are you open to buying used knives?

Charlie_K said:
I'm quite open to buying used knives. Every single SAK I get is through ebay, and often for half or less the MSRP.

It's hard to complain when you can get a barely used Huntsman for $13 total.
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Yep...I got 90% of my replacement SAKs this way or through private sales. I like older versions with the gray magnifier too so I buy "really nice" used a lot.
 
jc57 said:
I've bought plenty of used knives. Some through forum exchanges, and some from the big auction site. Never had a bad experience and (especially when buying through forums) have gotten some great deals on some out of production knives.
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Exactly it. I find no fault in picking up a used blade that's been well taken care of. Frankly I'm going to be using it in the first place. So BNIB is not a requirement for me. In some cases I'll actually look for used before dropping the cash for a brand new blade. Not a thing wrong with a good used knife. A good example can be found in the attached photos. It's a used Caly 3.5 that I just got.

View attachment 400066View attachment 400067
 
I do buy used knives on the bay, and am often shocked by their condition. Not for the faint of heart.

otoh, here is one I got NIB.

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jon_slider said:
unwilling?:-)
I resemble that remark, but I dont sell in the BF exchange, for which a paid membership is required. BF is a Vendor supported site. There is no requirement to Pay to Post. Many non paying members contribute information and images, that result in sales for BF Vendors. I myself have spent more than a trivial amount of money as a result of discussions on BF.
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You can resemble that remark all you want but the long and short of it is that the money from a paid membership, regardless of the level, helps Spark pay some of the bills related to running this site. Band width cost money and it's my opinion that, especially, if someone's a heavy picture poster, they oughta pony up a few cents to help run the site. Contributing information and images and that amount of money you've spent as a result of discussions on BF hasn't even bought Spark a cup of coffee let alone bandwidth.

My .02¢
 
here is a knife I bought used. At first I was disappointed because it had blade wobble, but thanks to Gene Wiseman, who I met through BF, it is now tight, and one of my favorites.
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Let's keep it about the knives guys. There's better places then the Traditional Forum to have that discussion
 
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Trying to get back on topic, I love used knives, I am a huge fan of the old US made Schardes, especially Uncle Henrys. I ended up buying a new old stock UH trapper and paying more than the knife is/was worth monetarily, yet it is one of my favorite EDC's. I have decided too keep my knife buying habit too a minimum this year, so I am going too go the used route and hopefully not buying many knives but trading for them.
 
Since we are back on topic, I might get a small taste of heaven here after the first of the year. I have an acquaintance that is going full time in the estate sale business, and I might be able to get first look at all pocket knives! How cool would that be?

No doubt, there would be a lot of junk, but then again, I might be able to find some fine old knives at affordable prices.

Can't wait to see how this pans out...

Robert
 
As I said in an earlier post in this thread:

It matters not to me whether a knife I acquire is new or used. A new one will be used as soon as I unwrap it, open the blade/blades and touch up their edges as necessary, and oil the knife. The advantage of a used one is that all of that has been done for me.
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Another point about used knives is that if you've been searching for an out of production pattern with a specific color for the covers, the only way to get it may come down to getting one with just a few minor scratches from pocket carry or just giving up on getting that particular knife at all. Of course it's all good - it just allows us to set our sights on another horizon.
 
I worked as a school custodian for a while and talking to the principle of the school one evening we touched on knives and kids bringing knives to school. He unlocked a filing cabinet drawer and said " here you go these were confiscated from kids in school" he handed me a box with about 30 to 35 knives in it. I took a a quick glance and saw a Boker on the top and several spydercos underneath it. We both had a chuckle when I sad I'm betting there are than a few really p---ed dads over their missing knives.
 
