The production knife market has gone crazy. It used to be a rare knife that cost $300. That knife, more often than not, was the much-vaunted Chris Reeve Sebenza. Now, $300 knives are common. At that price you might be hesitant to really use your knife, but as a tool, leaving $300 on the shelf seems silly.
Part of the force driving the price of knives north of $300 is the steel. Another factor is the complexity of design. Many of the new $300+ knives are titanium framelock flippers—a design that requires a bit of tuning on each blade and real attention to the knife’s pivot. Often, these high end knives run pivots that use a race of captured bearings to both smooth out the opening and make the pivot more stable. All of this individual attention costs money and drives up the price of a knife.
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But as with all new technology, eventually prices come falling down. In 2017, two different knives were released that had many of the bells and whistles of high-end blades, both at budget prices.
One was the LA Police Gear-exclusive TBFKS35VN. The other was the Ruike P801. (Ruike, pronounced “Rike,” is the knife brand sibling to Fenix flashlights; both the torches and the blades are made in China). While the TBFK runs better steel, the P801 is the better knife, slimmer and more EDC friendly. It also happens to be one of the best budget knives on the planet. Here is why.
First, despite its $30 price tag, Ruike P801 is quite well made. Every cut is clean and every edge is chamfered.
A check of the IKC (Internet Knife Community) shows that there are some issues with centering, but for the most part people found the knife to be well made. My personal P801 is flawless. The P801 also runs a captured-bearing pivot, giving you snappy and fast deployment via a well-shaped flipper tab.
The blade steel is Sanvik’s 14C28N, an excellent steel but a small step down from powder metal steels found on $300 blades. The blade shape, a simple drop point, is great, as is the full flat grind. Finally, the P801 is a slim knife. The blade is a bit longer than average, coming in at 3.5 inches, but the knife is thin and narrow. As a result the P801 carries like a much smaller knife, easily less noticeable than something like the Spyderco Delica.
The P801 comes in two finishes—a bright stainless steel or a coated stonewash which results in a worn in gray-black appearance. The knife saves pennies by using a non-powder steel and stainless steel scales instead of titanium, but beyond those two minor compromises, this knife compares well to blades costing ten times as much.
If you want a practically-priced framelock flipper with a lot of the features found on much pricier knives, the P801 should be on your list. It is an excellent knife, so good that I don’t even have to use the common budget knife descriptor “for the money.”
Price: $30
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Buy Now(via BladeHQ)
Specs
| Ruike P801 | |
|---|---|
| Deployment | Flipper Thumb Stud |
| Length | 8.25″ Open 4.75″ Closed |
| Blade Length | 3.5″ |
| Weight | 4.23 oz. |
| Blade Material | 14C28N |
| Blade Style | Drop Point Plain Edge |
| Lock Style | Frame Lock |
| Handle Material | Stainless Steel |
| Pocket Clip | Tip-up |
| Made in | China |
| Street Price | $30 |
Nathan says
for my uses I need something 3 inch or under. There have been a number of times I’ve thought about buying something and just cutting the end of the blade down. Not idea I know but it gets me a better handle for my larger hands.
Ideally I’d love to see that same OAL measurement with a 3 inch blade. Would be perfect for me. Alas that never happens. Price is right even if made in china. I’d have paid 60 for one made in america.
Frank says
I would recommend a Spyderco Para 3. Made in USA, 2.95″ blade, about $125 (amazon). Excellent knife.
J.C. says
It’s not going to be quite the same but have you looked at the Kershaw Skyline? It has around a 3 inch blade, same 14C28N and is made in the U.S.A. 🙂
https://www.amazon.com/Kershaw-Lightweight-Pocketknife-High-Performance-Stonewashed/dp/B001CZBDF8/
Adam g says
While you compare it to a delica, one should note it is a full 2 ounces heavier than a delica with an interior steel.
Anthony Sculimbrene says
14C28N is not inferior to VG-10.
