What should I know before buying my first knife??

Why not a nice Opinel? You get to choose the size, pretty much, it is under your budget, and it is phenomenal quality, especially for the price.
 
Rat 1,Rat 2 or Ontario utilitac 2.i love all these very good quality knives for around $25 wicked sharp decent blade steel I'm sure others can a test to this.
 
Consider a Victorinox SAK, for just barely more than a 20, you'll get can opener, bottle cap opener and assorted other tools. Try out a 'recruit' or 'tinker'. They may not be as cool looking but you'll have more oppurtunity to use it and when your the only one that can open a bottle of beer, everyone will think your cool. The blades on the SAK are plenty sharp. Dollar for dollar the quality of Victorinox can't be beat. For a first knife it'll be a lot more handy than the cool looking knives.
The danger of knives is if you don't respect them. Even a cheap Vic SAK could cut your finger off. Just consider a knife is a tool and not a toy. When you get your first knife, don't be a show off. Pull it out to use, don't wave it around or try to play knife fighter, you'll just get yourself or someone else messed up and that would suck.
For the most part assume that on occasion you'll knick yourself and that'll get less often as you get to know your knife. I've been carrying a pocket knife most of my life and just happen to have accidentally cut myself a couple of days ago. First time in almost a year. With slipjoints like the SAK, don't screw around and let the blade close on you. That's never happened to me but some people insist on a locking blade so that won't happen. Use the blade as intended and it should never close on you.
With a single blade knife, you'll eventually want to use it for a screwdriver. Even I did that. You need to unscrew something or whatever and it's all you got. That's why I have a SAK, it has a screwdriver on it so I won't have to use the blade.
 
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You can do better than MTech.

Every knife listed in post 2 through 5 are better quality than the knife you are considering. Many Kershaw knives are not much more than 20 bucks and they are much better too. Keep searching.

Look at Spyderco's Byrd series too.
 
Remember that atleast up to a certain price point you usually get what you pay for. After a certain point the price is hard to justify (for me at least) and on the lower price point there is a lot of crap knives with a few gems that perform twice their cost. Steel used,heat treat, and overall fit and finish is main things to look at.

With that being said, if you want a cool factor knife for low cost and good quality. I'd suggest looking at Kershaw. Use to be kinda loyal to Buck knives, which are good knives. But Kershaw has really impressed me in the lower priced knives.

Right at $20 here is a nice flipper, if you don't mind a graphic on the blade.
http://kershawguy.com/products-page...items/kershaw-7422dcx-bisland-duck-commander/

A few dollars above that you can get a nice wave opening knife. If going YouTube wave opening, they are pretty cool blades.
http://kershawguy.com/products-page...rson-cqc-7k-tanto-knife-3-25-stonewash-6034t/

You won't ever be sorry you saved up little extra cash for a nicer knife. Remember, you will be carrying and using this knife for years to come. So spending a little more for a knife that is built well and solid is just an investment. Tennis shoes usually lucky to hold up a year, I m betting you spend atleast a little more than $20 on those.

What are some of the dangers? Well on buying the dangers are buying cheap steels that won't stay sharp, chip and even break. On a legal stand point check with your local laws, depending on you location you may not be able to own or carry many knives.
 
This was my experience starting out buying knives:

First couple knives I was super concerned with cost and bought pretty much the cheapest that I could find.
The next few I was really concerned with coolness. I wanted all black knives with spring assisted opening.
After that I went through a fixed blade phase.

As I kept going through every phase, I started picking out pieces here and there that I really liked, and I also started identifying things that I didn't like. I think that each subsequent purchase kind of evolved from the one before it. It could be the aesthetics, the lock type, the size, the weight, the blade shape, etc. And honestly this is what I've enjoyed so much about acquiring/collecting knives: that search for the abstract "perfect knife" and the constant fine tuning of my tastes.

So, for a first knife, I would just buy something that strikes your fancy for any of the above reasons. Since it's your first knife, no doubt when you get it in your hands you'll love aspects of it and wish that other aspects were tweaked. So I would buy whatever you look at and say that one.

