Wilderness & survival tools - price versus quality

[subprep]

How do you know if a knife is good quality? Im just curious? I have ... more knives that the avg soccer mom I know LOL and I have one in particular that was my grannys knife its old as dirt fixed blade "kent" I think is the name stamped on it? the damn thing has a hole in the back of the blade and the handle is a joke. but it is literally the sharpest knife I have, I've abused this thing to the point some of you would probably yell at me about but I swear it never gets dull... so to me that is a good knife. I want to buy my husband some more knives but Im not sure whats considered good?

 

[Lurker66]

IMO a good knife is a blade that can be sharpened to shave hair on my arm. Then it must still be sharp (not shaving but sharp) after cleaning a deer, cleaning a bunch of fish or a weekend camping trip with some hard use.

So relatively easy to sharpen, and holds and edge.

Puma, Case xx, queen, kabar, Gerber, buck, any of the older schrades....these are pretty decent knives id call good. There are other brands but Id recommend one from these companies as far as bang for your buck.

 

[pritch]

It depends on the blade's intended use. Typically, "sharpens easy" and "holds an edge" do not overlap. This has to do with the hardness of the metal and the heat treat. A harder metal will hold an edge better, but be harder to sharpen. Similarly, softer metals are easier to sharpen, but don't stay that way as long. Some hard metals can be brittle, and not be the best choice for hard-use tasks.

A $15 Mora with a carbon steel blade is an incredible value, and is light enough to always toss in the pack. The thin, flexible blade lends itself to many outdoor tasks and the rubbery plastic handle is easy to hold onto. I would not want it to be my only blade, as it isn't really stout enough for processing wood or other hard use.