It’s easy to spend a lot of money on a knife, and you’re usually gonna get more for your
money, but these days you don’t have to spend big bucks to get a worthwhile blade.
I’m David C. Andersen, coming at you from the KnifeCenter, and these are the best cheap
pocket knives that don’t feel cheap, and you can get them all for less than $30 right now.
Let’s check em out.
If you’re really on a budget, or you’re looking for an inexpensive gift, or if you’re
looking for something that you can seriously abuse and treat rough without feeling guilty,
then there are a lot of good options out there that won’t break the bank.
There are, of course, plenty of classic standbys, like Swiss Army Knives or Case pocket knives,
and they definitely make great quality pieces that don’t cost a lot, but today we’re
going to focus on a more modern style of knife.
Everything we’ll show you today features a locking mechanism for safety and one-hand
opening for more convenience in this fast paced world.
It can be hard to wade through all the options out there and know that you’re getting something
that’s worth it.
After all, you want an inexpensive knife, but you don’t want a cheap one, and that’s
where we come in.
We’re familiar with just about everything out on the market today, and these are some
of the best budget options out there, covering a range of different uses, all for less than
three ten dollar bills.
We’re gonna start with a couple of smaller knives.
These are unassuming designs that are socially acceptable and easiest to carry.
The first is the CRKT Drifter, a small classy knife that would be a great gentleman’s
knife.
It wouldn’t look out of place in an office, or even when you need to dress a little bit
nicer.
The blade itself is under three inches long, so if you have a limit placed on you regarding
blade length, this is a good length for most places.
And honestly, even if you don’t, this is just about all that’s needed for light to
medium duty everyday carry.
We get a versatile drop point shape that uses 8Cr14MoV stainless steel, and the 8Cr family
of steel is going to be pretty common at this price point, and if you stick with reputable
brands like these, they all do a good job of heat treating the blades well so they’re
gonna perform capably.
There’s a little bit of recurve on the Drifter, which actually maximizes the amount of sharpened
edge you get while still coming in under three inches.
Dual thumb studs make it easy to open with one hand for both right and left handers.
The handles themselves are stainless steel, and they feature an integral frame lock, which
uses part of the handle itself to lock the blade open, although there is a version with
black G10 handle scales and a locking liner as well.
The stainless option, however, is especially nice because of how classy it looks, and as
a bonus, it makes a great gift because you can easily engrave the front of it.
As far as ease of carry, this is a very slim-handled design, so it slips into the pocket quite
easily, and we have a nice pocket clip that holds it in a tip-down configuration that
holds it very securely.
Next up is the Zancudo, designed by Mike Perrin and Jeff Randall of ESEE knives.
This is another three inch drop point blade frame locking folder, but it has a much different
aesthetic than the drifter, putting function ahead of form for a knife that’s ready to
get down and dirty.
The blade is AUS-8 stainless steel, which is compositionally very similar to 8CR steels,
but is thought of as being a little more desirable.
We have a stonewashed finish on the blade, which is great for a working knife.
This tumbled finish means that scratches aren’t going to show up as readily, and you’re
not going to be afraid to use this knife.
Although, if you prefer a black coated blade, that is also available with the Zancudo.
The thumb studs on this knife work very well and make it easy to open, and you can even
flick them open pretty easily if you want to.
That’s thanks to well-tuned action and bronze washers in the pivot that help keep the friction
down.
The G10 on the front of this knife does bear a light texturing, and it gives you pretty
good traction.
Combine that with the handle shape of this knife, and it does a good job of fitting very
perfectly in the hand, very secure.
There’s different handle colors available as well, including this black here, but you
can also get it in coyote, desert tan, olive drab, orange, or even carbon fiber, although
the price does creep up above thirty dollars on some of those models.
The pocket clip on this knife has two positions.
You can carry it either tip up or tip down with right-side carry, and we have a similar
stonewashed finish to the frame that’s gonna help it hold up well and tie in to the blade
very nicely.
Next is another moderately sized offering, but this one has some of the best blade action
in this price range thanks to its SpeedSafe assisted opening mechanism, and this the Kershaw
Oso Sweet designed by Ken Onion.
The blade is opened, instead of thumb studs like these other two knives, with a flipper
tab.
This is actually a part of the blade itself, and you push it in.
Once the blade opens part way, a spring takes over and finishes the action.
It makes things quick and snappy.
We get 8Cr steel and a stonewashed finish with the Oso Sweet, and the blade is starting
to get a little bit bigger, just a bit over three inches on this model.
On the back of the handle, you can see we have a single pocket clip that holds the knife
right side tip up or tip down.
The handles themselves are glass filled nylon, GFN, which is available in either a gray or
black color with this textured scale pattern.
Combined with an ergonomic shape that’s really tailored to fit your hand, this is
another knife that really locks into place, just like the liner lock holds the blade securely.
The Oso Sweet feels great, and I especially like the shape of the blade.
The slender drop point is ideal for things like opening letters, getting into packages
or boxes; it’s just a great daily companion.
The next knife is another one from Kershaw, the Rove, and it’s a little bit bigger.
It has a broader 3.3” blade and a bigger handle.
It’s a good size for a work knife, it has the grip and the edge to tackle slightly bigger
jobs than the previous knives could handle.
Just like the Oso Sweet, we get 8Cr steel, a liner lock, and that same great flipper
actuated SpeedSafe assisted opening action.
The blade itself follows the graceful lines of the GFN handle, and the continuously curved
edge is ready to rock long slicing cuts with ease.
We also see a deep swedge along the spine of this knife, and that makes the cutting
cross section of the knife more efficient and streamlined.
It helps it to cut through material even more easily.
The curve of the handle fits the natural shape of the hand, and the flipper tab forms a nice
finger guard when open for a nice bit of added safety.
The knife also comes with deep carry pocket clip, which helps the knife to stay almost
completely out of sight until you pull it out to use it.
The clip is also reversible.
It holds the knife in a tip up fashion from either side of the handle, so you can carry
it on your right or left pocket very easily.
Now, most things in our under $30 price range are necessarily imported knives, but there
are a few worthwhile American-made products that are still competitive while coming in
under budget, and I’m gonna show you two from Buck Knives.
The first is the Bantam; a solid workhorse featuring a lockback mechanism that holds
the blade in place, and it’s easy to operate no matter which hand you use.
The Bantam is available in several different sizes, too.
I’ve got the three and five eighths version right here, but it also comes in a three and
one eighth version, and a two and three quarter inch bladed version.
The steel itself is American 420HC stainless, and Buck is known for getting a ton of performance
from this steel thanks to a proprietary heat treat protocol developed by Paul Boss.
We’ve got dual thumb studs to open the blade easily, and the drop point shape features
a swedge at the tip to help with piercing.
The handles themselves are a thermoplastic material, and they fit the hand quite well.
There’s a ton of options to choose from as well, in addition to the standard black
that you see here.
There are several mossy oak camouflage patterns, including blaze orange and blaze pink, as
well as Kryptek patterns if you want.
But no matter which you choose, you’re getting a solid tool and that US-made pride.
The next is the Buck Vantage, a flipper design featuring a liner lock.
This knife is also available in multiple sizes, with a two and five eighth inch, or a three
and a quarter inch blade from 420HC steel.
The handles on this model are glass reinforced nylon, although there are upgraded models
with inlaid handles and more premium steels, but they do go above our thirty dollar price
point.
The shape of the knife is very comfortable in both sizes, but especially on this larger
model.
It flows very nicely, has an elegant look, and just feels really good.
The drop point blade features a satin finish, and it can be opened two different ways.
We do of course have the flipper tab that can help it open very quickly, but if you
want to be more deliberate, you can actually use the cutout in the blade to open it with
your thumb.
This could be better if you want to be a little bit slower and you don’t want to startle
the people around you.
In that same vein, the Vantage comes with a fantastic deep carry pocket clip, and it
is reversible for right or left side carry, too.
Because the clip is mounted from the back end of the knife, rather than the side, there’s
absolutely nothing that sticks out above it, and it can be nice and discreet because of
that.
So we’ve kind of been getting a little bit bigger from the first knives we showed you,
and for these next two knives, we’re going big.
Sometimes you need a larger knife for those really tough jobs, and these next two are
overbuilt, chunky in a good way, and ready to throw down.
The first is the Ka-Bar Mule II heavy duty folder, featuring a kind of updated tactical
evolution of classic lockback folders.
The blade is a full four inches long, made from 420 stainless steel.
It’s easy to open with dual thumb studs, and you can get it in this clip point shape
you see here, as well as a tanto profile if you want to really lean in to that tactical
vibe.
You can get them with a plain edge, but they’re also available with partial serrations.
This is going to come in handy cutting rope, rubber hose, pallet straps and the like.
The handles offer a lot of grip.
You get black G10 with a few milled lines in it that gives a good amount of traction,
but not too much, and it’s set off by these gunmetal gray stainless steel bolsters.
The pocket clip can be fit to either side, and completing the knife is a mid-mounted
lockback mechanism.
It features a cutout in the lock bar itself, and this can help prevent accidental disengagement
if you’re really gripping tight, and if you’re going to be tackling some of those
bigger jobs out there that this knife is capable of, you probably are going to have a good
hold on the knife.
Next is the CRKT Crawford Kasper folder, built extremely well, just as ready for hard work,
and even more ready for combat roles.
The oversized zytel handles provide a large grip with a shape that’s designed for easy
retention.
In addition to the liner lock, this knife also comes with a secondary lock.
Manually operated, it provides an extra layer of added safety and piece of mind.
The blade itself is three and three quarters of an inch long, it opens with thumb studs,
and uses 8Cr stainless steel.
It’s capable of getting a lot of work done, and with a long swedge along the spine and
an acute point, it excels at penetration when you need it to.
You can also get this knife with several different handle colors, including black, tan or green,
and several blade finishes as well; not just the satin you see here, but also black and
even desert tan.
It’s also available with a plain edge or partially serrated.
Match it up to the work you see yourself doing with this knife, and you can’t lose.
Now we’re down to the final three, and these models are widely regarded as having the best
value, dollar for dollar, as just about any knife out there.
The first is the Ontario RAT series, the RAT 1 I have here features a three point six inch
blade, and the smaller RAT 2 is the same design, except with a three inch blade.
This was actually designed by the same folks who designed the Zancudo that we saw earlier.
AUS-8 stainless steel is used here with very efficient cutting geometry and dual thumb
studs for opening.
Like the Zancudo, we do have brass washers with this knife, which means it opens smoothly
and you can even flick it out, just like that smaller blade.
The handles themselves are made with nylon with a subtle texture on the surface, and
it has an integrated liner lock.
We have different color options, again similar to what we see with the Zancudo, and satin
or black coated blades for that matter, too.
On the RAT 1, the handle is nice and roomy, plenty of length for my bigger hands, but
you can also choke up on the blade thanks to the wide recaso here, letting you get finer
control over the edge.
The pocket clip on the RAT 1 also has the most versatility that we’ve seen so far.
It is a four position clip, which means you can carry it tip up or tip down on either
side with ease.
More than just a great EDC, the RAT 1 has long been a popular choice for camping, hiking
and survival thanks to its low price and versatile design.
Next up is the Cold Steel ProLite, and the blade uses 4116 stainless; a fine-grained
German steel.
It comes with a stonewashed finish, and you can choose this plain edge clip point shape,
as well as a drop point or a tanto option.
The handles are made from glass reinforced nylon with kind of an orange peel texture
going on.
It adds some grip without feeling sharp or aggressive.
The reason this knife is so great in this price range is the use of Cold Steel’s incredibly
strong Triad lock.
Now, it looks like a regular old lock back, but internally it’s a bit different, with
improvements that have been made to make it one of the strongest production knife locks
out there at any price.
Getting that performance here for such a low cost of entry is a phenomenal thing, and with
a reversible pocket clip, a reversible thumb stud, and the ambidextrous nature of the lock
itself, this knife is easy to recommend to just about anyone.
Last but not least is the Byrd Cara Cara 2, designed by Spyderco.
Although, really, just about any knife from the Byrd line in our price range could take
the spot here.
Now, the Byrd Knives brand is technically a distinct entity from Spyderco, but they
exist to bring all the signature elements of the Spyderco design language to a lower
price point.
The Cara Cara 2 is the equivalent to the Spyderco Endura, featuring a 3.75 inch blade using
8Cr steel, plain edge or partially serrated, and a comet hole for easy one-handed opening
with either hand with no protruding thumb studs to get in the way.
The handles are fiberglass reinforced nylon, available in several different colors, and
they offer a ton of grip.
They sport a raised texture that’s inspired by Spyderco’s radial bidirectional texture.
It’s designed to provide positive retention, both forward and back, helping you to keep
a truly solid grip on the knife in just about any condition.
We also get a four position pocket clip, so you can carry the knife any way you wish,
and the mid-mounted lock back gets the same cutout, called the David Boye dent, that we
saw on the Ka-Bar Mule.
Because of all the options for carry, and the easy ambidextrous use of the blade and
the lock, this is another great option that you can recommend to just about anyone.
Now, one thing they’ve done with the Cara Cara 2, unlike the Endura on which it’s
based, is the addition of a finger choil that spans the handle and the heel of the blade.
This eliminates the dead zone around the pivot that most folders have to contend with, and
turns it into a place that can be used for choking up to get more fine control over the
blade, and of the tip of the knife especially.
Altogether, the Cara Cara 2 is an ideal combination of light weight, solid build quality, and
effective utility that make it a great option for anyone.
Now, I’m deep into my knife collecting career at this point, and I am accustomed to carrying
higher dollar items, but with that in mind, I know quality when I see it, and I wouldn’t
be upset carrying any of these knives you’ve seen here.
Cheap knives have their place, and with the quality you can get with these knives, they
certainly don’t feel cheap.
So be sure to let us know what you think of our list of best knives under $30 in the comments.
And if you have any suggestions for something that you think we left out, be sure to drop
them in there as well.
In the mean time, to get your hands on any of them, you can click the link in the description
to head over to KnifeCenter.com.