MIchael Walker Locker from 1986 ?

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Hello-
I am new to the forum-

I am trying to find out the HONEST MARKET VALUE of a 1986 Walkers Lockers by Michael Walker that is Engraved Titanium and Has and Engraved Dragon on What I believe to be bone; Sort of Scrimshaw like- The Bone part is signed by Michael Walkers wife "PW 86'"
The blade is 5" Long and the handle is 5 7/8" Long. MINT Condtion ! ! !

I have shown it over the years to a few so called experts and they want to steel it.

This is an awesome piece!!!
Any infor is appreciated!
You can email me at diestruck@sbcglobal.net
Thanks
D-
 
Hello-
I am new to the forum-

I am trying to find out the HONEST MARKET VALUE of a 1986 Walkers Lockers by Michael Walker that is Engraved Titanium and Has and Engraved Dragon on What I believe to be bone; Sort of Scrimshaw like- The Bone part is signed by Michael Walkers wife "PW 86'"
The blade is 5" Long and the handle is 5 7/8" Long. MINT Condtion ! ! !

I have shown it over the years to a few so called experts and they want to steel it.

This is an awesome piece!!!
Any infor is appreciated!
You can email me at diestruck@sbcglobal.net
Thanks
D-

Welll ... so far I see (old stuff) ... $3000-$4000
 
Welcome to the forums.

This thread is worthless without pics!

Kind regards,

Jos
 
The art of Michael and Patricia Walker combined in a mint condition
folder can be worth today anything from $6,500 and upwards.

But a good picture is required even to begin considering the value....

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
It's hard to tell without pics. I would say that the starting price for such an older piece could be considerably less than DDD's quote of $6,500, depending on an infinity of factors.
 
Here's some photos of my M. Walker knives. I have not seen them in years. They are in the safety deposit box. Kind of sad. I've wondered what they may be worth. Any ideas. It doesn't really matter since I won't be selling them.

All from the 1980's. SN#4.

Sorry for the bad photo.

Thanks,
Dave
 

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Michael's work really began to shine when he started the liner lock models of his knives and added the colored titanium which was around 1988 or slightly before if I recall. Prior to that, knives on the market, I'd be surprised if they were to garner more than $1500 today and many likely less. Michael then moved to a totally different realm in the mid '90's with his zipper folders etc and those prices can go thru the room and into the stratosphere.
The knives in the photo appear to be earlier than '88 which to my way of thinking would adjust their value quite considerably. Thougts by others?
 
The price can be greatly affected by the overall condition and level of embellishment. The current market is pricing similarly aged models starting in the $4K range. That doesn't necessarily mean they're selling for that.

Phillip :)
 
Hello-
I am new to the forum-

I am trying to find out the HONEST MARKET VALUE of a 1986 Walkers Lockers by Michael Walker that is Engraved Titanium and Has and Engraved Dragon on What I believe to be bone; Sort of Scrimshaw like- The Bone part is signed by Michael Walkers wife "PW 86'"
The blade is 5" Long and the handle is 5 7/8" Long. MINT Condtion ! ! !

I have shown it over the years to a few so called experts and they want to steel it.

This is an awesome piece!!!
Any infor is appreciated!
You can email me at diestruck@sbcglobal.net
Thanks
D-

Not that I'm an expert or anything close to it however pretty often I will get an e-mail asking what a particular knife, usually an ABS hunter or bowie, is worth. It seems most of the time I end up making someone mad or feeling that someone thinks I'm a crook or a thief even though I have never expressed interest in buying a knife via someone asking me it's value.

Most times the owner has purchased the knife off eBay or from an estate sale or such and has great expectations as to it's value and seems terribly insulted to fine it's not quite the deal of the century.

If I may share a recent example without boring you folks? A month or so ago I got an email from a fellow who owned a very well known maker's fighter, asking it's value. He then sent me photos after my declining to help him otherwise.

The fighter was an old one with an aprox. 8" carbon steel blade and stag handle with a natural butt. The crudest knife I had ever seen by this maker and if I remember correctly didn't have a "MS" or "JS" stamp. Again very old and showed it's age in that it had obviously been used and even abused a bit, but the piece could have been sent back to the maker at not much expense for a face lift.

I always try to handle these situations delicately and I thought the fighter would most likely bring in the neighborhood of $1000, however it would not be out of the question for a collector whose collection spanned this maker's entire career to pay $1400-$1500 for this early unique example. So I told him the knife could bring in the neighborhood of $1200.

Well this fellow was not at all happy with my estimate as I'm sure someone had told him off the cuff that this maker's bowies/fighters typically brought $3000-$5000 without seeing this particular one.

Not that the above relates or is relevant to Diestruck's original post, but his comment highlighted above motivated me to share it.
Besides, it's been a little slow so thought some may fine it interesting. ;)
 
My experience watching knives on eBay and elsewhere is that older knives sell for considerably less than the more recent models. People who buy or own those older models of course expect that (although there are a few who think that the "rare early pieces" are more valuable), but they don't realize that the discount can be 50% or 75% rather than only 20%.
 
My experience watching knives on eBay and elsewhere is that older knives sell for considerably less than the more recent models. People who buy or own those older models of course expect that (although there are a few who think that the "rare early pieces" are more valuable), but they don't realize that the discount can be 50% or 75% rather than only 20%.

That'sone of the things among others that have surprised me about collectible custom knives.
In most collectible medium, older works by artist often demand a premium rather than being discounted.

Personally, I enjoy and value older knives as much as new as long as they are in new condition and up to the maker's current standards.
The fact that many don't has had a negitive impact on the secondary market.
 
Here, for example is a 4k+ early Michael Walker - and without any of
Patricia's color engraving....
I apologize for the quick snapshot taken with skylight near the window,
but it shows the knife well enough for this discussion....

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

picture.JPG


And a close-up with Michael's signature on the blade...
picture.JPG
 
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DDD. Now that is a beauty even Michael Walker does much better.Walkers folders are amoung the best in fit and finish,they are also as smooth opening as you can get.I have one of his folders-its kind of plain compared to some of the others he makes.Mine was made in the mid 90's I believe.I 'm not home now so I can't post a pic.(I'm not sure how to anyway).Mike is a master machinest (if thats the right word)
 
Here, for example is a 4k+ early Michael Walker - and without any of
Patricia's color engraving....

David...of course, with this example shown, you are right about the price...it has a timelessness to it that all of the Walker knives shown in the photograph above do not.

I would venture that just about every one of them shown in the photo above, with the exception of the dragon tanto would be in the sub $2,000 range, with the tanto dragon one being sub $3,000..and the Wood lock folder fetching somewhere south of $4,000 ....it would HAVE to be a mechanism junkie like Wolf Totenpach that would pay that freight..and those are retail prices...a dealer would offer 1/2 of that to make up for the substantial amount of time it would take to sell them.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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Post from Imageshack or photoshare or some file sharing site.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Or send me the pic and I'll host it for you - j.delage ARROBA gmail.com.
 
I got the picture on with the edit and I have to admit the pic is terrible quality.I'm going to work on getting better images & how to send them.You can't tell from the pic how fine Walkers anodizing is and the beauty of the satin polished blade.Many people may not know that Michael Walker was a pioneer with anodizing and working with titanium.He also made many other locks beside the liner lock which he is famous for.
PS thank you Joss & STeven for your help and suggestions.
 
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