Estate Knives

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ccjking

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Aug 28, 2011
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I just inherited a small collection of custom fixed blade knives from my father. The makers include Lile, M. Gaigl, Hueske, Hank Kubaiko, and Lakota Hawk. I've been able to locate a website for Lile, but info on the others seems a little scarce. Can anyone give me a run-down on these craftsman and what the relative rarely of those knives might be?

Thanks
 
Probably, but if they're not worth much then they might make nice gifts. They are pretty nice, new, unused, factory edge, and in some cases have original price tag. It appears the Lile knives are worth something, but the others are still questionable.
 
You should try "Google".

You already know about Lile knives. Chubby Hueske was one of the founders of the Knifemakers Guild. His knives show up occasionally on various knife sites. Hank Kubaiko owned Alaskan Maid Knives.

I'm not familiar with the other 2 makers.
 
The "Lakota Hawk" is likely the production model of that name by Lakota Knives. Well made. I have one.
 
If it were me I'd keep them, maybe have them appraised for insurance, but I'd never sell my fathers knife collection. My advice is to keep them in the family and someday your children/nieces/nephews will keep them in a place of honor in their homes.
 
If only Google had all the answers.... Aside from a few vague outdated references I didn't find what I was looking for. I was hoping you folks could shed a little more light on their standing as knife makers and the relative value of their work. I did look at appraisers a bit....seems they all have their hands out, and don't seem too willing to answer the basic questions. Guess I'll keep poking around.

Thanks
 
Hi CCJ,

I did look at appraisers a bit....seems they all have their hands out, and don't seem too willing to answer the basic questions. Guess I'll keep poking around.
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As you said not much information out there aside from a few vague outdated references. The reason these appraisers have their "hands out" is that you are wanting the information it has taken them years to acquire.

I suspect where you work you get paid for your knowledge and skills?

It is the same for these "appraisers". This is their job or an aspect of their jobs.

Good Hunting.

Oh the other issue will be...what you think they are worth....and what they will actually sell for. These two prices will not be the same.
 
I was asked by a local widow (in her eighties) to come over and appraise a set of Custom Knives her husband had purchased many years earlier. My name was brought up through a prominent art shop who was also asked to look into some of his other objects.

She was a kindly woman who thought the world of her husband and KNEW his selection of these knives would rank them high in value. They were 'gems'. I looked them over, two sheathless skinners and a dagger, and said of the three only one of them had much value (a Kious dagger and wooden scabbard), and estimated with proper photos and selling it may bring $500-$600. THe others maybe $150.

"NO WAY!" They are worth much more than that. So I gave her Dave Harvey's name and email and told her to try him. He seems to have a prominence on reselling the older Custom market.

She then contacted him. After talking to him and he was almost exactly what I assessed, she called me again: "He is wrong. He doesn't know what he is talking about and neither do you. I think you are both trying to acquire them from me at a lowball price...."

That was six months ago. My Artist friend tells me she now thinks I stole a Leica lens we were looking at while I was at her home inspecting the knives.

I am NOT to be trusted. LOL!

How does this apply to this thread? Ummm. Not so much, but as Les said, it is always revealing that 'rare' does always not equate to value. I think those knives have more heirloom quality than $ value.

Coop
 
Coop, sounds like the "widow" may have some mental health issues, as suspecting that people are thieves with no logical cause, is a classic symptom.

Along the lines of the topic of this thread: I know a guy that has done "cleanouts" and estate liquidations for decades. It is VERY typical for owners of merchandise to mistakenly think items are worth more than they are, and for items like old posters, documents, etc. to be FAR more valuable than the items they THINK are valuable?
 
Hi Coop,

I think you hit the nail on the head. People may know little or nothing about the collectible; however they have the utmost respect for the collector. To the point that anything they would collect would be among the best.

Here is another suggestion to collectors to document their purchases (dates, prices and particulars), it also wouldn't hurt to include a trusted "appraiser" for your family to contact should something happen to you.

