High end knives - an acquired taste?

matt1987

matt1987

Joined
Nov 2, 2009
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When a new knife enthusiast asks for knife advice I like to tell them to skip the low-mid end knives and go straight for the high end stuff to begin with so they won't waste time and money in the vicious cycle of buy/sell/trade. In other words, get the best quality now and run away before they become a broke and hopeless knife addict.

For me personally, if I could go back and do it all again, I would go straight for a Sebenza and be done with it. I'm sure I spent thousands of dollars and countless hours trying to find what one knife had all the long. But would I notice the subtle touches and have the eye for quality if I did not experience the common "problems" with other knives? I'm not sure.

The question is...Do you think new knife enthusiasts would appreciate the attributes of a high end knife or do you think they need to wade through the sea of lower end knifes and learn to fully appreciate the quality of a high end knife?

Anyway, just something that was bouncing around in my head. Feel free to give your thoughts.
 
matt1987 said:
Anyway, just something that was bouncing around in my head. Feel free to give your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Like most elite and luxury goods, high-end knives usually require a certain base of objective knowledge and understanding to appreciate. The relative amount of understanding is subjective and differs from person to person. The simple function of a knife (cutting objects) causes most people to remain ignore of the subtle differences that cause a high-end knife to be priced %100-%300 higher than quality knives.

I would not appreciate or understand my Sebenzas if I had started by collecting high-end knives. Moreover, knife taste is primarily subjective, and it is important for someone to try a wide style of designs, sizes, steels, and locks before forming strong knife design preferences.
 
Starting out, I wouldn't have known the difference between a Large Sebenza and my Kershaw Nerve.
I would say building up is best.
Maybe start out in the mid - semi high end range?
I actually love that I've tried so many knives. =]
 
I agree with Oaken. It takes a while to acquire the "taste" for a high quality knife. If you start with high end knives you would have no basis for comparison; it would be all you ever knew. Now I dont have Chris Reeves or anything like that but if I told my 13 year old self to just save up for a Fallkniven or Esee I wouldnt have done it. Back then I preferring buying nothing but no-names and ebay knives. It takes growth to appreciate the quality and craftsmanship. It's like if you put a glass of very very very expensive wine into someones hand who ha never drank wine they would most likely spit it out.
 
I wouldn't really call high end knives an "acquired" taste, because surely any knife enthusiast that only owns budget knives, but then holds a high end knife is going to covet one himself. Pretty much anybody can feel the difference between a $5 flea market knife and a Gerber Paraframe. Or the difference between a Paraframe and a Delica. Or a Delica and a BM710. Or a BM710 and a Strider or Sebenza. Whether or not they're willing to make those leaps in cost is the question.

For me it's less an issue of refinement, but rather one of safety. I like my higher end knives, but I'll never slight a person carrying a $30 Spyderco or Kershaw or Buck, because I know they're well made. It's the cheap junk I can't abide by. Just yesterday a kid at work (I think he's 18) cut the #$% out of his index finger. He was cutting up boxes with his cheap junk knife. He claimed to our boss that he cut himself with the rotary vegetable slicer, but I know that's BS. Firstly, the vegi slicer isn't quite that sharp, and secondly, the cut was right on his index finger where you'd get cut if a lock failed on you (I know this from personal experience - 3 stitches). Luckily the cut wasn't too deep (I'm sure his knife is dull as hell). I'm half tempted to give him a knife that won't fail on him, but I don't think he's going to last much longer at this job. I just hope I'm not the one that has to fire him, as I was the one that fired his dad from this job several years ago.
 
I'd never tell someone to go straight for sebenza quality, especially because many knife enthusiasts will never get to that "level".

I may tell someone to skip low end quality for mid tier quality. For instance skip the good knives with 8cr steel and go for something in s30v. Because that quality difference is actually quantifiable. Whereas the only difference in the sebenza is in microscopic details, undetectable to the naked eye, or maybe some fleeting feeling of smoothness or luxury which is usually hyped up in your head from the forums.

it's all personal taste. you can spend a fraction to have a knife that out performs the sebenza if you want, and that's good enough for most people. But if the intangible lure of the sebenza is what speaks to you, then that might be what you need.

I know I'd be missing out on a ton if I had been talked into a sebenza at first, because there are so many better knives out there for me that don't even cost half as much.
 
I've had a lot of Sebenzas in my hands over the years and they don't do much for me. I'm not a fan of frame locks and I'm a bit of a steel snob. I would rather money go towards an upgraded steel than a perfectly flat slab of titanium. Speaking of which, I'm also not a big fan of metal.handles including titanium. I personally think the AXIS lock is the best design out there. The Rift is my favorite knife design and my current version with carbon fiber and a fairly high HRC M4 blade doesn't get much better. For my preferences I would rather have it than all the high end knives I have owned or fondled over the years. A lot of that is due to the ongoing trend in titanium frame locks in higher end knives. Everyone has different opinions and preferences in knife designs.
 
Half the fun of any hobby is starting out small, learning the ins and outs, and evolving over time.

Since at least 12 years old, I have always had a knife, but didn't start collecting until about a year and a half ago, and even though I am fortunate enough to afford just about whatever I want, I still started out small.

My first 3 knives were a Gerber Freeman, Ka Bar Warthog, and Kershaw 1/2 Ton. Nothing to blink at, but definitely a learning experience, one that I wouldn't trade for anything.

In a couple of months, Blade Show in Atlanta is where I will be, happily beginning the next phase of my knife collecting. I plan on introducing myself to as many custom knife makers as possible and learning what they have to offer.

