Buying a lot of Knives vs 1 Expensive Knife -Philosophy?

One of my first knives was a SAK. I loved it.

Next up was a Kershaw Skyline. Loved it.

Next was a Kershaw Chill. Loved it.

Next was a Benchmade Mini Grip. Loved it.

Next was Benchmade 2550. Loved it.

Next was a Bradley Alias II. Loved it.

Next was a Benchmade 3550. Loved it.

Next was a CRK Small 21 Insingo. Oh my GOODNESS. I am in LOVE. Seriously. Not in a weird, romantic type of way, but in a "I found what I had always been looking for to fill the cracks in my heart and soul with inanimate object" type of love.

Next--I still bought a bunch of other value knives, but eventually they succumbed to the endless appetite of the readers on the "exchange" and were turned from steel into paper and then back into steel and titanium in the form of another small Sebenza 21.

Next I traded into a Les George VECP V2. I sold it and bought another Sebenza.

Next I bought a Hinderer XM-18. I sold it and bought another Sebenza AND had plenty of cash left over.

Next I bought two custom folders. I sold them and bought another Sebenza.

So, the bottom line to my rambling, yet eloquent post is" I like Sebenzas. Like, a lot.
 
I prefer expensive mainly. But doesnt mean I dont carry cheap too. I have a SE Dragonfly salt inbound, but I also have a 1 of a kind $950 Strider SMF shop display piece with sick annodized patterns on the Ti (not double digicam), CF scales and a digicam blade inbound
 
Well first off the most expensive knives I own are my spyderco Chokwe ($120) and my BM customized grip ($140) so "expensive" to me is cheap to lots of folks here.

My wish list is filled with "expensive (to me) knives (in the $100-$175 range) but I rarely actually buy a knife off my wish list, it takes a couple weeks of budgeting to afford one of those but when I discover another $25-65 knife I want it doesn't take any budgeting so it doesn't go on my "list", I just order it. I guess if I really want an "expensive" knife I'm going to buy it eventually regardless, but I might buy several "cheap" knives between each "expensive" purchase.


*i use quotes around cheap and expensive cause its very relative around here, my expensive is most of you guy's cheap.
 
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I have come to a conclusion that if I pay more then $150 for a knife I will not get what I paid for. I appreciate a knife for how well it performs rather then the detailed put in to it. So I don't understand the love a Sebenza gets, don't get me wrong they look awesome and would not mind having one. I just can't justify spending the $ to get one.
 
I prefer the best quality (fit, finish, design, blade steel and other materials) that I can afford. But I'm old and want to fondle and enjoy the beauty of my knives with the time I have left.
 
Generally, when I pay more, I get more.
Not always, but in general, yes.
There is certainly a definite amount of diminishing return, but not vanishing return.

But I still buy inexpensive (under $100) knives as well. :)
 
This

http://www.homedepot.com/p/ROCKFORG...with-Fiberglass-Handle-GXA-40010FGH/202520546

....costs more than this....

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Estwing-20-oz-Straight-Claw-Rip-Hammer-E3-20S/100032790

...which costs more than this...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Estwing-...er-MRWT/202183886?N=25ecod/Ntk-All/Ntt-hammer

however, each one fills a niche, right? I don't see how one big expensive knife can get it all done. I love my SAK for the pen blade, and scissors, my trapper for it's thin locking blade, and bonus cap lifter, the flipper-du-jour for fast deployment back-up, the opie for unrivaled slicing quality., etc etc.
 
A new Mercedes might not be much better than a Honda for the average commuter, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to own the nicer car. Same thing applies to my knives. And, I'm only gonna be carrying a couple of them at a time, so I might as well own just a couple and give myself the best EDC steel I can.
 
I used to work at a 99 cent store, you just cant argue with some people that its better to pay more upfront and save later so you dont have to buy so much useless crap.

But its your money, buy cheap items.
 
I'm sort of in between, buying nicer knives but nothing really expensive.

I was seriously looking at a Sebenza or and Umnumzaan, but at this point in time I just couldn't drop that kind of money. Maybe after Christmas.

I've dropped that much money on knives recently, but on many.
SOG Pentagon Elite I
Cold Steel Recon 1
Kershaw Blur Desert Tan
Spyderco Gayle Bradley
ZT 0350TS
KA-BAR 9/11 Commemorative
Benchmade 530
Benchmade D2 Minigrip
Benchmade 162
Spyderco Schempp Rock
Lion Steel SR-1A
ESEE Izula
And just today ordered a Spyderco Dragonfly in ZDP-189.

Long story short, I'd rather have multiple decent to good quality knives than one or two $400+ knives.
 
I don't know, when I first got into knives I wanted to make sure I only got cheaper knives, just in case I didn't like them. Now I have a more solid understanding of what I want in a knife, and so I can justify spending a little more on knives.

Course, I'm talking $30-60 compared to $120-200. Might still be considered cheap to many people here.
 
