Bradley 2 or Stretch Hap 40

It usually pays to invest in a sprint run. When these HAP40 knives are gone they will probably be gone for good. Even a used one will probably sell for what they are going for now. So, you could use that Stretch for a year and at least break even if you sold it. Aside from that the steel is just a delight to use and maintain. I have 2 now, Endura and Delica. Might go for a Stretch as well!
 
I'm a Stretch fan - like the Stretch over the Endura and Delica. But, that said, I have the GB2 and its becoming one of my all time favorites. A sprint run is a tough call. I almost didn't even bother with this Hap40 run, but just pulled the trigger on it. What people are saying about the GB2 being around for awhile is likely true and a good thing!
 
uxo2 said:
Not a Stretch fan.

I would get a GB2 and see what all the hype is
that the GB fan boys rave about.


If you don't like it Flip it.. They go fast whenever they come up.
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You're basing that on a subjective decision.

A objective fact is that until its discontinued, the GB2 will not retain its value or increase in value like the sprint run Hap40 Stretch, Delica or Endura.
 
The same as many fellow members,keep the Stretch (if possible 2!) and maybe buy a GB2 later on.you won"t regret it!
 
I ended up deciding to keep the Stretch and happy with the decision despite my brother in law constantly saying how ugly and cheap the knife looked. In hand the look and feel great and grippy. The ergos on the knife are really good and already have some patina on the blades from cutting some apples.

I touched it up on the sharpmaker after cutting a bunch of cardboard for my kids puppet show in my living room and just a few strokes and its was sticky sharp. I don't know how else to describe it but your run your finger over the apex and it feels sticky which I really like, just seems to grab and cut through very well.

I will probably end up getting a Dragonfly Hap40 when they come out too.

Thanks for the help everyone.

I have no doubt I will still end up with the Gayle Bradley soon, found a camera that I never use that may go up on ebay soon =)
 
ToxicBot11 said:
You're basing that on a subjective decision.

A objective fact is that until its discontinued, the GB2 will not retain its value or increase in value like the sprint run Hap40 Stretch, Delica or Endura.
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There is no right or wrong answer here. Are we talking about collector value or just user satisfaction? Value is a strange thing. Should you buy the knife you like or the one that will increase in collector value? I like to use and enjoy my knives so I would lean towards user satisfaction as my measurement of value. It took a year for the SB Stretches to sell out and I cannot say that they have skyrocketed in collector value since then. If you are a collector then maybe a knife gaining $50 in value is a plus. I might say that that just barely offsets the fact that the GB2 is hands down a better value in the first place as a user. If you are gonna put it right to the stones and use it then buy which ever one tickles your fancy. The HAP Stretch isn't a CF Para2 and if it ever did double in value it would take years and have to still be new in the box and what fun is that. Value is all perception.
 
I am not a collector, it is nice to sell things and get your all your money back on a used knife when you decide you want something else. A lot of my traditional knives are GEC SFO knives and as new ones come along some of the ones I don't use much anymore get cut and most of the time they sell used for the same or more than I paid for them.
 
You should tell your brother in law, in the words of The Rock, it doesn't matter what he thinks. I'm sure the GB2 is a good knife, but I feel like the HAP40 Stretch is worth every penny. I prefer it over the GB1, and I used to be a big GB1 fan. Do what makes you happy though.
 
bearfacedkiller said:
There is no right or wrong answer here. Are we talking about collector value or just user satisfaction? Value is a strange thing. Should you buy the knife you like or the one that will increase in collector value? I like to use and enjoy my knives so I would lean towards user satisfaction as my measurement of value. It took a year for the SB Stretches to sell out and I cannot say that they have skyrocketed in collector value since then. If you are a collector then maybe a knife gaining $50 in value is a plus. I might say that that just barely offsets the fact that the GB2 is hands down a better value in the first place as a user. If you are gonna put it right to the stones and use it then buy which ever one tickles your fancy. The HAP Stretch isn't a CF Para2 and if it ever did double in value it would take years and have to still be new in the box and what fun is that. Value is all perception.
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I eagerly arrived at my local knife dealer (yeah, I'm a junkie for steel) to snatch up their first GB2. I was sorely disappointed with the one I saw. Late lockup, thin liners, odd lockbar jimping, straight blade/handle profile - it just wasn't a Gayle Bradley, at least in what I've come to think of a GB. If the GB2 was a lockback, maybe then I could get on board, but as a (thin) liner lock, I'll pass.

