Who likes Inexpensive high value knives, USA,China,etc,any country....

L

lonestar1979

Joined
Mar 2, 2014
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After collecting for many(almost 20 years) I lost interest in more expensive knives.Some inexpensive knives perform same, and even better,depending on blade geometry ,thicknes and ease of sharpening in the field.I just have no interest in buying something over 100$us, and most knives I use are in 20-50$ range!All opinions welcome.(ps.I modify many cheaper knives,so they perform much better!)!What I would spend my money on are higher quality automatics and balisongs ,but theyre prohibited where I live.
 
I buy lots of knives under or at $100. IMO, that's actually the current sweet spot as far as value is concerned. Broad variety of steels for just about any need, lots of different lock designs and some very good quality blades can be had right around that price point. I have a harder time with the $50 range. There are some designs that appeal to me in that price range, but I generally find I can spend a bit more and get a lock I prefer, a better steel, or other features I prefer. $60-100 is more my preference and can buy you a ton of knife.
 
I think $70-$100 range can get you a great knife. Lower than that you really have to do your research and maybe you can find a inexpensive high value knife.
 
My collection consists of 31 Sanrenmus, 26 Enlans, 24 S&Ws and 8 Schrades. All of them cost less than USD$18 each.

The Sanrenmus and Enlans are my personal favourites.
 
I sure prefer to support US knife manufactures when ever I can.
That said I was sure surprised and happy when I found a cheep copy of a Sunfish knife that I liked well enough to want to own. It was supposed to be tobacco brown bone. You can see what I got. It is nice looking but I would still have preferred a dark brown. Or some day if I found an old one I could see this knife in buffalo horn.


Last year I had the hots soooo bad for one of the REAL ones from back in the day and found nothing on line that I liked the look of. Then I found one on Amazon for $16, I was sure it must be pure dog doodoo but the reviews were positive and I was extra embarrassed to order it because by the time I got around to pulling the trigger the price had dropped to $13 and some change WITH SHIPPING !
It goes without saying there are a lot of things wrong with that but I ordered it.
I got it.
I like it
It is a great little knife. Well not little by any means but . . .
I am embarrassed to admit to this deviant, elicit behavior and promise to never do it again.

I really need to go look at the knives for sale here and would be thrilled to find a REAL sunfish from back in the day that was carried and used by one of the workmen who built this country. Logger, miner, roughneck etc.

I have spent way too much money on knives this year though so I don't dare. At least not until after Christmas.

. . . I'm repentant . . . I'm in counseling and on the proper medication to prevent further, future, fissile, faults in my character . . .
Some times the call for a knife is toooo
was, Was, WAS
tooooo strong to resist.

I'm in control now. No really.
 
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Value knives are what I'm all about. I absolutely adore equipment with a strong price:performance ratio. I've had a good number of high end knives, and played with plenty more, but I always come back to the value bracket.

I have a Morakniv Pro Flex clipped to my back pocket right now. A nice thin blade that's more rigid than the name would lead you to expect. It's pretty close to a grail knife for me, and yet it's a <$20. When you know what to look for you can find value like that all over the globe.
 
My current EDC because it is tough and a featherweight for a 3.5" blade. . . .

image.jpeg
 
Boats,
That's a french knife isn't it ?
I read about those a while back.
What's it called ? Pok pok or something like that ?
Aren't the blades usually stamped or engraved all over ?
They had good things to say about them in any case.
 
Wowbagger said:
Boats,
That's a french knife isn't it ?
I read about those a while back.
What's it called ? Pok pok or something like that ?
Aren't the blades usually stamped or engraved all over ?
They had good things to say about them in any case.
Click to expand...

The term you are looking for is "Douk Douk," which is the most famous version of these rugged slip joint folders by MC Cognet of France. The Douk Douk has a bare carbon steel blade which is acid etched with a decorative pattern. The blades are stamped out, ground with a taper toward the point, and the handle is a folded sheet of steel.

The one I am showing is called "Le Tiki," which is slightly larger, has a chromed handle, and a hot blued carbon steel blade and lanyard bail to resist corrosion better than the original Douk Douk. They can be found all over the net for under $30.00 and are really simple, tough, and easy to carry.

It's a wicked slicer too.
 
This has to be the golden age for inexpensive, quality knives. With all the choices in steel, computer design, CNC machining, etc. it's got to be. I love budget knives that are good quality (who doesn't?) I'd rather by American made, or at least European, but Chinese doesn't bother me. Plenty of American jobs designing, importing, shipping those knives. Love my 18 dollar Oso Sweet. I'd usually pass up a Mora with all the plastic but I own one now and like it.
 
I have several value knives that simple perform as well or better than more expensive knives. The Spyderco Cat is the bee's knees. The overlooked (due to price) $15 Outdoor Edge Wedge is the best neck knife/gear knife I have found, period. I eschew the expensive salt water knives for a Lone Wolf (Benchmade) Mini Landslide with N680 highly corrosion resistant steel. It was only around $30 or so (Knifeworks).
 
I have a soft spot for affordable simple knives. Moras come in mind first. They just work, and I enjoy the simple aesthetics too. I bought mora axe/hatchet yesterday and I love it for that same reason.
 
My two daily carry knives/work knives cost $300 each. And I own several knives that cost between $100 and $200. And yet two of my absolute favorite knives, two of my treasures, originally cost $7. a piece (seven dollars). They are Rite Edge stilettos, and they're made in China.

