POS versus Quality

M

melchior

Joined
Apr 23, 2002
Messages
13

Hello all,

I just bought a nice new Benchmade 710HS, can't wait for that to come in the mail. Well my roommate just bought a POS 6 dollar knife from the flea market. He can't believe I would spend over a hundred dollars on a knife.

I really have a thing against buying junk. But I'm curious how you would respond:

How would convince someone that buying a quality knife is the best choice when you can just buy one for a fraction of the cost and replace it when it wears out.

Don't know if I'm making much sense but thanks for the input.


Ryan
 
and quality stuff when the chips are down...

Some dealers will gladly sell you quality stuff, for a great price, and give you free junk to play with....
Can't beat that with a bat...
Mutt
 
Try to get a decent edge on that $6 knife. The lock probably is not something you want to trust your fingers to, either. For knuts it does not much matter as we will own far more knives than we will ever need. However, 1 good knife will last a user longer than 20 cheapies. While doing so, it will have vastly better fit and finish, be safer, and be sharper.
 
I suggest testing your knives against each other. Do semi destructive tests, i.e. spine whacks, maybe cutting some thing hard like steel banding. Stuff that will destroy his knife in short order, but will only help to "break in your knife" Or ask him to help you with a job, like hanging sheat rock or laying sod, or anything else that you could do to use your knives, and when he starts begging to use yours becuase his is broken or so dull that it is useless, just tell him to go buy another knife, and keep doing that until he learns.
Kyle Fuglesten
 
I used to have this same dilema, "Should I really spend $100.00 + on a knife?". To me, the answer was yes. I've spent way, way more buying cheap low quality cutlery than I have on quality folders. The cheap knives would quickly break, and I'd have nothing to show for it. You really get what you pay for. Can anyone honestly expect a $6.00 knockoff to perform like it's $120.00 counterpart? It' can't and will not. In the long run, it's cheaper to buy quality the first time...this applies for everything, not just knives.

I think the only way to convience your friend of this is to let him play with your 710 a little when it comes in. One of my friends used to be the same way, "I'll never spend $120.00 on a knife". Well, after letting him fondle mine, he's spent about $350 lately for three quality folders. He's realized the value, and only buys quality stuff now.

Now I don't have any problem paying $100.00 - $200.00 for a folder because I see it as a lifetime investment. With proper care, it really should last a lifetime. It also gives you piece of mind, you know that your knife is not likely to fail and that the quality materials will help you get the job done. You also get a good warranty which is also very valuable.
 
My take on this one is...

I have always spent a considerable amount of money on my : Guns, Boots, and Watches... I don't want to spend any money on a gun that will jam on me... footwear that will be uncomfortable or a watch that I need to replace every time it gets damp, or gets struck against any hhard object...

Knives are the same in my opinion... a long time ago... I bought these huge folders and fixed blades that looked cool... OUCH! ???? I was only fifteen at the time... so I had an excuse. I have yet to get myself a truly custom knife... but I have a Mayo on order... OOOOOOH I Can't wait. Everyone I know thought I was on some sort of serious drugs when I bought a Strider GB for $350.00 I think I was lucky to find one at that price. Now, though...the same buddies are thinking I made a pretty good decidsion. IT IS A ROCK SOLID TOTALLY DEPENDABLE KNIFE!

My Danner fort Lewis boots are the best footwear I have ever owned, and my ruger GP-100 and Glock 19 have been awesome as well. I just got a Titanium Citezen eco and its doing great as well... I know that none of these (aside from my Danners) are the Best of the Best... I can't afford a Custom handgun (Want a Dan Wesson or Wilson Combat .45, and a Tag watch sometime) but I still believe in buying the best you can afford.

I have been VERY happy with my Spydercos and Sebenzas, and CAN'T WAIT For my MAYO.... but you all see where I'm going.

Thanks..

-Dave
 
Ryan, when your 710hs comes, use it to cut your roommate's POS in half. Then ask if he understands the difference.
 
Simple, actually...

I'd just show him this:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=199982

then return it to my pocket and walk away:D:D:D


To be truthful...I once asked the very same question. Why would anyone spend so much on a knife? My first custom made me very nervous to use or carry it. Eventually, I got used to the idea, and now I have no problem walking around with several hundred $$ worth of steel in my pocket.

