Are generic gas station Chinese slip folders “working man” knives?

[pinnah]

Timex is the Buck 110 (or Rat 1/2) of the watch world or vice versa.

 

[snapshot2017]

Well as far as keeping time goes. You won't do better than a quartz movement. In that sense they both keep time. The cheap one better to boot.

I am going to try selling my Rolex i have all the paper work for the repair and the original sales slip to prove ownership, if i can sell it i am going to invest in more knives.

 

[cbrstar]

In 1961 i joined the military service after boot camp at a training base i went to town saw a stainless submariner no date Rolex in a store price new $160US samesman wrote a contract $25 a Month and i had my first good watch, over 25 years had it cleaned and oiled many times around 1998 i got the news moisture under lens face damaged it was time to retire it.
Sold some of my stocks and bought a new Rolex stainless no date submariner price $3,500 Rolex wants their submariner cleaned oiled and new seals every five years, if moisture get under the lens it's going to really cost to get it repaired, sent it to Rolex New York postage alone was $60 with insurance price for Rolexs service needed a new wind&adjust time stem total $650.
While it was being repaired bought a battery powered watch at Walmart $7.88 it kept better time then my Rolex ever did and the battery lasted over two years, as when i got my Rolex back in around two Months, i pulled the stem to stop it and put it to bed in my safe.
Today i checked pricing on a new Roxex stainless submariner no date $8,500US so today i am thinking if i can sell it for around $5,000 i would be happy but anyway i just buy a new $7.88 Walmart watch when the battery dies i surly don't want another Rolex service cost of who knows what it is today.

Well I hope you kept your 1961 Rolex as it's possibly worth far more then a new Rolex and the reality is nothing can't be repaired.

So you bought bought a Rolex back in 1961 for $160 us (Which is a lot of money back then but with inflation is $1348) and then despite using it for over 30 years the value increased to min $9000. Then you buy another one for $3500 and the value increased in only a few years to $5000. So not only giving you social status both watches have jumped drastically in value making you money in the end...I fail to see how Rolex has ripped you off here and your $7 dollar watch is such a great value. Guess what your $7 watch is probably now worthless and will never increase in value. Heck the replacement battery is worth more then the watch.

I find it similar with good knives as they at least hold their value. Where as your gas station special you will have to "gift" it away to get rid of it.

Nope on all accounts.

Your Rolex and your Timex both do a great job at their primary purpose, keeping time. Your Rolex is perhaps better built (arguable), but it definitely has had more attention to detail than your timex and is definitely a more interesting movement. It's not a superior quality product in that it doesn't do the job of keeping time any better than your Timex, but it is a product with superior craftsmanship and QC that might be able to withstand the abuse that MAYBE 0.001% of the population could inflict on it better than your Timex. For most people in most circumstances they are functionally equivalent.

Knives are very similar in that pretty much anything made of even okay metal that is sharp will do the job that 99.999% of people require of it (assuming it's a 'knife' job). Handling a nice knife doesn't suddenly make everything else junk; but handling a spendy knife might make you realize what you're missing in the craftsmanship.

I'm a little confused here as you start off disagreeing with me then you kinda pretty much back up what I was getting at.

 

[Bill3152]

Well he sold stocks to buy the second watch. I would think you woulda done a heck of a lot better keeping the stocks. Lol.

 

[afishhunter]

I've seen more Tac Force one hand openers and fantasy fixed blades at the truck stops when I was an over the road trucker, than I did slipjoints.
The slippies for the most part were Taylor Schrade Old Timer, Imperial, and Uncle Henry - if they even had slipjoints available.
The Downtown TA in Nashville, TN. had a genuine knife store inside for a while that sold brands like Case, Spyderco, Ka-Bar, Cold Steel, and the other top brands. However, that shop was gone the last time I was there.

 

[NapalmCheese]

I'm a little confused here as you start off disagreeing with me then you kinda pretty much back up what I was getting at.

A Rolex isn't better than a Timex if what you're concerned about is keeping time. A Rolex has better refinement, but that doesn't matter to most people (aside from proving you can afford and/or appreciate the refinement), but that doesn't make it a 'better' watch. Same with knives. There are plenty of knives that do knife things well despite being rough around the edges. To say that once a user "has experienced the nicer thing they'll realize what they had before was junk" is disingenuous at best. The difference between $500 dollar folder and a $50 dollar folder is, more than likely, the attention to detail and refinement; not the cutting ability (the thing that knives are meant to do). As such, that difference is not important to people who only care about getting the job done.

 

[83Rambo]

I’m just now getting caught up. Knives now watches. I’m liking the Rolex though. I agree. I’d take a nice citizen or whatever but if u can splurge on a Rolex or an expensive knife than hell yeah.

 

[22-rimfire]

.....Even still, when I picked up a Cold Steel Counter Point II in AUS-8, I thought I had really gone off the deep end for spending $40 on a pocket knife. I imagine a great many other people have that same mentality preventing them from even considering the notion.

