Off Topic Does increased cost correlate to increased joy/disappointment in a new knife?

I must say I spend way too damn much money on knives but all my hobbies are expensive and if I i dwelled or recalled how much I spent it would ruin the enjoyment! I buy what I want at what it’s worth to me even if it’s too much. Life’s short.
 
K.O.D. said:
wondering if you feel more joy in having a knife you spent a lot on meet or exceed your expectations than one that was more reasonable in price? The same goes for level of disappointment.
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I'm more thrilled with a reasonably priced knife which performs well.
I'm always looking for the least expensive item which will give satisfactory results.
The concept of needing "the best" is not in my mindset.

And I'm a LOT more disappointed in an expensive knife which doesn't quite provide what I wanted.
 
no, in fact im often disappointment in more expensive purchases because i can enjoy cheaper knives just as much, as long as the knife has solid lockup and is made well for the price.


in fact let me show you my most two recent purchases, i cant stop playing with them, and each of them were only around $11 shipped. both have solid lockup
mtec.jpg
 
Greater likelihood of increased "joy" - not necessarily.

Depends on how much the $ means to you. Someone who has scrimped and saved to buy that "special" knife at a price higher than s/he can usually afford to spend is likely to be extremely delighted by the purchase, as long as it meets expectations. See below. However, for someone who has lots of $, it's "just" another knife and it has no significant value, except to the extent the knife is "unique or special" in some way -- in which case, the purchase could still provide a great deal of enjoyment, even to a rick f*ck who has $ to burn. LOL!

Greater likelihood of increased "disappointment" - yes, definitely, if the knife does not live up to expectations based on the price. The higher the price, the greater the expectations.
 
I've been disappointed or surprised in a good way by knives that range from $3 to $1k+, but I will say I've been disappointed more often by the most expensive purchases than I have by the cheap ones.
 
sgt1372 said:
Greater likelihood of increased "joy" - not necessarily.

Depends on how much the $ means to you. Someone who has scrimped and saved to buy that "special" knife at a price higher than s/he can usually afford to spend is likely to be extremely delighted by the purchase, as long as it meets expectations. See below. However, for someone who has lots of $, it's "just" another knife and it has no significant value, except to the extent the knife is "unique or special" in some way -- in which case, the purchase could still provide a great deal of enjoyment, even to a rick f*ck who has $ to burn. LOL!

Greater likelihood of increased "disappointment" - yes, definitely, if the knife does not live up to expectations based on the price. The higher the price, the greater the expectations.
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Yep, I was like a child on Christmas when my Warcraft Tanto arrived. And it even exceeded my exprectations which gave me even more satisfaction.

I'm saving any penny I can for something else, but I was also putting some on the side for that knife. And when you never had anything that cost more than like 50€, and you buy one 200€ knife and it's just flawless it makes you happy. Handle is extremley comfortable, fit and finish are flawless, razor sharp out of the box, coating is smooth, and it chops and cuts very well. Edge retention just blown my mind, and it wasn't that hard to resharpen either. I expected it to be very hard based on my D2 experience.
I mean it's 5mm thick CPM-3V full tang knife. That thing is as tough as it gets, and toughness is what matters the most in my opinion.
 
:p "Joy" is obtaining a knife I really love at a great bargain price ! :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:

I can find that joy at any price level , but I certainly expect more as price increases so it becomes more difficult to achieve .
 
As of late, increased cost has resulted in increased disappointment for me. I guess I'm a detail/ fit and finish kinda guy and it seems like my favorite companies (ZT and Spyderco) are increasing costs without increasing attention to detail in my experience. My recent purchases from both had sub-par edges and even a pre-scratched DLC finish on the blade. Recently stepped up to Hinderer, and while I love it, it still has little issues like the wood scales not matching up with liner right and an off-center blade (which I can probably fix when I take it apart for cleaning).

Maybe its time for me to try some different companies, like Reate perhaps. But I do find with satisfaction with budget companies like Civivi and some Artisan Cutlery models. If they have little issues, it doesn't hurt as much because of the lower costs.
 
frankly i actually get more thrill
in getting a huge discount on
anything that i need to buy.
ok i do admit, that any expensive item
going at dirt cheap will be an
over the moon experience...
paying high has a way of turning
a shotlived joy into awful regret...
 
