High end knives - an acquired taste?

Brad9660 said:
I would not recommend someone go straight to a high end product. I have never bought a knife over $120 and have been happy with my knives. I don't even really like Sebenzas, they just seem over priced more than anything to me. I think they have a good blade shape, but other than that they don't impress me much. I have been competitively shooting conventional pistol for about five years, and a lot of people will recommend a $1000-$1500 gun to a beginner so they don't go through all the trouble of upgrading. I use a $300 Ruger with a little trigger work that I started out with and have made it to Master class with what many would consider a beginner or low end gun. I guess what I am saying is that lower end products can serve you well, so why spend all the money in the beginning if you may not need to.
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Agree with you on the Sebenzas. Good, but not 300-400 dollars good.
 
I agree wholeheartedly, that enthusiast are a rare breed, and not just any individual can see the value in higher end knives. Don't get me wrong, we're all enthusiast, just to a different degree. It's like this with everything material (knives, watches, guns, coins). IMHO there comes a point of diminishing returns, as to were those begin, well that's pretty subjective.
 
I think convincing someone new to knives to go right for a high-end knife could take away the fun (and, yes, frustration) of getting there themselves in their own time. Sure, they'll have a helluva knife right off the bat, but they won't have memories of their first cheapie to compare it too. They could also miss out on a lot of perfectly decent cheap knives that they may have otherwise encountered along the way: the Moras, the Opinels, the Douk Douks, many of the SRMs, Enlans, etc. Guiding and advising newbies (in any area of interest) based upon one's superior knowledge and experience is always a good thing, but I think it's better to limit this to things like steering them away from things you know are total crap or even possibly dangerous. Let them find what they like and dislike and what ultimately fits their specific needs on their own.
 
I started with an Imbel military knife in 1075. It performed so much better than the previous knives I had been using that it opened my eyes to the possibilities. From there I went on to a Camillus BK10. Next step was an Al Mar Sere and a Benchmade 210. A few years later I jumped up again to a custom stag hunter by Ricardo Romano. There were other knives, but these are the ones that stuck to my memory. I don´t honestly know if this path led me to acquire a more refined and discerning taste in knives, but it certainly provided me with a reasonably clear idea on what I like and works for me. I found that the features I find most useful are not aways tied up to price: there is no direct relationship between price and useability.

Currently, the knife at my belt cost me exactly US$68.95. Love it to death.
 
Actually, I checked it again and it was a Benchmade 211. And this thread made me miss that old Imbel knife. What a sweet blade she was...
 
Use common sense, a $300 pocket knife is pointless. The only real value a $300 pocket knife holds is the show off/forum/knife collector factor.
 
Irrespective of price, my per peeve with most knives and especially fixed bladed knives, is the poor handle design. There are alot of expensive knives out there with round slippery handles, poor guards that interfere with cutting and chopping, and pommels and other handle gagets that are uncomfortable and likely to injure the user. A discerning collector figures out what works for him/her and worries more about that than the asking price or the makers name.

n2s
 
I bought a Kershaw Whirlwind, Benchmade 690, and a Jim Burke custom folder 11 years ago. The Burke knife was around $300, the BM $150 and the Kershaw $60. The Burke folder has seen the most use, skinning deer, hogs and deer camp use. It holds an edge better, slices better, and develops no hot spots in use. It still looks great, locks at 50% and will go to one of my kids. The Benchmade (I gave to my brother in-law) is a great knife also, but it does not hold an edge as well as the Burke, and isn't as comfortable for extended cutting. The Kershaw(I gave to a friend) is a rattle trap, has a lot of play, the liner is all the way over, and does not hold a great edge.
Buy what you like.
 
evanPGH said:
By moving through the ranks, once can appreciate all the suble changes in quality, fit and finish, etc. Does a $600 custom perform ten times better than a Delica? No, and you'd be foolish to convince yourself that. But as you aquire different knives you learn to appreciate the workmanship that goes into higher end knives and all of the details that make them cost what they do.
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I have a few that do perform even better than that, and I have the testing data to back it all up..... Like 1,400% better..... VG-10 compared to K294.... That's not even a contest. ;)

It all depends on what you buy and what a person really wants performance wise, you CAN buy performance....

mjolnir74 said:
Because if you can't really afford it you'll never use it much, which is where some higher end knives shine.
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I use my high end knives, don't know about others. ;)
 
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Judging from my personal experience, I would not recomend going straight to "high-end" knives.

I got lot's of use and fun from, what I would now call "low-end" knives.
By the use of different knives I learned to appreciate some and to avoid others.
For example I got good experiences from Victorinox or Opinel and some "so called" penny knives.
You can't beat the experience of abusing a Glock field knife.

