Why budget knives rock

I reviewed a bunch of budget knives over the years, and they are my go to when it comes to day to day tasks and hiking. In this blog post I wanted to share about the differences between expensive or “grail” knives, and budget knives.

With many things in life I consider myself a collector, knives is something I am passionate about since I got my first knife at 6 from my parents. And have been a collector ever since. I have used pretty much every type of knife, machete, or axe out there. Except for butterfly, auto, or gravity knives, which are banned in the Netherlands.

Knives I use for bushcraft, hiking, camping, and everyday tasks. And I have over 40 knives at this point. A small collection to enthousiasts, but a alarming amount for people outside of the hobby.

If you do your research and stick to the popular budget knives are not cheap, and can be extremely reliable in use. Make use of excellent materials, and have a rich history. Brands like Mora and Opinel are great examples of this.

Beater knives

People that have more options for a knife, tend to carry their beater knives most of all. In my opinion these knives deserve more respect and are excellent in their own right.

My old Opinel No.9 I carried on both my Camino’s meant a lot to me, and I was absolutely gutted when I ended up losing it during a hike in Germany this year.

Beat up, burned, reshaped and sharpened, it earned an almost permanent place in my backpacking gear. And was pretty much my go to knife for any hike.

Actually using expensive knives

Every knife you are afraid to use is one you probably outside of your reach to afford. I am not wealthy and therefore tend to go for knives that are for me affordable. The same theory goes for other aspects, like nice watches.

If you have a Rolex but are afraid to wear it outside the house, you would have been better of with a Casio or Timex. Same goes for knives, if you don’t take out your Benchmade to open up a box for fear of getting tape residue on it, you would have been better off with a Spyderco Tenacious.

The Boba Fett approach

Time made me forget where I first heard off the Boba Fett approach, but it is the philosophy I go by considering my gear. Every scuff, dent, or mark is a badge of honor. And for me that is what sets my budget knives apart from my more expensive knives. I am not afraid to use them.

Through use, they get there badges of honor, and that’s why I also tend to love Carbon Steel options so much. Since they are alive and develop a patina with use.

The same can be the case for what are for you affordable expensive knives, if that is a Sebenza, Tenacious, or Opinel.