The Stretch however is a fantastic platform for the laminated HAP40 steel IMO.
 
In the end they both rock! I couldn't resist either one and had to have both. There are only a few must buys for me this year and this was two of them. :D
 
bearfacedkiller said:
There is no right or wrong answer here. Are we talking about collector value or just user satisfaction? Value is a strange thing. Should you buy the knife you like or the one that will increase in collector value? I like to use and enjoy my knives so I would lean towards user satisfaction as my measurement of value. It took a year for the SB Stretches to sell out and I cannot say that they have skyrocketed in collector value since then. If you are a collector then maybe a knife gaining $50 in value is a plus. I might say that that just barely offsets the fact that the GB2 is hands down a better value in the first place as a user. If you are gonna put it right to the stones and use it then buy which ever one tickles your fancy. The HAP Stretch isn't a CF Para2 and if it ever did double in value it would take years and have to still be new in the box and what fun is that. Value is all perception.
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I never said there was a "right or wrong answer here". The OP said he liked the Stretch in the first post and since he likes it I said he should keep the Hap 40 version because when there gone there gone and buying another one a few years down the road will most likely cost him more. Conversely I also said if he didn't like the Hap 40 Stretch to sell it and get the GB2.

"It took a year for the SB Stretches to sell out and I cannot say that they have skyrocketed in collector value since then."
It may have taken a couple of years or whatever for them to sell out but looking at recent closed Ebay auctions and BIN's paints a different story. They are slowly going up. The same thing will probably happen with the Hap 40 version a few years from now. If anyone wants a Hap 40 Stretch right now is the time.

"I might say that that just barely offsets the fact that the GB2 is hands down a better value in the first place as a user."
Again, subjective. I've already had then returned a GB2 and in my totally subjective opinion, it wasn't nearly as good as the original GB. I'll even take the Stretch over the GB2.

"The HAP Stretch isn't a CF Para2 and if it ever did double in value it would take years and have to still be new in the box and what fun is that."
Nobody said it was a Para2 and you don't know how long it will take to double in value anymore than anyone else does. Fact is they may never double in value and could even go down in value. The only thing we can go by is what has historically happened with sprints in the past, and generally speaking, they have increased in value.

I don't even own a Hap40 Stretch yet and am unsure if I will get one. I have the ZDP189/BRG version. I like the color and steel and it cuts and does every thing I need it to do.

OP, if you are patient and wait till there are a lot of them in circulation, should eventually be able to score a GB2 for a good price. Shortly before they went discontinued I bought a basically NIB GB1 for $95 shipped. Amazing Taichung quality made Spyderco and well worth $95. Those kind of GB1 deals are next to impossible to find now that they've went discontinued.
 
ToxicBot11 said:
I never said there was a "right or wrong answer here". The OP said he liked the Stretch in the first post and since he likes it I said he should keep the Hap 40 version because when there gone there gone and buying another one a few years down the road will most likely cost him more. Conversely I also said if he didn't like the Hap 40 Stretch to sell it and get the GB2.

"It took a year for the SB Stretches to sell out and I cannot say that they have skyrocketed in collector value since then."
It may have taken a couple of years or whatever for them to sell out but looking at recent closed Ebay auctions and BIN's paints a different story. They are slowly going up. The same thing will probably happen with the Hap 40 version a few years from now. If anyone wants a Hap 40 Stretch right now is the time.

"I might say that that just barely offsets the fact that the GB2 is hands down a better value in the first place as a user."
Again, subjective. I've already had then returned a GB2 and in my totally subjective opinion, it wasn't nearly as good as the original GB. I'll even take the Stretch over the GB2.

"The HAP Stretch isn't a CF Para2 and if it ever did double in value it would take years and have to still be new in the box and what fun is that."
Nobody said it was a Para2 and you don't know how long it will take to double in value anymore than anyone else does. Fact is they may never double in value and could even go down in value. The only thing we can go by is what has historically happened with sprints in the past, and generally speaking, they have increased in value.

