Why People Carry Cheap Knives: A List

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EDCanAdamas

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Some of my coworkers and friends carry cheap knives*, which gets me to thinking, why exactly do people carry cheap knives*? So I made a list of ten reasons why. I hope you guys have some more to add. Keep this fun please.

*Note: I'll define "cheap knives": They cost roughly $10, are almost always 440A or "Surgical Stainless", they are generally sold in bulk to a middleman who sells them online or at the flea market, they tend to be marketed to the "tactical" crowd (cheap traditionals exist too), and they are of such poor construction that they are dangerous to the user's fingers.

Here's the list:

#1 They don't want to spend more than $10 on an item that they view as disposable.
#2 They are afraid to break/lose a better knife.
#3 They are blissfully ignorant of the better cutlery available.
#4 The knife is the one that caught their eye at the local BigBoxmart. No better options were present.
#5 They believe that knives with "Army" or "Police" on the blade or handle must be standard issue.
#6 They are a young person who cannot afford anything else.
#7 They are away on vacation and want a cheap knife to use and then throw away.
#8 The user might have criminal intentions, and does not want to spend $150 on something to use to intimidate his/her victims and then throw into the woods when the Police show up.
#9 It looked really cool at the flea market.
#10 They are afraid of their friends stealing/"borrowing"/ruining their good knives.
 
Interesting. I sometimes carry "cheap" traditional knives -Rough Rider brand, made of 440A stainless. I carry them because they are good knives that are extremely sharp and handle my daily pocket knife needs about as well as anything else.

I am an old guy and can afford more expensive knives (and have more expensive knives) but there's nothing wrong with the Rough Riders for my purposes.

They are certainly not of such cheap construction that they endanger me when using them. They seem to be about the same as other slipjoints.

So my reason to add to the list is: the knife is sufficient for the owner's needs.
 
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Gotta remember, even a gas station special will cut tape to open boxes, cut open envelopes and slice the odd bit of cheese on a picnic. They can even do most of that pretty easily when fairly dull. I've gotten to the point that when friends or family ask me for pocket knife recommendations I tend to push towards Opinels, Svord Peasant knives and Victorinox unless they specify a higher budget. IMHO, the average person is better off dropping more money on their kitchen cutlery, where the performance difference will be immediately apparent and they will probably see much more use than a pocket knife for many non-knife people.
 
All of my friends are afraid of loosing an expensive knife, they like mine but won't take the leap to higher end knives as of yet. This frustrates me because I don't know anyone else that has "nicer" knives to talk to about them! That's why BF is a nice place to be!
 
They don't need a more expensive knife because the cheap knife gets the job done.

This will not end "fun."
 
Maybe another thread: "Why People Carry High Value Knives."

An old, wizened CPA once told me that "Everyone has their own level of poverty."
 
11. Many people love to have a large collection and cheap knives give them the ability to do so.
 
I used to wonder why? Then I would talk with them about knives, and they would look at me like I was touched. Sometimes I wonder why I even carry a 200.00 knife to cut cardboard.
 
Some people's interest in knives stop at the gas station level.
Some people have other hobbies that consume their play money.
Some people are cheap and refuse to pay for a better knife.
Some people really have no need for a knife.
 
I carry 2. One is my own and the other is a cheepo when someone says, Hey, can I borrow your knife?
 
fetzer85 said:
It's pretty simple - they aren't obsessed like we are.
Click to expand...

This is the biggest reason. Those cheapo corner store 10$ junk knives would do what 99.9% of the people here NEED to do with a knife. It's not what we (yes I include myself in that large percentage) have to have the better quality, we simply want it.

In before the 1,000 reasons (mostly bs!) that people *need* the expensive knives.

I admit that I have nice knives for the same reason I have nice watches, nice cars, nice tools, nice clothes. Cause I want them and the reliability that goes along with them. Definitely not a necessity but something I want.
 
Give them...us..a break on what we carry and think about the small percentage of anyone that carries a knife in most circles. Better to be useful with a cheap knife then useless without.
 
I went to a NHL game with a friend who forgot he still had his cheap knife in his pocket. We got caught up in security while the game was about to start, we didn't have time to return to the car and he didn't want to go stash it somewhere on the chance a kid might find it so he forfeited it to the security guard without worry.
That's a plus for a cheap knife . And it probably happens at airports, court houses, dmv, schools and special events everyday.
 
dogstar said:
They don't need a more expensive knife because the cheap knife gets the job done.
....
Click to expand...

That works for me. I have been carrying the same Camillus/Remington stockman around for nearly 20 years. It started as a practical exercise; I wanted to carry and use a simple knife as a means for learning to use a variety of sharpening devices. But, as the months and years rolled by, it just became an easy part of my routine to toss this thing in my pocket. By any objective measure, it is a poor knife and I own much better ones. But, admittedly it has done everything I have needed a knife to do and I have no real justification, other than vanity, for changing it out; and I refuse to yield to vanity.

n2s
 
Buckberg said:
I went to a NHL game with a friend who forgot he still had his cheap knife in his pocket. We got caught up in security while the game was about to start, we didn't have time to return to the car and he didn't want to go stash it somewhere on the chance a kid might find it so he forfeited it to the security guard without worry.
That's a plus for a cheap knife . And it probably happens at airports, court houses, dmv, schools and special events everyday.
Click to expand...

I carry a cheap buck 303 sometimes for that exact reason. I order 3 or 4 at once and that's my travel knife, New Orleans knife (never know what places have the metal detectors out at shows etc), Disney knife, etc. No tears if I lose one. I have two left now from last batch of 3 i ordered in 2008. Lost one to TSA when I forgot it was in my carry on bag after a trip (forgot to put it back in checked bag).
 
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