ALL THINGS BUDGET KNIVES

I have one and it’s a lot smaller than I’m looking for, I want something heavy duty and about 10”/25cm overall. The Mora (Bahco 2444) is about a inch and a half shorter has a delicate thin blade.

I have a Bahco 2449 wrecking knife and a Hultafords Heavy Duty GK knife which are both bigger and have thicker blades but I’m looking for something bigger than those as well.

That looks like a great alternative to the Prawn. The thinner 0.12" blade stock should be a much better fit for that blade length. The S35VN should be much better for EDC.

I haven't tried any of the premium Bestechs but my experience with their budget knives has been fantastic. Fit, finish, and action are all excellent and have actually improved since the Pebble was released. If you end up getting one of these, please share your experiences with it here.

The Desert Fox is currently $60 on Amazon. What was the going price when it was in production?

I ask because if you love the knife and you love the sheath, that might not be terrible. It looks expensive compared to fixed blades in 9Cr18Mov from Schrade, CRKT, etc. but those are junk. My experience with Harnds has been okay. Compare it to decent fixed blades in 9Cr18Mov from Real Steel or Steel Will: https://www.bladehq.com/cat--Fixed-Blade-Knives--179#/filter:price:40:90/filter:blade_material:9Cr18MoV

Beyond that, do you have any preferences regarding steel, sheath type, etc.? For another $10, you could get a Ruike Jager. The Jager is a very nice fixed blade. It's a little more compact but still a good size. I prefer that kind of sheath for regular carry. It's also 14C28N. Its particular balance of toughness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance makes 14C28N a great choice for fixed blades.

I recently purchased this J. E. Made Nessmuk. I don’t know anything about the manufacturer but I believe they are a Chinese company. This is a superb knife.

The LW Boa II is an excellent knife for the money

Got this qsp penguin in green micarta with D2 blade. Very nice knife for the money.

I have it in blue. They’re definitely worthy of the praise they get.

I have the same green QSP Penguin. Got it from Drop. But mine has a very weak detent and the blade easily falls open, so I’ve never carried it. Don’t want to reach into my pocket and get surprised by a sharp blade.

Something is wrong with yours then. The detent is very decent on mine.

To bad it is a great knife.

I have this knife, too, and it has a very nice detent. If you have a torx set, see if the pivot screw is loose, it might just need to be tightened.

I also have this knife and mine is decent. Like some other people here, I got it on Drop when the price was irresistible.

Remember that things can go wrong in production. Every once in a while, a lemon can squeak its way through Quality Control. That seems more common in this tier of budget knives. Besides trying lots of different budget knives for myself, they tend to be my default gift for others (in addition to flashlights). I inspect, clean, and lube every single one of them including disassembly whenever possible. I've seen issues with QSP, Ganzo, CJRB, Tangram, and even Kizer's Vanguard line. If it's something I can fix myself, I do. Otherwise, I contact the company. Most of the time, they want to make it right. So if adjusting the pivot tension doesn't work, contact QSP.

my penguin detent is also good

I think the Civivi Ortis is a great budget option at $40, I got the black blade with OD handle.

That sucks to hear. As Swabs suggested, Hopefully it is an easy fix.

I’ve been thinking about getting one. Every Civivi I’ve bought has been flawless.

I have about 14 mora knives. I bought different color ones and made a display rack . The 4 or 5 I actually use are sharp and so far indestructible.

Since I have OCD I have to buy multiples of everything. Watches, guns , knives , gas masks , swords , medieval helmets , flashlights , guitars (I can’t hardly play) whatever .

I have a bunch of models as well. The only one I found lacking was the fracture which was not very sharp on arrival. I tried to strop it and it got worse, so I had to sharpen it on a stone, a skill which I’m still not very good at. It’s a little better now but I havent used it, kinda bought it on a whim since it was so cheap at $30.

I did have an elementum with a stripped pocket clip screw and the clip would move out of place, was able to order some new screws from them and I loctited them in so it’s good now.

Really like the Ortis, very solid and low cost. it has a similar blade shape to the Dogma, but Dogma has better closing action.

It was about $48-52 at FastTech and had been as low as $40 on Amazon at one point.

It shows its unavailable to me on Amazon, maybe they don’t send knives here or something.

I actually ended up buying it after telling myself I wouldn’t because it’s too much, with 10% GST (tax) it ended up costing about US$80 which is a lot more than I wanted to pay.

Some of those Steel Will knives look very interesting however shipping from the US is a deal killer, plus taxes and currency conversion. I just found they don’t ship to Australia as well trying to see what the total would be.

Anything from the US is pretty much out of the question though as most places charge $50+ just for shipping to Aus.

I ended up getting a few of the Tonife Squirrel knives as well just for small tasks, the company that owns Harnds owns Tonife as well.

I emailed Harnds and have found out Flyer Industrial Co. Is the parent company and aside from making Harnds and Tonife they also manufacture CRKT, Boker and others. They said Simlar knives they OEM for US companies sell for $150+ just due to branding.

He also mentioned that the Desert Fox was such a popular knife that they are considering bringing it back next year using a different steel.

Anyway, I spent about x4 as much as I intended to on knives (I originally only wanted 1) so that will have to do for a long while.

I broke my favourite knife earlier this year and have been looking for something to replace it ever since so this will be an excellent replacement I’m sure.

I thought I remember a few folks looking for this. TwoSun TS128-S90V is back in stock at White Mountain Knives. $99 Free shipping too. Nice for the US folks not wanting to wait on overseas shipping.

Found this huge D2 knife. Question is if it’s real D2 or some cheap Chinese junk steel.
www.aliexpress.com/item/4000708305295.html

Edit:
Another one. In the headline it’s D2, description says 8CR18MOV. Guess both are 8CR18MOV.
www.aliexpress.com/item/4000836392692.html

Do you think the first is worth 30 usd with 8CR18MOV steel?

Never heard 8Cr18MoV, old 13, 14 or 19.

Anyways, it’s marketed as an outdoor knife. I’d prefer 8Cr13Mov to D2 in wet or humid conditions.
Also 8Cr should be easier to resharpen with simple tools like a flat stone if there’s nothing else at hand.