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Low Priced But Good Quality Scout Knife?

I was recently asked to recommend a low priced but good quality Scout knife. Well I've purchased just about every scout knife I could find that is currently being produced. Currently the only two I haven't bought are the Kissing Crane Scout knife that used 420 (AUS 6) stainless and goes for $25-30 and the Schrade GI Utility that uses a "400 Series" (Whatever that is) Stanless and goes for $20.

Below are the low priced ($25 and Under) current production 4 blade Scouts that I do own:

I have laid them out best to worst (in my opinion) from left to right. The opinion was based on price, steel, fit and finish, stay and play. All knives are made in China.

From left to right, best to worst

1) The Rough Rider Scout. - nice thick blades. 440 Stainless. Great snap, great fit and finish. Some blade rub but not bad. Brass pins and liners. Nickel silver bolsters. Has an old timey can opener that makes a great box cutter. Long Screwdriver and big plus! Red Jigged or Amber Jigged Bone Cost: $12-15

2) Cattleman's Cutlery Sage Brush Trail Scout - Blades are not as thick as the Rough rider but thicker than others.. 420J2 Stainless, Great snap. Standard tools, nice fit and finish. Well fitting Zebra Wood Scales. Stainless Steel through out. $15-$20. Als comes in black pakkawood.

3) Official Boy Scouts of America Camp Knife (Suspected Taylor Brands) - Blades a little thin. "400 Series Steel" Great snap on the blade. Some blade rub but not bad. Brass pins and liners. Nickel silver bolsters. Has Official Boy Scout Knife Blade etch and Boy Scout Shield. Amber Jigged Bone (3 5/'8 inches) Cost: $25.

3) Black Hills Camp Knife (Frost) - Blades a little thin. 440 Stainless OK snap on the blade. Some blade rub but not bad. Brass pins and liners. Nickel silver bolsters. Fit and finish could be better, Comes in Grey or Blue jigged bone or Orange Delrin. (3 5/'8 inches) Cost: $15.

3) Coleman Cub Knife - Nice thick blade... 420J2 Stainless, Great snap. Standard tools, Blades are tight but they don't open and smoothly as the should. Decent snap Black wood handles with the Coleman Lantern shield. (3 5/'8 inches) $12-15

(The three way tie is based on quality of the build and price. The Official BSA knife has a finish that rivals the Rough rider but it is also cost twise as much as the other two knives it tied with. )

4) Marbles GI Camp Knife - Blades are average thickness. 440 Stainless. the Baldes all have a a small amount of wobble. The knife is also quite a bit thinner than the original Mil-K knives. Long Screwdriver and big plus! Stainless Steel through out. Cost: (3 3/4 inches) $7-$10 Overall Opinion: Okay but for a couple more dollars you get a much better knife.

4) Boker Magnum Classic Steel - Blades are not as thick as the Rough rider but thicker than others.. 440 Stainless, Great snap. All blades have a small amount of wobble. The over all finis of the knife is quite nice. The Black wood handle are nicely pinned. Stainless Steel through out. (3 5/'8 inches) $12-15 Overall Opinion: Okay but there are better knives in the price range.

(the two way tie is based on the price of the Marbles. The Magnum is a better made knife but the marbles is simply cheaper)

I Can't t recommend buying the remaining two knives

5) Sarge Licensed BSA Scout knife - Blades are very thin. .. 440c Stainless, Fit and finish is just so-so significant blade wobble on the can opener and the awl . The awl is too thin for serious work. . Stainless Steel through out. (3 5/'8 inches) $25 Overall opinion: Not worth buying at any price.

6) Frost Double Warrior (Frost) - Blades a little thin. 440 Stainless OK snap on the blade. Bad blade rub . Brass pins and liners. Nickel silver bolsters. When people talk about poor quality Frost knives, this is one of them, Comes in Red or Blue jigged bone or in the Red/blue Smooth as pictured. Mine arrived with a bent awl which I had to bend straight in order to realign the blades and allow the knife ot close. Had I bought this one first, I would not have bought the Black Hills Scout. (3 5/'8 inches) Cost: $15. Overall opinion: Avoid it like a spurned psychopathic former lover.

