Knife Sharpening - Retaining Value (and self intro)

[Don_Logan]

Hello,

First post. I've been lurking behind the scenes for a while purchasing some blades from the exchange. I used to be into knives far more about 15 years ago, but my interest waned as I became legal age to purchase guns. Fast forward to today I am now getting back into it. My latest acquisitions include a Rockstead Shin DLC, Koenig Arius Carbon Limited (Blade Show), Severtech (I ordered one when I was 17, but sold it a few years later as I needed money - so found one here a few months ago BNIB and bought it!), Andre Thorburn L44........This all bought here, except the L44, which was bought at the Blade Gallery in person - where I was fortunate enough to meet the man himself. In addition to the knives above, I have about half a dozen other well-respected knives.

This brings me to my point. I have several knives that I actually dropped off at blade gallery/epicurean edge (I think they are known here...??? Its a well respected spot to have your knives sharpened in the general Seattle area) a week ago. I have a few other nicer ones that need sharpening as well. I know that typically sharpening knives will decrease their value. I was curious to know if Epicurean Edge has clout enough to negate this...? Or if there are other places I could send some of my higher end knives if needed to be sharpened and if need be. And by sending it to "X" place will hold value to collectors well enough to not harm the value as much. I know that a factory sharp blade is preferred, but I like to use my knives.

After using the search function, I did not find too much. The one place that did pop up though Josh at Rek Knives. Any other opinions and/or suggestions?

Thank you!

 

[fishface5]

I suspect that Epicurean Edge won't do a bad sharpening job, but sharpening by anyone will drop the value for a collector who wants a pristine knife.

 

[NG VI]

Sharpening is definitely going to put your knives in a lower category of secondhand compared to factory fresh and lightly fiddled with should you want to sell them in the future. Excellent sharpening won't knock the value down the way that noticeable wear and tear do, but no sharpening will improve the price. The best it can do is not hurt it much.

 

[kamagong]

Sharpening a knife will decrease its value. Doesn't matter who did it.

The question is how much. A well done sharpening job will lessen a knife's value some. A poor sharpening job will tank its value.

 

[toker]

It's going to lose value since it's used. You may get a little more if the edge was maintained well or it was sharpened on a guided system. I personally don't care too much as long as the edge isn't mangled since I'm going to sharpen it myself anyway.

Obviously, people that never use their knives and put them in a safe want pristine.

 

[Quiet]

Hello,

First post. I've been lurking behind the scenes for a while purchasing some blades from the exchange. I used to be into knives far more about 15 years ago, but my interest waned as I became legal age to purchase guns. Fast forward to today I am now getting back into it. My latest acquisitions include a Rockstead Shin DLC, Koenig Arius Carbon Limited (Blade Show), Severtech (I ordered one when I was 17, but sold it a few years later as I needed money - so found one here a few months ago BNIB and bought it!), Andre Thorburn L44........This all bought here, except the L44, which was bought at the Blade Gallery in person - where I was fortunate enough to meet the man himself. In addition to the knives above, I have about half a dozen other well-respected knives.

This brings me to my point. I have several knives that I actually dropped off at blade gallery/epicurean edge (I think they are known here...??? Its a well respected spot to have your knives sharpened in the general Seattle area) a week ago. I have a few other nicer ones that need sharpening as well. I know that typically sharpening knives will decrease their value. I was curious to know if Epicurean Edge has clout enough to negate this...? Or if there are other places I could send some of my higher end knives if needed to be sharpened and if need be. And by sending it to "X" place will hold value to collectors well enough to not harm the value as much. I know that a factory sharp blade is preferred, but I like to use my knives.

After using the search function, I did not find too much. The one place that did pop up though Josh at Rek Knives. Any other opinions and/or suggestions?

Thank you!

Candidly speaking, if your knives need sharpening, it means that they've been used (which hey, is great!), however it means that absolutely that will affect resale value.

 

[Don_Logan]

Fair enough and I understand what you guys are saying ( and I figured as much). I guess the question was "who" can do the sharpening (well-known and respected here) that will help negate loss of value the most....if that makes sense.

Thank you for the fast replies!

 

[Quiet]

Fair enough and I understand what you guys are saying ( and I figured as much). I guess the question was "who" can do the sharpening (well-known and respected here) that will help negate loss of value the most....if that makes sense.

Thank you for the fast replies!

Well, that's just it. The honest answer: No one. A decent sharpening job will honestly just be a joy for the person getting to use the newly sharp knife. There are several respected sharpening folks here, but if you ever want to sell the knife (here at least) and disclose that the knife has been sharpened (as you should!!!!), there aren't any names that will save the value hit from occurring. Your best bet is to not use a knife hard enough to require sharpening if you aren't sure you love it and want it to retain all the value possible for a possible future resale.

 

[killgar]

Well, you specifically asked about "value to collectors". But there are different types of "collectors".

There are people who collect "users", who will use them, and who might not be bothered as much by a knife being previously use/sharpened as long as it's in good condition and sharpened properly.

