smith&wesson extreme ops?

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ksnecktieman

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I need a knife for work. I abuse a knife really bad. I work on cars, and my knife will have to open boxes, scrape paint or rust from a starter to see the numbers, cut hoses that sometimes surprise me by having a steel spring inside them, cut through undercoatings to expose bolts, etc. And sometimes I need to trim a hose length that needs to have a clean square cut. I have always used very cheap knives. I was in a tractor supply store the other day, and they had a smith&wesson extreme ops knife for 9.95. I got one, but I am curious, is the steel in this knife any good? Is this a normal price for it? Has anyone used one?

Is it really necessary to spend more than fifty dollars on a knife to get a good one?
 
The identification of the steel is not marked on the blade, or on any of the paperwork that was in the box.
It is manufactured by Taylor cutlery, under license by S & W, and is model # CK6A, and the blade is etched with the words "extremeOps"
 
Is it really necessary to spend more than fifty dollars on a knife to get a good one?
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No, there are lots and lots of good knives under $50. CRKT makes ton of them.

But no knife will stand up to your abuse for long. I'd go with a Superknife if you have to do things knives weren't meant for.
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If that's no good keep buying junk knives -- no sense buying high dollar steel when you'll destroy it anyway.
 
S&W Blades

I own several S&W folders, in particular the first production of the "SWAT" line in both stainless non-serrated and black powder coated serrated. Nice knives for under 50 bucks, but as an everyday knife, you have to watch their points, which can become buggered due to the thinness of the steel there. And as a rule, I never use a knife point as a screwdriver... :evil:
 
The ExOps will not withstand the abuse you intend to put it through. The edge will chip and the point will break.

I agree that a Superknife (or one of it's clones) would be a good choice. You can buy the heavy duty utility knife blades at HomeDepot/Lowes/Builder's and keep changing them out as they get wrecked. Try to buy the best of all of these folding utility knives as the safety of the really cheap ones is questionable at best.
 
I've got two Superknives that I use for stuff I don't want to put a real knife through -- tape, glue, cardboard et al. I've swapped blades a couple times and it's due again.

I agree with buying a real Superknife rather than the knock-offs. 1) it's a good design and the actual designer should get a cut of the sale and 2) the real ones are cheap enough that going to a knock-off doesn't save enough to justify not buying an original.
 
I know nothing of the knife you speak of, but I do know that, in the past, S & W has been willing to park their brand on some really BAD garbage blades.

(Being sold in a plastic bucket at a truck stop for $4.99 is a severe degradement of "brand identification", IMHO.)

I bought one, but the blade came open so easily, the odds were 50/50 that I'd slice my own pinkies when I reached my pocket for it.

I'd just buy cheap blades at Walmart, use and abuse, then toss.
 
Man, I bought one of those SuperKnife type things at Sears earlier this year (Craftsman Brand, it was the first time I'd seen anything like it).

I only cut myself once with it (!) but I got close a whole bunch of times as well. Those damned things are SHARP and the fact that they fold is crazy. But I could see their usefulness once you get used to using it.

I'm not a knife person, so that is probably my problem. I was using it to open boxes, cut ties, etc. I usually use a standard box knife and haven't really had any issues. I just had issues folding the blade out, closing it up, etc. It was so dangerous to me that I gave it to someone and went back to a box cutter.

Heh.

Just an observation. :)
 
I know nothing of the knife you speak of, but I do know that, in the past, S & W has been willing to park their brand on some really BAD garbage blades.
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This why i simply don't buy S&W knives. I am sure that some good knives have had the S&W logo on them but, so have plenty of absolute garbage knives as well. The fact is that the S&W logo stands for absolutely nothing when placed onto the side of knife. I only buy from companies that have some consistency and pride in their brand.
 
Thanks for the help. I found a copy of the superknife at walmart, under the brand name of sheffield for nine bucks. I bought it, and I like it. I am going to a gun show tomorrow, and if they have one I will bring home a real superknife. I think it is the knife I have been needing for a long time.
 
No expert here, but I'm wondering if you might be better served by not buying a quality knife at all.

you might buy two tools, 1) a comercial grade paint scraper, and 2) a 2 1/2 inch cheap fixed blade kitchen paring knife at food store. Use that for cleaning battery cables. Thin blade gives easy daily resharpening.

No conventional knife is designed for the abuse you describe.
 
texian? If you have not handled one, you should at least give a look at the superknife,,,,,,, It is a folder that is designed with my needs in mind. It uses a standard utility knife blade that is easily changed, and cheap. It has a thumb stud for opening one handed, a sturdy liner lock, and a pocket clip to keep it handy.
I do have a drawer in my tool box full of miscellaneous scrapers and knives and small wire brushes. It has two standard utility knives in it that get used quite a bit, but they are a bit bulky and awkward to carry full time.
This knife will relate to that drawer as my leatherman relates to a drawer full of miscellaneous pliers, as a handy substitute to avoid a trip to the tool box to get the "proper tool".

And for all of you knife lovers that got a shiver in the spine when I described what I wanted a knife to do,,,,,,, What I described was a wish list, and not my common habits with a knife. I apologise :). Now I can use it like that, and just replace the blade, and it will save me a lot of trips to my toolbox.
 
Taylor Cutlery does not manufacture knives .Their knives are made in places like China. Taylor bought the Schrade name so Schrade knives in the future will be made in China.
 
Carpetbagger. Thanks a ton. This is a great tool for what I need. Not only for what I need, but out of 20 guys in the shop where I work one of the most common sights is one of these clipped to the edge of a pocket. I think probably ten of the twenty guys have them now.

Mine suits me so well, and I know that if I like something the price will double, or it will be discontinued soon I already bought a second one for a spare. If anyone wants to abuse a knife, you should try one of these. FYI, I found blades at 3,99 for fifty, and each has two ends, so I got 100 resharpenings for four bucks.
 
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