I'm a merchant seaman who carries an Opinel size 10. They are dirt cheap, light weight, with a good quaility blade which is easily sharpened. They are nothing fancy. Simple and dependable. Just like me. 
What is the best Pocket Knife option Under $50?
- Thread starter rickshah
- Start date
Personally, I don't think you will go wrong with buying either something made by Buck or something made by Case, IMO these are the better knife makers.
Spydercos are a great choice in this price range. Bucks are too, regardless of what some steel snobs might say. And in fact there are a lot of guys in SAR, firefighting and LE that carry Bucks regardless of what some people might say who have probably never worked in one of those fields. They are cheap and tough knives.
I have carried Spydies and Bucks as my EDC for many years because they were good knives for the money and I kept my expensive ones for occasional carry. But for the last few years I've been carrying the Bladetech Pro Hunter Lite, a very well made knife that can be had for around $50. It has dual steel liners and has very good fit and finish. The blade is 440C which is a good but not great steel but what do you want for $50? It stays sharp fairly long and I use the hell out of this knife at work. This picture is from when it was still new.
I have carried Spydies and Bucks as my EDC for many years because they were good knives for the money and I kept my expensive ones for occasional carry. But for the last few years I've been carrying the Bladetech Pro Hunter Lite, a very well made knife that can be had for around $50. It has dual steel liners and has very good fit and finish. The blade is 440C which is a good but not great steel but what do you want for $50? It stays sharp fairly long and I use the hell out of this knife at work. This picture is from when it was still new.
I have many Spydercos, from every price point. You'll not go wrong with a Spyderco though some people object to their "look". They use great blade steels and will come out of the box incredibly sharp....and will hold that sharpness. I haven't purchased any in awhile, but I'd look HERE. A very good Internet retailer. A Spyderco Delica may just be what you are looking for.
"The Best"
I'd love to know why you think this.... the steel they use is mediocre at best, they do a poor heat treat, and the fit and finish is so-so. For the money - they're "ok" - but they are a far, I mean a FAR cry from "the best" which is a pretty bold statement.
If you use a knife for VERY light tasks - IE opening a box once a week, or cutting the tag off a piece of clothing, cutting into an apple once in awhile, etc - they're fine, but for heavy users and those who REALLY depend on knives, they're absolutely terrible. You'll never find someone in search and rescue, a firefighter, a police officer, etc who carries a buck folding knife, as they just plumb don't make the grade for a heavy user.
I agree with all of the above 100000%
So Tim, give us the examples of the Bucks you've had and all of the LE FD types you know who fit this description......Tell us how as a really heavy user who really depended on your Buck,it let you down....As far as "You'll never find someone in search and rescue, a firefighter, a police officer, etc who carries a buck folding knife, as they just plumb don't make the grade for a heavy user".....Someone here is lying......
i agree. second of all why would a "search and rescue" person be trying to use a buck pocket knife priced under $50 for heavy duty jobs? i dont think whoever started this post is going to use it to chop the wood for his log cabin. bucks are fine knives and IMO the BEST!
Absolutely, this annoyed me too. To say that Buck does a "poor heat treat" when Paul Bos is in charge of the heat treat, is ridiculous. Maybe somebody needs to look up who Paul Bos is. The steel is not the greatest wonder steel, but with the excellent heat treat it receives, it will perform very well for most tasks and helps keep the cost down for the working men who use these knives.
The fit and finish... well I have 2 110's, a 112, a 500 and a BuckLite that all show fewer flaws than some of my hand-made customs. They're good for a hell of a lot more than opening a box once a week, cutting a tag off a piece of clothing, or cutting an apple. Generations of farmers and people who work with their hands daily have all made Buck what it is today, one of the premier knife manufacturers in the world. Their knives are used by regular people who use knives every day for real-world tasks. As to not being fit for SAR, I can't tell you how many Bucks I saw in the hands of cox'ns and crew during the 20 years I was in the Coast Guard.
You won't loose your fingers with an opinel; they have a simple but effective lock called 'virobloc' that secures the blade opened as well as closed.I am a bit of a knife collector myself owning some 40 or 50 pieces including some great handmade ones but in the end I allways have my cheap Opinel No.8 (carbon steel blade) in my pocket for like 25 years now. I will keep on going collecting but Opinel will probably remain number one for me...
....What is it with all the dramatic overstatement in this thread? Something in the lather? How in the world have so many millions of working men in America done so much work for so long with a pocket knife without closing the blade on their fingers? I have used a pocket knife,for the most part, every working day for the last 30 years and have never closed it on my fingers.....There is surely a good reason for a lockback and many good examples out there, but the blatant misrepresentation of reality does not make for very sound advice on a forum that is frequented by so many who know better.....It is at best an unseemly display of misguided opinion presented as fact........Threads like this do however provide a great reference when seeking advice in the future....Mental note....
The Paul Bos reference is an excellent point....For more info go here or simply Google his name...
http://www.buckknives.com/technical_making.php
http://www.buckknives.com/technical_making.php
Camillus, Case, Schrade... they made a lot of good slipjoints and lots of people use them. A.G. Russell sells a lot of them, and while some are going to be safe queens, a lot get used. I still carry a Queen or a Schrade pretty often. They're good useful knives. Canal Street Cutlery rose from the ashes of Schrade and they're building some great slipjoints now. People wait in line for a Tony Bose. They are not toys or objets d'art.
Unfortunately that was true about 20 years ago. Case still manufactures high quality products. But they have moved from a manufacturer of user knives to a manufacturer of low production, sprint run, collector knives.
