knife snobbery?

I suppose one could go through life wearing nothing but burlap... but most of us prefer different and better articles of clothing.
 
whetrock said:
Meh, this phenomenon is not just limited to the knife world but virtually every hobby there are always just a few select people that believe that just because they have a certain brand or make of something and that it is theirs that it is somehow inherently better than whatever somebody else has. I view myself as a jack of all trades in the knife world and in a weeks time can and have carried everthing from a CRK LG 21 sebenza to an 8 dollar rough rider I try and appreiciate quality and value in my knives and keep an open mind. whith that being said you usually have to pay a bit more for quality but there are always exceptions but you have to keep in mind most of the brands you list are "middle of the road" so to speak and not really made to compete with semi-custom and custom knives.
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I've been very pleased with Rough Rider knives. Also with Sanrenmu.
 
I have a Victoronix or Wenger in my pocket just about everyday (right now it is a alox scale pioneer every once and a while I carry an old Ulster or Schrade) and recommend them to people all the time. The daybag in my car has a Condor Bushlore in it that just recently replaced my Mora Clipper, and my most expensive knife is my BK2 which was only $55.
 
Gator97 said:
I don't have exact numbers but I believe 50% o that 90% you mention is plain ignorance. There is no point in having high end steel knife with top notch HT and matching price to have it with the same thick edge as 9$ knives you mention. Most of the people who post here about snobbery and/or how good 100 year old steels perform, never used a knife really optimized for cutting, or can't sharpen it correctly. Based on the numbers I see in posts, 15 per side is already "crazy thin edge" and super high cutting ability, which is really not the case. 18-20 per side is much more widespread and thicker edges are nothing unusual. Factory edges are not even worth mentioning in most of the cases.

None of those budget knives OP listed can hold really thin edge, nor match the performance of high end steels. There is nothing wrong basing your next purchase on the budget constraints. However, that is no base to label the rest of the knives as unnecessary or snobish.

So, the way I see it, it's much easier to call someone else a snob than say - I can't sharpen, dunno how to use etc... Not that there is no snobbery either.

I have plenty of knives that will outcut those 9.99$ knives 5-10 times, and outlast them with that high performance edge by the same margin(and some even more). Yeah, the cost more than 10X, but then again, how do you do the math. 10x performance and 10x longevity, do I multiply them? Then high end knife is quite a bargain, as it's less than 999$ ;) Otherwise, even if you just compare one of those parameters, still, I have to sharpen that high end steel 5-10 times less frequently. My time is valuable to me, and even though I do enjoy sharpening, I'd rather not have to sharpen the same knife over and over again on daily bases.

I dunno about snobbery but tales of 1095 and 420HC outperforming high end steels(especially for the type of cutting those high end steels were designed) are laughable at best.
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And that's not even going into blades that are ground super thin behind the edge (.010" or less) and using 18 or 20 degree inclusive angles like one can with those steels at very high hardness.
 
Ankerson said:
And that's not even going into blades that are ground super thin behind the edge (.010" or less) and using 18 or 20 degree inclusive angles like one can with those steels at very high hardness.
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Yeah, but you know, those super thin knives don't work well as screwdrivers, can openers and other every day "uses". Why bother with expensive stuff, when you can have 3$ knife do all that AND cut, more or less...
 
I'm Not Sure I Would Call It Snobbery.
I Call It Looking For The Best Knife.
Kershaw Makes Excellent Knives For The Price, Some CRKT Knives Are Good, Victorinox And Wenger Are Excellent, And The List Goes On.
But What It Comes Down To...
"I Have $50 And I'm Thinking About Getting A Kershaw Shallot Or A Spyderco Native"
For That $50, Go For The Spyderco Native - Better Blade Steel, Excellent Quality, And Good Materials.

The Thing Is... I Can Get A Knife From Gerber For $20 That Will Last Me 6 Months To A Year.
Or I Can Go Get A $75 - $120 Knife From Spyderco That Will Last Me 6 Years Or More.

Do You Want To Spend That 6 Years Buying 10 $20 Knives, Or Spend $75-$120 On A Knife That Will Last You That 6 years Or Even Longer? In The End, You'll Put Out More Money Buying The Cheapo Knives Rather Than Buying One Good Knife.
 
What exactly did you expect? This place is called Bladeforums after all. It's perfectly natural for a group of enthusiasts to prefer something better than the average joe, whether it is knives, guns, cars, etc.
 
