I was whittling out a spoon that I burned out last Friday, using my Frost’s Mora knife. Looking at the $11 knife I wondered if there was a better bargain on a solid performing bit of gear.

What do you think?

A good solid knife is hard to beat no matter what type. If you have a knife and some skill, there are a number of additional things you can make with it. So, I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would be a better bargain... Except perhaps the knife of your choice bought on sale. LOL

I guess I will be the one to say it...P-38 (the canopener, not the pistol or airplane). It really only does one thing, but it does it well, and for sure doesn't cost much...

i wish i knew where to buy a Mora...

my micra was cheap... aka rescued from a *junk* drawer

www.ragweedforge.com tell Ragnar I sent you.

katarin, follow the link from Chris Kavanugh and buy a mora from Ragnar. Wait, don't buy one, buy at least a few. He charges the same price to ship one knife as he does to send one. he also has good prices on Opinel knives, which are inexpensive folders with locking rings (if you buy a knife as large as an OP-6) from France. I'm not fond of most things from France, but these are a good value.

I'm with OBG on the P-38, although I prefer a P-51 because I find it easier to use. Both can also do several jobs, not just open cans, such these on a list I found: 1. Can Opener, 2. Seam Ripper, 3. Screwdriver, 4. Clean Fingernails, 5. Cut Fishing Line, 6. Open Paint Cans, 7. Window Scraper, 8. Scrape Around Floor Corners, 9. Digging, 10. Clean Out Groove on Tupperware lids, 11. Reach in and Clean Out Small Cracks, 12. Scrape Around Edge of Boots, 13. Bottle Opener, 14. Gut Fish (in the field), 15. Scale Fish, 16. Test for 'Doneness' When Baking on a Camp Fire, 17. Prying Items, 18. Strip Wire, 19. Scrape Pans, 20. Lift Key on Flip Top Cans, 21. Chisel, 22. Barter, 23. Marking Tool, 24. Deflating Tires, 25. Clean Sole of Boot/Shoe, 26. Pick Teeth, 27. Measurement, 28. Striking Flint, 29. Stirring Coffee, 30. Puncturing Plastic Coating, 31. Knocking on Doors, 32. Morse Code, 33. Box Cutter, 34. Opening Letters, 35. Write Emergency Messages, 36. Scratch an Itch, 37. Save as a Souvenir, 38. Rip Off Rank for On-the-Spot Promotions, 39. Bee sting removal tool (scrape off w/ blade).


One other thing I love, that is inexpensive as all heck, that I have in my BOB, and I think everyone should have and know what to do with is yeast. It's cheap, and it's found and cheap in just about every grocery store. If you know what you are doing with it, you can use it and make more of it at the same time. You can take something that does not taste good and make it taste delicious, and you might be able to make a decent beverage with it, in which nothing pathogenic can grow.

i'll second Chris on Ragweed.it's the only place i'll buy knives on the web..

As Kris and others have noted, Ragweed forge is a great place to purchase knives. Ragnar is also good about answering questions about his products.

I sent 4 emails to Ragnar and never got a reply...now the knife I want it out of stock.

I've since ordered similar product from www.bensbackwoods.com . So far I've been very happy with the customer service.

I know you'll all think I'm nuts, but the really dirt cheap ($3.29/dozen) whistles from the link below are pretty darn decent - though they aren't pealess. Great for kids!!

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/search/processRequest.do?Ntt=IN-20%2F45&requestURI=searchMain&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&N=0&x=29&y=11

You may also think I'm nuts in saying that the S30V knives that Doug Ritter has designed and sells are really amazingly low-priced for knives with that steel, with some fairly well-known exceptions (like the some of the Cabelas S30V knives).

That is especially true for the fixed blade Mk3. Until somewhat recently it was nearly impossible to find a lower cost S30V fixed bladed knife.