Why go high dollar on an EDC?

P01135809

P01135809

Member
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Multi-Factor Enabled
Joined
Dec 19, 2016
Messages
5,280
Location
Outerspace near Uranus
Rating - 100%
44   0   0
I am newer to carrying a folder and have already accumulated a small drawer full of different knives.

Most are budget blades costing less than $25.00 (Ganzo, Kershaw, Ontario, even a 7 dollar harbor freight that is has a 8CR13MOV stainless steel blade and G10 grip.)
63168_zzz_500.jpg


I am interested in spending (wasting) more money but can't seem to justify spending over $100...

I am someone that thinks just wanting something is justification enough...but can anyone convince me why I need a benchmade, brous or even a spyderco...

I do find a good flipper to be like a fidget toy thing...
 
Benchmade 940. Best knife I've ever owned. Super slim, light, easy to carry, s30v is great steel with both corrosion resistance and edge retention. The balance of this knife is outstanding, so I find myself just opening and closing it all the time. Butter smooth. I know you asked to be talked into buying an expensive knife but if you handle this knife you will see that it is the reason.
 
I'm someone who values quality. I'm also someone who uses a knife for a goodly part of my job (past job now). Cheap blades will let you down when you need them the most. They are cheap for a reason, to keep them priced cheap! They may look like the more expensive blades but they're made of cheap metal that will not hold an edge in most cases, they're brittle and will break when you need them the most, and the pins that hold them together will not stand up to heavy use. While it's true that you can break a Benchmade or a ZT, it doesn't happen often and usually the company will fix it at little or no cost. Buy the best knife that you like and can afford, and it will stay with you for a long time! Mine has been around the world with me a couple times and I still value and depend upon it today! Buy once, cry once, but buy quality and dependability.
 
While I don't currently carry an expensive knife because of my day to day needs, I feel the logic still applies: I don't have enough money to buy cheap stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Benchmade/spyderco aren't really high dollar knives and they aren't cheap either which makes them about perfect for EDC.

I never wore out or broke a cheap knife but most of them either fell apart or disappeared.
 
Last edited:
Oh, there is also the fact that "cheap" means different things to different people. To me, a $50 knife is expensive, to some, a $200 knife is cheap. So we have to keep that in mind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've been carry the Emerson/Kershaw cqc, designed by Emerson, built by Kershaw,23.95 on Amazon, I have a couple of Spyderco and Benchmade knives but bought the cqc on a whim seems to be holding up well ,sharp, has the Emerson wave on the blade, opens when you take it out ( with a little practice) the reason I bought this was to see if I could find a good working knife with out paying over 150.00 for it. If it fails in the next six months I'll try to remember to come back and update this post . But for now it's been everything it was advertised as.
 
I work outdoors, and use a knife every day for some task or another. In the last 15 years I've only carried Kershaw and Buck knives. They've never let me down, hold and edge well, sharpen well, and aren't prone to rust.

Both of my regularly used knives cost under $70.00, and both have been with me for years. While you do tend to get better when you spend more, as with most things, there is a point where you reach diminishing returns. Will a $50 knife perform better than a $10 knife? Absolutely. Will a $200 knife perform better than a $100 knife? Maybe!

If you use a knife for its intended purpose, even a cheap one is pretty hard to break or wear one out. Now if you're breaking knives because you use them as a pry-bar, screw driver, etc, you're honestly better off getting tools suited to that purpose, and not a more expensive knife.

I wouldn't buy a certain knife because it handles being used as a pry bar better just like I wouldn't buy a Garand because it handles being used to drive t-posts better than a plastic stocked AR.
 
Thanks for the replies!

I'm not a first responder or lumberjack and it seems like the vast majority of my uses are trivial so far (read could have gotten the job done without the knife...)

I'm prone to collecting/hoarding junk.

I think the main thing that will keep me from getting higher quality is my uses and the fact that the knife is definitely more of a tool that I won't get enjoyment from. In contrast, I really enjoy shooting and am happy to pay way more than needed just for the fun factor.
 