I don't even own a Hap40 Stretch yet and am unsure if I will get one. I have the ZDP189/BRG version. I like the color and steel and it cuts and does every thing I need it to do.

OP, if you are patient and wait till there are a lot of them in circulation, should eventually be able to score a GB2 for a good price. Shortly before they went discontinued I bought a basically NIB GB1 for $95 shipped. Amazing Taichung quality made Spyderco and well worth $95. Those kind of GB1 deals are next to impossible to find now that they've went discontinued.
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Hey Toxicbot, are you on a crusade to eradicate subjective opinions? Might be tough on a discussion forum where that's pretty much what people come here to do. Not to mention the whole point of this thread was to solicit opinions. Just saying. :)
 
ToxicBot11 said:
I never said there was a "right or wrong answer here". The OP said he liked the Stretch in the first post and since he likes it I said he should keep the Hap 40 version because when there gone there gone and buying another one a few years down the road will most likely cost him more. Conversely I also said if he didn't like the Hap 40 Stretch to sell it and get the GB2.

"It took a year for the SB Stretches to sell out and I cannot say that they have skyrocketed in collector value since then."
It may have taken a couple of years or whatever for them to sell out but looking at recent closed Ebay auctions and BIN's paints a different story. They are slowly going up. The same thing will probably happen with the Hap 40 version a few years from now. If anyone wants a Hap 40 Stretch right now is the time.

"I might say that that just barely offsets the fact that the GB2 is hands down a better value in the first place as a user."
Again, subjective. I've already had then returned a GB2 and in my totally subjective opinion, it wasn't nearly as good as the original GB. I'll even take the Stretch over the GB2.

"The HAP Stretch isn't a CF Para2 and if it ever did double in value it would take years and have to still be new in the box and what fun is that."
Nobody said it was a Para2 and you don't know how long it will take to double in value anymore than anyone else does. Fact is they may never double in value and could even go down in value. The only thing we can go by is what has historically happened with sprints in the past, and generally speaking, they have increased in value.

I don't even own a Hap40 Stretch yet and am unsure if I will get one. I have the ZDP189/BRG version. I like the color and steel and it cuts and does every thing I need it to do.

OP, if you are patient and wait till there are a lot of them in circulation, should eventually be able to score a GB2 for a good price. Shortly before they went discontinued I bought a basically NIB GB1 for $95 shipped. Amazing Taichung quality made Spyderco and well worth $95. Those kind of GB1 deals are next to impossible to find now that they've went discontinued.
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Whoa... The line by line rebuttal... I will just say, sorry man...

I was just sharing another perspective. I had already said that I always buy the sprint when faced with the choice between a sprint and a regular production knife. I just thought I would share that to me any perceived gain in collectible value pales in comparison to the perceived value at time of purchase and perceived value during use. I guess I should not have used the quote feature. Maybe you wouldn't have gotten so defensive. Anyway, we are here to help the OP and not bicker so it is all good and water under the bridge. ;) I think he has all he needs at this point and it sounds like he made his mind up anyway. Case closed... :D
 
Surfingringo said:
Hey Toxicbot, are you on a crusade to eradicate subjective opinions? Might be tough on a discussion forum where that's pretty much what people come here to do. Not to mention the whole point of this thread was to solicit opinions. Just saying. :)
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Hey Surf Dude, Yep, I gave my opinions then got quoted by the quotee, then I quoted the quoter back then you proceeded to quote me now I'm quoting you back because you were the quoter of the quotee of the quoter: Nope, I don't about care subjective opinions but as a general rule of thumb it might tough on a discussion forum if we can't quote then respond to the quote of the quoter to the quotee. No one forces anyone to quote a quoter. Just saying.:)
 
I took BFK's posts to basically mean go with your heart and don't obsess about the money, which I think is good advice.

Though some people need that financial aspect to be able to justify it to themselves or their spouses. I'm that way. Something like a GB2 would be hard to convince myself that I "need", but collecting the whole HAP40 set seems like not an awful business decision. My sister can't afford a Sharpmaker but today found someone to sell her 3 more HAP40 Delicas. Basically whatever you need to justify it :)
 
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