Are $400 knives worth it?

Watch your ego, however, with an expensive knife. Most people will probably NOT recognize an expensive Strider, CR, or custom. Just about the time you start talking cutlery or steel with someone and whip out your pride and joy, they will likely give it a blank stare and begin to show you their own version of 'cutlerys' finest'. It let's quite a bit of air out of the 'ol sails when someone has never heard of your 'XYZ' knife that you may have paid $600 for!
 
22-rimfire said:
How so?
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You can sharpen it to a more acute edge angle without failure, thus making it cut better.
It has better edge retention, meaning you can cut for longer.
The steel is tougher, thus it will handle stupidity a bit better.
The extar toughness will be better if you stab things for whatever reason.

So, can be sharper, cut longer and better, and handle other silly tasks knife people throw at it.
This all adds to = better.
 
RABII said:
Watch your ego, however, with an expensive knife. Most people will probably NOT recognize an expensive Strider, CR, or custom. Just about the time you start talking cutlery or steel with someone and whip out your pride and joy, they will likely give it a blank stare and begin to show you their own version of 'cutlerys' finest'. It let's quite a bit of air out of the 'ol sails when someone has never heard of your 'XYZ' knife that you may have paid $600 for!
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That's why I base my ego on my immeasurable greatness rather than what knife I have in my pocket.:D
 
If you're talking about a big hunk of high-end steel...then, yes, absolutely. $400 is cheap.

Also, folders are typically more expensive. Just like watches. It costs money to do it and do it right.

Buy a cheap knife; get a cheap knife.
 
Well you see with knives, if you dont want the knife later sell it, and you have your money or most of your money back. It just all depends, some or for sure worth it, generally strider is.
 
RABII said:
Watch your ego, however, with an expensive knife. Most people will probably NOT recognize an expensive Strider, CR, or custom. Just about the time you start talking cutlery or steel with someone and whip out your pride and joy, they will likely give it a blank stare and begin to show you their own version of 'cutlerys' finest'. It let's quite a bit of air out of the 'ol sails when someone has never heard of your 'XYZ' knife that you may have paid $600 for!
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Lol, this kind of happened to me a couple of weeks ago. My father in law has been buying some goodies from that late night tv show and he pulled them out to show me with a big ole smile on his face. I didn't have the heart to tell him.....
 
I think the Gayle Bradley is a better knife by the way and I agree with you stabman in general. But is it worth that much more money? If we have to satisfy our egos by owning expensive knives that most people would seldom even come close to understanding or appreciating appropriately, one perhaps needs to do some self intraspection.

I like expensive "toys". So you generally don't have to convince me. But many $100 or $150 knives will perform extremely well relative to the $400 > $600+ customs. I seldom try to justify my expensive "toys" to anyone any more. I outgrew that stage of my life where I need somebody's affirmation for me to feel good about something.
 
bobbystoney said:
Lol, this kind of happened to me a couple of weeks ago. My father in law has been buying some goodies from that late night tv show and he pulled them out to show me with a big ole smile on his face. I didn't have the heart to tell him.....
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For me it's watches, cars, computers and cellphones. When people blather on about them my eyes glaze over and my ears shut down...and I think about knives.:D
 
If you just need a knife, then no, there's no point in spending that much. A maker's time, the materials consumed, the pride, etc., none of that matters to the thing you are cutting. In that a well executed production knife for one tenth the price will get the job done with no fuss. IMO, you spend that much on a knife because you are into the hobby, there's not a practical reason for such a price tag. And I've spent that much often enough. Pride of ownership, appreciation for the craft, collect-a-thoning for materials, brands, names, features, etc, there's a lot of reasons to spend money on knives, none of them is getting a reliable tool.
 
22-rimfire said:
I like expensive "toys". So you generally don't have to convince me. But many $100 or $150 knives will perform extremely well relative to the $400 > $600+ customs.
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I'd agree that once you get to around $150, there isn't usually alot of extra performance in a folder priced above that.
But they do seem much cooler in many cases, for whatever reason.:thumbup:
 
Spyderco Gayle Bradley will outperform the hell out the American Lawman in every task you can think of.
It costs somewhere around the $150 mark.
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I would like to know how it out performs as well.

