Are $400 knives worth it?

As an aspiring knife forger, I can tell you that $400 is a fair price for all the work that goes into many of them.
 
When I got a lot more serious about knives, knowing knife steels and materials better, then all of a sudden a $400 knife doesn't seem so outrageous. I would be discerning, though. a simple fixed blade with a paracord wrap with a popular person's name on it with average steel, now that's not what I would spend $300-$400 on, but theres always someone out there that thinks that is the cat's pajamas, and buys the knife.
Also knowing that with a custom knife maker, they might spend ( Im guessing ) 6-10 hours, more and less, on each knife. They got bills to pay and if you break down an hourly wage on the time it takes to make a custom knife, sometimes the end user is getting a great deal. I paid what Dylan Fletcher asked for, for a bush operator xl, and for me, it was a great deal. It was a step up in workmanship and it was a great addition to my collection.
I will say back when I was a casual knife user, a $400 knife was something I made fun of people for doing, but I don't anymore.
John
 
I have ten Daniel Winklers and IMHO each one them is worth every penny it cost me to buy them... most under 400 by the way
 
I think you will find that knives that cost 400 dollars are worth it.
The question is do you or we need a 400 dollar knife.
You don't need a BMW to go grocery shopping.
I think most people who spend big dollars for a knife are looking for high quality......and there is a percentage of people who just like status symbols.
I haven't spent more than 150 dollars on a knife.........I have a collection of about 15 knives ranging in price of 30 to 150 dollars.
I don't consider most knives a good investment, unless you have a rare collectors piece.
As soon as you use a knife the value depreciates like anything else.
I collect knives more for the enjoyment of owning a piece of craftsmanship as well as for its functionality.
 
bdmicarta said:
If you have to ask the question, then maybe it is not worth it to you.

If you have the money to spend and you are wondering about it, then only you can answer the question. There isn't much you can do with a $400 knife that you can't do as good or almost as good with a $100 knife, or maybe even a $50 knife. You might find a $50-100 knife with the same size, look and feel of the $400 knife and carry it, but you will know it isn't the $400 knife that you wanted and you might never fully appreciate it or be happy with it. You could buy the $400 knife and really appreciate it for a long time. But OTOH you might buy the $400 knife and always regret spending the money, and you might never use the knife for fear of losing or damaging it. You might not really know the answer until you actually spend the money on it.

I am friends with a lot of watch collectors and they face the same issues. You can buy a pretty nice Seiko for $150 that will do 99.9% of what the $6k Rolex will do, but every time you look at it you will know that it is not the Rolex that you wanted. Basically you have to take your own guess and risk your own money.

If you buy knives because you like the look of them, you might be better off spending your money on 2 or 3 less expensive knives. Again back to the watch collectors- most are the same way and buy the watches that have the look that interests them. They might spend all of their money on a very expensive watch but it will not satisfy their longing for other watches that they see that they want. It might seem funny that a person would buy a $6k watch and then lust after a $200 watch that they see. People on this forum would probably think it odd that someone would buy a $400 knife and then lust after a $50-100 knife, but that's just the way we are.
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Watches can have numerous complications that do much more than tell time. Take a look at some high end Patek Philippe watches. With all due respect to custom knife makers, there is no comparison.
 
MajorLonghorn said:
Watches can have numerous complications that do much more than tell time. Take a look at some high end Patek Philippe watches. With all due respect to custom knife makers, there is no comparison.
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I don't know if that is fair to say. I personally don't forge knives nor do I craft time pieces, but unless you do both and know the learning curve and skill it takes, I don't think this statement is accurate.

Regardless, Patek Philippe's are killer!
 
Zookie said:
I don't know if that is fair to say. I personally don't forge knives nor do I craft time pieces, but unless you do both and know the learning curve and skill it takes, I don't think this statement is accurate.

Regardless, Patek Philippe's are killer!
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Whether or not the individual making the statement has firsthand knowledge has no bearing on it being true or false. It either is or it isn't, regardless of who says so. Now, I wasn't stating a fact. It's merely an opinion based on observation. Still, I stand by it. Just because we're knife aficionados on a knife forum doesn't mean that we can't admit that there are greater examples of skill and talent via other mediums. Put another way, a one of a kind knife from the foremost custom knife maker in the world will not command the asking price that a similar example from the watch world will.
 
Some of my best purchases have been expensive knives. Some of my best have been cheaper knives.. You can always sell it if ya don't dig it and make most of the money back..
 
MajorLonghorn said:
Put another way, a one of a kind knife from the foremost custom knife maker in the world will not command the asking price that a similar example from the watch world will.
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You are so wrong on this count.
So very, very wrong.

There are knives that go for tens of thousands of dollars.
Or even more.
 
I don't own any $400+ knives however that being said I can see how the quality and fit and finish would be beyond excellent on something that expensive especially from a reputable maker but I can't justify spending that much on a knife I feel as if due to the price and how nice it would be it would be nothing more than a safe queen/shelf queen knife for me and honestly I just don't buy any tool that I won't actually use. Although that's not to say I don't want one!
 
stabman said:
There's swords with diamonds and rubies on the handle which cost more than those.

I still win.;)
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Most of these pieces don't cost what they do because of the intrisic value of they materials that went into making them. It's the craftmanship, the sheer man hours, and rarity that make them what they are.
 
MajorLonghorn said:
Most of these pieces don't cost what they do because of the intrisic value of they materials that went into making them. It's the craftmanship, the sheer man hours, and rarity that make them what they are.
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How much would the Sandbar knife be worth?
 
marcinek said:
I'm sure it would challenge any of the watches listed on that web page in price.
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Oh hell yes it would.
Of course, to be fair, there'd be some historical watches that would fetch a pretty penny as well.
 
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