Good $60 Knife

[Zack]

As of the time of this post, the only "good" fixed-blade knives I have are 2 Bucks and 2 Mora's. I've been looking on amazon.com for a decent quality knife in the $40-$80 range. Does anybody have any recommendations? I see the KaBar Becker series, the Ontario RAT's, the Ontario SpecPlus series, some of the cheaper ESEE knives, and I know of some custom knife-makers. I have no minimum, but I really don't quite want to spend more that $80. Any advice?

[randyt]

I've been looking for a martiini carbon lynx. It costs around 35 to 45 dollars. Has a 3.5 inch blade, leather sheath. birch handle and is made in Finland. The next closest is a lapin camping knife, very close to the same. Depending what you are looking for check out Ragweed Forge, a quick google will get you there. Ragnar mostly sells Scandinavian style knives, no "survival" knives there, just working knives.

Merry Christmas!!!!

[MrFixIt]

Check out Condor knives. Decent quality and good pricing.

[Sarge47]

I bought one of these back when the price was even higher. It's a nice, heavy knife and the sheath has a small pouch in front for little items.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0033H7VI6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1`

[ElevenBravo]

The Condor knife series are not near the quality of top tier knives...

BUT

Ive never seen a piece of crap Condor. With Condor you CAN buy with confidence, you WILL get a VERY GOOD knife.

A lot of the other "major names" have sacked out to being china junk. What used to be a very very good knife 15 or 20 years ago are now garbage riding on a reputation that was built 15-20 years ago (Similar to firearms, lower quality now but used to be recognized as top dog (Remington?))

End rant.

EB

[kyratshooter]

Zack,

You have not told us what models of the Buck and/or Mora line you already possess, you just mentioned that you had two of each.

There are about a thousand of them.

And you have not mentioned the models you are considering from the brands you are inspecting.

There are about a thousand of those too!

No one can give you any valid information when they do not know what you are talking about, what your uses and expectations are, or what you already have.

What you get will be a continuation of the personal Christmas lists that are already being thrown your way.


One might even contend that if you have two Bucks and two Moras already you might need to consider a good quality hatchet or light axe.

In fact, I know where you can get a good chainsaw for $60 !

[randyt]

Another option depending on what you are looking for is the green river knives.

[Zack]

The Condor knife series are not near the quality of top tier knives...

BUT

Ive never seen a piece of crap Condor. With Condor you CAN buy with confidence, you WILL get a VERY GOOD knife.

A lot of the other "major names" have sacked out to being china junk. What used to be a very very good knife 15 or 20 years ago are now garbage riding on a reputation that was built 15-20 years ago (Similar to firearms, lower quality now but used to be recognized as top dog (Remington?))

End rant.

EB

Do you think that it's true with the brands I listed above?

[Zack]

I don't know if I specified this or not, but I want this knife for a general purpose belt knife. Anything from wood processing to food preparation. Does that help?

[Tokwan]

Yes Zack, I agree...most good knives at that price may seem easy to get, and when you get them, they can't do some of the things that you wanted.
I think, its best for you to research and then decide,
How to research.
1. Ask around and make notes.
2. Google for survival knives within your budget and make notes.
3. Narrow your scope.
4. Look at reviews and narrow down further to the knives that meets your requirement.
5. Call up shops that you trust and see if they can supply you.

I reckon we are talking about survival knives.

I would stay away from Made in China knives even though the brands licensed them. The reason is, it s effect my ego! Simple as that. If it effects your ego, pretty soon you are gonna chuck it away.

Look at good branded knife, like OKC, Esee, Ka Bar, Eka.

Look for good reviews on handles, balance, material, strength and usage. Look at the tests. I like the stab and twist test, it shows the strength. The back of the knife should be able to be used on the ferro rod (firesteel) and shave magnesium bars. It should be able to withstand batoning too.

Go to the shop and try holding it.

Look at knives that are durable, easy to sharpen, able to hold its edge. I am not concerned about the sheath..its the knife that counts most, you can make the sheaths later.

I am now in love with my Ontario Blackbird SK 5. It fits me well and able to do a lot of things and the sheath is good too. I can fit some survival things in it.
\
But the cost is a bit high...but my take is, its better to spend a bit more or save and wait till you have enough and then get your dream knife.

