Last weekend Home Depot included 2 knives in their holiday sales. One was a chinese knockoff of the Leatherman Micra (adds pliers and saw, loses the tweezers). The other was a folder with a razor blade for the edge. They are selling for $1.98 -- still had them in stock today.

They look somewhat tolerable. The blades aren't loose. The tools all seem to work. The blade is reasonably sharp. I could see the advantage of a replaceable edge on the folder for some situations.

The question is... is it better to spend $25 for one quality Leatherman squirt to keep in your EDC? Or buy a half dozen cheap but workable replacements and put one in each kit, with extras for the car, the office, etc.

If anything I would split the difference. EDC a high quality tool and supplement that with cheaper ones stashed in kits.
Personally I am a "one good tool" person that said each day the cheapos get better and better in quality. Check the edges on the knife though. I have seen $2 multitools that can't cut a thing; I even ran the blade across my palm.
Bill

I bought a couple as of each as stocking stuffers. The folder with a razor blade takes the small blades and seems to be ok for what it is a light weight tool for light jobs. I have some of the full size ones and love them.
The small multi tools are a little stiff but could be usefulaain for light jobs. I would and will buy a few more just to put in different kits, just remeber they are not high quality tools. the people I got them for are more intresed in the cute factor rather than actual use.

It's a judgment call. Some things I buy cheap, but some I depend on and want better quality. A friend buys cheap knives to give away as souvenirs at events. They're crap, and he's given me one every year for 5 or 6 years now, and they sit in a drawer because they won't hold an edge long enough to open an envelop.

The knives are perfect for him, because he gives them away. :-> My preference for a survival kit is to get quality gear, because I need it to work when I need it.

For two bucks, I'd say buy one and use it. See how it works for you. Use it before you need it and see if you're getting your money's worth.

As far as I'm concerned, don't buy a thing made in China when you can buy something made in the US if you have to pay 100 times the price, and I don't care whether I catch hell for saying it or not.

This was a forum issue over 7 years ago. Pre 9/11 and the collision of a American aircraft with a chicom Mig made country of origin a issue Doug felt the need to address with feedback from the forum. Politics aside, there is a decided material and philosophical difference between cheap and inexpensive. A chicom multitool is cheap, and directly represents a marketing move to secure sales of an american ( by way of swiss inspiration)intellectual and material product. A Mora is inexpensive, and hardly represents a market grab by a nation who's best efforts have been Volvos and ABBA.

Well said- innexpensive is good. Cheap kills.

go for quality over quantity always

albeit taken out of context, but...


that's a hard order to fill!

Welcome! Thanks for the contribution. We all use the word "cheap" so interchangeably with "inexpensive" ti was good to be reminded of the distinct difference between the two.