Fave small folding knives in the around $15 prince range?

Simply put, you will not get a "great" folding knife in this price range.

If you want an adequate knife, the Leatherman c33x which with careful shopping, be purchased right at the $15.00 upper limit.

Change your price range from $15.00 - $25.00 then there are some good (but not great) knives to be had...

Great? Only if you're really lucky. Highly serviceable? Sure.

Knives I regularly see in the $10-15 zone:
- Leatherman c33
- Opinel #7
- Buck Bantam, BuckLite/Bucklite Max Folding Knife,
- Victorinox Driver or Porter

Don't overlook creative sources for gently-used blades:
- second-hand stores and garage sales
- auctioned lots of TSA confiscated items
- knife knuts (buy us a few brewskies, we all have surplus bins )

I think I got my Gerber Mini Paraframe for $13 locally, so online it must be cheaper. How great is it? I've opened boxes with it, cut coupons out, opened bills with it, cut myself (only superficially). I guess it all depends on what you want it for. Is it more versatile than my RSK 5? No. But, what I use it for it's perfect. I like that it's not so big that people look at you funny when you bring it out to cut a zip-tie or something. It looks like an average pen-knife for the most part.

-Jason

If you're lucky you can get a kabar dozier folder for $15 on ebay. Usually they're a couple of bucks more then that, but excellent folders at any price.

Mercator K55K, black cat

sorry. nothing personal, but you're missing the boat.

there are NO great folders for that price.
the blade quality would be garbage and construction highly doubtful.

my suggestion ... save your money until you can afford a really good knife from an outfit like Emerson Knives or Cold Steel.

Pete2

I once picked up a Spyderco Byrd Meadowlark for $18 shipped. The best price I see for it now is roughly $23. Best knife I've ever owned in the sub-$50 range. The Leatherman C33x is pretty decent but the ergonomics of the Meadowlark work better for me.

there are plenty of decent folding knives in that price range.

whether they are "great" is something else.

you can often find good stuff on clearance or used that is very servicable, but maybe not "great".

Hear, hear: the original lockback folder, selling for 1.99 in my youth. One quibble: Those are not K's, they are brackets- the ultimate K is backward.

My EDC knife is a Byrd Robin. I thik this knife is a real gem. I paid less than $15 for it when they first came out. Now they have the "Robin 2", which is just slightly above your price limit at New Graham ($17.99):

http://newgraham.com/store/product/8228/Robin-2-FRN-Plain-Edge/

nursemike... got one in front of me(it's my letter opener)and never noticed that before...anyway, didn't know how to reverse the "K" on the computer...

The afore mentioned Bantam

Swiss army steel blade large enough to carve with

can opener, bottle opener, phillips and flat point screwdriver all on one tool of the knife

Thin in the pocket

I looked up some cheap folders I bought. The cheapest decent folder I've bought is $23 on Amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Smith-Wesson-CKG105-Extreme-Folder/dp/B0014VGJFO/ref=cm_cr-mr-title
I've bought cheaper folders, but none would I plan to use on purpose.

A quick upgrade to a cheap knife is take out each screw, drop in Blue Loctite, and screw back in. Also, buy a decent sharpener. You will have to sharpen more often. I personally don't mind. Sharpening more often allows me to keep up with my sharpening skills, and I'm not nervous about sharpening a cheap knife.

Others have mentioned it, but I think the Victorinox Driver would be my choice for the price range; they are availble locally for $14.50.



While I haven't used this particular model, I really have no qualms calling Victorinox SAKs great little folders.

Several of the Opinel folders are available within that price range too. While I have no experience with the brand, I've heard good things.

No they are a little different, driver has nylon scales and recruit has cellidor scales.

Trying the bear grylls "scout"

any real SAK (swiss army knives by victorinox or wenger) you can find for that price (as mentioned above). they're the only ones that fit the phrase "great" in that range.

One of my favorites in the ~$10 range is the Case Mini-Blackhorn.

Classic lock-back design, 2 1/4" blade, light-weight, pretty sharp out of the package, and they're made right in Pennsylvania by Case knives. Lowes sells them for $10.98+tax.

I put my vote in for the victorinox swiss army knife along the lines ofthe recruit ... if you don't mind something a bit smaller you can get a few more tools on the classic size models. I have no personal experience with it yet but the new SOG fusion micron also looks promising.

