What's the difference.

[irishpunk]

Greetings all,

I have a simple question...is a $150.00 knife really that much better than a $50.00 knife ? For instance, a Spyderco Paramilitary 2 vs a Kershaw CRYO 2.

To me these are great knives, I find them to be of good quality, and I own them both.

 

[Chris Pierce]

Yes. You need to try them.
Buy both and sell the one you like less.

 

[redfeenix]

Yes it is:

- Ergos
- Materials
- Tolerances
- F&F

The benefits gained from the above warrant the high price and oh yes workmanship also should not be forgotten...that being said the Cryo is one heck of a value knife!

 

[red mag]

As said above, there are some point's that justify a price difference.
If it is worth it to you is pretty subjectiv.
red mag

 

[Insipid Moniker]

Better is a tricky thing to quantify. Personally, I find that the Para 2 slices better, holds an edge for longer, opens and closes more smoothly and easily, carries better in pocket, feels better in hand and just generally inspires enough more confidence than the Cryo models to make it worth the extra money. On the other hand, both will cut material just fine, open and close one-handed, stay clipped to my pocket, lock open and accomplish any of my usual cutting tasks with ease. You've got to remember, most people think we're insane for spending $50 on a knife. After that, it's just varying degrees of insanity.

 

[aquaman67]

Sometimes just being made in the US is enough to justify spending the extra cash.

 

[Revival29]

Better is a tricky thing to quantify. Personally, I find that the Para 2 slices better, holds an edge for longer, opens and closes more smoothly and easily, carries better in pocket, feels better in hand and just generally inspires enough more confidence than the Cryo models to make it worth the extra money. On the other hand, both will cut material just fine, open and close one-handed, stay clipped to my pocket, lock open and accomplish any of my usual cutting tasks with ease. You've got to remember, most people think we're insane for spending $50 on a knife. After that, it's just varying degrees of insanity.

Well said.

 

[CJZ]

I own a Para2 and the original Cryo. While both are quality knives, and the Cryo had surprised me with how good a knife it is, the Paramilitary just beats it in every category.

-Better steel (even more so since I have the S35VN sprint run vs the 8cr in the Cryo)
-Better ergonomics
-Better handle material IMO (G10 vs aluminum)
-Better lock IMO (compression vs aluminum framelock)

Also, I love the Para because of how smooth it is. Even if it were de assisted, the Cryo could never be as smooth.

 

[Dangerously]

If you can't tell the difference in quality then don't pay the difference in price.

This is why I don't buy expensive wine, but I do buy expensive pens.

 

[Mike-The-Knife]

While pretty much ANY knife will cut things , the old saying " You get what you pay for " holds true for the most part when it comes to knives . You simply CAN'T use the same materials and put the same man hours into a $50 knife as you would in a $150 one .

Now in SOME cases you might be paying "part" of the extra for the name on the knife . But then again , that name will be what gets you a much higher resale on your knife should you ever decide to sell it .


...............................................
HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !

 

[evilgreg]

Assuming you're buying solid stuff, you get massively diminishing returns.

In general, a quality $50 is a huge improvement over a $10 knife.

A quality $100 knife is still a very large improvement over a quality $50 knife.

A quality $200 knife is an improvement over a quality $100 knife.

A quality $400 knife is, if nothing else, $200 dollars more expensive than a quality $200 knife.

An $800 knife is actually often not even as nice as a $400 knife, at this point you're in Veblen good territory.

 

[addylo]

Here we go again.

To the OP, find a knife retailer that carries Chris Reeves Sebenzas, Hinderer XM-18s, or William Henry E-10s and go handle them. Then handle a CRKT or Gerber.

Then report back to us.

"Value" and "worth" are purely subjective terms. What you consider "worth the cost" should be based solely on what pleases YOU, not anyone else. But until you at least try out what others feel have "value" don't be too quick to attempt to judge that value.

 

[Franciscomv]

I agree with some of what Evilgreg said. Once you get to a certain price point, if you stick to reputable makers, you'll get a good knife.

As you move up the price ladder, advantages and improvements might get a bit less obvious and even be fully subjective. Materials might be the same, but things like attention to detail and tolerances might be better. It might not be an improvement in perfomance.

For instance, my Protech Integrity and my Sebenza are both titanium framelocks with S35V blades of about the same size, the Sebenza costs about 60% more than the Integrity. Does it hold an edge 60% longer? No. Does it feel 60% better in my hand? No. Is the lock 60% stronger? No. I find the price difference is jutified by other features that don't directly impact the usefulness of the knife, but do affect my personal enjoyment of the knife. Because I'm a knifephile and I don't focus just on their value as tools.

There are lots of things that can be worth a bit of extra money to some people, and not to others. Country of origin is a good example, I'm willing to pay more for a knife made in the US or Japan (not because I think they are better); some friends of mine are very happy that there are such cool knives coming out of Taiwan since it keeps their price down.

There are all kinds of different knife enthusiasts, some like to collect moderately priced knives that offer a great value others enjoy very exclusive customs, and there are many shades in between. Most of us aren't just satisfied with having a good cutting tool, otherwise we'd own one or two decent knives and not think about it anymore. Instead we spend time writting and reading about them in here.

 

[InTheSticks]

I agree we are into the range of diminishing returns and of course the more expensive you go the less you get for each increase. How much you are willing to pay for each increase is purely up to you and part of the fun. Just remember whatever you decide its not a good idea to sneer at those either further up the scale or down the scale. I have seen several thousand dollar knives that I could quickly see why someone would pay that for. (C. Gray Taylor for example). Whether a $400 knife is a good as an $800 knife is purely a question for the market in my opinion. I will also agree you normally have to pay for what you get but it is easy to not get what you pay for.

Ultimatly the question is not whether a $150 knife is that much better than a $50 knife, but whether it is worth the difference to you. A personal question if you will.

 

[GatorFlash1]

I think it depends on the mission for which you will be carrying the knife. In some situations I want the tough, tested, proven tool, for other situations the tool is not as critical to my health, safety, and welfare.

 

[Comeuppance]

The difference you will find, provided you are purchasing quality goods, is going to be in materials and fit&finish. $50 will buy you steel and G10/FRN handles with 440C / AUS8 / 8Cr13MoV / VG-10 / Sandvik. These knives will be typically heavier per inch of length and dull noticeably after a day's worth of work. When you start getting into the $100+ range, you start seeing titanium handles and considerably better blade steels. Elmax, S30V, S35VN, CPM154, 154CM, S90V, etc.

Titanium is lighter than steel and does not rust. ZT really shines in the $100-$200 range with top-quality materials and fit and finish; believe me, there are things you can do with a ZT 0200 that would absolutely ruin most $50 knives. A Spyderco Paramilitary 2 will out-cut almost anything under $100.

The difference is not minimal, but it will be completely unnoticed by someone who has not handled many knives or does not use a knife every day. Very good knives can be had in the $50 range that have many of the quality hallmarks of more expensive knives - Cold Steel puts together very nice knives for the price (American Lawman, Tuff Lite, and Code 4 are very well-made and well-respected knives, even here on this forum populated by steel snobs like myself), as does Ontario, Esee, Kershaw, and CRKT (with a little looking around. A lot of their stuff is either overpriced or has crap steel.)

Personally, I like the confidence that an overbuilt folder gives me. I don't want to have to hesitate to use a knife, or feel like I have to baby it. I don't want a knife to go dull on me just because I broke down more than three boxes in a day. I don't like my knives to be stiff when opening, or have any kind of play whatsoever when locked open. Things like this are what put me in the $100+ range of knives, typically. Also, I like flippers - and really good flippers (that I like) are almost exclusively in that range.

That doesn't keep me from carrying my Cold Steel Tuff Lite, however. What a little beast that thing is.

 

[evilgreg]

That doesn't keep me from carrying my Cold Steel Tuff Lite, however. What a little beast that thing is.

Amen to that. I carry a Southard pretty much continuously, but my most used knives are Cold Steel Tuff Lites (I carve wood with them). I keep a Mini on me as my second knife all the time, and use it when the Southard wouldn't be appropriate. Great design, great little knives that are built to work and just keep working.

 

[evilgreg]

To be clear, when I posted above about diminishing returns, I wasn't trying to dog people buying expensive knives at all.

I have plenty of expensive knives now, and fully plan to eventually buy both a really nice Brad Southard custom if I can find one, as well as some ridiculous blingtacular William Henry (go ahead, judge me) to go with the more pedestrian William Henry knives I already own.

That said, if I get my dream knife, a Brad Southard custom in nice materials and it costs me $1200+, I have no illusions that it will be some huge improvement over one of my pimped Spyderco Southard knives. It won't stop me from lusting after and buying it, but the reality is that the diminishing returns I described are very real, at least as far as objectively "better" goes.

Intrinsic value is bs, a thing is worth what someone will pay for it. That doesn't mean that the more expensive good will be objectively better, or even as equal to a lesser priced good though.

 

[Comeuppance]

Assuming you're buying solid stuff, you get massively diminishing returns.

In general, a quality $50 is a huge improvement over a $10 knife.

A quality $100 knife is still a very large improvement over a quality $50 knife.

A quality $200 knife is an improvement over a quality $100 knife.

A quality $400 knife is, if nothing else, $200 dollars more expensive than a quality $200 knife.

An $800 knife is actually often not even as nice as a $400 knife, at this point you're in Veblen good territory.

Having handled hundreds of knives in those price ranges, I find that is pretty much accurate. From a usage standpoint, $500+ knives typically represent poor value as the materials are often found in considerably cheaper knives from companies that are likely to be around longer and will thus be able to provide warranty service and parts if needed.

The sweet spot is in the $90-200 range, I have found. Spyderco, Zero Tolerance, and (previously) Benchmade offer very high-quality products with good materials and fantastic customer service in that price range. Also often overlooked is Hogue - while their lineup is relatively slim, they were all designed by Allen Elishewitz and manufactured with exceptional tolerances. Any knife that you buy from those companies in that price range will serve you well and, realistically, last you for the majority of your life with maybe one warranty service per year at the cost of shipping.

 

[Lycosa]

For "basic" cutting, I do believe an inexpensive knife, if kept sharp, could cut as well as a more expensive knife.