Buck on the other hand, has moved a large amount of it's product line from domestic manufacture to products imported from taiwan, and the phillipines. In 2000, buck also changed their grind angles. This was an attempt to reduce costs involved in manufacturing, this lead to knves coming from the factory dull. The QC leaves a lot to be desired, I saw units shipped with cracked scales, incorrectly aligned pivot pins, and pins that were not fully ground flush. It is the typical story of an American company trading on its past reputation while at the same time lowering its standards in the name of cost reduction to maximize profits. It is a true shame.
I used to work in the cutlery field, and I personally could not recommend a Buck knife of recent vintage.
I have carried the same Schrade Old Timer since 1980, it has a special place in my life. It was a gift from a shipmate of mine when he upgraded, and served me well for the entirety of my military career.
Since the decision on what knife to buy has already been made, my input is purely academic at this point.
For under fifty bucks a "made in Taiwan" Benchmade with a 440C blade is a great buy, as are the Spyderco offerings.
Kit Carson knives by CRKT are also good, very rugged but a slight step down ergonomically, but a very tough knife for severe use if you don't mind some rust now and then.
Buck folders weren't really well represented when I went through Ranger school last year, but fixed blade Bucks have always been popular. The Buck Nighthawk is a great buy.
Gerber folders, well they are cheap so it won't break your heart when they rust.
The knife I've been using for the last couple years is one of those made in Taiwan Benchmade Pika's with the 440C blade. It was designed by Spyderco with a license to Benchmade for manufacture.
Jimro
For under fifty bucks a "made in Taiwan" Benchmade with a 440C blade is a great buy, as are the Spyderco offerings.
Kit Carson knives by CRKT are also good, very rugged but a slight step down ergonomically, but a very tough knife for severe use if you don't mind some rust now and then.
Buck folders weren't really well represented when I went through Ranger school last year, but fixed blade Bucks have always been popular. The Buck Nighthawk is a great buy.
Gerber folders, well they are cheap so it won't break your heart when they rust.
The knife I've been using for the last couple years is one of those made in Taiwan Benchmade Pika's with the 440C blade. It was designed by Spyderco with a license to Benchmade for manufacture.
Jimro
I've got a Byrd I really like and a couple of Opinels.
As far as price/quality you can't go wrong with opinels. They're soo cheap that when they finally DO go dull you might as well just buy a new one since it's less effort than sharpening it.
They're among the best in my book.
As far as price/quality you can't go wrong with opinels. They're soo cheap that when they finally DO go dull you might as well just buy a new one since it's less effort than sharpening it.
They're among the best in my book.
I think of a pocket knife as something you can carry in your business suit or your blue jeans. It is more for light duty work such as opening boxes and letters, cutting string or cord, and slicing up the odd apple. The two most popular pocket knife designs are the trapper (usually a two blade) and the stockman (a three blade). For such light uses one cannot go wrong with a Case trapper or stockman with stainless steel blades and stag or bone handles. The stainless will hold a decent edge for light duty, and the blades will maintain their nice shiny look. Such is a good looking knife. I once had a Case stockman with damascus blades that I thought was very handsome. However, I have lost so many of those da-- things I no longer carry them.
Now, I just carry a MooreMaker double lock back trapper with yellow plastic handles and carbon steel blades. It is a good work knife. The carbon steel is easy to sharpen. The lock back feature is not necessary for light duty. But, it is a nice feature to have when castrating bull calves or earmarking calves. As you might imagine, calves don't exactly stay immobile during earmarking or castration, and the lock feature obviously keeps the knife from closing on your hands during the odd kick, wriggle or throw of the head. The downside is that the carbon blades stain and rust easily. But, if one does not have to have something that looks like new, the MooreMaker is a good working tool.
Now, I just carry a MooreMaker double lock back trapper with yellow plastic handles and carbon steel blades. It is a good work knife. The carbon steel is easy to sharpen. The lock back feature is not necessary for light duty. But, it is a nice feature to have when castrating bull calves or earmarking calves. As you might imagine, calves don't exactly stay immobile during earmarking or castration, and the lock feature obviously keeps the knife from closing on your hands during the odd kick, wriggle or throw of the head. The downside is that the carbon blades stain and rust easily. But, if one does not have to have something that looks like new, the MooreMaker is a good working tool.
I agree with tim8557's recommendation of New Graham Knives as a quality e-tailer. I get a kick out of their inclusion of band-aids with each knife order. 
True story, within the day of receipt of my first Spyderco purchase I had to employ the use of said band-aids. That from a knife handler of 4+ decades. 
Re the bashing (?) of the Buck knife brand. I only know that I have owned a trapper style for the better part of 3 decades. My only complaint is that it is too heavy for dress pants.
True story, within the day of receipt of my first Spyderco purchase I had to employ the use of said band-aids. That from a knife handler of 4+ decades. Re the bashing (?) of the Buck knife brand. I only know that I have owned a trapper style for the better part of 3 decades. My only complaint is that it is too heavy for dress pants.
I agree about the imported Bucks, all of my comments were referring to the U.S. made ones. I felt that the new edge geometry, at least on my 110's, was a noticeable improvement on the edges that came on my older Bucks. I mean, they were magnitudes of sharpness beyond Bucks I got in the 80's. Of course, I may have gotten lucky to get some especially sharp knives, I don't know. Also, I'm not sure how changing the edge grind can be any kind of cost-saving measure? A 30 degree inclusive angle is no more expensive to produce than a 40 degree angle. Are these QC problems you've noticed been happening since the move to Idaho? I only have one Idaho knife, and it's pretty excellent; again, maybe I just got lucky.
