ALL THINGS BUDGET KNIVES

Schrade knives $6 and up
with code WELCOME20.
free shipping, too. one example:

https://www.schrade.com/sale/?srule=price-low-to-high&start=0&sz=12

… and they biffed it. I just got an email saying they accidentally oversold a bunch of their clearance stuff. They are sorry and are giving out some one-shot coupon codes for 15% off.

Can I find on Ali or other site 5 inch fliper knife with solid lock sytem?

I got the same email, but replied wanting to “make a deal” with what they might actually have.

Turns out the knives I ordered weren’t available in the usual box but the plastic clamshell packages only, and I said I don’t care about that, I’ll take ’em, so they were ostensibly just shipped today.

So looks like all of mine are complete, woohoo!

They seem to have nice smooth action except the “stonewash” ones (no model number that I saw listed), which seem a bit “gritty” and tight.

They’re all shaving-sharp out of the box, though. Found that out the hard way. :confounded:

That’s what I get for reading emails on my mobile. :weary:

I went through the website looking for a comparable swap. So many of their knives are tip-down only. A bunch are assisted. Some were too heavy. Most were 8Cr13Mov… In a lot of ways, their catalog feels years out of date. The only thing that made any of these remotely interesting was the pricing on the clearance sale.

I’ll see if something works out. Otherwise, I’ll get my $6.99 or whatever back plus a coupon code that I’ll probably never use. BTW, how bad of a cut?

Wellp, I’m not really A Knife Guy so even outdated stuff works fine for me, if only that I don’t know any better. :laughing:

Like that go,comma branded PF clone that GB was selling for something like 7bux a pop. I got a few, expecting them to be “disposable” but I’m still banging on my first one that’s holding up great.

My small Sanremu with a thumb stud is nigh impossible (to me) to open one-handy, but the go,comma and most of the S&Ws with flipper-tabs open soooooo smoothly and nicely. Only the stonewash is tight enough to only open part-way.

But for the prices, hellyeah, I’ll take ’em!

Oy… :person_facepalming:

I only got one other AO, and it clicks into place almost gently, whereas the S&W snaps open with one Hell of a kick.

I was holding it gingerly with only fingertips, seeing how far it needs to go before the spring kicks in and opens it. Was wearing only shorts and flipflops (if only I were Ukrainian, that’d be enough safety gear for driving nails through 18650s, but I’m not).

Anyhoo, it kicks, I lose my grip and drop it, it hits tail-first on the floor and “bounces” somewhat, and gives me a little scratch by my instep. Or so I thought. “Whew, just a scratch…”, only a few seconds later it starts to bleed. And bleed. And bleed. Wtf, am I a closet hæmophiliac?? Nope, it didn’t just give me a scratch, but went straight-in a good ¼ inch or so, the whole tip.

Wellp, that’ll learn me…

The budget market has really come a long way in recent years. Check out brands like Civivi, Tangram, Ruike, CJRB, Harnds, Petrified Fish, etc. Sanrenmu still makes a bunch of tip-down only knives, combo edges, knives in junk steel, etc. However, they also make some amazing knives like the Land series in 12C27. AFAIK, they also make the Ruike and Real Steel knives. Also take a look at the difference between much older Ganzo stuff and their more recent FH line in D2. The S&W knives are clearly on the far side of the rift between where the market was and how far it has come.

Assisted actions have largely been phased out because great manual actions have gotten easier and cheaper to make. Now even sub-$20 counterfeits can be had with captured bearings and dialed-in detents. I seem to recall that cheap and mislabeled Go,Comma (which was made by Petrified Fish) having excellent manual action. Combined with legal issues in some places and mechanical issues such as needing to replace torsion bars in Speedsafe knives, the overall community has been trending away for a while now.

