Which Company Now Offers the Most Extreme Price:Product Quality/Performance Folders?

lonestar1979 said:
Victorinox is no1,opinel is pretty good too
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I agree with Victorinox. I swore off opinel when I kept getting them a little bit wet and couldn’t open them.
Kershaw Blur in S30V. Spyderco salt in LC200n is right around a C note.
 
I think many of the knives coming from Maniago Italy fit this description, Viper & Lionsteel to name a couple

For example, on their flippers they are using Ti frame construction; roller thrust pivots, integral locks and M390 blades for $100-200.

Their slipjoint folders incorporate integral Ti liners & bolsters with M390 steel and premium scales such as stag, exotic wood and carbon fiber for about $100

and they have professional designers - Silvestrelli, Voxnaes & Anso to name a few
 
There are entirely too many companies in the budget knife league to list any single one, five, or even ten as the best.
If I had to pick one for myself with my preferences and usage. It would be a Kershaw Oblivion or Passage for general use. If I need a gentleman's type knife that slices great. I would go with an Opinel. But with Walnut or wood handles that resist tightening too much from humid weather. I am not a fan of their Olive wood handles as they tend to become too stiff in humid weather.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Show me one that cuts things better than a $9 Opinel and I'll happily agree with you, but in terms of materials and performance to cost Opinel is vastly better than any of the brands you've named.
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I love my Opinel Million series. I use it to remove a recurring callus from my foot and it slices perfect with no resistance or failure.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Show me one that cuts things better than a $9 Opinel and I'll happily agree with you, but in terms of materials and performance to cost Opinel is vastly better than any of the brands you've named.
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The steel they are made with holds an edge worse than a cheap steak knife. And if you get them wet, the wood around the blade swells up to the point that you need pliers to open them.
 
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DMG said:
What is the million series?
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I misquoted. My apologies. It is the Billon Series. Here are a few pics. It is marked Billon 97.
 

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Stahlmann said:
Not at all. The brands you mentioned are all high value. No question. They're just not hyper-value knives for the most part like we're seeing more and more. They are however solid knives at prices that don't reflect potential collector value, pretentiousness or just plain fatuity.
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Stahlmann said:
As noted above, both companies offer models with very high bang for the buck scores. Neither however offer the heretofore unknown truly hyper bang for the buck levels like some of the offerings that push the industry forward.
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What’s the point of asking for opinions and then telling people their opinions are wrong? What’s your “scoring” methodology?

For great value I’d go with a SAK in whatever configuration works as an all around pocket tool. In terms of a generic folder, CIVIVI is killing it lately. Hard to beat what CIVIVI is putting out. I don’t care for any of the other brands you mentioned.
 
kobold said:
... Even though it has the best edge geometry (matched only by the Spyderco Chaparral) it was the worst performing steel in terms of edge retention.
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I do like the thinness of the Opinel blade stock. If they used better steel at a reasonable hardness, and I got one with decent fit and finish, my opinion could be restored. The lower cost of their product may be a stumbling block but if Mora can do it, why can't they?

While Opinel is cheap, the curve of diminishing returns can work both ways. The jump from $10-20 to $20-30 is relatively inconsequential for a primary EDC item and can bring a huge increase in quality. It can mean the difference between 3Cr13, 4Cr14, etc. and a good Sandvik steel. The OP mentioned Sanrenmu, which I'm pretty sure is the manufacturer for Land, Ruike, and Real Steel. Their $20ish knives in 12C27 can easily cut circles around 8Cr13Mov.

I'd like to see more modern EDC folders with thinner stock. Coincidentally, both the Tangram Santa Fe and Petrified Fish 719 I mentioned have thinner stocks than average.
 
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DMG said:
The steel they are made with holds an edge worse than a cheap steak knife. And if you get them wet, the wood around the blade swells up to the point that you need pliers to open them.
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Never had either issue with mine. Geometry has a much more profound effect on edge holding than any other single factor and that's what they excel at and boiled linseed oil will pretty well solve any swelling issues. But even so, neither of those are particularly germane to the topic at hand. As far as performance for price, I genuinely don't know of anything that touches Opinel as long as we're discussing cutting things and not flipping it open and closed.
 
