How Much $$$ for Your EDC? Poll

How Much Did Your EDC Cost?

  • $0 ~ It was a gift! Or, I STOLE IT!

    Votes: 8 5.6%
  • $10 ~ $25

    Votes: 6 4.2%
  • $26 ~ $50

    Votes: 29 20.3%
  • $51 ~ $75

    Votes: 15 10.5%
  • $76 ~ $100

    Votes: 20 14.0%
  • $101 +

    Votes: 22 15.4%
  • $200 +

    Votes: 14 9.8%
  • $300 +++

    Votes: 29 20.3%

  • Total voters
    143
That's all well and good. I think.

I have a spyderco sage with 4 years of daily carry and abuse on it which looks new. Plus a whole handful of delica 4s with different blades an colors, and a few other low end spydercos. Other than abuse and salt breaking the belt clips on the delica4s, never any issues.

Vs the CRKTs I have had. I can claim equal number of purchases vs the Spyderco, because I like their feel and design and cost points. However, I also have zero of the CRKTs I have ever purchased in use. Every one of them suffered a failure on that stupid red lever. Every one. Two got sent back twice and then taken out by pocket lint again and again. While just idling in a bag as backups. All were well cared for. I just don't trust the lockup design.

I just ditched the last remaining CRKT one I have (in my seldom used range bag) and replaced it with a Rat 2.

Kershaw's Autobasist system seems to work well without issues, even if it gets dirty. Unlike that silly red pip latch thing CRKT uses.

Rat2's have restored the little faith k have in liner locks.

I don't understand how anyone stands behind the CRKTs low end designs. They are too tight on deploy, too loose on close, and tmcan fail to lockup with a hint of a hairball.

CRK = Chris Reeve Knives
 
My brother got me one for my 40th birthday.... I think its a Kershaw Launch 3? Not sure. I carry it off and on, and its a nice little toy. Doesn't hold an edge very well, and I need to give it some TLC
I had that happen with the Kershaw Leek I have too. Didn't really like the blade profile or the resistance to salt much either. Their auto open system (And Emerson!) Is flawless though.
 
CRK = Chris Reeve Knives
GAH sorry! I really thought you were defending the CRKTs posted up thread, NOT Chris's works.

That said, I was just trying to step in and defend my Spyderco experience.

No worries. However, I've gotten 3 free belt clips from Spyderco with nothing other than a picture and an email over the years. Plus a free Cara Byrd when the one I ordered came in a damaged box.

The box was damaged. Not the knife. They sent me a second knife.

Their explanation about the belt clips was simple. They would rather have them fold and break, vs tare our a thread or twist the knife and jam it into the leg of the wearer on pressure.

Never had a thread issue. And I would take them apart to the scales and frame once a week in salt environments.
 
I don't understand how anyone stands behind the CRKTs low end designs. They are too tight on deploy, too loose on close, and tmcan fail to lockup with a hint of a hairball.

Thanks for the heads up. I will have to keep an eye open for any signs of these problems. Maybe I just got lucky with my CRKT, but I have not experienced any of the issues you describe, and my current CRKT has been on my pocket for over 5 years now. I wouldn't say it sees a lot of hard use, but it has cut it's fair share of plastic strapping used to strap bundles of lumber, and ripped through a lot of cardboard.
Given the relatively light use my pocket knife sees, maybe I will treat myself to a higher quality blade.
 
Maybe I just got lucky with my CRKT, but I have not experienced any of the issues you describe, and my current CRKT has been on my pocket for over 5 years now.
very popular when i did the shows. not a bad knife, you do get your moneys worth for the price point.
 
View attachment 419702

My EDC is one of these bad Larry's. I know your all jealous, its ok.

Mostly used for scribing steel and cutting down Roloc grinding disks. Also doubles as a money clip... on the rare occasion I have any money.🤣
Be prepared, one of these might set you back almost $8.00.
This is the real bad Larry lol. My work blade. For non working my EDC is either my Cold Steel Recon 1 or my Spyderco Tenacious. DB5CEF6E-1EE6-4CDE-A153-D39722AA43AE.jpeg
 
Every one of them suffered a failure on that stupid red lever. Every one. Two got sent back twice and then taken out by pocket lint again and again. While just idling in a bag as backups. All were well cared for. I just don't trust the lockup design.
Yeah the manual LAWKs is a much better setup IMO...

They can be removed...
(works on most autoLAWKs M16's...)
 
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Yeah the manual LAWKs is a much better setup IMO...

They can be removed...
(works on most autoLAWKs M16's...)

I'm usually good at rebuilding things, but I could never get the blades on those to run right with the stupid bits removed. I think it could be solved with proper washers. But juice isn't worth the squeeze.
 
Ha - no way I am placing an avg price on my EDC blades. I rotate all the time, but my favorite 3 are my Caly3 carbon fiber, the Manix2 Lightweight and my Tasman Salt.

The Tasman with a full spyderedge in H1 steel is my beat-to-hell knife; it takes down boxes, clamshell cases, strapping/twine/rope, rips open bags of much/charcoal and it a beast for cutting branches, stems and digging out dandelion roots

I love the hawksbill blade and the fact that the SE still slices everything even w/o a touch up. When I do sharpen it, the edge is razor sharp until I dig in the dirt with it again. The point has rounded slightly, but this isn’t a self-defense knife - although it does make me want a Civilian or Matriarch more and more
 
If I was on a budget I'd be fine with a minimum of a Benchmade Mini Grip.
But I like nice things, and appreciate tools so I buy what I like. My go to EDC is always a Chris Reeve's Sebenza. I've owned 5 or 6 at this point. My favorite has been the small 31 with micarta inserts.

