"Paying For a Name": Will Contemporary Bladesmiths' Knives Hold their Value as Art or Tools?

ElementalBreakdown

ElementalBreakdown

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Jul 14, 2020
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Looking for the thousandth time at a Starlingear/Strider collaboration and impressed with the high asking price, and then seeing an early example of a Barry Dawson fixed blade hunter for a relatively high price, it's interesting how certain collectors or brands seem to tolerate higher markups. I am not suggesting anything is wrong with this or getting down on any maker, just an observation. For example, Chris Reeves' knives seem to be less inflated (just for the name) than Mick Strider's knives. They are both great, and arguably as prolific. What is it about the Strider collectors that make them willing to pay more? Is it just that once the price is established, no one wants to take a loss?
This is mainly interesting because it applies to lots of other things people collect or are passionate about.

A quick look at auction sites will tell a story of 200-300 years old+ knives with absolutely beautiful work (sometimes in sterling silver going for melt weight), and otherwise wholly practical knives made using the best materials and techniques for their time period selling for less than people pay for giant retail store junk.

In the short term it doesn't matter, you buy what you like and if you are a person that also sells regularly you follow market trends. But I wonder if it is just mostly dumb luck that propels some knife makers to financial glory while equally gifted artisans barely get paid a fair day's labor : /
 
I thought of that, and while Mick Strider I am sure worked his butt off to get that folder approved for official use in the military, the negative press probably sustained it. And then there's the opposite, where those "tattooed" knives we all got ads for non-stop a year ago must have spent millions in marketing are not really enjoying success in our community. In fact Deejo knives don't even seem to be available for purchase on Amazon anymore. No insult intended if that maker or a fan is reading this, I'm just saying that they did a media blitz and seem to have fizzled. Maybe that's not a fair comparison because I don't think the knives were especially high quality steel or construction. But there's lots of other examples.

A major point here is that once a knife or gun hits a high water mark it seems to stay there because a lot of us have the "I'd rather keep it then sell it at that price" mentality, me included. Anyone that bought a Colt Python in '99 or even early into the new millenium doubled their money (in no small part from COD and Walking Dead exposure... i.e. TV, movies, video games) for example.
 
Jred said:
Haha - you cannot do bad by buying high quality and craftsmanship at a reasonable price. Let you children worry about selling it if you want to make money.
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Amen! 👍
 
I have nice knives, but they're tools at the end of the day to me. If I had unlimited money, I'd probably buy a few more fancy knives to impress my fancy friends.
 
Bob Denman said:
I look at it this way:
"You pay your money, and you take your chances..."
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That's most of it right there. There are some makers that you can guess will maintain value such as Tom Mayo, especially Loveless. For others it is really hard to know. When I first got into collecting custom knives 20+ years ago I became infatuated with it. I searched the internet for photos, different designs, different makers, whatever I could find. I had developed a list of makers that I thought were at the top of the game and I expected their names to stay legendary in the future. But now I look around BF and I don't see those names anymore. Many of the hottest makers right now, in 20 years maybe nobody will know those names anymore. And if you find a young maker that is producing a lot of knives and they continue producing, supply and demand will keep their values closer to new production is selling for.
 
I’m not qualified to discuss the value of Art. Most of it speaks very little to me. But I do know a little sumpin about tools.

Knives are a subset of “hand tools”, for the task of cutting stuff. The hand tools category is swamped right now with cutting options, with supply far exceeding the demand. BF members know this fact better than anybody, most having more cutting options personally than they could ever utilize. So the strict “tool value” of a custom knife is pretty low, since a Stanley 99* for example can be had for less than many people spend each day on fancy coffee.

Fortunately for knifemakers, some people want more than a Stanley 99* to cut their stuff with. Knifemakers choose their position on the cost and quality spectrums, and in a way they’re gambling their capital that enough buyers will purchase their particular offering of “beyond the basic function of cutting stuff” to make them a profit.

That’s all well and good, nobody’s hurting anybody else, but it gets kinda more complex and subjective the higher up the spectrums you go. There’s appreciation of quality workmanship, desire for exclusivity, need for certain properties to suit specific tasks, to name just a tiny fraction of the decision making factors.

Also, the market in cutting implements is quite fluid. Many good knives are out of production new but available used. Some knives are in stock for a blink, then sold out. “I want x but can’t get it, so I’ll settle for y.” “I bought x but don’t like it, so I’ll sell it and get y.” “I have x but maybe y is better, if I can find it for under ($$).” The variations curve on over the horizon.