I would guess that the majority of non-knife people feel that way about the $40 knife. My brother certainly does and he could buy a 100 of them and never blink an eye.

Same applies to the Rolex argument presented in other later posts. I understand, but I simply refuse to buy a Rolex. I have had fairly good watches (but never a Rolex) only to see them break in fairly short order and then what....? For me.... trash can and back to Timex or in my case, usually Casio these days.

The Rolex analogy is reasonable for knives. I can't see spending the extra 500% or even 1000% for at best 10% gain in quality and performance.

Added: My Sister bought a new Camaro about 5 years ago. It was her first muscle car and something she always wanted. Cost was probably 50-60K. She seldom drove it and it stayed in the garage. After 4 years (and paying insurance costs), she decided to trade it off on a nice but lesser car. I bet she didn't have 25K miles on the Camaro after 4 years of ownership.... just doesn't make any kind of economic sense to me. Just owning that car cost probably twice what a regular car cost in terms of insurance and for what gain....? Pure want. That's okay and I feel the same about a Rolex regardless of resale. I have never sold knives. It simply is not in my genes. I just toss them in my knife tub and get another.

 

[83Rambo]

Well said

 

[83Rambo]

For me yes u buy Benchmade spyderco and ZT. But I stay below 250. Yes it’s pricey but not insane

 

[83Rambo]

I buy. Sorry fat fingers

 

[22-rimfire]

For me yes u buy Benchmade spyderco and ZT. But I stay below 250. Yes it’s pricey but not insane

That is where I'm at too in the cost equation. I like a better knife and have little interest in the jar full of knives at some store. But I understand why people buy sub-$50 knives even when they can afford much better.

I guess it is simply to each his own. I'm certainly materialist, but there are some limits that I will not cross. Those limits change over time. My TA Davison folder is my most expensive knife. I like it a lot and it was certainly a huge fling for me. But I fulfilled the itch I had for years. I guess the same could be said for the Camaro or the Rolex mentioned above.

 

[snapshot2017]

Well I hope you kept your 1961 Rolex as it's possibly worth far more then a new Rolex and the reality is nothing can't be repaired.

So you bought bought a Rolex back in 1961 for $160 us (Which is a lot of money back then but with inflation is $1348) and then despite using it for over 30 years the value increased to min $9000. Then you buy another one for $3500 and the value increased in only a few years to $5000. So not only giving you social status both watches have jumped drastically in value making you money in the end...I fail to see how Rolex has ripped you off here and your $7 dollar watch is such a great value. Guess what your $7 watch is probably now worthless and will never increase in value. Heck the replacement battery is worth more then the watch.

I find it similar with good knives as they at least hold their value. Where as your gas station special you will have to "gift" it away to get rid of it.



I'm a little confused here as you start off disagreeing with me then you kinda pretty much back up what I was getting at.

==========
I do still have my original 1961 Rolex it's in pretty poor condition i had it rebuilt when moisture got under the lens, just a reworked face was around $250 it lasted can't remember the years.

I am not implying Rolex is trying to rip me off, just saying i don't wish to keep paying every five years to comply with their warranty policies.

 

[snapshot2017]

Well he sold stocks to buy the second watch. I would think you woulda done a heck of a lot better keeping the stocks. Lol.

Well we make mistakes but i wanted a new Rolex back then.

 

[22-rimfire]

......I am not implying Rolex is trying to rip me off, just saying i don't wish to keep paying every five years to comply with their warranty policies.

Didn't know about that requirement. Kind of reminds me of the stupid get service light in my truck that comes on at certain mileage points. It is a bit irritating, but you go back to the dealer and waste time for mostly nothing. They do change the oil however for free (for the time being anyway).

Added: Most of us have hobby interests and have something that they are willing to spend a fair amount of money on because they feel it's worth it. It might be a CRK knife, Rolex, an expensive car, boat, or whatever. That's okay. My TA Davision knife certainly doesn't fit into my $250 knife cap. But I bought it anyway because I wanted it.

Knives are the same and people value things differently. I didn't think much about the purchase of the Becker BK-62 Kephart, but I know some of my family members would have a very critical view of that purchase when I really don't need it.

So many buy the fairly inexpensive knives. Some get the "gas station" knives. I know there are some very good knife values out there that don't cost $50, but most are certainly more than $5.00.

 

[Steve6387]

Nope on all accounts.

Your Rolex and your Timex both do a great job at their primary purpose, keeping time. Your Rolex is perhaps better built (arguable), but it definitely has had more attention to detail than your timex and is definitely a more interesting movement. It's not a superior quality product in that it doesn't do the job of keeping time any better than your Timex, but it is a product with superior craftsmanship and QC that might be able to withstand the abuse that MAYBE 0.001% of the population could inflict on it better than your Timex. For most people in most circumstances they are functionally equivalent.

