cheap crap knife that actually is pretty good? Anybody?

Doomsday Prepper Forums

Help Support Doomsday Prepper Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I collect knives because I like them (and I justify to myself that I can use them for trading purposes, which--while true--is probably a shallow excuse), but I've learned how to make functional knives out of almost anything.

I paid ex-cons to work with me on the ins and outs of making shanks and shivs, and I tutored with an anthropology student to teach me more about flint (and obsidian) knapping.

I think that the skill to make a knife is far, far more important than having a stash of knives.

Besides, a flint or obsidian knife--fashioned with stone-age technology--is free . . . and it can be smuggled past metal detectors.

Fint and obsidian knives can be just as sharp as any razor blade or scalpel. Don't kid yourself into thinking that they are automatically "inferior" to knives made with modern technology.
group2.jpg

These knives can also be disassembled if they need to be smuggled in somewhere piecemeal, and reassembled once the metal detector and/or guards have been deceived.

As an experiment, I once smuggled an obsidian knife into a courthouse, and no one was the wiser.
 
You'll always break a tip to a knife, be it an expensive one or not. That's shitting the bed to me. Yes you can grind a new tip but it's never the same. And plus, everyone of you in here are acting like you go out stabbing bears for protection every single day. And I don't need to call bs on that one. I collect knives, and have since I was a kid. Been to war twice and I have yet to "stab" a single living thing. I'm just saying, don't be that guy or gal that buys the "snap on" of knives just because their expensive. You can find alot of quality in much less expensive knives.
 
You'll always break a tip to a knife, be it an expensive one or not. That's shitting the bed to me. Yes you can grind a new tip but it's never the same. And plus, everyone of you in here are acting like you go out stabbing bears for protection every single day. And I don't need to call bs on that one. I collect knives, and have since I was a kid. Been to war twice and I have yet to "stab" a single living thing. I'm just saying, don't be that guy or gal that buys the "snap on" of knives just because their expensive. You can find alot of quality in much less expensive knives.

i tend to agree with your sentiments. But every job has an appropriate tool. Killing bears ain’t a knife job. But survival knife work varies drastically, and very few knives fit the bill for all the jobs needed. Yes, you can get a knife for chopping wood like an Esee 6, but it’ll suck for filleting a fish. I have an Esee 5 that is a beast, and I think people have tried to break the tips of those off, without much success... but again it’s not a knife I’d want to carry in a go-lite scenario.
 
I tend to stay away from the cheap made in China crap. But I did buy a cheap knife for cutting baling twine when I'm feeding. I think i paid 10 bucks for it, cheapest knife I've ever owned. My reasoning for it is if I lose it in the snow I won't cry over it. So far its still in my pocket.
Over the past 50+ years I've never broken a knife, worn out plenty by sharpening though. I'm willing to bet that I use knives more than most people do, for work not play. I've skinned thousands of animals and fileted hundreds (thousands?) of pounds of salmon. Use a quality knife for its intended purpose and it should never fail you. Over all these years I've only stabbed one person, and a knife saved my life in a logging accident once.
 
I also just bought a Mossy Oak knife set from Walmart for $24.00, and I was favorably impressed.

See below:

47c74b58-cc21-43b3-b951-dbb6a30d3775.1e545945d113a874bae3484b06780412.jpeg


The products seem solidly built with no "play" (or lateral wiggle movement in the folding knives), the lock on the large folding knife seems equal to my Buck 110, and there is no "grittiness" when the folding blades are opened up. The fixed blade knife is full tang, the sheath seems like it's made out of real leather (but I'm not sure), and the two snap-style restraining straps do a very good job of keeping the knife in place.

Also, all blades are razor sharp right out of the box.

These knives don't present themselves as cheap "flea market junk," but only time will tell. I intend to carry and use them to see how they hold up as an EDC item, and then I'll get back to you guys.

I'll keep a pad and pen with me, and make notes.
 
Last edited:
I've used these knives since my last post in this thread, and I've been pleasantly surprised.

Functionally, the single-blade folding knife seems functionally equivalent to the Buck 110. I have a Buck 110 automatic knife that I carry sometimes, and--while the Mossy Oak knife wasn't automatic--they felt and handled the same . . . at least to me.

