Custom knives like othe collectabiles depend on several things to become good "investments".
1) You have to identify the item very early as having the potential to become a sought after item. Then you must be willing to spend the money on a "unknown" commodity.
In this case it would be a new maker. This means you cannot adopt a wait and see attitude. Doing so will allow this maker to be identified by several other collectors.
The impact,is then increased demand and raised prices. Consequently, you have missed the opportunity to get a good Return On Investment (ROI).
2)You have to be willing to hold the knife for several years to take maximum advantage of your purhcase. Those who bought Loveless and Moran 30 years ago for a small fraction of what they sell for today are reaping what appear to be huge profits. To find out what you really made, you need to factor in inflation over those 30 years (tells you what
the money you spent then is worth today), also if you sell one of these treasures for a significant amount of money (over $10,000), it will have an impact on taxable income. Capital Gains will have to be reported. It's best to go that route than to risk an audit.
Obviously, cash would be a prefered method of payment. However, Don't put $10,000 cash in your savings account as the bank (by law) will report you to the IRS.
3) The other strategy is to buy the knife before popularity sets in, then sell it quickly after it does. That way you are first in and first out. Your ROI may not be as high as those who hold it for 30 years. However, you maximize the "cost of money",. This includes the theory that while you are holding the knife (and subsequent money) for a long period, you are missing out on other opportunites to invest that money. For those of you who enjoy getting new knives all the time, you may want to adopt the "flipper" idea of collecting. That is to say, you buy a knife, hold it for a little while, flip it and make some money, take that money and buy the next knife, repeat the process. Perhaps the best thing about this strategy is the fact that eventually, there will come a time when the knife you buy is bought with all the profits from pervious sales.
You have entered a perfect OPM position, (other peoples money). You are now buying knives with OPM, talk about comparably huge profits. Also, if you chose to liquidate or are forced to liquidate you are not losing any of your inital capital investment. That is a very nice position to be in.
Another benefit of this strategy is that you can always have knives that are current, and thus provide you with a larger consumer base for your knife when you go to resell it.
I first saw one of Brian's knives about 5 years ago at the Wolverine Show in Michigan.
I was amazed at the price for such a quality knife.
I started seeking out Brian immediately after that. Another Dealer, Paul Farina told me how to get in touch with him. Ive been buying his knives ever since.
In addition to making some of the best folders out there. Brian is a class act. Soft spoken, always understating his accomplishments and in general possessing more artistic talent than one human being should have.
I really enjoy working with makers like Brian as with many others the relationship goes beyond business into friendship.
Brian was chosen to make a Doubla Action Auto for the Vanguard series. What, you thought including Brian was an accident!
Remember, when buying tactical folders, get two, they're small.
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Les Robertson
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
"If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor"
Albert Einstein
