For Less than $20

[sm]

For Less than $20 a person can have a quality knife that will perform many tasks , last for a long long time AND get sharpening equipment to maintain this knife.

Got your attention? You don't believe me? Here we go...

Sharpening.
1. Sandpaper of various grits atop a magazine, newspaper or a mouse pad. Since I do not own , much less use a mouse pad...
Learn to sharpen Free Hand. Reality is - Serious situations, camping, hiking, or whatever ...
I paid .47 per sheet at the Hardware Store for Sandpaper.

2. Rapala Mini Crock Stick Sharpener.
Red ones with Fine sticks - $1.49 .
Gray one for $2.49 has Fine Sticks and Flip it over and has Medium Sticks.

3. Norton India Stones . I like the IB6 combination stone, and while I forget the exact price - I know it was less than $20.
I cannot find the Norton India Stone I had, and want again that is ~ 3" X 1 1/2" that fits into a leather sheath.

4. Emery Boards.
These run from 6"X 3/4" to 7"x1" in size. The ones I like are "thicker" and "padded" and have a fine grit on one side and a coarser one on the other.
Akin to using sandpaper on a mouse pad.
I've paid anywhere from .50 to $1 each for these, depends on where I am , and if buying separate or in a package.

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Okay I am going to be honest right up front. I have used for too many years - and prefer Carbon knives of 1095 steel , and Case Chrome Vanadium. I like the scary sharp edges, the way these steels hold an edge, have elasticity and are easy to sharpen.

Swiss Army knives ...I am having to "accept".
Kicking, biting, screaming mind you, still acceptance is the key. Ticks me off SAK can do for the money what they do, with a warranty that other companies can't/won't.
These do not have character and soul to me - which (kicking and screaming still) I have to admit comes into play if I loan one out and some knucklehead does not know how to use a knife and abuses it, I lose one - or just need a backup knife. Mumble, Grumble , Cuss , Fuss...Kick...

Knives

5. Old Hickory by Ontario Knife Company.
http://www.ontarioknife.com/oldhickory.html

Product Number 753-3 1/4 I paid $2.89 at the local hardware store.
Now according to my state regs, legal length blade limit is 3 1/2" , so if I stick this one in my pocket (index card sheath is the fancy one - scrab cardboard my woods walking - grubby sheath) I am "legal".

Product 750 - 4" Paring knife I paid $3.89 for it.
Product 7-6 - 6" Butcher Knife - I do not recall what I last paid. I want to guess/say $7 tops??

Now I have cleaned game / fish , made a lean-to shelter, cut rope, cut rope binding yard debris, cut plants , shrubs , saplings...with the 3 1/4" .

Product 750 - 4" - Ditto . Product 7-6 - 6" - Ditto.



6. Victorinox® Solo™ with Textured Red Composition Handle.
http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e....y=0&list=10&range=1&order=Default&SKU=V53842

Compares in size to Case yellow handled Barehead Trapper with CV blade I like. (048)

This knife I have used over the years as a backup. Scary Sharp out of the box! All of mine and anyone else's I have handled and used are great in fit and finish. I kid you not when I type this / these sucker have some serious "walk & talk". I mean more definite , crisp, and "sure" than many many lockable knives. Meaning - you know that sucker is open and you have to "get it" to close.

Cleaned game/ fish, camped, hiked, cut rope , kitchen duty, cut boxes up, rope...heater hoses....

7. Victorinox® Textured Silver Alox Solo™
http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e....y=0&list=10&range=1&order=Default&SKU=V53950
Tad smaller, tad more money. Ditto on review of Solo.

Another quirk of mine. I have no problem carrying a single blade knife.
I do not care for the can/bottle openers and other gigdet-gadgets for 99.8% of what I carry a knife for.

I do appreciate a smaller blade for whittling , piddlin' and the next two knives are great EDCs and allow one to do so.

8.Victorinox® Pioneer Settler™ with Ribbed Silver Alox Handle
http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e....y=0&list=10&range=1&order=Default&SKU=V53966

9. Victorinox® Pocket Pal™
http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e....y=0&list=10&range=1&order=Default&SKU=V53281

Both of these I have used for what I shared about for #'s 6 and 7.
Serious "walk & talk" , again better fit , finish , out of box sharp than "collector"knives I have handled / examined with out of aligned blades, Whimpy backsprings and all.

These fit in pockets real nice for ladies , gents. Great for whittlin, as I shared.

So here are some knives and "sharpeners" for under $20.

