New Purchase Quandary

[Stumpy72]

I’ve fallen in love with some of the stunningly beautiful aftermarket scales. I’m considering buying a new CPM20-CV Griptilian and having a pair of high end custom scales made for it. This project would cost me a total of ~$360 and the result would be one of the most beautiful Grips that ever was (at least IMO--ha,ha!).

What’s gnawing away at my mind is that >$350 is ~2/3 of the base price of the Sebenza range. I know I could always (and I suspect probably quickly and easily) resell a well-kept Sebenza for a fair price, but I’m not so sure that’d be the case with a beautified Grip dressed up with custom aftermarket scales. I suspect this is a consideration that others have wrestled with before me...

Anyhow---my quandary... I love those beautiful Grip aftermarket scales, but I don’t want to get stuck with a beautified ~$350 Grip that’ll never resell for a fair price. In the opinion of you here -- would that pretty Grip probably sell easily for a fair price, or would waiting and saving until I can afford a Sabenza be the more prudent course of action?

Thanks in advance for your insights.

 

[barcbsa]

Custom grips on a hundred dollar knife... it’s still based basically a hundred dollar knife. If you’re spending $350, why not get a handmade folder instead?

 

[Guitarly]

Sounds like you already know the answer.

 

[J LeeACP]

Enjoy that new Sebenza.

 

[19-3ben]

Custom stuff will always have a more limited audience and you’d be more likely to lose your shirt if you resell.

That said, if you are buying custom for your taste I assume it’s because you want to keep it. Right? I can’t see the sense in customizing to your liking only to sell to someone else.

If you are buying with an eye toward getting exactly what you want because it’ll be yours forever then don’t worry about it.

If you’re going to resell, keep it stock.

 

[Knicked Digits]

Customizing a knife always drops the resale value, especially on a mass produced hundred dollar knife. I’m in the “buy the sebenza” camp.

I had the same “quandary” when I got my mini grip. I lived the knife and contemplated aftermarket scales but ultimately decided it was a loss overall. I could buy a 940 or that price or a Spyderco for a better value with better materials. Of course mine is the 154cm mini grip, but I think you get the idea

 

[Stumpy72]

Well... a genuine Monday morning wake-up call. The jury is back and the verdict reached in less than an hour. I did pretty much suspect what the answers coming my way would be, but I had to ask. Some of those scales are just so pretty that they’re hard for me to resist.

What I buy will definitely “be mine forever” but whatever I buy will also end up in the hands of others (whether buyers or heirs), and very possibly sooner than I’d like.

Everything said here is right on the money, but the “If you’re going to resell, keep it stock” and "Custom stuff will always have a more limited audience and you’d be more likely to lose your shirt if you resell” thoughts wrap it up best.

Thanks for the reality check.

 

[unwisefool]

I mean if you are going to use that knife with custom scales for the next 15 years or so, who cares about the resale value?

 

[JJ_Colt45]

I would agree with the above posts in general ...

the biggest questions are ... do you want the Griptilian to use or to collect ? ... and if you know you will be selling down the line then yes the Sebenza ... but if you love the Grip so much that you'd keep it ... then it's totally subjective ... and resale shouldn't be a concern.

But yes most customized stuff won't bring what you put in it unless you find one of the few people with your exact tastes.

 

[unwisefool]

Even then, depending on how you use the sebenza or more expensive knife, you could still take a hit on the resale value.

Pretty sure no one wants to pay close to original price for my beat-up umnumzaan.

 

[PirateSeulb]

Here is my take on customizing a productions knife.

A) Buying modded: You can buy some from some vendors already modded/customized and for a fair price not a bad deal and you often won't lose as much on these for resale
B) Buying after market parts: You are buying parts to put on the knife yourself that may or may not hold the value you pay it is a bigger risk but you can get a knife that is much more your own. I would only recommend doing this to a knife you have and know you love and likely don't intend to let go of.
C) DIY: If you are a DIY person and love to do that by all means do some DIY modding and customizing and love it and show off your love. You don't need to wait and carry the knife and know you love it if you love the crafting enough plus you are only spending your time and some material cost.