I think an Opinel is a great suggestion, as well as a Kershaw. The Byrd series is one that I started with so I have to give them a big :thumbup: .

I would also say that a Case Sodbuster or Sodbuster Jr. could be a solid option. Depending on where you get one they're right around your price range. They might not fit what you're looking for aesthetically but for the price I think they're a solid option.

Welcome, and enjoy your first purchase!
 
Oh wow, I wasn't expecting to get all this help in such a short amount of time; I'd like to thank you all for that!

I don't mind spending a little more, as long as it's worth it for the quality.

I have always liked the James Bond kind of features offered by most Swiss Army Knives
and then I've liked the looks of army knives and classiness of something like an Opinel.

P.S. I will be using this knife as an EDC item

Thanks again!
 
If it truly is your first folder you should know how to apply a bandage,,,Sorry couldn't control myself
 
I highly suggest buying an Ontario Rat 1. Its one of my most carried knives to this day. I have a zero tolerance 350, a spyderco paramilitary 2 and a few other high end knives. But I always go back to my rat 1. This might not make sense, but the rat 1's imperfections are why I use it. The ergos aren't perfect, but they're good. The blade steel isn't perfect, but it does a great job. Its a beater knife for sure. I've opened soup cans with it, pry open paint cans, broke the tip off batonning like an idiot, and many other things. Its cheap enough where you won't cry if it gets messed up, but it's quality enough where you want to use it. FRN handles are not bad. In some cases, it's better than g10. g10 is very strong but brittle. FRN can bend and return to it's original shape. and because its molded rather than machined like g10, They can fabricate eokebreally nice traction into the handles. Example being the spyderco delica 4. That knife is around 50$ but you can find it cheaper on eBay or on this site for that matter.
 
You're getting good advice so far. My 2 cents..

Do 2 things; the first very easy and the second harder.

First, follow your own tastes. Not mine. Not somebody else. Knives are like shirts. You should like what you have and what I have may not suit you.

Second, avoid junk. Luckily, there ARE knives in the $20 that aren't junk so there's hope. But there is a lot junky $20 knives too, so the trick is avoid junk. Three ways of avoiding junk.

First, use this forum, as you already are. You might also type the following into google site:www.bladeforums.com budget knives
This will search only stuff from this site. Adjust the search terms if you want. Budget folders might give you more hits.

Knives that get mentioned a lot in threads like this include (but are not limited to): Kabar Dozier Drop Point Hunter, ESEE Zancudo, Ontario Rat and Rat 2, Buck Vantage (big box building supply stores often have them in this range), Opinel (8 or 9), Victorinox SAKs, Case Sodbuster or Sodbuster Jr.

A second approach is to stick to a reliable brand and choose a model you like. CRKT, Kershaw, Cold Steel, Opinel, Victorinox and Case are brands often associated with providing good value at a reasonably low price.

A third approach which will incite the steel police to stagger out of the dark shadows of the forum like some Walking Dead marathon is to buy any knive that you like the looks of that has a blade steel hardened in the 56-58 Rockwell (Rc) range. As you gain experience with knives you may develop a strong preference for different steels but until then, I think its safe to say that if blade is adverstised to have a hardness in the 56-58 Rc range, the manufacturer is doing an acceptable job with their heat treatment, at least in terms of having a usable EDC knife. This advice just swept pages and pages and pages of detailed and heated forum debate under the rug and you may get an interest in that stuff at some point in time.

Good luck
 
I think you're on the right track with budget, get something affordable with average steel that you can practice sharpening with. And don't forget to buy a sharpener.

I'd be wary of extremely low-cost knives with complex locks or opening mechanisms. Avoid serrations unless your specific cutting task requires them. Avoid recurves or complex blade shapes that are more difficult to use and sharpen. Keep it simple and safe. :thumbup:

Swiss Army knives are great, so are Opinel. So are a hundred other choices. :)
 
sabre cat said:
You can do better than MTech.

