At what point does price no longer reflect value?

G

GPtuners

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Aug 6, 2009
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Until now I've only carried cheap Wal-mart knives. I've always had a fascination with fine blades, but have not made the leap with the exception of a Cold Steel Caledonian Edge awhile back.

I want a hiking knife.

A nice one. :)

I've fallen in love with the Fallkniven Northern Lights knives- something about that stacked leather looks great to me. The problem is, once I started looking around, I found others that look similar, but might not be as nice. At what point does cheaper not mean you're getting a good deal?

My personal Favorite:
Fallkniven Frej $279.95
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Similar looks, but is the quality there? :
Bark River Manitou $161.66
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Looks great... why so cheap? :
Rosarms Cadet $98
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Price no longer reflects value when you don't want it.
A $5.00 knife is of no value to me, 'cause it's a piece of crap. That piece of crap could certainly do the job of cutting stuff for quite a while if I wanted to use it.
It's just that I don't want to use it.
Oppositely a $400 Umnumzaan (The name is still the best selling point for me) could give me a lifetime of use, and be worth well more than the asking price.
 
I think some knives use superfluous materials that elevate the price too much (ie. titanium).

From your choices, I think you'd do well to pick the Bark River. I've heard lots of great things about their knives. They use great steel, are usually convexed and have pretty good customer service. Try looking on youtube for some reviews. Bluntruth4u does an excellent review on the Bark River Bravo 1.
 
All three of those are very nice. I'd go with the Bark River, because it doesn't have a swedge, and it has a beefy convex grind. The cadet is a pretty knife but that heavy swedge would be hell on a baton, and the hollow grind isn't, IMO, a desirable feature in a woods knife. The Fallkniven, again with the swedge, and I don't see paying over a hundred dollars more for it. I'm not saying the Fallkniven is overpriced, maybe the Bark River is underpriced... either way, the Bark River is the better knife and the better value in this case... IMO.
 
Another thing to look at is if the company is an actual factory or an importer/user of subcontractors. My understanding is that FallKniven subcontracts out to high-end Japanese makers, so they might be adding a bit to the cost to increase profit.
 
The cost of a knife and its user or collector value varies wildly from one maker to the next.

For example, a mora costs no more than a walmart knife (like $15 iirc) but it is a fantastic knife.

There is no simple answer to your question.
 
If you wanted a good knife with a lot of bang for the buck,

Then just go to the local wally world and get one of the Buck 119 for $40. You can not beat their customer service. The 119 has taken over as my camping knife putting many other knives such as Becker BK9, Scrapyard S6, and some barkies to name a few sitting at home.

If you want a nice knife, the Buck 119 comes with brass and nice wood handles and a brown leather sheath. I think they are around $50-60.

Barkies are great knives and I have a few that I do not think I will ever part with, but for some reason I grab that 119 when I pack for the woods.

There is something to be said about a good quality knife that you do not mind using in all conditions.

Best of luck to you in your search.

John
 
the price/value issue is also relative to one's income/budget...i have some friends who's budget can only handle the purchase of a buck 110 as their best in their inventory of cheap $8-15 knives...and we all agree the 110 is a lot of knife for the $30-40 cost...for them, paying any more than that is total wasteful, and i can't really disagree with them...i completely see their point of view...

my income is higher so i can and want to afford better...my threshold is probably around $175+; that's when i really start to factor price/performance/value...
 
Ahh, the law of diminishing returns...

Get whatever you feel comfy with. If you REALLY want it, price won't be an object.
 
Hmm. A Fällkniven S1 is nearly exactly the same as a Frej, but with a polymer handle and for half of the price. If you want a knive of the same quality as the Frej, get a S1.
If looks are more of an issue, get one of the others. It's that easy.
 
For the type of knife you're looking at check out the RAT RC-4. For just under $100 I think it's a steal. The warranty can't be beat and it's made in the USA.
 
For me - $100. I only go that high for aesthetic qualities - typically on a traditional slipjoint. Though I now carry a Lum fixed-blade Encounter in the woods, I have been well served by less expensive knives. All my knives are users. I like BRKT knives and though a little pricey for my liking, they seem to be well made and have a huge fan base. I would avoid the last knife as the false top edge is worthless and hinders battoning.
 
why worry about what others think? at what price point you're comfortable with is entirely your call. buy what you want. sell what you don't.
 
To me after about $200 dollars the amount of what you get decreases pretty rapidly with price. Up to that point you are getting the higher end materials and super steels and I have yet to go above about the $180 point. You can get the best materials and steel in that range and for me there is no reason to go higher. You may get better fit and a better name or a one of a kind, but that doesn't make much difference to me as a user.
 
hardheart said:
I think the issue is that you're calling a $100 knife cheap.
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Compared to many of the knives I've seen in my short time here, it IS cheap.

pinetree said:
I would avoid the last knife as the false top edge is worthless and hinders battoning.
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Is the false edge what some people are referring to as a swedge? If so, I may need to re-examine my needs.

1kimo4u said:
why worry about what others think? at what price point you're comfortable with is entirely your call. buy what you want. sell what you don't.
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Well, I normally don't worry about others' opinions.

On the other hand, a man's got to know his limitations. Right now, I'm ignorant on the subject of knives. I know what I like from a visual standpoint, but I have not carried or handled any of the knives that come up in conversation on this site. Since this site has a WEALTH of knowledge, I knew I'd get some advice on my three choices, and some alternatives would come up.

I didn't realize that three knives had different grinds, wasn't sure of the steel, so I'm already learning something. I'm not asking because I want something that others think is cool, but don't want to buy something that others have already tested and agree is inferior.
 
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