Brands to stay away from

[jackknife]

Rather than a $30 Kershaw made in China , try a $12 Buck made in the USA.
https://www.buckknives.com/product/284-bantam-bbw-mossy-oak-infinity-knife/0284CMS22-B/

It's too bad that I can like a post only once!

 

[cbach8tw]

Surprised this hasn't been locked. Stuck on that

I dunno .. don't "collectables" usually appreciate in value over time? I've never seen anything Franklin Mint appreciate; only depreciate ... usually significantly.

To me collectibles are just things that are collected, just like a souvenir, very doubtful that they appreciate in value, like thimbles and small spoons from other states. Or those cedar boxes with the location name on them!! Fun from where you have been, but doubtful they will be fought over by my relatives.

 

[Makael]

Any knife made in a country guilty of stealing from the US. I do stay away from those brands. Plenty of choices made here and Europe.

 

[The Mastiff]

I recommend never spending your money on a knife made in Pakistan. Pot metal blades, poor to no heat treat, etc.

China? My recommendation to not buy is political based and not acceptable for the forum. If you do buy knives from PRC be aware you might get blades with different steel from advertised or printed on blade. Talking to manufacturers who buy from PRC factories they state the factory will print whatever steel you want or even print "made in America" on the knife. Whatever you want.

 

[stevekolt]

Any knife made in a country guilty of stealing from the US. I do stay away from those brands. Plenty of choices made here and Europe.

In total agreement with this...

 

[rexromic]

Avoiding anything made in China!
My personal favourite are by far the CRK made in USA!

 

[Londinium Armoury]

Honestly I have problems supporting people with bad morals, or individuals who are liars and steal. But the workers and people at places like Kizer can hardly be blamed for the actions of the Chinese government. It's not their fault they were born and raised in a nation run by opppressive A holes. The guys at Kizer as far as I know have been honest and good people and make a nice knife. It's not like you blame Sal and spyderco everytime the US military drone strikes civilians or is guilty of a false flag attack in south or central America is it. I'd rather support the guys at Kizer than all American made Mick Strider who car jacks civilians and steals the honour of fallen American soldiers like SnG.

 

[Boru13]

This topic can be discussed without getting too political... tread very lightly with the politics or be banned from the thread.

 

[THG]

Any knife made in a country guilty of stealing from the US. I do stay away from those brands. Plenty of choices made here and Europe.

Agreed. There are things like computers and electronics where there is virtually no other practical option. I avoid the enticement of the sirens with their low prices by putting some extra $$ so that we might still have those options for things that are our hobbies and passions.

 

[Kmikaz3]

Avoiding anything made in China!
My personal favourite are by far the CRK made in USA!

While Chinese made knives aren't my first choice... i tend to make an exception for WE and Reate, extremely well made and actually seems to care about what they make.
But yes CRKs and RHKs are by far the best to go with of course my local canadian knifemakers.

On topic,
I don't know why but i tend to avoid Kizer knives... nothing against them but their design doesn't appeal to me but that's my opinions so take it with the gain of salt.
Used to like Hoback knives with an open heart but after a piss poor CS, i avoid them like a plague except for the knives i already owned.

 

[Chronovore]

... If you do buy knives from PRC be aware you might get blades with different steel from advertised or printed on blade. Talking to manufacturers who buy from PRC factories they state the factory will print whatever steel you want or even print "made in America" on the knife. Whatever you want.

There are a lot of manufacturers in China. This is certainly true of some of them. For instance, Eafengrow is a known rebrander that stamps whatever they think will sell over here. Independent XRF testing has consistently caught them stamping "D2" on 8Cr13Mov (or worse). There are also a bunch of counterfeiters based in China. Not only can you get a fake "M390" stamp on a piece of 3Cr13, you can get a fake "Microtech" or "Shirogorov" stamp and the packaging to go with it. This is obviously horrible.

Then we have the mystery companies making lower-end knives for Kershaw, CRKT, etc. Sometimes, I see a knife and wonder if it was a night project or side hustle from the same company making a particular Kershaw; or whether permission was part of their deal in the first place. Knowing a few expats in other industries, I've heard stories about clones or outright counterfeits being made from the same materials one conveyor belt over from the real deal.

OTOH, there are honorable and reputable companies like WE, Kizer, and Reate in China. They make decent knives based on original designs and use the steels they claim. Some of them collaborate with or make knives for American designers. I think L Londinium Armoury adequately made the point that people are people. Some will be good and some will be bad. I think it's wise not to overgeneralize or judge people solely based on the regimes that rule their nations.

 

[Arathol]

If you do buy knives from PRC be aware you might get blades with different steel from advertised or printed on blade. Talking to manufacturers who buy from PRC factories they state the factory will print whatever steel you want or even print "made in America" on the knife. Whatever you want.

