ALL THINGS BUDGET KNIVES

Interesting on that new Artisan Cutlery AR-RPM9 blade steel.

I have only dyed the jade scales I have posted here. No further experimenting.

Ruike P801-SF


I have a bunch of knives, and some were well over 100 dollars, but I can hardly tell any difference between the Ruike 801-sf and the very best of them, I would say the Sanranmu land 9103, 9104, and 910 in both colored scales is butter smooth as well. All my flippers are taken apart for cleaning and better pivot lubricant. You have 5 knives in that list, that deploy easier than the Ruike? I have never had any of them, except the Ruike and the land (the 9103 is now the 912) but they must nearly flip themselves, or the Ruike needs to be taken apart for cleaning, lubricating, and adjusting. The Ruike is still on Amazon for about 30 bucks, which in my opinion makes it the best value knife I know of. The Sanrenmu land knives were when I bought them at Gearbest, while on sale, about 10 bucks each, bought about 40 of them. It is not that the Land is not still as good, but the price has increased substantially where I have seen them sold. I think 21 dollars is the least I have seen lately. The Ruike you listed, which I heard was made at the same Sanrenmu plant, just have enough extra features to be well worth the higher price over the Land. Same caged bearing and stainless steel scales, but slightly better steel in 14c28n vs 12c27, a fipper tab and added blue accents at the pivot and pocket clip. The only advantage the Sanrenmu has is the fact that the pocket clip can be moved to the opposite side. Both brands have the quality, fit, and finish of much more expensive knives. I think the Real steel knives are also made by Sanrenmu. I think 4 out of the 7 knives you listed are made by Sanrenmu. The Lands were their budget brand, the Ruike were their mid-grade knife made for Fenix flashlight company, and Reel Steel were their higher priced knives. Sanrenmu also makes some of the Chinese made knives branded for and sold by Spyderco.

Wow! Gorgeous! Do you know if its on balls bearings? If if the answer is no it will be a good reason to save my money. :smiley:

Sarge12,

From my list of seven knives, any one of those knives could easily be someone else’s number one spot. Their all excellent thumb stud openers. My reason for putting the Ruike P801-SF in 6th place is only because the thumb studs are on the smaller size compared to the others, and I have failed deploying the blade on the first attempt, a few times, especially when my hand is wet. Most of the time the P801-SF opens the first attempt, and it opens like greased lightning, very sweet. If I use the flipper tab the P801-SF is awesome, and has never failed me. But, I was comparing thumb stud deployment for my list.

Anyone here ever come across Asher Knives?
I was really wanting to get one knife with CPM-S35VN steel. I have an S30V and figure it’s pretty close, but I just couldn’t let go. I had toyed with a Kizer… there have been a few models occasionally available at sub $80 prices at White Mountain on sale… and I was about to pull the trigger, when I came across Asher.

This particular model comes in at 3.2” in S35VN. Axis-lock design (probably my favorite, right alongside Arc-Lock). Thumb studs for forward flick action if desired. All at the pleasantly comfortable weight of 3.5oz. So many Chinese knives in this format (3 to 3.5” blade) hit 5oz or more. Looking it over in detail reveals so many nice touches. The standard clip annoyed me, but for just $5 more they offer a deeper carry clip with the bottom edge leveled off. The G-10 has a really nice texture. Steel spacer that’s floating with about 60% coverage (knives with no spacer always annoy me). Asher Knives are designed in Pennsylvania USA and produced in Hong Kong under US supervision. They’ve been in business since 2018. A small but respectable lineup, at very reasonable prices (there’s 20% off for orders above $100)…

OK, that makes sense, I have often wondered why there are thumb studs at all on the Ruike considering how well the flipper tab functions, it is a bit redundant. It does not stick out enough to snag on my pocket or anything though, so it is not obtrusive like some are. I am a fan of both the Ruike and the Sanrenmu. I know some do not like Sanrenmu because it is so similar to the Chris Reeves Sebenza, but to me that is not an issue. It does not claim to be a Sebenza, nor is it attracting the same customer base. Nobody that really wants a Sebenza is going to just settle for a Sanrenmu Land. The question I have is this, is it worth over 400 dollars added to the price for the titanium scales and S35VN? To me, it is not. I also would hesitate to actually use a knife I paid that much for. I do have some knives that were nearly 200 dollars, but even that is too highly priced for me to regularly use, and sometimes abuse them. That is the beauty of the Ruike and Sanrenmu, they function great as a cutting tool, and I do not hesitate to use them as beaters if I need to. Also do not worry much if I lose one…I have many of them. I understand the collectors that do buy them, I am just not one of those kind of collectors. I could easily afford a Sebenza, it just does not interest me.

They’re running on washers (I asked the seller). That’s not a deal breaker for me especially if the knife may see some dust & dirt during use.

Some nitpicking: :slight_smile:

- If weight mattered that much I wouldn’t go for a folder with steel backspacer and full steel liners.

- The heads of the pocket clip screws are protruding. That’s usually a “serious” issue at $25 shipped budget knives. :wink: For $80 they could have done better.

  • The G10 handle scales look the same as the ones at my Land 910plus to me.

So except the blade steel I can’t see too much novelty here (I’m immune to the “designed in the USA” and “US supervision” marketing propaganda :wink: ).
For example in a smaller size the Kizer Fire Ant with S35VN blade and titanium handle looks a better deal to me.

@xevious
I would pick a Kizer any day over this “unknown” brand.
If S35VN and light weight is what you are looking for, the KI4419 can be had right now on AE for $62, weighs 2.85oz and has 4 aluminum scales colors to chose from.
Ki3404A3 Activ Bantam $82, Ti scales, 3.1oz
There are others in Ti/S35VN that can be had below $100.

