Knife Thoughts 💭 Grail Thoughts 💭 ?

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The ones you mentioned are very nice but if you're just really getting into knives your skipping my favorite section of the knife world and that’s about the $400-$600ish range. That’s where you will find Crk/Strider/Spartan/Les George/ some Medfords and my personal favorite Hinderer. This area is where I’ve found my happy place and I really don’t feel the need to go up any higher in price.
 
I would spend more time right now figuring out what it is you like about design instead of focusing on getting a grail.

How do you like a knife to deploy, what locking system, materials you prefer and ergonomics, weight / size, and what blade design and approach?

You might find it in a $50 knife, a $500 knife, or you might find it in a $1K+ knife, but unless you know what it is you really want, you're going to be chasing other folks' grails.

It's good to get other recommendations because it gives you options to check out, but the journey is the fun part. I've changed my mind a dozen times over that journey about what it is I'm really looking for.

That said, as Kettleman Kettleman mentioned, check out a Sebenza along the way. It's a good stop on the trip for a lot of reasons. :)
 
I thought I'd share my experience here as a "newer" collector. I've found that in order to really appreciate my more expensive knives (and I do own some expensive ones), I've had to own and use all the various "tiers" before. Your Kunwu is a great place to start, but a jump to a Eustler or Rob Johnsons is a big one.

Your money is yours (and we'll be happy to help you spend it ;)), so take everything we say as the mere opinions they are, but here's my 2 cents:

Keep enjoying your Pulsar, but start surfing the exchange here. You can find high end offerings commonly from 75% to 50% of MSRP, and unless you have a specific reason to buy new, getting even light users here is a great way to start (heck, I hardly ever buy anything new).

The knives you list are all in the extremely high end reach of production knives. I recommend going for an intermediary (or a few) to bridge the gap and let yourself learn what you value in a knife. It takes a little bit to acquire the feel for what true quality is and what quality you appreciate. When I started the hobby I couldn't have told the difference between a WE and a Reate and a Bestech made knife, and now I could probably do it with my eyes closed. Kunwu makes great knives, but check out a Reate (or Reate made) for the next step up in premium Chinese manufacturing. Or if you want to go even more expensive, pick up a preowned CKF or Shirogorov. You can find Shiro F3s, Neon NLs, Quantum NLs, and sometimes the occasional Quantum for under $700 (or around $500 in the case of the NLs), and that will give you a taste of true premium knife production. Or even look for an Arno Bernard iMamba.

Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but in my experience there's not many knives better made with better action than a Shiro, and they're relatively available here on the exchange.

In summary, my opinion is that you should get some intermediary knives and let your hands learn what they like, so to speak, so you'll actually appreciate the money spent (I enjoy a high end knife way more than I used to). Other than that, I have nothing against you dropping 1K on a Eustler. Actually, I got the itch for the Machinewise Sonora, so I sold off a few and jumped in on the preorder.
 
sgt1372 said:
As others above have suggested, a person's "grails" depends on his/her specific perspective/needs/uses/interests/etc.
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Agreed. I tend to use the term fairly strictly, as in almost-impossible-to-find. For example, my two Grail knives (which I've acquired) are rare and highly sought-after. One of them dates back to WWII and the other dates to the 1960's. They are NOT user blades by any means.

Most of my true users range from $250 down. They're users so, if I should break or lose one, there'll be no wailing or gnashing of teeth. (Maybe a wistful tear or two... 😥 )
 
I've been into the knife hobby for about 15 years now, and I still haven't gone over $500. I seem to live in the $250-$450 range lately, though I have many knives which cost much less that I also enjoy.

I recently (about a month-ish ago) got my first Hinderer. That is a sort of "grail" to me because it is near the top of my budget range, and it is just a really nice knife.

I guess if I have a point, it is that whether you are new to the hobby or not, a "grail" can be different things to different people, and doesn't necessarily have to be the latest/greatest or the most expensive thing on the market.
 
As I've said in other threads that ask this same question: I have been collecting knives long enough to have learned the truth, that there is no grail. I have purchased many knives over the years that could be considered grails, as they were rare, expensive, and made by top shelf makers and/or companies.

A week or so later, I was using that knife to open a box containing another knife. I could buy a knife personally made by the Dwarven Smith god Moradin, forged deep under the stony cragc of Mount Celestia and I'll still be perusing SMKW's latest knives list the next day. There's never a final knife, only the next knife.
 
