The Terrific $20 Challenge!!!!

Mercury · **on:** August 25, 2015, 03:10:31 AM

In the spirits of Grant's Great $2 Challenge thread, I present to you all the Terrific $20 Challenge thread(using Grant's money to boot!) The concept is loosely the same, in that I will be hunting for fantastic values for $20 or slightly less, shipped to my door. Since I only have 5 slots for this because math, I am limiting each slot to a type of vendor, just to see what's out there. That strategy may or may not hold water later on, but it's what I'm going with for now.

For our first contender, I am going the easy route simply due to my time constraints this week. I'm sure most of our members are veterans of the good ol' fashioned Ebay search, hoping to score a deal. I have spent hours updating my favorite search terms and sometimes it really pays off, but I typically focus on tools that are around the $35 to $50 range. I am really curious as to what I can score for $20. I am taking my time on this, bidding on one item at a time. I have an auction ending in about 2 hours, which I may or may not be awake to check on. It's a sweet item, and if I score it and it's in the "described" condition, it's a good one for this challenge. I plan on using Ebay only once for this, so expect some ramblings on pawn shops and big box stores later on!

Let the madness begin!

Corwyn · **Reply #1 on:** August 25, 2015, 08:28:06 AM

Honestly this seems a tad too easy...
Under 20 USD and around you can find:
A lot of great OPTs
Most Swiss Army Knives
Leatherman Rev, Micra, Style (maybe even SK/WM)
Gerber Dime, Suspension
SOG CrossCut
CRKT Guppie, Mini-Guppie
A zillion reasonably good Ganzo multitools

pingu · **Reply #2 on:** August 25, 2015, 08:35:14 AM

Quote from: Corwyn on August 25, 2015, 08:28:06 AM

Leatherman Rev, M****, S**** (maybe even SK/WM)

Now that *would* be a $20 challenge in the UK

Corwyn · **Reply #3 on:** August 25, 2015, 08:37:26 AM

Quote from: pingu on August 25, 2015, 08:35:14 AM

Quote from: Corwyn on August 25, 2015, 08:28:06 AM

Leatherman Rev, M****, S**** (maybe even SK/WM)

Now that *would* be a $20 challenge in the UK

I know.. here is worse (3 times US prices) ... I used the lowest NIB prices from eBay to make the list, as Def did.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #4 on:** August 25, 2015, 03:06:46 PM

This is largely why I am getting Sean to do this one. I was going to do it and found several nice used tools (good ones) for sale on eBay for well under $20, but with $37.95 shipping to Canada.

It simply wasn't realistic to try and do this challenge from Canada. I am very interested to see what Sean comes up with in this challenge.

Def

Mercury · **Reply #5 on:** August 25, 2015, 05:40:15 PM

For this challenge I am avoiding anything that is normally sticker priced below $20, just to make it interesting.

Grathr · **Reply #6 on:** August 25, 2015, 05:41:23 PM

Sent from a device made from star dust using tapatalk

Mercury · **Reply #7 on:** August 25, 2015, 05:42:56 PM

I won an auction last night, I will hold off on announcing the tool until I see it's condition and what not. Ohhh the suspense! No worries, I'm going to head out this morning and try to hit some of our smaller hardware stores and maybe a pawn shop and see if any gems are hidden there!

Mercury · **Reply #8 on:** August 28, 2015, 01:58:54 AM

This first tool is taking forever to get here!! It's still in New Jersey!

I just lost a personal auction that would have been a great addition to this challenge if I had won it. I wanted this tool for my collection so I bid my own money on it. It was a Japan PST that I had the high bid on for 3 days, and got sniped for a dollar over my highest bid with 60 seconds left. I almost had it for $19 shipped, then it ratcheted up to my max and a buck over. Imagine, a Japan PST for under $20!!

Seller didn't know what he had.

Mercury · **Reply #9 on:** August 29, 2015, 02:27:14 AM

Ok, the first contender arrived! It's a used Vic Executive, won for the amount of $18 shipped to my door. This knife is well loved, but was also well taken care of. The scales look to have been polished, the main blade has been sharpened so much that it's about 60% of it's original size, and the whole knife is a tad gummy from pocket lint. I'm going to give it a nice cleaning and oiling, then hit it with my stone and put a good edge on the blades again and it will be a sweet knife. I liked it so much that I ordered myself a new one after this arrived.

AdmSlc · **Reply #10 on:** August 29, 2015, 03:16:07 AM

I'm in! I'll start looking around.

Luna Knife · **Reply #11 on:** August 29, 2015, 04:28:19 AM

The executive packs a lot of punch for its size.

Mercury · **Reply #12 on:** September 01, 2015, 03:22:56 AM

I'm having a bit of a tough time finding anything in my local pawn shops, I think tomorrow I might head into Austin because there's a little place I know of that has killer deals if the timing is right.

If that doesn't pan out, I might break my own rule and scour ebay for one more contender, just because I've seen a couple come and go that might have made the cut.

My apologies on the spaced out posts in this thread, I'm super busy with full time work, College classes, two children, and a pretty intense weight loss regimen all on top of trying to renovate my house. I am down 20 lbs since the beginning of July!

I have cleaned up the Executive that I got for our first contender, and it's actually a pretty sweet knife. It was a tad gummy but other than the blade being noticeably smaller due to sharpening, it's got no issues. I'd say it's a pretty good value for what I gave the seller for it.

