overpriced blades

TriviaMonster said:
Bingo.

It's all about the who, as in the who you are selling to. I think a $12 poster of Justin Beiber is over priced, by uh, about $12. My little niece on the other hand would pay $50 if she had to. Why? Well, we are different markets. I doubt anyone would call an 8 year old girl mentally ill for liking Justin Beiber, even if it didn't match their own tastes.

Now let's take it one step further. I think knife X is over priced. Let's say knife X is a paua handled damascus slipjoint knife made by a famous custom maker. Let's say knife X is for sell for $2,000. Now I don't like paua, nor do I like slipjoints a whole lot. But, I do like knives. Strange huh? But knife X is a knife so I must like it, right? Wrong. I have personal preferences that go even farther than just liking knives. Now if knife X were a Ti handled, DDR Gunhammer with a Damascus blade and carbon fiber inlays then I would be all over it. But, my late Grandfather would kick me in the testes for paying $2k for an "abomination like that." That doesn't make the custom Gunhammer worth any less. My Grandpa is not Darrel Ralph's market, nor am I the market of the custom slipjoint maker.
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yeah, production knives on the other hand are a lot more easy to break down in terms of cost and what you are getting in terms of that cost.

its like comparing a tailor made suit to any chain clothing store. the tailor made suit is a hand crafted work of art specifically made to suit (no pun intended) the buyers preferences. but the chains have mass produced clothing.

H&M clothing costs mid to high end prices for some of the most poorly made clothing I have ever worn. poor stitching and weak attention to detail. and while I like how some of it looks (the opinion and preference aspect), I can look at it categorically and rationally and say that the clothing is certainly over priced for what it is. Putting supply and demand aside, you can take a $70 dress shirt and say you are not getting your moneys worth if it starts falling apart only after wearing it twice (actually happened to me). you can look at the factors and say "this doesn't add up"

I feel you can't really do that with the tailor made suit, not as easily at least, only because the significance of one is much more slanted towards the preference aspect. opinions are not always rational or easy to justify or explain, and you are paying for your opinion of it... if that makes any sense
 
Socom Elite said:
There are some people that pay $400 and up for a spyderco military or a Para Military. Even though they have s90v blades damn that's too much for that knife. Check the completed auctions on eBay and you will be surprised how much people pay for some sprint run spydercos. I can get an XM 18, strider, or Sebenza for those prices
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Paramilitary2 with S90V (one run of 600 knives) You won't find any on Ebay any more. These are collector's items, not users. They're worth every penny.
...And you can't buy an XM 18 for less than about $900 unless you're an LEO or EMT. Yes, you can get Striders and Sebbies for $400. I have not owned a Strider, but the Sebbies and other CRK's are the finest production knives on the market. Very tight tolerances, hand-built, last a lifetime.
Sonny
 
Sonnydaze said:
These are collector's items, not users. They're worth every penny.
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So were beanie babies. The collector's market is not where I look for intrinsic value, though I have paid collector's prices for many things, including knives.
 
Colinz said:
(with positive stuff mentioned)
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I like your style. My "overpriced" list:

-Cold Steel (love my pocket bushman)
-Emerson (Love dat wave(on my spyderco...))
-Al Mar (awesome designs)
-Lionsteel Aluminum Sr-1. (I still might buy one)
-Microtech (biggest thumbstuds on the market)
-Most SOG's (my buddy has one, says it's pretty cool)
-TOPS (The tracker was a great as a prop in "The Hunted")
 
I've always wanted to try and Al-Mar but for the money like others have stated I'd expect a bit more than AUS-8. I'm sure they're fine knives seeing as they're still in the business after all this time.
 
Emerson's are hardly overpriced. They have really 'upped their game' in regards to quality in recent years..... I just picked up a 2011 P-TAC and the grinds and edge on that knife are custom quality. Noticeably better fit-and-finish than any older Emerson's that have passed through my hands. The materials and design philosophy are very well though out - with one of the best warranties in the knife business (you break it? they fix it).

Remember - the sum total of the knife is more important than the materials used. Anybody can slap together a hunk of steel between some G-10 and titanium, but it doesn't mean it's a good knife.

My eyes bug out whenever I see the pricing on the new Microtech Cobras.... even the base level models are nuts. I haven't handled one - so how valid is my opinion?

Try getting your hands on a knife, at least, before proclaiming it's "overpriced."
 
Folks - Hinderer's are only overpriced on the secondary market. Go by the original makers price because you're adding in another highly unstable variable that makes this stupid thought-experiment even more irrelevant!

(Zero Tolerance knives are overpriced, by the way. Especially those ugly 03XX series beasts!)
 
BladeChick777 said:
I want a Sebenza or Umnumzaan... because I handled one of each and fell in love.

