Expendable knife or keepsake for generations?

F

Flush

Joined
Aug 31, 2011
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Hi knife community,

I am now looking for a new knife. I am, however no collector nor do I plan to be one since I am kind of a cheapskate.
I'd like to own only "one" knife but cannot decide which buying philosophy I should trust. Not asking for recommendations on manufacturer or knife models vise versa.. This is pure
curiosity on my side.

My question is way more basic:
Should I buy manufactured expendable knife, cheap to medium priced workhorses with lifelong warranty and sharpening service?
Or custom handforged quality knife, expensive to overpriced knives but virtually indestructible and with timeless design?

Whats in it for the expendable tool?
+ Immediately Affordable
+ Doesn't hurt when lost or stolen
= Unreliabel knife but with okay customer servicer and great lifelong warranty

Whats in it for the quality tool?
+ Guaranteed reliabel SHTF tool
+ Value that can be passed on
= Expensive at first, but it's worth and value pay off on a long run


What's your take on this.
 
How about a manufactured medium price knife that is good quality and reliable, there are a ton of them out there.
 
No such thing as an indestructible knife first and foremost.

All knives are expendable by laws of physics, although some will hurt when lost stolen or worn out.
A custom or high end production =/= negate laws of physics and is still bound to limitations just as any other knife, production or custom.
An expendable knife can also have the attribute of being a reliable SHTF tool.

The attributes:
Immediately affordable
Reliability
Value
Good design
Are all attributes that can be found on cheaper and more expensive knives.

What exactly do you need the knife for? What is your budget?
 
Flush said:
Hi knife community,

I am now looking for a new knife. I am, however no collector nor do I plan to be one since I am kind of a cheapskate.
I'd like to own only "one" knife but cannot decide which buying philosophy I should trust. Not asking for recommendations on manufacturer or knife models vise versa.. This is pure
curiosity on my side.

My question is way more basic:
Should I buy manufactured expendable knife, cheap to medium priced workhorses with lifelong warranty and sharpening service?
Or custom handforged quality knife, expensive to overpriced knives but virtually indestructible and with timeless design?

Whats in it for the expendable tool?
+ Immediately Affordable
+ Doesn't hurt when lost or stolen
= Unreliabel knife but with okay customer servicer and great lifelong warranty

Whats in it for the quality tool?
+ Guaranteed reliabel SHTF tool
+ Value that can be passed on
= Expensive at first, but it's worth and value pay off on a long run


What's your take on this.
Click to expand...


Since you are an admitted cheapskate , my advice is to steer very clear of crap like United etc etc, the sort of stuff one finds in a BudK calatog.

Also... most of the time , in the knife world , you really do get what you pay for , not always true though since there are exceptional values out there that will last you a long time if you take care of them.
Mora is a great example of this.

Enjoy....

Tostig
 
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You can get ANYTHING you need in practical terms for around $60 or so. Strength, reliability, cutting ability, endurance, versatility and what have you. Spend anymore and it's an affectation. We should know, we don't do anything else around here. :D
 
What is your price range? I mean 125 dollars can buy you a very nice custom made blade off the knifemakers market and not only will it be functional but a heirloom as well.
 
Why not get a regular Mora knife for like 5-10 Bucks? It will perform very well and if it breaks or something, you can just get a new one.
 
I'm just going to say--good luck at only getting one knife. I failed miserably at that goal. Miserably. I've always thought that it really pays to buy quality. If you buy crap, you're going to end up replacing it. Buy the best knife for the purpose that you plan on using it for. That doesn't mean you need to spend a lot, but it does mean that you should probably go for spending 60-120 dollars, depending on what you're looking for, rather than 5-20. 1 60 dollar knife will make you a lot happier than having to buy and replace several cheapo knives.
 
If you buy regular production knife, you will not only save money, but you also leave open an opportunity for yourself to have another one in the future - newer and probably better...
If you buy very expensive "indestructible" one you are stuck with it probably for a long time - until you loose it or whatever. And by the time you are ready to pass it over to the next generation it is perceived as a junk with no value except for sentimental one. And do you expect your children to be very sentimental?

If you live forever yourself - you will be forever old. Do you want to pay premium for a knife which will be forever not new... Would you buy indestructible car for some crazy bucks?
As soon as you make your choice and pay - there is always a better one available just around the corner... :D :D
 
True, knives get old but there are timeless designs and handforged goods. How many individual man-hammered-blades are out there in contrast to those generic mass-blanked-knives. What are the numbers in 100 years?
Handforged blades have higher density and improved molecularstructure, flexibility and whatnot.

