Heresy, or silly questions? S&M and case costs

[Dijos]

This is somthing that has been bothering me for a while. It has to do twith the cost of 2 Beloved lines.

I'll start out with the Case/Bose part. I think that tony bose is fantastic, but the Case/bose Line is sooooo expensive. It's still production; what makes a production knife worth $469?! I could buy a custom at that price. (ok, not a Bose custom, but still).

And Schatt and Morgan. What is up with $100 for 420hc. Are they kidding? It is the only thing that has kept me from buying a few of them. I don't care if the tools are 420, but the blade at least could be a better steel. By better, that could mean 1095, ats 34, aus 8, whatever. I'm sure that the F&F is great, and many of the details (fluted bolsters, nice shields, etc) make them really appealing, but I don't collect; I still use every knife I own.

my mini rant for thursday.

 

[Bastid]

If you are paying 469 for the Case/Bose you are paying way too much.
I have never seen any of them even retail to close to that at issue.
Some examples of prices at issue that I paid plus or minus a buck or so no including tax/shipping.
Slimline - 182.00
Bullnose Trapper 225.00
Pruner - 180.00
Lock Back Whittler - 265.00

At that they are expensive, but I love seeing the quality of these knives coming out of the factory.

Same with S&M even the ones in Pearl that I own did not hit the street at 100.00.

Last S&M I picked up was an english Jack (big 2 blade in ats-34- "File and Wire") that ran me 79+ tax).

I have quite a few S&M's in 420 non of them ran more than 60.00.

 

[rifon2]

Also, a lot of folks buy S&Ms never intending to use them. So the thinking I guess is that the 420, which does take a real nice mirror finish, is fine for a collectible.

 

[rifon2]

One time I was speaking to a dealer about S&Ms, he mentioned a model I should look at. I asked what kind of steel, and he said 420.

So I commented, gee it would be nice if they used a better steel

And the guy was taken aback, he got almost - well - panicky, saying:

"Well no one would ever USE this knife."

So, anyway, we moved on to other stuff...

 

[Thomason]

OK, I know 420HC isn't one of the super steels we all love but isn't the classic Buck 110 420? I would guess 110's have done some cutting over the years.

 

[waynorth]

The real USER knives that come out of Queen have D-2 steel, arguably good stuff, and most can be got for $50-60! They just aren't marked Schatt&Morgan.
SFO's in 1095 steel are available too, if you search. It costs a lot of money to produce knives in this country, if you want the workers to feed their kids that is! I've had them make a couple of runs of knives for me, and I've toured the factory a couple of times. It's a shoestring operation, hopefully hanging in there! Last old time cutlery left!!
Case is much modernized, and keeps a lot of people working, and not being a high finance guy, I don't know about their costs, but that kind of big production needs high volume, so special editions go way up in cost. I have the Bose pruner, and lockback whittler, and don't regret one cent of the cost, they are such amazing knives!!

 

[rifon2]

The real USER knives that come out of Queen have D-2 steel, arguably good stuff, and most can be got for $50-60! They just aren't marked Schatt&Morgan.

They aren't marked Schatt & Morgan, true, but the S&M fit and finish is better than the Queen.

If you want to get an S&M for use, and want a better steel than 420, they make a few models in ATS-34.

 

[Sword and Shield]

The S&M 420 is one of the only steels I can't get a good edge on. Sharp, but not perfect. Think it's too soft.

 

[brownshoe]

S&M has a great ATS34 and it's the only steel if you want a stainless "user" knife that's a S&M or Queen. The Queen D2 is not stainless, too hard, pits too easily and is not as good as Queen 1095 if you really want carbon steel.

I have the same English Jack, two blade ATS-34 as Bastid and I think its a steal at its street and MSR price. You can get customs with less quality, poorer fit and finish, only one blade and no warranty for twice as much.

I've never seen the Case Bose knives, but if their quality is as good as the pictures, they are well worth their street price (maybe not some of the higher priced dealers though). Some of their distinctive patterns, such as the pruner, were swallowed up and rarely appear again in the aftermarket.