A lot of people are searching to see how many knives they can get.. or how high priced they can get... I see that they love knives and they're excited.
But I say get what you want and what you can use. You can't take them with you when you die.
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I only use one or two knives. I carry an Umnumzaan and I have a small Sebenza coming in the mail. I have quite a few knives, and they're all NIB or ANIB, since I buy them just to have them and keep them, in their original wrappings, in a box. Primarily, they are all supersteels on well-thought-of models, which I admire.
And yes, if I kick off, they will go to my sons, which is sort of where I am anyway.
Sonny
 
mctrinket said:
Well that's the problem though--and Hinderer created the problem with their business model that only sells to certain people (qualified LEOs, first responders, etc.). They also say that if you want a knife check with their listed retail distributors--but the retail distributors, who presumably are paying the Hinderer direct price--promptly mark up the knife 200+%.

It's really a crappy business model, in my opinion, one that is lining the pockets of a lot of middle men. The Hinderer folks are getting the same amount for the knife; it's the end user that is getting screwed. I also wonder how many of the knives that are purchased direct by "qualified" customers promply turn around and flip the knife for double what they paid then just order another from the company, etc., etc.

But the Hinderer folks don't seem to care.

It's too bad. They are nice knives a lot of decent folks would probably like a chance to own. But it has really soured me on their brand.
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Folks do this all of the time. They pick up Spyderco Sprints and sell them immediately for large profits. I don't blame Spyderco for this. People are greedy. We've seen these threads where OP's admit that they do this frequently...until they build up enough cash to buy the knife they really want. I guess these things are market-driven; we may pay $400 for a Paramilitary2 in S90v, knowing that we can recover that price when we sell if we keep the product NIB. And, as has been stated, you can buy a CRK, use it five yrs and then resell it for about what you paid for it.
Sonny
 
darkaether said:
I am glad Emerson is in the business to contribute his ideas and I really think he could design a dream folder. I just wish he could make one in a prodution format that wasn't 5 times as expensive as other production knives that performed comparably well, or at the build quality and pricepoints of top-end spydercos
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Ernie stated a long time ago that he once was lucky enough to get a large supply of 154cm steel (perhaps on credit?) when he was very new in the field, and was still using that steel out of loyalty to the mill, and because it fits his ideal of what a good blade-steel should be capable of when in the field. I have his CQC-7V, NIB of course, and it's a solidly-built knife. Yes, I could take this into the woods with me in a survival situation.
Sonnydaze
 
There is a clear way to get the price of a covetted knife to come down.... don't buy it. Refusal to pay a price that is not in line with the market will lower the demand and eventually lower the price. When the asking price is met, the markup is justified. In retail it is always easier to come down on a price if the product doesn't move than to go up on it if the demand rises. I fault no person that ask a high price and recieves it. A fool and his money are soon parted.
 
shqxk said:
Your knives are rather cool but to be respected, whoever bought its at 2000$+ seems to had some mental problem or something, IMO.
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I suspect you're young, and you are new. I suspect Snody recognizes that also. His knives go beyond materials, design and meticulous machining techniques. Once you cross over into art, you're in unknown territory. How much would you pay for a Picasso print?
Sonnydaze
 
Those with a big name half the time. For me, my best value is an Ontario Rat-1. Supersharp, perfectly made in Taiwan. Worst? Probably an early Darryl Ralph of all things --- not sharp, thin blade, was popular but mostly for looks.
 
Hinderer's are incredibly reasonably priced. Direct order (I know LEO's, Mili, EMT) is right at $400.

However, the Hinderer secondary market is stupid.
 
Regarding the issue of overpriced knives I wouldn´t say all custom folders are overpriced.

However the mark-up on a custom folder compared to a fixed blade is higher - you get a better return on your investment if you are a custom maker moving over to folders from fixed. So for me most custom made folders are a bit overpriced - and that is one of the reasons I do not own any custom folders. (If you doubt me on that please do some searching over at the custom maker forums that exist on the internet. You can pick up quite a bit about production methods using proper google-fu).

I also regard som fixed blades overprice. There has been (maybe still is) a practice of some accomplished custom makers cutting corners by attaching handles in an easier (less labour intensive) way to cut costs on a knife "that will be put in a cabinet for show and never will be used anyway". No way for the customer to check that unless they are willing to take the knife apart, and ruining it. That is another type of knife I would be afraid to buy because I would be afraid it was "overpriced".

I have seen a couple of posts regarding Microtech a company that brings a smile to my face everytime I hear it - does anyone know where they get their blades hardened. Or to what hardness they are made on the Rockwell scale? Do you still have to use a piece of fishing line to get rid of that annoying sound from the spring on their DA OTF´s? I have to agree on a previous posters opinion of them as overpriced.

/C.
 
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