And then there are collectors who have no intentions of using their "collectibles", and who will want a knife in it's original condition, or as close as possible to it. I believe they would not pay near what an "original condition" is worth for a "used/sharpened" knife.

Generally speaking, as has already been mentioned, the further a knife gets from original condition the less valuable it will be. However there can be exceptions to this. A few variables when it comes to "collecting" knives are-

How rare is the particular knife? If it's very rare, then collectors might not be as bothered by it being used/sharpened. Some people will pay well for a hard to find/long discontinued knife that they always wanted.

How desirable is the knife? How badly does someone want it? If more than one person REALLY wants it, and are willing to pay a lot to get it, you might get a bidding war. In which case the knifes "used/sharpened" condition might be completely irrelevant when it comes to what bidders are willing to pay for it.

As far as people who can sharpen a knife and not affect it's dollar value, all I can think of is maybe the person who made the knife, like a custom maker. Although there are some very talented knife sharpeners/re-grinders around, I doubt any have the prestige to preserve the original condition dollar value of a knife among die-hard collectors.


My advice- If you want to use a knife don't worry about trying to maintain the highest possible resale value. Because by carrying it around and using it there is always the chance of loss, or dropping it, or scratching it, etc. In my opinion, the more a person worries about the condition of their knife the less likely they are to actually enjoy carrying and using it.

 

[Another Shepherd]

I cannot speak to resale value, but Blade Gallery/Epicurean Edge added partial serrations to a Griptillian for me and did a bit better than Benchmade usually does.

 

[celticrogues]

Well, that's just it. The honest answer: No one. A decent sharpening job will honestly just be a joy for the person getting to use the newly sharp knife. There are several respected sharpening folks here, but if you ever want to sell the knife (here at least) and disclose that the knife has been sharpened (as you should!!!!), there aren't any names that will save the value hit from occurring. Your best bet is to not use a knife hard enough to require sharpening if you aren't sure you love it and want it to retain all the value possible for a possible future resale.

This!

Once a knife is used enough to require sharpening, that value hit has occurred and there’s no getting it back. Your choices are

1) use and enjoy the knives and don’t stress
Or
2) don’t use them and they will retain their resale value.

 

[CleverSloth]

Why would you sharpen a blade that isn't used? To me a product is used once any work such as sharpening is done. How much that impacts value depends on the product. . Who does the work doesn't really matter other than they know what they're doing and do a good job. Personally I'd rather have a patient and precise random person in their basement sharpen something I buy than someone well known who does mediocre work because they're trying to hit X knives an hour. For me knives are either users or they don't get carried and don't cut anything more than paper.

 

[sharp_edge]

Candidly speaking, if your knives need sharpening, it means that they've been used (which hey, is great!), however it means that absolutely that will affect resale value.

Quiet nailed it. If your knives have been used to the point that they need to be sharpened, sharpening or not won't make much difference on it's resale value IMO.

 

[Don_Logan]

Thank you for all the thoughtful responses!

In regards to sharpening a blade that has not been used as one person pointed out.....I would not do that. Only blades that after the course of time and use needed to get sharpened.

In regards to the overall message. I understand that once it gets sharpened it loses value - no matter who did it.

What I am curious about and based on the answers its clear there is no "clear" answer is what 3rd party person/company will retain value the best. For example, if I personally sharpen my Koenig (if it really needed it) and then sold it as "sharpened by me" what % is lost? (again who really knows) HOWEVER if I sent that Koenig to REK Knives and had Josh do it or Epicurean Edge is that % lost significantly less because they did it....??? And here again, I think there is no clear answer based on the responses.

I forget who did the work as my memory is lost to it, but I remember selling a Colt SAA from the late 1800's when working for a gun store. The gun was found in a wall of an old farm house - it had this big story behind it. The condition was "in the white" for those who do not know, that means the finish is 100% gone. It was also pitted here and there. Well typically speaking you want to keep a gun like that EXACTLY the way you found it. DO NOT restore the gun, period. Per Blue Book and our own research it should have been worth about $5k......The person who got the gun and consigned it with us had it completely refinished by "The name escapes me - but he was THE man for Colt SAA refinishing" It was a $5k+ refinishing. We told our client collectors typically want things like this just as you found them. We hypothesized it would likely sell for the $5k Blue Book had it at. The finish work even though it was by " That guy" would likely not hurt the value per say (b/c it was him), but not add to it.....The gun ended up selling for just under $12k. If it were anyone else who did the work it would have sold below $5k. Had the gun been in original 10/10 condition I am pretty sure it was nearing $100K in value. Prior to the reconditioning it was a 1/10 Wish I remembered the guys name who did the work.

Anyways, I appreciate the reponses. I think its safe to assume if I * must * sharpen it to stick with REK or Epicrean knowing it will lose value. I personally cannot see doing it myself being a good idea if folks like that are at my disposal.

Also, besides REK, are there any other online sharpeners that are well respected I can check out? What is everyones option on Epicurean? Seems like the few who have chimed in have good things to say.

Again, thank you for the thoughtful responses.