Knives as an investment?

The Logical One said:
I wouldn't go so far as to call them an "investment", but if you buy smart, you could buy a really nice knife, enjoy it for a few months or even years, and sell it for as much as you paid for it or maybe even make a profit off of it.

I often use that as a justification to buy my high end knives. Remember just because it's a high end knife doesn't mean it will hold its value. From my personal experience, regular run of the mill striders and crk's do NOT hold their value. The key is to buy something that is a limited run and highly desirable.
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^^^Hit the nail on the head^^^

The high-end/custom knife world is all about buying smart IMO. A few good examples of "can't lose" purchases are Burchtree, Munroe, and Marsh knives. You get any one of those at the makers price, use it, and you can still sell it down the road within minutes (granted your prices aren't extraordinarily high). There are other knives as well but those are some of the most sought after customs in general.
 
A common mistake that people make is confusing "investing" with "gambling".

True investors will extensively research the comodity/stock/product that they are considering investing in. For example, a potential investor considering stock in a pharmaceutical company will research that company, their products both current and pending, their company profit projections, their corporate structure, the people running the company, any pending mergers, etc, etc.

Gamblers just buy something, cross their fingers, and hope it goes up in value.

The problem with knives as investments is that the knives that are of the highest value at any given time aren't really a neccessity in life. Unlike gold or medicine, or oranges, expensive knives are a luxury item. And the value of luxury items are often at the mercy of whims, trends, and how much disposeable income people have.

My understanding in regards to investing has always been- Invest in things that people can't live without, or things that human civilization can't function without.

Many people own knives that are more valuable today than the day they bought them, but I would guess that this is just a matter of chance and luck rather than prediction or strategy. I doubt that people who bought Randall knives 50 years ago knew that they would increase significantly in value. I'll bet they just thought that they were buying a really good knife.

There's a big difference between making an informed investment, and just getting lucky.
 
killgar said:
A common mistake that people make is confusing "investing" with "gambling".

True investors will extensively research the comodity/stock/product that they are considering investing in. For example, a potential investor considering stock in a pharmaceutical company will research that company, their products both current and pending, their company profit projections, their corporate structure, the people running the company, any pending mergers, etc, etc.

Gamblers just buy something, cross their fingers, and hope it goes up in value.

The problem with knives as investments is that the knives that are of the highest value at any given time aren't really a neccessity in life. Unlike gold or medicine, or oranges, expensive knives are a luxury item. And the value of luxury items are often at the mercy of whims, trends, and how much disposeable income people have.

My understanding in regards to investing has always been- Invest in things that people can't live without, or things that human civilization can't function without.

Many people own knives that are more valuable today than the day they bought them, but I would guess that this is just a matter of chance and luck rather than prediction or strategy. I doubt that people who bought Randall knives 50 years ago knew that they would increase significantly in value. I'll bet they just thought that they were buying a really good knife.

There's a big difference between making an informed investment, and just getting lucky.
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I must say this makes a good deal of sense to me and I agree.....thank you!
 
I wouldn't called them a full-time investment, but more of a security blanket for me. I love the feeling knowing that my Damacus Skyline is worth 3x what I paid for it, but I would never sell it, unless I wanted something really bad. If I ever buy a knife that I like so much and that knife is a limited edition, then I'll try to buy one more to put away, so I can use the original as a user. For example, I got a Brown Skyline for Christmas, and I liked it so much, that I bought another to put away.
 
Like a previous poster said, it is nice to know that you can use it for a while as long as you don't abuse them and they will keep most of their value. But you are not going to make money unless you are lucky. Now if only I had bought those custom Emerson and loveless knives in the 90s......
 
Not really investments -- although, in the case of, say, desirable Spyderco sprint runs, you can almost certainly turn a tidy profit on a knife.

I think of them more as security. Say you spend $3-500 on a midtech (Sebenza, for instance) and decide you don't like it... within minutes you can sell it and recoup 85% of what you paid.

In this way, buying expensive knives is at least pretty low risk.
 
For all collectibles, you should only buy what you like and enjoy, because you may not ever realize the future value you think you will. At least you can still find personal value in it.

As Warren Buffett says, buy what you know. And I have to add to that: buy quality. People will always recognize quality and it will hold its value.
 
Low loss is one reason I am keeping my last sebenza. I know once it's time to flip I may only lose 10%.
 
Anything that is limited supply and high demand will increase in value as long as demand stays high. E.G. Spyderco Paramilitary 2 in S90V w/ CF handle; originally $189, now ~$400.
 
Knives as an investment = No!

The human life is too short to even be considering knives an investment. The same reason why when the Knives Collectible guy dies, his own collection dies with him...because the profit still too little after 40/60 years; thats why before He die, the consideretion to sell his own knives collection is out of question.

The effort e time spend to accumulate those knives its Huge, the gain of money will not make up for.

Sentimentalism for each knife it's another discussion all together;)
 
Heres my two cents:

Knives arent really an investment. Sure, you can buy a custom and the value may appreciate with time, maybe even double its value after 20 years or so but inflation makes this insignificant. If theres any money to be made in knife collecting its definitely through Hinderers. Get yourself a friends Military/ROTC/Fire/EMT ID and buy one through the first hand market. $380, then flip it the next day for $700-900.
 
I try to buy knives that I can sell later after I have a chance to enjoy them and use them but not Abuse them. If I want something more expensive than what I have, then I can trade or sell enough of my present collection to aid in purchasing my new NEED! I am not naive enough to think I can sell any knife I now own at a profit. My hope is that it still has enough of its original value to sell it for something to help buy something else. In other words, my knife collection is hopefully able to maintain some of its original value for further "horse" trading, not to make any money off of them. Most personal use, vanity items, tend to decrease in value, not increase. My $0.02 worth depreciated to $0.01

Blessings,

Omar
 
9blades said:
I Wish that wasn't true....
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While it is true that you can make a killing by stealing items and selling them, it's not true that ethical investments are few and far between. Plenty of people in this thread have have mentioned ways they have managed to make money investing in knives, and I'm sure they have not done it in unethical ways like illegally misrepresenting themselves as one of the brave folks who serve in Military/ROTC/Fire/EMT. I'm sure they make profits on certain of their buys though a huge amount of experience and a good bit of luck.
 
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