Nice knives cost too much?

A different take, even though for the most part we are talking about the most subjective or one of the most subjective valuation terms (utility).

Lets start with the Sage, Sebenza comparison referenced in this thread, yes your getting ti handles, frame lock, s30v, etc. The $200.00 price difference is for tolerance, that sebenza was made to tolerances down to ten thousandths of inch, the Sage was not. Your gonna pay for that, is it worth it, who knows only you can decide.

Now take a whole different tack all together, I personally think the day is coming sooner rather than later when the global economy collapse that were going to need these tools. Your not going to have the money to run out and buy new ones, nor will many knife companies and knife makers be in business. Your going to need this stuff to live, as your yard if you have one is going to be garden/farm, cause there arn't going to be many grocery stores open and the ones that are will require a will barrow full of money for a loaf of bread.

So I think buying the best quality tools you can afford will pay off. I can tell you with certainty from previous experience with tools of all kinds including knives. The old adage of you get what you pay for rings true, and for the most part those high end knives, guns, watches, tools, etc. are going offer greater durability and overall longevity than their less costly counter parts.

However, taking that line of thinking to the next logical progression would render the sebenza not worth the money as the Sage will probably last just as long as the Sebenza and may actually be more durable because the tolerances are quite so tight, it has some room to give under improper or hard use scenarios.

One could also take the position that you just a bunch of inexpensive knives (not cheap and yes there is a difference, see picture of sebenza knock off herein and think about mora, opinal or swiss army) and when one breaks, gets lost, stolen or traded for something else say like a jar of local made honey, no biggee.

Just one mans twisted take on it all
 
dan oliver said:
For instance, I have a Sebenza and many Shun kitchen knives. While I do like and enjoy using them, they certainly don't seem to offer the value....cost/benefit if you will.... of say: a Glock, a Smith & Wesson, or a even a G-Shock watch for instance. What do you think? Thank you.
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I have to disagree. I own and use Shun knives and the differences between even a nice WÜSTHOF or henckles is night and day to my hands. Fine mince 4 gallons of onions and 3 gallons of celery and your hand will tell you the difference.

Just my $0.02 worth
 
all is relative:

old hickory carbon work fine in the kitchen, but I like Japanese steel and design. To bad they cost more than 12 for a knife. (I've worked in restaurants and enjoy home cooking and 'crap' knives are worthless regardless of price.) I like old h, but like others and can afford them, so I use them instead

I use American, Japanese and Swedish in the field, or for everyday (slip joint to fix blade) and a $10 slicer is as much as a go to as a $+100 option. If Armageddon happens I sure hope my 20$ vic farmer is still in my survival kit.

All that said, if I had to pick 5 knives to use for everything for the next 30 years due to global circumstances, some would be inexpensive but high 'quality' and perhaps 1-2 would be considered expensive, but also of high quality.
 
Lowballingnot:D said:
It's a hobby. Knives might cost $7.00 to make for a $400.00 knife, but in the end you're getting a hell of a knife. Some people pay $200.00 for a baseball card that costs probably $0.30 cents to make. It's what people like, used as a tool, or as a collectors item.
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Exactly! It is what you like, and have interest in. You could make this same argument with most of anything in our daily lives from cars to watches to clothes. I could care less that i drive an oldsmobile thats 20 years old. It gets me to where i need to be. i do enjoy having solid, nice, extremely well made knives from the USA. I have a $20 nokia cell phone that works better than most peoples iphones that cost $500. It is what you value in life.
 
If we could have a DO OVER . Im sure we would get a mail order bride and not be a penny pincher lmao cuzz you get what you pay for enough said kellyw
 
While I do like and enjoy using them, they certainly don't seem to offer the value....cost/benefit if you will.... of say: a Glock, a Smith & Wesson
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Compare a $500 firearm to a $500 knife , does the $500 knife give you better fit & performance than a $80 knife ? Does the Glock give you better performance than a Jennings J-22 or a Haskel 45 ?

All perception , perceived value.. my carry gun gets used at the range , my knives get used daily.

$7 materials in a $400 knife
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You might want to price blade steel , titanium and other materials , I think you would be surprised to find out how much materials cost to make that $400 knife.
 
There is no such thing as an overpriced item if it sells, market dictates the price.

I even can think of underpriced 400$ knives like hinderer XM-18, he sells them for less than 400$ while the market price is i believe something like 600$, this 400$ piece of metal and plastic is a bargain.
 
John T Wylie Jr said:
You might want to price blade steel , titanium and other materials , I think you would be surprised to find out how much materials cost to make that $400 knife.
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Not to mention all the experience, research and skill that it took to build that knife.
 
romteb said:
There is no such thing as an overpriced item if it sells, market dictates the price.

I even can think of underpriced 400$ knives like hinderer XM-18, he sells them for less than 400$ while the market price is i believe something like 600$, this 400$ piece of metal and plastic is a bargain.
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yes market demand dictates price but what can an XM-18 do that is 4 times better than a say manix or a griptillian. not taking F&F into the equation because that is a purely personal matter. what I am trying to say and others don't seem to acknowledge that it is personal preference and taste that make high end knives worth the price but if talking about pure functionality high end knives are of course better but not by several multiples.
 
