At what price point does the cost of knife start to provide diminishing returns?

[Shotgun]

That is my LOW price-point. I never consider anything cheaper...unless it's used. My favorite "used" ones at $150 would be Techno's, PM2's, and Gayle Bradley's. I guess that makes me a spyder freak.

sonnydaze

Then you're missing out. My cheap blades, even 5 dollar ones, have consistantly outperformed the spendy ones.

 

[bld522]

It's a progressive disease.

That's for sure. I just bought my first >$1K knife . . . or to be more accurate, my wife just bundled up all my presents (birthday, anniversary, father's day and Christmas) for the year and gave them to me in a single purchase. On my own, I would never have been able to justify paying that much for a knife. Now that I have it, I can't imagine being without it.

 

[CBennett]

Yeah, i thought the same 100 posts ago in this forum. While i dont (yet) own any knives over the 125 mark i have no doubt that i will someday go waaaaay beyond that mark.

nothing wrong with that. I just got a Ritter Mini grip it was around $110-115 I believe. Its the most ive spent on a knife...well built good steel...I think when you start getting "beyond" this point its not really better materials its more longer and more handcrafted exotic type stuff...I wont ever say never but at this point I dont intend to ever spend more than $150. But to those that will and would go for it! and im sure they will be awesome!

 

[Blade-fiend]

For a long time I was unsure about spending over 100 for a knife specially when there is so many nice ones for under that mark. Then my wife got me a small sebbie with micarta for our 1st anniversary then I realized why there are knives over 100 the fit and finish and materials are outstanding and if you like a knifes looks enough its not just about whether I will use them or not its about rounding out a collection. Some people collect cars others collect stamps I prefer to collect badass looking knives For me there are no diminishing returns when I just straight up love a design.

 

[abcdef]

$24.95 delivered

 

[bravodelta]

It's a progressive disease. You start thinking that $200 for a folder is insane. A couple years later and you're carrying a $800 knife....

LOL Phil. I remember when I bought a Benchmade 710 full retail for $159 many years ago. I was afraid to take it out of the box. Been downhill ( or uphill) ever since then. If you can afford it and it makes you feel good, buy it. If you think you will have ANY regrets, don't bother!!

 

[Joshua J.]

I don't know how this happened but I went from looking at regular sub $100 production folders to used Bradley Alias 2's and used CRK's this weekend. I think I can swing about $200-$300 and not be nuts about why I need a $200 knife. I don't actually - and am good with what I have, I just want. Normally a knife just sits in my work bag. But I love the practicality in things as well as appreciate pragmatic design. I can totally see where the value is in a CRK knife but that said is there a certain price point say $100 or $200 in the used secondary knife market where you really aren't getting that much more knife for the money? This had happened to me with watches. Recently my wife gave me an Seiko SKX007 for my bday and I honestly like it better than most of the expensive watches that I've had that were 10 sometimes 25 times more expensive and don't know why I didn't the Seiko sooner.

On the used market what would be an example of a super $100 to $200 knife that would just be a no brainer in terms of value? Knives with no lock up or blade play, issues w/ quality control, I have looked at ZT's but they seem to be over built for me.

That said this is really more about that law of diminishing returns though and at what price point do you hit that in production knives?

In my case it's either $10 or $100. My OLFA does everything I need 90% (99%?) of the time, but I have found cases where a thicker knife is useful. The regular folder can also do 90% (99%?) of the jobs the OLFA does.
A good knife in the $50-$100 range should be about as good as anything else functionally speaking (remember that any folder can fold when you don't want it to, they are not fixed blades. That said, I love the Tri-Ad lock).
I got the ZT0560CBCF because I'm a knife nut. The Sebenza is still a good value, but price to performance is another issue.

PS: Price to performance ratio in watches is one of the most frustrating things in the world to me.

 

[Bob6794]

$30 for me, I've lost a few knives over the years with it falling out of my pocket even with a clip. I frequently had a knife fall out of my pocket in one of classes with how much I had to move around, were talking daily basis and it didn't matter what knife I carried that day. Or had to be removed temporarily a few times throughout the day.

Though when I get a good job I will increase that budget to around $60 or so, and throw in a kershaw blur and probably a few other knives as well.

