Midtechs and how I've moved on

CJZ

CJZ

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
Messages
3,750
So when I first started this whole hobby, I thought the price of a Griptillian was insane. I would never buy a knife that expensive. And after some time, I had a few knives in the price range, and then I got one. And it kept progressing from there. After about a year or two, I had bought my first $200 knife: the MUDD. And yet it still didn't stop. It only got really bad after I ponied up and went to the $500 mark, and bought my TiLT. Boy was this different than anything I had in the past. Now all of the knives on my list are $500 and up, and I've lost interest in productions. Call me a snob.. I've sold off so many production pieces, I used to have a Pelican case full of BMs, Kershaw's, Spydercos, and so on. Now it's just a few. My whole accumulation is now starting to look more like a rotation, and I love that.

What I'm trying to say is, if you're like me and scared to flush your collection and move up, don't be. I plan on having 8 or 9 really nice knives (like my TiLT, a Grimmsmo, a Wayfarer and so on), instead of a Pelican case full of cheaper production pieced that don't get carried. It really feels good to have a knife that makes me say "WOAH!" instead of "Meh". Anyone else gone through this metamorphosis?
 
Im slowly going down this road. Since my Sebenza, I don't even look at knives in stores anymore, because I know that they can't compare to it.
 
Any hobby is about escalation, it's always a matter of time.

I used to think 1K was insane... not so much anymore. :confused:
 
I remember when I first started getting into knives and watched a YouTube review of a Sebenza. At the time, the price seemed insane to me.

Now a couple years later, a Sebenza seems quite affordable compared to the customs I've acquired.
 
Yep, I just started getting into "higher end" knives in the last 3 months.

It started with the ZT 0454, and now it's a fixation on all things CRK:D, plus Im seeking out some mid tech and customs.
All my standard production knives just seem so dull now, they are so plain and unexciting to me. They are still great knives, but they don't "tickle my fancy" anymore.

Let's face it,
If you've started getting into knives in $400-$4,000 range, sorry, but you've hit the point of no return:D
 
Sounds about right.

I just landed a Burnley kwaiken after a couple years of looking for the right one at the right price. Now its my only folder, so I guess my net investment isn't too bad. At least that's what i keep telling myself ;)
 
Yup, that situation is not far off for me. I finally sold a couple out of my collection a few weeks ago (Injection 3.5 and one of my duplicate LE Leeks). I am into production LEs right now, and have been eying the Grimsmo Norseman for a while now.
 
The only reason I don't think this will happen to me anytime soon is, I like a lot of affordable production knives and I REALLY like finding good value knives that I can get a few of, as back-ups. ;) That said, I have a Griptilian that I love and my current favorite is the BM Adamas, which was about $140 for me. That's about as high as I've gone.
 
My path may be on a similar trajectory, but I have no intention of selling off my production knives. My hang up with the mid tech vs production purchase is bang for the buck. Many of the higher end production knives rival mid-tech fit and finish (ZT, some of the Spyderco offerings). Throw in the materials used and many production knives are every bit as good or better than some "mid-techs". (I know, a general sweeping statement that isn't valid for all comparisons). Just as ONE example: I watched comparison videos of the ZT 0562 cf compared with a Hinderer XM 18. There were some aspects of the Hinderer I liked better such as the stop pins, but for the most part the ZT has more quality features of interest to me. The ZT's smoothness and flipping action was clearly better than the Hinderer's, and for a "flipper" style knife I'd say that's pretty damn important. I asked myself, if the Hinderer name didn't carry such a premium and if both knives were the same price, as a knife collector/user what would I choose? The answer for me with that specific comparison is the ZT...
 
RedLynx said:
The only reason I don't think this will happen to me anytime soon is, I like a lot of affordable production knives and I REALLY like finding good value knives that I can get a few of, as back-ups. ;) That said, I have a Griptilian that I love and my current favorite is the BM Adamas, which was about $140 for me. That's about as high as I've gone.
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Man, I got ripped on my Adamas. $210.......
 
I did the same. Down to the keepers.

[video=youtube;P94PaHsvDxI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P94PaHsvDxI[/video]
 
bladeboss said:
Man, I got ripped on my Adamas. $210.......
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Sorry man! If it helps, I got mine from a fellow member who didn't want it and priced it to move... I probably would not have pulled the trigger if it had been $200+, I'm not usually able to justify the money like that.
 
Same story here. Sometimes I'm still surprised what my collection has progressed too in 3 years or so. I had a sizable kershaw collection, now done to one keeper, a zt 600. Had multiple spydercos but will only be keeping my gayle bradley. Won't be keeping any benchmades. If it's not midtech or custom it just doesn't interest me anymore.
 
The ZT0600 is a good "only one" knife.
 
I started with productions,went to customs, now im back down midway.I feel that its not worth it to me anymore to spend big money on knives,so except for the customs I have,i don't think ill be buying anymore real high end knives.my limit is 400.00 and for that it really has to be special.
 
goldie said:
I started with productions,went to customs, now im back down midway.I feel that its not worth it to me anymore to spend big money on knives,so except for the customs I have,i don't think ill be buying anymore real high end knives.my limit is 400.00 and for that it really has to be special.
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***WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER****** I use to think a $100 Benchmade was exorbitant...now...meh...I trimmed a collection of 100+ knives into less than 25. The same amount of money is tied up...just on much nicer knives. I will still buy/try some production blades but I'm more into mid techs right now. I have two pretty sweet customs, but they spend most of their time in my drawer. Now I edc a Les George Talos and a Hinderer XM of one form or another. (yes, I know...not a mid tech) I will probably pick up a George/Elishewitz Cerberus. After that I honestly think I'm done for quite a while, or until something really spins my crank.
 
For a while I thought I'd keep escalating like you described. But then I got my first CRK.....All done!

Whatever other productions I have now will either be kept and pimped, or be sold off. It's entirely possible that here and there I'll see a knife that really interests me, but I'm definately done with the rampant buying stage.... Phew! Those days were rediculous
 
1SHOT1KILL said:
***WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER****** I use to think a $100 Benchmade was exorbitant...now...meh...I trimmed a collection of 100+ knives into less than 25. The same amount of money is tied up...just on much nicer knives. I will still buy/try some production blades but I'm more into mid techs right now. I have two pretty sweet customs, but they spend most of their time in my drawer. Now I edc a Les George Talos and a Hinderer XM of one form or another. (yes, I know...not a mid tech) I will probably pick up a George/Elishewitz Cerberus. After that I honestly think I'm done for quite a while, or until something really spins my crank.
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Which of those don't qualify as midtech to you? Is the cerberus a custom?
 
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