What price knives you would normally buy? For what purpose?

I started this hobby thinking $50 was a lot for a knife. Now I'm sitting here with my blade hq manix 2 xl that I paid near $200 for and didn't even bat an eye. There are many good knives at many price points, and I like a lot of them. One of my favorites is my Kershaw Natrix XL, it was around $40 and is 8cr13mov. My overall favorite is my Benchmade Super Freek, which I paid about $200 for. My most expensive is my custom crooked river, at nearly $300. I carry and use them all. If I didn't, they'd be sold (like I did with my sage 5 and manix 2 lw).

Havent really seen a Kizer that intrigued me though. For the most part I guess you could say I like "boring" designs. The buck 110 is probably one of the best looking designs ever in my opinion. All these crazy looking knives just aren't my cup of tea.

Buy them, use them, enjoy them.
 
I normally would not buy a knife if the price is less than $100. I usually have minimums that I will spend on various things that I am interested in and generally like to get what I consider to be top of the line items in things like knives, firearms, watches, bicycles, Scuba gear, tv's, stereo gear and musical instruments.
 
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Under $100. I think I gave about $80 (new) for my Fallkniven F1 a year or two ago. Most of my stuff is $50 or under. I have 3 custom knives that my brother gave me but I have no idea what they cost. I have a Puma Bowie that would be expensive to replace. I bought it in the early 1970s and it might have been $45. back then.

Nowadays, I have so many knives that it takes a good deal for me to buy more. Mora Companions for $9, Old Hickory knives for $7, various central/south American machetes for $3- $16. Best deal was five Fallkniven F1s (black blade, leather sheath) for $20 each. Not counterfeit, not stolen, just a weird close-out price from Walmart. Got a bunch of Tramontina 18" machetes with sheaths for $5 each.
 
I look for value and quality tied to price, more so than price by itself. I'm not willing to pay more for a big brand name or popular name if the value and higher end materials and labor costs etc isnt there. I wont lie where it's made is a factor. im not so much against where it's made per say, but it has influence when ever we get into the 100 plus dollar range.
 
DangerZone98 said:
CPM-M4 for $120?!!! *shocked face

That almost sounds too good to be true, lol. It seems I should’ve found this hobby earlier, lads.
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Yeah, my Spyderco Gayle Bradley was $140 in 2013...
ZT 0770CF with Elmax $130 when I got mine 0801 $175 0561 $190
I think $139 for my Kizer Ki423. Sculpted green Ti, ceramic bearing flipper, S35VN.

Yeah.

I remember when I was 19 I got a SOG X-Ray Vision mini. It was $77, and it was one of the "new" arc lock models. I thought it was a fortune.
 
I'd probably say $10..$100 in general. When I bought my benchmade mini afck 15+ years ago I thought it was mad to pay what I did for it - yet it's still in my pocket today (as my favourite folder). Think I've been up to $200-ish; and will probably go higher, I guess, at some point in the future. No real reason to of course - like many of us I'll simply never get round to wearing them all out. Can't really say I've too bothered at this stage of the 'game'. :)

Joe
 
I buy sub $20 knives. I can almost afford them.
For what? Whatever I need a knife for. Cost does not make one knife out cut another, or last longer.
Though I admit there are probably some folk out there with an expensive knife that will last them the rest of their life, because it cost so much they'll never carry or use it.
 
afishhunter said:
Cost does not make one knife out cut another, or last longer.
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Right but the better steel and build quality that can make a knife cut better and last longer often comes with a higher price tag. More expensive knives aren't always better than $20 knives, but they usually are.
 
craytab craytab I stick with multi blade traditional knives for the most part. Steels are usually limited to 1095, T10, 420HC, 440A, 440C, and whatever the 7CR??MoV and 9CR??MoV "equivalents" (note quotes) to 440A and 440C are. Oh, and my offshore made Buck 300 series have 420J2 blades, from what I understand. In my unscientific opinion based on day to day use, they take and hold an edge as good as any of my other knives. Must be the heat treat Buck uses?

