Cost of ATS-34

R

Rod Neep

Bounced email
Joined
Sep 16, 2004
Messages
165
I'm trying to sort something out in my brain here, and you guys are the most qualified and experienced to answer.....

A very well known manufacturer of prodcution run knives makes literally thousands of a particular pattern of knife. All are exactly the same except for different bone coloured handles.

But one of them, they also make in ATS-34 instead of their standard "Stainless Steel"

Cost of the stainless steel knife $53.95
Cost of the identical knife with ATS-34 blades $204.95

Is ATS-34 that much more expensive?? :confused:
What could be their justification for such a difference in price?
 
Wow that seems like a HUGE price difference just for ATS-34. Yes ATS-34 costs more the the typical production stainless steel which seems to commonly be 420HC. I really can't see the justification for that price difference. The only thing I can think of is maybe the production cost is higher, but I doubt it. Someone else may chime in with more knowledge then me.
Scott
 
Not even close. The cost of an ATS-34 9" over all length might be $12 depending on how wide it is. A cheaper stainless might run $6.
 
I would guess that they're either taking advantage of some people, or figuring in a HUGE profit margin to make up for additional wear and tear on the machinery, that using ATS might cause. :confused:


I'm betting on price gouging of the unwary though.


Edited to add; Unless one is using very expensive, rare handle material, the materials used to make up the knife are usually the least expensive part of the equation.
Belts, labor, wear and tear on the machines etc., usually far outweigh it.
 
No... we are not talking about 9"..... just a small blade slip joint.

Here is a direct comparison:

1. $39.95 (OK, cheap "on sale" at a main dealer)
05252-500.jpg


and then below the same knife in ATS-34. Just a different colour bone, and oh yes, the pins and liners are of nickel silver instead of brass. (Even the tang stamp is the same). $200+

05262-ats34-2.jpg


So you see what I mean. How can this be justified?
 
Who is the manufactuer of these knives? No way I would pay that kind of money. There's no difference, except for blade steel! :eek:
Scott
 
ATS-34 costs more and is more difficult to machine.grind and heat treat. But 4X ??? I don't think so.
 
The price difference may not necessarily be due to the material but the collectability of this particular knife.

I have a small collection of Case knives and although I am not as well schooled on these knives as many, many others this may well be the case here.

The price of a knife is not always due to the construction or materials used but sometimes the rarity.

I would recommend possible asking this same question on one of the forums that discuss Case Cutlery. Let me know if you need a link for it.

Craig
 
C L Wilkins said:
The price difference may not necessarily be due to the material but the collectability of this particular knife. The price of a knife is not always due to the construction or materials used but sometimes the rarity.
Click to expand...
"Collectable" yes. It is. But although only 250 were made, (in 2003), there are still enough around to purchase new from the Case dealers. The high price was set by Case right from the start.

There are others which are in fact more rare, with both higher and smaller production runs, but they are bog standard stainless steel, and were/are never at that sort of price.

C L Wilkins said:
I have a small collection of Case knives and although I am not as well schooled on these knives as many, many others this may well be the case here.
Click to expand...
I happen to collect that particular pattern of knife
http://www.rod-neep.co.uk/rod/knives/case/seahorse.html
(Other makes too, as well as Case). Perhaps that is why I am trying to get my brain around why this one is so disproportinally expensive:eek:


C L Wilkins said:
I would recommend possible asking this same question on one of the forums that discuss Case Cutlery. Let me know if you need a link for it.

Craig
Click to expand...
Yes... I am going to ;) , but I wanted to get the "word" from the steel experts and knife makers first, before ploughing in ;)

Cheers
Rod
 
That explains it then. You didn't mention the brand initially. It's a limited edition Case collectable and that is what makes the price, not the insignificant cost difference of the steel. I'm sure there is a big difference in cost to produce a limited edition vs a run of production knives. They are probably making a little extra too.
 
The cost of the steel is just a tiny part of the overall cost increase.

420, 440A and 6A steels are fine blanked. The steel comes on a big roll and is run through dies where the blades are punched out by the thousands. ATS-34 must be laser, waterjet or cut by hand.

For 420, 440A and 6A steels, grinding, finishing and polishing is accomplished by machine. Grinding ATS-34 cannot be done with the same grinding and polishing media. So you can change to a different media. The time to change the media and re-setup the machine, and change it back is longer than the time it takes to grind and finish the blades. Or the work could be done by hand.

Heat treat for 420, 440A and 6A steels is different than ATS-34. The same machinery setup and run problem exists.

The company could have built the knives by hand after subcontracting out part of the machine work. Or they could have subcontracted out the entire knife because it did not fit their manufacturing processes.

The retail price of the knife is not the price the manufacturer gets. The manufacturer makes or subcontracts the knife for $60.72. The knife gets marked up at least 50% to $91.08 and sold to a distributors. The distributors marks up the price at least 50% or $136.63 and sells the knife to a retailer. The retailer marks up the price at least 50% or $204.95 and sells the knife to us.

You make the decision if the steel is worth the price. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top