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Notes:

I am in no way associated with or receive any compensation for any company, product or websites linked to. I do not have a camera and the links used were provided for sake of providing a visual aid and reference.



Now - another quirk in regard to numbers 8 and 9 :
The style known as "Canoe" with one back spring for both blades is hard to find - especially in Carbon steel 1095 / Chrome Vanadium.
Seems some knuckleheads got this bright idea to use two back springs and make the knife thicker.
Great EDC and tough for "ranching/ farming chores even in
3 1/4" - 3 1/2" size these are.

Gripe: Nobody makes this knife like number 8, 9 ,or the Canoe with a Sheepsfoot and Spey blade only.

Yes you read that Gripe correctly.
Sheepsfoot is a serious cutting blade.
Spey is a wicked design for opening Cokes, tin cans , to some serious , delicate, intricate, peeling, skinning, separating shaving and all sorts of uses - not having anything to do with the castration of animals.

You can slice a wiring harness to get to wires , to use for making a snare, shelter and ...


I know others understand where I am coming from and have ideas for $20 and under too...
Please share.


Steve

 

[Kingcreek]

For about $7 each, I have several Erikkson Mora with carbon steel blades. I keep them in various handy places and one always stays in my pack as a weighs-almost-nothing spare. Excellent steel and an under-appreciated knife.

I have several sharpening methods on my shop bench but when I'm hunting I carry a small 3.5" arkansas stone and 2 grits of wet/dry sand paper. I can restore a shaving sharp edge on anything fron an axe to a filet knife.

 

[TrapperReady]

Some other "under $20" knives that I like:

- Opinel (have one in my truck, one in the kitchen)
- Ka-Bar Dozier (gave away like candy to relatives and friends two years ago)
- Shrade Sharpfinger (although I'm not sure about the new ones)
- Victorinox Tinker (always in right front pocket)

 

[Pax Jordana]

SM, normally I only understand about 40% of the words that come outta your keyboard. I blame your grammatical style, but that probably means the problem's on my end

This post, however, is really enlightening. I always like the superhot space-age steel knives from places like Cold Steel, but frankly when am I gonna be splicing electrical wires in a close orbit around the sun?

so, +1. Keep posting the knife deals too guys!!

Edited, later: You sandpaper guys! what grits do you carry? I assume they're for finishing the edge, so they'd be rather fine?

 

[mp510]

If you watch the Dick's circular, around the start of hunting season you can get a Buck 110 for less than $20.

 

[Kingcreek]

sandpaper. I think mine are 200 and 400, about 3"x7" and usually rolled up with a piece of leather (same size) that is impregnated with some rouge. conventional sharpening stroke with stone- paper and leather are for backstrokes or stropping the edge. I use the sandpaper over the leather for just a little give to the backing.
If I am carrying my hatchet, I add a small file to my pack.
In case you,ve never tried it, you can also strop a fine edge with plain ol' corrugated cardboard or the inside surface of a leather belt.
also might add the cold steel Bushman to the list and I agree with TR on the Dozier K-bar.
also watch those flea markets, yard sales, and pawn shops for used buck 110s, spydercos, case, etc
at a gunshow, I paid $1 for a worn out slaughterhouse knife that was basically a comfortable handle with the 4" spine of a boning knife remaining. used it for years in the garden. best punkin carvin knife I ever had.

 

[Wedge]

I would think you could find a decent fixed blade under 5.5" (legal limit to carry in Texas) and a sharpening stone, used for under $20. I found a 5" hunting knife, Case brand, for $10 on ebay and you can get a stone for only a few dollars. I think I paid $3 for my boy scout stone (like a middle grade grit) and I still have it. My buck 119 is 6" so I cannot carry it, only use it for hunting and it is a $40 knife and falls outside of this situation.

Cost me $15 to get a "fancy" sharpening set from Wal-Mart.

Victorinox steel is very hard - it will keep an edge but putting one on it is a nightmare. I still have my locking "adventurer" that I got when I was 15 and still a boy scout. I think that knife is closer to $30 though I could be mistaken.

Well I need to go sharpen my chef's knife, it is dull has heck and barely cubed up beef for stew!

 

[Dr. Mudd]

I love cheap knives that get the job done!

I don't see sharpening on a budget as much of a problem. You can always use emery cloth or emery paper ("wet-or-dry"), and in many parts of the country you can just pick up a rock off the ground or out of a stream.

Many of my favorite low cost knives have been mentioned already, but I'd like to point out a few more.

