Best 'less expensive' folder?

[TomAiello]

Can anyone give me their thoughts on the best folder under $100? or under $50?

I've been carrying a Kershaw Leek for the past week or so as my 'beater to loan out to non knife people' and it's got me thinking about the low end of the market.

Does anyone have a favorite knife in this category that they would recommend checking out?

I have a good collection of Budget line Spyderco knives, and I think my (8cr, combo edge) Tenacious is probably the best Spyderco contender here. Does anyone have a different favorite from the Budget line or the Byrd brand?

[JRinFL]

Case Sodbusters if they can handle a knife with no lock. Opinel's are good to go as well. Cold Steel Tuff Lite & Tuff Lite Mini are excellent choices. Some of the Los Banos designed Bokers are good as well.

[JRinFL]

Slightly upscale in price are the Kershaw Link, Dividend, and Skyline. All good knives & made in USA.

[TkoK83Spy]

I used to carry a Kershaw Cryo II like 6 years ago that I thought was pretty awesome for the money.


https://www.knifecenter.com/item/KS1556 ... ock-design

[James Y]

I know some people won't count this, but my choice is Victorinox SAKS. During a 12-year period, from the mid-80s to 1997, my only EDC knife overseas and back home was a single SAK, a Spartan. It handled all of my EDC knife needs, plus more, with the other tools.

Jim

[Sharp Guy]

I have a few Civivi models that I really like. The Elementum is great. And now I'm really liking the Altus. I know I have at least one more but I can't remember which one at the moment

[Evil D]

I really like Opinels, but they're definitely an acquired taste.

[Manixguy@1994]

Esee Avispa comes to mind if you are a righty . MG2

[Coastal]

For me it's the UKPK, without a doubt. I consider it better than a lot of expensive folders.

[TomAiello]

I really like Opinels, but they're definitely an acquired taste.

I own multiple Opinels. They are my go-to for 'buy a cheap knife once you arrive' trips in Europe. Great value and low price. They also start funny conversations (I once had the French security guard at Normandy ask me why I was carrying 'the knife that very boy in France has').

[JRinFL]

If I had to pick one standout in my lists above, I would chose the CS Tuff Lite.

[skeeg11]

Serrated Harrier Wharnie

[TomAiello]

Slightly upscale in price are the Kershaw Link, Dividend, and Skyline. All good knives & made in USA.

Aren't they 20cv as well?

[JRinFL]

It looks like some are still available in 20cv.

[DSH007]

For me it's the UKPK, without a doubt. I consider it better than a lot of expensive folders.

Price hikes are getting harder and harder to swallow across the board, but yes, I agree that the UKPK is still one of the best values in Spyderco's lineup. I bought my base model UKPK for $55 in 2018 and remember thinking at the time that it seemed like a steal.. they are now $73 ish, which seems.. well, fair honestly..

[DSH007]

Slightly upscale in price are the Kershaw Link, Dividend, and Skyline. All good knives & made in USA.

Aren't they 20cv as well?

20CV for $84. Nice! https://knifeworks.com/kershaw-link-oli ... um-handle/

[Coastal]

For me it's the UKPK, without a doubt. I consider it better than a lot of expensive folders.

Price hikes are getting harder and harder to swallow across the board, but yes, I agree that the UKPK is still one of the best values in Spyderco's lineup. I bought my base model UKPK for $55 in 2018 and remember thinking at the time that it seemed like a steal.. they are now $73 ish, which seems.. well, fair honestly..

Even the UKPK Salt sells for (slightly) under $100. I picked one up for $89 recently. So if corrosion resistance is important, here's a decent option.

[DSH007]

Some thoughts from a random guy on the internet..

"Best" is such a subjective thing, so I always hesitate to make those claims.. here are my opinions on a bunch of "really good" less expensive options..

Chinese-made Spydies - Tenacious, Resilience, Astute, Efficient. All really good knives.. materials may not be the cream of the crop, but they're decent because QC is closely monitored by Spyderco. Ergos are, in typical Spyderco fasion, excellent. As prices creep up and competitors put out similar knives for less money, the value on these falls year after year, imo, but you can't really argue that they aren't solid knives. I look for sales and wouldn't hesitate to pick up a Chinese Spyderco on sale. I got my Resilience for $25 a few years back.. great, great deal!

USA-made Kershaws are typically well-made with decent materials and ergos, and represent a good value. Dividend, Leek, Skyline, Link, Bareknuckle, Knockout are all solid knives, normally found between $50 and $100 depending on variation (different steels and scales, etc.) Assisted-opening may not appeal to some people, but if you can look past it, Kershaw makes objectively decent knives in the USA.

Cold Steel makes a d@mn solid knife for the money if you can move beyond the mall-ninja marketing and blatant absurdity of some of their models. Every Cold Steel i've handled has been very well made with solid f&f, sharp ootb, decent to excellent ergonomics.. overall, just way nicer than I expect them to be. Every time. They have nice models under $50. They have really nice models under and around $100. I recently picked up a Recon 1 on sale for $84.. a ridiculous deal (imo) on a beast of a knife with a 4 inch S35VN blade. They have more realistically sized models too hahah.. the Mini (normal human size) Recon 1 is a great knife that can be found on sale for ~ $40. The whole GSM thing does not appear to have been a detriment to quality.. yet.. construction of my newer CS knives appear on par with my "Old Steel" models. Cold Steel knives can often be found at sale prices too, which is nice. If you've ever let images of a sweaty Lynn Thompson swatting at a pig carcass put you off the brand, I'd seriously reconsider.. check out their catalog, pick out a model you think you'll like, and you'll very likely end up with a really good knife at a very reasonable price.

Civivi - a LOT of their knives just don't appeal to me aesthetically. But the ones I have.. Elementum & Praxis.. are extremely well made for the money. Based on this small sampling and the almost universally positive reviews I've heard about them, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Civivi.

CRKT - People seem to like to bash them these days, but for the money, I don't really know how anyone can complain all that much. I think the Squid and Pilar are nice little knives. F&F always seemed solid to me, even if they're not using the best steel in the world. Idk, maybe I haven't sampled enough CRKT to get a feel for the brand as a whole..

Ontario RAT I & II - budget classics for a reason. No brainers to be in the running for "best" budget knives..

I'm sure there are many others I just can't remember off the top of my head right now..

[JD Spydo]

Well it goes without saying that I'm a "Spyderco Man" all the way as far as my favorites. But over the years I have done side by side comparisons of other knives I've gotten in trades and at fleamarkets, estate sales ect. And a couple of lower priced brands of knives I've been impressed with have been "Victorinox" and to some extent "Cold Steel" has show me some of their units at a reasonable price that have impressed me.

I truly don't see how you can beat anything in the Victorinox line for the price. Now their multi-tools that I dearly love are a bit lofty in price but the superb quality of their "Swiss Tool" line has really sold me over the years. And I've gotten several of Cold Steel's products at a decent price that tend to perform well.

I would have added Queen Cutlery to that list but I heard that they closed their doors unfortunately. Because over the years they have proven to be great quality. Queen Cutlery has been one of my favorite "hardware store" knives over the years. But again it's hard to beat anything that Victorinox sells for the price. That would be my number one pick if money were a big hurdle. Interesting thread for sure.

[RevMike]

Assuming not Spyderco my top 3 would be:

Ontario Rat in D2 (Model 1 or 2)
Buck 110, 112, or HiLine
Kershaw Brookside