BladeChick777 said:
In The End, You'll Put Out More Money Buying The Cheapo Knives Rather Than Buying One Good Knife.
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People on Bladeforums say that, but which one of us has ever ended up buying just "one good knife"? We all end up buying eight hundred of the things. :p
 
bladeboss said:
alot of them. yes. 400 bucks for a fixed blade? thats just laughable.
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Why? Or for whom? It really depends what you are looking for or what you are comparing with. Purely from performance point of view, Victorinox' performance as a knife is laughable compared to other stuff I have used. Never the less, that doesn't mean those knives should be cancelled altogether.
As things are today, if you want a knife that really performs, then 400 and more is nothing unusual. Budget knives are just that, budget knives. Being a "good bang for the buck" doesn't make any of them perform better or worse. BTW there are plenty of high end Kershaws out there.
 
Gator97 said:
Yeah, but you know, those super thin knives don't work well as screwdrivers, can openers and other every day "uses". Why bother with expensive stuff, when you can have 3$ knife do all that AND cut, more or less...
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Yeah. :D LOL
 
bladeboss said:
alot of them. yes. 400 bucks for a fixed blade? thats just laughable.
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I'm guessing you have never handled a knife that was a seriously fine tuned cutting machine, heat treated perfectly and made from S110V, S90V,10V, K390 or the like.
 
bladeboss said:
alot of them. yes. 400 bucks for a fixed blade? thats just laughable.
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Depends on what one is looking for, if it's pure performance then $400 isn't really that much when talking about Customs in high end steels. ;)

If one is looking for cheap that's fine, but don't expect it to perform like the above because it never will.
 
Lol, Well, Some People Only Want One Knife.
And If I Was To Choose To Keep One Knife Out Of My Collection.. It Would Be The Spyderco Para2, Benchmade Griptilian, Spyderco Manix 2, Or Something Similar.
Not The Buck Hilo, CRKT Notorious, SOG Twitch XL, Etc.

The Reason For This Being:
The Quality And Materials And Craftsmanship.
Bucks Are Great Knives.
But Which Will Probably Last Me Longer.. That China Made Buck With Just Stainless And 420 Stainless Blade... Or That Tough Knife Made With Quality Blade Steel, Good Materials, And The Craftsmanship To Make It Last For Years?

I Recommend Many Different Knives From $10 Kershaws To $200 ZTs.
But Go Get Yourself a Gerber, And I'll Bet You The Cost Of A Hinderer XM-18 3.5" Flipper With Blue G-10 That You'll Have To Buy At Least One New One In 6 Years And That I'll Still Have My Para2 In 6 Years.
 
capid1 said:
I'm guessing you have never handled a knife that was a seriously fine tuned cutting machine, heat treated perfectly and made from S110V, S90V,10V, K390 or the like.
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That's what I was thinking too... LOL

Likely never been in the same town with one, more less in the same room, or touched one. :D
 
Price does not denote quality, but quality most of the times comes with a high price. There are of course, gray lines. A mora knife will shave out of the box (although they do not come in a box most of the times) and has been proven for years now, while most knives in the same price range are only suitable for stirring paint or used as screwdrivers. Same goes for some expensive knives, which are total crap.
But I DO believe, that after a certain level of quality, the price goes up without any particular return on the user.
I would say that the best ratio of price to quality can be found in the 100 to 200$ range of production knives. They have a more than descent steel, and same goes for materials used and will most probably satisfy 99% of all users, BF users included.
Having said that, I have never tried a 1000$ knife.
 
Giorgos said:
I would say that the best ratio of price to quality can be found in the 100 to 200$ range of production knives. They have a more than descent steel, and same goes for materials used and will most probably satisfy 99% of all users, BF users included.
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That does seem to be the sweet spot most of the time as there are a lot of great knives in that price range.
 
Or That My Para2 Is Still Performing As Good As It Is Today, Whether It Be Light Or Heavy Use.
Bet Your $20 Gerber From Walmart Will Either Be Broken And Replaced Or Will Not Be Performing Near As Well As It Was.
It Will Probably Have Unfixable Blade Play, Not Hold A Good Edge, Maybe Have Some Chips In The Edge, Etc.

Knives Are Made To Use.
But I'd Much Prefer To Use A Spyderco Paramilitary 2 Vs. A Gerber Paraframe.
 
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