A trend seems to be forming, not just on this forum but others. Where the first post is "help identify". Which in truth should read "Ive got this knife. What is it, who made it, what is it worth and where I can I sell it." As after the first post the second post is..."Oh BTW, what do you think it is worth."

When doing your "Google-Fu" the fact that you can only find marginal information on the knife or maker should be your first clue that what you own may in fact be a knife made by a custom knife maker. However, many makers are part part time and as such do little if any advertising. Nor do they travel outside their region to do shows. Consequently, outside that region you may have collectors/dealers who have never heard of this maker.

To Peter's point and with regards to custom knives, many people think that because it is a "custom" knife it is valuable. You will find this at Gun Shows as well as estate sales. More times than not those gun dealers who have a couple of custom knives on their table. Will be asking highly inflated prices (even though most of the time they do not know what they have) because it is a custom knife.
 
ac1d0v3r1d3 said:
If it were me I'd keep them, maybe have them appraised for insurance, but I'd never sell my fathers knife collection. My advice is to keep them in the family and someday your children/nieces/nephews will keep them in a place of honor in their homes.
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+1 on that. Many custom knives only get to be valuable once the makers stop making them. If the fit and finish is good, then it's probably worth hanging on to them.
 
Hi Par,

+1 on that. Many custom knives only get to be valuable once the makers stop making them. If the fit and finish is good, then it's probably worth hanging on to them.
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Actually you get about an 18 month bounce after a maker stops making knives. After that the knives prices start to come down in the after market. The reason is those who follow this maker buy up (as quickly as they can) this makers work. Those collectors who didn't know the maker before hand, generally will have little or no interest.

Case in point: Jimmy Lile. Jimmy passed away in 1991. Sales continued of his knives (most with the dot over the "i" for about 8 years and then the company went out of business. Many people were not aware of what the "i" signified. So while the sale of those knives went flat, those Lile's without the dot over the i or even better "Handmade By James B. Lile took off for two years. Then things settled down again. Next came a book about Jimmy a couple of years ago. The Lile market heated up again and now it is flat again. There are people with literally hundreds of Lile knives still trying to get those prices from the "old days." This is of course their prerogative to sell the knives for whatever they like.

Often times what happens is that the collector gets in late and buys the knife at top dollar in the aftermarket. Consequently, they now have a knife that they will probably not get their money out of. Fortunately for most collectors they don't care what they paid for the knife because they buy what they like.

On the other side of the coin, most knives from popular makers increase in value while the maker is still making knives. The reason, because the maker being sought after creates new collectors for that makers work. In doing so, those who bought early now have a new group of collectors they can sell to while the collector is waiting for their knife directly from the maker.

A maker who is no longer making knives is no longer expanding their collector market. So while there is some credence to "getting one because no more will be made". The truth is, give it a couple of years and you will probably be able to pick up a knife from that maker at a much better price than you would pay soon after they stop. The reason is once the excitement stops, collectors/dealers will want to move the knives they bought and will be willing to sell them for less than "top aftermarket prices".

Also, unless the maker is deceased....there is always the chance they can start making knives again. Generally the aftermarket does not consider this a positive thing!
 
Les, when was the last time this topic found airtime in a mag? Seems like an excellent article idea.
 
Hi Lorien,

Probably a good article. However, those damn writers would have their hands out expecting to be paid! :D

The most important part of that article would be that the collector keep detailed records. Always seems like the person who gets the knives has no idea what the knives they are receiving are worth.

I get 2-3 emails a week asking for prices on knives out of an estate. Easily 90% of these emails go something like this.

" I go this knife, what can you tell me about it? How much is it worth? If you don't want it can you direct me to someone who would buy it?"

Note, there is no Hello, to whom it may concern, etc.

At the end generally there is no name, or thank you in advance, appreciate your time, nothing.

I take every single one of those and hit the delete button. :D

Hell they didn't even let me get my hand out. :D

That being said I was contacted this week by a forumite and gave him my best estimate and advice on the knife he was asking about. He said "hi" and "Thank You" and sent numerous pictures.

