ALL THINGS BUDGET KNIVES

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.

Who knows…

I have been reviewing Chinese knives for over 5 years, always from good Chinese brands, on my blog and YouTube channel, and one thing I recommend is that you always buy from reputable and revised Chinese brands, so that you do not get a bad surprise.

You can see some of my reviews and they can help you in these purchases.

Greetings!

Seller on Ebay has a 2pc lot of new Sanrenmu 710’s for $29, free shipping. I have a few of these and they are very nice little frame locks if you don’t mind tip down carry.

Bestech Ivy. Different colors. S35VN I think it’s new. New to me anyway.

PM2 Ti S30V on Ceramic Bearings, Clone,Copy,Fake, whatever…So Damn Smooth

To me, the most important part of knife quality is the blade steel/heat treatment. There have been budget knives that caught my eye in the past (like the Ken Onion-designed Kershaw knives, for example) but poor edge retention always has them in the back of my knife drawer after a while. And I shouldn't say "poor" edge retention; just less edge retention than the premium blades I have.

And edge retention shouldn't even be an issue... I have a great selection of sharpening gear and enjoy putting a shaving sharp edge on my blades. But the premium blades have spoiled me, and I seldom buy anything less than a Benchmade or Spyderco that attracts my attention (I did buy an interesting Kershaw/Ken Onion Leek because it offered a D2 steel edge fused to the milder stainless blade).

I'm starting to see more "budget" knives advertising premium blade steels and my knife-buying budget has shrunk considerably since I retired, so I'll be taking a much better look at budget knives.

I mostly carry budget knives. As a result, I look for "budget gems" that perform well at a great price. In my experience, edge retention on Chinese D2 is okay but largely overrated. The low corrosion resistance is an issue for me as well. I'm much happier with VG-10 or N690. I also prefer 14C28N to Chinese D2. I think 9Cr18Mov is okay from a company that treats it well (Civivi and Real Steel are good examples). Artisan recently developed a powder metallurgy version of 9Cr18Mov (AR-RPM9) that could have advantages. Knives in AR-RPM9 are just starting to hit retailers.

A good resource for evaluating steels from different manufacturers is Outpost 76 on YouTube. He does well-controlled cut-testing. He also sharpens down past the factory edges before testing and repeats testing with subsequent edges to get consistent results. He and a few other testers have noted issues with a couple of those premium-steel budget knives but you'd have to look into the specifics.

Thanks for that bit of information! That's just the kind of thing I'd look for, and enjoy watching.

Link?