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Yeah, I can understand the "use it" ideas, and yes, I carried one of them for years, and used it plenty, but didn't abuse it,, but when I went on the bay and looked it up I almost had a heart attack.
I'll carry a knife that is still produced, then I won't ever worry about it.
Their are lots of really nice knives,, but some just speak to you.
 
Another for the Ontario Rat1. Been my main work horse edc knife for years, followed by the Spyderco Tenacious. The Spyderco PM2 has been finding its way into my pocket more and more, probably until I can sneak a Manix2 or Shaman into the house. Church and dinner dates and my Benchmade Onslaught comes along. Sure would like to carry the Esee 3, but people give you funny looks.
 
For me, most knives are more of a tool, and less of an investment.

I buy "value" knives - I daily carry a Gerber BG folder I bought on sale at Amazon for $16 (I bought several more at this price). Made in China, plastic/rubber scales. One online reviewer said the blade would shatter because it was cheap Chinese steel so I batoned it and wiggled it out of the wood and otherwise abused it. It did not shatter although the side to side play in the lock loosened up a bit - that is to be expected IMO). Today Amazon is asking $36 for these knives - I think I got a deal. I would not and do not hesitate to rely on this knife.

I am a prepper. Sometimes I buy knives for barter and gifts in case of SHTF. Mora knives come to mind (I have bought maybe a dozen of those), some Cold Steel knives too.

I don't think I have spent more than ~$100 for any one of my knives (like the Fallkniven or CS San Mai laminates).

I buy for high value and usefulness. Almost all were a knife I thought would be useful in some role as a tool and not just sitting in a collection - albeit, maybe I will never use some of them, someday I might. As I am a prepper and I prep not just for myself, I have many more knives that I will need for myself. Knives can break too, so having a backup is nice.

So I consider all of my knives to be "less expensive". Something like a $300-400+ knife I do not see the value ratio as being high for those knives - not feeling that they are 5-10X better than my knives that cost 5-10X less. And if one gets lost, I don't feel too bad about it (e.g., I don't think any of my knives float, maybe one or two and not very well) so if I drop one in a river I am not going to cry over it

Maybe if I won the lottery and didn't have a budget, I would buy what I consider to be expensive knives, but for now I buy high value knives.
 
I'm a fan of the CRKT Prowess which I see is now Out of Stock, and the Kershaw Shallot which I also see is also discontinued. Anything from those two companies should be good enough -- except that the damascus blade shallot I have won't keep its edge worth crap. Looks nice as a letter opener though.
 
I buy hi end knives and use them. I have a few that I don't use, pretty much ever but very few. I buy tools to use, same as guns. The better quality the more enjoyment I get. I bought a new Hinderer Bowie in Oct. so I could carry it elk hunting. I always have at least 3 knives in my pack, the least expensive is a Cold Steel ultimate hunter.

I used to carry and use less expensive knives and never felt under knifed, I just prefer quality craftsmanship these days and have the means to acquire it which wasn't always the case. I never think of losing a knife, it happens, like crashing a bike in the woods, you don't plan it, it just happens. I will say since I've been carrying knives that mean something to me I'm more aware of where they are and keep track of them better than I did carrying something I really had no attachment to.

I've only lost 1 higher end knife. I was at Motosport and while pulling my hand out of my pocket to pay I heard something hit the floor. I looked around, didn't see anything and assumed it was something else, I was distracted. When I was about 1/2 way home (an hour) I realized my knife was gone. I called them as soon as I got home, nothing. I went back the next day and scoured the floor, nothing. I replaced it, fortunately it wasn't one of my harder to acquire knives. It hurt but I was more mad at myself for not paying attention and trusting myself when I heard it hit the floor.
 
I always have at least 3 knives in my pack, the least expensive is a Cold Steel ultimate hunter.

The CS Master Hunter San Mai III is one of my favorite knives. The plain steel CS MH was one of my first CS knives and I still have it - but I put a patina on the blade. I really like the pattern for general game processing - it isn't as thick and robust as some of my survival knives, but then they are not as good for game processing.

If I am going out hunting or otherwise solely on foot, I too carry more than one knife. No one knife is going to do everything perfectly - not possible IMO - and it is nice to have backups. Plus knives are light and small so there is little weight space penalty to be paid.
 
carry both Gerber US1 and Buck Folder. Use and sharpen them both regularly.
I don't give a hoot about what it's going to be worth.
Though I understand your surprise. With the Gerber US1, I was in Texas, a store had them on clearance for $20, knife, LED flashlight with nylon holster. Bought them all and gave them away as Christmas presents. Kept one for myself.
I see the knife sells for $70+ now...
I'll now return to counting my primers like Smeagol.
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I found this Imperial all rusted up in the bottom of an inherited tackle box.
Cleaned it up a bit and sharpened it.. might as well keep it instead of just tossing it out.

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YEP!!

I've carried mostly Gerbers, and to me those are my expensive knives. Others, Remington, Winchester, counter knives, etc go in the camp box, toolbox, tackle box, glovebox, or camp trailer drawers/bins.

My current EDC is a cheap horizontal belt knife I found on Ebay for $29. Carrying something expensive isn't important me as long as the knife works, won't break, and is easy to deploy when needed for self defense. (I used to have a biz that maintained pay phones and collected as much as $150 in quarters at a time. I had a ballistic shield clipboard that would stop a .38, but many of the locations I could not EDC a firearm, so I had a clip knife. The plan was to cut arm tendons and then hamstring so they couldn't follow me. Additionally, I studied the Meat Man videos about using a 3" blade clip knife.)
 
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I daily carry one of these. Very decent knife; got mine at Bi-Mart a couple decades ago. Easy to recommend.

 
For me, I have no problem carrying a more expensive knife, but it somewhat depends on what I'm doing that day. If it's a normal day or day at the office, I usually carry a nicer knife, Grimsmo Norseman, Hinderer XM-18, Microtech Cypher, etc. If I'm working in the field or it might see harder use I usually carry a Spyderco PM2 and a Leatherman Wave+.
 
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I guess I would ask what are you expecting the EDC to be used for? Just having a knife around to slice and dice stuff or as a self-defense weapon....

If you just want to have a knife in you pocket for general use I really like classic Opinel folding knives. Cheap and sharp as all get out.
 
My daily for the past ten years has been a Kershaw Ken Onion Leek 1660CKT


Great quality, fast to use, and one of the thinnest knife handles you can find. Plus you can orient the clip on either end. Highly recommended for around $60. I've got a bunch of other swanky knives and they've sat in a drawer so long I'll probably sell them eventually.
 
My daily for the past ten years has been a Kershaw Ken Onion Leek 1660CKT


Great quality, fast to use, and one of the thinnest knife handles you can find. Plus you can orient the clip on either end. Highly recommended for around $60. I've got a bunch of other swanky knives and they've sat in a drawer so long I'll probably sell them eventually.
The Leek is a most elegant design.
Nicer than some much more expensive knives, IMO.
The assisted opening is cool.
 
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My opinion is get something with a locking mechanism that doesn't require sticking your finger right in the path of a sharp, closing blade. It's like having to put your finger on the muzzle of your pistol to empty the chamber
 

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