I'll try not to ramble too much, but this is a long posting.
I've bought a lot of knives over the last 12 months. Perhaps not as many as some folks, but most of them live in 4 big plastic storage tubs. I'm single and have a pretty good job, so much of my income is "disposable". I've tended to buy on eBay, and to browse a few online shops that I have good prices and service. For a while I bought lots of Cold Steel and CRKT, a few Spydercos and Beckers, and I went through a "puukko phase" when I bought Helle, Mora, Iisakki Järvenpää, a Kellam Wolverine. I even have some "semi-custom" knives including several John Greco knives, which I consider to be an outstanding value. In short, I haven't focused on any brand, but more on a subjective price to quality ratio.
Frequently, I'd buy knives just because they were a good deal, often being clearanced because they were discontinued. Some were good quality knives at great prices, some were just cheap knives. I'm not talking no-name China or Pakistan knives, but I picked up several S&Ws and even a couple of Frost knives (I don't think of Frost knives for quality, but I have a fondness for their "Alamo Defender" Bowie).
My two EDCs are a Kershaw Leek (1660G10ST) with G10 handles and an s30v stone washed ComboEdge blade and a Spyderco Tasman Salt (C106YSL). I like fixed-blades and have a bunch of them, but I work in an office, so they simply aren't practical to carry. I like big fixed-blade knives as much as the next guy and own several, but simply carrying anything longer than about a 5 inch blade in town is likely to draw undesired law-enforcement attention.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I've spent quite a bit over the last year and have a large quantity of knives to show for it, but I've tried to limit how much I spend on any single knife to about $100. There have, of course, been exceptions, but I think of them as "collectors" rather than "users". Lately, my attention has been wandering toward Busse / Swamp Rat / Scrapyard knives, which is causing me to re-evaluate my basic preconceptions.
First, what is the value of all those knives in storage boxes? I can only carry one or two at a time, and since I almost always carry the same two, the rest of them don't "do" anything for me but take up space. Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on giving any of them away, but I could have a fairly good sized pile of Busse knives for what I've spent, or an even bigger pile of Rats or Dogs. They'd hold or appreciate in value and take up less space, plus they'd have much more of an "Oooh... Ahhh..." factor. Their only downside would be that, at least in my current mindset, I'd go from having a lot of knives that I don't use, to fewer knives that I couldn't use.
Next, from the number of descriptions I've read about how well an edge holds up to cutting cardboard or chopping logs, I don't think that I'm unusual in not depending on a knife for day-to-day survival. I can count the number of knife fights I've been in on no hands, so the knives that I carry have always been quite sufficient for my needs. However, if a time should ever come that my life really depends on a knife, does it make any sense to have my best stuff at home in a box?
Finally: the Swamp Rat tie-in. As I posted yesterday, I just received an INFIcoot. It's my first Swamp Rat, and an outstanding knife that is sized so that I could probably carry it in town, although certainly not at the office. However, the rarity and cost of the knife would normally preclude ever considering using it. If I keep that INFIcoot locked away, I believe that it'll continue to appreciate in value, but there's a part of me that's beginning to think that a knife should be a tool, not an investment, and that its greatest value lies in being available if you need it.
I've bought a lot of knives over the last 12 months. Perhaps not as many as some folks, but most of them live in 4 big plastic storage tubs. I'm single and have a pretty good job, so much of my income is "disposable". I've tended to buy on eBay, and to browse a few online shops that I have good prices and service. For a while I bought lots of Cold Steel and CRKT, a few Spydercos and Beckers, and I went through a "puukko phase" when I bought Helle, Mora, Iisakki Järvenpää, a Kellam Wolverine. I even have some "semi-custom" knives including several John Greco knives, which I consider to be an outstanding value. In short, I haven't focused on any brand, but more on a subjective price to quality ratio.
Frequently, I'd buy knives just because they were a good deal, often being clearanced because they were discontinued. Some were good quality knives at great prices, some were just cheap knives. I'm not talking no-name China or Pakistan knives, but I picked up several S&Ws and even a couple of Frost knives (I don't think of Frost knives for quality, but I have a fondness for their "Alamo Defender" Bowie).
My two EDCs are a Kershaw Leek (1660G10ST) with G10 handles and an s30v stone washed ComboEdge blade and a Spyderco Tasman Salt (C106YSL). I like fixed-blades and have a bunch of them, but I work in an office, so they simply aren't practical to carry. I like big fixed-blade knives as much as the next guy and own several, but simply carrying anything longer than about a 5 inch blade in town is likely to draw undesired law-enforcement attention.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I've spent quite a bit over the last year and have a large quantity of knives to show for it, but I've tried to limit how much I spend on any single knife to about $100. There have, of course, been exceptions, but I think of them as "collectors" rather than "users". Lately, my attention has been wandering toward Busse / Swamp Rat / Scrapyard knives, which is causing me to re-evaluate my basic preconceptions.
First, what is the value of all those knives in storage boxes? I can only carry one or two at a time, and since I almost always carry the same two, the rest of them don't "do" anything for me but take up space. Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on giving any of them away, but I could have a fairly good sized pile of Busse knives for what I've spent, or an even bigger pile of Rats or Dogs. They'd hold or appreciate in value and take up less space, plus they'd have much more of an "Oooh... Ahhh..." factor. Their only downside would be that, at least in my current mindset, I'd go from having a lot of knives that I don't use, to fewer knives that I couldn't use.
Next, from the number of descriptions I've read about how well an edge holds up to cutting cardboard or chopping logs, I don't think that I'm unusual in not depending on a knife for day-to-day survival. I can count the number of knife fights I've been in on no hands, so the knives that I carry have always been quite sufficient for my needs. However, if a time should ever come that my life really depends on a knife, does it make any sense to have my best stuff at home in a box?
Finally: the Swamp Rat tie-in. As I posted yesterday, I just received an INFIcoot. It's my first Swamp Rat, and an outstanding knife that is sized so that I could probably carry it in town, although certainly not at the office. However, the rarity and cost of the knife would normally preclude ever considering using it. If I keep that INFIcoot locked away, I believe that it'll continue to appreciate in value, but there's a part of me that's beginning to think that a knife should be a tool, not an investment, and that its greatest value lies in being available if you need it.
Doesn't mean you should abuse them, but keep them clean, rust free, etc. Nothing wrong with buying a knife or two that you know you won't use (I recently bought a very nice dagger, it's nice but not to useful in life), but for the most part the value should be in getting good use of of your knives. If you're just going to invest and keep it in your safe, but some stocks or savings bonds. 