Yes, I am an admitted cheapskate but one that does the math. :D
I can spend a lot of cash on a lot of knives in my lifetime or the same cash on one. Of course I know there is NO indestructibel knife and they can always be stolen or lost.
But just as math, I base my decision on ideal conditions.

Like I said at the beginning of this thread, I am not asking for buying advice for knife XYZ but more on YOUR "buying philosophy" of what you guys would rather have.
Yeah, I am interested in your opinion: So it's also your prospect on whats expensive and whats cheap.
Thanks for the tips and warning though, I am currently googling the heck out of the internet
 
Flush said:
True, knives get old but there are timeless designs and handforged goods. How many individual man-hammered-blades are out there in contrast to those generic mass-blanked-knives. What are the numbers in 100 years?
Handforged blades have higher density and improved molecularstructure, flexibility and whatnot.\
Click to expand...

Improved, not quite. The difference between stock removal (mass manufacturing) and hand forged is pretty much moot point.
There are more generic mass produced blanked knives then hand made, man hammered blades out there. Look at many of the mass produced military items. Many are pressed or cnced.
 
Luis G. said:
There are more generic mass produced blanked knives then hand made, man hammered blades out there. Look at many of the mass produced military items. Many are pressed or cnced.
Click to expand...
That is exactly my point. There are now already dwindling small amounts of handforged knives and there will be even less in the near future.
 
Flush said:
My question is way more basic:
Should I buy manufactured expendable knife, cheap to medium priced workhorses with lifelong warranty and sharpening service?
Or custom handforged quality knife, expensive to overpriced knives but virtually indestructible and with timeless design?
Click to expand...

I don't see what makes a production knife expendable or unreliable. The two knives I use the most harshly are both production, not tremendously expensive (when compared to a custom of similar dimensions), have lifelong warranties (which I'll never need to use) and I cannot conceivably think of a way I could destroy them in regular use. If I have kids they will be passed on to them and if I raise them right, they'll appreciate them all the more for the memories of their Dad beating on those knives.
 
Flush said:
....
Handforged blades have higher density and improved molecularstructure, flexibility and whatnot.
....
Click to expand...
No! No! But not the density! No, not that please... :D
Beauty is in the eye of beholder... So certainly enriched sentiment content - why not!
But not the density... (and probably it is better to say crystalline, rather than molecular structure) :D
I think knives below $100 are very affordable and give the biggest bang for the buck.
Knives with price tag above $400 should have considerable art content - otherwise they are expensive.
 
Future generations are still loving their dads/grand-dads knives that were military issue and as common as any production knife today.

Buy what you want to use and if you find any well made production knife.... get it.

Two reasons, unless you're getting a HUGE name knife, chances are it will end up being just another no name maker. Second reason, companies keep records, there are vast amounts of information about the knives so your chances of having an antique Benchmade/Spyderco/Kershaw/Buck/Gerber or whatever are far greater, I think most knives are "sprint" runs now compared to the designs that have lasted till now.

I regularly carry and use old knives, with inferior steel, wooden handle slabs and pinned construction, if you get and keep knives NIB, chances are the production knives will end up being worth more.
 
Sounds like another paper for school to me. Just spit out what you really want.
 
@poez: I am not knife specialist nor have I looked at what's what, so I can only guess as what at handforged-steel-only-quality and whats myth.
Either way there is "something" about it knowing that this slab of steel was brutally knocked into size and shape :D

@punisher&Skimo: Yeahhh... I know matters are not that black and white. A good production knife may turn into an heirloom at some point. I'd like to know which what knives punischerLc refers to since those sound like the best of thos two worlds for me.
Military knive? Sounds good, however it holds no meaning for those that have not server in the army. However this would be optimal: Knife provided by the army at no cost, making a family heirloom is maximal profit.
About handing down a production knife... I will do sit-ups in my grave... The time when I die, my kids writing "cheapskate" on my grave because I handed them down a 20$ walmart made in china buck-knife. :(

@shunsui: Just opinions teach' and I received plenty today. Will hand in my form to top knivemaker companies tonight and get paid. ;)

@darkaether: .... Aaaaalright?
 
Then don't get a crappy $20 buck, get a well known companys knife that works well.

Even then your kids may have zero interest in knives, the only thing that will matter to them the the sentimental value you leave with the knife.
 
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