No More Expensive Knives for Me

After a somewhat frenzy of buying and selling, I am trying to settle on a few mid-range cost customs and few production models and to carry / use both. Let's see if this plan pans out.
 
I have an old Cold Steel folder, it just says Ultralock on it, its very plain but see's most of the cutting jobs I have. I have TOPS and BM sitting in a draw because I dont want them scratched :rolleyes: or they are just too scary to carry around.(Especially the TOPS CQB :) )

SAK and a $50 folder would pretty much do everything I want it to without going into the realm of Leatherman.

When I get a Sebbie though I will carry and use it.
 
I'm content with factory knives right now. A nice Spyderco will do everything I require of a knife. I have considered buying a few customs, simply because the design of the blade was unavailable elsewhere.
 
I understand you guys.

I'm a kind of guy who likes the good things. And more, I think good things are no good if they're not used.

I don't like just to "collect" knives, I like to use them, expensive or not.

By the way, I don't like "brand new" look in a knife. It becomes more beautiful with a "used, but not abused" look, like a blade well sharpened with a good polished edge, used G10 scales, screws loosening color by scratching you pocket...

Regards,

Andre Tiba - Brazil

Ps. I do confess I have some old ones to do the dirty work... ;)
 
HOW can one open a box with a cheap knife? What if someone SEES you? The.....SHAME !!!!

But.......... I am back to my (now de-serrated) Victorinox One Hand Trailmaster. Does everything. Needs retouching twice as often as the Spydie VG10 but gives me a chance to break out the Sharpmaker.

AND...... I can't count the number of times I have blessed this knife for its other tools. A screwdriver WHEN I want it.....not.....after going to the garage to GET one. And ....tweezers.... slivers, bee stings, etc. I even use the SAW occasionally.

Thinking of having a 2 carat diamond set in the handle just to make it expensive.

:D
 
For me at least, I have no problem with spending alot of money on a knife if that knife is either a really great user or if that knife has great art or collector appeal. I just haven't seen much lately that would make me want to spend big money. My current EDC is a Spyderco Centofante III and I'll pick up a plain edge Paramilitary as soon as I can. I just don't see any $300-500 knives that are clearly better than a Paramilitary. :D
 
anthony cheeseboro said:
I just don't see any $300-500 knives that are clearly better than a Paramilitary. :D
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well, that's where personal preference comes in. I see many $300-$500 knives that are "better" (in my subjective opinion) than a Paramilitary. I just bought a Lochsa that was in the $500 range. IMHO, it's a whole lot better than a Paramilitary. They may be equal in cutting performance alone, but I buy knives for things other than just cutting performance.

My point's just that 'better' is so subjective. For you, there's nothing better than the Paramilitary. For me, there is.

-pb
 
pendentive said:
I think you'd find <$150 folders in the pockets of guys who do own $1000+ folders...
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Yeah, I personally have only been collecting Custom Folders in the $400+ range lately, but you will always find a Benchmade or lower end Microtech in my pocket :)
 
I have similar thoughts, 100 bucks will buy a lot of knife. I was captivated by the lovely pics of that Lochsa posted recently but I could never justify the purchase to myself and I'd be loathe to use it. I love Spydies and stag handle folders. I recently picked these two older Browning big game beauties off the bay. They're very neat, high quality Japan folders with beautiful stag handles. Blades are unused but bolsters have some sheath wear, great knives nevertheless. Hard to beat the "bargain" knife.

http://www.villagephotos.com/viewpubimage.asp?id_=8540820
 
I carry Sebenzas, Darrel Ralphs, an Extrema Ratio -- and a couple of ex-Anthony Cheeseboro Spydies! I like to have a good knife around, and that does not have to mean expensive. There are times that a Native or especially a Dodo is the best knife for the day, especially if I'm dressed lightly or casually and I don't need to be carrying a lot of metal around.

But I also think that as a recent thread suggested we can get knifed out. After you've seen so many great knives, it comes down to having to back off and appreciate knives for themselves, not for the feeding frenzy enthusiasm that makes them so irresistable.
 
Esav, I think you said what I've been thinking. After a while, I just couldn't jump up and want to buy every nice knife I saw. If nothing else, I needed to sit down and appreciate what I already owned. :cool:
 
Temper said:
I have an old Cold Steel folder, it just says Ultralock on it, its very plain but see's most of the cutting jobs I have.
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A CS Ultralock tanto was my first real EDC, the first knife I almost always had with me, tucked inside my waistband over my right front pocket. After I got on Bladeforums, I picked up a clippoint Ultralock -- great little knife, but I've never gotten a chance to use it, with too many others in its way. :)
 
Of course are customs, and mid-techs from known makers worth their price, because they are hand made with superior workmanship and are of exceptional design. Factory collabs bring these great designs and materials prior exclusively used by custom makers to the public. Custom makers invent superior designs and/or collab with known experts of martial arts and make their knives by hand. Factory collabs make them affordable and accessable. Of cours does my crkt Crawford Kasper have the same design as the original and will fit the bill. But my original one has better materials and a very unique flair. This is the reason of me buying customs.
 
anthony cheeseboro said:
Thom, in my neck of the woods, ATRs are under $200.
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I won't deny that. They're MSRP, though, is $299 and some change and, whatever they're price, you shouldn't forego ATR ownership unless just don't like Spyderco ClipIts.