So it's all more of an opinion, for me I want something safe to use with at least a halfway decent steel, good grip, etc which my $20-30 knives provide but the cheap disposable liquor store knives don't do. I can't justify $300 knives right now nor do I think it be worth it for me.

 

[Simple Man]

I think that Diminishing Returns kicks in after the $60 you can get a Spyderco Endura for. It really is the most usability I've seen, for each dollar spent, in a knife. I've spent more, but have yet to find a knife I can do more with.

Any more than that, and I'm paying for fancy super steel blades and interesting handle materials and finely fitted but gimmicky locks, but none of them cut better than the FFG Endura.

I agree with this but with an exception, the G-10 scales really make the Endura a well rounded package and worth the $$ upgrade from the FRN.

 

[orca8589]

To answer the OP's question, my limit is probably about $125.-$150. The Spyderco G10 Endura, Al Mar SERE folders, Benchmade Torrent, Spyderco Ethnic series (Navaja, Lum Chinese, Nilaka, Persian, Chokwe, etc.) and some of the MCusta folders come to mind in that range.

I love the philosophy of "diminishing returns", I've not thought of what this idea would be called before now, but it makes perfect sense.

I've had conversations with friends over the same kind of idea, with tools, knives, cars etc. The best argument regarding "value" is that we have to agree to disagree. One of my friends has a CRKT Desert Cruiser in AUS4, and he loves it because he can bring the edge back in a few minutes on their old worn out kitchen stone. (It'll shave arm hair.) He has a 5.11-brand knife with S30V, and it's still in it's box because he doesn't want to mess with sharpening it, when the Desert Cruiser meets his needs. Another friend laughs at me because I still use my old 1970's-80's era U.S. Schrade lockbacks, while he is constantly buying - and breaking - "gas station specials". Go figure.

I've had three full-size Leatherman tools (ST300, Surge, Chrage Tti) and I'll occasionally use my old Leatherman PST, but my old Gerber 600 I bought here years ago gets beat on regularly here, and it's still going strong. I'm probably going to sell or trade the Charge Tti here soon. I love it, but I had to blow the dust out of it last night. It's just not getting used.

Having great blade steel is one thing, but a high initial cost + spending an hour (or more) on diamond stones just to bring an edge back is not what I consider value, but that's just me. I do admire and appreciate the amount of work & attention to detail that goes into a Chris Reeve Sebenza or a Case/Tony Bose pattern, but I just don't feel the need for a knife of that quality level to get my cutting done. Great knives, to be sure, just not what I 'absolutely' need.

I think that Diminishing Returns kicks in after the $60 you can get a Spyderco Endura for. It really is the most usability I've seen, for each dollar spent, in a knife. I've spent more, but have yet to find a knife I can do more with.

The Endura 4 was the first knife that came to mind when I read the OP. IMHO, the Spyderco Endura is one of the best standards for value in the knife industry.

~Chris

 

[Bastid]

It would depend on the knife itself If a knife costs someone say 5k and it is worth and readily sells at 6k when it arrives no way is that a diminishing return. If a knife is worth 20 bucks and it is sells at 15 when it arrives but you get more enjoyment in using and owning it than you paid that is not a diminishing return.

I think crimsonfalcon07 summed it up very well

Yup. The obvious point is when you regret buying the knife, or just don't get the enjoyment out of it that you should.

Tony Bose? Order a knife from Tony (although I am not sure he even takes orders any longer). Wait 7 or more years. It comes in the mail, you pay for it. If you did not want to keep it you could easily double your money in less than 60 seconds. That is not a diminishing return. I would rather keep the knife and enjoy it. That is not a diminishing return either.

 

[KNaB]

It's a progressive disease. You start thinking that $200 for a folder is insane. A couple years later and you're carrying a $800 knife....

It's funny how it works. I never thought I'd spend over $500 dollars on a knife, but then I bought a $1000 custom and a few weeks later a $1400 custom. Once you cross the threshold, it's much easier, for me at least, to part with that kind of coin.

 

[bdmicarta]

I understand the question to ask about the law of diminishing returns, and IMO that happens with user knives at somewhere between about $30 and $60. Considering that you can buy a Spyderco Tenacious, Ontario Rat 1, or Spyderco Delica for under that price, anything over that price starts to offer less performance or value per dollar. This is my opinion and other people would set the price at a different level.

