Cheap knives

Most of the people out there do not intentionally buy junk. A lot of them, don't know junk from quality. What is obvious to you is completely missed by others. That being said, the makers of junk knives know what grabs the eye and that is half the battle.
Shiny, bright colors, outlandish or even comical shapes and configurations, high intimidation factor - any and all can do it. Get them looking at it, and then the bargain bin pricing - the buyer says "Oh cool! it's only 5 bucks! Get it quick!" In their mind it's a ridiculously low price to pay to feel like Rambo.

I do agree. But the "5 bucks" is an underestimate! A lot of the junk is really overpriced in stores. And after shipping it's not so cheap online either. And the prices are creeping up! There are quality alternatives for the same prices. Whether or not those alternatives have the "bling" that appeals to the buyer is another story. But there's a big difference between bling and quality. All that glitters is not gold... especially "glitter gold"
 
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So it takes some diligence to make an informed decision.

THIS!!! This, right here, is succinct, and absolutely hits the nail on the head.
I feel like not enough people realize this. They go on the big river site, and see that something has 4/5 stars, and just assume it's a good product and will fit their needs. People want to do 3 minutes or less of research before purchases and call it "informed."
 
To start cheap and inexpensive are two different things.

I am a user who as accumulated, I am a user who grew up when every hardware and feed store sold knives.
Mostly the hardware stores sold Old Timer, Camillus or what ever brand that fit their market share, you would see a lot of delrin or fancy stagalon.
Even when gas was .32 a gal knives you could spend $10 on a good production knife. Now that gas is $3.15 a gal is $95 for a GEC Churchill all that expensive?

If GEC would produce their Tidioute line with stagalon or what ever material Queen used on their workhorse series. You would then have an inexpensive, quality knife.
I think part of what makes GEC expensive is they are held to a standard that never existed. Along with the fact they are built with an array of exotic materials, that I do not recall seeing at the local hardware.

Contrary to the romanticized belief the old brands were far from perfect. Springs were not always flush and it was not uncommon to see light between the springs. They were however good working knives.

Even if you buy a GEC and don't like the pattern you can resell and get most of your money back. Provided you took care of it for the time it took you to decide you didn't want it.

Knives are tools that are fun to accumulate and like any tool it has to perform. Mystery steels won't cut it.
At a time when the traditional U.S. knife market is dying.
I have no idea why someone other than a non knife person, would buy some cheap mystery steel knock off.

At the risk of offending more than a few, Rough Rider, Marbles, Frost etc. are not traditional knives.
Buying them is not doing the traditional market a favor.
 
Randy, You previously used the word "snob" in a similar discussion. In that prior post it seemed to be addressed at me as I was pretty much the only one making an opposing point. I found it especially strange since I was shipping you an expensive gift around the same time. That doesn't mean it's easy for me. I was even selling other knives to cover my own bills. But I ignored it. Not sure if this is directed at me as well. It shouldn't have been said once and definitely not twice. You are better than that.

Jake I never intended that word to be directed toward you and probably should not have used it at all. First I consider you a forum friend and second I enjoy your post they are always informative. You sir have taken me wrong and for this I apologize. What I mean by a knife snob is a person that turns their nose to anyone that does not buy and collect the very best and not someone that post pro or con about a particular knife or brand. Also the gift you sent me I thought I won in Duncan's GAW however I will be happy to return it if you like. I am sorry that you thought my post was a slam directed at you but it was not, like you however I was only posting my opinion and I don't apologize for that after all that's what this forum is for regardless if someone else's post agrees or disagrees with yours. As far as an aversion to foreign products some people do have them. That does not mean it's good or bad it's just they're opinion and it is simply stated as a reason for someone not to buy them.
Jake to sum this up I am again sorry you thought I was attacking you in some way and that is simply not the case. We have great members here that love knives like Rough Rider and post pictures and threads about them proudly and I say that's fine as long as they are having fun and are happy and I guess I was just making sure they knew it. I would have never in a million years thought that in so doing someone of your caliber that I look up to for your knife knowledge would have been so offended or I certainly would not have posted. I hope we can settle this and that you know my post are never directed at an individual I would never stoop that low. So have a great day my friend and keep on posting.
 
