At What Price Point does a Knife become a Safe Queen?

[Will Power]

Does that include women Not ride though, "be with". Trying not to be crude.

Don't know about this analogy....I have hundreds of knives I OWN - dozen or so I use - but unfortunately I don't have hundreds of women right now

But with the safe queen/money question, I don't really see it playing a role, knives are a very poor investment and if it costs so much you fear to use it, then it becomes like a burden. Sell that! Of course, many knives turn out not to be what you're really looking for (quite often the more you pay the more disappointing they can be) ; so it is a good strategy to keep them carefully for future trades or selling. Then the safe makes sense. Also, rare or vintage knives might be curated for future enthusiasts.

However, putting a figure on it in terms of limitation or 'eligibility' for the safe is tricky. Suppose you pay what for you is a large sum for a knife, you fear to use it but then discover the market has altered and your knife commands far less, do you then start using it?

Fact is, most of us have a mass of knives but we still hunger....

 

[link2derek]

For me it's not about price. If I find a knife that I really, really like, regardless of the price, I buy two. One gets carried and used. The other gets stashed away in the safe as a part of the collection.

 

[WedgeAntilles]

I carry multiple knives a day. Usually have about $2500 worth on me, spread across 4 knives. I have some I don't carry often because there are others I like more. But I don't have any I wouldn't carry based solely on price. I also don't have any I've dropped over $1k on. My two Koenigs were picked up on the secondary. I have a large 31 lefty Night Sky I paid full retail for at 850, and it's been in a slip in my pocket literally every day since.

 

[TC]

I once used a Buster Warenski King Tut dagger to pry open a safe. That would be a Safe King then, I guess.

The queens here are some earlier and/or limited Chris Reeve, Koji Hara, and Clyde Fischer knives; on a (non-discriminatory) lower scale perhaps some limited run Doziers, Bökers, or other factory knives.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

I have never bought a knife to put away for investment or for someone to use when I'm dead. I buy my knives to use.

...but that "use" does tend to hinge on what I paid for it. I do tend to carry a folder upwards of $500 and will cut stuff with it....but I reserve the right to bust out my multi tool to do the grosser stuff

I would say my "I'm gonna use this and I don't care if it gets scratched" line in the sand is around $300. I wouldn't call anything north of it a safe queen, as all of my knives are carried and show some signs of use.

But even being at a point where I can afford to drop $1000 on a knife, I just can't make myself not consider what a knife cost before I reach for something else.

I will say this is almost exclusively on folders, as I will use any fixed blade I have hard.

 

[JWright214]

If I don’t use it, won’t use it, or scared to use it, then I get rid of it. I’ve just recently gotten into more expensive (for me) fixed blades, $200-$300 range. Ive not had any qualms about using them based solely on the price.

What I have found, is that if it’s more expensive AND looks too “pretty”, “classy”, or “dainty”, I’ll be hesitant to use it. Even after 30 plus years of carrying knives, I’m learning what I like and don’t like and what I’ll use and not use. I’ve been buying as many as I can that interest me trying to figure out what I like best and I have finally figured it out.

I’ve come to the same conclusion over and over again with all price points, I want good all around utility knives in middle of the road steels that are somewhere between sharpened pry bar and scalpel.

 

[jakemex]

Do you have a safe for your “daily user” car or truck that cost substantially more?

 

[tltt]

Putting rarity aside, $200ish is the point where I get much more careful about use, and $400+ are basically extremely light use safe queens. They may open boxes, mail, maybe a bag of dog food, etc.... but nothing hard use.

 

[navman]

I don't think price matters as much as personal attachment. An example would be a family heirloom, such as Great Grand-dad's theater knife...probably worth less than $10, but has a history that is felt by the family member that possesses it. Another example would be something that may have been gifted to an individual. The knife MAY be carried by the guy who received it, but not necessarily. It may reside in a safe box or some such and serves more as a symbol of friendship, more so than a cutting implement.

edit to add: price of a solid knife also may include the use of high performance materials...owning a high performance knife and not using it is akin to owning a sports car and letting it sit in the garage.

 

[pvicenzi]

Based more on appearance for me. Nice, fancy wood is more likely to be a safe queen than a more expensive carbon fiber knife.

 

[norcalAF]

The only safe queen I have is a unique CRK 31 that was born on my daughter's first birthday, that one is just waiting for me to give it to her eventually. The rest get used and carried as I feel the whim.

 

[Kwon Kwang]

None, for me. With the exception of art knives, a knife is a tool meant to be used. If I don't carry and use a knife I own, it's typically because the thing is designed for a tactical purpose and exists in my collection for SHTF. That, or it's an old folder that isn't as useful as newer ones I've purchased and isn't worth enough to be worth selling.

 

[Leo Greer]

If I’ll actually use carry and use a knife, it’s a user. If I won’t, it’s a safe queen, because I’ll sell it and buy something else, and minty knives are worth more than users.

Almost three years ago I spent $1100 on a brand new Shiro Quantum G2… which I quickly sold because I couldn’t stand the idea of getting a scratch or two on it and losing $100+ in value.

However, if I catch a deal on the secondary or even buy something that’s already been used, I generally don’t have any qualms about using it myself.

I woke up this morning and put a NeOn R20 and a MachineWise Sonora in my pockets… so I’m not the most expensive, but that’s easily something like $1300 right there, and I carry and love them both by using them on all sorts of things.

 

[badmatt]

I do not have a limit.

I dont buy for retain residual value.

 

[99tc675]

A knife becomes a safe queen when its monetary value surpasses its utility, making it too precious to use.

 

[99tc675]

For me, that price point is around $500-$700. At this range, the knife's craftsmanship, materials, and collectibility outweigh its functionality,

 

[JWright214]

Do you have a safe for your “daily user” car or truck that cost substantially more?

edit to add: price of a solid knife also may include the use of high performance materials...owning a high performance knife and not using it is akin to owning a sports car and letting it sit in the garage.

Great points.

 

[Lenny]

I don’t buy knives I don’t intend to use. Never understood the collector mentality.

 

[not2sharp]

One I don’t buy knives I don’t intend to use. Never understood the collector mentality.

There is a practical aspect as well. If I tried to use all of the knives on a regular basis they would just find me either pants-less or crushed under a pile of knives. There is a point at which our pursuit of the latest and greatest exceeds the handful of knives that we can regularly carry. But, having access to variety is how we get a perspective on the relative merit of a product.

N2s

 

[scorpnsnake]

One things for sure! There is no right or wrong ways to love knives. Just several ways to skin that cat as they say.