How much is too much for a 'user' knife?

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wutitiz

Joined
Mar 5, 2008
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I always been impressed by the ZT0100 fixed blade by ZT knives. Kershaw got many things right in the design. The current (May '08) Blade reports that "Kershaw performed destruction trials on the prototypes, including flex tests in which it took an impressive 4,500 pounds of pressure to break the blade." The ZT0100 uses CPM 3V carbon steel, perhaps the best for this type of knife, (INFI fans would dispute that). There are only a few cutlers using CPM 3V, notably Fehrman and K9.

I ran across a discussion of the ZT0100 at a site http://kitup.military.com/2007/11/stiring-the-pot.html where most of the posters appeared to be military vets of various vintages. Typical coments about the ZT0100's MSRP of almost $300, went something like this:

Three bills for a knife! That is laughable, and I would laugh at anyone who dropped that much on a standard knife... spending that much on a tool one would be afraid to use it and heck breakdown crying if it were lost or broken... For a tool a person is going to use, a Ka-Bar, a Gerber or any other well known brands that cost a tenth of what that thing costs so it won't hurt when you scratch, scuff, mar, rust, chip, break and loose it or it is stolen which it would be...Cool looking coupled with a high price tag doesn't cut it in the field....


Other posters extolled the Ka-Bar. One said that it could be hammered into a tree and used as a step.

Do they have a point, poor grammar notwithstanding? Is it dumb to spend $300 on a 'user' knife, no matter how good? The obvious counter is that if the $300 knife saves a life, it is money well spent. But is that just a rationalization of knife nuts? Is it just a scheme to make knife sellers rich, as some posters suggested?

The other obvious counter is that it is the buyer's money. I would not spend $300 (or more) on a less efficient aftermarket motorcycle muffler, but I wouldn't laugh at somebody who did. It's their money, and the great thing about America is that they can spend it as stupidly as they please.

But is it still stupid? How much is too much for a 'user' knife?
 
If that`s how they truly feel, they are right.

But, if you find a knife that makes you happy and works forks for you, who cares what it costs.

Like I have a lot of guitars and generally they are $3000+. They are users, amde with love, care, great customer support and do their job consistently well. They are also well cared for and insured.

I don`t really see the problem.

My only sorta personal caution, with everything, since for me $300 is also a lot of money, is that I would probably only use that amount on something that really would be useful to me(I`m not a collector). Hence I`d try an awful lot of things first. This business is sorta new to me, and the Helle I got when I was a kid still works. I`ve been looking a lot at choppers around the $300 mark lately.

If it`s worth it to you, then it`s worth it. In that regard, in the end it`s really not that much money.
 
"Too much" and "stupid" is entirely relative. If you're Kimi Räikkönen, I bet you can have your user car cost some $ 3 000 000 without thinking twice about ramming it around poor roads and getting it scratched up to oblivion in a jammed parking lot. :D

If you can afford to spend $300 on a user knife, then it's not too much. If you think you'd break down crying if you lost a knife that expensive, then it's obviously not for you. It's really quite simple. If you can do it without harming yourself or others, then it's not stupid. People are rather quick these days, mostly out of envy and jealousy or just plain ignorance, to label the choices of others stupid. I actually don't "get" this type of questions at all. Sure, knifemakers in general are in knifemaking to make a living, that is to say, to make money. Sure, if they sell you a $500 knife, it's because they want your money. That's pretty darn obvious. Sometimes, though, paying a lot of money gets you better quality. I like Ka-Bars, but I could break a dozen USMC Ka-Bars in the time it would take to break even just one Busse, just as an example. So, if you want better quality than usual, have the money to spend, and don't feel bad about using expensive items, then go for it. Just do your research, so you don't accidentally buy a ripoff - not all expensive things are high quality.
 
I carried an original Lile folder as an edc for years before I gave it to my nephew. The S&W 325PD I carry would cost about $800.00 to replace, the H&K P-7M8 even more. I consider the guns and knives I buy to be tools and as such I expect to use them. If I had need of a knife like the Busse I would buy it and use it for it's intended purpose. I would not buy an engraved model for more money simply because it was prettier tho, if it doesn't enhance it's ability to perform it is an unneeded cost in any kind of tool.

If you buy quality to start with and take care of it you will have a knife that will last a lifetime. If the ZT will fulfill your needs and do the job you want it to perform then buy and carry it. My next major knife buy will be a Chris Reeve one piece and yes I intend to carry and use it when needed.
 
In 5 or 20 or 60 years, you are going to be worm food, and no one will care how much you spent on a knife way back when. :thumbup:
 
powernoodle said:
In 5 or 20 or 60 years, you are going to be worm food, and no one will care how much you spent on a knife way back when. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup:

If a knife was the only tool available when forced to use it for various tasks that do not fall into the cutting category the answer would be yes. Yes, it would be reasonable for one to spend more money on a knife because it is their only tool and that tool potential could/would be used to save someone’s life, complete a mission, etc.
 
Oddly, this same thought process has made my knife buying hell. I see a knife I want, finally get it, and it is too nice to carry... it becomes a display item no one but me will see. Price isn't the dictate here... I have $15-$25 knives on display. It is an illness... I have even bought 'user duplicates' - silly waste. Where I did have my pocket knives in a row in my desk drawer and my fixed blades in my underwear drawer, the rotation has it's own desk drawer - and I have a large collectibles display cabinet, lit with halogen lamps and containing boxes, sheaths, and spares locked away beneath the display area.