Every knife listed in post 2 through 5 are better quality than the knife you are considering. Many Kershaw knives are not much more than 20 bucks and they are much better too. Keep searching.

Look at Spyderco's Byrd series too.
Click to expand...

^--- This right here. There are a lot of choices listed in your price range that are a LOT better than Mtech!
Good luck!
 
+1 for the Spyderco Byrd line. I would push for the Tenacious but there's certainly nothing wrong with a Byrd.
Also, there's a lot of Cold Steel Voyagers going for under $30 right now. I've used and loved those knives for years (I still have multiple generations of Voyager).
Also also, don't underestimate the Victorinox, they have amazing blade geometry (for cutting) and I love having the screwdrivers and such just to use as a light pry tool (e.g. opening a stiff lid), which is what people try to use a knife for half the time anyway. Heck, save up for a SAK regardless of what you get. That or a Leatherman. No matter how many knives I have a Multitool is never far.

The biggest danger to yourself, and the knife, is you.
Most of the time people and/or knives get damaged because they're used in situations not suitable for a knife.
Think stabbing frozen burgers apart with your fancy tactical folder is a good idea? NO! That's a terrible idea with any knife. You'll stab your finger, break the tip of the knife and cause severe wear on the lock.
Another common situation is plastic clamshell packaging, that stuff can be like trying to break into a bank vault. One key point to remember any time you're using a knife, is that if you're exerting a lot of force or high pressure, something bad is probably about to happen. To you, to the knife, to someone or something nearby. High Pressure+Sharp Thing=You being looked at like you're an extreme idiot.
Heavy scissors have a very good and legitimate place in your life.

You're most likely to hurt yourself doing something with a knife that would be better done with something else. Normally any time "stabbing" or "prying" are involved. If you're motions are controlled and calm, life is good, whether you're working with power tools or opening the mail. Actually treating your knife like a power tool in general is probably a good rule of thumb, except it is acceptable to butter your toast with a knife.
 
First knife.... wow. It has been so long since that happened that I think there were still dinosaurs on Earth.

You're getting good advice. I don't know all the knives. If you wanted a classic folding (old style) folder (like grandpa used), take a look at Rough Rider and Colt knives which can be had for under $20. Certainly Rough Riders.

Victorinox Swiss Army knives are always good. But the one I carry daily cost me around $30 these days. If you lean this way, consider something like a Pioneer or Tinker. Both very good basic folding knives. They really aren't that cool, but they work really well and they certainly won't scare anyone unless you do something stupid with it. These aren't knives for stabbing or throwing.

Something more modern, I lean toward the Kabar Dozier Folding Hunter which runs right a $20 last time I checked. It's a good knife for the money. Nice size too for edc. The RAT suggestion is very good too.

The Cold Steel Tuff Lite runs about $30. It is a good knife for the money. Fits my hand like a glove. But you might not like the wharncliffe type blade as a first knife. The only negative I have toward it is depressing the lock button which is often a bit stiff. A little oil helps. :D

After you get your first knife, you will need to learn how to sharpen it. Good luck with this.

Dangers? Always cut away from yourself. Keep your knife sharp so it cuts when you expect it to cut and you don't have to put undo force behind the cutting. Don't throw your knives into trees and stuff, good way to break one. Keep you knife in your pocket until you need to use it. Don't wave it around and advertise unless you messing with it at home.
 
For first knife (talking quality, becase as a boy I had many nameless folders which was really trashy) I bought myself a Victorinox Spartan and I am really happy with my choice. Now I have several SAK's, spyderco's, customs too. I mean - the spartan showed me the world of quality knives. You can also try a Buck 110-112, Wallmart sometimes sell them for $20-25.
 
the buck 110 is the way to go I have 4 or 5 of them and love them all I put my edc one through the ringer and it is still hanging in there on my belt sheath.
 
The 110 is a good knife, but it is too big for pocket carry. Works with a belt pouch, but I don't think that is what the OP is looking for as an edc. My guess is "urban edc".
 
true there is also the buck bantam series that are good and light with some ruggedness to them.
 
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