In your own words explain buying higher priced vs. lower priced.

I love having these discussions with people.

The thing you have to realize is everyone, EVERYONE has something they like to spend money on that would be an upgrade over standard or cheaper fare.

Food
Cars
Guns
Fishing Rods
Tools

etc etc etc.

The key is to identify that.

I have a co-worker who was of the 'why spend more that $25 on a knife'. So I just asked him if he collected anything or what he enjoyed. Turns out he's a huge Coke fan and he has a whole room in his house dedicated to his Coke collectibles. I asked him what the most he ever spent on a coke collectible was and it was like $850. He stopped questioning me really quickly.

Another guy at work I found collected fishing rods and had several $1000+ fishing rods in his house.

Everyone has something. Once you figure out what it is, its easy to get them to see your side.
 
Back in the 80s I had a custom $3000 high fidelity stereo, a $10 pocket transistor radio plays music too, ever listen to Pink Floyd's the Wall through a pocket single speaker transistor radio? how would you rather hear it? Is there a difference? :)
 
T. Erdelyi said:
Back in the 80s I had a custom $3000 high fidelity stereo, a $10 pocket transistor radio plays music too, ever listen to Pink Floyd's the Wall through a pocket single speaker transistor radio? how would you rather hear it? Is there a difference? :)
Click to expand...

For someone who was touched in a way by that reality, I am sure it was no real difference. It was enough to have the opportunity to listen.
Back to the knives, most of the time we buy not only the knife per se, but what represents that knife for the us - that deep 'us'. For some is a statement of their social status, for some might be a connection with history, and for others just because they can. And between these 3 categories are the rest of the users.
 
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Bragging rights..

That I like to know where my money is going (small family instead of big Corp knives (chris reeve busse konosuke).
 
I find the best value in other hobbyist makers. I've heard the same said about me.
 
We all approach our hobbies from our own perspective. When I first learned about knives I was primarily looking for a good user; and, I still enjoy those. But, along the way I learned a great deal about the subject and became interested in the historical and anthropological aspects of these tools. I wanted knives with genuine historical relevance. I started looking for examples of knives used during the Vietnam War, during the First and Second World War, 19th century knives and knives associated with ethnographic groups or geographic regions. The knives became a conduit for enjoying a colorful world as it existed back before most everything came to be sourced from a few mega corps.

Utility, quality and aesthetics remain important factors; but, relative rarity, the difficulty in hunting down and acquiring relevant examples, is the key price driver. When you see a knife and realize that it will likely be months if not years before you may again encounter such an example, you have to decide whether you should acquire the example or invest in the effort that will likely be necessary to locate another similar example.

n2s
 
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RE: You are a knowledgeable knife knut. Someone new to knives comes to you and says "Why should I pay XXX dollars for a knife when I can get the same style knife for XX dollars."
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My reply might go something like this:

I don't buy based on "style".
I buy based on value (performance value & life cycle value).

The root of determining value based on form-follows-function.

I believe you must understand the desired function, then develop the form (the geometry).
Attempt to see/understand the design function and the beauty of the resultant form, and perhaps see the art.

If this does not make sense, then just buy the XX dollar product (or perhaps search out the X dollar product version) based on "style" and smile because "you" have made the right choice for yourself.

EDIT:
Sometimes it can be as simple as hold one then hold the other, and ask the person what they see/feel and why based on the fundamental purpose (function) of the item. If there appears to be a difference, ask what is the difference and is there a preference.
Example:
Years ago I went into an optics and outdoors store (Warschall's in Seattle) to investigate the differences between comparable Swarovski & Leica binoculars that I'd been researching. I asked the gentleman on the other side of the counter for his opinions of the two choices I had come to. He quite abruptly handed me each item and said to go outside and look at three different things from the sidewalk with each pair (he told me specifically the things to look at, but nothing more). One was a clock-tower, the other two I can't remember (over 20-yrs ago). When I returned he asked me one question about what I saw, and asked me to explain my answer to him. He asked me if I still needed "him" to answer my question. He put me into a situation where I could answer the question for myself, free of the opinions of others. Coming from photography background probably had something to do with my selection, but regardless he made me the determining factor of my purchase. The determining factor being which product provided the best representation to my eyes and my brain. Basically, a test of the fundamental function that the product was designed to do. To this day this simple lesson has significant value time & time again.

Tools, fishing rods, knives, guns, cameras, skateboards, shoes, boats, clothes, etc., etc. are all value based in my my mind. I am pleased to say my parents instilled the value of properly fitting quality shoes and boots at a very young age ;-)
 
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If you've got a passion for knives you're probably going to spend at the high-end of your budget despite being far out on the curve of diminishing returns.
If you're the average guy who wants a knife, you aren't going to budget as much.
 
My 0562 is a great work knife. Why would I prefer that than a low cost Kershaw?

Because it will last many years, until I pass it on to my son, and I think of the initial purchase cost spread out over the many years I will have and use it. In this way, US$200 for an industrial grade tool that I can count on is real value for money, to me.

Why not a Hinderer? Because a blue collar man like myself supporting a family has to work within a budget. Or I would gladly have an Umnumzaan for a work knife.
 
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