$400 for a stinkin' folder. Are you nuts?

[allenC]

Quote:
some $400 folders actually perform better than $40 folders. And even if they don't, you can still use them to cut, slice, chop and pry, or even stick one in some a-hole's neck if you have to.


Yeah, right....

IMHO...."I paid $400.oo dollars for a knife" = "I'm a total idiot, and a loser".

I said this only half-jokingly.

The truth is that you cannot equate performance with price.

Does a Sebenza perform better than a Spyderco Endura 4?
NO.
Can a Sebenza "cut, slice, chop, and pry, or even stick one in some a-hole's neck" better than a Spyderco Endura 4?
NO.

Does a Rolex perpetual keep better time than a Casio G-Shock?
NO. In fact, it is'nt as accurate as the G-Shock.

My point is this:
If you want to buy expensive knives, that's fine with me--it's your money after all.
But don't try to con yourself in to thinking that a $400.00 knife will perform better than a less expensive knife.

 

[Vivi]

For $400, I'd rather buy a $50 knife and put the rest of that dough toward some cool EXPERIENCE where I can use the knife, be it a camping or fishing trip or some travel adventure.

I agree.

I understand where you people are coming from and I'm not going to try and tell you what to do with your money. I look at my smoking pipe collection and I see some redundancy and so forth myself. It's similar to knives. I can get a straight pipe, glass, wooden, sherlock style, large, small, color-changing etc. There is a lot of variety to experience. Yes, I could carve out a corncob and have all my smoking pipe needs met, but it's more enjoyable to have a variety of ways to smoke.

I look at knives the same way. I have a delica that meets all my needs as an EDC folder. My SAK's have never let me down either. I love them. That's not keeping me from saving up for a Native, some Benchmade's, a Leek etc. I'd imagine eventually I'll buy myself some nicer fixed blades than my Onatario Spec Plus as well. Someday I'd see myself getting a few customs. It'd be nice to design my own knife, fit to my hand and my exact specifications.

I'm at the point where it's not so much a thrill I'm seeking, but experience. I want to try out all the different offerings of knives out there, see what I like, then buy a lot of those types of knives so I have plenty of backup. I'm just figuring out what I do like and what I dislike in a knife. In folders I''ve found I like thumbholes, thinner blades, low-ride pocket clips etc.

Once I'm pretty sure about everything I want, I'll design some customs and really enjoy using them. Knives are something I think are worth putting money into. I could go buy a Kershaw Vapor for 20$, but I've decided I'd rather put that money towards a nicer folder with superior craftsmanship. Maybe just a step up to a leek, maybe take it further and get a Benchmade 710. There are plenty of nice looking knives out there for me to choose from, and it's experiencing their design and function that brings me joy when it comes to knives. It's taking each folder I get out to some woods or my backyard and making fire shaving with it to build a fire and seeing how it performs compared to my other knives with different grinds, thickness, blade steels and so on. That's my joy when it comes to blades.

 

[PhilL]

We all have our own comfort range on what we're willing to spend on a knife. You all need to remember that your average sheeple thinks you're nuts if you spend more than $20 for a knife. So we're all of us in a very tiny minority when it comes to our addiction. Let's not split hairs on the price point of what we consider a reasonable price to spend on a knife.

We all have four considerations when buying anything; want, need, use, afford. Any two is usually enough to decide to buy. As an example, if you want a knife and can afford it, then the fact that you don't really need another knife or would ever consider using it will not deter you from buying that knife. We all buy things we don't need and can't afford. My oppinion has always been, you can afford anything you really want as long as you're willing to give up something else to get it.

$400 is about $1.10 a day, now what would you be willing to give up to buy something you really want? If you really don't want to own a $400 knife and would feel foolish buying it, then you'll probably piss the money away on something else.

Hey, you can't take it with you ya know.

 

[goldie]

ok, how about this ; in the new york times there are constantly many ads for 2800.00 alligator dog carriers,2000.00 gucci pocket books, 800.00 handbags.1000.00+ shoes!this justifies any knife at any price, it will outlast any one of these items at way less. & you know once these bags & crap go out of style in 6 months, they get buried in the closet & forgotten!:jerkit:

 

[MD13]

I can only add what's pretty much already been said, but I'll add it anyway.

If you don't feel that $400 is worth something, then to you, it isn't. It may be entirely different to someone else. I just recently got my first Sebenza. I already have a few Striders, and hope to soon also have some nice customs. When i think of how much $$ I spent on all those knives, it makes me shiver. Then again, I didn't spend it all at once, so it takes some of the hurt away. When I hold any of those $400+ knives, I feel no regrets at all.

