In your opinion, what warrants an above $400 MSRP for a production pocket knife?

Steven65 said:
If however you strive to own something special and uncommon made in an exceptional way then $400 can just be a starting point.
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Yes and no. In my opinion only 2 VALID factors decide a knife's realistic value. Production cost and scarcity. Let me give you an example:
Boker has a knife called The Tirpitz. It's a knife that has a damast blade that was forged from a chunk of steel that was recovered from the WWII German battleship Tirpitz, that was bombed and sank off the coast of Norway. The scarcity of that material combined with the obvious cost of securing it, in my opinion warrants it's well over $400 price tag even though it's not a fully manually produced knife.
On the flipside of that coin, I fail to see why, for example, a Chinese produced small slip joint folder coming off a mostly automated belt but sold by a US company has to cost $350?
 
BoCen said:
Yes and no. In my opinion only 2 VALID factors decide a knife's realistic value. Production cost and scarcity. Let me give you an example:
Boker has a knife called The Tirpitz. It's a knife that has a damast blade that was forged from a chunk of steel that was recovered from the WWII German battleship Tirpitz, that was bombed and sank off the coast of Norway. The scarcity of that material combined with the obvious cost of securing it, in my opinion warrants it's well over $400 price tag even though it's not a fully manually produced knife.
On the flipside of that coin, I fail to see why, for example, a Chinese produced small slip joint folder coming off a mostly automated belt but sold by a US company has to cost $350?
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It works until the demo that cares about WWII errata dies out. Then it’s just a knife among many.
 
Steven65 said:
Many, many knives are worth it. Either you see the value in a high end knife or you don't.

If you view a knife as simply a tool that needs to accomplish its task in as cost effective a way as possible don't bother looking at +$400 knives. Many knives at a quarter of that will do everything you need a folder to do.

If however you strive to own something special and uncommon made in an exceptional way then $400 can just be a starting point. It's up to you to decide if your choices are about good enough or as good as you can get.
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Well said.

While I think some knives are overpriced to me, and I am mostly referring to production knives of average quality costing 400+, the craftsmanship and quality of a knife made with precision comes with a pride of ownership that easily warrants the price. If we apply the cheap most inexpensive item to accomplish a job mentality to everything we'd have the bare minimum of literally everything.
 
For me, in no particular order:

- Small-batch production
- Made in the USA
- Good materials
- Precision and tight tolerances
- Polished and refined design, clearly matching intent to outcome
- Design that speaks to me on some primal level
- Good warranty
- A certain amount of cachet, pride of ownership

When I sold off my almost my entire carry rotation (the core of my collection, everything but the sentimental and task-specific stuff), I kept very few knives. Two were my CRK Inkosi and Hinderer Eklipse, which tick every box on that list.
 
Tritium said:
Start a small business and make a high quality product and you will see where all the money goes.
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No arguments there, like I said earlier. Production cost including overhead is a valid reason for a higher MSRP. Your volume is very low which directly impacts the cost of production per piece. But can you look me in the eye and tell me that argument flies with something like a CR Sebenza or Medford Pretorian?
 
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BoCen said:
Yes and no. In my opinion only 2 VALID factors decide a knife's realistic value. Production cost and scarcity. Let me give you an example:
Boker has a knife called The Tirpitz. It's a knife that has a damast blade that was forged from a chunk of steel that was recovered from the WWII German battleship Tirpitz, that was bombed and sank off the coast of Norway. The scarcity of that material combined with the obvious cost of securing it, in my opinion warrants it's well over $400 price tag even though it's not a fully manually produced knife.
On the flipside of that coin, I fail to see why, for example, a Chinese produced small slip joint folder coming off a mostly automated belt but sold by a US company has to cost $350?
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The part you continually miss is that when you talk about value you keep saying “to me. . .” or “in my opinion” then you go on to try to quantify the cost. And that’s exactly all it is, whatever value is to you, isn’t necessarily the same for someone else.
 
An artist I know gives away 90% of his work for free to be able to earn a living off of the 10% that he is able to sell.
Most of us will never know the cost of doing business. We can barely speculate production costs. Markets are perplexing and chaotic things.

Personally, I wouldn't pay that much for a factory knife, due to my own limitations. However, I already broke my rule that said I'd never pay more than $200. If that wasn't enough, I've modified knives that were purchased within my budget with aftermarket parts that were not, to simultaneously increase my costs while devaluing the knife. I'm mad at myself for the foolishness, but tickled by the custom results.