Marbles did come out with a line of traditional knives with D2 blades recently. I did get one of those in the Sow Belly pattern, and Rough Ryder came out with a short/limited line with VR10 blades. I'm not a fan of the Trapper pattern, and the stockman at 3.5 inch closed is a "medium" size ("Tiny" would be a more accurate description, IMHO) so I will not be getting either of those Rough Ryders.
The D2 Marbles was under $20 including tax and shipping.
It came with good fit and finish, no gaps, sharp enough to shave arm hair out of the box, and no blade wiggle wobbles.
I did have to do a little work on the Budding/Spey blade on my example, to get the pull down to what I consider an acceptable level. Others who have the same knife that I've "talked to" here on the forums report even pulls of around a "5" to "6" on all three of their blades.
The old "obsolete" (note quotes) steels used in traditional knives works just fine for everything I need a knife for. :)

I did get the D2 Marbles (and a couple SK Blades "SMOKE JUMPER" Buck 110 LT's with CPM154 (the Buck 110 and Old Timer 6OT/7OT are the only single blade traditional knives I buy.) to see if they live up to all the hype.
The jury is still out.
 
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Smiling said:
I use all my knives... Real Steel Connector (drop point version) seems like a best choice but it's stocked out everywhere I look. I'm trying to find it for days now, no luck!
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Me too. That generally keeps me under $100 US.

My favorite EDC fixed blade is the Real Steel Receptor. It's 9Cr18Mov but like Civivi, Real Steel does a nice job with it. The blade shape is great. It's thin enough for superb slicing. The overall size is "just right". It's very comfortable in hand and a joy to use. It comes with an excellent Kydex sheath that'll fit a Tek-Lok vertically or horizontally.
 
DangerZone98 said:
It was a Kailash Khukuri. Inclusive of shipping, it was a little over $150 but totally worth it. Awesome craftsmanship AND customer service. Andrew and his team rock.

Of the Kizer knives, the S35VN Uprising caught my interest. For EDC, I generally like folding knives with 3.5” to 4” blades.
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Thank you, good to hear you like something of ours and like the 3.5-4.0 blades.
 
gazz98 said:
A combination of both. Although I haven't lost a knife in years, I'd rather lose a $50 or $100 knife then a $400 knife.

For example, I love my Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter (~$112) and Recon 1 (~$99) in S35VN. They are a good size blade and handle (I have a big hand), G-10 handles, Demkos Tri-ad lock :thumbsup:, and S35VN is more then tough enough for my every day cutting needs. Those two knives offer great materials vs cost in my book. I really don't need anything more then that.

The Spyderco Delica 4 FFG, Endela, and Endura are another example of sub $100 knives that are great values.

And if I had to sell off everything over $50 that I own, I could totally be content with my Ontario Rat 1s or 2s in D2 steel.

Ti handles seem to be the craze now. I don't like Ti handles. Too slick. So for me, not worth the $, especially if paired with a super steel.

I make decent $ but expensive knives are a luxury that I prefer not to splurge on. Instead of buying a $400 knife, I'll buy a nice knife for $90 and put $310 in the bank.
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You have the point just matches ours! We wanna make more good knives of Vanguard series($50~90)!
 
gazz98 said:
A combination of both. Although I haven't lost a knife in years, I'd rather lose a $50 or $100 knife then a $400 knife.

For example, I love my Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter (~$112) and Recon 1 (~$99) in S35VN. They are a good size blade and handle (I have a big hand), G-10 handles, Demkos Tri-ad lock :thumbsup:, and S35VN is more then tough enough for my every day cutting needs. Those two knives offer great materials vs cost in my book. I really don't need anything more then that.

The Spyderco Delica 4 FFG, Endela, and Endura are another example of sub $100 knives that are great values.

And if I had to sell off everything over $50 that I own, I could totally be content with my Ontario Rat 1s or 2s in D2 steel.

Ti handles seem to be the craze now. I don't like Ti handles. Too slick. So for me, not worth the $, especially if paired with a super steel.

I make decent $ but expensive knives are a luxury that I prefer not to splurge on. Instead of buying a $400 knife, I'll buy a nice knife for $90 and put $310 in the bank.
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You have the point just matches ours! We wanna make more good knives of Vanguard series($50~90)!
 
Most of the time I spend under a hundred. Just because the knives I see and want are under a hundred.
 
K.O.D. said:
Yeah, my Spyderco Gayle Bradley was $140 in 2013...
ZT 0770CF with Elmax $130 when I got mine 0801 $175 0561 $190
I think $139 for my Kizer Ki423. Sculpted green Ti, ceramic bearing flipper, S35VN.

Yeah.

I remember when I was 19 I got a SOG X-Ray Vision mini. It was $77, and it was one of the "new" arc lock models. I thought it was a fortune.
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You guys are killing me. I found this hobby just in time when everything is now overpriced. *smacks face on desk
 
My go to price without really batting an eye is $150 and down...anything over that and I really think about how I'm going to use it and if its really worth it...I'm kind of at that point where I know I dont need anymore knives...I have a few I don't even carry and I hate to add to that list...
 
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