Most Absurd Knife Pricing

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Ok, so we all have different pricing thresholds when it comes buying knives. Many people on here cannot fathom spending thousands on a cutting tool. I get that. To a lot of folks it's a cutting tool, and the diminishing returns just don't allow for spending over a certain amount since the higher priced knife will not really outperform the less expensive knife. Or even if it does in some area (ergonomically, smoothness, sharpness etc.) it doesn't do a $2000 better job. (Let's not even take into account that at a point the materials will generally be just a minor fraction of the cost of lots of high end knives, which is another common objection).

But, even for a lot of folks who wouldn't spend over X amount they can maybe understand the price on a lot of high end customs because of the level of artistry and skill involved. I guess here I am thinking Burch, Rexford, Lambert, Lerman, Black Snow, Barker, Lee Williams, Walter Randolph, blah blah etc. etc. You get the idea.

I am also not talking about truly collectible knives here - not talking about Loveless, Moran, or knives of other makers that have entered domestic car prices for their work (many posthumously) and are highly collectible.

What I am getting at here is currently being produced semi-custom/custom stuff that just makes you say "WTF!?" when you see the pricing on it.

My example of this is Mad Dog Knives. I cannot see for the life of me how these knives can be so expensive. Forget secondary market, I mean table prices. Are they magic? I mean, literally, do they have magic powers? Even if expertly ground from Unicorn horseshoes, and heat treated in the fires of Mordor, and quenched in virgin blood, I would still have NO IDEA how these knives cost this much. I mean, they have G10 handles. And kydex.

Anyway, I thought we could discuss other knives where pricing makes you shake your head, and if someone has a counterpoint and can explain some of this (absurd) pricing, that would make for an even more interesting thread.

ADDENDUM: I have expensive knives. So I don't balk at shelling out the cash, there are just some things that defy (my personal) comprehension. And I imagine I am not the only one.
 
Here's the magic. It's called Econ 101. They charge those prices because people pay them. You paid for expensive knives too. I'm sure your actions would defy others' comprehension.

Thinking otherwise is hubris.
 
Never will understand what a $2000.00 knife can do that a $50.00 cant!!:rolleyes:
Keep ALL knife purchases below the $100.00 line!!:D
John
 
The first knife that popped into my head was the Ray Mears survival knife. 450 bucks of goodness.
 
Mostly what comes to my mind is from the 2ndary market on knives from makers with limited output and or limited runs from production knife makers.
 
Here's the magic. It's called Econ 101. They charge those prices because people pay them. You paid for expensive knives too. I'm sure your actions would defy others' comprehension.

Thinking otherwise is hubris.
Yes. Thank you for the normal "Economics 101" post. I never asked how those prices exist or why the market bears them. There is no asking that. I said I don't get the pricing for a steel and solid G10 handled knife with a kydex sheath. I am sure there are other examples of this where people just don't "get it".

And I admitted to buying knives that other people would not buy because of the price and the fact they don't do anything any better than the cheaper knife that said person may own. I wasn't talking specifically about just price. It's price in relation to everything else, and how sometimes none of it remotely adds up for the majority of people.

Hubris is not the word you are looking for - possibly thinking denial?

Thanks for contributing.
 
I understand what the op is getting at, really high cost for little or no tangible improvement...

what the op should realize is that 'marketing' types have infiltrated this business and applied their special 'magic':
one of the most common tricks in the bag is to put really insanely high retail prices on things, then still keep 'table prices' high...

so that at the end of the day when you 'wheel & deal' him down to $350 you think you've scored a major victory

(meanwhile his 75%+ profit margin is maintained; )

they did the same thing with black pearls (when they were first 'discovered' and brought to the consumer market - good podcast about it somewhere...)
 
There are always some knives out there that are purely silly over-the-top luxury items that are expensive for the sake of being expensive.

A lot of them look like they'd be really nice (as if any of them are actually getting used) like the crazy hand carved gold and gemstones and whatnot William Henry knives, or the ludicrously expensive ($3800, lol) Rockstead fixed blade models like this one:

RSDONZDP.jpg


The more baffling knives are the ones that are expensive despite looking like utter garbage (e.g. RMK, Heeter, etc.) like this RMK folding brick thing:

RMKBFBTIBRAF2n.jpg


I mean, that Rockstead is silly, but compared to paying $425 for the RMK, I'd rather drop $3800 and at least have something nice . . .
 
Yes. Thank you for the normal "Economics 101" post. I never asked how those prices exist or why the market bears them. There is no asking that. I said I don't get the pricing for a steel and solid G10 handled knife with a kydex sheath. I am sure there are other examples of this where people just don't "get it".

And I admitted to buying knives that other people would not buy because of the price and the fact they don't do anything any better than the cheaper knife that said person may own. I wasn't talking specifically about just price. It's price in relation to everything else, and how sometimes none of it remotely adds up for the majority of people.

Hubris is not the word you are looking for - possibly thinking denial?

Thanks for contributing.

