I went in to a local gun shop that is a large Benchmade Authorized Dealer last Thursday and found a Benchmade 480-1 SHOKI and fell in love with it. It is called a "Gentleman's Folder" and since I have to dress up for work, found it to be a great knife to have when in suits, etc... It has an M390 blade and CF scales with blue anodized Ti liners and is beautiful. When I got up to the counter and turned the blue Benchmade box around for the cashier to see the price, I noticed that the box is marked "480-1 SHOKI PROTOTYPE." I called Benchmade a few minutes ago and the CS rep told me that I had a rather rare piece but, they had in fact shipped their prototypes for this knife out to several select dealers. He also told me that it might have some collector value.
You guys are such a great source of knowledge on knives that I wanted to reach out to try to understand how to quantify "collector value." I had intended to carry this knife and truly love it so, I am pretty sure I am going to keep it but, the question I have to answer is does the "collector value" force me to put it in the safe and keep it in NIB condition or do I actually carry/use it. If, for instance, the collector value is greater that $350, I will probably put it away and not carry it.
So, can you guys help me understand how much the "collector value" would add to the value of this knife?
THANKS in advance!
You guys are such a great source of knowledge on knives that I wanted to reach out to try to understand how to quantify "collector value." I had intended to carry this knife and truly love it so, I am pretty sure I am going to keep it but, the question I have to answer is does the "collector value" force me to put it in the safe and keep it in NIB condition or do I actually carry/use it. If, for instance, the collector value is greater that $350, I will probably put it away and not carry it.
So, can you guys help me understand how much the "collector value" would add to the value of this knife?
THANKS in advance!