Originally Posted By: dougwalkabout
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 wink )


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.
_________________________
“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman