Why choose/carry budget knives?

[singularity35]

My feelings exactly. Anything above a couple hundred bucks better do things unimaginably amazing. But my knives cut ropes, open packages, carve a few sticks, and what not. I can spend $120 on a good benchmade, ZT, or even less on a nicely made CRKT, SAK, Kershaw, Opinel etc, etc, etc. They all function for my needs perfectly.
To me, a $600 knife reeks of knife snobbery. I can do what you do with your $600 blade any day, and still have a LOT of cash in my pocket for going out to a nice dinner with my wife and more.

So you're into reverse snobbery eh?

 

[Bob6794]

find me a sebenza that can out cut an opinel, Swiss army knife, etc and then I might carry one...

When I talked to my dad and told him I just spent $100 on a knife, he asked me what that could do that his little Vic Classic couldn't do. I laughed and pulled out my Opinel #6 and said this $10 knife will cut better and do the job better than both knives for my purposes, but dang it that $100 knife won't need to be sharpened as much and I wanted to play with a high end steel for once. I just have to make a sheath and handle for it....

 

[Spyder328]

I always seem to find room for my Kershaw Shallot no matter what I carry just because its my beater knife. I have a Para 2, M4 Griptilian, and I'm waiting for my ZT 0566 to come in the mail but I'll always have my Shallot with me because if I break it somehow its not that big of a deal because I only paid $40. Its also the knife I'd give to someone that asks for a knife to "cut something" lol

 

[flatblackcapo]

I still remember when I thought $60 was high end for me.
If I could only go back in time and block Bladeforums from my search engine! I wouldn't be able to fit a knife in my pocket because of all that money that would still be in there!LOL.

 

[NMpops]

First off I don't own an expensive knife. The most expensive knife I own is a Benchmade AFCK I bought years ago when they first came out. It's well used but when I retired I went back to carrying mostly traditional slip joints (Case, Schrade & Buck) and mostly the Stockman pattern. I use my knives daily but I do not abuse them. When possible I use the proper tool for the job, i.e. pry bar, chisel screwdriver. Except for a few Victorinox SAKs, I refuse to buy anything that's not totally American made and I will not buy any knife that I am afraid to use and or loose. I hear other's brag about the edge holding ability of this steel over that steel but bottom line is I enjoy keeping my knives sharp and I will touch them up at least weekly even if all they did was open my mail, so do I really need a super steel that I only need to sharpen after every third elk I carve up? Basically a Case (or Schrade, Buck, GEC) stockman is all I need.

 

[smcjoecohen@yahoo]

I've also decided to trade or try to sell off many of my lower end knives and focus on getting 3 to 5 really nice knives a year. I really prefer folders and framelock folders are my favorite right now.
Now I'm not going to bring my Microtech Socom Bravo Custom to cut open boxes. And even though my XM's and Stridersare tough enough I don't like to carry and use them. That's what my ZT's are for. I also carry some inexpensive but very well made knives, I feel confident they can do any job I need done, and I don't mind beating on them. I also intend to keep my lower mid range knives that are discontinued, like my Lone Wolf knives, Spydercos, and other brands models that are no longer made.

 

[cutter17]

There was a time...........But that time has gone, as have the higher end knives I once had. Due to a medical condition, I had to sell the knives I had to pay medical bills and rehab bills. Because of the SCI that happened I am now permanently disabled and drawing SSDI, along with long term disability from the state. This little hiccup has caused me to readjust my knife spending and carrying habits. I'm still able to save and spend for some higher end knives; My LionSteel SR-1 w/Raindrop damascus and ZT0600, are the highest priced knives I have, and both have been carried. But lately I have bought knives in the $100-$200 range; Spyderco Szabo, Fox/Citadel Deimos, and Boker Arctos XL. I carried the Deimos from mid December until last week when the Boker arrived. I have enjoyed these knives and discovered that they can do everything my higher end (production/customs) could do, plus, they give me great satisfaction. I never had a great need for the big knives I have carried for the past 25 years, a slipjoint or sak handled most of the chores I needed a knife to do, but I liked them. And the more I carried the more I wanted something different, which usually meant more money. especially when customs were the target! So now I have discovered that a $130 Fox Deimos can give me great pleasure along with the confidence that it is a well built knife. So "budget" knives have found a spot as my primary carry knife and I am loving it, just as my wallet is loving it!:thumbup:

 

[Cereal_killer]

I've also decided to trade or try to sell off many of my lower end knives and focus on getting 3 to 5 really nice knives a year. I really prefer folders and framelock folders are my favorite right now.
Now I'm not going to bring my Microtech Socom Bravo Custom to cut open boxes. And even though my XM's and Stridersare tough enough I don't like to carry and use them. That's what my ZT's are for. I also carry some inexpensive but very well made knives, I feel confident they can do any job I need done, and I don't mind beating on them. I also intend to keep my lower mid range knives that are discontinued, like my Lone Wolf knives, Spydercos, and other brands models that are no longer made.

Put that pic back up man, awesome collection! You've got some gem's there.

 

[nemesis]

I stick to the mid tech stuff and most of my knives are in the 150-300 range, but I am not opposed to spending 500$ on a knife, but if I buy a knife I plan to use it and the more I spend the more I have the urge to use it. I guess I want it to earn its keep if it cost a lot of money. My usual edc is zt0560 and a Spartan Enyo, then I keep benchmade fixed adamas in my emergency bag. They all get used, no safe queens for me.

 

[Freman Bloodglaive]

Budget knives do the job.

Of course what we here consider budget might still seem expensive to a non-knife-enthusiast. I happen to have a fondness for Cold Steel knives (it must be my inner mall ninja) and while many of my knives were bought at lower cost on eBay I still spent $330NZ on a G10 Espada XL locally due to import regulations requiring a police exemption to import knives over 4" (although having had a couple of knives in the 4.25" range get inspected and passed it seems it's not a measurement they're too pedantic about, they don't like assisted openers though). From a purely practical sense was there any reason to spend that? Not really, it's not a practical knife.

What knives do I regularly carry? A Victorinox Mini-Champ on my keys, a Victorinox Compact, and a larger folder which at the moment is a Cold Steel Lone Star Hunter.

One of the things I like about Spyderco is how they can supply a high end steel in a relatively economical package. I'm considering a ZDP Delica at present. Priced at about $100US that's a good little knife for the money.