Knife Prices?

Chris Pierce

Chris Pierce

Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
4,837
Has any one noticed that knife prices have been going up lately? I'm talking specifically about my experience with the Para2, Military, and Hogue Ex01. Is it just these particular knives or part of a greater trend? Or did I just find killer deals over the summer?

Last summer I paid
$85 for a Para 2
$95 for a Military
$80 for a Hogue Ex01 4"

This week I have been looking and the lowest auction prices I find are
$118 for a Para 2
$117 for a Military
$145 for a Hogue Ex01 4"


What say you?
 
i think the pm2 and the military are going up because they are becoming even more popular. the hogue you just got a good deal
 
I've noticed that the going price for a Benchmade Dejavoo also went up quite a bit. It used to be $90-$110 and now I can't find one for less than $140. But that's due to the fact that it's discontinued.
 
I've seen a few Para 2s going for $85 shipped in the exchange lately. Standard Militarys for around $100.
 
Inflation of material costs due to US Dollar devaluation
 
Yeah I Spyderco Para and Milli have been quite popular lately and yeah I agree with the USD devaluation part as well. Stinks that I am a little late to the knife world :(
 
Talk about being late...
When I first came to BF I saw a Camillus Cuda Maxx 5.5 for $135 shipped. I thought to myself, "Dang that's high! I'll never spend $100 on a knife!"
Last year I bought a Cuda Maxx bowie for $275 (which was actually a good deal I think)
 
I have noticed that, too.

I used to be able to find Manix 2s for right around 80$ no problem, with the odd one going for 70-some odd, but now the average seems to be somewhere between 95$ and 100$, with the cheapest I can find them being just over 90$. I bought my Hogue EX-01 aluminium 3.5" for just around 110$, but I can't find them for under 150$ now.

I haven't really noticed it with other knives, though.
 
I have noticed a pretty decent fluctuation as well.
All the factors come into play though....I notice now that my own money is tighter or going elsewhere, fluctuation by a few dollars here and there can make or break a purchasing decision for me.
....mind you I mean auction pricing.
I just bought a Grayman Dua, from Grayman's website, and the price is the same price I have always seen it.
Conversely, I have been trolling for a Spyderco Gayle Bradley to pop up at a too good to beat price, and in fact I think they are ranging into my "keep looking" category.
Of course I can't help but the think of the irony of the fact that all of us yahoos jabbering about how great this or that knife is, on the internet, drives up the auction pricing!
 
meanoldbobber said:
Of course I can't help but the think of the irony of the fact that all of us yahoos jabbering about how great this or that knife is, on the internet, drives up the auction pricing!
Click to expand...

That's something else that I have noticed. When people really talk up a knife the price seems to go up proportionately.
 
All knives are going up. The biggest change I've seen lately is the prices on ZT's. They went wayyy up partly because of inflation, partly because ZT is a more established brand now.
 
Absolutely.
A couple of years ago I picked up a Kershaw Shallot for $23 total (including shipping). I ended up gifting it in very good condition to a friend of mine. I've been considering getting myself a replacement and I can't seem to find one that auctions for below $35. No knives that I've had my eye on have gone up in price percentage (approx 33%) like that Kershaw but then again I've not seen any instance where a new knife is selling for less now than it was a couple years ago.
Matt
 
Veil said:
Absolutely.
A couple of years ago I picked up a Kershaw Shallot for $23 total (including shipping). I ended up gifting it in very good condition to a friend of mine. I've been considering getting myself a replacement and I can't seem to find one that auctions for below $35. No knives that I've had my eye on have gone up in price percentage (approx 33%) like that Kershaw but then again I've not seen any instance where a new knife is selling for less now than it was a couple years ago.
Matt
Click to expand...

I got one of those too, but if I recall correctly, that was a good price for a Shallot even then. I think most places were selling them for around $40 3 years ago, but there were a couple people who listed them on ebay for about that price (and the knives sold fast).
 
Remember the ZT 0560 a couple months ago? Some people were selling them for $400+. why? Limited availability, people were willing to drop a ton of cash because of impatience. Fast forward to now, the prices are around $260 shipped most places. Why? Lots of availability, reviews, videos, and people are being more reserved about where their cash goes.

Not sure where you saw the prices for those knives, but there was a recent shortage of Para2 knives.
 
I've noticed this even with cheaper knives not made in America, although I still think it's a function of demand. The Cold Steel Voyager medium used to be around $30 a few months ago, and now they're all $40 (except the unloved tanto). I have a list of knives I'm interested in buying in the future, and check the prices regularly on ebay. Here's the price fluctuations I've seen on a few in the last few months:

-Spyderco Persian (small)- recently at a low of around $108, usually $125
-Spyderco P'Kal - about a week ago they were hovering around $110, now they're back to at least $125
 
A lot of the knives that I'm interested in are the same knives that everybody else is interested in so the prices are driven up by demand and competition.

I have a record of what I've paid for all of my knives. I have considered selling a few from time to time and prices right now are about the same as what they were when I bought them 10 years ago. This is not accounting for inflation so they are actually considerably cheaper now than they were when new.

Overall though the demand for knives seems to be very high right now.
 
I sort of thought that the prices for production knives like the pm2 and milli were, in general, going down.
When I first got into knife collecting about three years ago, the Military was about $200 CAD at my local knife store. Now the same model is $145
 
Well who knows about foreign prices or brick and mortar stores. I'm only looking as the lowest prices that I can find online.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top