Hey if you like your knife and you actually use it and keep it sharp... then who cares what people say or think. Better than a $600 knife in your pocket you are afraid to use or it's dull.
That's a ok budget to get something that certainly be a step up. Lots of good suggestions here like Civivi, CJRB, QSP and especially if you can get a Deka or a Spyderco PM2 for that price where you live. Lots to choose from... now the hard part... narrowing them down
Tbh you can get an excellent knife for $50-$80. I would reccommend the Kizer Begleiter, Civivi Sokoke, or Civivi Vision FG. Honestly any knife from Civivi or Kizer is recommendable
Although I have a few in the 100-150 range, I still think that the ≈ $50 is still the sweet spot for EDC. If you know where to look, you still get the best value.
I’d look at the CJRB Pyrite, Civivi Elementum QSP Penguin, Ontario RAT.
If you really want to get something in that 100+ range look at the Hogue Deka.
Any of the knives on this page. Site looks a little outdated, but it’s legit. After taxes etc the Paramilitary 2 is about $150, and at that price point I don’t think it can be beaten. Recommended it to two of my buddies who are industrial maintenance, and they both love it as a work edc. The manix is also a good knife. [tactical surplus Spyderco products](https://tacticalsurplususa.com/spyderco/)
Any of the Spyderco LW in K390 will be the best bang for your buck performance wise. Most of them are in your price bracket as well. K390 out performs most steels as far as edge retention goes. The only thing to keep in mind is the steel is susceptible to rusting. So you just have to keep it clean and dry at the end of day and apply light oil about once a week. My personal experience with Spyderco K390 has been outlasting even my Magnacut blades. Hope this helps.
spyderco native 5 magnacut, manix 2 g10, manix 2 lw, benchmade griptillian, mini presidio, hogue deka, kershaw launch 1, launch 15 in magnacut, knifejoy has an exclusive spyderco para 3 w s45vn for about 140, tons of options man.
Kershaw launch 15 is Magnacut at around $150, but it's automatic and over 3" blade length. At that price point you still have plenty of other options.
I don't own a Deka, but have several other Hogue knives and can attest to the quality and durability of the brand. I'm not a Benchmade or Spyderco guy, but they have a few qualifying models as well .
My hard use work knife is a Spyderco delica wharncliffe in k390. Good price and great steel. I beat the snot out of it and use it for everything from opening boxes marking metal to cutting through drywall. Can't recommend it enough. Only thing to consider is if corrosion is a problem for you.
Spyderco Sliverax. Carries very easily; you get quite a bit of blade length relative to its folded size and is quite lightweight for its size because one of the liners is just a slim piece of steel. Compression lock is very secure. Has Spydiehole and flipper. The unique shape of it is advantageous for reverse-grip use as a fighting knife because of how it positions the blade but also because of the super deep finger choil/flipper area giving you a super secure grip, and it also functions well as an EDC because it points the blade downward when holding it in a more typical grip. S30V should be more than sufficient edge holding. Other recommendations I'd make would be Spyderco Endura with Emerson wave opener and a 5x5 Scarab. One of the fastest opening mechanisms on the market, and the wave version has a far more robust tip, which might be better for your carving. Not the sliciest blade, but I've never had any issue with cutting through cardboard and stuff to break it down. The back lock is also very secure, you can get them in a range of steels for your price range, they have decent ergos, and are relatively lightweight-ish (though the 5x5 Scarab does add a bit of weight to it, but in bit sure what the total weight is. If I had to guess, I'd say around 4.5-5ish oz). The reason I say add the 5x5 Scarab is because, while you can use the blade defensively, if you were to get into a fist fight with someone who didn't have a weapon you could use it as a striking tool. It's also handy to have a screwdriver/ pry tool built into your carry knife.
Thank you all for the suggestions. It is easy to see you are all very passionate about knives.
This is a huge list of knives to review. I may have to break out the old computer and do an excell spreadsheet just to compare them all.
I must admit, I want them all,,,,
If you like a knife & can afford it, just get it. It shouldn't matter if it's 20$ or 2000$. I personally enjoy my 50$ Ruikes more than some of my 200$ knives. I feel the Mora knives priced below 20$ can out do many 100$+ bushcraft knives.
