This Cool $9 Harbor Freight Find Has Over 1400 5-Star Reviews - Here's Why Users Recommend It

It's not impossible to find a high-quality hunting knife at a practical and affordable price. For example, the Gordon 8-inch Survival/Hunting Knife is available from Harbor Freight for $8.99. According to people who've purchased and used the blade, it's a solid tool that punches (or cuts) above its weight considering its low cost. Over 2,000 Harbor Freight customers have rated the product, and over 1,400 of those are 5-star reviews. Overall, the knife has an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars, with 96% of reviewers recommending it.

Harbor Freight has many in-house store brands, and Gordon is one of them. Just as some Harbor Freight brands specialize in particular categories — such as Hercules' professional-grade power tools or U.S. General's tool storage solutions, Gordon mostly makes knives and knife-related accessories. Although the brand makes some other products, like a metal detector and the Gordon 20-in-1 multi-tool, knives are its main focus. In addition to its 8-inch hunting knife, you can also find utility, hobby, tactical, and even Bowie knives from the brand.

The Gordon 8-inch Survival/Hunting Knife is equipped with a stainless steel blade with a sawtooth edge that is capable of sawing and chopping in addition to cutting. It also includes a compass and small survival kit built into its aluminum storage handle. This modest kit includes a fish hook, sewing supplies, matches and more. The knife also sports a heavy-duty guard. On paper, this sounds like a solid deal at just $8.99, but of course there's no way to know if the knife actually holds up without at least checking the firsthand experiences of people who've already used it.

There are several factors that Harbor Freight users have mentioned in their 5-star reviews for the Gordon 8-inch Survival/Hunting Knife, such as durability and the integrated survival kit. However, a few get called out more than others. One thing lots of users appreciate is its value for the price, with one customer saying they've paid twice as much for other survival knives. Another said that the low cost is what initially caught their attention, but that the quality of the knife is what won them over and convinced them to buy a second one. 

Users also commonly highlighted the weight of the tool, with one 5-star review calling it "easy to carry" and saying it's "lightweight enough that you forget it's even there." Buyers also mention the knife's longevity. One user reported that they've owned the knife for years and that it has retained its sharpness. Another 5-star review echoes this, with the owner saying they've "only had to sharpen it once" in the four years they've had it.

The most helpful reviews often mention what they've actually tested and done with the knife, such as one Harbor Freight customer who said they "used it to clean fish, split small wood... dig holes and hammer tent steaks in the ground," among other things. This user ultimately came away satisfied, leaving a 5-star review titled "Great for camping."

Negative reviews are just as useful as positive ones. Even overwhelmingly positive reviews can offer insights into a product's flaws, such as one 5-star review of the Gordon 8-inch Survival/Hunting Knife that praised how sharp and lightweight the tool was but reported that the "sheath is not the best setup" because the knife is sharp enough to rip through it after just a few days. This user explained that they had to use electrical tape to fortify the sheath for long-term use.

A 1-star review echoes the problem with the knife's sheath, but also adds that its survival kit is "super cheap" — and not in the good way. Another 1-star review called the tool "very cheaply made" and is even more explicit, calling Gordon's knife "complete junk." They reported that the knife was flimsy, the blade wouldn't keep an edge, and the sawtooth part didn't saw.

In between the very good and very bad feedback are mixed reviews such as one that found the build quality to be good enough but that the blade "could be a lot sharper." Another 3-star review specifically said that the blade wasn't sharp enough to break through the surface of a piece of beef the user tried cutting with the 8-inch knife.