TheEdge01 said:
Disappointment? Yes. Joy? I don’t think so. IMO it’s more about what a person values in a knife. I have been more thrilled with a cheap Rat 1 than the much more expensive Benchmade 761.
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I understand this feeling. Over priced is over priced, no matter what the brand name. When a quality knife company produces knives at a price lower than the competitors, that becomes the standard for good value in a knife purchase. You can fill in the blanks.
 
Julian Williams said:
As of late, increased cost has resulted in increased disappointment for me. I guess I'm a detail/ fit and finish kinda guy and it seems like my favorite companies (ZT and Spyderco) are increasing costs without increasing attention to detail in my experience. My recent purchases from both had sub-par edges and even a pre-scratched DLC finish on the blade. Recently stepped up to Hinderer, and while I love it, it still has little issues like the wood scales not matching up with liner right and an off-center blade (which I can probably fix when I take it apart for cleaning).

Maybe its time for me to try some different companies, like Reate perhaps. But I do find with satisfaction with budget companies like Civivi and some Artisan Cutlery models. If they have little issues, it doesn't hurt as much because of the lower costs.
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Maybe you ll get new favorite companies.
 
JeremiahWeaver09 said:
no, in fact im often disappointment in more expensive purchases because i can enjoy cheaper knives just as much, as long as the knife has solid lockup and is made well for the price.


in fact let me show you my most two recent purchases, i cant stop playing with them, and each of them were only around $11 shipped. both have solid lockup
mtec.jpg
Click to expand...

May the Lord have mercy on your soul. :):D:p
 
knarfeng said:
I'm more thrilled with a reasonably priced knife which performs well.
I'm always looking for the least expensive item which will give satisfactory results.
The concept of needing "the best" is not in my mindset.

And I'm a LOT more disappointed in an expensive knife which doesn't quite provide what I wanted.
Click to expand...

This is a good description of my current feeling about knife purchases.
 
I think it depends what is your perceived value of the knife, if that precede the nominal value, then it may bring you some joy of finding a bargain.
 
Dude.....
$425 and I could not be happier. These Tri Way Hinderer's are somethin else....
20200601-132836.jpg
 
I'm pleased when a knife meets my expectations, but I'm thrilled when one exceeds them. The higher the cost, the higher my expectations -- and, if a knife doesn't meet them, the greater my disappointment.

As a consequence of this, I tend to skew toward the $100-$200 portion of the spectrum, which seems like the sweet spot for knives that meet my fussy demands (and sometimes exceed them) without costing so much that I become impossible to please. :D
 
When I see a cheap knife come perfectly centered, flawless lockup, glassy smooth action, and it holds an edge I'm absolutely thrilled. If it's mostly right but there are a few little things that don't affect safety it's not a big deal, you have to give something up on a lower priced product. The more I pay the fewer imperfections I expect to see, but there is no excuse for dangerous rickety construction at any price.

I'm not referring to any one company or maker, but if I were to see a $350+ knife come with bad grinds, lock slip, a dull edge, decentered, blade play, subpar heat treatment, and with visible finish defects I would be furious and want to know exactly what I spent my money on. It better be fixed quickly and without hassle.

10+ years ago when I was still learning which brands were good and bad, I bought a $100 knife that had play in every direction that I could not adjust out, it would not hold an edge, and was overall poorly built. A $20 Kershaw was better in every way. Funny how some knives aren't worth the materials they're made of, and some are worth twice what you pay for them, no matter what price point.
 
Assuming the value/quality lines up with the price, I do tend to get more joy out of more expensive knives. All of my knives over $200 I have spent a lot of time and consideration prior to purchasing. On the other hand, I have some sub $100 knives that I bought because they were on sale or I just found them somewhat interesting and when they show up in the mail I realize that I didn't really want it as much as I thought I did.

All that being said I have gotten plenty of joy out of a handful of sub $50 knives as well.
 
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