highoctane

Every 10 dollar knife ive ever had has fallen apart. Junk. Now if you have found one that you like and it works for you, I say go for it.

cj

It depends on what you use it for and how much you use it. In the Frost cutlery items I owned in the past, the steel didn't hold up to much (I think it was 420J or something?) before becoming dull.

I've got a huge range of knives (some valuable enough that I've been trading a single knife for new pistols and getting a check on top of it)...and when I go outdoors, what do I end up using? A $20 Ka-Bar Dozier folder. It handles most jobs just fine. In other situations, yes I'd step up to something else, but it handles 99% of what I do.

Would I recommend it for a tour in Iraq? Maybe as a pocket folder, but not as a primary!

llongshot

The sharpening comment hit home. I normally carry one of a pair of Cold Steel folders that I keep sharp enough to shave. If, as one poster said, you use your knife for a screwdriver, you're not going to want a thin bladed, razor sharp, instantly accessible, high dollar knife. You'd just screw it up driving nails or something.

hidden

My favorite knife in the whole world is a swiss army knife I've carried since I was a wee lad...have had it since I was 7 yrs old, it's been beat up - chewed on by one of my dogs while growing up - dropped a million times - but the blades and tools have held up wonderfully. One of my prized possessions...

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Chooie

There are certain tools that you can skimp on - socket sets, air tools, car jacks and stands, gardening implements, etc - they can be had in serviceable quality and at low cost from many dealers such as Harbor Freight. Does this mean I'll trust them to work on my car or around the house? Sure, but then again, my life will likely never depend on whether a socket breaks or not while torquing down a bolt on my lawnmower. Every tool we use and buy has to meet certain needs - in the case of a defensive folder, it needs to be sharp, strong, easy/fast to deploy, and controllable. Now, I do NOT claim to be any sort of expert on the subject matter - heck, I'm not even a student - but these are opinions that I have formed based on the limited experience that I have had in this area.

If you want an expert's opinion, wait for Brownie to post. ;)

Sharp:
In my view, sharp can mean one of two things - the blade can be a very hard steel that does not lose an edge easily, such as VG10,154CM, or AUS8, or it can be a tough, ductile steel like AUS4 that can be easily sharpened and resists damage through abuse. If you carry a knife STRICTLY as a defensive folder, I would suggest the harder steels with better edge holding abilities. If you tend to abuse your knife (or even just use your knife) you would do well to opt for a less costly, tougher steel and sharpen it religiously. The harder steels can hold a finer edge (17-20 degrees or so), while the tougher steels tend to prefer a larger bevel (25-30 degrees). Either way, you want the blade to be hair shaving sharp.

Strong
You want a knife with a very strong lock that will not close on your fingers. I agree, you don't need to torture test a knife by standing on the lock with the blade wedged between concrete blocks, but you certainly should be able to pick it up, open it, and feel the blade smoothly lock into place, with absolutely NO play in the blade, in any direction. Ideally, a locking folding knife should feel JUST LIKE a fixed blade when open. This means that not only does the blade need to be strong steel, but it needs to be machined properly, supported properly by metal bushings and pins, and the frame needs to have precision steel or titanium inserts to support the locking mechanism, pins, and hinge.

I, for one, have a hatred (perhaps irrational) of liner locks. Sure, they are simple and tough, but they're also impossible to make 100% ambidextrous. For this reason, as a lefty, I stick to Axis locks (and the like), as well as traditional backlocks, both of which are strong, simple, and easy to use with either hand.

Deployment:
A defensive folder should be easy to open one-handed. To me, this means a large, smooth thumb hole, Wave, or pushbutton. My sinister hatred of liner locks permeates through to thumbstuds as well. I just hate them. Thumbstuds have little screws to lose, and if that happens you lose the ability to open the blade rapidly. A hole is just a hole, and a wave is just a hook cut into the steel. Both are dead simple and impossible to screw up. If you live in an area where auto knives are legal, the same applies - I like Benchmade's Auto-Axis knives, where the lock IS the deployment button - completely ambidextrous, simple (for an auto knife) and strong.

This also covers clips. You should be able to, at a minimum, choose to reverse the clip from one side of the body to the other to suit your preferred mode of carry (left hand or right hand). Some knives (such as the Spyderco Delica/Endura) also let you choose between tip up or down carry. I prefer tip up carry, but some prefer tip down, since they assert that this gives you a stronger grip on the knife. Go with what you are comfortable with. No matter what, get some training. It will do you no good to draw your knife, only to fling it across the parking lot because you never practiced your draw or you "changed it up" for no particular reason.

