Most Over-Rated and Under-Rated Brands of Production Knives

IMHO and from personal experience,

Overrated: SOG & Emerson

I'm not a fan of SOG quality, and I think Emerson's are too expensive for what you get.

Underrated: Kershaw

I've been very happy with my Kershaws, great knives and quality for the price.
 
dmattaponi said:
Overrated - Production knives that cost $300-400, and don't do anything more (or better) for you than a $30-40 knife.

Underrrated - Production knives that cost $30-40, and do everything for you that a $300-400 knife can do (and just as well).
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+1. I don't own any $300 knives but I find it hard to imagine utility value higher than any of my knives, the MOST expensive of which is the SOG NW Ranger that has seen use all of once to make a small fire when we were out on a weekend Jungle walk. But as we have agreed the "cool" factors of good engineering and collector value play a significant part in deciding our willingness to pay. I just wish shipping and customs duties did not 2.5x the cost of any knife for me.
 
Underrated: thin blades which are actually useable for cutting stuff and also don't weigh a ton.

Overrated: heavy, thick-spined, edged pry bars that wedge stuff apart because they are too overbuilt to be great at being actual knives.
 
mkjellgren said:
Agreed, I've never understood the Emerson thing. They aren't particularly good looking, they use quite mundane materials (g10 and 154cm aren't exactly premium materials anymore...), and by most account, the fit and finish leaves quite a bit to be desired. Reliable, durable knives that will last a life time? Yeah, probably. Worth $200+? I don't think so...
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I've had a CQC-7V. Very nice knife. I just bought a micro-Commander for one of my grandsons. It's so nice, I might just buy one for myself.
Sonny
 
Love the BM Griptilion and mini Griptilion. Carry the B M 530 every day.

OK now to start the war, I have never handled a Spyderco that felt like quality. The pocket clips will bend, the handles are week, and the steel has a poor temper.
 
Occasionally, on the Trade portion of the Exchange, I see where one party states that he "has no interest in Spyderco." I always find that amusing, as I'm very fond of Spyderco products, their quality and great variety of styles and materials offered. I guess that represents a difference of opinion.
Sonny
 
Sorry guys but those who are requesting full custom features to their own specifications are the only ones waiting 54 months for a Randall--I just recieved my 23rd and 24th last spring for my birthday.

I can call up one of the forty some odd stocking dealers and get just about every one of the sixty-one different knife models delivered to me with next day service as long as they have the model with the features that I want on hand...Granted, I'll pay a premium (30 to 40 %) for that service and may not get exactly what I want but I will get it the day after tomorrow...It means I may have to settle for a Micarta instead of stacked leather handle or a commando shaped handle instead of a Border Patrol but it's in my hands in 48 hours!

Comparing Busse's marketing to Randall's is ludicrous as is calling Busse a custom maker...He makes what he wants--maybe one or two models only, prices it/them overly high, will offer you the choice of handle or blade colours (sometimes) but doesn't offer a sheath ($150+ extra) and we're supposed to like this...Not saying he doens't make a nice knife with his greatly overrated and non propriety INFI steel but unless you want want he's offering this year you're S.O.L.

Over rated:
Strider and TOPS

Under valued:
DuStar and Grohmann

Under appreciated:
Entrek, DPx, Ek, Mission, Spartan
 
Don't know about overrated. Just because I don't like something doesn't mean it's overrated. Maybe just that I THINK it's overrated.
and because any thread is useless without pictures:

Underrated.
After getting my first Mcusta. I know that they're pretty underrated. It's one of those brands that doesn't get a lot of mention anywhere. But whenever someone does get to handle one they realise that they're excellent quality at a very decent price.
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I'm sure there are others out there. I think Tim Britton is an underrated custom slipjoint maker. At least he doesn't get a lot of chatter on the interwebs whilst his stuff is 1st quality
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Also Suchat Jangtanong is somewhat underrated. Although he's been getting more recognition lately. The stuff he makes at the price he does it for is amazing. Not cheap. Just very good materials/quality/price value.
suchat.jpg


I'm sure there are plenty of others. As for overrated? In my personal book, any folding prybar. You want a prybar that'll never fail. Get a damn fixed blade. It might break, but it'll NEVER fold on your fingers.
 
Over rated: SOG linerless folders have had many stripped screws. Their "SEAL" knife didn't really win any military trials. They don't warranty their sheaths. Copycat company. Misleading steel. Lied about where their knives were produced. A bit of idol worshiping (Spencer Frazier).

Over rated: Cold Steel...Lynn Thompson...need I say more. They had a few problems with the folding Bushman having a flawed design. The 3mm set screw in the tomahawks will not hold up for long. what were they thinking...probably$.

Over rated: Emerson knives has a "gang" like fanbase. Had to raise their all ready too high prices 25-50% to pay for the new factory. Everyone expects a bit better fit and finish on any knife over $100. Emersons blog is sometimes crazy and I have called him on it and only recieved retaliation and without an answer.

