Investment knives

[Monty Rainey]

I am certainly not an active collector but have had a couple of instances of being in the right place at the right time. I do have a Jimmy Lyle knife I purchased before his Rambo notoriety and also an R.H. Rauna. I have a few other hand made knives but nothing spectacular. I am looking to add to my collection and specifically looking for makers that might be considered as "good investments". My purchases will likely never be used but passed down to my grand kids someday. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[betzner]

There are those, reading your post, who might try to take advantage of your lack of knowledge/experience, so watch your back pocket carefully. I would suggest that you fill out the Blade Forums profiles so those who aren't of that persuasion can know who they are dealing with, but without including information like "your favorite maker" or anything else that might hint toward your capacity to spend.

And whatever you do, do not even think that consulting a dealer for such information will do anything for you but line the dealer's pockets.

I suggest you buy the Bladeforums membership gold level, and that will give you plenty of private message communications ability. It's there you can learn more than here. Here, you will hear about collectors' favorite makers, not so much "investment grade". If you know anyone in knife forums, seek their help when it comes to determining who has a good reputation, and who may not, but do so in a private message conversation - and confirm the info you get from a secondary source. And realize that "investment grade" knives mean just that, because there are numbers of makers that become "hot" then cool off sooner than later, but the VAST majority NEVER become investment grade.

Good luck!

 

[Georgecatl]

Mr Betzner has given sound advice.

Sometimes being in the right place at the right time ...... and realizing after the fact.....and hopefully still in possession ...... starts you on that path.

I still cringe at the muscle cars I had, the personal knife purchase from Bo Randall at 8 years old ( my family owned orange groves up the road from his grove) only to lose it as an eight year old would.

But, it lit the fire. (Years later)
There are a lot of talented makers and some of the new talent is amazing.
Spend time perusing this forum. You’ll find postings from serious collectors. Figure out what you like, follow the makers and collectors that stike a cord.

You may never achieve “investment grade”, but hopefully you may enjoy the pursuit.

 

[betzner]

Thanks for the comments, George.

Let me go further here than I had intended to go. Below is a link to click on to some very high end works most of which, though not all, would be considered investment grade of high order. If you get the gold membership and are able to privately communicate with me, I can at least make suggestions on what you should be considering beyond the knife or knifemaker, things that can help you guide your course as you develop your feel for what it is you want, how much you wish to spend, good rules to go by, parameters, etc. And while there are many Warenskis in the thread below, realize I want all the great ones he ever made so would never suggest you buy one, hahaha!

If you wish, once you have that membership, feel free to contact me privately. I have assisted more than a few collectors in navigating this territory and have, I think, an impeccable reputation among longtime collectors. Bottom line, I hate to see anyone taken advantage of, and take a chance even listening to me, but my reputation and references support the greatest scrutiny you can bring to bear. I don't do it for money, I do it because it is a way of giving back, for the help I was given many, many years ago. Now it's time for Xmas eve dinner!
Bob Betzner - Happy Holidays!
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...hukri-tut-san-fran-scimitar-surprises.954516/

 

[coldsteelburns]

Interesting subject. I don't collect knives so I'm not too sure about the difference between" investment grade knives" or simply nice/expensive knives made by well established makers, but some names that come to my mind would be Bill Moran, Bob Loveless (knives that he actually made), perhaps Jerry Fisk (as he is considered an "NLT" in his state), maybe Don Fogg.

I just did a quick search before hitting post and quickly found this thread from 2009 on the exact same subject, maybe it'll help some: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/investment-grade-knives.636614/

Also, if you're interested in searching through past threads on BladeForums, use this its "custom" Google search engine found here (as opposed to the search bar at the top of the page here, which is pretty worthless): http://cse.google.com/cse?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra

~Paul
My YoutubeChannel
... (It's been a few years since my last upload)

 

[Monty Rainey]

Thanks to each of you for such great responses. I am a businessman and understand the necessity of due diligence. I will be upgrading to Gold membership and hope to talk to each of you more on this.

 

[Ellis]

Collectible, Investable are two words that do not always have similar meanings.
I am a Collector first, as my personal collection grew I morphed into the World of Knife Dealing.
I am also a retired ABS Mastersmith.

I would hope that the majority of credible "Dealers" would help a new collector find their way, not use high pressure sales techniques to line their pockets. Speaking from my own experience I have rarely come into contact while finding my path in collecting, with a seller or Dealer that I could not either see right through or received valuable advice from.

You cannot always pick winners but if you stick with pieces that you love as well as doing your own homework Knife Collecting can and has been a very rewarding way of making new friends, opening new doors and like any other collectible, can garner rewards.

I would be more than happy to discuss any aspect of the Custom Knife World without any strings as this is a Hobby and fun, not a business..at least for me!

Happy Holidays and good Hunting.

Dave