$100-ceiling for knives for most?

For a folder, I'd say a $100.00 is about as high as I want to go.
I've made exceptions in buying the Carnivour and several other higher end factory folders from reputable manufacturers, but I try to keep it at that limit.

For a fix blade, $160-180 is my upper boundary.

Paying any more than that and I get reluctant to use the blade, and for me, using is where the fun is.
I have several customs but their price excludes them from being used and I can't abide that. So they sit and get admired from time to time and I wonder why I keep them around. Oh well...
Sooo, That's one of the reasons why I tend to stick with the factory made knives.
If I want to beat the hell out of a knife I don't feel bad when the knife looks like someone beat the hell out of it.
Works for me.
wink.gif


------------------
If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there to correct him, is he still wrong?

 
I have a different take on this subject gentlemen.I dont have a lot of money and I love buying knives for my collection so my goal is to find value in inexpensive knife purchases.Bladeforums has helped me incredibly in this pursuit(thanks everyone)!For example:micra $6.49;Victorinox Hiker and Camper $5.00 each;Barteaux 8" mini-machete $3.99;Schrade comfort-grip skinner Wal-Mart $4.00;Livesay neck knives $25-35 ea.I have some customs in my collection and a couple of $200-300 pieces I bought when I had more cash.Now when I need a new knife "fix",I get a real charge out of getting something nice for bargain basement.Hope I didn't wander too far off subject here folks.
troy
 
I'll never spend more than $300 on a knife. I prefer folders to be around one hundred dolars. The navajas I'm going to be selling next year will be around two hundred, but that makes sense because they're about twice as big as a "tactical folder".

I'd mention the Buck XlTi as a sub-$100 knife suitable for defense. Their Ranger too. I've used both effectively for said purpose.

Also, the Benchmade 710 deserves honorable mention. It's got some flaws, but I've been playing with mine and decided to keep it. Just wish I had a small enough torx to remove that annoying pocket clip. I'm going to the hardware store tommorow.

I agree wholeheartedly with buying good equipment, even if that means less equipment. I tend to only ever own two knives, one fixed and one folder. I buy the two that I feel best meet my needs, and will occasionaly bite the bullet on a high sticker item if it offers A) a distinct advantage, and B) something markedly different from most other knives.
 
Ben E Hana,

Thank You. I don't think you are off subject at all. What you pay for a knife is much less important than Why you pay for a knife. Knife buying should NOT be considered primarily as a financial issue. It is an altogether different sort of thing. There is Art in selecting inexpensive and functional knives with purpose and intent. Thanks for reminding all of us of that.

Paracelsus
 
Yeah for me $100 is the limit for folders or FB because I'm the type that thinks I may have to lose a knife.

I recently broke the barrier though.
wink.gif


Snick, let's talk later. We've got some catching up to do.
smile.gif
 
Ben, I agree 100% with you, the knives I love the most have nothing to do with price paid. One of the knives I most cherish is a knife I gave to a dear friend, 30years ago, when I came back from Italy. He died in Feb. his daughters thought I might like to have it. It wasn't an expensive knife to start with, and this one had been rode hard and put away wet. It's in my wall collection, and everyone that see's it comments on it. You want a lot of knives, that's great, and finding a bargain is fun. I've been able to get my "fix" from the Forums, talking knives, with people that really know their stuff. And, planning for the future, not for investment, not because I'm a great outdoorsman, just for the pleasure of it. I've given away more knives than I currently own. Why? To share my pleasure with others. That's another reason why I'm here.
 
Phil I also like to give away knives.When I find a forum deal like the ones I mentioned above I usually try to buy two and give away one.Every once in a while I will meet someone my age (32 ish) who doesnt (or never has had) a decent knife.I'm always shocked by someone going through life without one.I have created a couple of knife nuts this way.My dad is a knifemaker and lives close by so I have a lot of his work in my collection too.The story about your friends knife is truly moving.Some things have no price.Also,I have access to a knifemaking shop so if I see something nice I cant afford I usually make somethimg like it myself.Giving a knife to somebody that you made for them is one of the greatest feelings in the world.
troy
 
I guess I will never (but never say never) buy knife for more than $ 100.00. It is still too much money here, where knives cost around $ 10.00. Almost nobody here would buy knife for more than about 20 USD since the average salary is around 400 USD/month.

I think that for 100 USD it is even possible to buy nice (useful) custom knife.

David
 
One way to get a knife economically is to monitor the for sale forum closely. If $100 were my ceiling, I would still be able to get some good custom knife. For example, today I received this BG-42 tactical from a good fellow for $90.00

sharktooth.jpg


I always have good time buying/selling knives with fellow forumites. Most of us seem to understand each other well about the feeling of wanting a knife so bad but couldn't afford it. That's why most of the time I sell my collections at lower prices than bought, even for some collectible ones. Then I bought another piece from there real cheap. We get good knives and nice friends. Many thanks to you all.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Dew.
 
