Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

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Josh1973
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#21

Post by Josh1973 »

Here are a few I seen.

Hogue fixed blade. A bit more but worth it.Sometimes they go on sale for the $80 range. And even not on sale can be obtained for $100.
And are made of 154 cm Stainless steel if you prefer that over Carbon.

Ontario SP series/Hunt Plus series. Probably the most affordable if you want to purchase new. Are the most affordable I can think of. Shop around and these can be obtained from $30 to $80. The SP series is 1095 carbon. The Hunt plus series is 420HC stainless.

Bradford knives around the $159 to $200 range. Some may run bout $250. Various stainless and Carbon steel options.

KA-BAR. $70 to $140 range. I purchased a KA-BAR extreme in D2 USA made for $138 off SMKW. A week later they had a 1 day flash sale with the same knife for $112.

Spyderco Street Beat and Ronin range from $110 to $120

There are some used and discontinued USA made knives on Ebay sold for under $100. And auctions are sometimes a good alternative. Winning one is another thing altogether.

If I can think of anything else. I will post it.
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#22

Post by JD Spydo »

I had two buddies that I used to hunt and fish with that both liked and used those "Marble's" fixed blades with the leather washer handles. Personally I never really ever liked leather washer handles but I realize that a lot of guys did. I never ever found out what blade steel "Marble's" used in their classic, USA made fixed blades but I'm willing to bet that it was either 1095 or something similar.

There sure were a lot of those "Marble's" fixed blades sold over the years. I remember seeing them advertised in most of the outdoor magazines over the years.

I also remember back in the late 60s to mid 70s my brother was a huge fan of the CASE fixed blades. It's been so long I really don't remember any of the model numbers.
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#23

Post by TomAiello »

Josh1973 wrote:
Sun Jun 27, 2021 1:36 pm
Hogue fixed blade. A bit more but worth it.Sometimes they go on sale for the $80 range. And even not on sale can be obtained for $100.
I've been extremely impressed with Hogue's folders. I need to try one of their fixed blades.

I've had excellent experiences with Bradford, and you can pick up some of their blades in the $100 range if you shop around (and look on eBay) for less trendy steels. I think I saw D2 and n690 guardian 3's in that price range within the last few days.
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#24

Post by jdw »

I have a couple of old Ka-Bar hunting knives in mystery carbon steel that I have used for years and have been worked hard. I agree with the above posts about Bradford Knives. They are solid knives that can be picked for a reasonable cost.
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bearfacedkiller
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#25

Post by bearfacedkiller »

TomAiello wrote:
Thu Jul 01, 2021 10:48 am
Josh1973 wrote:
Sun Jun 27, 2021 1:36 pm
Hogue fixed blade. A bit more but worth it.Sometimes they go on sale for the $80 range. And even not on sale can be obtained for $100.
I've been extremely impressed with Hogue's folders. I need to try one of their fixed blades.

I've had excellent experiences with Bradford, and you can pick up some of their blades in the $100 range if you shop around (and look on eBay) for less trendy steels. I think I saw D2 and n690 guardian 3's in that price range within the last few days.
https://www.chicagoknifeworks.com/bradf ... 3-black-2/

$95 and free shipping for aeb-l and contoured scales. Not bad. I have purchased from this site once and it went well.
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dullmaker
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#26

Post by dullmaker »

Albers cutlery makes beautiful fixed blades in New York State. Less than $200, but they are small. Real nice quality. Someone on this forum had once mentioned Albers which is how I found out.
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kennethsime
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#27

Post by kennethsime »

bearfacedkiller wrote:
Sat Jul 03, 2021 9:14 am
https://www.chicagoknifeworks.com/bradf ... 3-black-2/

$95 and free shipping for aeb-l and contoured scales. Not bad. I have purchased from this site once and it went well.
That's a great deal on a Bradford 3. I really want green micarta, otherwise I would have bought right now.

My go-to recommendations in the $50-100 price range have already been mentioned: Buck, ESEE, Ontario, Tops.

Since some of you are stretching the budget a bit, I'll add LT Wright has an HC Bushcrafter model that starts at $75 - it's 1075, but has a nice contoured micarta handle. Hard to beat hand-built American-made knives.
I'm happiest with Micarta and Tool Steel.

Top four in rotation: K390 + GCM PM2, ZCarta Shaman, Crucarta PM2, K390 + GCM Straight Spine Stretch.
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#28

Post by JRinFL »

It’s cool to post knives that go beyond the original price bracket. It’s good to see the options that are out there that I and others have may have missed.

I did grab one of the AEB-L Bradfords when they popped up on eBay. Typical high quality from Brad.
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vivi
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#29

Post by vivi »

kennethsime wrote:
Sat Jul 03, 2021 4:03 pm
bearfacedkiller wrote:
Sat Jul 03, 2021 9:14 am
https://www.chicagoknifeworks.com/bradf ... 3-black-2/

$95 and free shipping for aeb-l and contoured scales. Not bad. I have purchased from this site once and it went well.
That's a great deal on a Bradford 3. I really want green micarta, otherwise I would have bought right now.

My go-to recommendations in the $50-100 price range have already been mentioned: Buck, ESEE, Ontario, Tops.

Since some of you are stretching the budget a bit, I'll add LT Wright has an HC Bushcrafter model that starts at $75 - it's 1075, but has a nice contoured micarta handle. Hard to beat hand-built American-made knives.
Those LT's cut very well. I wasn't wild about the handle, so I sold mine, but I loved the business end.
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kennethsime
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#30

Post by kennethsime »

JRinFL wrote:
Sat Jul 03, 2021 4:47 pm
It’s cool to post knives that go beyond the original price bracket. It’s good to see the options that are out there that I and others have may have missed.
Careful opening the floodgates on price, you might get more than you bargained for. ;) A number of us have been swayed by the allure of Bark River Knives lately, and while they're not quite affordable I'd say they're pretty high value.
I'm happiest with Micarta and Tool Steel.

Top four in rotation: K390 + GCM PM2, ZCarta Shaman, Crucarta PM2, K390 + GCM Straight Spine Stretch.
max808
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#31

Post by max808 »

Years ago I picked up a cold steel Bushman, technically not a full tang since the handle was hollow but cold forged from the same slab so it could serve as a improvised spearhead. It had carbon steel and was around $30 but got lost somewhere along the way unfortunately cuz that was a solid beater...
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#32

Post by JRinFL »

The Bushman is made in Taiwan or elsewhere overseas, so it does not fit the USA made request. Otherwise, it is a solid multi-roll fixed blade.
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max808
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#33

Post by max808 »

My bad JRinFL... I naively assumed that all cold steels back then were made in USA...
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#34

Post by JRinFL »

Buck has their BuckLite Max II Small in 420HC for under $30. For a short while it is at $23. https://www.buckknives.com/product/684- ... 0684BKS-B/
I've never held one, but it seems like a worthy contender to the Mora fixed blades.
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kennethsime
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Re: Affordable USA made fixed blades to consider?

#35

Post by kennethsime »

Finally picked up that LT Wright Small Workhorse.

Image
I'm happiest with Micarta and Tool Steel.

Top four in rotation: K390 + GCM PM2, ZCarta Shaman, Crucarta PM2, K390 + GCM Straight Spine Stretch.
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