And that’s it in a nutshell: the variables are so numerous that the only real answers to the OPs question are yes, no, or maybe. Who knows?

That’s the funny thing about human nature, the urge to know is so strong that sometimes humans will convince themselves of the illusion of knowing instead. And that fact, my friends, extends far beyond knives.

*A yard sale paring knife can be had for even less money, and sharpened on the bottom of a coffee cup. I state (cautiously) that basic cutting function is within the financial grasp of every American. Agreement on what cuts best, OTOH, is beyond the reach of any two.

TL,DR: philosophical blabberings about predicting knife futures, seasoned with some preaching to the choir. Probably not worth a read.

Parker
 
People like to diversify their savings in various ways, but hobby purchases tend to not be the best thing to treat as financial investments. They only ever has as much value as people agree they do and knife collecting is a very niche market. There's a collecting craze going on these days, but it could just as easily die down in a few more years. If I was into knives as an investment, I probably would have gotten into luxury watches and artwork instead.
 
These are all great perspectives! I get why no one wants to touch the specific example I mentioned, and I hope that I made it clear it was just an observation. I don't tend to see this with gun makers, even some of the better known modders (Volquartsen, for example).
Sure, specific pieces like a Python or the downhill momentum from the Python (like on a S&W 686. 357), maybe because in most places it's a whole lot easier to buy and sell knives.
And I own a Strider, not a $3000 one, but there are just as many fans of other brands with just as many collaboration pieces and yet the market has been consistently strong through hell and high water for Micks stuff. And good for him, I don't have a horse in that race.
But as BDMicarta pointed out.... (and all the posts were worth reading, philosophical or not, ty).
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
I don't tend to see this with gun makers, even some of the better known modders (Volquartsen, for example).
Sure, specific pieces like a Python or the downhill momentum from the Python (like on a S&W 686. 357), maybe because in most places it's a whole lot easier to buy and sell knives.
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Maybe everybody has finally realized gun prices are high enough? :)
 
shane45-1911 said:
Your post can be answered in one word - marketing.

Some makers develop and nuture a cult-like following, driving the value of their products into the absurd.
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This. Don’t get me wrong, I love his knives, but the poster child for this is Jerry, IMO. People buy his knives unseen, think about this. And then resell a couple of weeks later at a profit.
 
Bob Denman said:
A knife is a tool; like a Lady is just another human being...

They are so much more than that...
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Right you are, Bob - but from an investment standpoint, maybe not so much. The dividends are not always financial…

Parker
 
We’re living in changing times. True art knives are slowly being replaced with flavor of the month knives. With social media being the primary means of people‘s way of life, it’s easy to see why things are going to hell in a hand basket. As long as people are willing to pay the stupidly high prices, then the prices will stay inflated. Right now, there are several makers that are in high demand and producing limited quantities, Strider being one. Just look on the exchange and see what they sell for. It wasn’t that long ago that a Strider was reasonably priced, now, that same knife will sell for double what it was a few years ago.
Remember the Hinderer bubble, when production Hinderer’s were going to close to three times what they were being sold for directly from Hinderer ?
 
I’m not a businessman, and I never will be. I don’t understand how some things that are subpar quality demand a high price and vice versa. How does someone pay $50k for a Jeep Wrangler when it is basically a tin can with a go cart engine? (I owned one, so I speak from experience)

I also own a Rolex GMT Master. Great watch. Worth the $3k I paid for it at the time. Is a new one worth $18k? Pleez

With knives, there are some custom makers that make fantastic knives that are thoroughly undervalued, while production models like CRK and Shiro climb in price. That’s not to say I don’t like or enjoy CRK or Shiro knives, but I have some customs that are less expensive but certainly higher quality. Some brands/makers just have a stroke of luck and get a quick and very supportive following while others make an excellent product but just don’t catch the wave…

My best advice is to educate yourself, whatever the subject or object, and make an educated purchase with your head more than your heart. Don’t always fall for the hype. Some hype is deserved; most isn’t. We are all here to help each other figure it out.

As far as holding value, certain established production brands like Chris Reeve knives and custom makers like Bob Loveless, Ron Lake, Tony Bose and others will always hold the majority of their value. The rest is a crapshoot
 
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