Now the other price limit that people keep talking about is the maximum they are willing to pay to get the value that they want. Of course past the point of diminishing returns a knife still increases in performance, quality, features, whatever. It just doesn't increase as fast. And at some people in price a person has to say that they personally can't pay more to get more performance. For me that price is generally around $125-150. I might buy a few new limited edition knives for more than that, but I will try to buy used production models for less than that.

 

[orca8589]

Tony Bose? Order a knife from Tony (although I am not sure he even takes orders any longer). Wait 7 or more years. It comes in the mail, you pay for it. If you did not want to keep it you could easily double your money in less than 60 seconds. That is not a diminishing return. I would rather keep the knife and enjoy it. That is not a diminishing return either.

I would love to own a real Bose-made pattern, but I can't afford that right now, and don't know when or if I ever will. (If I ever buy a custom, it will most likely be a Traditional pattern.)

I was talking specifically about the Case/Bose collaboration patterns; Tony designs them, Case makes them. The ones I've seen are amazing pieces, but still more ($200.+ or more) than I want to spend on a knife of that type. To my mind, they're the "Sebenzas" of the Traditional world.

~Chris

 

[Poez]

Considering that I have got already a knife (and much more that one), so I have got something to cut with, and I buy a new one not because I need it, but because I want that particular knife: the questions about diminishing return sort of does not make sense.

 

[-NB-]

Considering that I have got already a knife (and much more that one), so I have got something to cut with, and I buy a new one not because I need it, but because I want that particular knife: the questions about diminishing return sort of does not make sense.

I agree with this. Guys are throwing numbers out there on what they think is the best bang for buck. I spend money on knives because I apreciate the materials, locking mechs, blade shapes/ grinds/steels, F&F, etc. I'm sure inexpensive knives do the trick for some,but that's not why I buy knives. I live in the city and sit at a desk all day, so my knives don't get a lot of action. But I still enjoy the fact I'm carrying a PM2 even though it may not see any action for weeks other than me pulling out it of my pocket to fondle/ enjoy it. Know I thought that I had a cap of a couple hundred on knives, but I recently bought a nice strider sj75 double digicam on the exchange and it cost 400+. I don't regret it one bit. The knife is so nice. After carrying it around for a few days, I'm debating selling the 6-7 production knives in my limited collection (in the hundred dollar range) so I can afford another higher end knife. Maybe a sebenza or maybe another strider, maybe a custom. The theory of diminishing return comes down to personal preference and your budget. Besides knives seem to have a 80-110+% resale value. So even if you bought something you didn't like, or you regret, put it up for sale and take a small loss and move on. My .02 cents.

 

[-NB-]

Sorry, double post

 

[BePrepared]

around 5 bucks. For $5 you can get a functional (barely) sharpened (sorta) metal (unknown type) object that will do overwhelmingly better than your finger for any and all cutting tasks. Double that price will get you a marginal improvement. Multiply that price times 10 and you will get a significant improvement, but it will not be ten times better.

essentially ANY knife is a near infinite improvement over NO knife, so once you have a knife, any improvement at any price is necessarily a matter of diminishing returns

i personally carry a $370 EDC knife. I don't mind diminishing returns, as long as i'm getting returns

 

[X_shooter]

I am at about $150. No matter what it is.

 

[FlaMtnBkr]

It seems like most people are stating a limit they are willing to pay, not an actual point of diminishing returns.

I think at about $100 street price you start getting a little less for your money. Up to that price you are getting better materials, better fit and finish, and better technology. After that you are still getting the same things, but the jump in quality isn't as much for the increase in money you pay. I'm a steel snob and will pay up to about $400 for a knife and probably more if there was one I really liked (which they don't put AXIS locks on expensive knives so not much to worry about.

As an example a $100 Para 2 with S30V is a great knife. A M390 Para 2 is also great, but is the jump to M390 worth another $90? I like it and would probably buy it but I think diminishing returns is in effect. Where as a $60 Endura is also a great knife but has FRN, cheaper VG10, and a back lock. The forty bucks extra for a Para 2 with G10, S30V, and a compression lock seems like a reasonable increase for what you get. Maybe not the best example but you get the idea.