I guess it depends if you are cutting butter or tougher materials and how much. Not all things are equal in the usage from one person to the next. In my experience the ultra cheap knives that have been mentioned aren’t worth my time to invest in for my work. Preparing my food for lunch isn’t the same as the work I use them for. I’ve tried them and was very disgusted with the soft metal that rolls just whittling some pine wood. Easy to sharpen usually means soft.

There are however some very good lower end cost knives under $40 with excellent heat treatment that can cut a lot of tough materials for a decent amount of time and still not to hard to sharpen. Bucks 420hc Bos ht is for my money the best bang for the buck. There’s some others in the super steels that are also a good value, some under $100, and I haven’t been disappointed. So for cutting fiber re enforced silicone hose, rope, poly twine, plastic tubing, industrial gasket material, and other industrial materials I prefer the blades with higher hardness and good ht and better corrosion resistance. Yes they cost a bit more but the performance I get in tough hard work is worth it.
 
Hanne762 said:
As far as beating Ganzo, I've found an eight pound sledge works best.
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Maybe start your own "proof test" video channel on U tube . :confused:

Just pound various knives and things with your big hammer . o_O

I'd actually like to see how Ganzo etc other cheap "beaters " would do compared to your favorites . :rolleyes:
 
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For my purposes it is very hard to beat Civivi. I get the arguments that opinel knives cut fantastic and I do own one but they also do not have very many of the features that I look for in a pocket knife. Two handed opening knives are not really my cup of tea unless they are multitool SAK types. The lock that they feature is neither convenient nor particularly secure. Will they cut things? Sure. However if you are looking for best bang for you buck for a complete knife with a variety of features it is pretty hard to beat civivi right now.

Want something in Damascus? They have it. Prefer Micarta? You are covered. Flipper? Yup. Thumbstud? They have that too. Thumb hole? Not a perfect sphere but they have plenty that will spyderflick. Most of them also come at a price under 100 and more often than not closer to 60$. They run 9Cr on the less expensive (30-40$) then you can get a ton of their blades in pretty good D2, they run some in S35VN, and now they are starting to use more of 14C28N which is a fantastic budget steel. They really do have something for everyone. Im sure they are going to start jumping into the sliding bar lock as well now that benchmades patent on the axis lock has expired so that will be a new chapter to look forward to.
 
For me, it's entry level Victorinox without a doubt, since it offers literally dozen of functions other than just a cutting blade, probably the best QC in cutlery world and lifetime warranty.
 
c7m2p3 said:
For my purposes it is very hard to beat Civivi. I get the arguments that opinel knives cut fantastic and I do own one but they also do not have very many of the features that I look for in a pocket knife. Two handed opening knives are not really my cup of tea unless they are multitool SAK types. The lock that they feature is neither convenient nor particularly secure. Will they cut things? Sure. However if you are looking for best bang for you buck for a complete knife with a variety of features it is pretty hard to beat civivi right now.

Want something in Damascus? They have it. Prefer Micarta? You are covered. Flipper? Yup. Thumbstud? They have that too. Thumb hole? Not a perfect sphere but they have plenty that will spyderflick. Most of them also come at a price under 100 and more often than not closer to 60$. They run 9Cr on the less expensive (30-40$) then you can get a ton of their blades in pretty good D2, they run some in S35VN, and now they are starting to use more of 14C28N which is a fantastic budget steel. They really do have something for everyone. Im sure they are going to start jumping into the sliding bar lock as well now that benchmades patent on the axis lock has expired so that will be a new chapter to look forward to.
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I very much like CIVIVI. The Riffle is just a fantastic knife and really hasn't left my pocket since I got it. I honestly much prefer carrying it to carrying my Opinels because I do enjoy having a pocket clip and I like flipping it open and closed because the action is fantastic ;).

However, even though I think it's an absolute steal at $55, I still find my Opinels perform better at almost every cutting task I've used them for and they're a sixth of the cost.

That's kind of the issue with questions about performance/cost ratio questions. You typically see a lot of answers that are much more about what knives and brands we really like than sincerely apply to the question asked. For a $20 knife to beat an Opinel in price to performance ratio it realistically has to cut more than twice as well or, maybe, as well but for twice as long. $27 you're looking for triple the performance, etc. The initial cost is so low that even fairly small increases in price demand massive increases in performance to match.

I love my Riffle. I will carry it over my Opinel 99% of the time if given a choice between the two, but the Riffle is not 6 times the knife an Opinel is.
 
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