Just a thought.

[Kaizen1]

I still enjoy the buzz of having a knife in the mail, and I spend average about $40 per knife. I may be still immature in my collecting, but I reallllly enjoy this addiction. I am going to be buying some shotguns in the near future, I have twin boys that are 11, and a stepson that turns 11 in December. I am planning on taking them for next years dove opener. I cannot afford to spend 3 figures on a knife right now, but I cannot help myself when I see a slippie pattern that is irresistable on ebay between 30 to 50!

I don't think that's immature. If anything, it's responsible. And as long as we're all being responsible with our money, then it's all appropriate regardless of the price range.

 

[UffDa]

A lot of good points. After I posted I thought about those $75 and $100 knives. It's actually pretty amazing what you can get for that. I have a Benchmade Mini-AFCK that I bought about 10 years ago. It was my EDC for about 2 years and is a very good knife. I would not feel deprived if it was all I had today. For the most part, the only real improvement is a $1000 knife would be in craftsmanship and embellishment.

RE: Another comment. I remember a discussion about binoculars. One poster said that he was asked why he spent so much money on a Leica binocular. He replied that he couldn't afford a Ferrari, but he could afford the Ferrari of binoculars. I guess the same goes for knives.

 

[shecky]

If you spend $75-$100 and are only ending up with mediocre knives, you deserve what you get. Beyond that price, there are rapidly decreasing returns. The $1000 knife will end up a disappointment.

 

[John T Wylie Jr]

If you spend $75-$100 and are only ending up with mediocre knives, you deserve what you get. Beyond that price, there are rapidly decreasing returns. The $1000 knife will end up a disappointment.

If you spend $1,000 on a knife and end up disappointed , then you haven't done your home work first.

I have bought knives that were $30-$75 that I was disappointed with , yet I have bought other knives in that range that I was happy with. I have yet to be disappointed with a knife I bought from a customer maker.

While it is true to a point , once you cross a certain price point the noticeable increases in performance get smaller , to me that point is $500-$600 . About 5 years ago it was $200-$250.

Like the older ( & usually wiser ) folks always said " It's all in the details " , and getting the details darn near perfect is what costs that extra bit.

It is up to each individual to decide what their " smiles per dollar " actually is , cause it won't be the same for all of us.

For those of you that haven't , sit down and watch a knife ( folder or fixed ) be made from start to finish , see just how much work goes in each one.
You may find yourself adjusting your " smiles per dollar " figure after you do.



We have people putting $5000 stereo setups in $2000 cars , putting $2500 in rims/tires on $2000 cars , wearing $3000 watches , carrying $500 phones , walking around in $500 pair of shoes. Silly ?? Not to them , and if it makes them happy , in the end , that is all that matters.

I have a custom built Para Ordnance P14 , I use it maybe once a month , lets say it cost me $1300 , have had it for 6 years ( approx ) , so that is 72 uses which equals $18.05 per use ( $1300/72 ).
Now take my Strider folder , cost $400 , had it for about 3 years , but it gets used daily... woohoo... a mere 36 cents per use ( and it has many years of life left.
Smiles per dollar.... yup , that is what does it for me , be it my Para P14 , my Strider , Erickson , Queen or a $17 Sodbuster.

 

[CaptInsano]

I enjoy the variety my basic knife spending habits affords me.

 

[tirod3]

I think the point is valid - just off a little on price. And it doesn't help to say exactly what was broken about all those guns. If they still shoot, they aren't so broken.

Had the gunowner come in with a shoe box of $5 - 15 knives for sharpening, they could still be made good. That's what is so doggone frustrating about knives.

Cheap guns can be a waste of money, but cheap knives can still be useful.

 

[Hard H2O]

Silly to who ? You ?

Seems silly to me. But I still admire the expensive cutlery that others carry and collect.

It is just not for me.

My EDC folder was just shy of $20.

My EDC Leatherman was just North of $40.

My two hunting knives are a Buck 103 and a custom that cost $45.

I have 3 relatively inexpensive fillet knives.

