Spark stated:
"There is no magic in the common steels & materials. If you feel it's worth an extra $250 for maybe 2% of performance difference and an extra few ounces in blade steel, you made the right choice."
If you believe what you wrote above that a 400.00 Strider only gives you 2% better performance over a 50.00 CRKT product [ maybe ], you haven't handled a Strider to understand the performance or you perhaps don't know how weak the CRKT line of knives is in reality.
I tested an m16 CRKT on our website at
http://www.folders-r-us.org/full_tests.htm
As you'll note if you care to read the review, the CRKT m-16's tip did not survive stabbing it into soft pine after three repetitions. The tip bent on the first tip strength test, then broke it's tip off a few stabs later.
The test of the Chinook 1 on the same site by my contractor [ who broke several knives I gave him within weeks ] is still up and running with nary a nick, let alone a failure of any kind in the lock or blade under some very adverse conditions he runs them through in the course of a day.
The difference? The CRKT can be had for 36.00 on the internet and runs about 50.00 retail. The Chinook runs about 165.00 and can be had for 110.00 or thereabouts from the internet vendors [ I get them cheaper than that as a retailer ].
The CRKT lasted a few minutes under hard use. The Chinook is still running after more abuse than the CRKT could ever take. Which would you consider the better knife in overall performance? Which knife of the two would you want with you in an emergency where all you had would need to be used in a field expediant manner as a survival tool?
2% difference between them? Hardly, more like 2000% difference or more from actual testing of products in different price points in the market. This isn't theory here, but actual results from testing.
I can tell you that a Strider in various models or an Extrema Ratio folder will outperform the Chinook in either flavor [ the original or the Chinook 11 ].
So we see that the performance difference is not your [ 2% maybe ] as you stated and believe. It is well beyond 1000% difference at the very least. You may want to reconsider your opinions about the difference between 50.00 and 150.00-400.00 folders based on real testing and not hypothetical rhetoric which has no basis in fact in the real world.
There's a big difference in the quality of the steels used, their heat treat, workmanship, and overall performance as well, unlike your statement that there's no magic in common steels which seems to be invalid as well from actual testing.
I use an SAK hiker to cut string and boxes, it's carried everyday. I carry a high dollar [ if thats what 150.00 is to you ] defensive folder to be there in the event I need it to save the bacon or get me out of a tight spot where others would fail at the same task.
I may need an expediant field tool for extrication of myself or another. I like knowing the knives I carry are capable of performing what I may need them to do in an emergency under adverse conditions. You can't count on the CRKT knives to be able to handle those types of events without failure in quick order. In fact, if all I had was an m-16 CRKT [ or any of their models ] I would not attempt to use it as it would fail. Knowing that, why would I try to use it in the first place.
My defensive folder will stab through a car door with nary a sweat broken. That I know it can survive the rough use it may need to be used for one day gives me the confidence I require of my chosen equipment.
The man who amputated his arm to escape death from under the rock wished he had had a better knife than the cheapo multi-tool he had with him which made for one hellacious probelm cutting through bone. My chosen EDC's would not even be phased at the event. Big difference wouldn't you say?
He was supposed to be a pro and know the ropes. Here he is carryng a cheapo multi-tool and didn't understand that in an emergency he would need better equipment.
Penny wise and pound foolish. Now lets ask you a question in a hypothetical here.
You need to extricate yourself or a loved one from a burning vehicle. I can hand you the 400.00 "tank" or the 50.00 CRKT to perform the extrication to bring yourself or your loved ones out of the car. Am I now to understand from your previous posts you would take the 50.00 knife? I doubt it very much, and you'll more than likely pick the better, more robust tool right?
So if you would pick the better tool for obvious reasons, why do you have a hard time picking the same tool before an event happens where you need it.
Forethought----It goes a long way in this world we live in. Some people are destined to make mistakes/wrong choices even though they have the advantage of others mistakes before them.
I'll not be one of them when ever I have the choices to make. YMMV, of course.
So, the answer to the posters question is a BIG yes, there is a very big difference in performance and materials used. Thats from real world testing and not posturing a reply based on assumptions and personal opinions.
Golgo: Because he used a cheap china knockoff does not negate the fact a better knife would have made the job easier and stayed sharper longer while doing the cutting, especially through bone. One knife might make a clean cut and the cheapo china knife would not have been ideal for going through bone. In times like that, the faster you get through the hard work, the better.
The guy I mentioned trapped has cited he wished he had a better knife for the task that was at hand that day. Lessons learned from real world experience. I suppose we should listen tothose who have gone before us and made mistakes but still found a way to survive it all.
Brownie
