Best products from r/BudgetBlades

The $8US Mtech MT-A882 is clearly a budget friendly “tribute” to the Kershaw Shuffle. Mtech took a great concept that was poorly executed and made an honest attempt to improve it. The partially succeeded, but in the end it is really not much better of a knife, and in fact has a fatal flaw.



The MT-A882 is a small knife, with 2.75” of blade and a 3” closed length. It features include a fantastic cap lifter, assisted opening, and a solid frame lock. The best news here is that Mtech is getting very close to make real “non gas station trash” folding knives. For $8US shipped from Amazon this is very close to a good buy, if you ignore the major flaw I will get into latter on. The assisted opening is great, in fact it works almost identically to Kershaw's speed safe. Fit and finish is mostly fine if you ignore some grind marks and anything inside the blade scales. You can see the grind marks on the frame lock in the photo's, they are at least even throughout and give the knife a look of texture rather than an impression of needing finishing work. The cap lifter on the back is one of the best I have on any of my EDC gadgets, its a brute and whisks caps off with almost no effort. The texture on the plastic scale is great as well. Gimping on the body of the knife is also perfect grippy holding the hand, but not irritating the skin. The tip down pocket clip also helps this little knife behave in the pocket. I strongly prefer tip up carry, but the bottle opener and lanyard hole/ice breaker would dig into your hand as you reach into your pocket, so here tip down is the optimal orientation. Another nice touch is a custom pivot screw, it still uses a standard torx bit though, so good on Mtech for adding this is a nice little touch. Blade steel is vanilla 440 stainless, I'm not a steel snob, but this is generally below my threshold. The good news is that the heat treat seems well done and the steel is not overly soft particularly for the price point.



At the $8 price point there are as expected plenty of faults. First and most unforgivable is that the blade grind was so poorly done that the knife would barely and I mean barely cut paper. I was not expecting a scary sharp ninja light saber for $8, but it was clearly below the threshold of “useful tool”. The bevel was set at some ridiculously obtuse angle, god knows what it was, but I've never seen a grind at this angle. Ironically, as you can see in the photo's that the grind was well polished. The grind itself was much less coarse than most any of my other more expensive knives. I was a bit confused as to why they put so much effort into a legitimately good and legitimately labor intensive polishing process, and put so little effort into the original bevel. It took some real work on my 200 grit diamond stone to get a proper bevel on the knife, but even at 200 grit the knife cut much better than with the original factory polish. The good news is that the steel is not exceptionally soft. The heat treat stood up to some aggressive grinding, and I would assume will hold an edge acceptably well. I enjoy sharpening knives, so for me a dull edge is not a deal breaker, but I assume that for the general buyer of $8 folding knives a dull blade ends the lifetime of the knife.



The pocket clip is mostly deep carry, but it is huge and a darker finish than the rest of the near mirror polish found on the other components. It's minor, but it's just plain odd. Fit and finish inside the scales is very rough, but for the price point I never expect anything more. Blade centering is a little bit off, and the gimping on the back of the blade is only cosmetic. The gimping on the body of the knife is so well done, I'm shocked how poor it is on the blade itself. The ergonomics of a 3 finger grip are just fine, but the knife is screaming out for a real finger choil up front, so you could choke up to a full 4 finger grip as available on the original Shuffle. I may do some Dremel work in the future to expand the existing “sharpening choil” into a full “finger choil”. Finally my other real concern is that the black finish on the metal frame lock is just junk paint that is already chipping off after a couple days.



For $8 none of the faults are knife killers aside from the sharpness issue, but with the condition of the cutting edge out of the box I DO NOT recommend this knife. I'm very pleased at how much the quality of Mtech knives has improved over the past couple years though. Maybe with a little more time they will be worth buying, but they are not quite there. Plus, their design are always just a little off. The almost elusive use of tip down carry and one or two strikingly poor design choices per knife keep me away from them, but there is clearly movement in the right direction. The MT-A882 in fact the first Mtech folder designed interesting enough to catch my attention. It almost represents an improvement on the original Kershaw Shuffle, but it ultimately falls on its face. This is crap imitating crap threw and threw.

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EDIT** I Dremeled out a finger choil on the Mtech MT-A882 and it is in fact better now. I may need to make it a touch longer, but for now fits the human hand much better.

A little late to the party... You are following the same trajectory as me. I'm just now expanding into fixed blades, but before you put the brakes on budget folders you should check out a few more options.

The Coast FX350 (9cr18mov, G-10, frame lock, 3-position clip) is a beauty for under $20. The BX315 (9cr18mov, rubberized handle, lock back) is great for wet work and is currently selling for just under $15—it has a sheath instead of a clip because the large rubberized grip doesn't slide in and out of pockets very well. The BX315 also has a little brother, the BX300.

If you like the Kershaw Link's profile then you should try a Flock (8cr13mov, FRN, tip-up clip) that's going for $15. It is a dealer exclusive that was poorly marketed and escaped most people's notice. Probably one of the best Kershaw deals going right now.

Spyderco's Spy-DK is currently selling for $30. It's a special non-locking model for Denmark knife laws. It's old school slip joint action but you get a N690Co blade that is a step up from their more expensive budget folders.

Back to fixed blades...

As I mentioned in another comment, Schrade is a good place to start for budget fixed blades—check out the SCHF36 Frontier for under $30. One thing to note is many fixed blades in this category are going to use 1095 steel which typically requires some maintenance, but most are powder coated to address this. Don't let 1095 scare you away from some nice options.

Now, I know you are looking for budget knives but there is a mid-range option that you may want on your wishlist. If you have an Ontario Rat folder (which you should) then you might want to compliment it with a Rat 3, 5, or 7. Like I said, I wouldn't consider Ontario fixed blades as 'budget' but they're a bargain compared to brands like Tops.

I hope this helps and have fun exploring, this rabbit hole runs DEEP.

Yes, carbon usually has a much more significant edge stability. However, since you're not using it often, carbon represents quite a bit of maintenance (it will rust). Even with oil, if it's in long term storage, it tends to get small spots of rust that need to be polished off. If you use it frequently, rust usually isn't a huge issue. Long-term storage is where the rust really becomes a problem. Snow could present more issues with rust, but I haven't had to deal with that in my climate setting.

If you have a honing rod, that should fix a rolled edge better than a pull-through sharpener. But a knife is no knife at all without a properly sharpened edge.

Since it seems like you're not doing heavy woodwork...maybe a folder would be best for you.


For minimal maintenance, good edge retention, and as long as you're not doing heavy wood work, try the BRK Avispa or Zancudo (links go to Amazon). Alternatively the OKC RAT and RAT II are essentially the same knives but with different styling. I believe these are all in AUS-8 Stainless Steel and have pretty hard edges. The edge should last a while with no sharpening (use your honing rod, though). The Avispa and RAT 1 are both quite large--I think the blades are about 4 inches long. The Zancudo and RAT II have ~2.5 inch blades and are much better suited for every day carry.


Opinels are great for culinary applications, but I don't personally like them for woodworking. Great for spreading cheese, and cutting summer sausages though! I also don't entirely trust the locking mechanism. But they are super cool knives. The stainless loses its edge very quickly to rolling.

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Do you mind me asking: what is your version of 'flashy'?

Ruike p801 is a great knife. they are 29$ at Amazon with free shipping
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XD65VQF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I would also recommend the Ganzo Firebird FH11 or really any of the Firebird line - Great quality for the price.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HC8VS78/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Another great knife is the TANGRAM, TG3001A3 Amarillo

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HFQH41Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Understandable. It took me a little bit to completely trust the hollowness of the handles. Once I actually used the knife though (cut up an apple), it felt more comfortable and sturdy. I certainly don't mind the overall light-weightedness of the knife.

You gotta code for the $15 Emerson? I'm seeing it at $30: https://www.amazon.com/Kershaw-Pocketknife-6034T-High-Performance-Stonewashed/dp/B00I0RQ0AO

Folding or fixed? crkt m16-04ks (all steel, 12c27 blade) is pretty good. Comes in a 4 inch tanto blade. https://www.crkt.com/shop/tactical-knives/m16-04ks.html. Don't mind the price, CRKT lists it at way more than what you'll actually pay for it. Amazon has it for $40.

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Slightly above your price point, at $50 is is the cold steel voyager large, https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Steel-29AC-Voyager-Plain/dp/B07DPVMTCN/ref=sr_1_39?keywords=cold+steel+knives&qid=1562298253&s=gateway&sr=8-39

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Anyways, why are you looking for a tactical knife? If you're just looking for a cool scary looking knife, there's plenty from CRKT, kershaw and cold steel. If you want a tactical utility blade (i.e. hard use knife), then Ganzo makes some great ones. IMO the axis lock is way more convenient to operate one-handed. I find myself constantly opening and closing my knives as I use them for whatever task I have at hand, closing it, then opening it a minute later to do something else. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Ganzo-G720-GR-Tactical-Folding-Breaker/dp/B0168E0Y3O/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ganzo&qid=1562298418&s=gateway&sr=8-3

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If you're doing seriously hard work with it, then just get a fixed blade, like this https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Steel-49LCK-SK-5-Boxed/dp/B07BKK9Z6R/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=cold+steel+knives&qid=1562298253&s=gateway&sr=8-4 (currently on sale for $34, usually $40-50). No point in dealing with a lock and an uncomfortable handle when you can get one without it.

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If you're looking for an actual knife to stab someone with, then I suggest investing in a gun or pepper spray instead.

Like that Tangram. And thoughts on Buck knives? Thinking the 112 slim might be good for him.

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https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Knives-0112BKS1-Removable-Reversible/dp/B07H33X8B1/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541790884&sr=8-2&keywords=buck+112+slim

Use the link below to donate .5% of your purchase to charity.
Amazon Smile URL: https://smile.amazon.com/StatGear-Pocket-Samurai-Aluminum-keychain/dp/B072HZNNPL/ref=sr_1_28

This bot is still in test phase. Please PM me for suggestions, complaints or questions.

/sigh... mobile user I assume?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFQH41Y