Knife prices vs diminishing returns

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MMS375

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May 28, 2017
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This is an honest question meant to solicit others view point not incite a riot so please before you light the torches and take up your pitchforks.....

At what price point does practicality and functional use ability plateau for the "average user/enthusiast " (what ever average is)? I realize that exact amount is fluid based on ones economic status. That aside, where realistically is the line? Not precise $ amount but range. For me $300ish gives me pause. That said I own a couple of Sebenzas and a Randal. I am most comfortable spending $100-$200 because I believe that is where for the most part the quality to cost is optimized (there are of course exceptions). Just curious if my thoughts are valid and how others think and feel.
 
I agree. For folders $250 is the point where the definition of value and the role of the tool changes for me. It's around that number for a fixed blade as well.

Above that spend, materials and craftsmanship have a larger subjective affect on value.
 
Most of my folders seem to float around $150-200 US. I have fixed and folders that are more but I don't feel too put off over those since the quality is for sure there.

I'd think maybe around a thousand bucks is when you'll start to venture into diminishing returns of useabilty vs price. Except of course for some stuff like the Randalls for example that will hold value. If you get one of the 1K Instagram flavor of the week knives you could luck out and get a great knife but it's more likely that you just get an expensive touchstone that you wind up not using because you want to resell it and start again.
 
Diminishing returns kick in heavily after about $9.86 (what I think I paid for the Kershaw Hotwire at wallyworld).

Beyond $50 - 100, IMO you gain no useful function (I think I can find you a quality option for any use case in that price range).

Beyond about $400, it really is more likely to get worse than better, based on my experiences buying ~$1k customs.

Everyone should just buy a Benchmade Bugout and be done with it--except buying more knives is fun. ;)
 
Around $200-ish is where I like spending, simply because of design, materials, fit & finish etc., but most of those knives never will see use.

For knives I'll actually use, I like around $50-$125, with most of my users actually idling around $75-$90.

I have a very hard time paying more than $300 for a knife, even though I have almost a dozen that hit $350 and more.
 
The Average knife owner and collector's EDC tasks are typically limited to opening the occasional UPS package or bag of chips--myself included. Heavy use will be slicing down a cardboard box. The practical performance cutoff for the typical knife owner therefore is probably a $5 cheap truck stop knife. Thats all you really need for such tasks. But the avg knife owner and collector isnt content with bare minimum. We want more and will pay for it ---$5 truck stop knvies are boring, they dont hold up well over time, you have to sharpen them more etc....
 
$15-$120 is my personal sweet spot. There are plenty of excellent knives in great blade steels at $120 or below so going over that mark is based on tastes more than performance. Not to say a person shouldn’t go over that mark, but going over it with full knowledge that it isn’t a purely performance driven decision. The same can be said for number of knives. How many knives does one person need? There is an average practical range and outside of that it’s about tastes more than performance.
 
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My thought is that I really cant see what a 300.00 knife will do that a decent 75.00 knife cant do.. I all reality.. I would guess that probably 75% of us will never use that 300.00 knife to its full capacity.. Heck.. Not even the 75.00 knife either.. This is all JMO as a 50yr knife carrier.. John:)
 
If you take into account cutting ability alone , my point of diminishing returns starts at about $12. :(
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$15 will get you either an Opinel or a Kershaw Injection and both cut well, have a comfortable handle, won't require sharpening so often as to be useless and have reliable locks. That's really all it takes for a knife to be a functional tool that will perform any task you can reasonably require of a folding blade, so beyond that we're realistically moving from want into need (with a few exceptions).

Don't get me wrong, I think it's both acceptable and can be quite practical to want more than those knives offer, but I'm also quite certain any of us could get by with those folders for the rest of our lives.
 
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I don't currently own a single knife that cost more than $250, and the vast majority of mine are in about the $80 to $200 range. That is my personal range of acceptable price-to-features-to-performance. It could change in the future, I could go higher or lower, you never know. :-)

But OP asked:
MMS375 said:
At what price point does practicality and functional use ability plateau for the "average user/enthusiast " (what ever average is)?
Click to expand...

So if we're talking only about practicality and usability--you don't care about premo steels or handle materials, all you want is a knife that functionally cuts well, carries well, locks up safely and strong, etc--if I were honest with myself, it's in the $20 to $40 range. After that, everything is more features and window dressing that I may prefer, but don't need. You can get high quality knives made by American companies in this price range. Two examples: A Buck Vantage in 420HC, and an Ontario Rat folder in D2. The Rat folders in particular, are low cost high value knives. My Rat folder retains its edge as long as my folders in M390, locks up strong with blade centered and no blade play, comes with a hair whittling edge from the factory, and has a great clip and handle. There's nothing about either of these knives that makes them inferior to my more expensive knives when it comes to using them as a knife, to cut things.
 
When you get right down to the nut cutting this knife I bought yesterday will hold an edge longer than a $12 Mora but they both will cut. That's why guys buy Ferraris.;)
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A Buck 110 can be had for $30 (or less).
Mora Knives are amazing at less than $20 and up to around $100
A Spyderco Stretch is one of the most all around useful knives IMO and can be had for around $80-95 in VG10 new, or a PM2 in the $120 range.
Many GECs available for sub $100, and the quality is very high.
And 3 of 4 of these mentioned are US made.
Bells and whistles don't do a lot for me, so over $100 and I usually start comparing with the likes of this list.
 
$300 for a factory production folder. After that if you want to squeeze me for more there needs to be something to really catch my eye: damascus, inlays, etc.
 
As far as production folders there are some well made decent cutting knives below the $100 mark. When you use your knife for more than opening packages and unnecessarily cutting cardboard you begin to see where fit, finish, durability and longevity come with a cost(with some exceptions of course). I have found $100-$250 will get you a useful knife that will last.
Beyond that I think you are paying for exclusivity. Not saying there is anything wrong with that, I have plans to get there myself someday.
 
Taking all aspects of what makes a good knife to me, $200 is about where I see diminishing return. For $180-$240 I can get a knife with top of the line blade steel, scales of my choice (CF, Ti, etc.) and a well thought out functional design. That price range is about where most ZT's, higher end Spydercos and Benchmades (though BM isn't as good of a value to me at that price) are. Pride of ownership is where the extra money comes in to me as well as near perfect QC/fit and finish. My $1000 Shiro or my numerous CRK's cut no better than my Spyderco Military but the extra cost was worth it to me because I appreciate the "finer" things in these knives.
 
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