When I was a kid, we all carried pocket knives. It was all part of being male and "being prepared" as we were all carefully taught by the Boy Scouts.
Old Timer was my preferred brand, and I mourned as that brand was moved to the orient and the steel simply wasn't right from then on.
Steel used to be high carbon heat treated tool steel, and knives rusted if you didn't keep the blades clean and oiled. Knives became dull looking over time even if you did keep them oiled.
But oh Momma, they were sharp and they sure did cut good for a right good long time, too.
Stainless Steel pocket knives rolled in, and shaving sharp edges went away.
Then Chinese stainless came in, and sharp edges went away. Gummy roll over edges on Chinese stainless steel, oh my what a travesty pocket knives became.
(mind you, you CAN buy a good knife still, but expect to pay over $60-80 for it. Crucible mixed Powdered Metal blades that gets really sharp and holds an edge well costs $80-$130 and you buy them from Spyderco and other boutique knife brands).
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Life span of a cheap Chinese pocket knife used to be just about a year before the cheap hinges and general poor body construction use gave out on them.
Kids these days don't carry pocket knives (which are all illegal in public schools). If they need something significant now days, they carry a gun.
You have to sharpen your pocket knife regularly now, using a diamond grit lap plate instead of a sharpening stone. Honing stones like to load up with the gummy soft Chinese stainless steel, so put away your good honing oil stones, put them up with your other valued antiques.
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If you want a "slightly better" grade of cheap Chinese pocket knife, try "Master USA" from AMAZON.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QL9J66C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s... It has a "slightly better grade of cheap Chinese stainless blade steel" and the construction of a Master knife has a steel plate inside each of the injection molded side plates. Hinge pins all are supported on both ends by these steel plates and the blade locks back solidly in the open position in between a steel pin and the wedge spring mechanism.
This handle arrangement won't fold up or break on you in normal daily use like older Chinese pocket knives were so willing to do.
Master has "a spring driven opening mechanism" which you will have to keep both clean and oiled for it to work well. You have several ways to get the knife open, the easiest is to pull back on the protruding blade tang tab until the spring action takes over. It can be a one hand "finger tip open" using this feature once you get used to it.
Why all the self opening complexity? I dunno, it comes stock on the cheapest semi-decent pocket knife on AMAZON which comes at a big whopping $4.13 price point.
We used to call such spring action things "switchblades" and they were always too fragile for real use as a pocket knife. This knife is not fragile, the blade "clunks" into the locked position and it isn't going to fold up because you pushed the blade into a piece of wood. It still isn't sharp, and it never will be sharp because the blade steel just isn't there and never will be.
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Sharp knife blades still exist, but not on cheap pocket knives. The best edge you can get on these things is a finely SERRATED rough diamond honed edge. Think wee tiny "steak knife" serrations and you got the main idea.
https://www.amazon.com/HTS-131A0-Double-Diamond-Sharpening/dp/B00U1T2ZVM/ref=... Here is your $9.25 coarse and super fine serrated edge sharpening tool. Use the rough coarse side with lots of soapy water to "reshape" the gummy Chinese stainless blade's form, then use the fine side to put a more refined serrated edge on the blade if you want "finer".
I don't want finer serrations, I find the rougher side makes a dandy serration that bites in and cuts easier than the fine side because the rougher serration edge bites into meat or wood better.
Seriously, you will have to reform the blade's cutting edges regularly because the fine edge likes to fold over on you. The little pocket knives are not sharp from the factory and the bevel angles chosen weren't ever intended to be sharp anyway by the factory that made them.
It just was intended to look like a knife, not to cut like one. Now go cry in your beer for a bit and go fondle your last two remaining Oldtimer pocket knives, shave yourself a wee little patch of hair off your arm with one and somberly appreciate what a good cheap American pocket knife used to be ......