I Really try to stick to the limits but if i see a very nice piece that i'm dying to have, we'll have to chat.......

DEW! Anything you like to part with? i like your teory about giving others a chance to own something that they can't afford. It's good to know that it's not all about money...
 
I haven't gone over the $100 limit yet (I've come awfully close a bunch of times) but I'm tempted. Probably the first knife I will buy over the limit is a Chris Reeve Project 1. The only way you could go wrong on that knife is lose it. If I buy it, though, it will be a user, not a trophy.

------------------
Hoodoo

This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
Troy,
You have access to your fathers work shop, and can make a real knife, that's great. I have to confess, I've made reproductions of some of the knives I couldn't afford at the time. I don't have access to a workshop, so I made them out of wood in my apartment, with hand tools and a Dremel. Hard Maple blades, Walnut and Butternut handles, some made to look like stag. Metal leaf on the blades, and even a fringed wooden sheath. I've made a Randall Smithsonian Bowie, Ricky Fowler hunter, a Cold Steel Desperado, a Crawford/ Kasper folder, and an Ed Fowler Pronghorn. I actually had the nerve to show that one to Ed himself, he was very nice, and insisted I come back later and show his wife what I had done. Ed suggested I get a forge and start working in steel, when I told him I live in apartment, and my worktable is about one foot square. He said get a small forge and make miniatures. He made me laugh. I know someday I'll make a real knife, even if it's only a kit, for me it seems like a natural progression. You, have been there and done that, lucky man.
 
Keninshiro, what you called "theory" is not mine, but ours. In fact, I'd say it's not only theory since we have been doing it in practice with success. Ex. I just got a slightly used Busse BM from a kind forumite for $250.00! I could barely afford this knife in full price, let alone the longgggg waiting period.

A used knife is not so bad after all. Unlike new kniffe You don't have to be guilty of "taking its virginity
smile.gif
." Just take the babe into the jungle and enjoy chopping.

Dew.
 
Dew,
i agree! This "Theory" "WE" have is a good one! It allows us to experience what other people have gone through, like using a Busse BM. Keep it up folks, if only the world could share what we do here.......wouldn't it be a better place?
 
Phil I love all knives even wooden ones.On Newt Livesay's web page he has a picture of the first knife he ever made and it is made out of wood.Man I wish I had that one in my collection.I know that one would be my favorite.Unfortunately it isnt for sale.It wouldnt be too much of a stretch to go from shaping wood to shaping annealed 1095.Even with access to shop equipment I make blades at work during breaks using hand tools.I have a pair of speed clamps to hold and position the steel on the corner of my workbench,a Lenox High tension hacksaw to cut the blade shape,some files and emory paper to do the shaping,and a dremel for shaping the handles and such.It is a good workout and definitely qualifies as a spiritual journey.You might have to send it out for heat treat, but if you made a few blades and sent them out together you can get a better deal.I believe Newt Livesay offers a heat treat sevice on 1095 (i'm not 100% sure though)im sure it would be pretty inexpensive.Just a thought.It is extremely hard work making a knife by hand,but extremely satisfying.Give it a shot,If you have the skill to work wood into a knife shape,you can do the same with steel.It is just harder and sweatier work.
happy Thanksgiving,
troy
 
Troy,
I bet a lot of makers work out their ideas in wood first, I've seen Gil Hibbens designs in wood. My problem is no workshop at all. The knives I made, were actually done on a one foot square worktable, in my Livingroom. The wife was real happy with that. I will be making real knives one day, right now it's just a matter of space and time.
 
Oops I forgot the "wife factor" in the equation.For me it goes like this:E=MC2 if W .W being the variable meaning :if the wife thinks its O.K.I tracked metal filings on our new cream colored living room carpet once.I tried to wipe it up and ended up with rust spots.Now I'm not allowed to play in the house.
troy

[This message has been edited by Ben E Hana (edited 26 November 1999).]
 
Ok guys-I admit I cowardly left out the "wife factor" in the equation even though that throws all other factors out the window.

------------------
Tim

 
Ah, Tim. Now you've hit upon the real "psychological factor."

If you tell your wife, "it's a $200 knife, but I got it for half price," then in her mind you've saved $100. That makes it a good thing.

On the other hand, if you say, "I paid $100 for this knife," then you've simply spent $100 on yet another knife.

Of course, as I say this, I'm contemplating breaking that $100 limit during the coming year; probably on at least a couple of occasions.

Dave

------------------
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of More Knives



[This message has been edited by dsvirsky (edited 26 November 1999).]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top