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Am I missing something? I mean, I get that there are a ton of jerks in here that would rather condescend than talk, but I have literally no idea what is even being referenced here.
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Is it getting hard to purchase in the 400 to 600 range for USA?
- Thread starter J85909266
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Those $400-$600 luxury knives you're seeking *are* becoming harder to find and soon you might consider paying $700-$1000 for those same knives. This is the ill-effect of inflation starting to rear its ugly head and the reason for it was well-stated by @Steely_Gunz .
And it's only going to get worse and impact far more other goods and services in the near future. This is what happens when governments go crazy printing money.
Far wiser move to take your luxury knife funds and use them to stock up on sundries that directly impact your quality of life--lightbulbs, furnace filters, laundry soap, toiletries, etc. Your go-to product brands might become scarce sooner than you think.
Just my opinion.
And it's only going to get worse and impact far more other goods and services in the near future. This is what happens when governments go crazy printing money.
Far wiser move to take your luxury knife funds and use them to stock up on sundries that directly impact your quality of life--lightbulbs, furnace filters, laundry soap, toiletries, etc. Your go-to product brands might become scarce sooner than you think.
Just my opinion.
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The finer points have already been touched on, but the general fact is that this is just the nature of things. These knives are in demand and not produced in such high numbers as the major manufacturers, and we would not want them to sacrifice quality to do so. I do not believe, however, that these type of knives are by any means impossible to find. I picked up a Large 31 not too long ago. I didn't get it the instant I wanted it, but I waited for a batch to come in stock at one of the dealers and snatched it up. I've also been able to find Hinderer variations that were out of stock most places by continually searching. For me, the hobby is not all about ownership, but also appreciation of knives, and I don't mind the hunt. I enjoy researching a knife I'm interested in during the time I'm trying to locate one, and just getting a knife and moving on the next purchase no longer appeals to me.
Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, I implore
unwisefool
to never stop being a condescending A-hole. He is one of our resident condescending A-holes, a delightful condescending A-hole, and we wouldn't have it any other way. This would be a much duller place without wise(unwise?)-ass remarks like his. The proper response to being on the butt end of one of his quips is to give it a chuckle and move along. To do otherwise just makes you look like a different kind of A-hole, and a much less fun kind.
Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, I implore
unwisefool
to never stop being a condescending A-hole. He is one of our resident condescending A-holes, a delightful condescending A-hole, and we wouldn't have it any other way. This would be a much duller place without wise(unwise?)-ass remarks like his. The proper response to being on the butt end of one of his quips is to give it a chuckle and move along. To do otherwise just makes you look like a different kind of A-hole, and a much less fun kind.I can say as a custom maker that the 400-600 range is kind of a dead zone. It's more than the user level for hunting knives, but hunters between 200 and 400 sell very well. It's also less than the 1K+ collector/fancy grade stuff. Also as a maker, if you're going to step up the complexity to get past the 400 range, you might as well keep going and make a $1500 knife.
unwisefool
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Aw shucks, thanks buddyThe finer points have already been touched on, but the general fact is that this is just the nature of things. These knives are in demand and not produced in such high numbers as the major manufacturers, and we would not want them to sacrifice quality to do so. I do not believe, however, that these type of knives are by any means impossible to find. I picked up a Large 31 not too long ago. I didn't get it the instant I wanted it, but I waited for a batch to come in stock at one of the dealers and snatched it up. I've also been able to find Hinderer variations that were out of stock most places by continually searching. For me, the hobby is not all about ownership, but also appreciation of knives, and I don't mind the hunt. I enjoy researching a knife I'm interested in during the time I'm trying to locate one, and just getting a knife and moving on the next purchase no longer appeals to me.
Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, I implore
See, this is why we need a kissy face smiley, so I can show some love. Just know I would have given you two, maybe even 4 of 'em. But not three.
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No! $400 to $600 range is great!
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with the custom knife market in decline, we are starting to see some customs in the $600-$800 range on the secondary market
el gigantor
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This thread is a bit of a rollercoaster..
unwisefool
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This makes sense. I'm ok with beating on knives up to around $400, but higher than that and I know they are generally not going to perform better than what I have and I'm just destroying the value or damaging the knife itself with no real gain. Thats why I've sold a bunch of my higher end knives because I know they are just going to sit there. Just this morning I was using my tanto Umnumzaan to chip at 2" thick solid ice. Would I have done that with any of my $800-$1200 knives? Heck no. Probably should have gone back to the car to get my little Busse, but I'm lazy
ferider
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In many ways I prefer the exchange over buying new from a dealer: you get photos from the actual knife, can avoid issues like lock stick, don’t have to pay sales tax, etc.
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I think knife people are starting to come to the conclusion that a Sebenza, Arius, etc are probably the epitome of EDC carry nowadays. Custom knife guys (like myself) are abandoning custom knives in favor of high quality production models. Guys that are used to spending under $400 are finding ways to graduate up to these more expensive production knives.
In short >>>>> low production + high demand.
Custom knives are definitely not as popular as they once were. Trust me.
BTW I have bought second hand knives with success but for production knives I also prefer to buy new.
It doesn't help that suddenly, Instagram is full of (giant, GIANT air quotes) "Custom Knifemakers", people I've never heard of who all seem to be making the standard flipper folders with lots of shiny timascus, moku, etc. who are charging crazy money right off the bat. What's crazy money? Listen, if I can get my hands on a knife from one of the greats in the business for around what you're charging, I'm going with them. Not to mention, all of these folks constantly state "Books closed!" on their social media, yet popular knife Youtubers and Instagram pages sure never seem to have any issues getting their hands on knives. The state of the custom world today is why I enjoy getting my hands on knives from guys like Diskin, Dozier, Zinker, Hinderer, CRK, classic Al Mar, and others. These new IG/YT guys all think they deserve the kind of money people who were making knives before they were even a zygote are getting. Nope.
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Yup, when I can get a Lile folder for a few bucks more (or less
) than a cordwrapped shank from Slacker Dan you know the market has lost it's damn mind