I haven't had time to read this thread over in detail, but I may have a slightly different approach. When I started buying knives, I set a spending limit for myself . . . no more than $200.00 for a fixed blade knife and no more than $100.00 for a folder. I've purchased a lot of knives over the years, but I've only exceeded my fixed-blade spending limit twice (and still managed to hold the price down to under $250.00 per knife for those two knives) and I've yet to exceed my folder spending limit. The game I play is to see how much knife I can buy that fits within my budget. I own fixed blades from Busse Combat, Swamp Rat, Scrap Yard, Blackjack, Boker, Entrek, RAT, Ranger, Kershaw, Spyderco, Anza, Buck, Becker, Ontario, Ka-BAR, and others in alloys ranging from 420HC to INFI. I own folders from Spyderco, Benchmade, Buck, Beretta, Case, Kershaw and others in alloys ranging from "surgical stainless" to S30V. I've even managed to pick up a few customs along the way. I'm constantly on the lookout for bargains. My last bargain was an Ontario RTAK-II for $60.00. Before that I picked up a TAK-1 in D2 for $40.00, an A.G. Russell Folding Hunter in 154CM for $40.00, and a Kershaw Outcast for $40.00.

So far, so good. :)

.
 
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I don’t think anyone can honestly dispute that “nice knives” cost a pretty penny. But no one is forced to buy or use a CRK Sebenza or Tony Bose custom. There are perfectly serviceable knives available for $20-30. People buy nice knives because they want something more than just serviceable.

I for one am thankful for the variety available with regards to knives. There are knives for all budgets out there, and a person can buy a knife that is as nice or as cheap as he wants. That is not usually the case for most consumer goods. A couple of weeks ago I was shopping with my wife for some baby stuff. It seems like everything out there is made cheaply now. Everything is chock full of plastic parts and looks like it is designed to be disposable. Thinking about it just ticked me off and made me appreciate the fact that there are well-made knives out there to be had.
 
What about the fact that foreign made knives are made by SWEATSHOPS?????
Let's hear it for the USA!
Pay a little more, keep the jobs domestic!
 
imo if you care what you're knife cost you're doing it wrong.

carry what you like. before you say something like a sebenza or a strider isnt worth it, just buy one and try it out. if you dont like it, sell it. if you cant afford it, so what? you arent missing that much. yes I do only use an SnG now, but I would be fine with something cheaper if that was the reality of my situation. to me the only thing that's really important is getting into a better steel like vg-10, 154cm or s30v and getting a decent lock. you ought to be able to find a knife that suits your needs, whatever they may be, if youre willing to spend 150 dollars. less if you're lucky.
 
gormandu said:
What about the fact that foreign made knives are made by SWEATSHOPS?????
Let's hear it for the USA!
Pay a little more, keep the jobs domestic!
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I would never pay ANY more for the knife to be made in the USA. I would only pay more for better quality. I do have knives made in the USA, but I also have knives made in France, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, China and Nepal. I doubt any of my knives were made in sweatshops.
 
maybe I am reading this a little different but I think I see his point...why does a Sebenza cost just as much as a Glock (granted, with the LE discount)? I walked out of my local gun store a year ago with a Glock 19 with 3 mags for around $480 with tax! One would have a hard time claiming there is more engineering, raw material
and production costs in a Sebenza than a Glock. A Glock has 34 parts to engineer, machine and finish. I know, a Glock is not made of titanium. But still...my only idea would be labor costs and volume sales, i.e. they sell far more Glocks than Sebenzas. That, and supply and demand...people are just willing to pay that much, whether it is worth it or not. At least that is my take on his question.
 
USCGGM said:
maybe I am reading this a little different but I think I see his point...why does a Sebenza cost just as much as a Glock (granted, with the LE discount)? I walked out of my local gun store a year ago with a Glock 19 with 3 mags for around $480 with tax! One would have a hard time claiming there is more engineering, raw material
and production costs in a Sebenza than a Glock. A Glock has 34 parts to engineer, machine and finish. I know, a Glock is not made of titanium. But still...my only idea would be labor costs and volume sales, i.e. they sell far more Glocks than Sebenzas. That, and supply and demand...people are just willing to pay that much, whether it is worth it or not. At least that is my take on his question.
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you can buy a yacht for the price of a ferrari but what's that got to do with the price of tea in china?
 
The Sebenza costs a lot because it is like a Les Baer 1911 -- made from premium parts, with attention lavished on it by skilled laborers. Both are precision instruments, and the methods used to craft them cost more than injection molding polymer.

If you want a knife similar to a Glock, get a Spyderco Endura. Both are tough, inexpensive tools that will do what they were designed to do. The G19 will put a hole into something just as well as semi-custom 1911, and the Endura will cut anything that needs to be cut.

I'm still keeping my Concept II and large regular Seb though. I like the 1911, no other pistol I've shot compares. And though the Sebenza doesn't work any better than my Endura, I enjoy studying its craftsmanship. Knives are very personal items. What works for one person won't necessarily work for another. Buy what you like, it's your knife.
 
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