Just so CCJ knows....I charged him absolutely zero for this. I don't know if the number I gave him is low, high or right on the mark. But he now has a starting point and understands why I gave him the price that I did.
 
"Oh the other issue will be...what you think they are worth....and what they will actually sell for. These two prices will not be the same."

"Here is another suggestion to collectors to document their purchases (dates, prices and particulars), it also wouldn't hurt to include a trusted "appraiser" for your family to contact should something happen to you."

"Actually you get about an 18 month bounce after a maker stops making knives. After that the knives prices start to come down in the after market. The reason is those who follow this maker buy up (as quickly as they can) this makers work. Those collectors who didn't know the maker before hand, generally will have little or no interest."
Click to expand...

Les,

I have collected custom knives for a long time, if more collectors knew what you have stated above, they would not be as shocked when they try to sell their knives.

I always kept good documentation, I had to learn the rest.

Jim Treacy
 
Hi Les,
Sorry if I touched a nerve with the "hand out" comment. You make some good points but let's take my specific situation under more consideration. I am not a collector of knives. However, as an engineer, avid hunter, and outdoorsman I can look at a knife and appreciate that these were very well made. Unlike some of the examples above, I realize my limitations in judging knive value and have no preconceived notion on what they should bring. At the same time, due to family matters that I won't go into, they really have no sentimental value either. I'm simply looking for a good ballpark idea on whether or not they are collectables or just run-of-the-mill nicely made pieces. At this point I haven't made any decisions on what to do with them.

After suppling high quality photos, I have been asked by one outfit to ship these knives out of state at my own expense in order to pay to have them appraised. I'm not begrudging someone their due for performing their craft but if the items really aren't worth much then I think this is a bit much. That's what brought me here.....more information. As previously mentioned, the Lile folks have kindly given me a ballpark of $700-$1600 each on the two of theirs I have and I thank them very much for that input. Their response was exactly what I was looking for.....not an exact appraisal, but a good benchmark. I think that's a reasonable expectation. If anyone knows a reputable expert in the Denver area I would certainly consider giving him the opportunity to earn a fee.

As to the others I believe i am indirectly getting the answer. I suspect if these makers were in high demand I would be getting more ooohs and aaahs. At this point I'm concluding that these are simply some nicely crafted knives with no serious collector demand.

Thanks to everyone for the indulgence, Charlie
 
ccjking said:
Hi Les,
Sorry if I touched a nerve with the "hand out" comment. You make some good points but let's take my specific situation under more consideration. I am not a collector of knives. However, as an engineer, avid hunter, and outdoorsman I can look at a knife and appreciate that these were very well made. Unlike some of the examples above, I realize my limitations in judging knive value and have no preconceived notion on what they should bring. At the same time, due to family matters that I won't go into, they really have no sentimental value either. I'm simply looking for a good ballpark idea on whether or not they are collectables or just run-of-the-mill nicely made pieces. At this point I haven't made any decisions on what to do with them.

After suppling high quality photos, I have been asked by one outfit to ship these knives out of state at my own expense in order to pay to have them appraised. I'm not begrudging someone their due for performing their craft but if the items really aren't worth much then I think this is a bit much. That's what brought me here.....more information. As previously mentioned, the Lile folks have kindly given me a ballpark of $700-$1600 each on the two of theirs I have and I thank them very much for that input. Their response was exactly what I was looking for.....not an exact appraisal, but a good benchmark. I think that's a reasonable expectation. If anyone knows a reputable expert in the Denver area I would certainly consider giving him the opportunity to earn a fee.

As to the others I believe i am indirectly getting the answer. I suspect if these makers were in high demand I would be getting more ooohs and aaahs. At this point I'm concluding that these are simply some nicely crafted knives with no serious collector demand.

Thanks to everyone for the indulgence, Charlie
Click to expand...

Hi Charlie, I agree that pictures would help. You can email them to me if you need help posting them. Also, I recommend you enable your email. Members can't contact you if you don't have any contact options enabled. The public forum is just part of the communication that goes on around here. Other members have been very helpful to me by PM and email after I have posted questions in the past
 
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