Thread: A quality knife at a very resonible price

I am a Bark River fan, but they are expensive. I would argue that they are value for money, but others would argue different. My brother is one such person. However, having used several of my knives on hunting trips, he liked the general shape of the Fox River, and set out to find a cheaper alternative to forking out US$250 for a BRK.

Hello Aliexpress.

Buying anything out of China sight unseen or without credible testimony is a risk, but often the cost is low enough that the potential loss is not great, so its worth a punt.
After doing a fair bit of searching he settled on a FOX branded knife in D2 steel. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Brav...ceBeautifyAB=0

He's had one for over 12 months now, and has subsequently bought another so that he has one for skinning and one for boning, keeping the boning knife away from potentially dulling mud and grit in the hides.
I have to say that I am suitable impressed given the very low cost of NZ$39 landed. They take a good edge, will skin out two deer without issue, more if you have a strop handy, and restore an edge easily after use using a strop. Neither blade has ever chipped (I know that Thar has made the commend in the past that he has found D2 to be chippy steel, and I respect his wisdom, but there has been no issues to date). At the end of the day, the heat treatment on these blades seems to be on the money.
Now, these knives will be batch manufactured in terms of heat treatment so I cannot say that every batch will be spot on, but the two knives in use were purchased 6 months apart and one is just as good as the other, so ....??
The sheaths are a little on the light side in terms of leather thickness, but are leather and well manufactured.

Any way, if you are after a low cost, well made hunting knife that has proven its self to date in NZ conditions, this is definitely worth a go.
Hey, why not buy two, one black and one green! It will cost you under NZ$80 landed for the pair.

In my last life the company I worked for got some knives branded that were made in China.
Funny thing was that when we got the first samples of knives to choose from some already had brand names on them. One of them was a Gerber and I recognised the knife.
It was scary to see how much we could buy these knives for compared to how much the Gerber sold for over here. So much brand name stuff is made in china now it is hard to criticise a knife just because it is made in China.
I have used a number of "cheap" Chinese knives and most of them have been very usable and reliable knives. Some are even very attractively made.

I bought a fox knife a while back as I wanted something to leave in my truck or take on fly in trips for around camp that was a bit heavier than my main knife which is a Benchmade Steep Country.
The fox knife is D2 and I find it way easier to sharpen than my Benchmade which is S30V. Have used it for bits and bobs around the farm and pretty impressed with it so far.

To get a quality stainless knife go to salvation army family store, pay a couple dollars for a long chef's knife and grind it shorter with a nice drop point. But it won't likely look as good as the examples above.

I use a brand called manly from ez direct,great folders.

Originally Posted by The bomb

I use a brand called manly from ez direct,great folders.

I had one of their folders also was a bloody awesome wee knife, it's on the bottom of the ocean somewhere currently though bugger it!

Just received one in each colour handle. They seem fairly nicely built. Decently sharp out of the box, but could benefit from a stropping session. They fit loosely into the sheath. I might soak in water and leave to dry in the sun. Shipping was 20 days from order to my door.

Bought a few knives off Aliexpress now, all excellent quality with no issues or complaints at all. Also bought a copy of a Gerber axe, is excellent aswell and cheap as chips!

I wouldn't say there top shelf as far as being real solid and robust be certainly good enough for your every day hunting use etc...

Originally Posted by hotbarrels

I am a Bark River fan, but they are expensive. I would argue that they are value for money, but others would argue different. My brother is one such person. However, having used several of my knives on hunting trips, he liked the general shape of the Fox River, and set out to find a cheaper alternative to forking out US$250 for a BRK.

Hello Aliexpress.

Buying anything out of China sight unseen or without credible testimony is a risk, but often the cost is low enough that the potential loss is not great, so its worth a punt.
After doing a fair bit of searching he settled on a FOX branded knife in D2 steel. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Brav...ceBeautifyAB=0

He's had one for over 12 months now, and has subsequently bought another so that he has one for skinning and one for boning, keeping the boning knife away from potentially dulling mud and grit in the hides.
I have to say that I am suitable impressed given the very low cost of NZ$39 landed. They take a good edge, will skin out two deer without issue, more if you have a strop handy, and restore an edge easily after use using a strop. Neither blade has ever chipped (I know that Thar has made the commend in the past that he has found D2 to be chippy steel, and I respect his wisdom, but there has been no issues to date). At the end of the day, the heat treatment on these blades seems to be on the money.
Now, these knives will be batch manufactured in terms of heat treatment so I cannot say that every batch will be spot on, but the two knives in use were purchased 6 months apart and one is just as good as the other, so ....??
The sheaths are a little on the light side in terms of leather thickness, but are leather and well manufactured.

Any way, if you are after a low cost, well made hunting knife that has proven its self to date in NZ conditions, this is definitely worth a go.
Hey, why not buy two, one black and one green! It will cost you under NZ$80 landed for the pair.

Attachment 81276

Attachment 81277

I bought one of these and it arrived today. I will have to retire my Bahco and see how this new one goes.

Joker knives in aus I'm looking at the Russian one I think its called a Finn

Nice looking knife. I've slipped in to using AliExpress all the time, especially if I don't "need" something right now. I've had one order go wrong and the money was refunded without hassle, although it did take a little time. The merchandise is so cheap, I end up thinking why not? This is probably part of their sales strategy. I'm happy to support NZ retailers who charge 10, 20, or even 100% more for an item, but you have to draw a line somewhere.

Thanks for posting this, i like the shape of them, and your review has sold me, have just ordered one of each. Cheers

Seems to handle the jandle ok..

Originally Posted by Shootm

Seems to handle the jandle ok..

Attachment 83297

What is it? Do you have a link? Ta

Originally Posted by Tahr

What is it? Do you have a link? Ta

Its far too cheap for you Bruce, go to the first post mate