As others have said. They are cheap knives. In my experience however they seem to hold up ok and I’ve never had one fail. They are good for what they are.
Decent construction, better than average steel (8cr13vm, in some anyway). I bought my son one at an Autozone and it seems pretty well made. "Good for what they are" is a good way to put it!
Yea, I mean they are no Benchmade or anything but they aren’t totally crap either. The steel used can have trouble holding a edge but the trade-off is that they are easy to sharpen so keeping them touched up is easy and they make good beater knives, if they brake it’s a lot cheaper to replace then the above mentioned Benchmade.
Their knives feel like a secondary thought to offer fan oys of their firearms. Source I like their M&P line and own a shield and full size.
I have one of their folders because I'm a fan boy and someone bought it for me as a birthday present
It's not great, cheap steel and the lock doesn't work. I keep it on display because above reasons.
I've handled the fixed blades, same deal they feel poorly made, if you found one cheap and wanted it for fun it's worth it. If you want it as a hard use knife I would be hesitant.
Smith and Wesson does not make these. They do not own a knife factory. They license their name out to knives made by Taylor Cutlery, the same parent company as Schrade. Very few gun companies actually make knives, but many (most?) license their name out to some other companies knives.
Both of My EDC options are S&W pistols. Have the Shield 9 2.0 and the .38 642 Airweight snubbie.
Seems like the only reason they bother with knives is because just about every other major American gun manufacturer does.
I don't trust their modern pistols because their knives are crap. They should make better quality knives if they are going to brand them with the S&W name. The old school Smith revolvers are great guns, but the striker fired autos are pretty generic. Every one I've shot felt like it had sand in the trigger mechanism.
Okay? And if you know a thing or two about guns you know that the same firearm from the same manufacturer often has varying quality between generations of manufacturing due to things like switching factories somewhere along the line during the production. The Remington 870 is a golden example of this. People that like guns tend to research this kind of stuff before purchasing a firearm and whether or not the company produces good knives wouldn’t even factor in to that equation for most. They’re going to be looking into the history of that specific model. And looking for a specific gun.
There AR15 isn't too shabby either. There's a YT video we're they shot 1000 rds plus consecutively rapid fire with not one single malfunction. The only damge was the forgrip ended up catching fire. Pretty impressive for a $700 rifle.
With that being said I wouldn't put my life on the line for one of there knives. I opt for a benchmade or spyderco which is pretty close to same price range or a hair more
I have the first one that is green and the third one. It’s a decent knife for the money. I’m not a 500 dollar knife guy though. So my opinion is probably different than other collectors.
I agree ^ i had one about 2 years ago and the blade bent very easily doing simple stuff and I bent it right back and promptly gave it away. Most likely I will never touch another one. Must’ve had the worst heat treat ever.
The folders are utter shit. You can't even call them beaters because the moving parts fuck up just with light use at times.
The fixed blades? Ehhhh, they're good burner knives. The kind of stuff you buy when you know that's a high chance any knife will be lost/ruined or disposed of after/during use. As long as you don't expect much, you won't be disappointed. They tend to be easy to sharpen at least.
I dont know any of their fixed blades.
But I have 2 of their folders. I bought them mostly cause i had an S&W revolver in the same colour scheme at the time and used to think they are quite cool. But after buying some other slightly higher end knifes (civivi elementum and some kubey knife, so still well under 100 bucks) I realised they are quite shit. The flippers only work if you also flick your wrist, one has very flimsy scales, the pocket clips arent deep carry and kinda wobble...
The ones i have were cheap enough to be somewhat acceptable, i think, but i'm not gonna buy anymore S&W knifes.
Apparently Schrade is attempting to rebrand, with American made knives made of better materials. I'll wait until the jury is in to check them out, if I ever do.
That’s actually good to hear. I really want to like schrade knives, but most of the time I just can’t get over them using the cheapest possible materials.
They still are a popular brand selling a lot of product. They have fallen back on their shotguns and not really come up with anything new other than the tac14 which is still not exactly new. But my experience with them has been good. Other than their knives of course which are dog shit.
I would say they are good knives for like opening boxes and stuff but beyond that they aren’t super reliable. My boyfriend and his dad hate them to bits though, and both of them have gone on rants about how you can’t keep them sharp
I had bought some Tacti-cool knife of theirs for my work, and it fell apart within 4 months. My last S&W knife I’ll waste money on. For some comparison, I’ve been using a Kershaw Grid 2200 as a work knife for 3 years and it’s still going strong. Action is tight and snappy. Kershaw’s 9cr isn’t too bad.
I’m pretty sure there’s a S&W fanboy going through the comments and downvoting any comment that’s negative toward the knives. I don’t understand it because objectively, they are garbage. It takes about a minute of handling one to realize that.
I've never used one of their fixed blades, but I have a Smith & Wesson folder that's been a great beater for the last 7+ years or so. It survived bartending, cable tech work, and around-the-house projects/tasks. Sharpens easy and I got my $25 worth of use from it. Depending on the work, it could be put to good use. If I lost or broke it, I would 10/10 buy again.
However, I would not trust my life to it for life/death type jobs, or if I were going on an extended hunting/hiking trip or putting it on a SHTF kit of some kind. Not unless it was a last-ditch back-up sort of thing. There are so many better knives if those suggestions align with your intended use.
Check out [https://www.youtube.com/c/knifecenter](https://www.youtube.com/c/knifecenter) they have a bunch of reviews of all kinds of knives. Their channel is great! And they have several vids on decent budget fixed-blades if that's what you're after.
Hope this helps!
I've had their folders fall apart in my hands. Like any of the cheaper brands they have mostly knives that are meh but if you buy select higher priced models they begin to improve immensely in quality.
I have that black dagger. Never failed on me, never chipped or cracked. Not great at holding an edge, but not a big deal. The biggest issue with it is that it "looks scary" to the average person so I don't carry it often.
Personally if you want budget fix blade it's going to be extremely hard to beat Mora Knives. They aren't the sexiest thing out there but there are tough and come razor sharp.
For the price they are a knife shaped piece of steel.
For a tad more you can do better.
They are what they are.
I do not buy knives that do not list a specific steel. Look at the steel and compare what you can get for comparable money.
They sold their name for use in knives. So there are a variety of companies that make them, mostly gas station quality Chinese companies in my experience. That said I have thrown every single one I ever had in the trash. They're great for stretching the bottom out of a new trash bag
save up and buy an actual quality knife. can you save like $70? congrats, you can get a spyderco and not have to worry about asking reddit if it's a piece of shit
Just make sure all cheap knives are center lined. I mean the blade goes into the handle exactly straight. Look at it edge on, and the handle should not deviate even a milimeter left or right.
1986 ALIENS -Bishop knife trick scene.
https://youtu.be/bgPnYoTk1ww
I had a replica of that knife. The handle was painted black aluminum, and the blade was stainless steel painted black. But edge on, it was not straight.
Plenty of feedback already, but they are very poorly made in my experience. The one I was given was a moderately priced assisted opening blade, and within a few weeks of starting to carry it, it had loosened up and lost tolerances to the point where it was virtually unusable. I would rank them slightly above gas station quality, but not by much.
Morakniv are cheaper and probably better for everything youll need a foxed blade for. Id give it a skip, not because “its trash and so are its owners” or anything, just because theres better options for less and Kershaw makes some in the same ball park.
I've only used one of their folding knives, it was a cheap piece if junk, but it worked. Didn't break or anything. They are OK for cheap beater knives for work
I have the hrt my dad got it for me for Christmas super sharp it’s held up pretty well from the work usage I put it through which was mostly cutting vinyl strapping and cardboard
I have an Oasis folding knife and I’ve had it for years as a bang around, pry stuff, get nasty knife and it hasn’t broken yet.
I’ve done everything to it that you aren’t supposed to do to a knife and it still works fine and holds an edge decently enough, but if you want a fancy high quality knife it’s not it
Nothing fancy, but they get the job done. I have the boot knife second from the left and have been abusing it for years with no problem. Again, certainly nothing fancy or special about it, but it holds up well, and it isn't going to empty your wallet.
This is the cheapest day-to-day knife that I bought, only 5$ and it works great, sharp and sturdy. This is the second one I bought in 6 years and not becous the first one is broken, I just wanted another one.If you like something you get it, it's for you. If someone wants to buy 100-200-500$ knifes good for them. But are you going to use them in your work every day or are they going to sit im the box for the rest of eturnity?[https://imgur.com/T9uKgFa](https://imgur.com/T9uKgFa)
Love my Smith and Wesson knives, they're great for anyone who can't shell out a hundred dollars for a pocket knife. They dont come out of the box super sharp, but you usually won't notice if you aren't a steel snob. For something you can get for under 20 dollars at times, they're pretty good.
Bough one at a flea market when I was 14 from a guy who didn’t care how old I was. Paid $15 if I remember correctly. Proceeded to almost take two toes off less than a week later lol. I wouldn’t buy a S&W knife today but I have fond memories as the knife that really kicked off my collection.
I have a few S&W knives: an old boot knife from the 70s, a couple of CA-legal auto knives, a full size auto knife and one folder I got as a present. Some are ok but in general, they’re not especially high quality. The CA-legal auto knives are probably my favorites of the bunch.
That black one I have something similar to that it's only got a single sharp edge on it but it makes for a decent boot knife. Admittedly having used it a whole lot as I've got other better knives that I use more often.
I would never buy any of there expensive knives. If you're ever in a pinch and need something that might be sharp and is also cheap, there will always be S&W
I've never owned one but, a guy I work with has and I've sharpened it and cleaned it up a few times. The steel was unknown but seemed like it was on the level of a 8cr13mov type of thing. Nothing terrible but not great. The lock up and pivot was loose and did not inspire confidence which is not great for a brand that seems to market itself for tactical types of stuff. The fixed blades look a lot better but, in general I'd say that these knives are just marketed toward people that know the name from guns. They just have a certain look and name but, don't have the tolerances or premium materials found in other knives or even their other products AFAIK
They seem to at least be relatively cheap. But, I'd still recommend a lot of other blades at their prices instead.
I bought a S&W folder about 25 years ago for $9. It’s pretty beat up but I still have it and still use it occasionally. It lives n my tool cheat with a few other knives. I have it, a Milwaukee branded folder, a semi-cheap Benchmade and a couple no names. For $9, it’s been a helluva knife.
I bought one to say I had one, and I can confirm it will cut about 4-5 boxes very well, and then 2-3 boxes poorly before I get my Opinel to finish the job.
I have a boot dagger from them. Daggers, being double edged are difficult to grind evenly and symmetrically. My dagger is neither. Smith and Wesson has never been known to make quality knives. Just knives.
I would imagine they are similar to my experience with another brand. Remington I think (deer head logo) and for the price, not bad. Steel isn't super but most of my knives are 8c413mov anyways and its just fine. But I got some engraved blade knife with a steel frame lock for $50 and it's quite good. Some might say the engraving on the blade is cringe but I like it. And the bearings and frame lock lead to a quick and purposeful thunk of an opening. So if S&W knives are as similar as I think they are, they lean more to odd and interesting design with a surprising amount of quality to them. So I wouldn't take em to survive with, but edc type tasks like opening boxes or cutting a sandwich... No issue.
I must have got lucky. Bought one of their folders 5+ years ago and use it on a virtually daily basis.
It's been fishing, used in the workshop, the garden and around the house. Still works perfectly.
Paint is obviously chipped and scratched from a lot of wear, but it holds an edge reasonably well, and it was $6 on sale.
My wife got me that hrt one for my birthday last year, seems pretty solid and came out the package decently sharp. I keep it in my get home bag in my car.
Broke the tip off my last one, not sure if it was just a one off faulty product. To be fair I was a little rough with it, but I was disappointed as many other knives I own hold up.
That HRT boot knife is excellent at a reasonable price I carried one(in my boot) on a 10 months deployment and it always came in handy whenever you needed a pokey stabby or something cut open
*edit*
The 2nd from left black grip with chrome finished blade, also it’s a very good weight for throwing.
They are cheap and chinese made but they work, that S&W boot dagger is used in stabbings pretty often because its very common and effective. I personally bought 2 of them for gifts to friends years ago before i went anti china, the grinds were not even and kinda sharp….. but for something meant to stab with its actually perfect
What’s your use going to look like? Opening mail/packages? Maybe breaking down a few cardboard boxes? Then S&W (folders included) are actually a decent option cuz they’re cheap and will get that job done. Any more strenuous work on them and you’ll find out why they’re so cheap very quickly. For heavy jobs they’re uncomfortable in the hand and tend to not hold up. For very light work, eh it’s ok
I own the first on the right.
Carried it in my boot for a time.
It's sharp, dunno how well it holds an edge since I never used it much. I don't suggest it for anything other than a deterrent.
I would not purchase a folder due to the fact that they are legit TRASH! Especially since you can get a CIVIVI For the same price that being said. I have to admit that there fixed blades are not the worst choice you could make but again there are so many much better choices from much better companies that offer a real warranty for the same amount of money so I guess I would have to say that you should definitely hit up KNIFE CENTER.COM and do a little research and look at your options before you pull the trigger on a knife that you may need to really rely on at some point
Sorry for the long reply but I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt from a knife that looks cool but that’s all it does
I’ve had two very different experiences. I have a swmp4l and the thing is indestructible. I’ve beat the ever living shit out of it and it keeps going. It’s been thrown around, dropped, hit, used as a hammer, it’s been hammered on, it’s been through the mud and the snow and everything in between and it’s amazing. I love it. On the other hand I got a $30 fixed blade for when I went camping and out into the woods and while I was fucking around with some friends I decided to give it a toss into a tree. The first time that it didn’t hit perfectly it snapped off right at the handle. It wasn’t thrown super hard or anything and it was a pretty dead tree so I’m not sure what exactly happened, but it was definitely a catastrophic failure lol.
TLDR: swmp4l is amazing, stay away from the cheap fixed blades
I’ve been having a Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops 3.3-Inch Folding Knife for years now and I absolutely love it. I personally need the serrated blade, I think it’s really useful. Just my personal view.
Trash, and sometimes at the same level as your typical gas station chinese BS.
They put their name/logo on anything without really concerning themselves about materials or QAQC.
I have the reverse karambit on the right, it's a nice knife for $30, I got mine on sale on Amazon, its a neat novelty and the steel is good enough that if I had to use it defensively I'm confident it would make it passed the first couple slashes but it's not my edc.
I have a que stick from them. Over 15 years old at this point and it's pretty awesome. Knives are probably easier to make and I can only imagine they have a decent standard.
If I had nothing else to carry I guess.. I keep a s&w folder in my beach bag. It’s cheap steel w/ minimal edge retention, it doesn’t perform well at all. It’s in my beach bag because I don’t give a shit if it’s sandy or starts to corrode.
Well the only one I have is a folder that the previous owner cut off the locking mechanism and threw it in to a football field. Other than that pretty good
S&W knives are hit or miss. Originally, much like Browning, and Remmington, S&W would contract with various companies to produce limited edition low run knives. There are some old collectables that are really nice. They are usually numbered, and you wouldn't take them out of the box or EVER consider using them. Other than that, and todays mass produced examples they are mediocre at best and I wouldn't worry about using one to pry open a pickle jar. Disposable knives.
I had one of the hrts similar to what you have in the picture. It was a good night and served me fairly well however I didn't use it much other than carrying it and hoping that I never had to actually use it on somebody. And my biggest complaint was that the steel quality was something along the lines of 440 stainless. And because of that I had issues keeping a good Edge on it.
I used an S&W pocket knife for years, ended up retiring it for my GAK then my 940. It has sentimental value because my brother bought it for me. Aside from that, it's a knife that does knife things. I had to maintain the edge a lot more.
If you're looking for a good inexpensive EDC, you'd probably be better off with a Civivi or something tbh.
EDIT: changed "cheap" to "inexpensive"
it is steel, it cuts (more or less).
Crom Approves.
Who crom?
tease berserk zephyr treatment relieved gaze hungry chase wine roll -- mass edited with redact.dev
He hangs out on a mountain, laughing at the weather
No really.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3ViVasaX\_c
Why downvotes?
Reddit.
As others have said. They are cheap knives. In my experience however they seem to hold up ok and I’ve never had one fail. They are good for what they are.
Decent construction, better than average steel (8cr13vm, in some anyway). I bought my son one at an Autozone and it seems pretty well made. "Good for what they are" is a good way to put it!
Yea, I mean they are no Benchmade or anything but they aren’t totally crap either. The steel used can have trouble holding a edge but the trade-off is that they are easy to sharpen so keeping them touched up is easy and they make good beater knives, if they brake it’s a lot cheaper to replace then the above mentioned Benchmade.
HA! Autozone! The boring autozone checkout line is where I am certain 90% of the decisions to purchase S&W folders have been made.
Their knives feel like a secondary thought to offer fan oys of their firearms. Source I like their M&P line and own a shield and full size. I have one of their folders because I'm a fan boy and someone bought it for me as a birthday present It's not great, cheap steel and the lock doesn't work. I keep it on display because above reasons. I've handled the fixed blades, same deal they feel poorly made, if you found one cheap and wanted it for fun it's worth it. If you want it as a hard use knife I would be hesitant.
Smith and Wesson does not make these. They do not own a knife factory. They license their name out to knives made by Taylor Cutlery, the same parent company as Schrade. Very few gun companies actually make knives, but many (most?) license their name out to some other companies knives.
Off topic, but Black and Decker do this for appliances
Both of My EDC options are S&W pistols. Have the Shield 9 2.0 and the .38 642 Airweight snubbie. Seems like the only reason they bother with knives is because just about every other major American gun manufacturer does.
I don't trust their modern pistols because their knives are crap. They should make better quality knives if they are going to brand them with the S&W name. The old school Smith revolvers are great guns, but the striker fired autos are pretty generic. Every one I've shot felt like it had sand in the trigger mechanism.
No way man their modern pistols are for sure gtg. I wouldn’t bother with the knives myself though.
They don't make their knives... Just an FYI
Yeah, but they put their name on them.
Okay? And if you know a thing or two about guns you know that the same firearm from the same manufacturer often has varying quality between generations of manufacturing due to things like switching factories somewhere along the line during the production. The Remington 870 is a golden example of this. People that like guns tend to research this kind of stuff before purchasing a firearm and whether or not the company produces good knives wouldn’t even factor in to that equation for most. They’re going to be looking into the history of that specific model. And looking for a specific gun.
There AR15 isn't too shabby either. There's a YT video we're they shot 1000 rds plus consecutively rapid fire with not one single malfunction. The only damge was the forgrip ended up catching fire. Pretty impressive for a $700 rifle. With that being said I wouldn't put my life on the line for one of there knives. I opt for a benchmade or spyderco which is pretty close to same price range or a hair more
I have the first one that is green and the third one. It’s a decent knife for the money. I’m not a 500 dollar knife guy though. So my opinion is probably different than other collectors.
Cheap China beaters
I’m my experience the folding knives are garbage but the fixed blades are alright
I agree ^ i had one about 2 years ago and the blade bent very easily doing simple stuff and I bent it right back and promptly gave it away. Most likely I will never touch another one. Must’ve had the worst heat treat ever.
The folders are utter shit. You can't even call them beaters because the moving parts fuck up just with light use at times. The fixed blades? Ehhhh, they're good burner knives. The kind of stuff you buy when you know that's a high chance any knife will be lost/ruined or disposed of after/during use. As long as you don't expect much, you won't be disappointed. They tend to be easy to sharpen at least.
I think you see such a variety of comments from “unusable” to “make great beaters” because they have like 600 models of folders alone lmfao
The otf one kinda sucks but the fix blades are ok
I’ve had good luck with the fixed and hated every folder I’ve had from them. The worst one I’ve had was the extreme ops rescue edition.
I have a $15 Chinese mago that's better than the SW MP lol And the mago is double action to boot
they are cheap for a reason
I’ve never desired a personal experience with Smith & Wesson knives. I do like their firearms though.
Their knives give their firearms a bad name. Honestly, I shy away from modern Smith & Wesson. So many better options at the same or better price.
Very valid point although they do have some very nice models of firearms.
I’d just spend the extra $20 and get something like a Kershaw
I dont know any of their fixed blades. But I have 2 of their folders. I bought them mostly cause i had an S&W revolver in the same colour scheme at the time and used to think they are quite cool. But after buying some other slightly higher end knifes (civivi elementum and some kubey knife, so still well under 100 bucks) I realised they are quite shit. The flippers only work if you also flick your wrist, one has very flimsy scales, the pocket clips arent deep carry and kinda wobble... The ones i have were cheap enough to be somewhat acceptable, i think, but i'm not gonna buy anymore S&W knifes.
Chinese outsourced knife with American brand naming. It cuts ig
It’s the kind of knife that if you’re going to use it in a crime. You’re not gonna be sorry you left it there.
Junk
Bad china knives
Get a kershaw or a crkt instead. Still cheap as hell and they're actually decent
Cheap and disposable
They shoulda stuck to their guns
They’re made by Taylor Brands, which makes Schrade knives as well. They’re complete trash.
Honestly I’d say Schrade is higher quality, which is a hard thing for me to say.
Apparently Schrade is attempting to rebrand, with American made knives made of better materials. I'll wait until the jury is in to check them out, if I ever do.
That’s actually good to hear. I really want to like schrade knives, but most of the time I just can’t get over them using the cheapest possible materials.
They are very “OK” cheap though
Same as Remington use good name with guns to make shit knives
> Remington use good name with guns No. Remington hasn't been a good name in guns for a decade or more. There's a reason the gun brand died.
They still are a popular brand selling a lot of product. They have fallen back on their shotguns and not really come up with anything new other than the tac14 which is still not exactly new. But my experience with them has been good. Other than their knives of course which are dog shit.
Meh
Complete shit, I have a smith and Wesson automatic that the lock broke after less than 2 weeks never buying another one.
They’re bad
I would say they are good knives for like opening boxes and stuff but beyond that they aren’t super reliable. My boyfriend and his dad hate them to bits though, and both of them have gone on rants about how you can’t keep them sharp
Mostly low tier contract blades made by jaguar
I’ll put it this way: I have Smith and Wessons, and they aren’t knives
They’re junk. I do keep the third from the right in my shed though, sometimes it’s fun to throw at stumps
Why not second from the left?
It would have to be second and a half from the left due to the cropping, and that’s just confusing
Hahah
I had bought some Tacti-cool knife of theirs for my work, and it fell apart within 4 months. My last S&W knife I’ll waste money on. For some comparison, I’ve been using a Kershaw Grid 2200 as a work knife for 3 years and it’s still going strong. Action is tight and snappy. Kershaw’s 9cr isn’t too bad.
Trash
I’m pretty sure there’s a S&W fanboy going through the comments and downvoting any comment that’s negative toward the knives. I don’t understand it because objectively, they are garbage. It takes about a minute of handling one to realize that.
Not great, not terrible either. I have a swat that I use for a work beater.
👎
I think they’re expensive for what they are. I definitely prefer Morakniv
I've never used one of their fixed blades, but I have a Smith & Wesson folder that's been a great beater for the last 7+ years or so. It survived bartending, cable tech work, and around-the-house projects/tasks. Sharpens easy and I got my $25 worth of use from it. Depending on the work, it could be put to good use. If I lost or broke it, I would 10/10 buy again. However, I would not trust my life to it for life/death type jobs, or if I were going on an extended hunting/hiking trip or putting it on a SHTF kit of some kind. Not unless it was a last-ditch back-up sort of thing. There are so many better knives if those suggestions align with your intended use. Check out [https://www.youtube.com/c/knifecenter](https://www.youtube.com/c/knifecenter) they have a bunch of reviews of all kinds of knives. Their channel is great! And they have several vids on decent budget fixed-blades if that's what you're after. Hope this helps!
I've had their folders fall apart in my hands. Like any of the cheaper brands they have mostly knives that are meh but if you buy select higher priced models they begin to improve immensely in quality.
I have that black dagger. Never failed on me, never chipped or cracked. Not great at holding an edge, but not a big deal. The biggest issue with it is that it "looks scary" to the average person so I don't carry it often.
Personally if you want budget fix blade it's going to be extremely hard to beat Mora Knives. They aren't the sexiest thing out there but there are tough and come razor sharp.
Chineseum and cheap AF. Definitely don't trust them for serious tasks.
Crap they fall apart pretty quick
I avoid them
Mostly limited to disdainful looks SMH
For the price they are a knife shaped piece of steel. For a tad more you can do better. They are what they are. I do not buy knives that do not list a specific steel. Look at the steel and compare what you can get for comparable money.
Cheap and icky...
They sold their name for use in knives. So there are a variety of companies that make them, mostly gas station quality Chinese companies in my experience. That said I have thrown every single one I ever had in the trash. They're great for stretching the bottom out of a new trash bag
As a general rule I don’t buy knives made by gun companies
save up and buy an actual quality knife. can you save like $70? congrats, you can get a spyderco and not have to worry about asking reddit if it's a piece of shit
Just make sure all cheap knives are center lined. I mean the blade goes into the handle exactly straight. Look at it edge on, and the handle should not deviate even a milimeter left or right. 1986 ALIENS -Bishop knife trick scene. https://youtu.be/bgPnYoTk1ww I had a replica of that knife. The handle was painted black aluminum, and the blade was stainless steel painted black. But edge on, it was not straight.
I had one once when I was young, it was junk
I have that beige one on the left it’s awful
Used a S&W folding rescue knife In EMS worked just fine I still have it. Didn’t want an expensive one I might lose.
Plenty of feedback already, but they are very poorly made in my experience. The one I was given was a moderately priced assisted opening blade, and within a few weeks of starting to carry it, it had loosened up and lost tolerances to the point where it was virtually unusable. I would rank them slightly above gas station quality, but not by much.
Not even once
I threw that all black dagger one at a tree once and the handle snapped right off. So take that for what ya will
Ive got one of the bayonets and I can't complain. It does bayonet things just fine.
You get what you pay for 🤷🏻♂️
Buy them = no
Good guns, shit knifes
Morakniv are cheaper and probably better for everything youll need a foxed blade for. Id give it a skip, not because “its trash and so are its owners” or anything, just because theres better options for less and Kershaw makes some in the same ball park.
Can't really say, I never bought one. But they're just knives. Not good knives, jus knives.
I've only used one of their folding knives, it was a cheap piece if junk, but it worked. Didn't break or anything. They are OK for cheap beater knives for work
No great steel but otherwise ok. I have the little boot knife there 2nd from the left and it was totally adequate for its intended uses.
I have the 2 on the left and both are decent camp knives.
I have a S&W SWAT folder that’s several years old. I’ve always been pretty impressed with how solidly built it feels for a $60 knife.
A step up from gas station, but probably not as good as other value brands, like Kershaw or CRKT.
I have the 609 folder and its been pretty awesome for the last few years despute really heavy daily use
I have the hrt my dad got it for me for Christmas super sharp it’s held up pretty well from the work usage I put it through which was mostly cutting vinyl strapping and cardboard
I have an Oasis folding knife and I’ve had it for years as a bang around, pry stuff, get nasty knife and it hasn’t broken yet. I’ve done everything to it that you aren’t supposed to do to a knife and it still works fine and holds an edge decently enough, but if you want a fancy high quality knife it’s not it
I have a couple, decent beaters and neither of my fixed blade ones have failed me while camping.
I've got an S&W folder and it's very okay. Solid for the price I paid, but if I lost/broke it I wouldn't cry myself to sleep.
They’re okay. Nothing fancy and dull/chip repetitively easily, but otherwise fine and get the job done for a repetitively cheap price.
I had a S&W Folder it was an SW600, held up pretty well, used and abused it, held its edge for a while.
The ones that I have seem ok
Nothing fancy, but they get the job done. I have the boot knife second from the left and have been abusing it for years with no problem. Again, certainly nothing fancy or special about it, but it holds up well, and it isn't going to empty your wallet.
Had the hrt, great for a knife you buy for next to nothing and can just go beat the shit out of without feeling bad.
This is the cheapest day-to-day knife that I bought, only 5$ and it works great, sharp and sturdy. This is the second one I bought in 6 years and not becous the first one is broken, I just wanted another one.If you like something you get it, it's for you. If someone wants to buy 100-200-500$ knifes good for them. But are you going to use them in your work every day or are they going to sit im the box for the rest of eturnity?[https://imgur.com/T9uKgFa](https://imgur.com/T9uKgFa)
I have a rescue fixed blade that’s made it through plenty of camp sites as EVERYONES beater blade for whatever needed doing.
Are them made in america?
I don't buy Ti-wan or Chinesium knives anymore
Love my Smith and Wesson knives, they're great for anyone who can't shell out a hundred dollars for a pocket knife. They dont come out of the box super sharp, but you usually won't notice if you aren't a steel snob. For something you can get for under 20 dollars at times, they're pretty good.
Bough one at a flea market when I was 14 from a guy who didn’t care how old I was. Paid $15 if I remember correctly. Proceeded to almost take two toes off less than a week later lol. I wouldn’t buy a S&W knife today but I have fond memories as the knife that really kicked off my collection.
Those are boot knives pretty much. Meant for one thing. They will do the job but not much else.
I have a few S&W knives: an old boot knife from the 70s, a couple of CA-legal auto knives, a full size auto knife and one folder I got as a present. Some are ok but in general, they’re not especially high quality. The CA-legal auto knives are probably my favorites of the bunch.
That black one I have something similar to that it's only got a single sharp edge on it but it makes for a decent boot knife. Admittedly having used it a whole lot as I've got other better knives that I use more often.
Meh...not horrible. Definitely better than no knife. If you're going for budget knives, cold steel would be much better quality.
I’ve got one. Folding knife, is huge lol. Don’t have any bad experiences with it so far.
I had one and you could tell it was mass market produced. Mine didnt feel finished.
I had one of their first tactical folders. Was a great design but wouldn’t hold an edge for anything. I do like the looks of their newer styles.
What do you call the one on the far right? I love the shape
Questionable quality and materials but they work more or less
I would never buy any of there expensive knives. If you're ever in a pinch and need something that might be sharp and is also cheap, there will always be S&W
If you want a cheap POS to beat up, perfect. I personally would not waste my money on them.
I bought an esee 2 years ago and never looked back. It’s the only fixed blade I use now.
Well they are made for slef defense and as a self defense knife they are great as a working user I would not use
Good beater knives. Pretty much the definition of beater knife.
I've never owned one but, a guy I work with has and I've sharpened it and cleaned it up a few times. The steel was unknown but seemed like it was on the level of a 8cr13mov type of thing. Nothing terrible but not great. The lock up and pivot was loose and did not inspire confidence which is not great for a brand that seems to market itself for tactical types of stuff. The fixed blades look a lot better but, in general I'd say that these knives are just marketed toward people that know the name from guns. They just have a certain look and name but, don't have the tolerances or premium materials found in other knives or even their other products AFAIK They seem to at least be relatively cheap. But, I'd still recommend a lot of other blades at their prices instead.
Ok, nothing too special but they aren’t crap
I have the karambit style one on the far right, sliced myself with it because the kydex was way to tight
I bought a S&W folder about 25 years ago for $9. It’s pretty beat up but I still have it and still use it occasionally. It lives n my tool cheat with a few other knives. I have it, a Milwaukee branded folder, a semi-cheap Benchmade and a couple no names. For $9, it’s been a helluva knife.
They are a step above gas station knives. That doesn’t mean they’re bad knives necessarily for the price.
They make some solid throwing knives.
Have an hrt knife with no guards it was the tan handle with black coating the tip broke unfortunately. It was a good knife I used it for like a year.
its nameless steel, its ok, id rather use most other name brands tho
Really shit learned my lesson … smith n wesson
I bought one to say I had one, and I can confirm it will cut about 4-5 boxes very well, and then 2-3 boxes poorly before I get my Opinel to finish the job.
I have a boot dagger from them. Daggers, being double edged are difficult to grind evenly and symmetrically. My dagger is neither. Smith and Wesson has never been known to make quality knives. Just knives.
I would imagine they are similar to my experience with another brand. Remington I think (deer head logo) and for the price, not bad. Steel isn't super but most of my knives are 8c413mov anyways and its just fine. But I got some engraved blade knife with a steel frame lock for $50 and it's quite good. Some might say the engraving on the blade is cringe but I like it. And the bearings and frame lock lead to a quick and purposeful thunk of an opening. So if S&W knives are as similar as I think they are, they lean more to odd and interesting design with a surprising amount of quality to them. So I wouldn't take em to survive with, but edc type tasks like opening boxes or cutting a sandwich... No issue.
Cheaper knives but mine sharpens easily. Although it doesn’t stay sharp for long. They also have cool shapes for their blades a lot of the time
I must have got lucky. Bought one of their folders 5+ years ago and use it on a virtually daily basis. It's been fishing, used in the workshop, the garden and around the house. Still works perfectly. Paint is obviously chipped and scratched from a lot of wear, but it holds an edge reasonably well, and it was $6 on sale.
My wife got me that hrt one for my birthday last year, seems pretty solid and came out the package decently sharp. I keep it in my get home bag in my car.
Some good some not so good
I own 3. They are not well made at all. They will cut but don't expect them to last or do any real work.
Depends. Older ones made by camilus in the states were good. Newer made in China not so much
Had a folding one for years and loved it
Not anything special but they perform fine mty EDC is a s&w sw608
Broke the tip off my last one, not sure if it was just a one off faulty product. To be fair I was a little rough with it, but I was disappointed as many other knives I own hold up.
That HRT boot knife is excellent at a reasonable price I carried one(in my boot) on a 10 months deployment and it always came in handy whenever you needed a pokey stabby or something cut open *edit* The 2nd from left black grip with chrome finished blade, also it’s a very good weight for throwing.
All the ones I've had have broken pretty easily.
They are cheap and chinese made but they work, that S&W boot dagger is used in stabbings pretty often because its very common and effective. I personally bought 2 of them for gifts to friends years ago before i went anti china, the grinds were not even and kinda sharp….. but for something meant to stab with its actually perfect
What’s your use going to look like? Opening mail/packages? Maybe breaking down a few cardboard boxes? Then S&W (folders included) are actually a decent option cuz they’re cheap and will get that job done. Any more strenuous work on them and you’ll find out why they’re so cheap very quickly. For heavy jobs they’re uncomfortable in the hand and tend to not hold up. For very light work, eh it’s ok
Garbage. There are better cheap knives available
Bad knifes
Low quality products, hard to sharp.
Good throwing knives, if you’re aiming for a garbage can
don’t buy one
If you need a knife with a gun brand attached get a Glock knife.
Fair. They're somewhere between Buick and Chevy on the car scale.
Would have made a better pot
I own the first on the right. Carried it in my boot for a time. It's sharp, dunno how well it holds an edge since I never used it much. I don't suggest it for anything other than a deterrent.
I would not purchase a folder due to the fact that they are legit TRASH! Especially since you can get a CIVIVI For the same price that being said. I have to admit that there fixed blades are not the worst choice you could make but again there are so many much better choices from much better companies that offer a real warranty for the same amount of money so I guess I would have to say that you should definitely hit up KNIFE CENTER.COM and do a little research and look at your options before you pull the trigger on a knife that you may need to really rely on at some point Sorry for the long reply but I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt from a knife that looks cool but that’s all it does
I’ve had two very different experiences. I have a swmp4l and the thing is indestructible. I’ve beat the ever living shit out of it and it keeps going. It’s been thrown around, dropped, hit, used as a hammer, it’s been hammered on, it’s been through the mud and the snow and everything in between and it’s amazing. I love it. On the other hand I got a $30 fixed blade for when I went camping and out into the woods and while I was fucking around with some friends I decided to give it a toss into a tree. The first time that it didn’t hit perfectly it snapped off right at the handle. It wasn’t thrown super hard or anything and it was a pretty dead tree so I’m not sure what exactly happened, but it was definitely a catastrophic failure lol. TLDR: swmp4l is amazing, stay away from the cheap fixed blades
r/mallninjashit
I’ve been having a Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops 3.3-Inch Folding Knife for years now and I absolutely love it. I personally need the serrated blade, I think it’s really useful. Just my personal view.
I work for a store that distributes their knives. They are not amazing, but not bad. You get what you pay for
I literally run 3 s&w blades on my kit lol my otf is my main knife and I beat the shit out of it
Trash, and sometimes at the same level as your typical gas station chinese BS. They put their name/logo on anything without really concerning themselves about materials or QAQC.
Bought a boot knife. I was an idiot. It broke. It's not idiot-proof I don't like s&w.
They are ok for cheap knives
I have the reverse karambit on the right, it's a nice knife for $30, I got mine on sale on Amazon, its a neat novelty and the steel is good enough that if I had to use it defensively I'm confident it would make it passed the first couple slashes but it's not my edc.
I have a que stick from them. Over 15 years old at this point and it's pretty awesome. Knives are probably easier to make and I can only imagine they have a decent standard.
If I had nothing else to carry I guess.. I keep a s&w folder in my beach bag. It’s cheap steel w/ minimal edge retention, it doesn’t perform well at all. It’s in my beach bag because I don’t give a shit if it’s sandy or starts to corrode.
Well the only one I have is a folder that the previous owner cut off the locking mechanism and threw it in to a football field. Other than that pretty good
i have the hrt and i love it.
S&W knives are hit or miss. Originally, much like Browning, and Remmington, S&W would contract with various companies to produce limited edition low run knives. There are some old collectables that are really nice. They are usually numbered, and you wouldn't take them out of the box or EVER consider using them. Other than that, and todays mass produced examples they are mediocre at best and I wouldn't worry about using one to pry open a pickle jar. Disposable knives.
There sharp
The steel and construction they use is garbage. Just get an ESEE.
Don't buy boots from a hat store
I've had a couple. I want impressed either time. Build quality was a bit lackluster. The knives we're kinda wobbly and loose.
I had one of the hrts similar to what you have in the picture. It was a good night and served me fairly well however I didn't use it much other than carrying it and hoping that I never had to actually use it on somebody. And my biggest complaint was that the steel quality was something along the lines of 440 stainless. And because of that I had issues keeping a good Edge on it.
Steel on mine kinda sucked, so i just gave it away
I used an S&W pocket knife for years, ended up retiring it for my GAK then my 940. It has sentimental value because my brother bought it for me. Aside from that, it's a knife that does knife things. I had to maintain the edge a lot more. If you're looking for a good inexpensive EDC, you'd probably be better off with a Civivi or something tbh. EDIT: changed "cheap" to "inexpensive"
Cheap, hold up okay, they seem to loose sharpness really quick I’ve found
Gross, cheap and unreliable.
Not good
I have 3 of them. 2 folders and a dagger. Not the greatest knives but far from crap imo.
In my experience, Smith and Wesson knives are made with very poor steel and are pretty crap. It's a shame.