How much do "non-knife" people expect to pay for a knife.

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bubblewhip

Joined
Dec 18, 2009
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I'm just wondering what people who are not super into knives but require them, like hunters, campers, ect. expect to pay for a knife?

For me my perception is

Folder: under $50
Small fixed: under $60
Large fixed: Under $80
 
banana-clip said:
Id say your a little high, maybe round $25.00 to $35.00.
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I agree. Most non knife people who buy a folder/fixed blade that's not a kitchen knife for whatever reason, that's about the max. Basically whatever the popular prices at Big5 and WalMart are.

Unless they're more wealthy and into other hobbies, just not knives. For instance a wealthier hunter or fisherman, might plop down $60 for a folder at Cabellas, instead of $15 at Big5.

For the most part they will be used a few times and forgotten, or thrown in a tool box/tackle box and forgotten until next season, etc...

But there are always those people who buy several hundred dollar fancy kitchen knives, but who don't cook much, and know nothing about knives. Those kind of people will plop down decent dollar for other pieces of cutlery without knowing anything about it.
 
banana-clip said:
Id say your a little high, maybe round $25.00 to $35.00.
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I'd agree with that for my non-knifey friends.

However, none are hunters/campers. I'd think someone doing that might be willing to pay more....maybe around what the OP listed or tad higher.
 
depends on the person. some people spend the bare minimum and are happy with a $5 m tech.

but that doesnt have to be the case. i was flabbergasted when my uncle, who likes knives but not to "our" level, pulled out a sebenza when i saw him recently :eek: all he knew is that it was a CRK but he didnt know model, blade steel, etc. i thought it was kinda funny he put down that kind of coin and didnt recall the specifics :D
 
Dutch outdoor shops have mainly SAKs and Opinels in their displays and sometimes a few other brands. So I think many hikers and campers who are not really into knives consider those the standard knives.

The hunters seem a bit more into knives, but generally buy knives between 50 and 150 euros. I just read a bit on a Dutch hunting forum and the Fällkniven F1 seems very popular when it comes to fixed blade knives. For folding knives it seems that Gerber and Buck knives are popular. But, of course the guys on those forum are a small part of the hunters, probably not a good representation of the hunting community here. My father and grandfather used affordable German hunting knives.
 
I think $25 is a good estimation. I know couple of people in that boat.

As a matter of fact they would've been happy with a good quality $10 chinese knife, if they knew about it and where to get one. Instead they buy Smith&Wesson knife for $25 at the store, that is even worse than a good $10 knife. On top of that, they like to go bragging about their super $25 find (usually how fast it opens, if it does and how cool those serrations are).

Hunters and adventurers are usually more educated. $50 is good for a fixed blade, as long as people say it is worth it. Steel doesn't matter as much as looks, comfort and general opinion.

Edit: $60 for a multi-tool is quite a lot, but totally worth it, because that's how much Leatherman Wave costs, that has lots of tools, awesome quality and great warranty. That's usually the area where non-knife people make a good choice.
 
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My memory is a bit foggy on this one so I hope I get it straight....A while back I read an on-line review of a fairly expensive knife, I think in the $300 range, for Field and Stream Magazine (I hope I got the magazine right). The review was very positive. What sticks with me is that I would say 90% of the comments to the review were pretty close to hostile in that they felt the magazine should not be reviewing knives in that price range. Most of the commentators thought owning a knife like that was ridiculous and that anything they needed could be had for well under $100 - probably closer to the $25 to $50 range.
 
Mike157 said:
My memory is a bit foggy on this one so I hope I get it straight....A while back I read an on-line review of a fairly expensive knife, I think in the $300 range, for Field and Stream Magazine (I hope I got the magazine right). The review was very positive. What sticks with me is that I would say 90% of the comments to the review were pretty close to hostile in that they felt the magazine should not be reviewing knives in that price range. Most of the commentators thought owning a knife like that was ridiculous and that anything they needed could be had for well under $100 - probably closer to the $25 to $50 range.
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That doesn't surprise me - there are plenty of good options for well under half of $300. For non-knife people they just aren't going to see the value in buying something for well over twice the price of a good product that will be more than adequate for their needs. A knife like the BK-7 at ~$70 on-line would be seen as pricey but good.

