What price range do you consider the "budget knife" range?

Those that know a bit about knives KNOW a budget knife when we see one. Most Frost cutlery knives, budget. Rough Rider knives, budget, but not too bad for the price. A recent thread about "Amazon Jungle Survival Knife" which was around $17. That's budget. A $20-$22 Kabar Dozier folding hunter, budget but cost effective. A $20 machete.... budget, but usually pretty cost effective. Cold Steel Tuff Lite at ~$30; budget, but very cost effective. So you can buy an inexpensive knife and get something that is very good for the cost. But the $30 knife will likely never be as good as a $100 knife.

Intuitively, I tend to look closely at knives that are priced under $50, but some are pretty good. $50-$100.... cost effective with reasonable steel.... slipjoints..... under $40, probably budget. Vic SAKs under $35, budget, but very good for the price.
 
I consider "budget" knives to be knives that I don't feel bad abusing a little, lending out, or carrying when there's a good chance that I could lose it. I know that I could easily replace them, or I wouldn't care to replace them if they got lost or damaged. I don't think I can split budget/good/great/top into price ranges, but I could say that around $200 is the split between these "budget/beater" knives and the ones that I am a little more careful with. It's probably an abnormal definition for budget, but I don't buy knives anymore unless I really want them so I'm a little more careful in my selections.
 
I would say a budget knife, in today's market, would be less than $30. However, one must not think of budget be equal to cheap. Today, there are a vast number of inexpensive knives that are top notch and better than many very costly knives.
 
Budget < $30. You can find some good knives in this price range.

There are some snobs here who would heartily disagree, of course.
 
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Less than $20 is budget for me. Good knives in that range are easy to find. In fact, there are some fantastic knives to be found in that range. Once you get over about $50 USD, you start paying for fancier (though not necessarily better) steels, marginally rising levels in workmanship, and bragging rights.
 
For me a budget knife is a knife a kid could afford with a few weeks allowance, or something a minimum wage part time employee could afford without spending more than a third of a single week's paycheck on it. So for me, this makes a budget knife typically say, $40 or less.
 
I generally think of a budget knife as under $50. But recently my taste in knives has been growing more and more expensive with the acquisition of a couple Sebenzas and a Zaan, so anything under $100 seems like the bargain bin to me.
 
Ever since first hearing the term "high value" to describe mass-produced, generally non-collectible knives with overall solid construction and materials, that has become synonymous with "budget" knives for me, regardless of price. Basically, if I'm comparing two knives and they have similar specs but one costs more by virtue of brand name, scarcity or perhaps some mostly aesthetic features, the less expensive knife will be the "budget knife" of the two. For instance, Buck currently offers different versions of the same knives, distinguished primarily by the steel type. If a person is able to perform their required tasks with 420HC instead of S30V and perhaps sacrifice a couple of other features, the budget knife will cost less without necessarily being lesser quality. The same is true of the Gerber Gator line. I have a Gator fixed blade that was a limited edition version with different handle material and an S30V blade, but another Gator with a 420HC blade and their usual rubbery handle materials would be essentially just as capable for less money. Most mainstream users wouldn't feel the S30V was enough of an improvement to warrant a higher price, although that could be argued at length among the knife enthusiast crowd.

If a manufacturer plainly cuts some corners to achieve an even lower price point, to such a degree that usability is diminished, the high value/budget aspect is lost in my opinion. Although I haven't used one and thus can't readily pass judgement, I noticed that some new low-priced Kershaw knives use 3Cr steel. Why do this when they were already dominating the $20-30 price range with generally excellent knives using 8Cr? While some marketing genius might consider the lowest-price option to be a brand's budget offering, I consider that to instead be a true entry-level product. I don't consider myself to be a knife snob, but that is for all practical purposes a downgrade from Kershaw's existing budget line. Likewise, Schrade seems to be doing this, using increasingly less durable steels for knives that are nonetheless marketed toward the outdoor/survival crowd, in some cases ditching 1095 for 7Cr or even 5Cr and sacrificing durability. The value aspect is lost and simply becomes cheap.

TL;DR? Budget knives can be less expensive without being cheap.
 
RamZar said:
Budget is subjective but right around $100 (street price from online dealer) you start getting premium steel, handles, etc.
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This is a central part of my thinking, as well.

I consider "budget knives" anything that puts you in AUS-8 or 8cr13mov types of steels. Pricing is usually $50 or under.

Between $50 and $100 you typically see *either* good steel OR good build materials. Delica with VG-10 but only FRN, etc.

$100-$200 gets you very good steel and materials.

Beyond $200 you're typically buying prestige.
 
skyhorse said:
Never in my lifetime (old fart:)) has there been so many excellent low cost, high quality knives as there is today. :thumbup:
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Absolutely.

A lot of it has to do with US companies having some of their product line made in Asia and doing a great job of it. Look at the Chinese Kershaws and Spydercos as two examples off the top of my head. While I may not like some of the features of individual knives, it's hard to argue with the quality of these knives overall and the pricing is more than reasonable.
 
If you live in Europe there are not many knives under 50$ so i would say around 100$...
Few examples (webshop Netherlands):

Kershaw Chill : 32$

Kershaw Cryo : 67 $

Crkt Drifter stainless : 105 $

Cold Steel Code 4 : 113 $

Benchmade Mini Griptilian : 147 $

Spyderco Delica 4 : 125 $

Spyderco Paramilitary 2 : 200 $

And ordering from Ebay (US) is practically the same, we have to pay customs import and labour costs :grumpy:
 
I used to consider $20 to be budget. Now I'm a bit more educated in what you can buy and how quickly it becomes ~200+, and I consider up to $50 or even $70 to be budget. And in that context, budget usually means cheaper steel, lower quality finish and materials, lower build quality etc. Still, you can get nice stuff for $50, but I was looking for a Sebenza 21 with a nice inlay and the price made me sad.
 
Anything that fits my regular budget is a budget knife. Anything I save up for is not. I don't equate bugdet and quality. I prefer to find a good deal on a quality steel that meets the form and function I'm looking for at a price I can handle paying. If I had to entrust my life on a regular basis to a knife then I'd change my criteria and spend more to get more.

Budget doesn't have to mean bad.
 
I would say anything under $30....

Start dropping below $20 and that's in the throw away range...

For the rest of it, well that all depends on the individuals so that will vary...
 
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