My advise is to avoid "crap-knives"; get educated and buy what you like.
Integrity of the manufacturer is important to me, I like to know who designed a specific piece these days and to be absolutely sure of the ingredients.
red mag
 
Everybody needs to wade through his own successes and errors to achieve some understanding. Applies to knives also, IMO.
I was happy with "crappy" (really) knives as a kid. When I started to carry my knife everyday and use it whenever it could be useful (within reason), I quickly turned away from crap, always too expensive for it is : even 1 $ is too expensive for butter steel and a fancy handle. Disregarding the looks and going to the core narrowed the game. Testing further I acquired my own idea of quality : the harder you can use it, the better it is. So, I still think core quality is worth the money. However, I also understood, on the way, I didn't need this ultimate strength (and to spend that heap of money). Today, I'm very happy with a Case Sodbuster slipjoint (best knife for so little money, 20 $) as an EDC, a MoraKniv Classic Original N°2 (incredible steel, basic but extremely functional handle, unbelievably lightweight even sheath included, 40 $) as a go-to fixed blade and a Helle Lapplander (100 $) as a camp knife for everything from preparing food to clearing brush and notching tent pegs. Each one does his job to the best of my needs. This may be considered as "killing the fun". It is not : the greatest fun you can get out of a knife is if it does its job to the best. It happens I eventually reached that with a (finally) reasonable purchase price. Tag me happy but the journey was certainly worth it.
 
One would appreciate high-quality knives a lot more once they've bough a couple of duds, I know I do.
 
My work blades are wear parts. If I EDC a knife for six months exclusively, the blade will shrink significantly from sharpening. Although I do appreciate the qualities of a high end knife like a Sebenza, it would be waste to use it for this kind/amount of work.

If somebody uses knives a lot, my advice would be to start with the cheapest one that has a reliable lock and geometry and materials fitting the tasks it has to do. For me, that's Benchmades and Spydercos, other stuff gets carried on Sundays.
 
kowalski7 said:
Use common sense, a $300 pocket knife is pointless. The only real value a $300 pocket knife holds is the show off/forum/knife collector factor.
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Some people really do use their knives... ;)

My two most carried and used folders..

DSC_37251.JPG
 
Ankerson said:
It all depends on what you buy and what a person really wants performance wise, you CAN buy performance....
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I would argue that beyond a certain price point, most of your money is going to craftsmanship, F&F, detail work, aesthetic design and exotic handle materials. And the aforementioned price point ain´t even that high.

In many cases, high end knives put form over function. A simple example would be the slabbed stag handles so often found on high end cutlery. As much I love the density, the richness and the looks, I have found from experience that regular exposure to water, vibrations and torsion make stag handles more prone to cracking than other materials.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
As others have said, and said better than me, it is like watches, which is the other "man jewelry." Some think rolexes, Cartiers, Omegas are a waste of money and Timex's tell the time as good if not better. But some people possess, or acquire, an appreciation for the aesthetics and fine movements of high end watches, and are willing to pay for them. Neither type of person is right or wrong; just wired differently.

I personally get great pleasure from wearing a fine watch, and carrying a high-end knife. In spare moments I fondle my knives, and admire my watch. Are they worth the extra cash? To me, yes. Yes they are. I told my wife I wanted to be buried with my William Henry (that she gave me). She laughed and said when I croak it is going on the selling block with the rest of my knives (*_*)
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I look at it differently. To me it's like wearing a Grand Seiko compared to a Rolex. The grand Seiko often has a much lower price, yet is made to the same demanding specifications. In fact, the movement is often held to more precise standards than the Swedish luxury watches.

That's how I compare something like a sprint run spyderco to a CRK. The spyderco is equally a piece of art, still expensive for the average person, yet the spyderco will actually out perform the Sebenza in most cases. But, "it's not a Sebenza" so the price isn't there.

Other than the thousandths of an inch tolerance difference, which no human eye can notice, and maybe a slight difference in pivot smoothness, I can't find anything better in the Sebenza, and can find several things better on the spyderco.
 
@Steff27: May I ask what you cut with your work blades?
You could be a tester for some companies I guess.
TIA
red mag
 
I wonder if anyone has ever started high end, eg Sebenza and worked their way down, eg Spyderco Kershaw etc.
 
I've never come across a single person in my day to day knife that understands my high end knives. Sure, I don't see them as necessary either but I understand and appreciate the design & F&F. I would never tell someone who loves their Spyderco Military that they really need to try out a Sebenza unless they stated an interest for higher end and were willing to "roll the dice." I have a buddy who LOVES my Strider folders in particular but he personally would never spend more than $50 on a knife.
 
Thrustus said:
I wonder if anyone has ever started high end, eg Sebenza and worked their way down, eg Spyderco Kershaw etc.
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The first knife I bought when I joined the forums was a sm Seb. ...I've since bought several mid tier knives knowing they were good and hoping they would "do it" for me. They don't.
 
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