Controllable:

You can't cut anything if you can't hold on to the knife. The handle/grips should be cut, molded, or machined in such a way as to provide positive grip and control of the knife in any grip, in any conditions - especially with rain, sweat, mud, blood, or any other slimy, slippery goop your knife may be covered with. If you can still open, close, and use your knife with ease, even when coated in motor oil, you are going to be able to use it anywhere.

There are TONS of knives out there in the $40-$100 range that give you all of the features that I feel are necessary. Can you get SOME of these features in a $10-$20 knife? Yes, you can - but there are always tradeoffs.

Quality, Price, or Features. Pick two.

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Skygod

I'll add some of my thoughts.

POU (purpose of use) is key in selecting any weapon. With knives it's the same as with firearms. You get what you pay for, with some slight and few exceptions, to which I've been witness to few if any real knives worth a damn for $10-$30.

I have a box full of folders ranging from Gerber to Spyderco to S&W and Benchmade and Emerson and Lone Wolf. There is no doubt that the higher priced knives, at least in my collection, are tools that I would not hesitate to take into battle or into a defensive situation. I don't trust a $39 Kershaw Ken Onion to do the tasks that I do my Lone Wolf Harsey D2 Auto. They are entirely two different qualities of knives and one is practical as a box opener and the other is ready to go down range and take Haji's throat out and then cut my way out of the plexi-glass side of a Blackhawk UH-60.

My fixed blades are Reeve/Harsey GB's and Pacific knives. These are truely tools that will endure most anything that you require your fixed blade to do. If you need to cut wood, you can. If you need to cut cable, you can. If you need to use them as pry bars you can and you wont lose a minute sleeps over whether or not you retain the edge and or regain the edge with a decent sharpening system.

The only knife that I have owned under $100 that I would trust going with me to battle down range is the KA-BAR Mule Tanto folder. If you haven't seen or used one of these, then by all means spend the $49.95 and then tell me if it's not a bargain. It's one of the few underpriced knives that makes the point of this thread.

As you can see I am a Bill Harsey/Lone Wolf fan and Chris Reeve. As well, the Mick Strider line of folder and fixed blades are proven tools with men that use them for the intended purpose, not to open boxes or pop popcorn stuffing with.

Just my .02

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Cuda66

I guess I'd no more carry a $10 knife than I'd carry a $10 pistol...

I like my Sebenza. Worth every penny, in my book.

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QKShooter

"Thumbstuds have little screws to lose, and if that happens you lose the ability to open the blade rapidly."

I like them. Folks should Loc-Tite the screws with Loc-Tite RED.
Then they will never get loose.

cwblanco

[QUOTE=Skygod;1265651]I have all of the above collection and disagree with you for the most part about "fighting knives." As a starter, it is doubtful that either of us have ever been a knife fighter (especially with a folder that you mention). Of course we both probably went through Army training where we ran down the range while punching a dummy with our bayonet and yelling "kill."

You refer to going "to battle down range is the KA-BAR Mule Tanto folder." If we are talking about a fighting knife, we ordinarily would not be talking about folders, much less a knife with a tanto point (the point of which is designed to be used as a tool more than fighting).

In the context of a real fighting knife we would be referring to a sword, bayonet, machete, or a bowie, or other quality knife with a minimum of a 6 to 7 inch blade. Yet it is unlawful in most areas to carry these knives except when hunting, camping, or for household use. A good sword is going to cost several hundred dollars, a thousand, or more. A good Randall fighting knife is going to cost several hundred dollars. I have all of these, but they generally are worthless for most uses. In any event, When we get in knife range, I suspect that we both be using a firearm. If the meanwhile, I always want to have a quality junk knife that I can hammer with, beat the hell out of it, and replace it shortly thereafter. That is the treatment to which my good expensive knives will never be exposed. So they sit in the closet unused for the most part.

ThrillSeeker

I have Randell's, Emerson, Benchmade, Cold Steel, Boker, Blackhawk, and I also have Gerber, Kershaw, Buck, and a bunch of other 5 to 15$ knives that I have purchased at different Gun Shows.

My never leave my side EDC dress knife is my Kershaw Chive. I normally CD at least two others.

I paid 12$ on a Close Out of a Store years ago for the KC.

My loaner knives all fall into the 5-15$ range and they serve their purpose very well.

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