Favorite “cheap knife”?

torqueguy

torqueguy

Pocket Puukko
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
234
It’s easy to love beautiful expensive knives. As a lifelong gun collector, I have some mortgage payments hanging in my gun room, but my favorite is a little single shot bolt action Remington 22 that I got as a kid years ago. While the Anschutz’s and Kimbers sleep in the gun room, this little Remington sleeps with me in a corner of my bedroom.

That said, I would love to see pictures of your favorite inexpensive knives. A Case sodbuster for example is all the knife we really need. Anything beyond that is gravy.

I bought this on Ebay, from China and I paid $12 bucks plus a couple more for shipping. I bought “knowing” it was going to be junk but I wanted to take it apart in order to use as templates so I could replicate in good steel and stag. Much to my surprise, this is a nice knife! I have been in precision manufacturing my entire life so I know good machining when I see it. The damascus is actually etched but done very nicely and the steel is laminated with some very hard steel sandwiched in between the softer, etched stuff.

I am just amazed at how well made this is for less than $20 bucks delivered! The price of a good cigar now.

I post this just to show that there are all sorts of well made knives out there and at all prices. I remember all too well, 40 years ago having to make painful, monthly decisions as to whether to buy diapers or heating oil or food? The baby always ate and was warm and dry but I had holes in my shoes and my wife and I ate spaghetti and beans every day for years.




 
All of these were 20 or 30 bucks. The rough riders were less, but as pretty as they are, they cant keep an edge:( The rest are great!
ede57757acc1971a5b14db1deca323e5.jpg
 
I'll add to the Kershaw pile; Kershaw Shuffle II. Best $15 box cutter/bottle opener I've had.
 
Kershaw Emerson cqc7k. Just an outstanding knife for the money.

SanRenMu Land 910 is just outstandingly made. Unfortunately it is a clone of a Sebenza (not a counterfeit). I can’t recommend it because I think cloning is wrong but it definitely shows SanRenMu is capable of making some very well built cheap knives.

I have a fake small titanium sebenza 21 that I was gifted that is unfortunately an amazing knife. The heat treat on the steel even seems to be good. I honestly doubt if a non-knife guy would be able to tell the difference between it and my real small 21s.

I don’t endorse cloning didn’t pay for either of these clones. Both of them were given to me by a friend.
 
Kershaw makes a lot of good, inexpensive knives. Even a few usa made (a link is around 40 bucks!). All my Chinese Kershaws are decent quality, stand up to use (my cryo and cryo 2 are about 3 years old and work as well as new) and are covered under a lifetime warranty. My favorite of them... I don't know. I really like my Thermite, but my Natrix CF is nice as well, although not as heavy duty.

Can't count out the Chinese spydercos either though... My Tenacious is a tough, dependable knife as well!
 
Opinel top my list. I bought a batch of 5 or so of them for 6 dollars each...

Chinese made Spyderco's like Titanium handled Byrd and Resilient/tenacious are on my list as well.

MNIIoRC.jpg


Alox ask, and AG Russel large sodbuster (cant remember if they call that one the rancher or cowboy or what?)
 
Last edited:
I had one as a kid and still have it. We all had them. I remember we would grind down and polish the scales edgewise a bit in order to have more grip on the blade. Actually, we rubbed them on a NJ curbstone.

The trick was to pull the knife out of your back pocket and flick it open one handed gripping the blade, then flip. Wow, those memories are 45 years old right there. Thanks

onekerf said:
Ray Mears Mercator K55K in reed greenView attachment 1170264
Click to expand...
 
I love the Kershaw Strobe, it's on bearings, Diskin design...for $16
 
I think one of the cheapest knives I own is a RAT 2. Just a little small for my liking but I admit it is a nice knife for the money. I can see why many people feel that it is one of the best budget knives for the money.
 
I think my favorite budget knife is a 110 LT or rat II.

But, the single knife I owned and carried daily foe numerous years while working by way out of hit water was a byrd crossbill eith stainless handle. It now hangs in the garage and sees limited use but it served me well at home and work for quite a while.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top