That is enough for me. All are users. I have none in a safe or squirreled away. I tend to buy tools and gear when I percieve a need not when something sparkly catches my eye.

Keep them sharp and moderately priced blades will do the job.

 

[fudo]

Buy , use , carry , collect , etc , whatever appeals to you.
Production , custom , mid-tech , collab.... if it appeals to me and I have the cash , I buy it , sure I have more than I could ever need , but couldn't we say that about many things we have ?

+1 Different knives appeal to me for different reasons, Just collect what you like.

 

[mnblade]

Since we can only use one knife at a time, wouldn't it be better to spend, say, $1000 on one or two high quality knives rather then $75 to $100 each on 10 or 12 or more mediocre knives?

I disagree with the premise that $75-$100 buys a mediocre knife. To be clear, I only own "user" knives and in my pockets, you'll generally find knives by Case, Victorinox, Buck, Spyderco or Leatherman. Frankly, I think I'd be better off to own just own two knives, but I can't seem to stop the never-ending search for the perfect knife.

 

[UffDa]

I think the point is valid - just off a little on price. And it doesn't help to say exactly what was broken about all those guns. If they still shoot, they aren't so broken.

Had the gunowner come in with a shoe box of $5 - 15 knives for sharpening, they could still be made good. That's what is so doggone frustrating about knives.

Cheap guns can be a waste of money, but cheap knives can still be useful.

They wouldn't fire, not one of them. Some were assembled with rivets instead of screws. Some were those pot metal guns that were made in the 50's. Parts are unavailable and the cost of making them would be prohibitive.

RE: $5 knives. Have you ever tried to sharpen one of the knives from Pakistan? Most of the ones I have seen weren't even heat treated and the edge would roll on the stone. A barrel band has better steel. :barf:

 

[gazz98]

Always fun to see folks comment on spending patterns for peoples hobbies. Even if they share the same hobby. To each his/her own. I'm admittedly cheap and find that a $50 (Spyderco Delica 4 for ex) knife fits my needs for EDC just fine.

 

[So-Lo]

Lots of great points made here!

I am a knife user, not a collector. Price does not matter to me as long as its under $1000. I have carried and used all kinds of tact-T kools from Damascus Sebbies to Mick Strider custom SMFs to Kirby Lamberts, Hinderers (tons of other customs tack-ts.)

After buying and selling over 100 folders I have found, I like using a $60 knife JUST as much as a $800 knife. Really! Also you tend to use a $60 knife different than a $800 knife... I don't care who you are or how deep your pockets are.

In fact my ideal "collection" is to have as FEW knives as possible yet still be happy with the "collection." Crazy huh? I'm am thinking about offing a few more soon, just to uncomplicate things. Not that I need the money, or the wifey is on me... Just because I WANT to.

In my pockets now and has been for the last month straight A Krein Mini Bowie IWB, and a GEC Greenriver bone Scout. Today I through a GEC sheepsfoot barlow in the watch pocket also, its very nice for cutting tape to open boxes. At home, I just throw the Scout in my pocket.

Maybe its just me but I don't like seeing "NICE" knives not get used. Be it a $60 GEC to a $1000 Mick Strider Custom. As I have no desire to collect $60 knives I also have NO desire to collect $1000 knives. I am glad some do! We NEED collectors to keep makers going!

Kind of a long way to say, "just do you." I want a FEW beat up knives to pass on after I am gone be it a $60 knife to a $650 XM

 

[Foilist]

I've noticed that I'll go through a period where I accumulate (not collect) a bunch of knives while looking for something ideal. Then, after some time has passed and it is clear that there are some that I simply am not using, I end up selling or trading them to pare back down to just a couple. I think it's fun to trade and swap, and cheaper than buying - as well as keeping the numbers of knives down. I find that as my knife knowledge grows, I tend to acquire better quality knives (although I have never spent more than $150 on a knife). I'm in a pared down phase at the moment where I have only three fixed blades, one OH folder, two SAKs, two traditional slippies, and three multitools.



Of course, It seems like a lot considering I have only two hands!