This is good advice. Sadly, the international market for knives still has a lot of shady territory. Fake steel stamps are a persistent problem. Independent testing by LTK has helped to bust brands like Eafengrow and Fura for trying to pass off 8Cr13Mov, 5Cr15Mov, or worse as D2, S35VN, etc. This has really helped consumers to avoid getting duped. In Eafengrow’s case, they’ve recently responded with a pledge to go legit. (We’ll see if they keep to it.)

The other side of the coin is that this situation makes it hard for new brands. Until they are proven, caution is advised. Inexpensive knives in D2 can be a small gamble but I’d be especially cautious of more expensive knives claiming premium steels like S35VN. Personally, I’d wait until we have confirmation for any new brand.

Right now, we’re in a place where there are several Chinese brands that can be trusted. Kizer is one of them. Kizer maintains a good relationship with the EDC community and has authorized dealers on AliExpress. I have a few Kizers in my EDC rotation and I’ve been very happy with them.

Fair enough. Here are my responses:

- Weight is relative. I’ve seen higher end brands do knives with back spacers & full liners while achieving a weight lower than a comparable design full Chinese brand knife. I was looking for about 3 to 3.5oz knife with 3.5” (or slightly less) blade in S35VN steel. Much of what I saw offered by Chinese brands was coming in at nearly 2oz more weight. And designs that I wasn’t all that keen for.

- A “serious” issue for clip screws with protruding heads? Screws can always be replaced as they’re usually not proprietary. I don’t foresee a problem with these, but if they bother me I’ll swap out.

- The Land 912 appears to have stainless scales. Did you mean 910?

- You missed the axis lock

- You missed the overall blade shape

  • Kizer Fire Ant was something I looked at, but I didn’t want another “box cutter” sheep’s foot style blade. I wanted a drop point. And those are $110.

Kizer, Artisan, Bestech, and Civivi are overall good knife value brands. Their steel seems trustworthy. But as you head up to WE, Realte, etc., there’s a notable leap up in price.

I’m leery of buying from AliExpress, unless the store is brand aligned. You just don’t know what you end up getting. The feedback system there isn’t all that thorough.

How good is the customer service of brands like Kizer? And when you’re dealing with a company based out of China, it can be costly to send back a knife for servicing.

Aside from this specific folder sometimes it’s quite amusing to see the double standard about budget folders while watching reviews on Youtube. What is unforgivable sin at a budget knife it’s only a minor detail at a much more expensive one and it could be easily fixed.
I wrote Land 910 plus. :wink:
I mentioned the Kizer Fire Ant because of the similar price (it is $94 with free international shipping on Aliexpress at the moment) and the much more premium handle setup.

Kizer, Artisan, Bestech, and Civivi are definitely trustworthy.

You’re right about Ali Express. It all depends on the individual sellers over there. The Kizer Knife Store and Kizer Cutlery Store are both authorized dealers. Generally, I’ve had good experiences with the “dispute” system when problems arise on Ali Express.

Kizer maintains a presence on Blade Forums and I’ve had some nice interactions with them over there. I’ve never needed to contact their warranty department. Bestech and Civivi both maintain a US representative for customer service and warranty stuff.

@xevious
As mentioned above, the 2 Kizer stores on AE are Kizer themselves so you shouldn’t have a problem (I just ordered 2 Kizer knives from there myself that I should have in a few weeks).
I have had many Kizers and never had to use their warranty or ship to China, so I cannot attest for their customer service.
Still, you wanted S35VN, light weight and cheap, so I think the KI4419 at $62 can hardly be bit.
If you’re uncomfortable with AE, it can be bought on BladeHQ for $80. I would still pick that over The Asher. At least, Kizer is a tried and true company.

Also, if you don’t mind skulls, the CH3504 can be had on AE for around $90 (I think Fasttech had it cheaper but it seems they’re currently not shipping to the US). I think it’s a heck of a deal for this knife, steel has been tested to be true but it’s heavier than what you would like.

Sorry, I had several Sanrenmu Land tabs open at once & mixed up the 910 vs. 912. The 910 scales are similar, but not quite the same.

My Asher knives just arrived today. They seem to be on par with the impressions given in the details & photos. Fit & finish is superb. No hot spots. G-10 edges are nicely chamfered. Steel liners are slightly rounded off so no hot spots. Everything is flush. Nothing uneven. Action is firm & predictable. Total blade lock. Steel finish is excellent. I just checked their website and the Nomad is now sold out.

Screws don’t bother met in the least. And actually I don’t mind a little extra depth for the screw sockets to mitigate stripping.

I do like the Kizer Fire Ant, and I was very close to picking up the one with gold accents… but I just wasn’t warming up to the blade shape. I have a sheep’s foot blade right now and it’s fine, but for a higher price point, I want something more like a drop point or a tanto. I was also looking for high quality G-10 or Micarta scales (titanium looks nice but shows scratches easily).

Yes, the Kizer KI4419 looks like a decent knife and ticks off a lot of the right boxes. But one of my criteria was to have an axis lock. Also a more traditional textured G-10 scale finish. Anodized aluminum is prone to scratching off. Price wise, for delivery to USA these are coming up as $80 on AE.

Yep, but if you add it to your cart, there is an instant $18 price drop :wink: but it doesn’t matter if you were looking for an axis lock anyway.
I’m glad the fit and finish on the Asher is good (and it should be for an $80 G10/steel liners), what I was more worried about is the S35VN steel blade itself and the heat treat on it. Kizer has proven itself, for Asher, time will tell.
I remember another S35VN knife from some other company that was selling for $50 (LA police gear if memory serves me well), everybody was talking about it a couple of years back, but then when used and tested, it actually performed poorly (even though it was real S35VN).
If you’re happy with you’re knife, in the end it’s all that matters :wink:

Which knife model is this? Looks amazing.