Edit: While cleaning and sharpening I discovered a nick in the scissors that appears to have come from closing them on the keyring. I should be able to sharpen it out.

Mercury · **Reply #13 on:** September 06, 2015, 12:51:19 AM

Alrighty then after a week of fruitless attempts at my local pawn shops and a few hardware stores, I cheated and resorted to a few ebay searches. I came up with a beautiful Leatherman Squirt P4 in glacier blue. It's used, but as far as I can tell the only wear is on the knife blade; it could use a quick few strokes on my Sharpmaker and it will be good as new. I think if this were the PS4 it would have the Executive beat but the lack of scissors IMHO makes this a neck and neck race!

As per the rules of the challenge, I got this for $19.99 shipped to my door.

Here are some pics of this little guy. I may have to buy this one from Grant after the challenge is over!

SAKnight · **Reply #14 on:** September 06, 2015, 02:06:48 AM

Got this for $3 today

cody6268 · **Reply #15 on:** September 06, 2015, 02:12:39 AM

There's plenty of great used bargains out there. Most of what I added to my collection and EDC rotation this summer, were $20 or under Ebay purchases, including the two best in my opinion, a like new Leatherman Original Super Tool for right at $20 and a $16 1987-1990 Victorinox Craftsman. The "first edition" Leatherman PST II without "PST II" on the handles is a close third.

All said, I probably got close to $500 retail new for the tools for around $100.

A lot of people claim that a quality multitool can be expensive, but not if you're careful buying used!

By the way, check your local Lowe's store. They've got Gerber Clutch M/Ts marked down to $10. I was in there today, and saw them at the price. I wanted one to replace one that broke on me when the Torx screws stripped out when trying to tighten them (stupid safety Torx!), but they were all out.

sLaughterMed · **Reply #16 on:** September 06, 2015, 05:23:10 AM

Not to mention the Lowe's near me has Revs for $19...

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #17 on:** September 07, 2015, 02:04:13 AM

Quote from: SAKnight on September 06, 2015, 02:06:48 AM

Got this for $3 today

Serious score there. The 360 is, in my opinion, a seriously overlooked tool with a lot of great features such as contoured handles and the pictograms on either side to show you what is in each handle.

Yeah they had their drawbacks, but what tool doesn't? Overall it was an exceptional tool.

Also, nice score on the P4 too Sean! It looks to be in great condition!

Def

captain spaulding · **Reply #18 on:** September 07, 2015, 02:23:36 AM

Quote from: SAKnight on September 06, 2015, 02:06:48 AM

Got this for $3 today

Want to double your money?

Mercury · **Reply #19 on:** September 07, 2015, 11:21:35 AM

Yea the P4 is a fantastic specimen, it's difficult to find them in this condition anymore for any price.

I'm heading into Austin on Tuesday, and I think I'm going to try to convince the wife to make a stop at a select location that is known for producing fantastic values if you catch them before the rest of the city gets to them.

SAKnight · **Reply #20 on:** September 07, 2015, 09:05:34 PM

Quote from: Grant Lamontagne on September 07, 2015, 02:04:13 AM

Quote from: SAKnight on September 06, 2015, 02:06:48 AM
Got this for $3 today

Serious score there. The 360 is, in my opinion, a seriously overlooked tool with a lot of great features such as contoured handles and the pictograms on either side to show you what is in each handle.

Yeah they had their drawbacks, but what tool doesn't? Overall it was an exceptional tool.

Also, nice score on the P4 too Sean! It looks to be in great condition!

Def

It is a lot nicer than I expected! The lock buttons are some of my favorite. Don't quite get the 1/3 serrated knife... With a fully serrated

but it is very decent, and the sheath is so nice!

Cap -

In case you're serious, I'd be willing to part with it, but I like it more than $6

but it'd be low

Mercury · **Reply #21 on:** September 09, 2015, 01:15:03 AM

Well today was a bust, we weren't able to get to the place I wanted to look, and none of the stores we were in had anything discounted enough. I am going to try again throughout the week.

captain spaulding · **Reply #22 on:** September 09, 2015, 05:43:18 AM

Quote from: SAKnight on September 07, 2015, 09:05:34 PM

Quote from: Grant Lamontagne on September 07, 2015, 02:04:13 AM
Quote from: SAKnight on September 06, 2015, 02:06:48 AM
Got this for $3 today

Serious score there. The 360 is, in my opinion, a seriously overlooked tool with a lot of great features such as contoured handles and the pictograms on either side to show you what is in each handle.

Yeah they had their drawbacks, but what tool doesn't? Overall it was an exceptional tool.

Also, nice score on the P4 too Sean! It looks to be in great condition!

Def

It is a lot nicer than I expected! The lock buttons are some of my favorite. Don't quite get the 1/3 serrated knife... With a fully serrated but it is very decent, and the sheath is so nice!

Cap -
In case you're serious, I'd be willing to part with it, but I like it more than $6 but it'd be low

I was half joking. Depending on how low I might be interested. You can PM me if you want.

Mercury · **Reply #23 on:** September 10, 2015, 02:03:58 AM

I have a black PS4 coming from some guy on Facebook! $15 shipped, pretty sweet deal. I am curious as to it's condition, if it's in good shape then it's a front runner for the contest!