Is this hobby becoming too expensive?

I don't know if the hobby is becoming too expensive but my taste sure is!

I find the same with all my hobbies though - knives, watches, golf and bicycles. Pricing certainly isn't going down but the longer I'm into a hobby the more I tend to push up market. I remember thinking I'd never buy a Sebenza but here we are. What once sounded like ludacris money for a watch is slowly turning into "well, that's not so bad..."

Of all my hobbies I think knives are still the most approachable in terms of price. You aren't getting much in terms of golf, watches or bikes for less than a couple hundred bucks but that would definitely get you a couple of decent knives to start you out if you want to get into knives. Where your wallet takes you after that, the sky is the limit.
 
unwisefool said:
Everything has gone up in price. Booze had gone up a lot as well. Take a look at new cars, trucks and suv's. It's going to cost me a ridiculous amount to get another decent size SUV that has air conditioned and massaging seats. 🧐
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I usually pass on the heated steering wheel to control costs. Besides, battery powered gloves go with you when you get out of the car :D .
 
Yeah, knife prices are out of control, at least for what the moderate priced ones used to be. I used to get a lot on the Bay and could always find a decent GEC for $50 or $60 new. But now with all these limited editions it seems people snatch them up, wait a few months then triple the price or more, so you have to get them when they’re first released (and you have to be quick). But everything has gone up dramatically. The same ZT or Benchmade seems to be almost double in price from when I first started collecting if not more, and a lot of the Kershaw and CRKTs that were my budget brands are getting the place the ZTs used to be at. Same with the higher end Chinese brands.
I’ve honestly stopped collecting knives. I have enough to EDC a different knife for a few months and that’s enough. I collect swords now and for the same price as a cheap ZT, I can get a fully functional 36” high carbon steel peened sword, and while the whole EDC concept goes out the window, it’s a lot more fun looking at them on my wall. Size DOES matter!
 
A lot has already been said about inflation, which includes governments printing money and watering down the value of what people have or earn. That problem is ongoing and will probably get worse before evening out. Other sources of inflation don't seem like they are going to get better anytime soon either. How far things will go is anybody's guess.

The market has expanded and there have been shifts in where quality knives are being made. There are a lot of great budget knives coming out China. The more premium Chinese knives from companies like WE and Kizer can be pretty nice and relatively affordable for what they are. At least in the US, you can get a nice titanium framelock with good machining and great action for $100-300. The main issue with a lot of those knives is that their mass-production heat treatment on the super steels can leave a bit to be desired.

That's not strictly a Chinese problem but it is a problem with a lot of the Chinese knives. How much of a problem is it? It depends on a couple of factors. For instance, what do you expect from your knife? For my regular EDC needs, a WE in 20CV is more than enough. Then again, so is a Civivi in 9Cr18Mov. That's actually a good illustration of the underlying issue. WE does a relatively mediocre heat treatment on their 20CV and a truly exceptional heat treatment on their 9Cr18Mov. In a lot of cases, if the blade wasn't marked and the handles were wrapped in tape or something, I don't think a lot of people would be able to tell the difference between WE 20CV and Civivi 9Cr18Mov in their actual EDC use.
 
amngwlvs said:
I don't know if the hobby is becoming too expensive but my taste sure is!

I find the same with all my hobbies though - knives, watches, golf and bicycles. Pricing certainly isn't going down but the longer I'm into a hobby the more I tend to push up market. I remember thinking I'd never buy a Sebenza but here we are. What once sounded like ludacris money for a watch is slowly turning into "well, that's not so bad..."

Of all my hobbies I think knives are still the most approachable in terms of price. You aren't getting much in terms of golf, watches or bikes for less than a couple hundred bucks but that would definitely get you a couple of decent knives to start you out if you want to get into knives. Where your wallet takes you after that, the sky is the limit.
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I could not agree more, when I start off with a hobby my idea of what i think I like and how much I am willing to spend, starts to go upward over time until things become too expensive or I lose interest.
There are lot of hobbies that make collecting knives seem like a reasonable cost. The old days for me were fishing, audio and watches, spent a lot and now I live with what I bought years ago with no interest in investing more.
Like any hobby what is expensive and what is reasonable is up to the consumer. Knife collecting for me does not touch by a lot on what cars, wine and photography can add up to. Photography is a good example for most their phone or a simple digital camera are more than enough, but having been a professional photographer for a very long time and even now being mostly retired, I spent far more on photo equipment than I ever have on knives. It all has to do with what is an acceptable, need , want or appreciation of the items.
 
Buffalohump said:
At the risk of sounding like a whiney old fart, I was wondering if anyone else if feeling that knives have become too expensive for words? Given that I have been collecting knives for half my life (I'm 53), it seems that prices of late are simply out of control. Kinda depressing to consider that this hobby might become too expensive to justify.

I used to be able to afford customs and then I had to drop that from consideration. Now even production knives are getting way up there. Hard to find productions under $200 these days, especially US or European companies which I prefer.