What I don't like is that I can't carry my favorite favorite sub-$200 non-folders around (Himalayan Imports khukuris), so I have to make do with Spyderco and ER folders. :rolleyes:
 
thombrogan said:
What I don't like is that I can't carry my favorite favorite sub-$200 non-folders around (Himalayan Imports khukuris), so I have to make do with Spyderco and ER folders. :rolleyes:
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Lucky man, you've gotten out of many a backache not carrying those khukuris around! :D

I think I'd enjoy a lot of my knives more if there weren't so many legal problems carrying them, though. As far as customs go, I like my three inch Darrel Ralph EDC, but It would be nice to carry the custom 5.5" Madd Maxx dagger.

Still, for someone who doesn't need to spend the money, Camillus has a perfectly reasonable level of quality in their production EDC and CUDA Maxx stiletto.
 
anthony cheeseboro said:
I seem to have lost a certain zest for knives that I used to have. I still really love knives but I just can't pull the trigger and spend big money ($300+) for knives any more. I don't blame anyone for spending whatever, but I feel that I can get anything I really need for $200 or less (usually much less). Spyderco is a good example, I could get a Paramilitary, a Chinook II, and a Persian for the price of a more exclusive knife. Just my 2 cents.
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Hey,Your not alone.I'm in the same boat, this ocurred to me about a year ago.Financial constraints also have played a part in my pricey knife purchase restrictions.To be honest though I've come full circle from where I started practically.I can still appreciate high priced production and customs.
However;The quality,designs,and materials in the knives lately have gotten me to forget about carrying knives like a Sebbie or Custom Tactical knives.My Spyderco Chinook II is very impressive,and for the price,I can own a few.I also like the Spyderco ATR.Other companies models and custom collabarations are also impressive.I like to carry some traditional pocket knives also.I have an order in for a Ontario Rat-7 in D2 when they ship.A couple a years ago I would have never thought of spending under $3-400.00 for a serious survival knife.I know these knives I own will fill all my needs just as well as the higher priced knives,without sacrificing design, quality,durability,or top of the line materials.
 
TOMBSTONE said:
...and for the price,I can own a few...
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I look at it differently, I'd rather have one quality hand-made custom than several productions. In the beginning/early in my collecting I couldn't see spending $500 on one knife. In retrospect, I found that over time, I easliy spent the $500, it just took a while and was spread out over many knives. It seemed easier to spend $500 in $100 increments, rather than dropping the $500 all at once.

These days, I'm much happier with the $500 knife than several less expensive models. I'll put the money aside until I reach my goal, then buy the custom. Or, I'll sell one custom to fund another. Quality over quantity. Note, I didn't always feel that way. I've purchased three customs since the start of the year and sold one for a net of two. I've got one more custom Obenauf ($300-ish) on order that should arrive sometime in the coming months and that'll likely be it through the end of the year.
 
I tried to go to production knives, but went back to customs. I can't find a single production fixed blade that does it for me although there are a few folders: Buck/Mayo, Camillus Dominator, Spyderco Military, CRKT M16-03Z and the Benchmade 630 looks phenominal, but the pride of ownership of a custom that really grabs you is not easily replicated on the production line. Of course, for many, that's not important at all. Both categories of knives get the job done.
For me, it's quality over quantity. I appreciate quality and unique designs and am willing to pay for it. Unfortunately, I can't afford it right now, but I've got 3 mega winners on my "To Get" list and I regularly check out the dealers' sites.
 
The fact is I would love to have case full of Striders and Busses and Mercworx and (insert high end knife here).

The fact is though: #1. I can't afford it. #2. I will never need such a knife.

Think about it. As great as these knives are, what use do most of us have for them? I'm not a soldier, or a police officer, or a ninja. ;)

Well maybe a mall ninja.

I'm not saying that maybe some day when I'm doing better financially I won't invest in some nice pieces for my own twisted pleasure, just that I have just as much fun boning up on production knives and selecting from them as I do drooling over the high end pieces that honestly I really don't need.

Let me put it another way. Sure <insert name here> makes a fantastic custom folder that outperforms the Spyderco Endura in every way, but is it anywhere near as good a value? Is it a triumph of human engineering and industry like an Endura is?

Or look at the Vapor. I want to get one of these just because I can't believe they made such a great knife that's so cheap.

The fact is I believe you are either obsessed with sharp pointy things or you are not. There are multiple ways to appreciate one of mankind's most ancient and important tools. The symptoms are just different is all.
 
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