How do you decide what to pay for new Buck?

bucksway

bucksway

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Jan 7, 2007
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One of the most difficult things to me about collecting 112's is how much to pay when one does popups up! At the very beginning in 2007 Buck bucks were VERY slim at my house and I really didn't have $200.00 or more to spend per month on knives and ANY 112 priced over $100 00 was a very difficult decision. My Brother David would find a rare one and just go ahead and buy it for me to pay him back later. He also 'lend' me 112's to display because in the early days I actually only had about 30 or so. So many times I would hear "You NEED this one Bro" and it took awhile for him to understand I just couldn't afford to buy expensive 112's no matter how good a deal it was...
So in the early days I only bought a expensive one if it was truly rare/odd and REALLY was a bargin. I tried to balance how well it would display with a important factor to me if I would ever see one again. Some 112's only come on the market once or twice in any 5 year period. So if you don't pay up when one DOES show you might never see one again. Of course many Customs are 1 of 1 so in that case I try to figure how much it would take to have it made. One of my quotes from the early days was "Any fool with a big check book can make a good collection quickly" and that is still true but I DID realize my best more interesting 112's came from the friends and contacts I made over years of collecting. Today my focus has drifted away from new LE's except 112 BOTM and BCCI club knives to more prototype and Samples and Old Custom shop numbered knives.
Even today with NO FEAR of going to Buck Jail I go thru a whole process to decide how much to pay for when one comes along. And frankly I find myself more and more passing on really nice 112's that fit my collection and are reasonably priced. Around $200.00 more or less is my big price point that I judge a Buck on. But with inflation and more importantly more collectors looking for the good stuff that number is just NOT as valid as it used to be. Now I display and I know most of yall buy to use and just because you like them but how do YOU decide exactly how much to bid or pay for any Buck you want??
 
That is a real tough question. One I don't have a good answer for. The more I like a knife, the more I'm likely to pay. But I don't have any formula figured out, to figure out how much is to much.

O.B.
 
Old Biker because I was for MANY years only buying to display at the Blade Show and the Gator Show that made a big difference in what I looked for..If it was a rare variation but not really dramatic looking or just similar to a ordinary production 112 I would value it much less than perhaps other collector's would. Many I have in my collection are like that. I have a Safety award 112 with just about every option Buck offered. Finger grooves, pad print blade, lazer etched wood handles engraved bolsters ect and I only paid like $30.00 for it. I valued it very high because it displayed well. Funny I valued other big Buck knives by how many odd 112's I could buy versus the cost of a single fixed blade for example.
 
That is a hard one. i have no rule I follow. Mostly, if I have available funds and I really like the knife I buy it. For me I buy one 112 from the custom shop every spring (I havent ordered yet), The amount I pay for that one is usually near my maximum I am willing to spend. There have been a few BOTM's that were over my limit, but if they were a 112 I still bought it. I am trying to go to more knife shows this year, so we will see how that works out as I go.
 
I'm actually "on strike" as far as the Custom shop 112's are concerned. The very day I can order a drop point is the day I will spend the $200.00 or so a nice one costs now. The last time I displayed my 112's in Atlanta I asked CJ Buck 3 times to 'drop off' a box of drop point blades at the Custom shop lolol! From the very beginning when Chuck and Leroy modified 500 blades for the 112 to this day there has never been a drop point blade 112 offered in any variation of Bucks Custom shop. I have wondered why many times why that is and I think Buck saved that option for SFO's and various LE's. It seems such a easy thing to do. Just drop a box of blades on your way to lunch! I thought FOR SURE it would happen during the 50th anniversary of the 112 but it did not. I'm fully prepared to pay a upcharge of $50.00 for any super steel DP blade but I would settle for 420 mirror polished if Buck would take my money.
 
The only good answer for this question is what is the PERCEIVED value is to YOU. It is going to be different to different people at different times on different knives for different reasons. I have a real hard time spending $150 on a knife but I've done it. I spent $325 on a knife for a gift to my son on his wedding day.
 
The mistake I made in my early collecting years was a $100 limit. The result was my collection did not have much good higher end stuff which my collecting desires have gravitated towards. No longer have a price limit but now starting my 8th decade I'm aging out and worry about the dollar value tied up in my collection. It's also emotionally tough to spend double or triple for what I passed on years ago. Starting over I would have a lot fewer but better knives.
 
I too have a especially hard time paying two or three times now for a 112 I passed on years ago. Worse is LE's I passed buying directly from Buck at MSRP or a little less because I thought it was a bit over priced at the time. Or because the Buck budget was limited at the time.
 
If it has what I like I’m not as tight fisted as I would be on one i see as lacking a particular element. The most I’ve spent is 250 for the 112 koa s45vn botm last year. It had what I really like.

I usually don’t get the fancy high embellished knives or exotic stuff. I mostly look for durable premium materials and the more plain the better. I use them so they’re not going to stay shiny and pristine. 😆
 
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