ALL THINGS BUDGET KNIVES

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?

US $88.11 11%OFF | Titanium Knife C81 PM2 9Cr18Mov Blade Ti Handle Pocket Knives

This is not where I bought mine. The link is dead to the one I bought with S30V.
This is the only other link I found.

EDIT: I just got a response from the store I bought from. They said there store needs to close for 1 month then they will re-open.

Pretty sure the s30v is just a stamp and the blade steel is actually 9cr18mov. Never seen a legit s30v china knife… s35vn, s90v, m390, s110v have seen though.

My budget EDC is the Rick Hinderer XM-18.

Any clue how good/bad can this/these be?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001186651134.html
Spec:

- SHARPNESS AND DURABILITY: Made of 8Cr13 MoV stainless steel, its hardness reach 50-60HRC hardness after 1050° heating and 450°secondary hardening. Good durability and hardness helps to easily cut fruit.

I only buy budget knives these days. I can’t remember one time in the last 70 years when my life depended on a knife regardless of its quality or origin . No grizzly bear attacks , no fighting off a group of angry bikers , no having to cut my arm off because it was stuck under a rock .

Plus if you have to leave it stuck in a bad guy you won’t mind loosing it so much

Here are two clues:

1. 8Cr13Mov - This is not a very good steel. Sure, it’s usually better than junk like 3Cr13 or AUS-6. It’s just not good. Of course, it might be reasonable for the sub-$10 price tag but…

2. Hardness range of 50-60HRC - That’s a huge range! Hardness ranges are usually given within two to three units, not ten. That alone is pretty discouraging. Now consider that the target HRC for 8Cr13Mov is usually 58-60. Most of the knives I’ve seen tested in 8Cr13Mov are at least 56HRC. The median for this knife would be pretty bad. Now imagine if you got one on the low side! Even Walmart’s ultra-cheap Ozark Trail knives in 3Cr13 should be at least 52HRC.

Here is one clue. Victorinox SAKs are made with a steel comparable to the 420 series, even “worse” than 8Cr13MoV.

So what? Slim blade, glides through anything you want to cut with such a tiny knife.
When it’s getting dull, sharpen it with the backside of a cup or plate and you’re fine.
They are considered great knives and sell well, and hey, they never rust.

Get yourself a Vic, or try this one for couriosity. You won’t cut tires or a fence with it.
And guess what, it the times before stainless steel when people didn’t want their fruit to get the nasty taste of iron they used brass blades (the rich ones gold).
Now check the HRC on that. Still worked well.

Don’t worry so much, you might have more knives than you can ever get dull anyways :wink:

I think supersteels are not meant for ordinary knives, but for some industrial knives and special needs. S35VN is considered as the ideal knife steel. Going beyond this is mostly for enthusiasts.

Don’t you know?! As soon as mainstream American knife companies start to use a Chinese budget steel in their “cost efficient” model lines, that steel suddenly becomes an officially good one! :wink:
Anyway I can’t see any problem with 8Cr13MoV for regular EDC tasks. Depending on the design I would consider a knife with that blade steel to buy below the $30 mark although there are plenty of alternatives with D2 or even with 12C27 blade in the $20 - $30 segment.