While I appreciate the use of high-end materials in knives, when it means they become much more expensive, who is winning here?

I'm kinda glad I bought what I did when I did and wish I hadn't sold so many off because there's no way I could afford to buy them now.

I should add that I live in South Africa so I'm also dealing with a weakened currency against the dollar and brutal shipping costs.
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The value of fiat currency is eroding away, some call that inflation, so everything cost more. In a world where revenues increase at the same level, or more, than the fiat money devaluation, it doesn't matter because your purchasing power is maintained or increased.

That is not what we're seeing thought, revenus for regular folks is just not keeping up, hence the impression that everything cost more, because it does. Cutlery is just one of those things.

For example, people working in my trade have seen their salaries double in the last 20 years; but during that same period the price for a typical unifamilial home has increased by a factor of 4. Fine if you bought one 20 years ago, not fine if you're in the market for your first home now.

Personally, other than replacing a lost or broken knife, or purchasing one to fill a specific need, I find nothing compelling in the current market. Most, if not all, of the "high end" stuff is titanium framelock, I hate framelock and I find the whole genre boring. The rest is either stuff I already have, or it's coming from China, or stuff I have no interest in. So whatever price increase there are, it's not going to affect me.
 
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Ranting is fun and can relieve stress , but doesn't lower prices .

Hobby is supposed to be fun entertainment .

Set a household budget , pay the necessary bills first . Put away some .

Entertainment is optional . But still important .

Budget what you can afford .

There's all kinds of ways to enjoy this hobby without any huge continuous cash outlay , unlike shooting guns or driving your hot rod vehicles / boats . 😬
 
I've never spent more than $150 or 160 on a knife. I spent over $125 three times I think.

It's isn't too expensive for me since I dabble in the low(er) end tier of the hobby.

No, I don't think the hobby is getting too expensive. There are plenty of offerings for every budget.
 
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I think everyone has made some great points.......
With the cost of everything going up. My problem is having less extra money to buy knives or anything else.
Needs come first and buying for fun is second.
As long as I can buy food and what I need.......
 
Got to balance those needs, wants, and means.

I'd love to spend more than I already do, but I keep it somewhat dialed back for sanity reasons; although I've already bought 24 knives this year and have 3 more on order.

My leaps and bounds for what was within my knife budget started with taking that big step to buying a knife as expensive as a Buck 119, then buying my first Benchmade knives, then madness ensued, and then starting to buy some Zero Tolerance and Italian knives. I try to keep a limit on knives of $300 Cdn, with some special exceptions for the odd excursion into some pricier models I have targeted on The List. The knives I want the most right now aren't all expensive either. For the ones on The List though, I track the prices from various regional sellers.
 
HexY3co said:
It was too expensive 20 years ago and now those knives are Rolex money.
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I suppose I'm lucky that I have zero interest in fine watches. I got a $30 Timex in 2019 to wear on job interviews. Now it's in a desk drawer until I need it again. Nice watches make knives seem cheap!

I've also lost interest in mid techs and customs. So many awesome production knives are available . . .
 
Yes it's been an expensive hobby and lately it's become more expensive. The Gas price is a bad analogy because at some point the gas price will fall back to 2 or 3 bucks but will ZT 0562cf fall under 200 bucks or Spyderco PM2 fall below $120 too?

I am with many posters in this thread that I have acquired enough knives such that I don't need to buy any more. If knife manufacturers continue to raise their prices, good luck to them. Damn a pocket knife with less than 10 moving pieces cost as much as a decent laptop computer.
 
“If you have to ask the price; you can’t afford it.“ - I don’t know who said it but if there aren’t any prices on the carta at the restaurant… I’m not going in.
 
Ruari said:
Buffalohump Buffalohump - I think it's a combination of things.
1. Demand. Coronavirus and lockdowns have brought out a lot of hobbies and interests, knives being one of them. People with time and some spare money on their hands have 'got into' many hobbies that previously they didn't have, so the demand has increased.
2. Social media. The proliferation of the use of social media, the 'I want it now!' mindset, the ever increasing amount of 'Ltd editions', FOMO (fear of missing out) and desire to have the latest thing also can drive prices up.
3. Inflation. Everything has gone up - taxes, shipping, raw materials, labour etc. So increases across the board are expected (but granted, some prices are just crazy for what they are...)
4. Fame. Some have mentioned that one could buy a knife by a certain maker a year or two ago for a 'reasonable price' - well guess what, maker X has now become a well respected maker and is able to increase his prices due to demand for his product, a very fortunate and enviable position to be in.

I guess now would be the time to potentially regroup, consider if that Ltd edition or drop is actually worth it, why do you want the knife, and something I thought of recently - perhaps look at the lesser known newer makers and perhaps invest in what might become a classic in a few years. Buy now at a reasonable price a knife you like, before they become famous!
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Good thoughts all, bear in mind I feel the same way about restaurants, cars, clothing, food... must be a condition that occurs as you age and you start remembering when things cost next to nothing! 😆
 
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