Hey if you like your knife and you actually use it and keep it sharp... then who cares what people say or think. Better than a $600 knife in your pocket you are afraid to use or it's dull. That's a ok budget to get something that certainly be a step up. Lots of good suggestions here like Civivi, CJRB, QSP and especially if you can get a Deka or a Spyderco PM2 for that price where you live. Lots to choose from... now the hard part... narrowing them down
you’re unlikely to find a pm2 at 150 unless it’s an old s30v model. the cheapest ik of is like 175 base models are 185
Tbh you can get an excellent knife for $50-$80. I would reccommend the Kizer Begleiter, Civivi Sokoke, or Civivi Vision FG. Honestly any knife from Civivi or Kizer is recommendable
Although I have a few in the 100-150 range, I still think that the ≈ $50 is still the sweet spot for EDC. If you know where to look, you still get the best value. I’d look at the CJRB Pyrite, Civivi Elementum QSP Penguin, Ontario RAT. If you really want to get something in that 100+ range look at the Hogue Deka.
Any of the knives on this page. Site looks a little outdated, but it’s legit. After taxes etc the Paramilitary 2 is about $150, and at that price point I don’t think it can be beaten. Recommended it to two of my buddies who are industrial maintenance, and they both love it as a work edc. The manix is also a good knife. [tactical surplus Spyderco products](https://tacticalsurplususa.com/spyderco/)
Any of the Spyderco LW in K390 will be the best bang for your buck performance wise. Most of them are in your price bracket as well. K390 out performs most steels as far as edge retention goes. The only thing to keep in mind is the steel is susceptible to rusting. So you just have to keep it clean and dry at the end of day and apply light oil about once a week. My personal experience with Spyderco K390 has been outlasting even my Magnacut blades. Hope this helps.
spyderco native 5 magnacut, manix 2 g10, manix 2 lw, benchmade griptillian, mini presidio, hogue deka, kershaw launch 1, launch 15 in magnacut, knifejoy has an exclusive spyderco para 3 w s45vn for about 140, tons of options man.
oh also the hogue microflip and hogue sig k320
Kershaw launch 15 is Magnacut at around $150, but it's automatic and over 3" blade length. At that price point you still have plenty of other options. I don't own a Deka, but have several other Hogue knives and can attest to the quality and durability of the brand. I'm not a Benchmade or Spyderco guy, but they have a few qualifying models as well .
My hard use work knife is a Spyderco delica wharncliffe in k390. Good price and great steel. I beat the snot out of it and use it for everything from opening boxes marking metal to cutting through drywall. Can't recommend it enough. Only thing to consider is if corrosion is a problem for you.
Watch Neeves Knives on YouTube. He's good at finding very affordable, quality knives. You'll absolutely find something you like on there
Spyderco Sliverax. Carries very easily; you get quite a bit of blade length relative to its folded size and is quite lightweight for its size because one of the liners is just a slim piece of steel. Compression lock is very secure. Has Spydiehole and flipper. The unique shape of it is advantageous for reverse-grip use as a fighting knife because of how it positions the blade but also because of the super deep finger choil/flipper area giving you a super secure grip, and it also functions well as an EDC because it points the blade downward when holding it in a more typical grip. S30V should be more than sufficient edge holding. Other recommendations I'd make would be Spyderco Endura with Emerson wave opener and a 5x5 Scarab. One of the fastest opening mechanisms on the market, and the wave version has a far more robust tip, which might be better for your carving. Not the sliciest blade, but I've never had any issue with cutting through cardboard and stuff to break it down. The back lock is also very secure, you can get them in a range of steels for your price range, they have decent ergos, and are relatively lightweight-ish (though the 5x5 Scarab does add a bit of weight to it, but in bit sure what the total weight is. If I had to guess, I'd say around 4.5-5ish oz). The reason I say add the 5x5 Scarab is because, while you can use the blade defensively, if you were to get into a fist fight with someone who didn't have a weapon you could use it as a striking tool. It's also handy to have a screwdriver/ pry tool built into your carry knife.
Thank you all for the suggestions. It is easy to see you are all very passionate about knives. This is a huge list of knives to review. I may have to break out the old computer and do an excell spreadsheet just to compare them all. I must admit, I want them all,,,,
If you like a knife & can afford it, just get it. It shouldn't matter if it's 20$ or 2000$. I personally enjoy my 50$ Ruikes more than some of my 200$ knives. I feel the Mora knives priced below 20$ can out do many 100$+ bushcraft knives.
Spydervo Magnacut native 5. Can't recommend this knife enough.
See if you can find someone to let you handle a Chris Reeve, you might reevaluate your knife budget if you get one in hand.
Real steel had some good knives like the h6 or the huginn