What to you think of as a budget friendly price for an EDC pocket knife?

What do you consider a budget friendly price for a pocket knife?

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Maximumbob54

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I say budget friendly as in lower cost but still functionally decent. What would be your bottom floor you are willing to spend and still feel like you are getting something usable as an EDC?
 
I voted "Anything under $50" but I don't really mean "Anything". I have a couple of Cold Steel folders that I consider excellent EDC users. My Tuff Lites cost me $33 each and my Mini Recon 1 was about $50. Both are entirely usable EDC knives that I would trust under virtually any circumstances.
 
“Budget friendly” sounds like a euphemism used by people in $6 velcro shoes.


You can get a decent knife for under $100. You can get one that will last the rest of your life for $200. Hogue RSK, Spyderco GB2, BM Grip, etc.
 
Unless I'm buying a Mora or some other inexpensive fixed blade which won't cause crying if damaged, I don't generally make purchases in this price range. Which doesn't negate their utility...but everyone's budget is different for an EDC pocket knife. $150 to $200 used to be more doable for the Spydercos I was interested in...and that would be my first stop along with Kershaw / ZT in that range.

I didn't cast a vote.
 
Railsplitter said:
I voted "Anything under $50" but I don't really mean "Anything". I have a couple of Cold Steel folders that I consider excellent EDC users. My Tuff Lites cost me $33 each and my Mini Recon 1 was about $50. Both are entirely usable EDC knives that I would trust under virtually any circumstances.
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I just picked up my first Cold Steel. It is a Tuff lite that I paid $21 for new. At that price point, I wasn't expecting much at all. It seems to be a very well built knife. I think it will easily do anything I'd ever ask of it.
 
My two favorite lightweight and low cost folders are the Buck 110 Slim Select and the Ka-Bar Dozier. In my humble opinion, both are outstanding knives, and both come-in under $40 (*if I remember correctly). For that reason, I reckon that I'm going to go with "Anything under $50".

Then again, I'm more of a fixie guy. So, YMMV...



*Buck also offers the 112 Slim Select, if you like something a bit smaller.
 
It is more than its initial price. I wore out 2 Buck 110’s. Had new blades put on. Bought in the 70’s and 80’s. About $100 total investment. Almost 50 years of daily use.

Do the math. Thats $2 a year.

I could have bought a “cheaper” $20 knife every year and spent 10times as much money.

Penny wise and pound foolish.
 
Everything under 50 for me, back when I went to buy my first 'real' knife, i.e. something bought from an actual store not from a flee market or found somewhere, I thought that spending 30€ on a knife (Gerber Freeman Guide) was almost too much. Used the hell out of that knife too, since it was the only good knife I had as well. And even though I own multiple much more expensive knives than the Gerber, since you can get a decent knife for under 50$, my vote for the first option stands :)
 
I agree with others who’ve said budget friendly depends on the budget.

Personally, unless it’s something like an SAK, the lowest I’d go is the price of a small PJ CRK Sebenza. I still carry one that’s > 20 years old.

I also did not vote.
 
I went with 50-100. Most days, my edc cracks closer to $400-600. However, you can get a nice and very serviceable Cold Steel Voyager in the 50-ish range. Pop it up to about $90 and you can get a Recon 1 with G-10 and S35VN. I consider both of these to be inexpensive but certainly not cheap knives.
 
50 to 100 for me. I have several great knives that come in under the 50 dollar mark, but they're more along the lines of "cult classics" for lack of a better term.

Were I in dire straits, and needed to offload most of my accumulation, I'd probably stick with a drop point 110lt, a machete from imacasa, and a victorinox pioneer. Those would take care of my most frequent needs and not break the bank.
 
Definitely a fan of the Ka-Bar Doziers - the D2 is a favorite to carry. Super light for easy summer carry. Well under $50. I recently bought a K390 Endura mostly out of curiosity and a low threshold of why not. It's a real dandy too. I'm finding a preference for the spyderhole over thumbstuds which I hardly ever use anyway. Pinch the Ka-Bar's just fine though. Since I just spent the $$ on the Endura I voted $100 to $150.
 
I'd say "under $100" if that was an option. The value of a knife depends on a lot of factors, including what you expect of it. The biggest or easiest variable to talk about among reputable Chinese manufacturers is blade steel.

At least relative to the current budget market, I'd consider 8Cr13Mov or lower members of that series to be obsolete. Despite some recent defense of 8Cr13Mov, it's relatively high toughness, and ease of sharpening; ratings that place its edge retention on par with 14C28N fail to differentiate the quality of the edge over the course of its life. The extremely sharp fine edge that is so easy to put on 8Cr13Mov doesn't last long at all. It quickly degrades to a ho-hum working edge that represents the majority of its life. A similar edge put on 14C28N or Nitro-V will feel better for longer over a similar lifespan. Meanwhile, either of those steels is tougher and 14C28N is much more stainless.

Depending on what a person needs, the quality budget spectrum in the current market starts with either D2 or 9Cr18Mov. Chinese D2 has issues but its edge retention is universally better than 8Cr13Mov. It does best with a toothy edge and the freedom of keeping to lower grits may help to mitigate some of the increased challenge in sharpening it. It's worth mentioning that D2 is a semi-stainless steel so care may be needed depending on the user's environment. While some research has to be done on which brands are reputable, you can find reasonably well-made folders in Chinese D2 under $30 and a whole lot more under $50.

9Cr18Mov is the first respectable member of the Chinese alphabet series. It's an analog of European X90CrMoV18, which is basically 440B plus extra chromium and molybdenum. When the rubber hits the road though, differences in edge retention between production knives in 9Cr18Mov and 440C come down to heat treatment. The Civivi, Sencut, and Ferrum Forge knives from WE tend to get an excellent heat treatment. 9Cr18Mov has lower toughness than the other steels mentioned so far but not worse than 154CM, N690, or M390. Where 9Cr18Mov really shines is in corrosion resistance. It is extremely stainless and fills this role as the partner to 10Cr15CoMov in Civivi's Damascus. There are lots of great modern folders in 9Cr18Mov in the $30-60 range.

10Cr15CoMov is a Chinese analog of VG-10. It's a reasonable EDC steel and shows up in some $50ish knives. Stepping up a little, there are plenty of quality folders in N690 and 154CM within the $40-100 range. Those are decent steels with 154CM tending to be better on edge retention and N690 being better on corrosion resistance. K110, a German analog of D2, also shows up in this range. Some of the Chinese companies specializing in D2 have started importing K110 as a more premium option. It might be a little better but by how much, I don't know. While these steels might get better overall edge retention versus Nitro-V and 14C28N, those steels remain some of the best in the budget realm. They are fine-grained, tough, easy to maintain, and supposedly pretty forgiving with respect to mass heat treatment. I prefer 14C28N for its higher edge retention but both are excellent choices under $100.
 
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