 

[pjmaxm]

For me it boiled down to carrying 5-6 different knives of around $75-$125 that there was something about every one of them that bothered me or I did not like a little; compared to carrying 2 knives worth about $300 each that I love everything about them and cannot find a fault for me. However if I did not have those $75-$125 knives I would probably not appreciate the $300 knives as much.

Now I still carry those other $75-$125 knives for specific occasions or needs/uses but they spend more time in the safe then in the pocket. Just because I prefer those $300 folders doesn't mean I am going to sell or get rid of all my other knives because they serve specialized purposes for me and I still like them.

 

[Joshua J.]

If you spend $1,000 on a knife and end up disappointed , then you haven't done your home work first.

That's what has driven my knife buying habits over the past few years. With every new knife, I learn a little better what I do and don't appreciate. I'm 40 knives in, and have almost figured out what I'm looking for in "the perfect knife".
If that "perfect knife" should happen to cost $600, so be it.

I disagree with the premise that $75-$100 buys a mediocre knife. To be clear, I only own "user" knives and in my pockets, you'll generally find knives by Case, Victorinox, Buck, Spyderco or Leatherman. Frankly, I think I'd be better off to own just own two knives, but I can't seem to stop the never-ending search for the perfect knife.

There are also plenty of knives under $100 that I absolutely love. For one example, the Kershaw Shallot in CPM S110V. I place a high priority on blade steel, thus my Shallot is more valuable to me than almost anything else out there. I don't care if a knife was made by someone famous, or if the blade is perfectly centered, 90% of the knives discussed on these forums would last any individual a lifetime (sometimes two).
As long as the knife performs as intended, which ones are better is determined by the people using them.

 

[cutter17]

It seems I see more and more folks bashing others for the amount of money they spend on their knives. I've said this in other places and I still believe it; it's my money I'm spending and it has absolutely NO EFFECT on anyone else, so quit worrying about what I spend since there are more worthy things to think about than cutter17 spending $500 on a Crawford Kasper folder (which I did by the way). I like having and carrying something unique and something well crafted. Not that it takes $500 to do so, but I like my knives and if that is what it takes, then so be it.

 

[KingGeorgeIII]

As I look through the for sale and trade listings I had the same thought about knives. Since we can only use one knife at a time, wouldn't it be better to spend, say, $1000 on one or two high quality knives rather then $75 to $100 each on 10 or 12 or more mediocre knives?

Just a thought.....

Becasue if I had an addiction to 1000 dollar knives, I might as well have an addiction to drugs instead.

 

[T.K.C.]

It seems I see more and more folks bashing others for the amount of money they spend on their knives. I've said this in other places and I still believe it; it's my money I'm spending and it has absolutely NO EFFECT on anyone else, so quit worrying about what I spend since there are more worthy things to think about than cutter17 spending $500 on a Crawford Kasper folder (which I did by the way). I like having and carrying something unique and something well crafted. Not that it takes $500 to do so, but I like my knives and if that is what it takes, then so be it.

Amen brother!!!

 

[Dagon]

I bought a new ZT200 on ebay from a private seller for $100. Usually it"s around $130 which is still affordable for many people. The only negative thing about it is that it's relatively heavy. But otherwise, when it comes to general quality, I simply cannot imagine that it can be improved on. I compared the quality against various well-made knives, including a sebenza, a Fallkniven PXL and several customs. I cannot say that any that I examined improves on the ZT quality.
There was -perhaps- one exception when I discovered hte very expensive japanese brand Rockstead: refined sculpted handles an an incredibly hard dark-mirror finish blade. I am not sure if it would be better in real usage, but it just oozed quality.
Otherwise I do think that with expensive custom knives you buy into the concept of appreciation the art of a well-made craft product (like a handmade watch), sometimes you pay extra for good looking damascus in several places, but you're not really paying for extra performance.
Feel free to prove me wrong with counterexamples!

 

[bitter1]

I use all my knives from my most expensive (my Emerson CQC-8, $160) to my cheapest (KaBar Dozier $5 or $10). And I enjoy using everyone of them and that's why I have them.