Randy, I appreciate your reply. Of course, I don't want any gifts or prizes back. And I hope your enjoyment of the knife isn't any less. I was honestly surprised and bewildered by it all so I'm happy it's just a misunderstanding. I also think of you as a friend and appreciate your contributions to the forum.

...Btw, although I am not a fan of McDonalds, I sometimes find it hard to resist Taco Tuesday at Taco Johns. :D
 
At the risk of offending more than a few, Rough Rider, Marbles, Frost etc. are not traditional knives.
Buying them is not doing the traditional market a favor.

Not offended at all. But we disagree on both points. In my book, traditional refers to the pattern, no matter who makes it. And if enough people are buying Chinese knives, that's incentive for an American company to enter the market with a higher quality knife and that home-grown cachet ... since there are a LOT of people who would rather buy American, me included.
 
I forgot about McD breakfast! Egg Mcmuffin!

This is the least expensive newly manufactured knife that I've gotten in the last year. At the time that I purchased it (around October), it was $8 shipped. Difficult to find a better value. Bought a bunch as gifts for Christmas. I wish I had bought more of them (and kept one) because they've all been snatched up and now they're a couple bucks more. I'll probably pick one up eventually and reshape the blade so that it has a point. It's a "junior" model intended for youngsters but I think it's a nice knife for older folks too. I wouldn't use the whistle but it was a big hit with kids. Edit: Just put in an order for one--hahaha I have no self control!

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I’m curious about the reasons knife folks buy cheap knives that we know will have quality control and durability issues. I’m not asking about solid quality inexpensive knives like Mora, SAK, or Opinel, which (from what I understand) are both “cheap” and well made. I’m asking about gas station type stuff or sweat shop foreign stuff, if that makes sense.

I tend to avoid sweat shop knives as they often come with dark spotting and rust what with all that sweat all over them. However, that Case clone that Jeff showed is a fine looking knife and probably a good worker. I know the ones I've bought for my nephew hold up very well for him. Now take that Pakistan knife shown by Rick - seems to work for him.

Doesn't mean much to me. If the knife works, cheap or expensive doesn't enter into it.
 
I tend to avoid sweat shop knives as they often come with dark spotting and rust what with all that sweat all over them. However, that Case clone that Jeff showed is a fine looking knife and probably a good worker. I know the ones I've bought for my nephew hold up very well for him. Now take that Pakistan knife shown by Rick - seems to work for him.

Doesn't mean much to me. If the knife works, cheap or expensive doesn't enter into it.

Man, I already got zinged for that comment, but you took it to the next level ;)
 
I still like cheap knives. In fact I like some of the same ones I used to back in the 70's and early 80's when Imperial Jackmasters were under $3 at the hardware store. They used to make a couple hundred thousand of those per day.

Old carbon steel knives from Imperial/Schrade , Colonial and a few others can still be had NOS though a touch higher priced now. The old 803 Barlow is still a favorite and they seem to last forever. They are about as easy to sharpen as any knife I've ever found.

My parents were depression kids and "value oriented" to put it nicely. My grandfather was the same. The knife I inherited from him was an " The Ideal" jackknife that was fairly sharp ( I tend toward atom splitters so I try to keep that in mind when judging others edges that most people aren't like that). Knives were bought for less than a dollar and thrown away when they were used up. My family was too cheap to buy a Buck or other expensive knife and were thought of as a waste of valuable money.

Yes, "cheap" knives were all I knew growing up. It sure didn't stop me from getting any jobs done . I think about this when I see people with very expensive knives including me. Yes, I have had $250 knives that wouldn't slice as well as my under $1 Imperial carbon steel Barlow or Jack with it's very thin blades.

