ALL THINGS BUDGET KNIVES

@Zappaman:

What's your budget, and do you want a manual flipper or maybe an assisted-opener?


.
Wow ! I will have to buy one, Thanks for sharing your pic. :smiley:
I see it rotates the blade for accessing the point.
.
I Started with a Smiths and switched to a Lansky Deluxe 5-Stone Sharpening System now.
The problem I always have is the blade clamping inconsistency, so I modded the clamp for a slightly deeper grip.
But some blades are best to take pictures of the clamp position for repeating, especially longer blades with 2 clamping positions.
.

Hey Rcity…

My budget is maybe around $40ish, but I’d go a bit more to hit on a GREAT deal :smiley: I have found some old Eye Brands around on eBay but I’m looking for a single 3”(ish) blade with a pretty standard blade (not too much kick, I like a little round down out at the tip). A flip out with an assisted spring (finishing the flip) would be my preference. But the steel needs to hold a better edge so I can work a few deer off the bone in an afternoon without needing to steel it much.

Honestly, my Kershaw ($7 about 4 years ago on an online Groupon deal- 2 for $14!) has done the job a few times and I know it’s not the best steel (I lost the other one in the airport sadly). But it’s held together and I like the open frame metal handle design ok. But the blade is not my favorite for holding it’s edge well. What I want is a folding field dress knife I can pocket— like the old Eye Brand 3” I had from 1984-1991- that was a GREAT knife ($30 back then). Ebay has a few and I could cough-up about $50 or so for an old vintage. But wondering is this new Japanese steel I read about can be had for a good price- no frills just SOLID… like Conyoy lights!

I also don’t mind pulling the screws and lock-tightening them, etc. Kinda like modding lights- tweaking is part of about anything I buy anymore.

Thanks for any ideas :beer:

If you want a nice assisted-opener for that kind of budget, your only manufacturer choice is Kershaw, which is what I buy exclusively now.

I would recommend the Kershaw Leek.

It's probably cheapest on eBay, as there are plenty of them to choose from there.

14C28N steel is pretty good.

Unfortunately, assisted-openers with better steel generally sell for a premium that's above my budget.

...

Here's a thread that's all about my favorite knives, though I think the Leek is the best fit for your needs:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/50173

...

There's only one knife that I like more than my Leek, but it's kinda pricey and it has a 3.5" blade.

Well… good advice :+1: :+1: :+1:

I just ordered two from a nice seller on eBay. I look forward to using them!!! Thanks Rcity!!!

Just ordered this cheap 7” Nakiri knife to try. It’s $28.50 after the 25% off clip coupon.

Obviously not expecting miracles at this price. It claims to use a rather low-end EN1.4116 German High Carbon Stainless Steel, Made in China of course.

If it chops veggies no better than my $9 Thai Kiwi knife, then I’ll be sending it back. :slight_smile:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B3D2TF9

just like Thro said:
“…this knife is so smooth and fun to flip.”

i never understood the Fidget Spinner craze.
flipping folders for fun is so much better.

EnZo Trapper 95 with N690Co steel Scandi grind. Green canvas micarta. Blade at the spine is 3.5mm thick. Made in Finland.

Not exactly budget as in chinese budget, but as far as quality bushcraft knives go, this was about $140 with the leather sheath, vs $300 to $500 for bespoke knives.

Got the Mosfiata Nakiri… quality seems reasonable for the price. Good at chopping veggies.

Need to find a better sharpener for it as I’m not sure if my cheap manual 2-stage sharpener is going to do it justice.

I bought an EnZo Birk 75 folder in D2, carbon fiber scales and Scandi grind a few years back and love the knife.

Made in Taiwan and not Finland, but great nevertheless.

German D2 too boot.

Chris

So that Mosfiata Nakiri just feels too big and unwieldy. Going to send it back.

For basic chopping duty, these cheap Thai Kiwi knives for $12 a pair (even cheaper if you can find them locally at an Asian grocery store) are hard to beat.

One of the most impressive pocket knives I have reviewed lately:

Review: Review With Armour Thor

I got similar knives (sticker with impossible glue across the handle and all) for like 5bux a pop on Amazon, hoping they’d cut through frozen meat.

Ah, found ’em. These… Amazon.com

Tried regular chef’s knives (Henckel, Wüstof, Kuma) and even a nice cheap budget Choinese cleavah (Winco), but they’re all thick bladed and act more like a wedge than a razor, and it takes 10min+ to cut a slab off a frozen pork loin.

I thought the thinner blade of those cheepcheepcheep knives would work better, but not really. Less “wedging”, but still lots of work. And the blade tips bend when you look at ’em wrong, so gotta be careful.

Short of a bandsaw, anyone got recs for a knife that might be made for something like that?

After 5+ years, the tip on my old Kiwi knife (like the one you linked to) is still intact. I do not use it for cutting frozen stuff though. Not really sure what would be good for that duty. I usually cut larger meats into smaller portions BEFORE freezing them if I know I’m going to only need to defrost a part of it at a time.

Things like chicken parts, etc., I could just open the end of the (frozen) package and “break off” however many drumsticks, etc., I’d want to use, then reclose the package and not taint the remainder.

But I would get pork-loin “steaks”, like 3-4 on a tray, and when we were all snowed in up here, I called in an order vs going there, and asked for 2 trays. Oh, they sent two trays of 4lb whole PLs. :person_facepalming: Still working on the last of the 2nd one.

What I tried was like cutting an ice-cream cake, ie, heating the blade in hot water and cutting a little deeper with each pass, but it didn’t help all that much.

I figured with all the brazillion types of specialised knives, from bread knives to filleting knives and whatnot, there had to be something more or less “fine-tuned” to cutting frozen foods.

Back to the ol’ Kiwis, I guess…

Lightbringer, why are you putting yourself through such tremendous agony while cutting frozen meat? :smiley: Just buy the right tool for the job and be done with it. I own the 22” and it disassembles in 10 seconds for the dishwasher. Many people use a regular hacksaw with great success… after they have been through the dishwasher to sanitize.

https://www.amazon.com/Weston-Butcher-Stainless-Steel-47-1601/dp/B001BQAQ88/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=meat+saw-weston

or

https://www.amazon.com/Weston-Butcher-Stainless-Steel-47-2201/dp/B000T3OV1C/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=meat+saw-weston

Whoa… I could be like the Dexter with that thing. :laughing:

Here you go. :slight_smile:

https://www.amazon.com/VBENLEM-110V-Commercial-Bone-Machine/dp/B084C3SK1R

Mmmm, not quite “budget”, but… :laughing: