(Part 2) Best products from r/BudgetBlades

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'?

If your a Kershaw fan, this is a great deal from Amazon. $10 off $50 worth of Kershaw knives. I am kind of over speed safe, but I still very much like Kershaw as a company. Not every model works with this deal so be aware, but its an awesome deal all the same.

Of note the Kershaw TX Tool does qualifies, and is a great knife tool to have around. I recommend that one 100% for tuning/maintenance work.

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

The other link posted is a good cleaver style.

This is a good sheepsfoot style

I’ve got one that I’m a fan of.

Any of their carbon fiber knives can be rather slippery in the hand, just because of the carbon fiber.

The one I linked will be a little better in the hand.

I have a couple versions of the Kershaw Emersons and would definitely recommend them given the price range. I love the Emerson wave and wish more knives had it. They open quick and easy with one hand, even with gloves on. Fit and finish is on part with the price and the blade stock is quite think; It will hold up well for hiking and camping as long as you don't abuse it. Only downside is the blade is rather large - great for outdoors, but a bit bulky in the pocket for some people.

I haven't used the Reverb, but it looks like it may not be the best choice for use outdoors. It looks pretty, but the extra machining and effort required makes me wonder if they cut corners elsewhere to hit the price point. Again, I haven't used one, but looks like it could be tricky to open one handed, especially if you have wet hands. I've had multiple knives with integrated carabineers/clips and have never found a use for them - they usually just result in hot spots that dig into my palm.

Not a fan of Gerber, but that's just personal preference after having a couple of them fail to hold up. Their flippers never seem to be smooth enough to reliably open every time either, though that may just be poor luck on my part. The Quadrant looks nice if you wanted something that would disappear in your pocket for light EDC, but it's not something I would want to use outdoors.

All three should be low maintenance, but at this price point the steels will dull relatively easily. I'd grab a cheap draw-through sharpener to take along.

I'm rough on my knives so I lean towards simple and durable, but there's nothing wrong with choosing based on aesthetics if one really catches your eye. Ultimate, if you like it then that's all that matters.

Not off of Ali per se, but I bought this bad boy and have used it to sharpen a few kitchen knives with great success. It can accept other stones, but so far the ones that came with it have been good enough for my purposes.

I'd recommend getting the Kizer Sunbirst.

One of the best value knives out there IMO - aluminum handle and S35VN blade for that price are amazing!

I've bought three Eafengrow knives recently and they have all been fantastic. I wish they would get serious with more original work and start turning the corner like CH and TwoSun. They can build a high quality knife, no doubt, but they're still hung up on straight clones and generic pass-around designs.

That being said, the EF223 (D2, bearings, G10, skeletonized liners) is one of the best folders out there for under $20, bar none. And the EF228 (D2, bearings, CNC milled G10, nested steel liners) is near perfect—I would even say, in some ways, it out-shines the Kershaw/ZT designs it borrows heavily from.

You can definitely make knives on the kitchen counter!

You'll need a way to heat it up, either to aid with forging and heat treating if you go the blacksmithing route, or as the first step in heat treating, if you're going the stock removal route.

A two-brick forge is very cheap and only requires two soft (not the hard ones) kiln bricks and a propane or MAP gas torch - https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/virtual-bbq-2-brick-forge-wip.920120/

Just make sure you leave a window open for venting out any fumes, as one of the byproducts from propane or MAP gas being burned is carbon monoxide, and in an enclosed environment with no ventilation, that can kill you.

You can do stock removal very cheaply by hand with a jig like this one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9iNDRwwBQQ

I made one based on that video when I was starting out, and while it is very time consuming and manual labor intensive to use, the results were quite good.

A small benchtop 1"x30" belt sander can speed things up a great deal, like this one for $69 - https://www.amazon.com/Generic-Mini-Belt-Sander-3400/dp/B004D96ZCG/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1519657469&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=craftsman+benchtop+belt+sander


Once you have it sanded / ground / hammered to shape, you heat it up until it glows bright orange, then you quench it in motor oil or hydraulic oil.

After it's cooled, pull it out and clean it off. Make sure to look for any cracks. If there are none, you can temper it in any standard home oven, as it will be extremely brittle at this point. It depends on the steel and the desired final hardness as to what temperature you'll set the oven to, but 300 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit is common.

After that, put a handle on it, sharpen it up and you're done!

https://www.amazon.com/Schrade-SCHF45-Outdoor-Survival-Camping/dp/B0128NHHY8 - on sale for $36.45 at amazon, I just couldn't pass that up.

10.5 inches of 8Cr13MoV Titanium Coated steel and a nice grippy handle, combined with a sheath that really doesn't suck, and you have a very nice value large fixed blade here.

The Spyderco Sharpmaker is a great knife sharpener to use. I believe it has 15 and 20 degree angles.

There is an alternative(and cheaper) Lansky Turnbox That sharpens at 20 and 25 degree angles. These two systems are great to travel with.

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If you want a beginner sharpening system you could get a Lansky System but if you ever get higher end steels you will need to upgrade to Diamond system. You will also need to get a Lansky mount or clamp. It also has a wide variety of accessories and stones.

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You can also get Fixed angle knife shapener that is like an apex edge. If uses the same stone size so you could order upgraded plate sets at a cheap price.

The system that I have been using is the 5th Gen Sharpener. It uses the same stones and plate size as an Apex as well. The only downside is the that it takes forever to arrive from china.

Fine, progress past early Victorinox or Case knives? Early Bucks or Opinels?

I don’t see how at any point I said people have to be rich. I’m literally saying that there are better options for the same price, if not less.

This is a popular Ganzo.

This is a Kershaw that costs less.

So the argument that they buy Ganzos because it’s the only option for that price point falls flat. Not only do they not have to spend more, they in fact can spend less for better quality. And if I’m a betting gal, id say that the same people could probably (most likely) squeeze +/- $10 more for another sea of Kershaws that will still be better.

You’re gonna have to show some proof that those companies outsource to said OEM. I know that Kizer and other mid range Chinese companies do it. And even if they do, that doesn’t make up for the lack of warranty on the Ganzos and gang. Until they do that, they have no equal footing.

Fixed-blade, but I think this Mora was a great first knife for my kiddo. Arguably safer and more user-friendly than any folder.

i bought this one its prety cheap

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EKY5OA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1