Hope this helps anyone looking to buy a low priced camp knife.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 3, 2014 at 12:57

Hi I'm glad everyone enjoyed the comparison. I know it is all subjective especially when you start comparing one knife to another. For instance, yes, the Official Boy Scout knife has the official blade etch and is an Official BSA camp knife. If you can get to Scout Store and if they will allow you to buy it will cost you $25. Everywhere else it is going to be about $30.

It looks great! But as far as I can tell the steel can be anything but is most likely 420. The build on my Cattleman's Cutlery knife is just as good but it typically can be had for $18! Yes it uses 420J2 but for most chores that is going to be "good enough," And the zebra wood really looks good! My first impression was better than expected.

Still it is all subjective. I'm sure others would choose the official Boy Scout knife over say the Coleman Cub instead of putting it at the same level.

As for the Double Warrior and the Sarge, these look pretty decent at first glance but I'm sure 99% of the people who buy them feel like they've been taken for stooge. Very disappointing knives. Things shouldn't wobble or get crossed up when opening and closing!

Permalink Reply by Ron Cooper on July 3, 2014 at 18:31

Good show, Toby! With the high marks you've given Rough Rider I may just have to give one a whirl?

I don't know if it would qualify as a true Scout knife? But, my personal favorite in this same genre of knife would have to be the Victorinox Camper (pictured below)...

As you can see the Camper has all the bells and whistles as your Scout knives, along with some nice extras like a cork screw and saw. The fit and finish on these Victorinox Swiss Army knives is always first rate. I own quite a few, about 40 or 50 in different iterations, and I have never experienced "blade rub" on any of them.

As far as the steel used by Victorinox, I believe it used to be Sandvic 12C27 on the actual knife blades? Different steels are used for the various tools. Each of which is hardened to exact and differing specifications as determined by their Swiss experience and expertise.

As you might imagine Victorinox uses massive amounts of steel to produce the huge quantities of knives they manufacture on a daily basis. This need for large quantities of steel often necessitates acquisition from many different suppliers. And, even though the blades on a Victorinox knife may not be as thick as found on, say, a Rough Rider, I know the the quality and dependability will always be there.

Another valuable trait found on Swiss Army knives, especially in the field, is their ease of sharpening. A few quick swipes on the strop usually brings an edge right back up.

This particular Victorinox knife, the Camper, can be found on that rather famous website whose name is the same as the South American river that runs through the Country that is currently hosting the FIFA World Cup soccer games, for a mere $24.95.

A steal at twice the price, IMO!

Yikes! I'm starting to sound like I'm on the Victorinox' payroll. I guess it just boils down to liking and trusting a product that has proven itself to be useful and dependable over the span of many years. I've always wondered why traditional 'production' knife makers usually fail to achieve this same standard of excellence?

Using your review as an example, Toby, you cite "blade rub" -- albeit minimal -- with most of your knives. Why is it that the Swiss can produce a knife -- oftentimes with many more layers -- with ZERO blade rub where others cannot? I have often asked myself that exact question. And, because the Swiss CAN achieve this feat, every time, I feel enthusiastic about recommending their knives to anyone that might be looking for a knife they can count on when the task calls for it.

Below is a pic of "some" of my many Victorinox & Wenger knives...

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on July 3, 2014 at 19:15

This discussion was extremely timely and helpful. Tobias, I appreciate your sharing these with the pics and the reviews. somehow I figured the RR and the Victorinox would come in close. I have to admit though, I thought the Boker would come in closer to the RR. I actually ended up getting the SAK Eagle scout classic in red

I was able to find them at a cost comparable to the RR, although they dont have the Blade configuration that i would consider a "scout". iKC is sending these to a scout troop that is graduating 3 of their troop to Eagle later this month. I am considering watching for the RR's at a good price out there and keeping a few on hand, you never know when someone might need one of these

Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on July 3, 2014 at 19:15

Ron, the Tradition lives on.....