In fixed blade style, it's hard to beat an Old Hickory (boner, butcher, and/or parer), especially if you can pick up an older one that's still in decent shape at a flea market or yard sale. Other older carbon steel kitchen knives may qualify, too. None should cost over about $5. In new fixed blades, you just can't beat a Swedish Mora knife by Frost's or K. J. Eriksson for about $10 to $12 each. I'm also impressed with Cold Steel's Bushman with its big 7-inch blade and handle forged out of one piece of carbon steel. (If all these touchy-feely warm-and-fuzzy types REALLY wanted to help out some poor primitive people in remote areas, they should drop off a load of Bushman knives and issue one to everybody over the age of 10.) On Cold Steel's Christmas sale they were selling Bushmans (Bushmen?) at two for $30. What a deal!

For a cheap but practical folder, it's hard to beat one model or another of the French Opinel line. Most should be $10 or less. Besides being light in weight, comfortable to hold and use, and dirt simple in design, they even look nice. Opinels come in an amazing variety of sizes, too. All have single blades, and most use carbon steel. Though the don't have a spring, they do lock open or closed with the twist of a simple ring. The number in their model number seems to indicate an approximate overall length in inches. A 7 or 8 works well in my pocket. Another amazing French folder is the Douk-Douk. The original model that dates back to about 1927 is the "medium" size in their lineup today, and it's definitely the most practical. One of these will run you real close to $20, though their extreme simplicity should cause them to cost less in my opinion. Douk-Douks are not widely sold in the US, but they are very rugged and nearly unique in their design, being made entirely of carbon steel, handle and all. I do like that Douk-Douk in my back pocket! A knife I never leave home without is some model of Victorinox Swiss Army Knife, preferably one with the checkered/ribbed Alox (aluminum alloy) handles, though these usually miss the $20 cutoff by a few bucks. Vic's somewhat largish single blade Solo with the red plastic handle is a real bargain at only $8, though. There's just one more of my recent favorites I'll mention, and then I'll go away for the night. That fine, old, German company known as Boker (AKA Tree Brand) has been making some models in Argentina for some years now, and the quality is still there, just at a lower price because of the cheaper Argentine labor costs. I recently got a Boker Sodbuster (the large size) for only $13 from Smoky Mountain Knife Works, though I see advertised elsewhere for double that. That Sodbuster is a really stout, substantial feeling hunk of knife with its single, straight, carbon steel blade.

 

[HiWayMan]

The best outdoors knife I have ever used. Great for fish, game, the kitchen, and people.

http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/eCommerce/product.jsp?range=101&Mode=Cat&Cat=53&SKU=NM3032

Plus it comes with the sharpener mentioned by Steve.

 

[lawson]

my favorite Old Hickory knives are the 3" paring knife and the 5" boning knife, both of which i keep in my chuckbox for camping trips. the rainbow trout around here tend to be smaller, so the 3" paring knife is perfect for cleaning them.

another cheap knife i'm partial to is the Camillus What-a-Knife. a sturdy little folder for under $5, and holds a pretty decent edge. i give them away to friends and relatives, use them as stocking stuffers. i recently engraved my roommate's name on one and gave it to him, and he said later that he uses it nearly every day. i'm also a fan of the demo knife, which i was given when in the navy. they run around $18 here.

i like the norton india stones as well. my dad used them, and he taught me how to sharpen. their tool stones work well for hatchets and axes.

though it cost me $25, my favorite pocketknife is the Case Slimline Trapper. great for delicate work, and practically unnoticeable in my overcrowded pockets.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Victorinox Pioneer - $18.46 at Amazon.com.

Ragnar's Ragweed Forge carries several versions of the Swedish Mora Knives for under $20.

Lately, for sharpening I've been using a Smith's kit which I picked up on clearance at Lowe's for $16 and change.

The lighting element from burnt out tungsten bulbs can be used in a manner similar to a ceramic stick. Learned this one from an electrician friend of mine.

 

[hso]

Ceramic insulators, tops of car windows, bottom of ceramic mugs, emory nail files, etc. for improvised sharpeners.

If you want to put a frightening edge on a knife get a variety of grits of adhesive backed sand paper (600 and 1200) and stick them to a piece of float glass (if you want a flat grind edge) or onto a slab of leather or mouse pad (if you want a convex edge). With a rigid backing you treat it like a stone. With the compressable backing you treat it like a table strop pulling the edge away from the grit.