I didn't abuse the knife, but I used it hard in the back yard underbrush clearing, and it held up very well.

I've used it in the kitchen, the garage, and at the dump.

I've needed to sharpen it much more often than an equivalent Buck 110, but this didn't really detract from it's usefulness.

I would carry it as a "beater knife" destined as a backup, inclusion into a tackle box or a tool box, or has a high-value barter item for post SHTF.

I haven't used the other two knives all that much, so I wish to postpone giving an opinion until I've used them more.

It helps to lube the swivel of the knife blade every once in a great while with a gun lube like Remington gun oil (although many other lubes would undoubtably work just as well, and some probably even better).

I did not try to use this blade to spark a fire from a ferroceramic fire rod, and it's my (perhaps mistaken) understanding that certain metals don't spark. As an example, brass doesn't usually spark . . . so I wonder if garbage flea market knives made out of a cheaper stainless steel may not spark as well as from better grades of carbon steel.

It slipped my mind, but I'll get back to you guys after I work on this issue a little more and see if I can start a flame with it . . . and if there's interest.
 
Me and my son have committed a great many murders with blades. When it is time take a turkey around to a place he hasn't seen before. The first thing he will do is stick his head way up and look around. My Katana has put more meat on my table than my 30-06.
Can you post a picture of your Katana? I assume it's a modern reproduction, and not an actual antique sword from the Meiji Era, Tokugawa Shogunate, a WWII officer's sword, or some such?

Because if you are using such a sword to execute turkeys . . . then I regret to inform you that the bad karma will cause you to reincarnate as a cockroach or dung beetle for the next 7 limetimes . . . at least!
 
Last edited:
I would carry it as a "beater knife" destined as a backup, inclusion into a tackle box or a tool box, or has a high-value barter item for post SHTF.
I've been watching the Walmart Mossy Oak knives for several years. There is one set of two (4" and 6") I got a number of years ago that they still sell online with stacked leather handles which I like, but the steel isn't so great. I use them because of the the shape which is very comfortable to use, and the stacked leather which doesn't get slippery like faux stag (plastic) when your hands are wet and bloody. I need both to get through skinning a deer or I would have to stop skinning to sharpen the knife halfway through.
They make no secret of the fact that the Mossy Oak knives are manufactured by Hang Zhou Great Star Industrial Co.,LTD, which is a tool company in China. The knives are sold in-store at Walmart, online from Walmart and online from Amazon. Great Star handles support and answers questions on Amazon about the knives. As far as I can tell they answer questions in an honest and straight forward manner.
As a beater knife it's fine. The steel they use for many of their knives is 3CR13 a Chinese equivalent of 420J which has a high chromium content and low carbon content making it very corrosion resistant, but it's not very hard (maxes out at 55 HRC) and doesn't hold an edge very well. It will take a fine edge however, just doesn't hold it well. With the high chromium content it should work fine as a truck or tackle box knife.
 
I've used these knives since my last post in this thread, and I've been pleasantly surprised.

Functionally, the single-blade folding knife seems functionally equivalent to the Buck 110. I have a Buck 110 automatic knife that I carry sometimes, and--while the Mossy Oak knife wasn't automatic--they felt and handled the same . . . at least to me.

I didn't abuse the knife, but I used it hard in the back yard underbrush clearing, and it held up very well.

I've used it in the kitchen, the garage, and at the dump.

I've needed to sharpen it much more often than an equivalent Buck 110, but this didn't really detract from it's usefulness.

I would carry it as a "beater knife" destined as a backup, inclusion into a tackle box or a tool box, or has a high-value barter item for post SHTF.

I haven't used the other two knives all that much, so I wish to postpone giving an opinion until I've used them more.

It helps to lube the swivel of the knife blade every once in a great while with a gun lube like Remington gun oil (although many other lubes would undoubtably work just as well, and some probably even better).

I did not try to use this blade to spark a fire from a ferroceramic fire rod, and it's my (perhaps mistaken) understanding that certain metals don't spark. As an example, brass doesn't usually spark . . . so I wonder if garbage flea market knives made out of a cheaper stainless steel may not spark as well as from better grades of carbon steel.