Permalink Reply by Ron Cooper on July 3, 2014 at 19:20

I should also add that the Victorinox Spartan, which would probably be a closer comparison, tool wise, to the Scout pattern, can be had for slightly more than $20 on the same South American (lol) website: http://tinyurl.com/Vic-Spartan

Spartan...

Lower still on the Evil Bay!

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on July 3, 2014 at 20:23

You have to admit its a sweet knife.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 3, 2014 at 21:14

Hi Ron,

I'm a pretty big fan of Swiss Army Knives and used to carry a Camper or Huntsman when I went hiking quite often, specifically because of the saw blade. Later I moved on the German Army Knife (108mm Safari Trekker) because it was bigger and had a longer saw. Then I fell in love with the 111mm Frames and really really love the 111mm Hunter for its saw and locking main blade!

As for SAKs that most closely mirror the 4 blade Camp/Scout those would be the Victorinox Pioneer and the Wenger Standard Issue. Both of these knives are direct descendants of the original Swiss Army Soldier Knife first produced by Carl Elsener back in 1891! That knife had a clip blade, a leather punch, a can opener, and screwdriver (the Crown cork was not in wide spread use and so the cap lifter was not found on knives yet!) The screwdriver was used to disassemble the Swiss Army's rifle. By 1910 someone had gotten around to swapping a couple blades out of Cigar Pattern Cattle knife removing the sheepfoot and spay blade and replacing them with a can opener and screwdriver/caplifter blade. The knife was anything but popular but then William Boyce said that the knife I want for the Offical boy scouts and he contracted with the New York Knife company to make it for the his fledgling Organization, and the rest as they say is history. In short, there is a reason why Swiss Army Knives bear a striking resemblance tot he 4 blade Camp/Scout.

Below: The current Vic Pioneer and Wenger Standard Issue:

Permalink Reply by Jason Oncedisturbed Riley on July 3, 2014 at 21:59

Great write up and top info as well

Permalink Reply by Ron Cooper on July 3, 2014 at 22:04

Toby,

Good stuff, my friend! And, of course you know that the Pioneer is essentially what Victorinox used to call it's Soldier model. Except that, unlike the Soldier, it has a keyring. Wenger's Standard Issue is essentially a Pioneer with a bail instead of a keyring.

Unfortunately that bail on the Wenger will find it's way into the path of the knife blade if the user is not mindful and attempts to close the blade when that bail is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ouch! I have firsthand experience with that happening and have chunked my blade on more than one occasion doing just that!. That's why I have removed the bails on all of my Standard Issues.

Happy 4th to you, Toby!

Above is the Hunter XT in the 111mm platform that you mentioned. I love the orange! Easy to find if you drop it in the woods.

Some other favorites ~ Wenger EVO Grip18 Patagonia Expedition Race model 85mm * Victorinox 2008 Soldier 111mm * Wenger RangerGrip 78 Soldier Knife

No wonder my pockets alway feel so loaded and heavy!

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 3, 2014 at 22:12

Ron, I wish I could answer the question about blade rub. I have seen some on older SAKs but not fresh out of the box SAK knives. I think part of the deal is the uses of spacers or liners. For instance Canoes have the two back springs right next to each other making the frame very slim and increasing the likelihood of blade rub. I think over time, knife users really didn't care because the knife was going to be sharpened and all scratched up within a week or two anyway! But the same can be said for SAKs. but if you look closely at most Swiss Army knives, many of the blades open from the same side and when blades open from opposite sides they are two short to actually rub against each other. The most likely blades to rub are the Spear master and the small pen blade. They do not rub straight from the factory but over time they can develop some rub.My EDC Spartan Lite has developed the tale-tell line as did my now retired Woodsman (a huntsman lacking tweezers and toothpick)

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 3, 2014 at 22:14

Jan I too thought the Boker was better than it ended up ranking. but when I started doing some side by side comparison, it kept getting bumped down. If it didn't have 440 blades I would have put it even lower! However, depsite its problems, I do like the knife.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 3, 2014 at 22:20

Ron. I'm still old school with my Hunter!

I admit it. I like the combo-tool, the little gut ripper and the Jagermeister (Hunt master) Deer on the scale.