I was one of those people that was very content buying $100 and less knives and couldn't believe people spent more when you could get similar cutting abilities for far less $$. Then I noticed that I was buying quite a few knives for $50-$100 each time. I decided then, to save up and get a more expensive knife and see what it was all about. I bought my first Strider (an SnG) and I was hooked.

My last 3 or 4 knife purchases all average around $300 each. To me, every one of them has been worth it. To someone else, eh, maybe not so much. To each his own.

On a side note, I use every knife I buy. If I didn't then it wouldn't be worth it to me. They've all performed flawlessy. I also still buy and use less expensive knives and am extremely happy with those too. I have my Spyderco Military in my pocket right now. :thumbup:

 

[Vivi]

I'm still a little confused by the showcase types. The first thing I do when I get a new knie, aside from playing with it by opening and closing it and testing the sharpness on my fingers, is to go use it. Go cut a variety of materials and see how it compares, and why. Study the blade and compare it to my SAK or Delica and see why it preforms better at X task or worse at task Y. I wouldn't get nearly as much enjoyment if it sat in my shelf all day. First day I had my Leatherman Wave I took it out to some woods and put the saw through its paces.

If any of you custom knife fans are too attatched to Sebenzas and striders to enjoy your Paramilitairy, I'm willing to take it off your hands.

 

[stevekt]

That was one of my Grandpas theories.
When he died nearly everything he had went in the trash or to the flea market.

My dads dad, on the other hand, left some things to my dad, that are now in my hands and my sons hands and will be in the grandkids hands some day.
GOOD stuff.

Just because I buy $50 knives doesn't mean I buy crap. I guarantee most of my knives will outlast me. I buy quality knives but they are not $400. Victorinox, Kershaw, Opinel, Case, SOG, Spyderco, Buck, and many others can be had for a low price and will last just as long and perform just as well or better than any $400 knife. The only thing a $400 knife will perform better at is filling a desire in the heart of a $400 knife collector. On the other end of the spectrum many people get along just fine with a $3 Chinese made gas station knife or no knife at all!

IMHO...."I paid $400.oo dollars for a knife" = "I'm a total idiot, and a loser".

 

[Hair]

Victorinox, Kershaw, Opinel, Case, SOG, Spyderco, Buck, and many others can be had for a low price and will last just as long and perform just as well or better than any $400 knife.

If you believe that, well, that is very cute.

 

[barrabas74]

Yeah I am kinda a mix on the showcase/use. I use almost every knife I own pending certain things. I own a numbered and signed CRK Nonka which sits in a case, randalls that sit in cases, some sebenza's and others that sit while others get used. Some knives I have and I want them to retain value, However I try to use almost any knife I buy because like some have said it makes it worth it to you. I like cutting with an sng, I like carrying my DH Gunhammer and thats a 675 dollar knife but I have used it to field dress deer and geese and other outdoor tasks(some might gasp to think I'd use a knife that expensive). I love to use my knives cuz to me thats what there for but some knives are always gonna be safe babbies. I know that my military will slice like my sebenza and sometimes I carry both because I can, I just got a paramilitary and love that too.

I get tired of hearing "well this 50 knife will cut just as good as your sebenza", I KNOW it might. I am not nieve and think a 400 dollar knife is a light saber in desquise(though some cut like it ). Most people who own expensive products of any sort are not dumb they know that they can pick up "said" product for cheaper that will do whatever they need to do just as good and in some cases better, but like already said its not about that.

 

[gordonk]

I'm pretty well the same way. The initial intent (for the moment, anyways ) is that I will be using whatever knife I buy. Up here, of course, stuff costs more, but nonetheless...... When I started collecting, it was $100 CDN or less, then I found something that was "nicer", but just a bit more. Did it cut better? For the stuff I do - not really, but it was something I wanted and I could afford it. My first "big" purchase was my Paramilitary - up here I paid over $200 for it - do I use it a lot, no...but I'm glad I bought it. Then I got my Al Mar SERE 2K which set me back about $250 CDN before tax. It took me a long time to mentally justify it, but again, I'm glad I got it. For, I can ultimately see myself getting to that $400 US mark. I'm kinda caught in that middle ground where one side says "Man, you dropped some serious coin on this - do you really want to beat it up?" and the other side is saying "If you spent that kind of money, you'd better use it" Kinda funny in one sense - have you ever noticed that when you drop some big bucks on a shop tool, you use the living daylights out of it? OR how about that kick ass BBQ? We got a high end Broil King a couple of years ago - it was in the $800 CDN range, and I don't think I've ever had so much BBQ in my life

- gord

 

[Barrabas]

I guess my contribution to this awesome thread is this.