If you want bang for buck, the SRM and Enlan knives from China are getting good reviews (I appreciate some people will not want to purchase from China for a variety of reasons, and I know that some of their output is shoddy - but feedback on those two brands on British Blades forum has been very positive)

Not what I would call great, but these are serviceable.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/boker-magnum-ergo-slim-knife-single-blade-frame-lock~p~3600t/?filterString=s~knives%2F&colorFamily=01

And I haven't used this particular model, but other SOG knives I've used have been well made. (And yes, it busts the budget by $4)

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/sog-autoclip-folding-knife-lockback~p~3781h/?filterString=s~knives%2F&colorFamily=99

Gerber Ultralight L.S.T.

Folks,

FYI, KMart has put the Gerber Bear Grylls line on clearance. On Monday I am purchasing the mid-size (Scout)for $14 (reg. 26.99). Not necessarily great, but I've read solid reviews. They are also getting rid of several models of other Gerber.

Svord Peasant Knife $15.98 at bensbackwoods.com.I do not have this knife but have seen and heard good reviews....


BOATMAN
John

Fast review of the Gerber BG Scout...

Two things that I dislike: the lock release is in a place that I find inconvenient and the cut-outs for it are just a bit too shallow (and I have small hands/fingers). Not crazy about the BG logo and signature on the blade, but that has nothing to do with performance.

I do like the orange highlights on the grip and that it is rubber. The thumb studs are ambidextrous and the opening action works well for "quick flick." The belt clip is placed well for a very low-profile carry in a pocket.

I'll use it tomorrow on my outing. Hope to fish, but I'll hike at the least. Will add to the review after.

I had no need for the knife today, but it carried secure inside my belt.

I saw those Kershaws and was tempted, but skeptical. Its good to know that the Crown model is worthwhile.

Until you started this thread, I hadn't really thought much about or paid much attention to knives in this price point. Now, of course, I am seeing them everywhere I turn (or at least it seems that way), esp on a recent visit to the Smoky Mountain Knife works in Tennessee. My vote is still for the Victorinox Swiss army knives, but there appear to be MANY other options as well.

Review update...

After a few days of EDC, I am still pleased with the knife. The clip is VERY strong. Edge retention has been very good, with a few whisks on a stone enough to refresh. Had been concerned that it is a wider blade, but that hasn't been much of an issue. I used the knife for fine work today and it performed beyond my expectations.

For less than $14, this is a solid knife and one that I'm pleased to carry. I'll carry it again on an outing tomorrow.

Nothing against bargains, but i'd rather go cheap on a fixed blade than a folder. My hands are worth too much to depend on questionable locking mechanisms. Of course every knife can fail, I've just had better luck with Spyderco, Cold Steel, etc.

Well, the SAKs are nice knives and generally available in the $15 range. Normally I'm leery of cheap knives- that's something I feel strongly that you shouldn't skimp on. That said, I know that not everyone can drop $100 on a Spyderco or Knives of Alaska folder. For many it will be a cheap knife or no knife. Personally I'd much rather have a $15 Mora than any $15 folder, but of course not everyone can legally carry a fixed blade, either.

For EDC at the $15 mark I guess a SAK would be my suggestion. If you can stretch the budget even incrementally you can start to get something a bit better. If you're gonna use it a lot I think you'd be better off with an appropriately sized Spyderco or Kershaw. My EDC knife is a Spyderco Ladybug 3 in Zdp189. It's literally scalpel sharp OOtB. And while it's just over 2" folded it's actually very usable and feels good in the hand. A Dragonfly 2 will offer more capability yet while still being very easy to carry. I'd consider the Spyderco Delica to be the largest knife I could tolerate in my pocket for EDC.

For just under $30 it would be hard to beat the Spyderco Persistence. It's between the Delica & Dragonfly sizes and is a very nice design.

In the Kershaw line I'm very fond of the Leek, Chive, & Scallion. As compared to the Spydercos they're somewhat heavier as since they have metal scales. The Kershaws open faster than the Sypercos (IMO) but are somewhat slower to close. Spyderco has the edge if you're into exotic steels; they offer many advanced steels like CPM-M4, CPM-S90V, ZDP-189, etc. In their smaller knives you can get S30V, VG-10 and ZDP-198. With the Kershaws you're limited to generic SS on the low end to Sandvick and D2 on the upper end. Still, at the $30-ish price point the knife steels are pretty comparable.