On the other hand I've seen and bought cheap knives that were unusable. I've had pot metal knives from Pakistan that were unusable as a knife. It was the same price as one of my old ones but useless for anything except maybe being a paperweight.

Joe
 
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I just happened to be swinging by the forum and bumped into this thread.

I collected knives for a number of years, but the steam went out of it for me after a while, so I pared the collection down to a tiny fraction of what it had been. I did end up keeping a few fancy ones "just because," but my actual carry rotation is dominated by cheap knives.

Consider the Imperial barlow I'm carrying for the next few months. (I think it cost me $7?) Serviceable carbon steel in a thin grind. Cheesy delrin shell-handles. Deeply mediocre F&F -- both blades rub on the liners. I think it's a good knife though! It does what a knife is supposed to do, and I find I respect that. If "respect" and "admire" are not quite the same thing, then I guess I've got room for both.
 
In my book, traditional refers to the pattern, no matter who makes it. And if enough people are buying Chinese knives, that's incentive for an American company to enter the market with a higher quality knife and that home-grown cachet ... since there are a LOT of people who would rather buy American, me included

Well stated. However, unfortunately, the opposite has happened. Not only are enough people buying Chinese knives, the majority of sales of traditional patterns at this time are of knives of Chinese origin targeted specifically at the American market. The remaining American companies have recognized that in order to compete for a share of the market, they must emphasize higher quality (at greater cost) over greater quantity (and lower cost), which narrows the number of items produced and sold by them substantially.

It will be interesting to see, especially for those of us who prefer to buy American, whether our American companies will find avenues to compete in ways that expand the market base for their products. One would hope that at some point there would be an attempt to compete for some of the market share now dominated by inexpensive imports, perhaps in the form of a line of an entry level line of American made knives made with higher quality materials but a bit less attention to fit and finish along the lines of Queen's Workhorse series or Case's Workman series.
 
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My daily carry is a CKCo Colonial I received here in GAW from Tilley Knife nearly two years ago. I've carried it every day since December 2017. For a few years before that, I daily carried a delrin clad Craftsman from Ulster. Both were inexpensive knives. Many would consider them cheap too. Don't really care. I really like these sorts of knives.

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WWWWHHHHAAAAAAA?????? Can we even still be friends after you say sumptin like that? Jus' sayin'.

What's next? A revelation you don't like Spam either?


Sorry leghog :oops: as far as spam goes I always ate it on overnight hunting and fishing trips as well as just camping trips. Problem is I can't do any of those things anymore. :(
 
Not offended at all. But we disagree on both points. In my book, traditional refers to the pattern, no matter who makes it. And if enough people are buying Chinese knives, that's incentive for an American company to enter the market with a higher quality knife and that home-grown cachet ... since there are a LOT of people who would rather buy American, me included.

What happens more often is Rough Rider will flood the market with cheap knives at 1/4 the cost of Case. By the time Case can retool redesign and change their market segment. They will come out of it a fraction of what they were and a lot of people will be looking for a job.
Time will tell.
 
Well stated. However, unfortunately, the opposite has happened. Not only are enough people buying Chinese knives, the majority of sales of traditional patterns at this time are of knives of Chinese origin targeted specifically at the American market. The remaining American companies have recognized that in order to compete for a share of the market, they must emphasize higher quality (at greater cost) over greater quantity (and lower cost), which narrows the number of items produced and sold by them substantially.

It will be interesting to see, especially for those of us who prefer to buy American, whether our American companies will find avenues to compete in ways that expand the market base for their products. One would hope that at some point there would be an attempt to compete for some of the market share now dominated by inexpensive imports, perhaps in the form of a line of an entry level line of American made knives made with higher quality materials but a bit less attention to fit and finish along the lines of Queen's Workhorse series or Case's Workman series.

Very well stated :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
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