Anthony Sculimbrene says
Also post MAP revision, this knife is about 40% of the cost of the Delica.
James C says
Nice to see Tony here. I always appreciate his reviews.
Stuart says
Me too. =)
Anthony Sculimbrene says
Thanks, dude!
Eric says
I ordered one. Despite having too many “nice” knives, at home I am finding myself using “nice enough” knives in this price range around the property.
Home Depot had the 3″ D2 Milwaukee Hardline online for $25 one day earlier this spring and I am getting a lot of use out of it. This will probably live in the garage with it.
Blythe says
I got a hardline the same day, but ended up selling it. I wanted to like it for the price and the steel, but mine was not sharp out of the box, had a detent that was too strong, and had a notchy lock bar that really ruined it for me. Maybe I got a lemon
Stuart says
I spoke to someone at NPS, and he was surprised to hear about varying experiences. I told him that my 3″ drop point and 3″ Tanto knives have different deployment behaviors, and it seems that there’s some manufacturing variability.
With flipper knives, it takes a lot to get things *just right* and consistent, which is probably why a lot of affordable flippers have spring-powered assisted opening mechanisms, which I believe helps smooth out those small variances.
fred says
“which is probably why a lot of affordable flippers have spring-powered assisted opening mechanisms, which I believe helps smooth out those small variances.” >> And makes them illegal to carry in some locales.
Eric B says
Mine was amazingly sharp out of the box, not centered perfectly, secondary grinds that were not perfectly symmetrical, hard to open compared to my assisted knives, and hard to close.
That said, I LOVE it. It is nice thick D2, super cheap, and appears completely fine with the borderline abuse of the springtime here. If they had the 3.5″ one on sale like that I would get it in a second.
If they had called it “Fancyline” I would have said they missed the mark, as a work knife where in my mind purposeful opening/closing is more important than smooth/fast I think they did a great job.
Blythe says
I’ve been getting more interested in knives lately. 2 observations from my research- I hear most reviewers pronounce it as “rake”, and bearing knives are awesome feeling but may not be the best choice if you plan on using them in a dirty environment.
Brian says
I have had great luck with Kershaw’s lower end assisted opening knives. I paid $15 for the Kershaw Zing 1730SS and it’s been great, it’s not too heavy but it’s also not too light that it feels cheap. I certainly get the expensive knife thing but if you’re using it as a tool, cheap isn’t really bad. I also tend to use the right knife for the job instead of using a knife as an all around, cut anything tool so that may be part of it. Example; I see no need using a knife to cut wires when I have the proper cutters.
Dave says
I like a knife I can abuse-which means gets the job done- and then is as good as new( I just change the blade).
I have no interest in anything else. Campers buy those kinds of knives…. no need to review them here.
Stuart says
John uses Milwaukee M18 plumbing tools exclusively. Does that mean we shouldn’t cover Dewalt 20V Max electrical tools?
Instead of being negative, you could instead chime in about what you’d like to see reviewed next.
Dave says
One of my friends just bought a Stiletto cat’s paw-something like $80 or $90 bucks- would it be worth it?
I have a Milwaukee m-12 caulking gun and I love it. It might be the sun Jeff of a good review.
One of my sons bought an m-18 fuel 7.25 circular saw and I hate it, because compared to what I’m used to (m18 fuel 6.5), the blade is on the “wrong” side. Why is that?
I recently needed to chip out a lot of relatively thin, old, hand-poured concrete, and found that a hammer drill with the hammer-only function actually out-performed a large Wacker electric jackhammer. That might be an interesting story-the versatility of a hammer drill that has the hammer-only function.
I have a lot of m-12 1/4 inch impacts-from the original version to the second generation of Fuel. It seems to me that the second-generation m-12 Fuel is nearly as strong as the original m-18 version- maybe some comparisons along those lines?
How about some orthopedic-based reviews of steel-handled heavy hammers vs wooden-handled titanium? The science or medical reason of how much easier the latter is on your arm/shoulder?
