The Pendelton Lite is made out of 4116 steel. Pretty much equivalent to 420HC from what I've read. Certainly not a high end steel on that Pendelton either. Many Cold Steel knives are made in Taiwan, and I'll be willing to bet that the Pendelton Lite is one of those, given its prce point.

When you are looking at $15 knives, what do you expect? They will be perfectly serviceable knives, but not high end ones. I would expect the SOG, the Cold Steel and the Mora to all be in the same class of knives - inexpensive, compromises taken in design/materials, but serviceable. I personally do not like the hard plastic handles like on the Pendelton Lite and some of the Moras. They certainly work, but do not exude a feeling of quality craftsmanship. Nothings going to do that as these price points.

Personally I think I would be happy with any of these three knives. I like the softer handle on the SOG the best. The semi-soft Mora Clipper second, and the Pendleton hard plastic third. But that's just my personal preference.