Which Company Now Offers the Most Extreme Price:Product Quality/Performance Folders?

SAK for sure .

Cold Steel , still the best value for MY particular preferences , but selected models only and gotta shop around for bargains .

Ruike with Beta lock , not bad at all for a frame lock flipper .


 
Chronovore said:
I do like the thinness of the Opinel blade stock. If they used better steel at a reasonable hardness, and I got one with decent fit and finish, my opinion could be restored. The lower cost of their product may be a stumbling block but if Mora can do it, why can't they?

While Opinel is cheap, the curve of diminishing returns can work both ways. The jump from $10-20 to $20-30 is relatively inconsequential for a primary EDC item and can bring a huge increase in quality. It can mean the difference between 3Cr13, 4Cr14, etc. and a good Sandvik steel. The OP mentioned Sanrenmu, which I'm pretty sure is the manufacturer for Land, Ruike, and Real Steel. Their $20ish knives in 12C27 can easily cut circles around 8Cr13Mov.

I'd like to see more modern EDC folders with thinner stock. Coincidentally, both the Tangram Santa Fe and Petrified Fish 719 I mentioned both have thinner stocks than average.
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Where did you land your Petrified Fish 719? I know little about it, but even just looking at a photo, it absolutely exudes high price/performance.
 
c7m2p3 said:
For my purposes it is very hard to beat Civivi. I get the arguments that opinel knives cut fantastic and I do own one but they also do not have very many of the features that I look for in a pocket knife. Two handed opening knives are not really my cup of tea unless they are multitool SAK types. The lock that they feature is neither convenient nor particularly secure. Will they cut things? Sure. However if you are looking for best bang for you buck for a complete knife with a variety of features it is pretty hard to beat civivi right now.

Want something in Damascus? They have it. Prefer Micarta? You are covered. Flipper? Yup. Thumbstud? They have that too. Thumb hole? Not a perfect sphere but they have plenty that will spyderflick. Most of them also come at a price under 100 and more often than not closer to 60$. They run 9Cr on the less expensive (30-40$) then you can get a ton of their blades in pretty good D2, they run some in S35VN, and now they are starting to use more of 14C28N which is a fantastic budget steel. They really do have something for everyone. Im sure they are going to start jumping into the sliding bar lock as well now that benchmades patent on the axis lock has expired so that will be a new chapter to look forward to.
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Very good rundown, thank you...
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Never had either issue with mine. Geometry has a much more profound effect on edge holding than any other single factor and that's what they excel at and boiled linseed oil will pretty well solve any swelling issues. But even so, neither of those are particularly germane to the topic at hand. As far as performance for price, I genuinely don't know of anything that touches Opinel as long as we're discussing cutting things and not flipping it open and closed.
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I dont care if the flip open easily. I care that they will tear your fingernail off before they open if they get wet.

Also, I haven’t seen a $9 Opinel in a long time. Even the Oplinels for ants are more than $9.


Mora>>>Opinel
 
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Insipid Moniker said:
I very much like CIVIVI. The Riffle is just a fantastic knife and really hasn't left my pocket since I got it. I honestly much prefer carrying it to carrying my Opinels because I do enjoy having a pocket clip and I like flipping it open and closed because the action is fantastic ;).

However, even though I think it's an absolute steal at $55, I still find my Opinels perform better at almost every cutting task I've used them for and they're a sixth of the cost.

That's kind of the issue with questions about performance/cost ratio questions. You typically see a lot of answers that are much more about what knives and brands we really like than sincerely apply to the question asked. For a $20 knife to beat an Opinel in price to performance ratio it realistically has to cut more than twice as well or, maybe, as well but for twice as long. $27 you're looking for triple the performance, etc. The initial cost is so low that even fairly small increases in price demand massive increases in performance to match.

I love my Riffle. I will carry it over my Opinel 99% of the time if given a choice between the two, but the Riffle is not 6 times the knife an Opinel is.
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Love the Riffle. Mine just got in as well in Green Micarta and it is dominating pocket time despite owning far more expensive knives.

I dont deny that my carbon opinel no 8 is probably going to cut an apple better than my Riffle for example, but the difference for me is not enough to recommend them over any of my civivis in terms of best "bang for your buck" for price to performance. The Riffle, the Shredder, and the Ortis are all knives that are VERY thinly ground and the reality is the real felt difference in how well they are going to perform for 99% of the things that I cut is going to be negligible.
 