[Sarge47]

Yes Zack, I agree...most good knives at that price may seem easy to get, and when you get them, they can't do some of the things that you wanted.
I think, its best for you to research and then decide,
How to research.
1. Ask around and make notes.
2. Google for survival knives within your budget and make notes.
3. Narrow your scope.
4. Look at reviews and narrow down further to the knives that meets your requirement.
5. Call up shops that you trust and see if they can supply you.

I reckon we are talking about survival knives.

I would stay away from Made in China knives even though the brands licensed them. The reason is, it s effect my ego! Simple as that. If it effects your ego, pretty soon you are gonna chuck it away.

Look at good branded knife, like OKC, Esee, Ka Bar, Eka.

Look for good reviews on handles, balance, material, strength and usage. Look at the tests. I like the stab and twist test, it shows the strength. The back of the knife should be able to be used on the ferro rod (firesteel) and shave magnesium bars. It should be able to withstand batoning too.

Go to the shop and try holding it.

Look at knives that are durable, easy to sharpen, able to hold its edge. I am not concerned about the sheath..its the knife that counts most, you can make the sheaths later.

I am now in love with my Ontario Blackbird SK 5. It fits me well and able to do a lot of things and the sheath is good too. I can fit some survival things in it.
\
But the cost is a bit high...but my take is, its better to spend a bit more or save and wait till you have enough and then get your dream knife.

I also bought the Ontario Blackbird SK5. It's my favorite short blade knife. Got it for about $104 On Amazon. That being said I also own knives made in China...by AMERICAN companies. They still retain quality control over the Chinese labor. The Chinese were making high quality edged weapons hundreds of years before America ever came into existence. I don't believe that their is some sort of "curse" placed on knives due to their country of origin. That's just silly. If I buy it off of Amazon and it falls apart they'll refund my money. Now-a-days American companies move their factories to China and other places in order to keep the price down. However it's all up to you....

[MartyC]

Zack, you can't go wrong with the Becker tweeners. The BK15 and the BK16 would be great choices. The BK16 being the best for all around use, it has been my go to knife since I got it.

[Tokwan]

I also bought the Ontario Blackbird SK5. It's my favorite short blade knife. Got it for about $104 On Amazon. That being said I also own knives made in China...by AMERICAN companies. They still retain quality control over the Chinese labor. The Chinese were making high quality edged weapons hundreds of years before America ever came into existence. I don't believe that their is some sort of "curse" placed on knives due to their country of origin. That's just silly. If I buy it off of Amazon and it falls apart they'll refund my money. Now-a-days American companies move their factories to China and other places in order to keep the price down. However it's all up to you....

Sarge, most companies that made things in China are quite good. But some do cheat. In Malaysia, where we buy from, guarantee or warranty doesn't work unless you buy directly from the shop. I guess you know that some companies made bicycles frames such for Giant, Scott, GT and a few other brands. I have an american made Giant, compared to a China made Giant...the welding does not look the same. Lemme tell ya, as for welding, nothing beats the American mads... I also have a Gerber , made in China which was a present from a friend, the knife is a para cord knife bearing someone's name. I checked the knife and found some differences with the same model I saw on the net..things like the sheath, logo and so on...which looked a bit different. I wrote to the company, and the declined to give me a confirmed answer except by stating" from what you mentioned, it sounds an original" whilst another answer from the same company elsewhere, stated, we only confirm a product is genuine if you purchased the item form our store....which was not available in Malaysia. Sad to say, that i affected my ego and now the knife is in a box somewhere in my store room.

[Sarge47]

Sarge, most companies that made things in China are quite good. But some do cheat. In Malaysia, where we buy from, guarantee or warranty doesn't work unless you buy directly from the shop. I guess you know that some companies made bicycles frames such for Giant, Scott, GT and a few other brands. I have an american made Giant, compared to a China made Giant...the welding does not look the same. Lemme tell ya, as for welding, nothing beats the American mads... I also have a Gerber , made in China which was a present from a friend, the knife is a para cord knife bearing someone's name. I checked the knife and found some differences with the same model I saw on the net..things like the sheath, logo and so on...which looked a bit different. I wrote to the company, and the declined to give me a confirmed answer except by stating" from what you mentioned, it sounds an original" whilst another answer from the same company elsewhere, stated, we only confirm a product is genuine if you purchased the item form our store....which was not available in Malaysia. Sad to say, that i affected my ego and now the knife is in a box somewhere in my store room.