Knives are very similar in that pretty much anything made of even okay metal that is sharp will do the job that 99.999% of people require of it (assuming it's a 'knife' job). Handling a nice knife doesn't suddenly make everything else junk; but handling a spendy knife might make you realize what you're missing in the craftsmanship.

Agree with this on all counts.

I am a watch guy as well and loved my expensive automatic swiss divers (never had a Rolex). After 15 years of chasing Grails, I sold all but a couple of them. I lost the ability to justify the cost when my gshocks, quartz, kinetics, and solars are measureably superior in pretty much every way. Performance, durability, reliability, cost and frequency of maintenance.

I look at knives the same way. I can appreciate the craftsmanship in an expensive custom. However, I'm a user and not a collector. When it comes to spending my money, I need to be convinced the performance justifies the cost.

Maybe if I were in a different tax bracket I'd feel differently.

 

[cbrstar]

Maybe my comparison for Timex to a Rolex is pretty extreme, it would be comparing a mtec to something like a Yoshihiro Mizuyaki Honyaki. (Not going to lie I had to google that lol)
But to me there is a big leap in quality from a $10 knife to a $30 knife and again $30 - $60, and again from $60 - $100 and $100 to $200. I don't see how once you reach that $200 mark you could be happy with a $10 knife anymore. I'm sure there's plenty of people with expensive knives who are out there buying a $10 knife because they are bored and it's a novelty but apparently those knives end up in jars or what ever when the novelty has worn off.

It's like the old saying "The cheap guy pays more in the end" and I caught myself in this trap only recently... I've been on a Spyderco binge lately and I bought quite a few for the main reason they were on sale. Only to realize instead of buying 3 decent Spyderco's I could have bought a much higher end sprint run Spyderco. derp! Or the perfect example is my little Bro who the other day pulled out 30 or so gas station knives from his sock drawer to show me. Add all those up at min $10 a piece and he could have bought a $300 knife! Instead of all that junk that he doesn't use.
TL;DDR
The problem with our generation is we need that instant gratification and dopamine dump from purchasing something new. So instead of doing the smart thing and saving up and planning to purchase exactly what we really want. We go out and blow money on junk then we try to justify it. That's why there's junk knives in every gas station store, because that's that's exactly what convenience stores run on. Impulse buys that you feel temporarily good but leave you feeling shallow and empty. It's no differn't then buying that bag of chips or bottle of Coke to get your fix.

 

[22-rimfire]

.... But to me there is a big leap in quality from a $10 knife to a $30 knife and again $30 - $60, and again from $60 - $100 and $100 to $200. I don't see how once you reach that $200 mark you could be happy with a $10 knife anymore.
......
The problem with our generation is we need that instant gratification and dopamine dump from purchasing something new. So instead of doing the smart thing and saving up and planning to purchase exactly what we really want. We go out and blow money on junk then we try to justify it. That's why there's junk knives in every gas station store, because that's that's exactly what convenience stores run on. Impulse buys that you feel temporarily good but leave you feeling shallow and empty. It's no differn't then buying that bag of chips or bottle of Coke to get your fix.

I am generally not real satisfied with a $10-$50ish knife unless it's a Rough Rider slippie or a SAK. We all like instant gratification. Maybe that's why I ordered a BK-62 immediately upon the release and have no serious need for one. Of course I had to wait a while as I missed the initial run and didn't want to cancel my order and buy at a slightly higher price elsewhere where they still had some. It is sort of like a bag of chips or a cold Coke you pick up at a convenience store. You generally don't need either, but you buy and consume them. I remember when I was in my early 20's and working stopping at a convenience or country store and picking up a coke with little thought to cost. My younger brothers thought I was extravagant. Same kind of thing with knives. I don't really feel shallow and empty with impulse buys as I consider them kind of fun.

 

[NapalmCheese]

I don't see how once you reach that $200 mark you could be happy with a $10 knife anymore.

Because for people who only use a knife to cut some tape and don't otherwise fetishize knives, the $10 dollar knives are functionally equivalent to the $200 dollar knives and are obviously the better deal. Just like most people don't care about the movement in their watch, they only care about it keeping regular time; most people don't care about their knife having ball bearings or Ti scales, they care about being able to cut packaging tape.

 

[cbrstar]

Because for people who only use a knife to cut some tape and don't otherwise fetishize knives, the $10 dollar knives are functionally equivalent to the $200 dollar knives and are obviously the better deal. Just like most people don't care about the movement in their watch, they only care about it keeping regular time; most people don't care about their knife having ball bearings or Ti scales, they care about being able to cut packaging tape.

You can go to the dollar store and buy an excato knife to open boxes. I bet the guy who's only paying $1 to open boxes thinks the $10 knife guy is snob and over extravagant as he could buy 10 knives to his one. So what I'm trying to say is your point is moot as all knives are tools yes, but quality over quantity is actually very important to many people including myself.