Look at Marttiini knives from Finland. They make some inexpensive folders which I haven’t tried, but the current top spot in the “hyper-value” category in my collection is a fixed blade called the Marttiini Mini Chopper (also sometimes called the Big Bear Skinner). It cost me $14 and came with one of the best edges I’ve ever seen on a factory knife (polished, convex, hair-popping). One of my favorite kitchen utility knives...
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Show me one that cuts things better than a $9 Opinel and I'll happily agree with you, but in terms of materials and performance to cost Opinel is vastly better than any of the brands you've named.
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I have one with fancy wood in the kitchen.... I truly hate this knife... I just have zero appreciation for the design or the actual blade as a slicer....hard to explain...maybe I'm a Cadillac guy instead of a Kia guy....(dislike both of them also... ) :)
It doesn't follow with the price guidelines of the OP, but the better knife for the money, IMO,
is my Three Rivers ATOM...great knife...love it...
 
scdub said:
View attachment 1527281
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Now this is one funny post. Thanks for sharing.

861ba92b-714e-4b94-94e6-13bec58c7e9b-jpeg.1527281
 
Stahlmann said:
Where did you land your Petrified Fish 719? I know little about it, but even just looking at a photo, it absolutely exudes high price/performance.
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The PF 719 really is a fantastic knife. It's classy like a gentleman's knife. It snaps open, locks up solidly, and drops shut freely. The blade shape is great for utility. I'm not home to measure but the listed blade stock thickness is 2.35mm. It slices beautifully.

There are only a few potential issues. First, there is no pocket clip. It comes with a leather lanyard but I removed that thing right away. I carry it in the pocket of a vest or cardigan sweater. Otherwise, it lives in the top drawer of my desk. The lock bar tab is quite proud but it doesn't create a hot spot for my use. Unfortunately, the best place to buy them is a global marketplace that we are discouraged from naming on Blade Forums. It's a place with both good and bad sellers. The bad sellers have counterfeits, clones, etc. The good sellers include authorized stores for companies like Kizer and Sofirn. You'll want to look up the "Petrified Fish CN Store".

Petrified Fish products have been independently tested. They use the steels they claim and seem to do a good heat treatment. Outpost 76 tested one example of their PF 818 and it scored near the top of the pack for Chinese D2. The 719 is their only current model in 12C27. They recently announced that they've begun importing 14C28N so I'll be watching to see what new models drop later in the year.
 
I gave away 4 new Opinels last night at a birthday party to the French side of the family. I simply didn't want to store them anymore when compared to a low end Kershaw or a used Spyderco Endura. I had tried modifying an opinel for one handed opening, without success.
 
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Maybe I'm really missing out by never having used or handled any Opinel product ? :confused:

But , never felt the slightest hint of an urge to try one . Very difficult for me to understand why anyone would . o_O

Tastes differ and that's just fine . :cool::thumbsup: "Different strokes for different folks " .

IIRC , There's even a Cold Steel of similar type , but that never appealed to me either , so NOT the brand .

Never wanted one of Cold Steel Kudo or whatever those African ring pull folders are called .

Maybe they are good values ...doesn't mean much if you just don't like 'em . :p
 
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I agree that the best deal is to go to a fancy steakhouse and order the nicest steak they have.

When it comes out eat the steak, keep the knife they give you at the table and go home. Make a sheath out of some cardboard.

Good steak and a free knife. Charlie Mike you're missed every day. Fair winds and following seas.
 
DocJD said:
Maybe I'm really missing out by never having used or handled any Opinel product ? :confused:

But , never felt the slightest hint of an urge to try one . Very difficult for me to understand why anyone would . o_O

Tastes differ and that's just fine . :cool::thumbsup: "Different strokes for different folks " .

IIRC , There's even a Cold Steel of similar type , but that never appealed to me either , so NOT the brand .

Never wanted one of Cold Steel Kudo or whatever those African ring pull folders are called .

Maybe they are good values ...doesn't mean much if you just don't like 'em . :p
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They surely do cut great and if that is primarily what you are after than you are going to be happy with them. For me, a pocket knife needs to have more though. Above anything else, a pocket knife is supposed to be convenient. It should cut well but it will never cut as well as a super thin kitchen knife. It should be sturdy but it will never be as sturdy as a thick fixed blade. It should be handy but it will never be as handy as a purpose build pairing knife. There are compromises.

In that vein, the opinel folding knives do cut well. But they are not convenient in my eyes. If I am holding something that needs to be cut, I cannot retrieve and open my opinel with the other hand due to the nature of the nail nick. Then after getting the knife out, i need the other hand again to operate the collar lock that it features. Opinels are great first knives to teach knife safety and they cut like a demon but in terms of the convenience that i look for out of a pocket knife they dont scratch that itch.
 
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