It slipped my mind, but I'll get back to you guys after I work on this issue a little more and see if I can start a flame with it . . . and if there's interest.
I want to add to my review of the Mossy Oak lockback folding knife from a 3-part set at Walmart. See image below (downloaded from Internet), and keep in mind that I'm only reviewing the larger, single-blade faux-stag folding lockback knife:
47c74b58-cc21-43b3-b951-dbb6a30d3775.1e545945d113a874bae3484b06780412.jpeg


I continue to be surprised at this thing. I learned--the hard way--about the subtle dangers of cheaply-made, unreliable tools. Bad tools can cost you a day's work, they can embarrass you in front of a sweetheart that you're trying to impress by fixing her car . . . and so on.

I continue to be impressed by this cheap knife.

I had to use it extensively in the yard and garage when we got brushed by a tropical storm last week, as I was taking in lawn furnishing, plants, yard furniture, and so forth, as we don't want our tchotchkas to become wind-born missles into the neighbor's home . . . well, you get the idea.

I had to cut string, rope, fabric, tape, dead plant material, and so on.

The knife performed very well, although I do admit that I didn't abuse it by applying it out of context. I didn't expect the knife to be a rock chisel, a dive knife, or a hammer. I only used it for what it's intended for, and it delivered.

I originally bought the three-knife set only because I wanted to experiment with this lockback knife.

I actually have a Buck 110, but I don't use it simply because it's expensive. I have the fully-automatic "switchblade-style" factory knife (no thumbnail slot on the blade) that is awkward and difficult to obtain, so I wanted something simple, inexpensive, and guilt-free about using . . . and this is where the Mossy Oak comes in.

After I took the knife from the packaging, I noticed a slight amount of tarnish on the brass fittings. I used a metal polish (see below):


s-l400.png


The Nevr Dull worked very well to restore the brass fittings to a like-new appearence. I also added a tiny bit of Remington Gun Oil to the pivot in the knife.

I found this knife to be basically indistinguishable (in practical terms) from my Buck 110, but--as I said earlier, and I'm just making a point--I didn't use the knife beyond it's capabilities.

Is the Buck 110 a better knife?

Yes . . . without a doubt. The advantages for a knife like the Buck 110 are that it will last longer and better than the Mossy Oak if it has to be used outside of it's parameters.

But . . . if you have to get a knife, then give this one a try.
 
Kevin, clean a deer with it and see how many times you have to sharpen it. A good blade will clean a deer and still shave the hair on your arm. A really good blade will clean two deer and still be razor sharp.
Thank you.

I have a standing invitation from a friend to hunt caribou and moose in Alaska, so maybe I'll try it then if I go.
 
While we're talking about knives, how does everyone feel about the Buck Special 119 (about a 6 inch blade), and the similar--but larger-- Buck 120 (about a 7.25 inch blade)?

I've started collecting them, and I have several versions.
 
While we're talking about knives, how does everyone feel about the Buck Special 119 (about a 6 inch blade), and the similar--but larger-- Buck 120 (about a 7.25 inch blade)?

I've started collecting them, and I have several versions.
I've got both of these knives. One has a cocbolo handle with brass guard and pommel with brown leather sheath. The other has a black handle, aluminum guard and pommel and black leather sheath. I really like these knives. They do everything that I need a knife of this type to do.
 
A couple days ago I received a Tac-Force knife in the mail. Its made in China but it looks like a well made knife. It has a spring assist opener. I got it free for making a donation to the National Trappers Association. Also got a large coffee mug with it, but the wife took it. I'm impressed with it enough that I'm thinking about getting another one.
 
I have several expensive knives and a bunch of cheap ones I carry for day to day abuse.
There's something about a nice knife that appeals to me.
My last nice knife purchase is a Pro Tech made here in the USA.
It's the first switchblade and only switchblade I own.
At $165 bucks thats about as much as I want to spend on a pocket knife.
The blade is rock solid and if you dont have a good grip on it it'll jump out of your hand when you hit the button.
16FA2D96-8122-49D1-8A05-ACA6F15B8C51.jpeg
 

Latest posts

Back
Top