Sorrry that not buying into your new guy’s reviews makes me so negative in your eyes. They just seem off-topic and therefore of no interest to me. Let’s just agree to disagree; it’s easy for me to just bypass his stuff and let those who enjoy such things have that pleasure. This is a great site overall and I thank you for it.
fred says
Although I have several knives for camping, carpentry, carpet, crafting, electrical work, fishing, gardening, leatherwork, insulation, paperhanging, roofing and wood carving, I do not consider myself a knife aficionado. I consider my knives, including most of my pocket knives (a few I got as engraved gifts excepted) as utilitarian tools.
All that said, I see that Toolguyd postings on knives seem to get a plethora of comments – so others seem to appreciate the topic. While, some other topics on more ubiquitous tools are of greater interest to me (and possibly others based on how many comments they receive) – I see no reason that Stuart should exclude knives as a topic , trusting that Toolguyd will not morph into a knife-centric blog.
Brian says
I’m not a knife or flashlight guy and tend to gloss over those and some other articles…it doesn’t mean there isn’t interest. Stuart is best when it’s in his interests anyway, it comes out in his articles…and remember, we’re guests here on his site.
One of the most popular, well-liked comedians once said (Paraphrasing); Never be too political that they know what side you’re on. Always give everyone a joke for their tastes, a political joke for the Democrats, one for the Republicans, give them a smart joke, give them a silly joke. Hopefully they’ll laugh at all of them but at least they’ll have one joke just for them.
…I think Stuart does that very well which is why he’s popular and doesn’t really have a real blog competitor(Forums with blogs don’t count). If you don’t have something for you in the topic he writes about today, you’ll probably have one for you tomorrow or the day after.
Stuart says
That’s exactly what I/we strive for.
Part of our responsibility is to understand tools across all price ranges.
ToolGuyd is read and visited by all kinds of people. Some are pro tool users, others are not. Some need something more discrete, others have more demanding needs.
We’re not about to start reviewing $1500 custom knives, but there will be reviews of $50 to $200 knives, maybe one or two slightly pricier models.
I certainly didn’t expect any pushback on Anthony’s (great) review on a $30 knife.
This looks to be one of the best budget offerings in a while, and based on this review, I’ll be buying one for myself.
firefly says
I am not a knife guy either but I do appreciate Anthony post. I actually consider this post to be more tool than knife. A knife is as much as a tool as anything else unless it’s one of those fancy knife that was mean to lock away in a display case. This is a solid budget knife that I wasn’t aware of.
Curtis says
I’m of the same opinion, but I prefer cheap liner locks. I’ll buy half a dozen of those harbor freight folders and beat the snot out of them. I’m not going to try and drive screws, cut lathe and plaster or pry hard on something with a knife that costs $30+, but with a $4 knife, no problem. Once in a while I sharpen them on a disc sander with 220 grit if I’ve got it. If I don’t it gets sharpened with 100 grit.
I’ve had good knives in the past and I can appreciate them, but I’ve found that a cheap knife is just more functional.
Robbie says
I’m a utility knife user myself due to the fact that I can damage blades on a daily basis. However, I really enjoy these knife reviews and Stuart does a fantastic job at pointing out the affordable blades that are still of quality. Additionally, I still love my Kershaw Leek USA that I read about here and I’ve encouraged multiple friends to buy one as well.
fred says
You said: “Ruike, pronounced “Rike,” is the knife brand sibling to Fenix flashlights; both the torches and the blades are made in China). ”
I ‘m just curious if the 2 companies actually related (in China) or is it just that they are connected via a common USA distributor? I see that in the USA their product packaging both share a common UPC prefix (694287).
Michael Veach says
good review. knives being one of the most useful tools, it’s nice to see one reviewed now and then.
Corey says
Amazon dropped mine today, pleasant surprise coming in from work at 9pm lol all I can say is, holy shit this thing’s nice. Thanks for this article which is entirely responsible for my decision 👍