I kind of think that it's funny that for years our fathers and grandfather's, survived with nothing more than an old timer, case or buck folder in their pockets as a working knife , but now so many of us , myself included, have fell into the if it doesn't cost a hundred bucks at least, it isn't gonna get the job done trap, hence the cqc I'm carrying now, maybe in a couple of weeks I'll be digging one of my more expensive knifes back out of the safe and calling this a failed experiment, but I hope not.
 
Last edited:
I used my knife for everything from cutting C-4 and set cord to eating with, and yeah, I washed it! I needed a knife for different options. I didn't need a cheap knife to break on me in the middle of setting charges. You can't just get up to get another one!
 
I carry a ZT 0350 every day. I am a firefighter and use it regularly at work. On my days off I do the typical country guy stuff and use it a lot in that too. This was my first quality folder. I bought it from a guy on here or the Canadian place. I have $100 for it but they can be bought new for $120-140 online. The blade material is leaps and. Kinda better than your cheaper folders and the strength of the knife over all is better. It's all in what you want to do. Buy once cry once.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
My most expensive knife is a Kershaw Cryo II, MSRP is like $70, but with a gift card on Amazon I got it for nothing out of pocket. It works well for me. When I was in the mil I depended on a cheap Gerber and a multitool, and they outperformed me.
 
Chdamn said:
My only issue with buying a knife that costs more than $50 is the same for buying sunglasses that cost more than $20.

I am far more likely to lose the damn thing before I break it.
Click to expand...

If I were a super hero, my super power would be "Man who loses glasses"...Walmart had their tinted shooting glasses on clearance for $10...bought three pair of them...have no idea where they are now.
 
Chdamn said:
My only issue with buying a knife that costs more than $50 is the same for buying sunglasses that cost more than $20.

I am far more likely to lose the damn thing before I break it.
Click to expand...


Spend about $300 then, and you'll be sure to know where it is at all times. My wife and I bought each other expensive sunglasses for our honeymoon in 1993. Those glasses aren't stylish anymore, but we still have them. We've also have gonethrough dozens of piece of crap glasses in those years.
 
Last edited:
Zbizzle911 said:
I carry a ZT 0350 every day. I am a firefighter and use it regularly at work. On my days off I do the typical country guy stuff and use it a lot in that too. This was my first quality folder. I bought it from a guy on here or the Canadian place. I have $100 for it but they can be bought new for $120-140 online. The blade material is leaps and. Kinda better than your cheaper folders and the strength of the knife over all is better. It's all in what you want to do. Buy once cry once.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Would it stun you to know the zt and Kershaw are both Manufactured by the same company
 
S4f said:
Would it stun you to know the zt and Kershaw are both Manufactured by the same company
Click to expand...
No it wouldn't because I've known that before I bought this one. Also they share a designer ( Ken Onion ) but the materials used in each are very different. The ZT0350 is S30V steel which is much more expensive than the 420HC thats used in the Kershaw Chive for example. You get what you pay for!
 
I got tired of buying disposable CRKT/Gerber/etc. I still have a few, but most of them have shown substantial wear that my ZT doesn't.

ETA: I should add that I'm talking about functional -not cosmetic - wear. Scales coming off handles, broken liner locks, etc. I'm not easy on my knives, but they're not abused either. I'll pay extra for a product that doesn't fall apart.
 
Last edited:
I actually rotate knives depending on my situation ahead. Kind of like my concealed carry situation. I do like the higher end of quality when it comes to knives. Unlike many others, I use my knives. Too many times I see folks buying high quality knives and simply take pictures of them to post on Instagram. One opinion I would recommend is for a survival situation, I wouldn't carry a super hard steel. Sure it holds an edge longer but when it comes to sharpening, good luck finding something in the woods to sharpen that steel.
 
I like carrying quality stuff because I know it will not fail me.
It will not rust over time. It will not dull too easily.
It will not break when I might need it most.

Buy once, cry once... typically you can get something quality for a good deal though.
 
Buy a quality folder. The next question you will be asking yourself is why you waited so long to pick one up.
 
I own a box of kershaws, usa made not china also zt 0560, 0350ts,0770,0801,0300,and my safe queen the zt0777. the zt's are better quality and I wouldn't carry any other knife without a zt close at hand. the steels are elmax, s30v, and s35v. any are better than any common steel knife. I totally agree with the last two posts.
 