I originally thought no knife was worth $200 - $500.
But, Strider and Sebs had a great allurement to me. So I researched, and read, and read every thread I could here.
I came to the conclusion, that wanted to see if a Seb or a Strider was worth the $, so I quit buying the others that I had been used to purchasing until I saved up enough to get one.

For me - I was glad I saved to do that, and I see the value in them.
Either a Seb, or a Strider get pocket time - the others just don't anymore.

Others have done the same research, and saving, and did not see the value, or just did not like them for whatever reason.

My only hope is that they will take them to the Trade forums and accept multiples in trade for their one

Some like fancy knives, some like fancy cars, some like fancy shoes.
Some like fancy yards, Jewels, clothes, tools etc.


To each their own.

The key is for me anyway - to save up, and get what I like.
If I get hasty, and settle for anything less than that - I usually always regret it.

If the bills or other needs come up and delay a purchase for me that's a good test to see how much I really want something, enough to keep saving for it.

I got over wanting 30 knives in a case that will not be carried.
I'd rather have 2 or 3 - that I know will get used.

Be Well,

sp

 

[rocktheflock]

Well it’s all personal decision. I have a limit off 200.00 for my benchmades. I would love a Chris Reeve; I would also love a kool Damascus knife. But the ones I look at are 1500.00 to 3000.00$ My budget is lower because I’m raising three future taxpayers. So by priority most my money goes to the family. I am able to embezzle 50 buck a month from what I used to spend 200 a month for those Cancer sticks. So between birthdays and fathers day and Christmas, Old dad Scotty could collect over 1200.00 a year just to spend on me. Now how do I spend that? So far 200 dollar BM’s has gave me enough swang. Maybe someday ill have the determination to save for 8 months and get a Seabee. Every ones budget is different. Everyone’s passion level is different, I say if your spending the cable TV money or rent on a knife, you might be Bi-Polar. I have notice on this forum, that its seems in the tone of some posts, that some really love to brag about there knives. Some sound like”bet you wished you had my kinda money then you too could order 400.00 knives) I suppose most are like me and a 30.00 Gerber sometimes brings just as much joy as a Pig Sticken Rukus.

 

[SpyderJon]

Honestly, all these opinions are what you get when you gather a lot of people into a forum and ask a question. I never discuss how much a knife cost me. I also never pay more than I think something is worth. Its your money so do what you want to with it. Who gives a flying Frock anyway? We all probably waste money on stuff.

A quote from Mr. Wook comes to mind: "To those who believe no explanation is necessary, and to those who don't believe no explanation is possible." Same goes for knives. Collecting in and of itself is an odd thing to do. I mean, by definition one of anything is enough until it wears out and breaks. I'd rather not brag OR justify what I've spent on knives.

Its odd, though, that if you look at the huge "EDC" thread you'll find very few instances of someone carrying a super high-end EDC. Striders and EKIs aside, there really aren't a lot of over the top knives there. I HAVE noticed that some people carry some really expensive techno-convenience gadgets though.

We're on an anonymous internet forum, does it really matter that somewhere there's a guy who thinks you're a "rube" for paying a lot for your knife???

 

[Joe Dirt]

If you believe that, well, that is very cute.

I am right there with him.

I bet that a Spyderco Manix, Benchmade 710, Kershaw Bump, will all last as long, if not longer than a Sebenza or a Strider. I bet they will cut better too.

I will not spend $400 on a knife. I will not spend $200 on a knife. About $130 is my limit. Not because I can't afford it, only because I think it's a waste.

If you want to spend $400, you should . Will it make you happy? Yes. Will it be a better knife which performs any better? No. Never.

Enjoy

 

[DaveH]

I will not spend $400 on a knife. I will not spend $200 on a knife.

I'm just curious why you're bothering the the Strider AR passaround then.

 

[talonturbo]

I'm just curious why you're bothering the the Strider AR passaround then.

Don't worry, he can still edit his post about the Strider not being worth it AFTER he uses one. And I think he knows he'll be clicking on the Edit button.

 

[SpyderJon]

I will not spend $400 on a knife. I will not spend $200 on a knife...

...I will not eat them with in a box. I will not eat them with a fox. I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I am...

I'm sorry I couldn't help myself.

 

[Lenny_Goofoff]

its my man jewelry

Right! And even better than jewellery!
While posh watches measure time worse than quartz casio, gadgets gets obsolete while you unpack 'em, knifes are more solid - like gold ))

 

[wwells20]

...I will not eat them with in a box. I will not eat them with a fox. I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I am...

I'm sorry I couldn't help myself.

Good one!:thumbup:

 

[Joe Dirt]

I'm just curious why you're bothering the the Strider AR passaround then.

Because I want to confirm for myself that it's no big thing.

I will admit if I change my mind but I highly doubt that I will.