Brands to stay away from

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Smiling said:
I can get those, but pricing is rather high for my liking, and I simply don't buy folding knives. I simply have no need for one. And they are rather expensive for how fragile they are compared to fixed blades. Also to compare the maintenance and other issues that might come up with moving parts... simply not for me.
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I hear you. I have pretty much decided to only buy fixed blade knives as well. I still may buy an auto or two once in a while.
 
Smiling said:
I'm in Croatia (part of EU) and yeah, many US brands are to stay away from, just for the fact they're outrageously expensive here. And we have some really good European brands here, like Viper, Lion Steel, Fallkniven Mora... Some of them do have higher price, but it's justified by build quality, quality of materials and fit and finish and you're getting so much more than from majority of US brands. I doubt there's an US brand except Cold Steel that's still a good buy here. Even CS is more expensive here than in the US, but they are in store here, and you save on shipping costs and will get the knife at the same day so it's acceptable.
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The price is higher because of VAT. The Base US price + transportation & Insurance + Value Added Tax + profit Margin = Minimum 30%-35% more expensive than in USA. It's the same across all Europe
 
Smiling said:
I can get those, but pricing is rather high for my liking, and I simply don't buy folding knives. I simply have no need for one. And they are rather expensive for how fragile they are compared to fixed blades. Also to compare the maintenance and other issues that might come up with moving parts... simply not for me.
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Plenty of Morakniv and Fallkniven too...
Those might suit your needs better.
 
Randall Knives =
Not sharp.
Not pointy.
Doesn't meet makers size specifications.
Holes in micarta handle.
Uneven grind lines.
Blade looks like it was polished with a Brillo pad.
Nasty attitude and zero customer service when you call the Randall shop and speak with Michael Randall himself.
That fat Captain in Florida who is supposed to be an authorized dealer is a clown. Selling shop seconds for msrp.
I wouldn't keep a Randall if it was given to me for free. Garbage.
 
I own a few TwoSun knives too, not really sure of the opinion of those on here as they do have original designs but tend to be on the heavy side and Chinese.

I don't get the hate for CRKT yes they need to step it up with their steel and some of their prices for said steel are atrocious but they come out with great designs every year, I always find myself picking up a few CRKT's and the quality control seems to be getting better and the fit and finish is getting better too.

Of course pick up what you like! Try and buy at local retailers and it's always a + if it's American made.
 
scottyj said:
What? I was referring to the Randall I owned, and have handled in person.
Wait...yes. That's basically what I had. Looked like a Model 14, but was actual junk in person. Embarrassing to show people. No one was impressed with that knife.
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Yup.
Looks like a knife.
Sorta shaped like a knife.
Advertised as a knife.

Not knife.
 
Ante Vukorepa said:
Plenty of Morakniv and Fallkniven too...
Those might suit your needs better.
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Moraknivs are just incredible beaters, and Fallknivens are too expensive for me, Cold Steel is a better option for me despite costing more than in the US. Boker also has some nice options.

And when things start to get expensive - China comes to the rescue.
I don't own any of Chinese brands (for some reason I just rather buy something else), but I heard that Real Steel makes some really good stuff for low prices. I don't know about Kizer tho, but they seem to be more than decent.
 
John_0917 said:
As long as you don’t mind paying $70 for a chunk of 420HC!

Sad what has become of Gerber since the scissors people bought them; I have nothing against the Swedes, but they just really don’t make good products when they have them outsourced to the PRC be made (IKEA, Volvo, Gerber etc)
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If you are referring Fiskars - it’s Finnish company. Bro.
 
RoyalHolic said:
I own a few TwoSun knives too, not really sure of the opinion of those on here as they do have original designs but tend to be on the heavy side and Chinese.

I don't get the hate for CRKT yes they need to step it up with their steel and some of their prices for said steel are atrocious but they come out with great designs every year, I always find myself picking up a few CRKT's and the quality control seems to be getting better and the fit and finish is getting better too.

Of course pick up what you like! Try and buy at local retailers and it's always a + if it's American made.
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I have liked a few CRKT designs, but I tend to avoid them because of the steel and quality control, fit and finish.That is an untested opinion, but when I see them, I just say no thanks.
 
goldie said:
Whats wrong with Franklin Mint? Dont you realize they perfected polished turds? Gotta give them credit for that......
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The boxes they come in are nice, and I like the artwork on the knives sometimes, very colorful and interesting themes. :D The Franklin Mint designs are sort of like the coins that come from Marshall Islands, fun to have and look at, but I cannot spend them. Cool collectibles.
 
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I also like and have two Bark Rivers, a Rogue Bowie and an earlier Hudson Bay with an 8 inch blade. And Mike Stewart's past or personality does give me a little heart burn, but I like the knives for what they are and I believe they are good knives, no regrets, but it does make me hesitant to buy another just because of the bad taste left in my mind. You do buy what you like for the knives themselves, yes, that is ok, but there is that part that just sticks in the back of my mind.
 
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Other than what was already mentioned that I also had bad experience with, I stay away from Welde. Very suspicious "brand".
I'm not sure if it is something bigger or regional importer's idea, but they started to appear in my part of Europe a few years ago and many of them are rebranded cheap chinese no name oem clones. Stuff like G10 linerlock ZT0456. They also most likely lie about D2. Chinese oem sellers of the same models usually say 440 or 8cr. Someone from a local knife site did a rust and cut tests and said it was similar maybe a bit worse than aus8. Some of their models look exactly like Fura, and I think Fura was also caught selling clones with fake steel mark.
Recently they also started selling Microtech OTF clones with their name, look rough on pictures and not very close to the real one, but they still kept Microtech screws.
 
Surprised this hasn't been locked. Stuck on that
cbach8tw said:
The boxes they come in are nice, and I like the artwork on the knives sometimes, very colorful and interesting themes. :D The Franklin Mint designs are sort of like the coins that come from Marshall Islands, fun to have and look at, but I cannot spend them. Cool collectibles.
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I dunno .. don't "collectables" usually appreciate in value over time? I've never seen anything Franklin Mint appreciate; only depreciate ... usually significantly.
 
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