of service, warranty, usability, availability, quality vs. the cost etc. and things like that. I just think some guys do not "realize" or actualize 'value', because their knife cuts, they like the price, and that's that. Not so sez me, not so. As far as no direct relation between price and quality goes, I think you will have a hard time shopping that argument around, there really are rules of the marketplace, I didn't pull that out of thin air. It's also true that there are idiots who reverse price shop, ie they will buy the $7 hamburger over the $3 one just bcoz it cost 2x as much....do they want status [maybe] or do they want a good burger [also maybe] it is a case by case basis and the 7 buck burger just might the same as the 3 buck one but usually and mostly it is not, or even worse! Anyone who sells low-quality / high price WILL BE found out, and usually will either adapt or fail. This is life, but did the buyer take the time to investigate the actual value of the 2 choices? usually not....so what is the primary goal? Me I look for performance and efficiency, because that's what I need above all else. I think some others want what they think is "cost effectiveness" BUT IS IT REALLY SO when the price of the knife is 90% of the decision?

I agree there are some knives out there....that really are WAY over-priced, the solution I have is education, real world testing, and places like BF.



[/QUOTE]So I do not think there is anything wrong with limiting oneself to Byrds, CS Pocket Bushmen or Kudu's, or any other $20 quality knife. I certainly don't think a person doing that is in any way a cheapskate.[/QUOTE]

I do, some of them, but not all, again it is case by case.

keep'em sharp.
 
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I'm tickled my toes that some/many of you can buy $200+ knives.

I can't. I was DOGGONE lucky to get a $65 Benchmade or two.

We do NOT buy the cheapest _________ we buy what we like but of course it is not the most expensive either.

I get Shell Rotella oil for MY truck.

I just know I've found some CHEAP knives that work FINE for my needs.
 
I've gotten free knives, but I guess the cheapest knife I've purchased over the past few years is probably $6.57-delivered. For various Rough Rider knives I've won on eBay (the max bid that I usually input).

Next "cheapest" would be $9 dollar Mora knives (now prolly $11).
 
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