Again, I'm sure many would say the same about the "expensive knives" you have purchased. I respect your passion for the knives you are willing to spend large amounts of cash on, I just don't see why when someone else does it, it is, as you say, "goofy" or "absurd."

That's "hubris."

It's pretty common here, everybody thinks their knife is the best.

Do those knives sell? Then their price is appropriate.

Thanks for contributing.
 
I mean, that Rockstead is silly, but compared to paying $425 for the RMK, I'd rather drop $3800 and at least have something nice . . .

I am not crazy about the way it looks. And what's the hole in it for?

Hence, it is goofy and absurd.
 
While a Rockstead is overly expensive to be something I would probably buy and use there is the work put into it that I can see that makes me believe their $3800 is more justified. The RMK fits along side many others in terms of craftsmanship and materials to fit in that price bracket mostly. I seem some aspects of it I am not sure the craftsmanship is quite up to the level of its competitors but they could be intentional stylistic choices. QM isn't absurdly priced but the value is hurt be the maker's reputation bringing the value out of sync with production quality. Similarly along those lines and reaching into absurdity due to the higher initial pricing is Strider along with the fact he makes some that look like a kindergarten drawing made into reality.
 
I am not crazy about the way it looks. And what's the hole in it for?

Hence, it is goofy and absurd.

Hey, don't look at me--I wouldn't actually buy one either. I bought this knife which also features a mirror-polished, highly wear-resistant steel blade for ~$300 IIRC, and I like the way it looks better:

VRBceQg.jpg


I think the slot + hole on the Rockstead are either there purely for style points or are intended to provide a place for food and gunk to get stuck and need to be scraped out of later.
 
With Mad Dog Knives I would say it is more cult following than anything else. There is nothing special about the knives.

When it comes to stuff like that I just see little piles of money sitting there.
 
At this point in my collection I have quite a few "get the job done" kind of knives. So I start to look for knives that are a little more unusual and a little less practical (these tend to be pretty pricey).

That being said I try not to spend more than $300 on a knife just because of the whole diminishing returns thing (sometimes I can make exceptions to this rule).

I personally don't have a hinderer but I hear from people that ZT makes his designs better than the midtech/production knives that he makes which cost a considerable amount more.

I love my ZT 0393glcf (hinderer design) so much that I feel I wouldn't be getting anything substantionally better by dishing out an extra $200 just to say I have an xm-18.
 
Again, I'm sure many would say the same about the "expensive knives" you have purchased. I respect your passion for the knives you are willing to spend large amounts of cash on, I just don't see why when someone else does it, it is, as you say, "goofy" or "absurd."

That's "hubris."

It's pretty common here, everybody thinks their knife is the best.

Do those knives sell? Then their price is appropriate.

Thanks for contributing.
You are not getting it. We are not talking about just expensive. I am not commenting on anyones personal choices. I am not talking about anyone individually being absurd. I am commenting on knives where for the general knife loving population, the pricing is just out of whack. I am not even saying Soandso Knifemaker should change their pricing. I'm just talking about knives on a knife forum and for whatever reason you don't like the topic. A few other people have seen the point, you don't. That's cool.

I don't think any knife is the best. I just think that sometimes it's easier to see the relationship between the price and the knife than it is other times.

Once again, I admit I have some expensive pieces, and for me they made sense. To others they wouldn't, and that is one of the first acknowledgements in the OP.

So, if we are defining 'hubris" as anyone who thinks a knife other than their own is overpriced or the pricing makes no sense, I am sure I am not alone.
 
There are always some knives out there that are purely silly over-the-top luxury items that are expensive for the sake of being expensive.

A lot of them look like they'd be really nice (as if any of them are actually getting used) like the crazy hand carved gold and gemstones and whatnot William Henry knives, or the ludicrously expensive ($3800, lol) Rockstead fixed blade models like this one:

RSDONZDP.jpg


The more baffling knives are the ones that are expensive despite looking like utter garbage (e.g. RMK, Heeter, etc.) like this RMK folding brick thing:

I mean, that Rockstead is silly, but compared to paying $425 for the RMK, I'd rather drop $3800 and at least have something nice . . .
The Rockstead is a good example of my point. $3800 for a rather unremarkable knife (to me) when you could take $3800 and get a fantastic handmade bowie with san mai and a handmade sheath for less.

Other than the already cited "people will/are paying that much for them so it must be market price" rhetoric I can't get how that knife can be $3800.
 
My example of this is Mad Dog Knives. I cannot see for the life of me how these knives can be so expensive. Forget secondary market, I mean table prices. Are they magic? I mean, literally, do they have magic powers? Even if expertly ground from Unicorn horseshoes, and heat treated in the fires of Mordor, and quenched in virgin blood, I would still have NO IDEA how these knives cost this much. I mean, they have G10 handles. And kydex.
.

Well said. :thumbsup: I had to look up this mad dog knives - and I see your point these knives should not cost more than $40. I pity the fools who drop coin on crap like that, which I would not want if you offered it to me for free. But that is just me, YMMV.
 
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