{"id":2766,"date":"2024-11-27T20:39:39","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T20:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2766"},"modified":"2024-11-27T20:39:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T20:39:39","slug":"is-my-knife-dangerously-cheap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2766","title":{"rendered":"Is My Knife Dangerously Cheap?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Clayton Walker<\/a><\/p>\n

F<\/span>or as long as I can remember, the guys at my range were what I\u2019d call \u201cknife people.\u201d I always liked what they were carrying, but was reluctant to spend \u201cgun money\u201d (or hell, even ammo money) on a pocket knife. I had about three designs I generally thought worked well enough for me, and that was that. Of course, it was only a matter of time before I got bit by the bug, and my collection of knives has since ballooned from three examples to something well north of 100.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"is\n<\/picture>
Are inexpensive folding knives dangerous? Potentially. Good knives will use high-quality locking systems, durable blades and solid handles. Does yours?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many readers might still think similarly to how I did years ago \u2014 which is to say, \u201ca knife is a knife.\u201d Follow that line of reasoning ever further, and the kind of inexpensive knife you\u2019d find at the gas station or hardware store should be just as good as one costing $200, right?<\/p>\n

[Check out Mike Boyle\u2019s article Fixed Blade vs. Folding Knife<\/a> for a look at what to think about when selecting an EDC knife.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, today, let\u2019s see exactly where the money goes. I\u2019ve pulled out a few knives from my own collection that I think represent outstanding value and quality (all can be sourced for less than $60). Let\u2019s compare them to the $8 knife I bought right from the hardware store.<\/p>\n

The Blade<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with the most important part of the knife: the blade itself. It\u2019s been a good time to be a consumer over the last 20 years, as manufacturers have increasingly spent time not only on developing steel compounds that are more wear and corrosion-resistant than ever before, but have competed against one another to get better and better steels into their knives at progressively lower prices.<\/p>\n

\"Ontario\n<\/picture>
Ontario Knife Company\u2019s famous \u201cRAT 2.\u201d A good company will tell you what steel they used for the blade, as is the case here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a general rule, if a knife is using a steel worth mentioning, they\u2019re going to mention it. With common compounds like D2, AUS-8 and 14C28N, the consumer can easily google the relative strengths and weaknesses of these alloys to determine what best fits their needs. D2 holds an edge really well, but can rust more easily than other compounds; not a great choice for someone on a boat. AUS-8 has great corrosion resistance and is easily sharpened, but has less edge retention; it\u2019s a great all-around steel for EDC use and household work.<\/p>\n

A gas-station level knife isn\u2019t going to mention what it\u2019s made out of. Beware of anything that simply says \u201cstainless steel\u201d \u2014 or \u201csurgical steel,\u201d which sounds flashy but really signals it\u2019s likely going to be junk. These edges typically wear like butter, and often have difficulty holding an edge in the first place.<\/p>\n

\"Cold\n<\/picture>
Cold Steel\u2019s SR-1 Lite folding knife has a street price of under $50. At that affordable price, users can get a good blade with an extraordinarily strong lock suited for hard use.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you buy a quality knife from a good manufacturer, it\u00a0may\u00a0<\/em>arrive hair-shaving sharp, but almost always it will have a good enough factory edge to cleanly slice through printer paper without ripping. My $8 knife did neither, but had enough sharpness to catch a fingernail. That said, whatever middling amount of sharpness the blade had dulled considerably after cutting through about 14 linear feet of cardboard. In plainer terms, it was toast in about three minutes of honest work.<\/p>\n

The Materials<\/h2>\n

Modern knife manufacturers have bent over backwards to develop excellent compounds suited to a variety of user needs. Micarta, a layered paper-like material, looks great and provides excellent texture, wet or dry. Carbon fiber is extremely strong and contributes excellent weight savings. And, for not very much extra money, those who prefer a heftier feel to their knives will find aluminum, stainless steel and titanium frames.<\/p>\n

\"cheap\n<\/picture>
Cheap knives are defined by cheap materials. Toy-grade plastic can snap, crack or shatter under moderate use.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the sub-$50 level of most quality manufacturers, you\u2019re going to find a lot of G10, a compound made of epoxy and fiberglass. G10 isn\u2019t\u00a0cheap \u2014 <\/em>it\u2019s inexpensive. Easily milled and shaped, G10 has excellent strength, temperature resistance, insulation from heat and electricity, and is naturally water-resistant. It also has a good texture that stays put in the hand, not unlike a high-grit emery board. G10 can also be milled to make it even more grippy.<\/p>\n

\"quality\n<\/picture>
The CJRB Talla features milled G10 for a secure, positive grip. G10 is a laminate material the is extremely durable and chemical resistant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the other hand, my hardware store knife is all kinds of plasticky. Especially cheap compounds have a tendency to crack or shatter under even moderate levels of stress or hard use. New, the material is slick to the touch. Over a period of years, the rubber and plastic materials on the handle often get sticky and gross. The cheap steels used for the pocket clips can easily be bent out of position or sheared away entirely. The good news, if there is any, is that you\u2019re unlikely to lament the loss of your $8 knife if the clip breaks, or if the spring tension doesn\u2019t adequately secure it when you\u2019re out and about.<\/p>\n