My dearest flashlight (by far) cost a hell of a lot more than what any one that isn't an enthusiast would consider a sane price to pay for a light, no matter what the output (if they even know what ~7000 lumen means).
I'm talking:
Head $190 (custom made)
Body $190 (custom made)
Switch $95 (computer programmable, regulated driver - custom made, nothing similar is commercially available)
Batteries $80 (8 x IMR 18650 cells)
Bulb $5 (Standard Osram bulb)
Total $560 for a flashlight that will drain its batteries flat in around ten minutes on max output.
I'd like to see the flak that a hunting magazine would get if it gave a good review to a flashlight that expensive.

The average Joe just wont see any knife that is so expensive as being good value when there really isn't anything that they need a knife for that can't be handled by a $70 knife or even a $20 knife. I can't see my BK-7 wearing out in a decade, so what would I gain from a $300 knife?
 
bubblewhip said:
I'm just wondering what people who are not super into knives but require them, like hunters, campers, ect. expect to pay for a knife?

For me my perception is

Folder: under $50
Small fixed: under $60
Large fixed: Under $80
Click to expand...


I would say no more than $35 at the high end from what I have seen.

$50 would be way too much and a premium knife.
 
bubblewhip said:
I'm just wondering what people who are not super into knives but require them, like hunters, campers, ect. expect to pay for a knife?
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Not enough! :eek:


:confused: Then they wonder why they won't hold an edge for very long. :confused:


Next thing is they want me to sharpen their edge like mine (convex),

...and they want to barrow my knives for serious cutting tasks. :(



I must confess, one of my hiking/camping bud's starting to see the light and recently spent close to $100 for a nice fixed blade; at least there is hope for some people.




Big Mike
 
I remember wen I first got into knives. I thought crkt was like the top of the line lol.... but I knew about some others like benchmade,spyderco and stuff like that. I fully expected to pay around $60-70 for a folder $100-200 for a fixed blade, but I was also into collecting gun's so I had an idea about quality vs cost but for people that don't collect anything then $25-70 would probably br the most that they would spend on any knife..
 
Before I was a knife guy, when I was looking to purchase a halfway decent knife I thought I was being completely frivolous buying a $45 folder. I would say to the non-knife people, they would probably expect to get a top quality folder for $25-$30. And of course, non-knife people assume larger fixed blades are much more expensive.
 
Most non knife people I know that have that one multitool, or that one SAK, or that one Buck (usually a 110 or 112) or that one Case, all have no problem paying whatever the hardware store/Walmart etc has them priced at. However, if I pull out my Buck 301 or my CRK micarta Sebenza, both "are overpriced" and "not as good" as their SAK.

Most of my friends who go hunting for a better price on a knife end up becoming knife nuts. I sent one friend who was looking for a multitool for work to a local knife shop. He came out with all kinds of knives. His wife isn't speaking to me right now ;).
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Most non knife people I know that have that one multitool, or that one SAK, or that one Buck (usually a 110 or 112) or that one Case, all have no problem paying whatever the hardware store/Walmart etc has them priced at. However, if I pull out my Buck 301 or my CRK micarta Sebenza, both "are overpriced" and "not as good" as their SAK.
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That is the general misconception that most people really do have sadly.
 
A wholesale warehouse I buy from once a month uses steak knives scattered through out the isles...$.50 for a six pack of them

Pointless post, but made me think of it
 
yeah i would say for most people it would be in the 25-40 dollar range, mostly taylor cutlery/buck/gerber

but there is variation depending on the person.. a few people i know go for the 5 dollar china special

and i know a couple people that are not knife people, but spring for a benchmade at 200 dollars+

then they use it as a screwdriver and it makes me cry
 
5-30 dollar range. i mean you get Buck 110 from Walmart less than $30... If I say how much my custom cost me or Benchmade 940 for no knife person I would probably make that person choke on his/her coffee..
 
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