Companies like Schrade, Gerber, Camillius, Buck, and even some K-Bar knives are made in China. But the companies keep a tight grip on the quality control. The knives are not made according to what the Chinese want, but rather what the companies want. As an example there is a prop used by magicians that are 3 cups. Oft times these cups are easily dented and are made in America. The set I have were made in China for a fellow magician and were designed to be super strong. I spoke with the man himself and he related to me how many times he kept sending the cups back until he got exactly what he wanted. I'm sure that if a company is a Chinese company then you don't have as good of quality, but American knife companies don't stint on quality when it comes to their products. Given that many have a lifetime warranty it wouldn't pay them to trust that to foreign laborers. And I'm not referring to buying in a store but off of Amazon where you have the better protection....

[Zack]

Yes Zack, I agree...most good knives at that price may seem easy to get, and when you get them, they can't do some of the things that you wanted.
I think, its best for you to research and then decide,
How to research.
1. Ask around and make notes.
2. Google for survival knives within your budget and make notes.
3. Narrow your scope.
4. Look at reviews and narrow down further to the knives that meets your requirement.
5. Call up shops that you trust and see if they can supply you.

I reckon we are talking about survival knives.

I would stay away from Made in China knives even though the brands licensed them. The reason is, it s effect my ego! Simple as that. If it effects your ego, pretty soon you are gonna chuck it away.

Look at good branded knife, like OKC, Esee, Ka Bar, Eka.

Look for good reviews on handles, balance, material, strength and usage. Look at the tests. I like the stab and twist test, it shows the strength. The back of the knife should be able to be used on the ferro rod (firesteel) and shave magnesium bars. It should be able to withstand batoning too.

Go to the shop and try holding it.

Look at knives that are durable, easy to sharpen, able to hold its edge. I am not concerned about the sheath..its the knife that counts most, you can make the sheaths later.

I am now in love with my Ontario Blackbird SK 5. It fits me well and able to do a lot of things and the sheath is good too. I can fit some survival things in it.
\
But the cost is a bit high...but my take is, its better to spend a bit more or save and wait till you have enough and then get your dream knife.

This sounds like good advice. I'll start looking.

[loki]

As of the time of this post, the only "good" fixed-blade knives I have are 2 Bucks and 2 Mora's. I've been looking on amazon.com for a decent quality knife in the $40-$80 range. Does anybody have any recommendations? I see the KaBar Becker series, the Ontario RAT's, the Ontario SpecPlus series, some of the cheaper ESEE knives, and I know of some custom knife-makers. I have no minimum, but I really don't quite want to spend more that $80. Any advice?

Some that come to mind are

Esee 3 90.00
Grohmann boat knife 70.00
Cold steel bushman 25.00
Mora high q allaround stainless 15.00

[Zack]

What do we think of the Ontario Rat 3? Rat 5?

[RangerXanatos]

What do we think of the Ontario Rat 3? Rat 5?

The esee 3 is basically the same as the rat 3. Randall adventure training had some issues with ontario and split off to do their own thing as esee.

I have the esee 3 and really like it but have a little bit of conflict with the finger choil. I can't decide if I like it to choke up on or would rather a bit more edge without the choil.

[Zack]

The esee 3 is basically the same as the rat 3. Randall adventure training had some issues with ontario and split off to do their own thing as esee.

I have the esee 3 and really like it but have a little bit of conflict with the finger choil. I can't decide if I like it to choke up on or would rather a bit more edge without the choil.

Uh-oh. Did RAT have problems with quality?

[Sarge47]

Uh-oh. Did RAT have problems with quality?

I doubt it. Probably business stuff. Ontario always backs up there products and everybody I've talked to that has a RAT product loves them. I only own the one Ontario knife, this one here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Creek Stewart, Survival school owner/Instructor/author and producer of "Fat Guys In The Woods" uses this one all the time....