Expensive vs. Inexpensive Fixed Blade

[dalewick]

Here is my "new" knife. It just cost me time, skill and some things I collected along the way.

Made from dacite, bison leg bone, pine pitch resin and artificial sinew (didn't have the real stuff.).

[Morgan101]

Beautiful job, Dalewick. Will you actually use it? That has to be a labor of love. I'm not so sure I could take that out in the woods, and start whacking things up. Beautifully crafted. I hope it works well for you.

[dalewick]

Beautiful job, Dalewick. Will you actually use it? That has to be a labor of love. I'm not so sure I could take that out in the woods, and start whacking things up. Beautifully crafted. I hope it works well for you.

I'll probably sell it but I have made and used such knives. It's a good feeling to take a hunk of rock and end up with a blade that I can use to gut and process game. It gives me a connection to what our ancestors had to do just to survive. All of us are connected to each other through those ancestors since all of our ancestors broke rocks to survive.

Dale

[CountryGuy]

Here is my "new" knife. It just cost me time, skill and some things I collected along the way.

Made from dacite, bison leg bone, pine pitch resin and artificial sinew (didn't have the real stuff.).

Dale,
That Sir is a sexxy ass caveman knife!! Beautiful work.

[dalewick]

Dale,
That Sir is a sexxy ass caveman knife!! Beautiful work.

Country, Thank you sir.

Dale

[registror]

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.

all of this work was done with stone and wooden tools for millienia. NOTHING makes a knife worth even $50 to me. I dont bother to own more than an Old Hickory paring knife. Knives are much, MUCH too limited in potential for me to bother with carrying. My BOB has a Cold Steel E-tool, and some replacement saw blades, to be held in the visegrip of my EDC Crunch. which is highly modified. There is just no way that any knife can be even 10% as useful as these two tools.

Chopping is noisy, inefficient and dangerous. Even breaking dead timber is noisy and can be dangerous if you slip and fall or if a flying piece of wood hits you in a vulnerable spot.. Sawing is efficient, pretty safe and its QUIET, if you dont go at it like a beaver. Furthermore, insulation is the way to stay warm, along with moving where it's not all that cold in the winter. Leaving tracks in the snow is a no-no when you have to worry about hostile people. So dont think in terms of needing lots of firewood, much less using an axe much at all.

Just because people used to have to get by on what they could do with a belt knife does not mean that we are so limited. The shovel, without the handle, is a lb. The Crunch and saw blades total 3/4 lb. The shovel, with no handle, is a small skillet, a trowel, a pry bar and a pretty good 'big knife". The file blades on the Crunch keep everything sharp. Rig the shovel and the Crunch to be dis and re-assembled with your bare hands. With other handles, the shovel can be a standup, full size shovel, vertical ice-chipper, axe, machete, adze, hoe, weed-whacker, paddle. Drill a hole thru the paddle's end, and lanyard it to yourself or the raft/boat, so you cant lose it to the water.

[Dorobuta]

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.

What are uses you are anticipating for the knife?

I carry a Gerber LMF as my utility knife in the field.I keep several other knives in my kill kit, an also have a multitool. I don’t use my field dressing knives as utility knives. I also have a few sharpeners in my gear, one in my kill kit and one or two in other places. I also have a knife with replaceable blades.

the Gerber has not let me down, and is cheap enough that replacing it won’t break the bank.

in the old days, experienced trappers would recognize tenderfoots buy how few knives they carried. Having more than one is always a good idea:

two is one, one is none.

[Dorobuta]

Don’t go cheap on knives, but you don’t have to spend hundreds either.

you don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere and be without a knife because you went cheap, in the best of times. (Been there, done that)

if you spend any time in the woods at all, you will want decent gear, especially when it comes to knives.

[Dorobuta]

Registror -

Do it all tools seldom do it all very well. Try using the tool set described for real, for a week or two in the field. Then let us know how you feel then.

[Tugaloo]

Although I have others, I prefer steel similar to the WWII Ka-bar as it is easy to keep sharp with nothing more than a simple stone.. I have others made of "fancy" steels. Although they stay sharp longer, when they dull. it is a major PITA and all knives, hatchets or whatever get dull.
A no slip grip is quite important when one's hands are slippery with whatever...

[Tugaloo]

Don’t go cheap on knives, but you don’t have to spend hundreds either.

Very good advice.
Today, the buyer's focus is on the latest and greatest tactical offerings However, in the last few years, there are quite a few excellent knives at a greatly reduced prices.

[Garand]

You are buying something that you may need to save your life in the future, buying by price tag is stupid. Old question, "whats your life worth?"

[Tugaloo]

You are buying something that you may need to save your life in the future, buying by price tag is stupid. Old question, "whats your life worth?"

IMO, military surplus knives or a decent hunting knife are the way to go. In addition, know how to sharpen it and have the means to do so.