Over rated: Microtech keeps NO records of componets and component routing. Had to raise knife prices to compensate for failing gun manufacturing. It costs me $85 for my dealer to send back my broke Troodon and Scarab every time because Microtech won't return them to me if I send them back myself. Why do I even bother with them???
 
over rated - knives with fancy scales selling for high prices but with forge finish and not very polished edges. No bolster
under rated - knives with a lot of fit and finish but aren't exotic looking with bolsters fitted on.

Over Rated- Fixed blades that really don't require a lot of hand work or are cut out on water jet and then get an edge and scales slapped on them.
Under Rated Folding blades that have a lot more work in them but don't sell for that much more than the fixed blades.
 
Seems like many of the users feel Emerson is overrated. I own 2 Emersons (min-com & cqc10) and though I find them a tad expensive compared to my other knives (benchmades and kershaws) the wave feature is handy to the point of being addictive. Between the two, I prefer my cqc10 more due to its simple spear point blade design and chisel grind making it easy to sharpen.

IMO cold steel and hinderer knives are kinda overrated. Cold steel due to their marketing and hinderer due to their price.
 
underated condor,tops condor while i dont own any they have alot of big choppers in tough steel some even micarta scales yet i dont hear them brought up often. tops also is underated considering they use the same or better materials in some cases ,junglas 1095 vs power eagle 5160, and are competitively priced, 250 retail for tops 300 for esee, but both can be found for under 200 easy. overated busse,esee busse and esee are both way overhyped and busse especially are overpriced. the average knife nut cant afford infi no matter how much they want it or it is recomended and hyped. so its not a matter of if u want it youll pay it cause u just are unable to spend the money. which is the worst thing about busse combats marketing that the kids goin into combat are the average ppl who cant afford what he charges
 
It is kind of funny that Emerson seems to get so many overrated hits. If everyone thinks they are not so great, where are the people rating them that have over rated them? Never owned one, and I do see them as very low on the value scale, and will probably never own one. Plus, Daniel Fairly here on BF says the chisel grind is awesome if it is not backwards like Emerson. Not to miss-represent Daniel, here is where I drew my conclusions from, http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/979039-The-Chisel-Grind-Why/page2) So, why pay too much for a knife that is not great quality, and not made ideally? So, to me it comes across as a lowly rated knife. Also, Kershaw is not underrated. I love Kershaw, and so does just about everyone who has had them. So, if they are rated highly to begin with, how can they be underrated? If they consistently get rated 9.5 out of 10 on average, it is a bit of a stretch to say they are underrated. I think overrated is when you hear a lot of hype and recommendations to buy a particular knife and you do and you are let down. I think the real question is what are some sleeper brands that are not mainstream yet. I think what a lot of people are really answering for overrated are brands that mainstream people buy (Gerber, SOG, Cold Steel), and think are just the best, when they are not knife guys and are missing out. I work with a guy who has an old Delica, and commented on how nice it was, and showed him my Spyderco (don't remember which one), and in general just talked about how awesome Spyderco was and he said, "yeah Spyderco is pretty good, along with Cold Steel" He is not a knife guy, and just believes the marketing and hype that gets passed around about Cold Steel (not knocking them btw, just presenting reality).

So, for me, I have never had a brand that surprised me when I received it. I gather opinions from knife people here for the very reason of not being surprised when I make a purchase.
 
over rated - CRK - nothing special about these knives that make them worth almost 500.00 bucks. if they used better steel like M390 or S90V that may help justify the cost, but to me a Sebenza in S35VN/S30V should be selling more in the 200.00 dollar range.

under rated - Enlan - great fit and finish for practically nothing
 
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I disagree with you about Cold Steel. Mostly because I don't think they are rated that highly. They make mostly cheap stuff that's fun. Who else makes Zulu spears and Roman Gladius Short Swords and things like that. But you don't see people comparing them to high-end knives very often.

I have the San Mai III original Tanto that I bought from them 30 years ago. It seems to be a very nicely made knife, it balances well. Not crazy about the rubber-like grip, but it's effective. Especially given the state of the production art circa 1985 I think it's a good knife.

Even brands I don't like have good products. And brands change. SOG is probably a brand I think was better 20 years ago than they are today. Their current habit of laser-cutting their name into everything is irritating. I bought one of their tomahawks and it broke within 5 minutes of use. It's just a stupid crappy design. There is a right way to attach and axe head to handle (or a few of them), but using through bolts on the axe head "tang" isn't one of them. But the original Tomcat was very nice. So even brands I have issues with still can crank out individual pieces that I admire.

The last brand where I admired *everything* they produced was probably Al Mar under Al Mar's leadership. I have an old catalog and every knife in it is a work or art. (These were all production knives, too.)
 
I think Ontario knives are underated. The Rat Model 1 (exception, not USA made) is terrific for 99% of my EDC or "Survival" needs and their 5160 steel knives have never let me down. I think you get alot of USA made knife for your money. I have seen of a handful of their knives fail on the internet but every company has failures, no exceptions. Just test your stuff before you take it out into the field and remember that 2 is 1 and 1 is none and you'll be fine.
Unklfranco
 
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