I am an abuser of steel. I admit it. It's my nature to be careless with CARING FOR THINGS (capitalized to differentiate from the fact that I am careful WITH things, especially those that can cause physical harm). I toss my knives in my truck. In my car. In my gear bag. In my backpack. I use them. I leave them in my pants pockets. They get washed. They get lost.I am CONSTANTLY looking for value knives. This one was meant to serve as a replacement for a Gerber Metolius, a fixed-blade sheath knife with a small, handy, utility size. It can skin, it can cut line. It can slice meat and vegetables. I kept it in my dry bag for my kayak trips (overnight and day trips). Its function was awesome, but I neglected it and it fell prey to damage.I didn't expect much for $10, but 9Cr18MoV steel has worked fine for me in the past (Great? Maybe. Usable? Absolutely. Even decently so.).Here are the pros and the short list of cons:Pros:- Sharp and ready to cut out of the box.- Feels decent in the hand. Not perfect (more later), but doggone good. The "thermoplastic rubber" on the handle is more "plasticky" than I expected, meaning harder and more slippery than tire rubber, but it's still far from slick. There is some texture that helps a tiny bit.- Excellent blade geometry. I am not seeking an argument about what grind is best, but this APPEARS TO MY UNTRAINED EYE to have a hollow grind with an indentation and jimping on the back of the blade that feels good. The index finger groove is placed properly and helps keep fingers away from the cutting surface. There is a slight taper toward the spine that's interesting.- Full tang to the butt of the handle.- Lanyard hole.- Comes with a sheath (yeah, that "not such a highlight is coming").Cons:- The sheath is functional. It appears to be made from a reinforced Cordura-type of nylon or polyester with some hard plastic coating on the inside that gives it firmness and protects the fabric. It's fine to keep the knife from cutting you, but I'll be looking for a Kydex replacement. Assuming a lack of aftermarket sheaths, I may send it off to a sheath maker or make a Kydex sheath myself. This sheath is the real negative of an otherwise EXCELLENT product.- It's obvious the grind, the steel and the thermoplastic rubber were designed to cut costs. That said, it feels pretty refined for a budget blade. Still worth noting that there are some shortcuts.- The only other slight negative is, to me, that the tang of the blade extends a tiny bit past the scales and the edge of the tang is noticeable. It's still fairly comfortable, but I can see hand fatigue setting in (perhaps blisters) with hard, heavy use.My verdict is that I am THRILLED with this pickup for $10. Assuming I put another $20 into a sheath, I'd still view it as a bargain. No, the steel isn't great, but as a lot of guys say, it's not the steel, it's the heat treat. And after a night and a morning of use, this one passes muster with me. It's going in my truck, which means I want it near me as much of the time as possible. I'd happily use as a backup skinner, or a bushcrafting knife in a pinch. I expect it to excel in daily tasks.