Cheap Knife vs Expensive Custom

[Mortblanc]

I grew up using some very inexoensive good quality knives.

I dropped my first knife in pocket when I was about 4-5. I have had one in pocket ever since.

I still have one of the last I bought as a kid, aged 12, stashed in the jewelry box. It was made by a company called Sabre. A two blade Barlow with a sheepsfoot main blade. It will still take a razor edge.

I have been through many knives of varrying quality over the years and I also have learned to forge blades to the point that I have at least one bushcraft knife on every continent except Antartica, every nation in Europe and every country in South America. Several in russia too.

So I have been through the entire spectrum of quality over the years.

There are some really bad custom knives on the market. Do not be fooled, not everyone with a grinder knows what they are doing.

I ahve also found that not all people use their knives like I do so their requirements are different.

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I do not use my knives for splitting firewood, chopping trees or digging foxholes. I have axes, shovels and splitting mauls for that work.

That means I can get buy with a lighter blade that does better duty for what I use the knife for.

It also means my judgement of quality is different that someone else. My prefered handle material is of wider allowance and the size of my knives is different than another might chose.

Back in 2007 I taught a two week survival course using only a $4 paring knife from Walmart as my main blade. I did it just to prove it was possible.

The next year I used only a retractable box cutter for the same reason.

As the saying goes, "It's not what you have it's what you do with it that counts."

So all in all I would rather have a good quality moderately priced knife than a cheap one, and I would rather have an inexpensive knife that I prefer over a custom knife that YOU might prefer, if that knife is not up to my design needs.

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That being said the Mora Classic is one of my all time favorites.

I am also partial to the Russel Green River series in the "camp knife", Ripper and Dadley styles.

I can make do very well with Old Hickory butcher knives when necessary.

I can also make do with just about anything Buck or Gerber produces with blades less than 6"

Since my custom knives are actually custom knives I do not accept someone elses' pattern knife they are calling "custom" as a good way to spend my money. It will be made to my specification or I will not pay for it. that means it will be different from what YOU specify.

Therefore, comparing a "custom" knife to a production knife is really impossible.