All that to say that I would never have been as interested in knives and wouldn't have had any fun at all if I had just started at the top.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
I've had a lot of Sebenzas in my hands over the years and they don't do much for me. I'm not a fan of frame locks and I'm a bit of a steel snob. I would rather money go towards an upgraded steel than a perfectly flat slab of titanium. Speaking of which, I'm also not a big fan of metal.handles including titanium. I personally think the AXIS lock is the best design out there. The Rift is my favorite knife design and my current version with carbon fiber and a fairly high HRC M4 blade doesn't get much better. For my preferences I would rather have it than all the high end knives I have owned or fondled over the years. A lot of that is due to the ongoing trend in titanium frame locks in higher end knives. Everyone has different opinions and preferences in knife designs.
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You sound like me. Sebenzas do nothing for me(I think they look hideous, and yes, I'm going to spend $400 on a knife, it needs to look nice as well), and I really am not fond of metal handles, either.
 
An inexpensive knife may please you at the beginning,and that happy feeling may last in your memory for long.

But when you start to own high end knives , the happy feeling from inexpensive ones will never come back ,and after that you can find that feeling only when buying other high end ones.

The cost of happiness therefore goes higher.

That's the bottle neck that everyone must face.

So I usually try my best looking for fun in collecting inexpensive ones.

I have owned several high end ons but finally most of those were sold out.

It is fun that I am looking for rather than knives.
 
IMHO, collceting high end knives could foreshow the decay of passion on knives due to the bottle neck I've mentioned above.
 
Recommending that someone start out with high end knives is assuming that they will end up there. Just in this thread alone several members have said they are fine with their mid priced knives.


Knife collecting /accumulating is a hobby that is a journey of learning along the way. You can buy all the high end knives and have a completed collection but think of all the different steel and handle material you may not have tried, the learning to sharpen without fear of destroying a really good knife. It’s about finding the right knife for you as an individual. You can’t do that jumping to the high end stuff first.
 
Never jump into high-end anything. You may not stick with the hobby and then a Sebenza becomes $400 worth of pocket jewelry and buyers remorse. I'll always recommend that people start with relatively inexpensive but well made knives (or watches, flashlights,etc.). That way if you decide you're not really gonna collect you still have something reliable and handy that's not 'too expensive to use'. Heck, for most people I wouldn't recommend they even start out with a Para 2 as that's a decent chunk of change if you don't know about knives. Something like a Skyline is a great folder to start with and something I doubt they'll ever regret buying.
 
I started out with mid priced ($75-$200 ) knives. I have owned them as cheap as $15 and as high as $450. I seem to get the same level of excitement from a well made $100 knife as I do from a $400 one. As long as the design and quality are there price doesn't matter. That being said, I know I would have never been able to appreciate a sebenza if I hadn't first started out with less expensive blades.
 
matt1987 said:
When a new knife enthusiast asks for knife advice I like to tell them to skip the low-mid end knives and go straight for the high end stuff to begin with so they won't waste time and money in the vicious cycle of buy/sell/trade. In other words, get the best quality now and run away before they become a broke and hopeless knife addict.

For me personally, if I could go back and do it all again, I would go straight for a Sebenza and be done with it. I'm sure I spent thousands of dollars and countless hours trying to find what one knife had all the long. But would I notice the subtle touches and have the eye for quality if I did not experience the common "problems" with other knives? I'm not sure.

The question is...Do you think new knife enthusiasts would appreciate the attributes of a high end knife or do you think they need to wade through the sea of lower end knifes and learn to fully appreciate the quality of a high end knife?

Anyway, just something that was bouncing around in my head. Feel free to give your thoughts.
Click to expand...

I believe that people should experience the different levels so they can really appreciate the differences.

That's only if they can really afford the higher end knives though. ;)
 
IMO, in terms of functional use, there is little difference between say a Buck Vantage and a Hinderer. This is why I could never justify paying $400 or more for a knife. All of my knives are users, if I'm not getting better performance from a knife I'm not paying more. I've found my Bucks cut better and hold an edge as long or longer as high end knives so for my purposes I can't justify high end knives.

However, I do appreciate the fit, finish, styling...ect. comes with high end knives. For my purposes high end knives are basically pieces of art so the few of them that I have obtained end up being put in a display and hung on the wall. I just can't justify using a knife like that, so I mainly stick to knives under $100 for my main collecting/use purposes.

Now, I don't think anyone who buys expensive knives are dumb or wasting their money but after about $100 you're not getting better peformance or signifcantly more durability, IMO. After that price you are paying for a designer's name, brand name,styling, fit/finish and reputation. Not that means the knife isn't worth the money just that you are paying for different things than you are with a lower end knife.
 
As I've said before, I think there are some people who think cheaper is better in all products and just don't possess the sense of appreciation of quality. And there are those who do, and are willing to pay for high quality fit, finish, service, and aesthetics.

With knives, I think it helps to buy a Kershaw, Benchmade, spyderco - good quality knives, to get a sense of what you like in a knife. Size, opening mechanism, locking mech, etc. And then move up to CRK, Hinderer, etc. But you don't have to buy 20 cheap knives before moving up, just one or two. My opinion, anyway.
 
For some people its an acquired taste obtained through the process of collecting less expensive options. For others a Hinderer or a Sebenza is their first knife purchase. Whatever it is I always suggest people keep an open mind and leave room in their wallet so they can figure out their personal tastes and preferences and grow as knife enthusiasts.

In my case I went from cheaper kershaw offerings to more higher priced production offerings from spyderco and benchmade to customs and then midtechs. I've come full circle, nowadays my always have on me never go anywhere without it knife is the one found on the victorinox compact and my "collection" is a sparse 5 knives (down from around 40 or so a year ago). I don't lament the fact that I spent so much money knives I didn't keep, I got to play with some seriously cool toys, It was a fun experience and it helped me refine my tastes.
 
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