Expensive EDC Knife. Why?

[jbombelli]

Apples to oranges. Im not betting my life on a pocket knife lol. If i were i would probably carry a nice knife.

Maybe not your life, but you may be betting your hands or other parts on cheaply made locking systems.

 

[Keith_Indy]

Carry either a CRKT M21 ($60) or S.O.G. Field Knife ($39.99) good enough quality, stays sharp, easy to sharpen and not the end of the world if I loose it. Also try not to use it for other than slicing purposes, I've got tool boxes and multi-tools to get the right tool for the job.

If I were in a fighting mood, I'd carry a good ole K-BAR always. As a backup to something that goes bang, bang though.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Easy solution is to carry 2 knives.

I am a big fan of Swiss Army Knives or other multi tools. They work great as improvised screw drivers and for prying, digging or cutting. I also appreciate knives that aren’t meant for cutting but rather for things that need to be cut.

This. I carry my CRKT for defense. And I have a Leatherman Juice in my pocket for utility.

And protip: Dont waste your leatherman knife edge on opening boxes. The bottle/can opener blade works great for piercing/slicing tape to open boxes. I open more boxes with that than any other item. And sadly many more boxes than fancy beers.

 

[BR8818]

Since when is $50 considered an expensive knife? I think my cheapest knife was $50, I consider $50-$100 cheap $150-$300 mid tier and $300+ expensive.

 

[printcraft]

I open boxes with it…

This one is pretty new, I’ve got another DE in tan that is pretty “weathered” from years of daily carry.

 

[jbombelli]

2 Benchmades I carry often.

 

[Nazgul]

I use one of these regularly for 6 years. Think I paid $44 for it. Heavy blade , secure joint and lock. Holds an edge well.

Don

 

[Lpherr]

Well, you asked why.
It's simple... a $50 knife is junk. A quality knife, has great steel. Great steel retains a very sharp edge. Great steel doesn't snap the tip off.
Great steel isn't inexpensive.
Of course, balance is a factor. When using a quality knife, it needs to have a comfortable balance, similar to holding a handgun.
The scale size and fit should be comfortable.
It just depends on what quality you want/need. If a $10 knife meets your needs, then there isn't a reason to purchase a $2K knife.
However, you would absolutely notice the difference.

 

[Biggredchev]

I wasn’t contemplating buying a new knife (ok, i am but not for edc use lol), i was just curious why one would carry such an expensive cutting tool.

Do you guys ever feel bad for using your expensive knife heavily? I routinely cut lids off plastic buckets, deburr aluminum, cut or strip wire, cut up triple layer cardboard gaylords, and do a bunch of other heavy cutting with that utility folder. It kinda made me feel bad doing that stuff with a nice spendy kinife.

This thread isnt made to hate or bring anything into question. Im just genuinely curious. My most expensive knife is about $120-150 Id estimate. The company went out of business long before i was born i think.

 

[Ark]

Something I read in a book once: Smart, experienced wreck divers carry cheap dive knives, so that if it gets away from them and drops into the abyss, they won't get themselves killed trying to go after it because it's a fancy knife.

Don't EDC anything you'd do stupid things to avoid losing.

 

[1nderbeard]

I spent just over $100 on a bechmade bugout at the 1500 a year or so ago. I appreciate how light it is. I'd say it's no sharper than a CRKT I used to carry, and it doesn't hold it's blade any longer.

But it's by far the lightest knife I've ever carried. I don't even notice it.

 

[MinuteManMike]

My main EDC is a Kershaw w/ the Wave opening for quick deploy. I think it was $67? I love the Wave opening and doubt I'll ever not carry one with it or a similar feature. I worry about losing it but I'd rather have the features I want than skimp and have something I cannot pull out when I need it.

I also EDC an old Leatherman Wave for everything else. I keep wanting to switch to a Wave Plus because of the versatility of the bit set but I have attachment to the original.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Some of us can be a bit bourgeois and like nice things. Nice things can be expensive.

 

[DadSmith]

Kershaw Leek for me.

 

[Steve]

Leatherman PST ll for me. Not the worlds' best blade, but sufficient enough for most of my day to day use. More importantly, the variety of blade options makes it versatile enough to handle most simple tasks. Broke way to many blades on my pocket knives using them for things they were never intended for. If I am going to filet fish, skin game, baton kindling, then I grab the knife designed for that function. If I have to repair something, tighten something, pry something, or hammer something, then I will get with I need to do such things. The right tool for the right job comes to mind. And if I were to lose it, I already have a backup setting in a dresser drawer. Paid $25.00 @ for them years ago, so not a big monetary investment, big huge rewards.

 

[Nazgul]

Kershaw Leek for me.
View attachment 195757

I have one of these as well, actually 2 of them. Swap out with the CRKT M4, it is lighter.

My best friend and shooting buddy passed away 2 years ago. He bought a Leek and was bragging about it to me. I liked it and bought one, paid $5 less than he did. Had to brag about getting a better deal than he did. That started it, every time I was with him I reminded him of this so when he lost his knife, he found one $3 cheaper than mine. Now I was getting reminded all the time of paying too much for mine. When I misplaced mine I bought one at a gunshow for half price, it was engraved as a giveaway for a company no longer in business. Which of course started the argument about whether I could claim it as a legitimate new price. So it went until he had cancer, one day he admitted his were actually more expensive because 3 times when leaving on a business trip he had to mail it home from the airport. He was a good friend and I miss him.

Sold a car I had to our daughter/son in law. He was cleaning it up and found my lost knife in the seat track of the drivers seat. Must have been 5 years later.

Did not mean to derail the thread but pocket knives have meaning beyond their cost and utility.

Don

 

[edwea]

How I use a knife at work is different than how I use one out of work. I am harder on knives at work and am more likely to lose them. Once I clock in, I do most of my cutting with a Klein fixed blade utility knife.

It has a full tang and the straight edge gets sharp fast and easy. When not on the clock, it's a rat 2. Neither are expensive, but the rat is certainly more refined.

 

[Bugzilla]

 

[ghuns]

...Do you guys ever feel bad for using your expensive knife heavily? I routinely cut lids off plastic buckets, deburr aluminum, cut or strip wire, cut up triple layer cardboard gaylords, and do a bunch of other heavy cutting with that utility folder. It kinda made me feel bad doing that stuff with a nice spendy kinife...

There are tools made for deburring aluminum and cutting/stripping wire. I don't expect a pocket knife to do those tasks.

Everything else you listed, my ZT0300 and/or ZT0452 does easily.

I only carry cheap knives, $30-40 range, if I think it's likely I'll lose one. And by 'lose' I mean, get it confiscated by security or something.

We were in Vegas last week and I was carrying a $30 Amazon, Chinese D2 ripoff of a Hinderer. We did some hiking in Red Rock Canyon and I wanted a fairly beefy knife. I also carried it all over the strip without incident but when we went on the High Roller, the giant Ferris wheel, I had to empty my pockets to through security. Guard said, no way. I offered him $40 to hold it. He said, no. I could have walked a mile, in 95 degree heat, back to the hotel, or I could throw it in the trash. I chose the trash. I hope that guard dug it out. It was actually a pretty decent knife.

I still had two more knives in my suitcase so cutting limes for my gin and tonic back at our room wasn't interrupted.

 

[Pepi]

I carry an OTF Lightning made in Taiwan. 25 bucks