Couldn't resist:

1607380589107.png
 
I carry whatever skinflint knife I can find. If it's in my pocket, I abuse the shit out of it. Use it like an awl, pry bar, screwdriver whatever. When I break it, right in the trash barrel. A friend of mine carries a $200+ knife, treats it like is made of gold or something, renders it useless. I can't remember a single time that I have seen him use it other than to cut an apple or something.

Hunting knife/belt knife, that's a little different and a lot more expensive.
 
I carry whatever skinflint knife I can find. If it's in my pocket, I abuse the shit out of it. Use it like an awl, pry bar, screwdriver whatever. When I break it, right in the trash barrel. A friend of mine carries a $200+ knife, treats it like is made of gold or something, renders it useless. I can't remember a single time that I have seen him use it other than to cut an apple or something.

Hunting knife/belt knife, that's a little different and a lot more expensive.
I’m the same. I say I carry cheap knives in case I lose them, but I regularly carry a Buck 112 that I’ve had for 30 years. I carry cheap knives because I abuse them. Interestingly, I don’t break near as many as you’d think.
 
I carry whatever skinflint knife I can find. If it's in my pocket, I abuse the shit out of it. Use it like an awl, pry bar, screwdriver whatever. When I break it, right in the trash barrel. A friend of mine carries a $200+ knife, treats it like is made of gold or something, renders it useless. I can't remember a single time that I have seen him use it other than to cut an apple or something.

Hunting knife/belt knife, that's a little different and a lot more expensive.
I got a buddy like this as well. He carry’s an auto Benchmade he spent a few hundred on and although he has it in his pocket he will not use it. Same thing with most of his guns, he needs his stuff to be in pristine condition.
 
This is why I like used guns and cars. Someone already put the first ding in it so I don’t care.
I was putting together a Christmas bike last night. It’s black, and I was terrified I’d drop a tool or somehow scratch it before my son got a chance to dump it.
 
Ha - no way I am placing an avg price on my EDC blades. I rotate all the time, but my favorite 3 are my Caly3 carbon fiber, the Manix2 Lightweight and my Tasman Salt.

The Tasman with a full spyderedge in H1 steel is my beat-to-hell knife; it takes down boxes, clamshell cases, strapping/twine/rope, rips open bags of much/charcoal and it a beast for cutting branches, stems and digging out dandelion roots

I love the hawksbill blade and the fact that the SE still slices everything even w/o a touch up. When I do sharpen it, the edge is razor sharp until I dig in the dirt with it again. The point has rounded slightly, but this isn’t a self-defense knife - although it does make me want a Civilian or Matriarch more and more
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Got a great indication of EDC knife costs with nearly 100 voters.

$26-$50 is in the lead, with a strong showing from the $300 ++ crowd!

Thanks All! ~Enbloc

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Late to the party, but From my few months of being “into” knives, it feels like we are in the golden age. When I started carrying pocket knives in the 80s, I scored a Bucklite with the tip broken off and 14yo me ground it back to a point on a carborundum stone, and carried it for years. In my 20s, I had an office job, so I carried whatever $10 2” case knock off I could buy at Walmart.

In my 30s, I stumbled on a CRKT Ripple on clearance, and that introduced me to knives as fidget toys. When I went looking for a new pocket knife this summer, and started to really research them, I set a top budget of $50, and the internet told me a Civivi Elementum was the best knife I could get for that money. Problem was, they were sold out everywhere.

So I started with a $20 “Axis lock” Ganzo, and took off from there. I’ve tried knives from Ganzo, Civivi, CRKT, SOG, Kershaw, Kizer, CJRB, Tangram, QSP, Real Steel, Maxace, Artisan, Ferrum Forge, WE, Hogue, Spyderco, Benchmade, ZT and TRM. They ALL have much better steels, more fidget factor, and better build quality than any of the knives I played with as a kid...when I had a drawer full of cheap Chinese knives...that Buck was the exception.

There is a marked difference in build quality, IMHO, once you crest the $100 mark, and not a whole lot of improvement above $200 (though I’ve yet to hold a CRK or Hinderer). Spydercos strike the balance for me of build quality, component quality, and price. For a pocketable, stay sharp, hard use pocketknife, that’s not too expensive to replace,I reach for my Spyderco Native 5 LW.

Though one of my absolute favorites is the $22 CRKT Pilar...once I replaced the too heavy stock stainless scales with Micarta.

There are just so many great knives out there today!
 
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I have expensive knives and knives that are sentimental, they are cool, but there is no way I am going to daily carry a pocket knife that I can't replace for less then 50 bucks.
I occasionally carry the better ones but my EDC is typically no more than a 75 dollar knife. I think the Kershaw Clash i have now was like 30 bucks tops.
 
Got a great indication of EDC knife costs with nearly 100 voters.

$26-$50 is in the lead, with a strong showing from the $300 ++ crowd!

Thanks All! ~Enbloc

View attachment 420536

I honestly wonder how many of those thought you were talking about guns, and the sub $300 price points didn't register as odd.
 
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