Here's a pic. I say that they originally cost $7. because I put a few bucks into customizing them. I made the handles, converted them to one-handed opening and closing, replaced the pins with screws, and added bronze phosphorous washers to the pivots.

Although I don't carry them, they could be users. They are very solid knives. And I put a bit of work into custom fitting the locks to the blade tangs, so the lockup is solid with no play in any direction. And to my surprise, the blades do have a heat treatment and take a shaving sharp edge.

The open length of these knives is 10 and 3/4 inches.

P1010054_zpsges9e4hh.jpg
 
budget knives that are good quality
Click to expand...


I still have to do a double take to believe it is possible.
It is.
I would warn readers to be very cautious in using some of the inexpensive knives though.
At least and specifically the locking knives.
For example I sustained an injury a month or so ago while farting around with one of the said locking cheepies.

I wanted to see and feel what there was if anything about the hole in the hinge knives. You know, the Gerber Remix. Not expecting much and just buying for the sake of having a mock up of the real knife that is no longer made I bought the Remix "fine edge" (non serrated ) and the Remix Tactical (partially serrated and tanto shaped). My only tanto. I am still deciding if that shape is just for show or if there is go there.

Stupidly I sharpened them. I couldn't help it.
I was flipping open the Tactical to try out the flat thumb button on the blade (generally near where the thumb stud usually is on other knives). Then I decided to see if it could be just flicked open once it was part way open. The hinge action on these is notoriously "gritty" and so it is a challenge to flick it open. A person can easily get sucked into the "challenge" of oiling and breaking in the pivot which could last all day and into the night.
Don't let it happen to you !
just put the knife down and back away . . . slowly . . . and no one will get hurt.

anyway I flicked it open one too many times (yes it is actually possible to do; if you are determined) and the liner lock seized. I couldn't release it.

What does the smart knife person do next ?
THROW THE KNIFE IN THE TRASH.
Did I do that ?
Nooooooooo oh no.
I have to start prying at the liner lock with my Gerber Artifact.
Like a charm it released the liner lock.
Except . . .
I had a boat load of force on it when it decided to unlock.

I can't remember the last time I did something stupid with a sharp blade. Like the time I was a little kid cutting card board on my lap with an exacto knife.
. . . annnnn the exacto goes off the end of the card board and sticks, to the hilt, as it were, in my thigh. I just sat there and thought "well that's interesting; what do I do now ?".

yah since like way back then. Not too many problems cutting my self after that one.

So back to the Remix tactical . . . I cut my finger when it came unlocked and my hand flew at the serrated part of the blade.

I was less than impressed with my "tactical".

Watch your selves with cheep knives.
 
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I like and mostly own older pocket knives from the old now-closed Camillus, Schrade, Ulster, and Imperial USA plants. They offered many patterns with great steel and heat treat which can still be had in great condition very inexpensively. Then throw in a smattering of other now defunct USA brands like Western, Keen Kutter, Kutmaster, etc. I also own many SAKs, primarily Victorinox but also a few Wengers. I have a few Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish fixed blades too. Personally, I will not buy any knife manufactured in the People's Republic of China.

Vast majority of my pocket knives cost me less than $30 each.

Different strokes for different folks.
 
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This knife is a perfect example of what you're talking about. It's an absolutely wonderful knife. Super functional, great modern design and very solid with beautiful features (like the ornate pins)

Edit: I bought it on sale for $70. Worth every cent.
 
One man's inexpensive blade could be at the top end of another's budget. I consider ~$150 to be the most I could reasonably see myself spending on a single knife, but for others that may be their starting point.

I tend to lean towards more inexpensive blades for several reasons, first and foremost being I don't have boatloads of disposable income, and with two kids, knives end up being pretty low on the scale of things I can justifiably spend my money on. I also like physically buying things from a store as opposed to ordering things online, maybe I'm just old school, but I like to see and touch what I am considering buying. This all means that I spend a lot of time in front of the glass case at my local Canadian Tire. The downside of buying in store is that I can be horribly impulsive, and at times a sucker for good marketing and packaging, so I have ended up with a couple lemons (Camilus Carnivore for example).

All this being said, I do try to get the most bang for my buck, so I will always gravitate towards companies that offer lifetime warranties and have a reputation for quality, such as Buck and Kershaw. It is nice to know that even when buying something from their offshore line that the design is solid and that they are willing to stand behind their products.
 
This is 'the one,' IMO. I thought it was really expensive when I bought it, now I see value. I just gifted a blue one, in fact. :)
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I am oddly split at the moment between really inexpensive knives and $100-$200 production knives and customs. For example, my last two purchases were an $8 MU-1130 (Basically MTech, normally ~$20) and then nearly $200 for a Swamp Rat Rodent Trail off the exchange here.

It's an odd thing, while I really like the Rodent Trail for the overall look and ergos, better steel and heat treat, better fit and finish, warranty, and for being 100% made in the USA in a small shop, it currently is nowhere near the cutter that the MU-1130 is after about 20 minutes on the belt sander.

jjn1xz.jpg


The knife above is ground to about 0.01" at the edge and beveled around 12.5 dps. I know it's "junk," but so far it's holding up just fine to normal use, carving on hard wood, cutting up aluminum cans, etc... no chipping or rolling yet, super easy to sharpen.

Meanwhile the Swamp Rat is around 0.03"+ at the edge and around 25 dps (one side is 20 degrees and the other closer to 30). In this configuration, it just can't compete with the 1130 or other budget knives I've modded on anything I would consider normal use.
 
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