New Member, Liquidating Father's Collection

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RedWings

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*Moderators: Please excuse my first post here if this constitutes "chat."*

Hello, everyone. I am sorry to announce that the recent passing of my father has led me to the discovery of these forums. Six weeks ago the phone call conveying the startling news came, and shortly thereafter I was on a plane headed home to Detroit for the emotionally and labor-intensive chore of sorting through the estate...

In my possession now are nearly 300 knives- some of which I intend to retain, the rest I aspire to sell in hopes that they will end up in the hands of collectors like my father who will forever care for and cherish these pieces. As much as I'd like to sit on everything inherited, it simply isn't possible as my father was a compulsive collector of not only knives, but cards, coins, stamps, pinback buttons, etc. As it stands now, I have an entire room stacked to the hilt with his collections retrieved from my childhood home in Detroit. I have no desire to cart around dozens of boxes of my father's collections for the rest of my life; a few select pieces cherry-picked for the sentimental value they may hold will suffice.

So, in the weeks ahead I will be posting several pictures of my knives here. I have tried to ascertain fair market value for most of them via web searches, but my own lack of knowledge and experience in knife collecting has me reluctant to just start arbitrarily stamping an asking price on each piece. Furthermore, several of the pieces I have been unable to identify due to lack of markings. I don't want to undercut myself in egregiously underpricing anything, and likewise do not want to deter prospective buyers with overpriced pieces. I suppose I will let the threads I start run while I entertain offers. Even if you are not interested in a given piece, please DO NOT HESITATE to chime in with any comment, idea, appraisal, etc. Anything and everything will be of immense help to me at this point.

I will be attending a gun & knife show with a chunk of this collection next month, and in the meantime I hope to sell or at very least identify/price many of these knives here. After perusing many of the posts here I feel that I have come to the right place for networking with seasoned, elite collectors.

Any questions, comments, or opportunity for first crack at these knives, please do not hesitate to email or message me.

Thank you all very much!
 
i think we would be likely to get in a buying mood if we saw some pix................b
 
That's a sad turn of events indeed, my sympathies. In terms of selling some of the knives, this forum doesn't relly support auction-style sales so you might want to inquire about value on another sub-forum, such as the Bernard Levine forum, and once you have ascertained a fair price then post it here for sale.
 
Sorry for your loss, but don't make it another one by selling at the gun & knife show, you may incur another loss or two. Go with idea of finding pieces same as Dads' and getting values from the posted sale prices. Some, Not ALL, would eat your lunch on buying the knives from you.

Just my two cents, no change required.
James

PS: Welcome to the Forums
 
So sorry to hear about your loss - I went through this around 7 years ago. It is painful but does get better over time. I concur with Mr. Todd - I would be careful about who you deal with at the gun & knife shows. There are folks there that are on the look out for people in your position - they will take advantage of you if given the opportunity. You could have some real treasures and it would be a shame for you to find out about it after the fact. Take a little time and do a bit of reseach. I am sure everybody here on the forum would be glad to help out - this really is a great place to spend some time. You may end up keeping more than you thought you would.
 
Dont sell anything for 6 months and watch the sale forums and auction sites, The only knives you could run into pricing problems is on old or rare productions and customs.
Sorry for your loss and from one collector to the son of a collector, dont sell them without knowing what you have and dont let someone make a big profit off your Fathers collection.
 
As someone who has been in the gun & knife game since 1974... Listen to the above comments. Wait and take your time, good photos here will take you far in discovering what you have and getting a fair price for it. As a member, you can research past sale prices with the search function. eBay search may help, but be careful about using that as a standard. You have access here to some of the most informed knife people in the world.

Forget the gun & knife shows... They will give you the least to later sell it at the highest.

Take your time!
 
Wow. Sorry to hear about your loss.

Please post your Father's name, if you do not mind.
I hate to say it, but with a collection that size, we might know him or have traded/ sold with him and he might be one of the many that have slipped quietly away.
It would be nice to say a proper prayer and acknowledge the passing if he is one of us.

Ed T
 
Just read some of the above threads, firstly i feel for your loss (my dad passed away 4 years ago) and the above remarks and comments are sound, if your late dad had 300 knives thats a fair amount of blades and you really want to get there worth.
Paul.
 
Hello, may I get some Pics of the Protech Godfather jazz w/G-10 satin Plain edge (909) in the Box. When you have a chance? Heck if possible, photos of Both of the godfathers... Thanks much... ~kevin~Email is mr.kpj@comcast.net..
 
I don't knw if anyone mentioned it but ya need prices to sell here, as it is not an auction, sorry for your loss and I look forward to another post with prices.

BTW I believe the Auto Forum has their own For Sale section.

Good Luck.
 
Ok, everyone, you know the rules concerning posting in FS threads, and one of those rules is no chit chat is allowed.

Consider this a warning.

I'm locking this down, and listing the OP's FS list in a new thread. He has been PM'd to add prices, so no more reports, please.

Thanks.
 
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