Yes I'm sure that is entirely possible. Given that, how to you discern between those made in PRC and sold openly as such and those supposedly made and/or sold by Taiwan factories? I recently bought a knife that was supposedly made and sold by a Taiwan factory but the box was clearly labeled PRC. How do you really know what is made where? How many makers have facilities in both Taiwan and PRC, make knives in PRC factories and sell them through a Taiwan based company? For that matter, if an American based retailer orders a bunch of cheap blades marked "D2 Made in USA" from a factory in PRC, who is actually committing the fraud? How does that make the American retailer any less guilty of deception if they know what they are ordering and offer the knives for sale based on the markings?

Not all are that unscrupulous though. I have a couple made by Artisan with blades marked D2. I can't say if it is, but the blades are very difficult to sharpen with regular stones. A files barely touches them, diamond stones are the only way to get an edge, and the blades take a wicked edge that holds pretty well. If they were cheap gas station quality knives, sure I'd be very skeptical about the D2 marking. However, from what I have seen, I don't have any reason to believe that they are not D2.

 

[UDIVER]

Not so much brands but I have a big problem with budget knives, regardless of where they're made.

Actually.....any product that falls under the "budget" category.....

 

[Londinium Armoury]

Not so much brands but I have a big problem with budget knives, regardless of where they're made.

Actually.....any product that falls under the "budget" category.....

Hey what have you got against Moras and RATs and SAK's. They are pretty awesome.

 

[flbandit]

Do just what you're doing OP. Read, ask questions and (the fun part) handle as many knives as you can! We have a shop here in Central FL that has hundreds of knives on display, I can hang out there for hours. My faves are Case, Queen, Marbles (USA), and various others. I also have a Blackjack Tac-Ops 6 user that like really well. (My Cold Steel Recon 1 is a tank as well). Not so faves include, CRKT and Sabre for workmanship, and various imported brands for the same reason. Most important is buy what you like and enjoy.

 

[Chronovore]

Not so much brands but I have a big problem with budget knives, regardless of where they're made.

Actually.....any product that falls under the "budget" category.....

Okay there, Rockefeller. A lot of poor folks need knives too. Having quality options in the budget range is a beautiful thing.

Even for those of us with slightly more resources, there can be value in quality budget items. I've asked myself: do I really want multiple hundreds (or thousands) of dollars in overhead on a daily carry folder? At what point do I hesitate to use it for rough or dirty work? What if I lose it or something happens to it? What if someone wants to use it or borrow it? Obviously, the line for such questions is personal. Maybe a thousand-dollar folder is right for you. I might like that for special occasions. For regular EDC though, I'm much happier with a decent budget knife.

 

[000Robert]

Okay there, Rockefeller. A lot of poor folks need knives too. Having quality options in the budget range is a beautiful thing.

Even for those of us with slightly more resources, there can be value in quality budget items. I've asked myself: do I really want multiple hundreds (or thousands) of dollars in overhead on a daily carry folder? At what point do I hesitate to use it for rough or dirty work? What if I lose it or something happens to it? What if someone wants to use it or borrow it? Obviously, the line for such questions is personal. Maybe a thousand-dollar folder is right for you. I might like that for special occasions. For regular EDC though, I'm much happier with a decent budget knife.

I concur. I carry a slip joint Steel Warrior to hand out if someone needs to "borrow" my knife. I put 'borrow' in quotation marks because half the time what I lent out over the years never came back to me. Nobody touches my nice knives but me. And nice doesn't necessarily mean expensive. My Kershaw Launch 1 was only about $100, but I love it and nobody is going to "borrow" it.

 

[UDIVER]

Hey what have you got against Moras and RATs and SAK's. They are pretty awesome.

Nothing at all, budget is more of a quality issue than it is price, there's plenty of knives that cost more than a Mora that are complete trash.

I have no issues with Mora's or SAK's...etc etc

 

[UDIVER]

Okay there, Rockefeller. A lot of poor folks need knives too. Having quality options in the budget range is a beautiful thing.

Even for those of us with slightly more resources, there can be value in quality budget items. I've asked myself: do I really want multiple hundreds (or thousands) of dollars in overhead on a daily carry folder? At what point do I hesitate to use it for rough or dirty work? What if I lose it or something happens to it? What if someone wants to use it or borrow it? Obviously, the line for such questions is personal. Maybe a thousand-dollar folder is right for you. I might like that for special occasions. For regular EDC though, I'm much happier with a decent budget knife.

Rockefeller......right

You missed my point, I see a lot of people posting photos of 5 or 6 $30 "budget" knives in one photo...

Why not just save buying all that trash and purchase one or two good knives?

Would you rather have three $30 knives with 8cr or 420? or one $90 knife with S30v or 154?

Sorry, it doesn't make much sense to me.....

 

[UDIVER]

I concur. I carry a slip joint Steel Warrior to hand out if someone needs to "borrow" my knife. I put 'borrow' in quotation marks because half the time what I lent out over the years never came back to me. Nobody touches my nice knives but me. And nice doesn't necessarily mean expensive. My Kershaw Launch 1 was only about $100, but I love it and nobody is going to "borrow" it.

The Kershaw launch is great and I wouldn't consider that a budget auto........now, a $45 Boker auto is budget and at that price for $30 more you can start getting into a launch.