Modoc ED said:
As I said in an earlier post in this thread:



Another point about used knives is that if you've been searching for an out of production pattern with a specific color for the covers, the only way to get it may come down to getting one with just a few minor scratches from pocket carry or just giving up on getting that particular knife at all. Of course it's all good - it just allows us to set our sights on another horizon.
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i guess you all are more hard core than me when it comes to knives. i wouldn't look for an out of production pattern. im not a knife collector.
 
cards94 said:
are you open to buying used knives?
i'm sure there are some great deals to be had with used knives but i would never buy one.
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While I don't make a habit of it, I've been known to pick up an occasional used knife on an auction site. Gives me a chance to try patterns I can't find new and knives from makers who no longer exist (Camillus and Schrade)
 
Was thinking about this and I don't think i own a traditional knife I didn't get "used" in fact the only one I can think of is one I received as a gift and a SAK I mad modified for me here on the forum. I've had new knives, but for one reason or another they are the ones I sold traded or gifted.
 
cards94 said:
i guess you all are more hard core than me when it comes to knives. i wouldn't look for an out of production pattern. im not a knife collector.
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I don't think it's so much an issue of hard core, we're talkin' users here right? If I were trying to fill out a collection of Case Trappers and I was missing a 1920s certain and they were better impossible to find than I might settle to fill the hole until a better more pristine one came into my hands.

I use almost all my knives at one time or another, whether they're 2 years old or over a 100 years old so when I buy/aquire a used knives I evaluate it and what my plans are for it. Some just need a touch up on the edge, others might have a slight wrinkle, (nothing I usually can't fix) while others become parts for other knives that are repairable.

And yes I'll admit some I will pick up just because it was an unusual pattern or something I haven't seen before, (yes my name is Ted and I have a problem, I accumulate knives) so I find a use for all the old knives I get.

To the op, I'm curious about a few things here:

1) Do you collect/buy traditional patterns exclusively and if so is it just 1 or 2 knives you own? In that case I can see your point but you will miss out on a lot of old unusual patterns, some that haven't been made in in over 50 years and aren't likely to be made any time soon.

B) What are your reasons for not buying used? If you've read the thread you started you'll find a hundred reasons why people here will buy used but I'm curious as to your reasons for not. Certainly it can't be an issue of quality, there are definitely used examples out there that are on post with a new knife, sometimes even better on the average.

Is it a gross out thing, kinda like using someone else's toothbrush? That I kinda get to, I'll replace the tooth pics on a used SAK when I buy one.

Finally and I'm not trying to start anything but you started an interesting thread here as you can tell by the views and replies, yet your responses have been very limited, have we answered your question already?

Inquiring minds wanna know, well at least I'm curious.
 
I thought cards94 pretty well covered his reasoning. I am paraphrasing here, so if I've misunderstood I apologize. He views a pocket knife as something of a journal of the user's life experience. He doesn't want to write his story in someone else's old journal. He wants to write his own story on new clean paper.
 
cards94 said:
i guess you all are more hard core than me when it comes to knives. i wouldn't look for an out of production pattern. im not a knife collector.
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No, nothing hard core about it. I wasn't necessarily talking about old knives made by old companies. There are plenty of recently produced knives by various companies that are not available now and may not be available in the future. GEC is a good example. Just a few months ago they produced a couple of patterns on a limited basis and may not produce them again because of complaints about very minor blade play. Just a few of certain covers were put on those knives. It may be that the only way to get one of them is via the second-hand route.

We've kinda got a stand off here. People that like knives regardless of past useage (mint or otherwise) don't get why someone would only want a new unused knife and then, vice versa, people that only want or like new knives don't get the other side. The important thing is that we all like knives.
 
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Thanks John, different strokes for different folks, I've got a 23 year old daughter who lives here with her nd so we do a lot of taking about the reasons we do things, I'm always trying to understand where different people are coming from.

It's all good. :thumbup:
 
jc57 said:
I thought cards94 pretty well covered his reasoning. I am paraphrasing here, so if I've misunderstood I apologize. He views a pocket knife as something of a journal of the user's life experience. He doesn't want to write his story in someone else's old journal. He wants to write his own story on new clean paper.
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im not very articulate when it comes to explaining myself but that was a pretty good post on how I feel.thanks
 
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