Please note that I didn't comparison shop for the best price- the links are just to the first hit I got at Amazon.com. Most of them have cheaper options than the ones listed.

At any rate, that's just a knife geeks $.02 worth!

Wow, I totally missed that one! Opinels are really amazing knives for the money, within the range of the applications they're suitable for. Since the handles are wood they do swell when it's humid, making them occasionally hard to operate. And they're light enough I wouldn't baton with them. But the steel is superb and they take a great edge. They "lock" fairly securely.

I have half a dozen of them and couldn't recommend them more highly. A Mora is a bit more broadly capable for the price but of course not foldable.

Last night, I opened a knife DW picked up on our recent trip to Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Tennessee (disclaimer, no affiliations with any company discussed here or anywhere else). It was intended to be used as a gift but since the price point was about $10 I couldn't resist opening it and posting about it here.

The knife? A Gerber/Bear Grills basic Swiss army type. My preliminary inspection revealed nice tight springs - VERY tight, so tight in fact I could not operate the apparently one-hand opening main blade one handed (hoping some oil and a little breaking in will solve that).

Speaking of the main blade, it appears to be a bit more robust than the main blade on my SAK. A nice wharncliffe/sheepsfoot style blade to maximize the length of the cutting edge. It also feels good and sharp. Maybe not "shave the hair off a fleas legs" kind of scary scalpel sharp, but I felt like I'd be able to slice paper with it (there was no paper within my reach or I'd have tested that theory). Note that neither the main blade nor any of the other blades locked in the open position (which might account for the exceptionally tight springs).

The other blades are typical SAK type tools, with a large flathead driver on the end of the bottle opener, a small flathead driver, and a phillips driver.

The overall package is a bit smaller than my Victorinox SAK (the 3 1/2" model) but the blade seemed to be a bit larger than on my SAK (I did not get a chance to do a real side by side comparison, these are mainly just my first impressions of the knife after pulling it out of it's clamshell packaging). If it is not a bit longer, it is definitely wider and thicker. The handles are some type of rubber and have a good grippy feel to them (which certainly helps since it is a bit shorter than my SAK).

These are just first impressions. Unfortunately, only time will tell if it will hold up as well as the SAK I've been carrying around for the last 15 years or more. As always, YMMV.

I can rule out two knives definitively.

Among the Gerbers that my employer has disconitued are the Vise mini MUT and the Mini Remix. I acquired each for $1.50 & $2.50 respectively.

http://www.gerberknivesdirect.com/mini-remix_30-000163.html

I am convinced that this is an unsafe knife. The opening action is stiff and requires two hands. The skeletal design is minimalist and forces the user to an unsafe action for closing the knife. The ring may aid in blade control, but that did not work for me; it shaped my hand to an unnatural position for cutting. The blade was not sharp at all fresh out of the packaging. I don't know how I'll integrate this into my gear.

The Vise is simply too small and the attachments awkward for regular use. It has been relegated to beer opener (I'll test that in a few minutes).

The BG Compact Scout is $7. Good luck.

It's not small, but my fave folder for under $15 would be the S&W HRT plain edge. $13 on sale at Big 5.

I'll try to add some pics this evening, but for now, I can give an update on this one as well. My first impressions of the main blade on the BG knife were a bit off.

It is not thicker than my SAK main blade, though it definitely is a bit wider (not sure how this BG main blade would stack up to the farmer type series main blade though). The main blade on the BG is also a bit shorter, BUT the actual cutting edge on the BG is a bit LONGER due to the grind coming closer to the handle area and the sheepsfoot style blade shape.

There are other things about the BG knife that are missing that I really like about my SAK, such as the saw blade, tweezers, and the attachment point for a split ring. While the BG knife seems pretty well made, all in all, at this point, I think I'd still go with the SAK.

I recently came across this knife from eka. Does anyone have any experience with it? I'm especially interested in the blade grind.

Been carrying the Bear Grylls compact scout for a month..Very nice for daily use.
Lacks an easy open or pocket clip; but otherwise nice. Runs $8-16

I haven't handled one, but it looks interesting.

I wish there were more Mora folders. The last one I ever saw, many years ago, was a Normark Super Swede, which I'd love to add to my collection.



EDIT: Apparently there's a similar Swedish folder still available called the EKA Swede 92. Was branded as the Normark American Hunter years back. Don't you just love the Web? (This is OT, sorry.)