Yeah, you can pay too much for a knife. More importantly, you can think too much of a knife. They are just tools... Good grief, what if I had a Sebenza... or that Bear Grylls Bayley knife??

Stainz
 
As with most consumer products, there is a cost vs performance/quality curve to knives. As also with most products, there is a point at which the price starts rising at a much faster rate than does the performance/quality. I think that place on the graph just before the curve starts to flatten out is the best ratio of cost to performance

I suspect the optimum point on that curve is reached somewhere at the Benchmade or Spyderco product line for folders. I think it would be hard to argue that something like a Chris Reeve Sebenza is as price efficient. OTOH, a Kershaw Vapor is a very high performance to cost knife (because it is so inexpensive) but it probably isn't high performance enough for most of our perceived (as opposed to actual) needs.

All of my daily users cost somewhere in the $100 range and are good production quality knives with solid locking mechanisms and quality steels. That's my price/performance point.

Having said that, if I had big money I would be more than happy to carry a Sebenza as my EDC and a Loveless original as my deer dressing knife---but I don't think I would try to convince anyone the job couldn't be done with a less expensive knife!
 
It dspends on the definition of "user." How you plan on using it should obviously be a major consideration. If you are just going to carry it and maybe cut off a thread every now and again, thats one thing, if you are going to carry it every day, butchering, skinning, other forms of hard use, etc. Then that's another story all togather. I would be a little leary of spending TOO much on something I were going to use hard, But it all depends on what "too much" means to you.
 
If your kids have to go to school with just a half of a sandwich for their lunch because you bought a knife, yes, it's stupid. In other words, if your sacrificing necessities for desires, it's stupid.

Otherwise, buy what you want.
 
I say if it makes you happy, is affordable for you, and worth the cost, then don't let the price stop you. Also if you bought it to use, USE IT! You can spend $5-50 for a good looking display knife, they don't have to be well made to collect dust and look pretty. If you are willing to spend the extra money for the better fit and finsh, toughness, ect. then you should take advantage of those qualities. Plus, unless it is a discontinued knife, if you damage or lose it, you can buy a replacement. That way if you never break it (you will probably find another knife you like by then:) then you didn't spend twice as much for two of the same kife. One last phrase that holds true most of the time (there are some exceptions, such as Moras and SAK's), YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
 
Wutitus, you have to understand the military mind. There is a good chance that your gear will got lost or stolen. Theft is a big issue in the army among enlisted, so is cheating spouses, by the way. Anyway, your not going to pack a $300 knife if there is a good chance that it is going to get lost or stolen. So most of these guys will buy whatever is at the PX, which is usually a K-bar or Sog.

Special units SF units have more choices and are much more cohesive in nature, so there is more trust and these guys can and do get better tools. Many of them are knife fans, but many don't care either and just get what they want. In other words, the military is not a good indication of what you should be carrying. Buddy of mine who has been 10th mtn division for 15 years never saw expensive knives that were purchased for the unit. Chances are these knives never made it to the field and only made it to the officers.

As for bang for your buck, manufactured knife of 3V is nice if it was HT'd properly. I would hope that they do. If it is mass produced so that it is always available I would be wary. This is where all the time and money is spent, heat treating the knife.

As for bang for your buck, I would say that Scrapyard knives top the list, modified S7 is one of the toughest steels made and at a cost of typically under $100 and definitely under 200, you are getting the best deal on the market. I would say that the second best bang for your buck would be falkniven with it's laminated blades. I wold then go to Ranger knives. All three of these brands are under $200 and Scrapyard is probably tougher than the knife you mention, with Falkniven being very close and Ranger not being far behind, although 3V is defintely a tougher steel than 5160 if both are properly heat treated. Of course INFI is a step up in toughness, but it is also a step up in price. although if you get a regular production model, like right now you can get a basic ASH for around $300 and it will spank the knife you are interested in.

Scrapyard - Absolute best bang for your buck anywhere at any price. S7
Falkniven - Second best Bang for your buck and easier to get. Lam VG10
Ranger - Great bang for your buck with 5160 steel and decent HT.
 
I look for quality as a primary consideration in most of my "tool" purchases. This philosophy goes for firearms, knives, hand tools, etc. If it's something that I'll have to really depend on, I tend to not look for the cheaper alternatives... I guess it's a call everyone has to make for themselves. Would I have a $300 knife as a "user"? Yes...
 
I personally DO use my $300+ knives. I have one in my pocket as I type this. I love my custom knives; that is what I buy and use.
 
Around 300.00 is my limit for a user.
Not that I wouldn't splurge to say 500.00 or so for a real nice Bowie.
If I had Trump money my limits would go way up.

Why drive a BMW or Mercedes when a Yugo will get you to the same place?
Performence,style,confidence.
 
Spend what you are comfortable with, and don't be concerned with what other people think. It's your knife after all.
 
As I get older the cost of my users go up.
I can remember when $50 was too much.
Now my limit is around $500.

:cool:
 
I don't know, I guess like twenty bucks. I just get a new batch of knives off of QVC once a year and throw out any that are left over from the year before.
 
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