Choctaw Dan said:
That, I do believe, is a personal decision/choice.
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Oh, I'm sorry, were you asking for any other type of choice? What is your grail? Do you own it? What did you buy after you got it? Don't have it yet? What have you bought instead of saving the funds up to get that end-all be-all?

See what I mean?

:)
 
I like literally none of those, so i guess i cant help, as it seems our tastes are different. But i like shirogorov, and consider any of them grailworthy. At a slightly lower price range i REALLY like the arno bernard imamba.
 
Terry M. said:
Unless you really want to, I’d avoid spending that kind of coin when you’re a self proclaimed newbie. Good to have goals but my grails changed as my taste in cheaper knives grew and developed. This is worth exactly what it is, my 2 cents
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I genuinely wish id heard that advice when i started out. Really. I wish id started slow, learned to appreciate the lower priced knives before moving up. Really. Now i buy higher end and always find flaws.
 
Quiet said:
Oh, I'm sorry, were you asking for any other type of choice? What is your grail? Do you own it? What did you buy after you got it? Don't have it yet? What have you bought instead of saving the funds up to get that end-all be-all?

See what I mean?

:)
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For me there are two Grails and yes, I have them both. Neither is the type one can just run out and buy; they had to be found. The search for the first took nearly 20 years. The second took longer.

I was rebutting your categorical statement that there is no grail.
 
In my opinion, knife collecting is about enjoyment, not seeking the approval of others by acquiring a list of knives that a bunch of strangers on the internet say you should buy.

Taste in knives is a very personal thing. Buy what YOU like. I don't know about Facebook, or Instagram, or any other part of the internet, but there is no knife or list of knives that you need to buy to be accepted here at Bladeforums. The members here have wide ranging tastes, and no one is shunned, or excluded, or ridiculed for not having the latest and greatest trending knife.

There is no list of knives that one must own to be considered an official, genuine knife collector.

Again, in my opinion, if you're buying knives just because other people are telling you to buy them, then I'd say you're doing knife collecting wrong.

The internet is a fickle place. Todays hottest must-haves could very easily become tomorrows has-beens. And then people will be telling you to buy a whole other batch of the new hottest knives.

Buy what YOU like. And if you don't know yet what you like, be patient, you will over time. Finding out what YOU like is part of the fun.
 
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Choctaw Dan said:
For me there are two Grails and yes, I have them both. Neither is the type one can just run out and buy; they had to be found. The search for the first took nearly 20 years. The second took longer.

I was rebutting your categorical statement that there is no grail.
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Ah, I see. I'll ask again, have you purchased any knives since you purchased these two grails?

:)
 
Is there an unwritten rule you can’t buy any knives after you obtain your grail?
Or, are you just Trolling?
 
I see what everyone is saying and appreciate the advice provided on this forum. I have asked a question on a different forum and was made to feel stupid (different subject than knives). That is not the case here.

I could be wrong but … I think what people mean is the pursuit of knives is an ongoing journey formulated by your tastes that can morph with time. People have pinnacle knives or grail knives that they would like to obtain, but still pursue their passion for knives as they see or feel one they like… i.e. your grail obtained the journey continues for some.

You all have provided great information for me to start my journey as I decide what is important to me.

Thanks!
 
Gurwery said:
Is there an unwritten rule you can’t buy any knives after you obtain your grail?
Or, are you just Trolling?
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He may be trolling on the surface, but i feel he has a good point. It would make sense (to me at least) that once you have your "grails".. theres no where left to go, until and unless another "grailworthy" knife shows up. If you're still shopping after you get said grail.. was it a grail? Or are we so caught up in consumerism that we must buy, even if its no better than what we have? (Im guilty of this, and absolutely no judgement here). Long and short of it- i think Quiet Quiet has a genuine point, and agree with him.
 
Gurwery said:
Is there an unwritten rule you can’t buy any knives after you obtain your grail?
Or, are you just Trolling?
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I do not see Quiet Quiet trolling, but using logic to prove his point that there is no “ Grail” as it were. The fact that C Choctaw Dan mentioned he had 2 proved it did it not? We have diluted the word grail to describe a knife we really want instead of the end all at end of a quest.

If it is a grail you seek than you would buy/hunt/collect none other and if and when you found your grail the search would be over and another wouldn't be purchased.

He's not trolling he is being logical and literal (or as much as you can be with a belief/myth/legend)
 
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