Oh, the stupid and overpriced things you find on ebay...

C

Carl64

Joined
Apr 3, 2005
Messages
1,830
Is this not the dumbest thing you have ever seen? And I don't just mean because they want $80 for what is basically an opinel:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6586391632

Cold Steel twistmaster, which is an Opinel clone, with a tanto blade!

Hmm, our clone of a 500 year old knife design isn't selling to our usual mall-ninja customers. What can we do to make it look more appealing to them?

Actually, I don't know if this was something cold steel actually sold or if someone was feeling left out of the "tactical" trend. It's funny as heck either way.
 
As tempting as this offer might be, I will wait for the Dark Ops version of an Opinel. The Dark Ops version surely will cost even more (probably 200-300 bucks) but will be worth it because of its higher deanimation potential.
 
Those ARE good knives, but don't they sell for something like $10-15? I've got one sitting right here beside me, and I KNOW I paid less than $20 for it.
 
it's been out of production for several years, so they're becoming collector's items....



The Zytel handle is 6" long...
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Quick note: Nothing with a Zytel handle will ever become a collector's item, nothing.
 
Gollnick said:
Quick note: Nothing with a Zytel handle will ever become a collector's item, nothing.
Click to expand...

Have you seen the ZDP-189 Calypso Jr. IIRC FRN is Zytel.
 
s0rce said:
Have you seen the ZDP-189 Calypso Jr. IIRC FRN is Zytel.
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I didn't say that Zytel and similar materials can't make nice knives, just that cheap molded plastic is not the sort of thing that appeals to collectors.
 
Danbo said:
Those ARE good knives, but don't they sell for something like $10-15? I've got one sitting right here beside me, and I KNOW I paid less than $20 for it.
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I think Cold Steel actually sold them for more than that (edit: more than $20, not more than 80). It's almost certainly better steel than an Opinel, but it shouldn't be incredibly expensive either. The design is optimized so it can manufactured and assembled cheaply. The idea of paying $80 for it is just insane. I think you can get a huge-@$$ Becker tank-chopping bowie for that price.
 
I tend to recall them being originally priced around $75. But...nobody seemed to want a Glorified Opinel for that kinda money, so by years end the local B&M store was blowin' 'em out for $25.

I bought one then. Wish to heck I still had it. Man that was a nice knife to have in my backpack or dry bag. Would love to find another one. (that's not insanely priced and tough on the sensibilities)

Looks to me like someone's fishin' for a fool on E Prey. they'll probably find one too.:rolleyes:
 
I've never even seen this knife before. Which might lead me to believe that it's a collectors piece (despite the zytel). Although you don't hear much about classic Cold Steel collectors.

I think 10 Opinels would be a better deal though.
 
They used to offer it in their catalogs, it has been a few years ago. It would probably be hard to find but there was a reveiew thread poking around here somewhere.
 
Gollnick said:
Quick note: Nothing with a Zytel handle will ever become a collector's item, nothing.
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In general, I agree with this statement, but I've seen a handful of colored FRN Spydies become collectible (pink Cricket & Delica, blue Spyderhawk & Native). I've seen all of those sell for double original retail. Go figure.
 
Of course it's collectible. His opening bid of $50.00 is in line with original selling price or better. It's probably worth most of that. This was the most expensive of the series.
I have the large drop point - it's A LOT of knife.
The tanto shape is stronger - the 1/8" flat ground high carbon blade is a tough cutter and on this model it's coated for corrosion resistance. The locking mechanism is reassuring. The agressive texture on the large handle makes for a fair grip and Zytel is an extremely tough and resistant handle material.
Made in the USA.
 
I bought my first one from the Cold Steel special projects catalog about 10 years ago for ~18 dollars. I think the regular price at one point went up to about 40, they're not worth that IMO.
 
Carl64 said:
It's almost certainly better steel than an Opinel
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I hope you're joking.