In my perception, some makers are overcharging. So, I don't buy those knives. I'm also convinced of deliberate undercharging, but that's a geopolitical tactic that isn't approved for discussion - suffice to say I don't buy those, either. As long as you understand that the price on the box and the actual worth to you will likely be different numbers, and make your own decisions accordingly, you're already a leg up on the vast majority of consumers who never think about it and just buy, buy, buy.
 
BP Green said:
The part you continually miss is that when you talk about value you keep saying “to me. . .” or “in my opinion” then you go on to try to quantify the cost. And that’s exactly all it is, whatever value is to you, isn’t necessarily the same for someone else.
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I'm not missing it, I tried to avoid it in my original statement I deliberately didn't factor in emotional value. That's why I said "objective" value. I do get that we're all knife enthusiasts here and that we all, myself included, are sometimes willing to overpay because a knife simply appeals to us. My argument is just that we ARE in fact overpaying because very little non-custom knives by larger companies HAVE to cost over $400 for a company to make a profit. We are just the ones letting them get away with it.
 
BP Green said:
The part you’re missing is that they actually are “voting with their wallets”, you just don’t like the way the election is going.
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This needs to be in your sig line!

There are some makers who are charging a couple of hundred too high, IMO, for what they offer. But, if they keep selling out, then it is not in their best interest to discount them.

Making very high precision products has a cost that cannot be denied. That said, I leave it up to others to argue whether that level of precision is warranted on a pocket knife.
 
BoCen said:
No arguments there, like I said earlier. Production cost including overhead is a valid reason for a higher MSRP. Your volume is very low which directly impacts the cost of production per piece. But can you look me in the eye and tell me that argument flies with something like a CR Sebenza or Medford Pretorian?
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I really dont know. I'm not into those brands because they're not my style (yet?). I'm not saying many aren't over priced because they probably are. One I'm willing to pay the price for is a Demko AD20, for example. For me it is almost perfect in looks, materials, fit/finish, and especially the lock. Also, I like the company and think Andrew deserves a good profit margin for all he's contributed to the knife community. If I had to, I could get by with one or two and stop spending. That would be a whole lot cheaper than 20 random cheaper knives. There are so many options and price points that everyone should be fairly happy these days. The nice thing about quality knives is that you could sell it for around what you paid if you dont see the value. Relatively low risk.
 
Tritium said:
I really dont know. I'm not into those brands because they're not my style (yet?). I'm not saying many aren't over priced because they probably are. One I'm willing to pay the price for is a Demko AD20, for example. For me it is almost perfect in looks, materials, fit/finish, and especially the lock. Also, I like the company and think Andrew deserves a good profit margin for all he's contributed to the knife community. If I had to, I could get by with one or two and stop spending. That would be a whole lot cheaper than 20 random cheaper knives. There are so many options and price points that everyone should be fairly happy these days. The nice thing about quality knives is that you could sell it for around what you paid if you dont see the value. Relatively low risk.
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I agree with everything you say about the reasons to support Andrew and company...I own four knives under the Demko brand, and three of his designs under the Cold Steel banner.

That said, there are a handful that I'd love to own but I find the price onerous, despite the fact that I can afford to buy them without it causing any damage to my lifestyle.

And that's sort of how I determine what a knife is worth. Whether or not it's worth the asking price "to me". I don't worry about what I can get for it in the aftermarket, (as I'm not a flipper), nor what others are willing to pay. If it gives me pause, then I know the price is too high "for me".

I will say that I have occasionally paid more than I would prefer because, like you, I like knowing that I am supporting a maker, (especially custom makers), whose work I respect, and whom I respect as a person.
 
Blues said:
I agree with everything you say about the reasons to support Andrew and company...I own four knives under the Demko brand, and three of his designs under the Cold Steel banner.

That said, there are a handful that I'd love to own but I find the price onerous, despite the fact that I can afford to buy them without it causing any damage to my lifestyle.

And that's sort of how I determine what a knife is worth. Whether or not it's worth the asking price "to me". I don't worry about what I can get for it in the aftermarket, (as I'm not a flipper), nor what others are willing to pay. If it gives me pause, then I know the price is too high "for me".

I will say that I have occasionally paid more than I would prefer because, like you, I like knowing that I am supporting a maker, (especially custom makers), whose work I respect, and whom I respect as a person.
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To clarify, I will most likely not be interested in anything more than the AD20 because I'm happy with them and thats a high enough price point for a knife. A knife over a grand or two is not what I will spend my money on. For me its just a knife and I already feel ridiculous. I would rather buy something like an AUG or motorcycle. To each their own.
 
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