As far as steel, 8Cr13Mov is finally becoming a point of derision. It still rules the big box knife stores with offerings from Kershaw, CRKT, etc. However, enthusiasts can now get Acuto 440, 9Cr18Mov, AR-RPM9, D2, and Sandvik steels at competitive prices. All of those steels can cut circles around 8Cr13Mov and except for D2, all have better corrosion resistance. People walking into a big box store without researching these things online won’t know better. People reading forum posts like this one hopefully will. :innocent:

I don’t know, I have 2 knives in 8Cr13MoV and I actually like both of them, someone who knows the steel makes a good knife out of every kind that can be hardened enough. Mine carry the names of Spyderco and Sanremnu and the makers behind these 2 brands obviously know this steel and made the best out of it. It does dull out some faster than say D2 or 14C28N but give them 6 or 8 swipes over any sharpener and they shave again. (yes, I also have knives in these 2 steels).

There is an important difference between being good relative to a person’s use and good relative to rest of the market.

For instance, consider 3Cr13. It’s a bottom-tier steel from the same series. Many companies use it to make their liners but we also see it used as blade steel. Edge retention is terrible relative to something like 8Cr13Mov. If a person only uses their knife as a letter opener, not for cutting cardboard but for actual paper envelopes, it is probably okay.

My issue is that if better steels have been widely available within the same price range, and especially if that’s been the case for years, then kudos to the companies offering better steel and thumbs down to the companies that don’t.

I got a cut like that once. I was tending bar at a pool party sometime last century. The martini glasses were made of actual glass back then. I was barefoot because it was a pool event. Somebody bumped into me while I was carrying a tray. One of the glasses shattered on my toe knuckle. It looked okay until I flexed my toe. Then I could cleanly see the bone for what probably seemed like longer then it actually was. Then the blood started.

There is a current thread discussing AO accidents on Blade Forums. Besides sharing the story of my own Leek pocket bite, I referenced this thread and mentioned what happened to you.

I've been collecting assisted-openers since 2008.

I have owned scores of them, and they're what I EDC over 99% of the time (when I have a knife on me.)

I've only drawn blood twice, and each injury was extremely minor.

Neither time was caused by the knife opening or closing.

I just accidentally knicked myself once and poked myself the other time.

I consider myself very lucky.

EDIT:

Actually, I drew blood one other time, but not by the razor sharp blade.

My most recent purchase was a dud.

It was surprisingly difficult to open the knife by pushing on the flipper, and where I was pressing was jagged, so I chewed up my finger and bled a little bit.

I returned that knife today via USPS.

Bought this Roper for $11.00 out of curiosity. Really a nice knife .

Ow. That had to suck.

Not many of my blades tasted blood. Think this one, maybe my go,comma/PF (just scratches; don’t recall actually drawing blood, though), and my old Sanremu.

Worst or at least most annoying cut was from an Xacto blade. Was opening a coconut(!) and it slipped and went like halfway in the fleshy part between thumb and forefinger.

Wouldn’t stop reopening (and rebleeding) with the slightest flexing, so actually filled the gap with stoopit-gloo to seal it shut. Eventually, the little wedge of glue just slid out on its own, quite effortlessly (and when I saw just how deep the blade went in), and I had a little “mouth” in that part of my hand for quite a while.

Can’t help thinking of this scene, and that if I had one of my knives and did that at the end, I’d probably bleed out right then and there.

isti242, i saw on your blog there is some PM3 on aliexpress now
if they make some micarta version i will order one

I picked up the new Sencut Snap with Cuibourtia wood scales. I’m impressed for the $45 this cost on Amazon. Between the gorgeous scales, skeletonized liners, sweet action, solid lock-up, and great blade steel; this is on par with much more expensive knives. The Sencut knives use the same 9Cr18Mov as the Civivi knives with WE’s heat treatment. Effectively, it’ll out-cut any other 9Cr18Mov and a lot of the Chinese D2 out there.

I wasn’t sure if the handle would be comfortable based on the pictures but it is. Just know that the stonewashed blade looks a little more gray IRL.

Only G10 versions are available at the moment. Thanks to the ball bearings the action is pretty good. Have a look at here. :sunglasses:

i just received a carbon bugout, so i can wait for more color or material choices

Did you go for the Jufule version with real D2 blade?

Wow, what a nice traditional’s knife!
Where did you buy it?
Thank you

it is from “JUFULE Knife Tools Store”

the seller description says it is real d2, since D2 steel is cheap and common in china maybe it is
but the carbon handle is realy nice with the blue anodise parts