Just to clarify, Cold Steel uses the same type of steel (non-stainless, high-carbon steel) as the Opies are made of (although I somehow doubt that it's as high-quality).

Peace.
 
Quick note: Nothing with a Zytel handle will ever become a collector's item, nothing.
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I wonder... How about the Spyderco Q knives? I don't know which trademarked black plastic material those are made from, but they are quite collectible.

Almost any discontinued knife model has the potential to be of interest to accumulators and collectors. A collector specializing in Cold Steel knives would almost certainly be interested in that eBay auction. But maybe not at that price...

Best Wishes,
Bob

By the way, didn't Kershaw also have a barrel lock knife too? I recall seeing them at REI years ago.
 
Yeah, that is pretty dumb. And overpriced. I'd never pay that much, even if it was highly valued by collectors. There's just not enough substance to it to warrant the price tag.

This, however, is even worse:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SHARK-TEC-THE-LAST-KNIFE-YOU-WILL-EVER-HAVE-TO-BUY_W0QQitemZ6585646510QQcategoryZ43326QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

68 on the Rockwell scale? Not likely. I love it when they say "high grade 100% American 440 Surgical Stainless Steel." The price ain't bad, though.

(I think e-Bay needs some intelligent moderators that have baseball bats and are willing to make house-calls).

TheSurvivalist
 
puukkoman said:
I hope you're joking.

Just to clarify, Cold Steel uses the same type of steel (non-stainless, high-carbon steel) as the Opies are made of (although I somehow doubt that it's as high-quality).
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I shouldn't have said certainly, as we can't be 100% sure what Opinel is and Cold Steel can technically use whatever they want for "carbon v."

However, Cold Steel is highly rumored to use 50100 for carbon v, which has chromium and vanadium added. They also say their carbon v steel is rc 59, though that might vary on a specific model.

Opinel is definitely not rc 59. Maybe 57. At that hardness, I don't know if it actually matters if it is 1095 or 1070. It is often said to be 1095, although I am not sure that isn't just because it's what a lot of people think of as the only option for carbon steel. But I have never head anyone suggest it was 50100 or anything other than a 10XX. There is nothing exceptional about Opinel steel or heat treating. The reason people like Opinel is because they have the sense to make a thin flat-ground blade out of simple but useful carbon steel that sharpens easily and works well enough. You get a fair knife for almost no money.

It's possible the twistmaster was made of 1095, so again I shouldn't have said it is certainly better, but there is an extremely good chance it is better steel, or better made steel of the same type.
 
TheSurvivalist said:
Yeah, that is pretty dumb. And overpriced. I'd never pay that much, even if it was highly valued by collectors. There's just not enough substance to it to warrant the price tag.

This, however, is even worse:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SHARK-TEC-THE-LAST-KNIFE-YOU-WILL-EVER-HAVE-TO-BUY_W0QQitemZ6585646510QQcategoryZ43326QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

68 on the Rockwell scale? Not likely. I love it when they say "high grade 100% American 440 Surgical Stainless Steel." The price ain't bad, though.
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This one has been discussed before. The knife is made by Aitor, a Spanish company. It's a dive knife. Lots and lots of BS in that auction but the price is as good as I've seen. The guy must have bought truckloads of them.


As for the Twistmaster... Doesn't putting a black coating and a tanto blade on what was basically a non-threatening utility knife sort of defeat the purpose? There are uncoated clip point versions available for around $25 or $30 or so. That's what I'd go with if I wanted one.

If this seller can actually get 80 bucks for this knife then I'd have to congratulate him in a way.
 
Planterz said:
I've never even seen this knife before. Which might lead me to believe that it's a collectors piece (despite the zytel). Although you don't hear much about classic Cold Steel collectors.

I think 10 Opinels would be a better deal though.
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I agree, I would much rather have 10 Opinels. Steel may be better, but for $80 how much better is it really??????:confused:
 
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