Whitby Woes
- Thread starter Bishop
- Start date
"Anybody got a recommendation for a cheapish budget folder that's good for hard use and occasional batoning abuse?"That is impressive. I didn't know that Whitby sold knives that were hard enough to break like that. Every day carry locking?
https://www.heinnie.com/schrade-221-was-24-95 - such a mark down, looks like it might have fitted the bill even at full price.
https://www.heinnie.com/ka-bar-dozier-hunter
What sort of budget are we looking at. One man's cheap is another man's expensive
I tend to think that knives in the £30 range are really cheap, and bought a BokerPlus Stretch but I can remember when I thought anything over £15 was really expensive. There is a lot of choice in the £30-£50 range, but I rather think that is outside the Whitby window you are aiming to match.https://www.heinnie.com/eka-swede-10-rubber
As Chris suggests, this thread could easily branch off in multiple directions regards EDC, batoning folders etc. We ought to assume that locking EDC is fine for you in the situations you need a knife, and you don’t mind batoning it. All that leaves is several thousand possibilities out there for you to look at.
Have a look at these.
https://www.exduct.com/en/all-products/outdoor-knives/sanrenmu-knives
Lots of cheap folders, produced in the same factories as budget Spyderco, Benchmades etc. Tolerances, fit and finish etc are generally spot on, and it’s a company BritishBlades members used for years with no problems. Lots of options, the Enlan and Bee knives are also good quality and cheap. Navy were good too, but I don’t see Navy on the site anymore I’d hazard a guess your Whitby came from one of the Chinese factories, you might even find one that looks exactly like it. Don’t think for a minute they’re copies. After the company that commissioned the knife has their quota, the machining is used to produce almost the same knife, but with subtle differences. It seems to be generally understood this is likely to happen, copyright doesn’t mean much to Chinese manufacturers.
Example. These Grasshoppers were being produced for Spyderco, but without the bottle opener. When Sal Glesser saw it he said he’d be having a word. I thought he meant something to do with copyright breach, but no, a trio of Clipitools were born. It’s an I scratch your back, you...type situation.
https://www.exduct.com/en/all-produ..._id=149&virtuemart_category_id=21&Itemid=1792
So what you’ll get is a knife of comparable or exactly the same quality at a fraction of buying a brand name China produced knife. If you’re going to wallop it, they’re cheap enough to put a few different ones in your cart and have a play.
Or, a Spyderco Tenacious, Benchmade Griptilian if they fall within budget? Both of these I’ve used heavily over the years, the Tenacious lending itself to food prep if that’s one of your criteria. Due to the full flat grind it won’t baton well, the wide blade binds rather than forces wood open. If you manage to break a Griptilian, well...good luck with that. Not so good for food. My old worker got chainsawed horribly while I was smashing down a brash pile, still going strong.
Locking knives don’t baton without major wear on the lock and pivot pin. I learned the hard way with a Normark Super Swede. If you really must baton, then release the lock and tap the almost fully opened blade.
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Will ordering a locking folder from overseas get past customs though?
Ganzo make some budget stuff, with axis lock (patent expired)
Heinnie, Moonrakerknives, Springfields carry some models.
https://www.heinnie.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=ganzo
https://www.springfields.co.uk/brands/ganzo.html
https://www.moonrakerknives.co.uk/manufacturer/folding-knives/ganzo
Ganzo make some budget stuff, with axis lock (patent expired)
Heinnie, Moonrakerknives, Springfields carry some models.
https://www.heinnie.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=ganzo
https://www.springfields.co.uk/brands/ganzo.html
https://www.moonrakerknives.co.uk/manufacturer/folding-knives/ganzo
Cheap tough EDC? Ganzo....go can do
Trying to remember one that I gave away and have been meaning to buy another. Ganzo 710 I think it was
Shockingly well made for the money
Trying to remember one that I gave away and have been meaning to buy another. Ganzo 710 I think it was
Shockingly well made for the money
Ganzo make remarkably good quality for the price. It is up to the individual whether they want to support a company that unashamedly copies other companies designs. As a designer, that really makes me angry. To me, they represent the worst of China's take over of engineering and manufacturing. That they don't try to scam buyers by passing off their work as the genuine product means they aren't criminal and in some people's eyes that means that they are okay. If they did their own original designs, I would be happy to recommend them, but they largely leach off the design work of others. Nothing criminal, just morally reprehensible.
Yeah I know buddy but I like most people don't have the conviction to avoid just about all Chinese products that either copy folks, have horrible labour practices, cause huge amounts of pollution, or generally have unfair market advantage. So i cant in good consciousness single out knives
Per Nice65 above, have a look at an Enlan folder, i have one of their M07 folders and really cant fault it, no blade play, razor sharp and keeps an edge, liner lock and locks up nice and secure, "alleged" G10 scales.
I got mine from Gearbest, they have them on offer at the moment for less than a fiver a piece shipped, i like mine so much ive just bought another, no affiliation the Gearbest other than im a happy customer.
20180816_130152 by Mark Emery, on Flickr
20180816_130141 by Mark Emery, on Flickr
20180816_130206 by Mark Emery, on Flickr
20180816_130238 by Mark Emery, on Flickr
Full specs and ordering via this link
https://www.gearbest.com/pocket-knives-and-folding-knives/pp_257810.html?wid=1433363
I got mine from Gearbest, they have them on offer at the moment for less than a fiver a piece shipped, i like mine so much ive just bought another, no affiliation the Gearbest other than im a happy customer.
20180816_130152 by Mark Emery, on Flickr20180816_130141 by Mark Emery, on Flickr20180816_130206 by Mark Emery, on Flickr20180816_130238 by Mark Emery, on FlickrFull specs and ordering via this link
https://www.gearbest.com/pocket-knives-and-folding-knives/pp_257810.html?wid=1433363
If you prefer not to buy chinese, then there are of course all manner of wonderful Sheffield made pocket knives and you are supporting our home grown artisans
https://www.sheffield-made.com/acatalog/Pocket_Knives.html
https://www.sheffield-made.com/acatalog/Pocket_Knives.html
There are very few knives on the Exduct site that are copies, but my point really is that the knife major factories in China have been set up to provide very good quality knives and these are offered at good prices.
My stance on actual copies is the same as yours, in fact BritishBlades had such a zero oxygen policy that any talk or comparison of fakes was deleted. The Chinese knives were accepted because most of them are not branded with fake company logos, and they were suitably different.
I know that the factories also design their own knives and offer them to companies such as Boker to carry the brand logo and name the knife for the US and European market. It’s cheap and easy for Boker to do this, and when this is the case it’s actually Boker, CRKT etc who are gaining financially from someone else’s design.
Do you see a fault within the fracture face?My long suffering every day carry for the last six years has died, pulled a ferro-rod across the spine today and this happened!
View attachment 53761
Anybody got a recommendation for a cheapish budget folder that's good for hard use and occasional batoning abuse?
Unusual result after ferro rod use!
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