Expensive vs. Inexpensive Fixed Blade

[harvey bennett]

new here. the cheapest knife i have .the one i have had the longest and use it the most. stay's on my life jacket. don't think it is full tang.but have never had a problem with it. easy to sharpen holds good edge. good to clean fish. has saw back root saw its the Glock knife about 30 bucks. i love the 2 i got. i picked up number 2 at flea market 20 bucks.

[Buggyout]

Those Glock knives are neat! Nothing wrong with them at all.

-Buggy

[Morgan101]

The same place I got my K-Bar carried Glock knives. They remind me of Mora knives. The blade seemed a little light, but they do keep a very good edge, and are razor sharp right out of the box. Price was about what you said $30- $40.00 range.

[todd gibson]

I have a $10 Mora 510 and a $12 Mora Classic 1.....both are excellent camp knives. I also have a BHK custom knife that is excellent. Just ordered a BHK frontier valley knife for general camp and food prep chores. May retire all my Case trappers from duty...lol

[Applejack]

Outside of kitchen knifes you guys lost me. Something I guess I will have to check on.

[RICHFL]

Apple jack look at it this way.

You want a knife for general camp activities using it for cutting rope, slicing wood chips for fire starting, carving items for the kitchen from wood, chopping, cleaning game, and self defense. You really cannot use a normal kitchen knife for these functions.They would break, bend, and/or get a big chip out of the blade..

They just are not built to take the punishment. Plus you don't want to carry a full set of knives due to weight, and space.

[Bushcrftfishrmen]

To jeager I would look at tops knives they are around the 150$ range but the knife will last a long time very high quality .

[bountyhunter]

If you want it to last always buy quality.

[Kevin L]

My EDC knives are either a Victorinox swiss army knife with lots of goodies (very practical), and/or a Gerber Leatherman-style multitool.

The Leatherman-style multitool (and I carried many kinds and many brands) was, along with a cheap switchblade and a pair of bandage scissors, the most practical and useful tool that I could carry while working as a paramedic.

I could turn on oxygen tanks, cut seatbelts, pick up dirty needles, pick off ticks, cut tape, deflate tires prior to extrication, and so on.

The switchblade was not a weapon. You are not supposed to manipulate the head of and accident victim, but I have found myself in the water of a partially submerged, overturned car, and have had to hold a victim's head above water with one hand while cutting seatbelts with the other hand and needed a blade that could be manipulated with only one hand.

[slowgun45]

I see this is an old post ,but some one might read this looking for a little help ,my 2 cents are folders ke rshaw blurs and ZT folder which I have on my belt now ,a ka-bar I've carried 30 years it still cuts. my nephew brought a knife from Russia fixed blade and it has been used on elk deer and a lion stays sharp and is easy to bring back the edge

[slowgun45]

oops that did not work good pic to large sorry that show we learn

[Nik]

When I turned thirteen, I was given a bone-handled heirloom blade with a nigh-illegible inscription.
After much research, we determined it was from the Mediterranean Adriatic coast. The writing was in a now-obscure Greek dialect, almost lost when the 'Young Turks' evicted the Greeks, could be translated several ways.

Either it warned, 'Care, I am sharp', or quipped, 'Always point towards a friend'.

Naturally, we called it the 'Friendly Knife'.

I had a perfectly serviceable 'Swiss Army' multi-thing, so the 'Friendly Knife' was retired to the family desk for opening bills...
--
As far as 'Working' and 'Survival' knives are concerned, IMHO, 'cheap' knives are the most expensive, as they will fail you 'in extremis'.

[Applejack]

I have a swiss army knife as well as a Browning whitetail knife. I have another one but it does not have a name on it so I don't know the make. That one I had forgotten about and have had it for years. I used to keep it in car for protection. Very sharp knife . We have several fishing knives as well.

[Beowulf]

I have been looking for a good fixed blade knife. I have several, but wanted to get a REALLY good one. I wanted to get some expert advice here. What is the difference between an inexpensive knife and an expensive knife?

First let's rule out the obvious. I am not talking inexpensive like a $9.99 special that does not have a full tang, and is made out of who knows what kind of metal. I am talking about knives in the $50.00- $80.00 range vs. knives in the $200.00 + range. What makes a $200.00 knife worth $200.00?

Is it 4 times better than a $50.00 knife? Will it last 4 times longer? What will the expensive knife do that the less expensive knife won't do? What kind of things do you look for to know you are getting value?

I would appreciate everybody's input.

I speak from the perspective of both a life long user of knives and as a knifemaker..."What makes a $200 knife worth $200?"...From the viewpoint of a user...I ask myself are the materials,design and craftsmanship appropriate for the knife's intended tasks? (Wood carving,Butchering etc) Has the knife been crafted in such a way either by individual craftsman or industry that I'm willing risk my life in a survival situation if I had only this knife. Does this knife appeal to me? To me if I can answer those questions "yes" then it's worth the $200...From the viewpoint of a knifemaker along with all of the above I also consider the quality,cost and availability of the materials to produce the knife,plus the value I place on my time.. and my skill level in producing an heirloom quality knife. Lots of people produce knives but not every knifemaker has the same skill level or educational background in metallurgy etc... Another thing to consider when comparing the cost of knives that appear to be of equal quality/craftsmanship is this...Knives produced on an industrial scale are made from materials purchased by the truck or train car load..etc The average individual craftsman may only be able to purchase a few dollars worth of steel etc at a time...With the industry buying in such volume they are often able to produce and sell a knife retail for less than the individual can have a set of handle scales shipped to his door.....Is the the $200 knife four times better?...Maybe.. maybe not....that's very subjective..Will it last four times longer.. not always.. but often the answer is yes. What will the expensive knife do that the less expensive knife won't?..Well...quite often it's made custom to the buyer's specification....you won't get that from an industrially made knife.. you may get a few options..you won't be able to say .."Hey can you make the blade an extra inch longer?" etc Anyway just my two cents... hopefully it was of some value..

[Morgan101]

Thanks, Beowulf. Your expertise and opinions are always welcome, and I appreciate you answering all the questions. I'm sure it is just me, but the budget is also a factor. I have a very difficult time justifying, even to myself, spending that much money for a knife, especially when I can spend far less, and get a knife that suits my purpose. Maybe I have been lucky, and maybe I don't use them as often or as robustly as others. I haven't broken one. I haven't been disappointed in any of the knives I have purchased. Again, I opt for what I would call medium range, K Bar, Ontario, Cold Steel, not the $9.99 special from Harbor Freight.