Hi,
Spouse and I did some construction work for a gentleman last summer, who, during the course of said work, fell on some hard times and was unable to pay us at the end of the job. Spouse's parents are friends with the guy, and we didn't want to chase him with a lien and create bad feelings for everybody. After waiting not-so-patiently for him to scrape together money, he finally offered to trade us a portion of his knife collection in lieu of cash. Everything was pretty much brand-name, mass-produced, and of little value, and spouse ended up keeping those because he thought they were "cool", but there's one in particular that we're having trouble finding an accurate value for.
Does anybody know anything about Rod Chappel's earlier knives, and how much a mid-90's Christmas Leopard is worth? I found a newer one made specifically for an online knife auction go for $2k at said auction, but if I'm not mistaken, the older ones are worth more, right? It's at our storage, so I won't have pics til I drive into town tomorrow or the next day, but it's definitely mid-nineties (I'd like to say 1992 or 1994, but I'll have to double check) and has a pale handle, which looks like some sort of horn. It does have an inscription on it at the top part of the blade, close to the handle.
The guy who gave it to us said he paid $8k for it at an annual knife show in Oregon a few years ago, but we don't really fancy the idea of driving all the way down there from WA on a gamble that he's telling the truth and it might still be worth that much. I'm scared to do Ebay without knowing more about it to set the reserve, because I don't want to get hosed there. It doesn't have a sheath with it, but it's wrapped up tight in a towel, and is brilliantly shiny, fingerprint-free and very sharp, with no scratches. Did these originally come with a sheath? Should we invest in a replacement one, or does that really affect the value?
I'm more of a gun collector than a knife collector, and I'm really out of my element here. Does anybody here know of a good appraiser/knife shop in the Eastern WA/Idaho panhandle area? Or a good knife show we could take it to? Or how much it might be worth? I'm at a loss. Any help or advice would be much appreciated!
Pics to follow soon... thanks guys!
Spouse and I did some construction work for a gentleman last summer, who, during the course of said work, fell on some hard times and was unable to pay us at the end of the job. Spouse's parents are friends with the guy, and we didn't want to chase him with a lien and create bad feelings for everybody. After waiting not-so-patiently for him to scrape together money, he finally offered to trade us a portion of his knife collection in lieu of cash. Everything was pretty much brand-name, mass-produced, and of little value, and spouse ended up keeping those because he thought they were "cool", but there's one in particular that we're having trouble finding an accurate value for.
Does anybody know anything about Rod Chappel's earlier knives, and how much a mid-90's Christmas Leopard is worth? I found a newer one made specifically for an online knife auction go for $2k at said auction, but if I'm not mistaken, the older ones are worth more, right? It's at our storage, so I won't have pics til I drive into town tomorrow or the next day, but it's definitely mid-nineties (I'd like to say 1992 or 1994, but I'll have to double check) and has a pale handle, which looks like some sort of horn. It does have an inscription on it at the top part of the blade, close to the handle.
The guy who gave it to us said he paid $8k for it at an annual knife show in Oregon a few years ago, but we don't really fancy the idea of driving all the way down there from WA on a gamble that he's telling the truth and it might still be worth that much. I'm scared to do Ebay without knowing more about it to set the reserve, because I don't want to get hosed there. It doesn't have a sheath with it, but it's wrapped up tight in a towel, and is brilliantly shiny, fingerprint-free and very sharp, with no scratches. Did these originally come with a sheath? Should we invest in a replacement one, or does that really affect the value?
I'm more of a gun collector than a knife collector, and I'm really out of my element here. Does anybody here know of a good appraiser/knife shop in the Eastern WA/Idaho panhandle area? Or a good knife show we could take it to? Or how much it might be worth? I'm at a loss. Any help or advice would be much appreciated!
Pics to follow soon... thanks guys!
