Most Expensive Production Folder

I'm getting the sense that the Carothers folder is pretty much like the infamous Busse folder...

This thread made me wonder if there are any old-school production knives that are insanely collectible, maybe a long-time collector might know? Every now and then I see glimpses of a section of knife collecting that I'm completely unfamiliar with; the kind that deals with big names from long ago and is far more hyped and higher-dollar than what's usually discussed here. Kind of like how an original Loveless subhilt could be considered production, but originally retailed for something like $20k and gets pushed even higher on secondary.
 
Tsujigiri said:
I'm getting the sense that the Carothers folder is pretty much like the infamous Busse folder...

This thread made me wonder if there are any old-school production knives that are insanely collectible, maybe a long-time collector might know? Every now and then I see glimpses of a section of knife collecting that I'm completely unfamiliar with; the kind that deals with big names from long ago and is far more hyped and higher-dollar than what's usually discussed here. :)
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There was nothing production about an original Loveless Sub-Hilt. All of them are full custom made knives......but ok.

It sounds like what you are describing is something along the lines of the custom Bali-Songs that Pacific Cutlery used to make. They were more along the lines of production knives even though some blades were ground by custom knife makers like Jody Samson and Bill Devries. They have skyrocketed in value in the last few years. If you have some from the 80's that you paid a few hundred bucks for you are probably looking at a good payday especially if they have rarer handle material.

There are of course a whole bunch of super collectable Case and Schrade Walden knives and others of that genre but I don't have the knowledge to identify them.
 
Steven65 said:
There was nothing production about an original Loveless Sub-Hilt. All of them are full custom made knives......but ok.

It sounds like what you are describing is something along the lines of the custom Bali-Songs that Pacific Cutlery used to make. They were more along the lines of production knives even though some blades were ground by custom knife makers like Jody Samson and Bill Devries. They have skyrocketed in value in the last few years. If you have some from the 80's that you paid a few hundred bucks for you are probably looking at a good payday especially if they have rarer handle material.

There are of course a whole bunch of super collectable Case and Schrade Walden knives and others of that genre but I don't have the knowledge to identify them.
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Based on what I've seen of your collection, you'd be a good person to ask; what would put the subhilts firmly in custom territory? From what I've read, especially towards the end they had employees churning them out on behalf of Bob, so I've seen people draw comparisons to Randall's style of production at a much higher level. On the other hand, "production" from that era would have been much more hand-crafted than "custom" knives today, so it's tricky to define.

Definitely there are a bunch of highly-prized vintage traditional knives, especially when you get into unusual mechanisms or patterns. Also far outside of what I'm familiar with, maybe someone can point out a few notable examples.
 
ChiefTJS said:
I've recently upped my game so to speak and in the process I've found some makers I'd never even heard of. These makers are waaay out of my price range so I assume that’s why I'd never heard of them. Let's go further, what's the top, top end? If Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos were knife guys (Who knows) what would they be buying for production stuff?
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BTSOOM. I operate on a beer budget.
 
Tsujigiri said:
Based on what I've seen of your collection, you'd be a good person to ask; what would put the subhilts firmly in custom territory? From what I've read, especially towards the end they had employees churning them out on behalf of Bob, so I've seen people draw comparisons to Randall's style of production at a much higher level. On the other hand, "production" from that era would have been much more hand-crafted than "custom" knives today, so it's tricky to define.

Definitely there are a bunch of highly-prized vintage traditional knives, especially when you get into unusual mechanisms or patterns. Also far outside of what I'm familiar with, maybe someone can point out a few notable examples.
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Loveless's shop was not a factory with employees who ran a production line.

Loveless often worked with other knifemakers in his shop. The two that most people know are Steve Johnson and Jim Merrit, but over the years there were others. Many also passed through his doors to learn the skills that took them forward to be famous, Dietmar Kressler comes to mind.

Towards the end of Loveless's life Jim was making most of the knives but Loveless was there.

Each knife was an order. It was cut from stock by hand, ground by hand, heat treated and then had all the fittings and polishing done by hand. Each knife was a one off.

That is not a production knife, that is a custom knife. Not every one may have been made by Loveless but they are definitely not production.

Randall are a low production factory. They probably make more knives in a month than Loveless ever did in his best year.
 
knarfeng said:
BTSOOM. I operate on a beer budget.
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You and me both. Usually when I buy something it’s because I sold something of more or less equal value beforehand. Well, tbh usually less. I’m not smart enough to ever really make out on a deal. . . 🤣
 
Production is generally the operative and most controversial part of any “Most <insert_attribute> production knife/gun/whatever.” proposition. Production means different stuff to different people.
 
Built on a production line by multiple cutlers in a significant quantity available for purchase at multiple places.

Some of that is bendable but if there's only one made that goes to a specific person it's probably not "production".
 
XJ-linux said:
Production is generally the operative and most controversial part of any “Most <insert_attribute> production knife/gun/whatever.” proposition. Production means different stuff to different people.
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I think of it as something akin to the way they describe porn. You can’t really describe it exactly, but you know it when you see it.

I think of it as something manufactured by machines in reasonably high numbers, with minimal human effort, other than in actual assembly or final quality inspection.

Don’t ask me to define what a reasonably high number or minimal human effort is though.
 
Danke42 said:
Built on a production line by multiple cutlers in a significant quantity available for purchase at multiple places.

Some of that is bendable but if there's only one made that goes to a specific person it's probably not "production".
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I think you nailed it better than I did.
 
Do people have to pay cash for those $10,000 - 20,000 knives at Blade Show ?
 
William Henry knives may be found at:

www.williamhenryknives.com

They may also be found on line at e-Bay.

Walk-in retail outlets for these knives may be found at upscale jewelry stores in Miami, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and other places frequented by high rollers.
 
shunsui said:
Do people have to pay cash for those $10,000 - 20,000 knives at Blade Show ?
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Sometimes cash....buddy of mine was at blade 2023....a guy pulled out $50k cash and tried to buy the entire Hawk table. Gavin declined.

Guys with high 6 figure collections and a few with low 7 figure collections attend these shows
 
Don_Logan said:
Sometimes cash....buddy of mine was at blade 2023....a guy pulled out $50k cash and tried to buy the entire Hawk table. Gavin declined.

Guys with high 6 figure collections and a few with low 7 figure collections attend these shows
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I have to be honest.... I'm one of those guys. I only attend Bladeshow Texas these days, but I buy everything with cash. I go to get items that I like, doesn't matter if it's $5 or $50,000.
 
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