They Gayle Bradley is on my "buy" list, but not because I believe it will out perform other knives I have. I would like to have it because of the quality of the craftsmanship, and because I like the way it looks. But, I seriously doubt it would out perform the $35 Buck Vantage Avid, in its ability to perform cutting tasks, that I have in my pocket right now.
 
newknife said:
I would like to know how it out performs as well.
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stabman said:
You can sharpen it to a more acute edge angle without failure, thus making it cut better.
It has better edge retention, meaning you can cut for longer.
The steel is tougher, thus it will handle stupidity a bit better.
The extra toughness will be better if you stab things for whatever reason.

So, can be sharper, cut longer and better, and handle other silly tasks knife people throw at it.
This all adds to = better.
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Already answered.
 
First thing you do is decide if you are going to miss the $400 before you spend it. Second thing you do is decide what kind of knife you like that you can get in that price range. In todays market you might like an XM18 Hinderer or a Custom Andrew Demko but you will be very lucky if you can find one for $400. If you shop around you may find a $400 knife that someone wants to get sell for say $250. There are knives out there that are worth way more than $400 because of the market. Again an example is I promise if someone puts a Rick Hinderer XM 18 up for sale at $400 or an Andrew Demko custom American Lawman (AD 10) for $400 it will not last 1 MIN! To some people their knives may not be worth it but to most it will be a real buy!
So yes there are knives worth $400 and some that are worth way more. Just my thoughts. THANKS! Kevin :D
 
I think it comes down to affluence, how you value and appreciate things, and how much disposable income you might have. There are many millionaires that you would never dream had that much money when you meet them unless you look for the little signs.

I recall running into Sissy Spacek in Quitman TX (her hometown) in a grocery store line. She was not dressed very nice but she sure did have some expensive shoes on! :D
 
I'll admit even when I first joined this forum, I could not fathom spending more than $200 on a knife, a good quality sword yes but not a knife. Now there are alot of knives in the $300 and up range that I would have no problem forking out that kind of cash for if I could afford to. Hell I recently placed an order for a Busse TGLB which is a $300 + knife, something I could never see myself doing even a year and a half ago. For me personally, owning an expensive knife is not about bragging rights or anything like that, I don't need a $300 knife nor can I afford to buy one on a whim (I had to scrimp and save for that TGLB), I just like knives and alot of the ones that have caught my eye over the last few years happen to be expensive.

That being said, I doubt I'd be EDCing a $400 Sebenza. I'd be WAY to nervous I'd loose it or it would get stolen so for EDC purposes I'll stick with a much cheaper alternative but that doesn't stop me from wanting a Sebenza if only because I think it's a sweet looking knife.
 
stabman said:
No.
Up to $150-$200 you do get more for your money if you shop smart: better edge retention/toughness/ergonomics, whatever traits you're searching for.
Once you go above $200, you're solidly into the realm of diminishing returns.
But you won't get a knife for under $100 that outperforms the higher priced ones which are actually worth the increased price.
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There will be something somewhere in the $400 knife that will make it slightly better than the $100 knife, but maybe not much because of those diminishing returns. I have a Kershaw Blur with S30V steel that will probably do pretty well in cutting tests against a knife of any cost and I paid $50 for it. I have a Para 2 with M390 steel that might actually outperform a $400 knife but those are near-$200 knives at best, although some of the Para 2 sprints with good steel have been available to the original purchasers for under $150. You can get Benchmade knives with M390 steel for around $150. So you can't count on better steel in the more expensive knife. The $400 knife might be made better, but what does that mean to the average person compared to a Para 2. I'm not even that much of a Para 2 fan but I have to admit that my blue Para 2 is very smooth operating.

I'm not sure how you would conduct tests to prove the increased performance of an expensive knife. There are so many variables involved that it might be very difficult. I have thought about the Kershaw Blur compared to some of the ZT models because they have similar configuration. Maybe testing them against each other would remove enough of the other variables as to make the test more meaningful.

To me a Sebenza looks similar to a Bradley Alias, Spyderco Sage 2 or Benchmade Subrosa. I wonder how those would compare in tests and observations.

I can't even begin to talk about Striders and Hinderers.
 
If you are asking us is it worth it you must have some doubts yourself. You can always sell/trade it off after the new wears off.
 
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