I'm a user not a collector so my knives have to work. The reason I use a SAK as an EDC, a Mora for woods bumming and a 5 dollar kiwi knife in the kitchen is simple, the knives I've bought that were 10-20 times more expensive(production and custom) didn't function any better then the cheapo knives I have. In fact they have all fallen short in one or more categories. The only expensive cutting tools that I've bought that have done what there price tag commanded was a silky saw and a GB mini.
 
Shotgun said:
I'm a user not a collector so my knives have to work. The reason I use a SAK as an EDC, a Mora for woods bumming and a 5 dollar kiwi knife in the kitchen is simple, the knives I've bought that were 10-20 times more expensive(production and custom) didn't function any better then the cheapo knives I have. In fact they have all fallen short in one or more categories. The only expensive cutting tools that I've bought that have done what there price tag commanded was a silky saw and a GB mini.
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Try more varieties.
My Umnumzaan does way better than my SAK; I like the SAK for the saw, file and tools, but I put it away and pull out one of my nice single blade knives to do actual blade work. :)
A lot of the Spyderco offerings cut very nicely, and run the range from low-mid-high price range, depending on one's definition.
 
I like variety and choices in what knife I carry. And I must work within a budget - so most of my knives are in the $20-120 range. A CRK would probably be just great, but I would want something different for a different day or situation, so I'd rather put that same $300 into 3 or more really nice other options.

I don't like cheap knives (cheap, to me, implies shoddy build quality or materials). But I do appreciate good value in a knife (decent steel, build, and design for the price). There are great values out there - Mora, SAK, Opinel, Kershaw - and others, that will get you a great knife for under $40, without getting "cheap" knives.

So I guess I fall in the "lot of knives" category - not because of quantity, but variety. Slipjoints, flippers, hunters, etc. I want to choose what type of knife I want to carry.
 
If you're new to the hobby then start out with cheaper knives so you can use them and begin narrowing down what you like best. What tends to happen is people collect increasingly expensive knives, so it's not a comparison of many cheap knives vs 1 expensive one, because you'll probably end up buying many expensive knives if you go down that route. Look in the Sebenza subforum. How many people own half a dozen or more CRKs? What about Hinderers? Striders? Some people want to collect things. If you want to collect a bunch of stuff then go for it, but if you are into knives for pure utility and nothing more then try out various designs and narrow down what you want. Don't plop down $500 on a knife if you aren't sure it's exactly what you want.

I'd rather own a number of knives in various steels and materials than 1 super expensive knife. The sweet spot for me is $100-$150 in terms of steels, materials, and fit and finish.
 
au5t3n5 said:
Isn't that how everything is? Your $50,000 Patek is not going to tell time any better than your $8,000 Rolex. And your $8,000 Rolex certainly isn't going to tell time better than your $20 Timex.....
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Well, you won't be surprised to hear that my watch is a Timex — and I drive a 2004 Honda Civic. I approach knives in the same spirit. I like inexpensive but capable cutlery for several reasons. One is simple economy: the basic tool that does the job seems best to me. Second, there's the risk of losing or damaging it. And third, I'm just very pleased when a modest tool does well everything I ask of it.

Others can do as they please — it's their money, after all!
 
Scurvy092 said:
Would you rather have 25 cars that were worth on average $10,000 each or would you rather have 2-4 cars in the 50-100k range?
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2-4 higher dollar cars, but I would prefer to have about 10 cars with some high dollar and some in the middle. Plus motorcycles of course, lol cars are a great comparison.
 
AddictedToGear said:
2-4 higher dollar cars, but I would prefer to have about 10 cars with some high dollar and some in the middle. Plus motorcycles of course, lol cars are a great comparison.
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They are, so are watches.

The thing that makes knives better to me is that high dollar, super expensive cars and watches are still built production style, in a factory by many hands and a big company.

High dollar knives are built by ONE guy, to your specifications (for the most part).
 
I think it is interesting to read everyones response because in everyones mind they are right or at least they do not like when someone tells them that they are wrong. Everybody does not want to think they have crap or buy things that are not worth it, it really is different for every person even though I lean more towards the higher end knives my self but I respect others opinions. It was like today I was with a guy and he say a knife I was looking at and said, "Who would pay $800 dollars for a knife?!" It was not quite a question but more of a statement to say that is just dumb and I am sure many of you know what I am talking about. But he is not a knife guy and even some knife guys do not have the experience with blades (I still have very little experience compared to many of you) to tell the quality or why a knife is worth so much. So if your opinion is it is not worth it then just remember that it may be worth it to another guy or the owner of the knife because they respect the craftsmanship, quality, tolerances, materials, time, and etc... that went into that certain knife. I like Kershaws and think they are great knives for what you pay for, but in terms of quality they are no where near some of my other knives and do not look as good either, but I still enjoy my Blue Smoke Leek, just not as much as my Microtech Socom Elite or a custom knife.
 
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