 

[nick_30]

Customizing a knife always drops the resale value, especially on a mass produced hundred dollar knife. I’m in the “buy the sebenza” camp.

I had the same “quandary” when I got my mini grip. I lived the knife and contemplated aftermarket scales but ultimately decided it was a loss overall. I could buy a 940 or that price or a Spyderco for a better value with better materials. Of course mine is the 154cm mini grip, but I think you get the idea

Not necessarily true, take this one, I bet it would sell or more than the original 155.00

 

[Mikel_24]

Pimping is usually only appreciated by those who did it... but for the rest of the world it might not be so beautiful. I would say that the best way to resell the Grip would be to put back the original scales and sell as is. Then you could sell the pretty aftermarket scales separately for a fair price.

Anyhow, for that money I wouldn't buy a Griptillian. Sebenza seems like the easy answer to your question.

 

[19-3ben]

Not necessarily true, take this one, I bet it would sell or more than the original 155.00

I would also bet it would sell for more than $150. But would you get out of it what you put into it? Not likely.

The OP is talking about investing $360 in a BM Grip. It wouldn't shock me at all if he took a $180 knife, invested $360 total, and then sold it for $225. There's no accounting for taste, and whenever you customize, you have to assume you'll take a loss.

That said, i love your PM2. That's a beautiful mod.

 

[evilgreg]

I'm going to go against the flow and say that if you're customizing a knife that you already know you love using, and you're not looking to later sell it and get out what you put into it, that it can be pretty great.

I like the production Spyderco Southard a lot, with a few minor niggles (stupid pointless hole in the blade, scratchy brown scale, crappy pocket clip) and have had a lot of customizations done. Grabbing a few from my desk to snap a couple of pictures, take these examples (orange & black CF liner delete, python micarta liner delete, silver twill CF and blue screws):

Two are liner deletes (titanium presentation side of the knife has been replaced outright). All three have custom clips. The silver twill CF has custom blue anodized hardware.

Would I get what I put into them back out if I sold them? Nope.

Would I rather carry these than a Sebenza? Yep (my dusty Sebenzas sitting in a drawer prove that). I have a lot of very expensive knives, and I carry a customized Southard more often than not.

IMO, as long as you're not considering your knives an investment, spend your money in whatever way will make you happy. If you are considering your knife purchases investments, let me suggest you consider other, better investment alternatives (e.g. index funds, real estate, anything else really).

 

[b00n]

I buy knives for personal enjoyment, not resale value. Personally, do you think you get more ENJOYMENT out of the customized knife or "just another Sebenza" ? And getting a Sebenza isn't gonna quench the hankering for that custom scale BM. Just get the knife you really want, yeah okay maybe you end up losing money in the process, but the Sebenza isn't gonna go away anytime soon, so you can always get it later.

 

[McFeeli]

Yeah I'm filing behind the pro-customizers. I don't necessarily believe the knife will hold its value as much as a Sebenza would, but would a Sebenza really give you what you want? That's what I'd consider to be the most important aspect.

Don't take this the wrong way, but would you rather your family sell off your knife or keep it around? If you go all in on a custom, there won't be any out there like it, so you'd be passing on your knife, not a knife. The one that brought you the most happiness. That's something I'd definitely remember from family, and something I wouldn't even consider selling. So resell value really isn't all that pressing, all things considered(that's my thoughts, at least).

 

[nick_30]

I would also bet it would sell for more than $150. But would you get out of it what you put into it? Not likely.

The OP is talking about investing $360 in a BM Grip. It wouldn't shock me at all if he took a $180 knife, invested $360 total, and then sold it for $225. There's no accounting for taste, and whenever you customize, you have to assume you'll take a loss.

That said, i love your PM2. That's a beautiful mod.

You are right on that point, you may never get the full break even price on those. That one is about 300.00 and the only people who would spend that much on a pm2 is a collector looking to complete his collection, and it would have to be cherry

 

[91bravo]

Those who customize their production knives will never get back what they have in it when they go to sell it. The customization part is for personal satisfaction and to have a knife that nobody out there has. When you do get bored of your production knife with aftermarkets scales, clips, screws etc, you're going to take a hit on price. That's just the name of the game.