That used to be a good rule of thumb until Kizer, WE, Reate, Artisan came along. They produce quality knives and now WE has taken a lesson from Spyderco introducing the Byrd value line and have started their own value line of knives under Civivi label. If you stay with the known quantities you get a known quality.
Darn straight, the Chinese are making some very good knives. And the prices are reasonable, if you shop for them.
This knife is right now, on ebay, $35.00 delivered. It has D2 blades, an excellent blade profile, liner lock and a flipper.
If you have to have S35VN and titanium handles, this is the knife to get. Today the price is $88.30 delivered, usually it is around $100.00 I can't tell much of a difference between D2 and S35VN. Both take a good edge, both cut well as both are the same length and profile. The big difference is the handle materials. I think titanium is cool. It used to be that only Astronauts had things made out of titanium. I think that was because Communist Russia was the major supplier and any titanium that made it out of that country had to be smuggled out.
I would rather have had a handle without the decorative coastal harbor pattern. I carry a knife between the pants and the waist, and this grinds a bit on my baby soft cheeks. For G10 handles I smooth the grip next to the buttocks with sandpaper. There are some folding knives where the G10 handles are closer to a wood rasp than a handle, and it took a metal file to knock off the sharp edges. Think about how you carry the things.
Post Script:
Spats McGee helped identify the pattern on the handle. I thought it was a port, but if you point the blade up, the pattern is much more sinister!!!
Thanks Spats
I know Chinese quality has improved, but I've been bit a few times by some of their "stainless" that has proven otherwise.