Safety<\/h2>\n

A knife you trust for hard use should have some good passive safety features and baked-in durability to ensure it won\u2019t break or fail under hard use. Or hell, even moderate use.<\/p>\n

\"poor\n<\/picture>
The hardware store knife failed to lock even when fully opened. Make no bones about it, this is unsafe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a quality knife, lock-up is positive and secure, and locks are often designed to withstand several hundred pounds of force. There are trade-offs here related to strength, quality and ease of operation, but in general a good manufacturer will produce a knife that is solid when deployed and remains locked during hard use, if not outright abuse.<\/p>\n

[Also see Clayton Walker\u2019s article on folding knife lock types<\/a> for additional information.]<\/em><\/p>\n

While my advertised knife was billed as being a liner lock design \u2014 and while it certainly seems to have a lock bar \u2014 I was surprised to find that the liner didn\u2019t actually engage with the base of the knife when opened fully. In fact, I needed to hyper-extend the knife blade to get the lock bar to click into position. I would add this was only possible due to the play provided by the plastic materials.<\/p>\n

\"CRKT\n<\/picture>
CRKT\u2019s M16: this variation provides the security of a frame lock, making accidental closure very difficult.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Suppose someone was actually to use this for a job requiring a reasonably tough material to be punctured. I\u2019m not talking trying to stab this thing through a car hood \u2014 let\u2019s just say that the task of the day requires poking through relatively thin PVC or plastic tubing. Without the lock engaged, and with the knife being pushed and wiggled, it\u2019d be very easy to see how this thing could close right on a person\u2019s fingers!<\/p>\n

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Of additional interest is the stop pin, which is intended to prevent backwards rotation of the knife blade in the full open position. On my cheap knife, it\u2019s made of plastic and molded into the handle. I didn\u2019t think it would take much force to shear that piece off completely if I was bearing down on the knife. Indeed, with relatively light pressure breaking down that single cardboard box, that\u2019s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n

Picking Nits?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s be honest: while I certainly didn\u2019t expect the \u201ccheap\u201d knife to perform well, I didn\u2019t cherry-pick the worst knife I knew of. This thing was new in the box, and I tested and photographed the very tool handed to me by the hardware store clerk. And, after trying to use it for one relatively easy household job, the knife broke on me.<\/p>\n

\"broken\n<\/picture>
The cheap hardware store knife broke through its plastic stop pin while breaking down a box. Not ideal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Superficially, my $8 purchase fits the dictionary definition of a knife. However, if we create even a modest set of expectations as to what a knife should be able to do, or a list of criteria of how we\u2019d fairly judge a knife, the $8 wonder was a dismal failure across all accounts. It didn\u2019t cut well out of the box, and then rapidly deteriorated in its performance before it broke entirely. At that point, a Spyderco Manbug \u2014 diminutive though it may be, but unquestionably a\u00a0real knife \u2014 <\/em>came out of the fifth pocket of my jeans to finish the job.<\/p>\n

\"Schrade\n<\/picture>
On a good knife, like this Schrade Divergent, stop pins are solid steel and keep a deployed blade firmly in place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Again, you don\u2019t need to spend gun money on a knife. But, you probably\u00a0can\u00a0<\/em>stand to spend about $30 to $50 on a good one, and just about any design from CRKT, Kershaw, Civivi, CJRB, Schrade, SOG, Kizer, Gerber, Cold Steel or Spyderco within that price point will treat you right. (A list that is by no means exclusive!)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re still on the fence, give one of the \u201creal\u201d knives featured above a try. I\u2019m willing to bet it will replace whatever cheap, no-name blade you might be putting to regular use.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the \u201cGo To Forum Thread\u201d link below to jump in!<\/em><\/p>\n

Join the Discussion<\/span><\/h5>\n

Go to forum thread<\/a><\/p>\n

Featured in this article<\/span><\/h5>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \n\t\t\t\t\t\"Cold\n<\/picture>\n <\/p>\n

Cold Steel SR1 Lite<\/span><\/h3>\n


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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \n\t\t\t\t\t\"CJRB\n<\/picture>\n <\/p>\n

CJRB Talla J1901 D2<\/span><\/h3>\n


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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \n\t\t\t\t\t\"CRKT\n<\/picture>\n <\/p>\n

CRKT M16 Family<\/span><\/h3>\n


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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \n\t\t\t\t\t\"Schrade\n<\/picture>\n <\/p>\n

Schrade Divergent Folder<\/span><\/h3>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Clayton Walker For as long as I can remember, the guys at my range were what I\u2019d call \u201cknife people.\u201d I always liked what they were carrying, but was reluctant to spend \u201cgun money\u201d (or hell, even ammo money) on a pocket knife. I had about three designs I generally thought worked well enough […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}