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[asdf12345]

ḍ̨̙̭̘̩̤̟͚̙͍̦̑ͪ́̇ͭ̒ͧ̋̆̎ͮͣ͊́̿̉͊̕dͤ͋́ͬ ̷̛̥̟͈̹̻͖͓̰̆̾͛ͮ̇͛́͜d̺̼̘̖͓͓̱͗̐ͭ̽́͝͝d̉͋͋̀̒͗͒̀͗ͬ̆͐̽̈́ͦ̃ ̛̞̟͎̖̦̻͉͇͖̩͔̤̜͗̕ͅd̵̑ͣ͗̋̓ͩ̎̉̑̂͑̈҉̰̤̬̰͖̥̖̜͚̹̱̹̯̪ͅd̆̉ ̶͛̄͛͆́̾́ͨͥ͊̚͘͏̣̺͚̗̬̼͉̞̤̦̠͚͚̪̠̫̭͡ͅd̙̐̀̆̏ͯͪ̓̔̑̈ͣͯ̿͘͡ ͙̘̖̮̫̪̤͔͓̞̯͍̥

 

[Silvanus]

Most prototypes are "working prototypes", meaning they are completely finished and in full working condition. I can't speak for the companies you listed but I know early Emerson prototypes are highly collectible because they are basically customs. They were hand ground hand fit and command a fairly high price when they pop up. A production company like Benchmade putting out a proto probably doesn't mean much, just like when they make "first production runs" of certain knives. Only really hardcore collectors will likely care at all. There has been an over saturation lately and I agree it's making things a little watered down.

 

[Scurvy092]

The only proto I own is a 0300bw that was a gift at Blade.

I would imagine in a case like then, when you are going to try something new, it doesn't make sense to do ONE piece. What if it doesn't work? Do you do another proto?

If you are trying a new finish, wouldn't you want to do a batch of them to make sure the finish is consistent.

If you are trying to make a completely new knife, why would you program the machines to make a single knife. That's a huge expense to do that. You might as well do a small run of them to work out kinks and play with. You can also give them to people for testing.

You don't make one knife as a proof of concept before spending a ton of money on tooling and materials for a full run. If you can't prove consistent results, you've just wasted a ton of money.