Autos, Worth The Price???

[Megalobyte]

Often ill see a custom knife that is priced at, let's say, $850, then, ill see one by the same maker, virtually identical, for almost double the price, around $1500, and the ONLY difference between them is that the $1500 knife happens to be an auto. Now of course i realize that an auto takes more time to make than the same knife in a manual configuration, but does it really take TWICE as long to make the same knife as an auto? If not, why then does the mere fact that a knife is an auto make the price SO much higher, often nearly double what the same knife would cost as a manual? To you knife makers, if knife "A" takes you 20 hours to make, how much time does the same knife take to make as an auto?

 

[anthony cheeseboro]

I'm not a knife maker, but my guess is that autos cost more because the market for autos is so much more restricted than the market for manuals. A maker has to charge more for a knife that has a market that is very restricted while his other products can be sold virtually anywhere.

 

[C. Marlowe]

Its really a matter of time and experience. An auto takes longer to build because of the number of parts. But one also has to figure how to make the thing work, often in the same space as a manual folder. One also has to make the parts, and then get them to fit inside. Heres the fun part, you have to make the knife work....sounds easy right? The knife not only has to open all the way, it needs to open fast, and still be tight. Getting an auto to do this just takes more time because you have more springs and parts putting pressure on everything else. Lets not forget if you come up with a unique latch design ( I did, so I know ), you have to figure out how well it will work, how it will fit in the knife, then build it ( alot of hand filing, stoning and fitting ). -- Charles

Im sure I can write more, but Ive only had one cup of coffee

 

[ARtsig1]

If I am remembering this correctly Kit Carson told me that it took him three times as long to make an automatic model 4 versus the manual model 4. He was charging around $700.00 for the auto at a time when the manual model 4 sold for around $375.00 to $400.00. For the time invested he was losing money.

 

[Pete Peterson]

Added to what has been said so far, the knife has to stay together in spite of the shock associated with anything spring loaded. What will do for a spring back, lock back, or locking liner just will not hold up to the stress.

 

[Megalobyte]

Thanks for all the great replies so far, it sounds like it does take significantly more time to make an auto and thus the much higher price.

As a non-knife maker, i really had no clue as to what more was required to make a knife into an auto, sounds like its quite a bit, and thus, the much higher price, even if its double, is still within reason.

Too bad, i like the autos, but generally cant afford to plunk down $1500-$2000 for a single knife, and so, ill have to settle for a nice manual custom at maybe a $750 price point. Oh well, hey, ALL custom knives are great, even manuals, so its not so bad, and then, there are always Microtechs, the LCC in particular, or the Brend/Cutter DA if you just have to have a well made auto without breaking the budget.