I have been carrying a regular CRK Sebenza every day since 1997. It holds an edge and has never let me down. Good quality knives are an investment.

Chris Reeve's son Tim offered me $100 more than I paid for it back in 2015 at the Blade Show.
 
I've skipped over a lot in this thread, just so everyone knows.

I've been carrying a Kershaw Scallion for the last 5 years. It gets used for a box cutter, package opener, letter opening, apple slicer, screwdriver, scraper, toothpick, nail file...I've carved kindling, cut beef jerky and cleaned animals with it. I only remember sharpening it once in that year. What more are you guys looking for?
 
I appreciate quality tools. Quality, of course, is subjective. I only have a few knives and they are $50-100 and US made from reputable companies with great customer service. I would like a Benchmade Contego eventually. I used to use cheaper knives and sunglasses, but I have noticed I take better care of things when I don't view them as disposal. My first pair of Oakley glasses is going on 7 years now. I'd say I got my money's worth.

Quality > Quantity
 
I use my knifes everyday. I have broken many cheap blades. Im very hard on my knifes use them for prying, screwdriver etc etc. I bought a SOG xl twitch 6 years ago??( $55) And it still going strong. I love it! This one has a half serrated half single edge blade. Stupid easy to keep sharp. I also carry a tiny old-timer for skinning wire or cutting food :)
 
Last edited:
I just love spyderco. I can't help it. My manix2 fits my hand and is a good shape that is easy to sharpen and suits my purposes. I probably would be happy with an endura but the extra details were worth it to me.

But the only blade I have ever had that I actually didn't like was a victorinox Swiss Army knife. The blade seemed flimsy and didn't stay sharp. I didn't care for the shape either.
 
I don't buy spendy knives myself because even though I "know" how to use and care for a knife... I often don't... I abuse the shit out of them because I can. I keep it under $50. I look for a few things. A thin-ish profile(I keep it in my back pocket and don't like bulk), a belly in the blade(no serrations), clip at the pivot end, flipper, solid scales, and decent steel.

I have a really solid ZT knock-off from TNT that I've been carrying for awhile now. It's tough as nails and if I lose it I won't cry once or twice. I'll just pick up another. Before it I was a fan of the CRKT M21 and older M16 models. For the money they were unbeatable. Still have a couple hanging around.
 
Last edited:
Of course "cheap" is relative. I would be pissed if I lost a $250+ knife somehow but a $40-50 knife, I'll get over it. I do want something that is good quality but I don't want to worry about it like jewelry.

For this reason, I have a handful of Kershaws, mostly Blurs and I love them for EDC.
 
Chdamn said:
My only issue with buying a knife that costs more than $50 is the same for buying sunglasses that cost more than $20.

I am far more likely to lose the damn thing before I break it.
Click to expand...
The reason in dont spend much on either

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
Chdamn said:
My only issue with buying a knife that costs more than $50 is the same for buying sunglasses that cost more than $20.

I am far more likely to lose the damn thing before I break it.
Click to expand...

I understand your thinking, I was the same way.

Bought my first pair of Oakley sunglasses in 1997, still have them. When I stated wearing contacts the more expensive sunglasses were much better at what they're supposed to do than the cheaper ones I had bought for years. What I learned (at least for me ) is that I do a better job of keeping up with and taking care of, a $100 pair of sunglasses than I do a $20 pair. I have applied the same reasoning to other things, like knives.

.
 
Gator said:
I understand your thinking, I was the same way.

Bought my first pair of Oakley sunglasses in 1997, still have them. When I stated wearing contacts the more expensive sunglasses were much better at what they're supposed to do than the cheaper ones I had bought for years. What I learned (at least for me ) is that I do a better job of keeping up with and taking care of, a $100 pair of sunglasses than I do a $20 pair. I have applied the same reasoning to other things, like knives.

.
Click to expand...

I've tried to do the same thing on a couple of times and eventually the same thing happens. And it boils down to me not putting much value in material things.

Whether I paid $20 or $200 for a pair of sunglasses or a knife I will, at some point, take them out and leave them somewhere.

For awhile I'm very cautious and then they just become another thing I own.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom