Smith & Wesson knives?

N

Nick_M

Inactive
Hi all,

I was wondering if SW really make good knives?
I saw several online, and as long as they are okay (which I doubt based on the price), I will pick one. I have several SWs in my collection, so I was wondering about the knives.

Or that's just some Chinese facility using their name to sell their stuff?
Thanks.
 
The only S&W knife i ever handled was a POS. A folder with a liner lock that would not stay locked. I ended up dulling the blade and using it as a prop in our shoothouse. A total wast of money.
 
The majority of SW knives are made overseas and rebranded. Most are cheaper construction and pretty mild steel. I believe that they have a higher end line with better steels and materials, but I can't recall the name of that line at the moment.

I have a few SW knives, and they are... meh. The locks are OK, the materials are OK, but they are price point knives. At that price point, I'd much rather get a Kershaw or a Gerber. If want American or better steels you'll pay a little (or a lot) more.
 
I wouldn't buy one in blister packaging. If it is something you can actually hold and closely inspect before buying maybe. Some of the Chinese made knives are actually very well made. Spyderco, Kershaw, CRKT, Ruger and several others have budget lines made in China that are exceptional values. Not quite as good as their $200 knives, but some of them in the $20-$50 range are not bad at all.

Probably the most knife you can get for the money now are the Ganzo knives made in China. They use the same lock system as Benchmade and are very well made. Most of them are 440C steel which isn't a high end exotic steel, but a very good steel.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ganzo+knives&crid=1CYQKS5B8K3R6&sprefix=ganzo,aps,156&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_5
 
Blade is advertised as 4034 steel, which is a low cost entry level stainless steel similar to 420HC. So I would expect fairly good corrosion resistance with rather poor edge holding.
 
Had one years ago trusting a name - before I learned to trust a price point much more. Total junk.

Aimed at 18 year old kids knowing nothing about knives but not old enough to buy a real Smith and Wesson.
 
That cute little thing with all of the black and plastic and curvy things with the serrations was made as a toy. look at the shape of it and the absolutely ridiculous blade shape and you will realize that it isn't made for any sort of work. I'm sure that it will work well as a letter opener but if you try anything more complicated than splitting an apple it will disappoint you.
 
Decades ago,maybe 1970's,S+W made some nice looking fixed blade knives of decent design.(It appeared)

They had short stub narrow tangs set in what may have been Pakkawood.


Now...I'm not all about the YouTube fuzz sticks and batonning kindling with the trusty Mora stuff. The dog,the tarp hooch,the stew in the pot (yawn) overnight "survivor"I don't generally do that with a knife.

But young and dumb in the 70's,I did it with my S+W.The handle split. That's how I discovered the roughly 1/2 in by 1 1/2 in tang. This knife had a threaded cap on the handle,presumably some "survival" theme.

Yes,it was abuse,and it failed badly.


The smaller of the two knives,another nice looking knife..looking close revealed a fine,black,nearly invisible crack from heat treat,across the blade near the handle.I never broke it because I did not carry it.


Fourty years or so s a long time,but that was my S+W experience. I think it was Bangor Punta days.


So close to being good! But,not
 
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Never buy a knife made in China. Or to be more specific, never buy knives made with Chinese steel. Chinese steel invariably has a high sulphur content, making them difficult to put a good edge on, and won't hold an edge for very long. They're all junk.

Buy knife steel from the US, Germany, Japan, or Sweden.
 
I concur - junk. I bought a "Smith and Wesson" first responder knife for the truck and it won't keep an edge even with minimal use and is falling apart. I got it before I learned that big-name companies make a buck or three each time their logo is stamped onto some other company's cheap product.
 
Nick what are you looking for? If fixed blade, there actually are some really good inexpensive options from morakniv and several others. The blade quality FAR exceeds what it should for the price. Only problem is they aren't tactical looking... if that IS a problem for you.

For my pocket folder, I have a cheap CRKT. It takes a good edge (can shave hair with it after a few licks on a fine stone) and holds it reasonably well. Durability is better than it should be for such a cheap knife. I carried Gerber paraframes for my cheap folder option for years. They were pretty decent, but I like the budget CRKT better.

There are options for really good blades that don't cost very much. You usually must forego stainless steel and accept carbon steel patina, along with the hopes of it looking "tacticool." But... options exist.
 
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