It's kinda like a security blanket - as long as I can still feel it against my leg, I feel ok.

Of course, you could ask your friend if he had anything expensive at his place, ie. nice TV, stereo, automobile, etc.

Why spend thousands on higher quality mechandise (cars included) when you really could get by on less?

Priorities

Quality of life

Standard of living


Keep us posted.

Dan
 
Bottom line, you get what you pay for.

A good friend of mine said it best in regards to a $285 motorcycle helmet," ...the amount you pay is proportional to the value you place, on the thing you want to protect";)
 
I hate to swim upstream, but this is my honest appraisal. You don't need a quality knife all of the time.

What do I carry as an EDC? I carry an LCC Microtech. I love it. What do I carry in my left pocket? A twenty buck (if that) three inch Chinese Maple clip point. Sharpened it on the Edgepro, it's like a razor. Sometimes you just need a edge.

Where do you draw the line? I saw a 1,200 dollar Pro-Tech Godfather in abalone. Sure, I'd love that knife. Does it cut any better than the LCC? Probably not.

Trucks, guns, knives, and cowboy boots mean the most to me and I buy quality. When I listen to CD's, I use an Aiwa with 15 buck headphones. I'm sure some audiophiles are now wretching. I don't care, it sounds the same to me and I'm not going to buy something I don't care about just to brag.

Show your buddy quality, tell him why it's better. Maybe he'll change, maybe he won't. Maybe he thinks that mink argyles are a better investment. It takes all kinds.
 
A fine example of justification of buying quality lies in a qoute from John Ruskin. I first ran across it on the wall of a friend's jewelry store in Dayton, OH. My friend was the first to help feed my fetish for Rolex watches and thereby helped open my awareness to many other examples of excellence in my lifetime.

"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and those who buy by price alone are this man's lawful prey."
--John Ruskin

I think it speaks volumes, anyone agree???

Larry
 
I'm thinking along the same lines as Ichabod here. People who have an interest in quality knives will buy quality knives. People who don't, won't. You actually have the same opinion of your friend as he has of you, neither understanding the value the other places on a knife. Yours is high, his is low.

It's possible that he may experience the difference when his knife chips/breaks/rusts/fails one day and come to an understanding. But then again, does a $1200 knife really cut that much better than a $120 knife? Of course not. Is a $1200 dollar knife worth the money? To some.. :D
 
There probably nothing you can say or do that will change his mind. If you destroy his knife in a comparison test with yours he'll just think, "Yeah, but mine was a few bucks and now I'll just replace it."

There are folks that drive POS cars that can't understand fine autos. People who wear plastic watches that can't understand fine watches. People who write with BICs that can't understand fountain pens. There's nothing you can do. Who cares?

Interestingly, I've never met anyone that didn't have an expensive vice somewhere -- they only drink expensive wine, or will buy good suits, whatever, to each his own.
 
You get what you pay for...SOMETIMES.
Tommy jeans cost twice as much as Lee jeans; they're not better jeans but they have that Tommy label that the fashion snobs are willing to pay more for.

You don't have to convince your friend to spend 100.00+ on a knife.
After all, you can get a very fine high quality knife for 1/2 that price easily (Spyderco, Camillus, Gerber, CRKT to name a few).

Pay more when there is a real performance advantage:
BMWs perform better than some other cars because they have more powerful engines, more luxury features, better suspension systems, ect.
The BMW will actually go faster, stop quicker, ect...and it can be easily proven on the track.

The same is'nt always true with high-dollar knives. A high-dollar knife will not always cut better and stay sharper than a low-buck knife.

However I am surprised that your friend bought a POS when there are many great knives out there for under 50.00 (Buck, Camillus, Schrade, Case).

Good luck,
Allen.
 
I agree with allenC. There's no need to pussyfoot around the issue, a POS for any price is a POS (emphasis on the S part ;)).

But when discussing it with your friend, don't make it a "my Rolls Royce vs. your '73 Pinto" debate - it's not about how great YOUR new knife is, but instead it's about how inadequate, perhaps even dangerous, his POS knife is.

Tell him about good steel and solid construction. Perhaps take him to Wal-ly World and show him some of the good ones that aren't going to break the bank. Gerber, Buck, Schrade, Spyderco and others offer good solid knives for not too much dough. Most folks here spend WAY too much money on knives, but that's their perogative as it's a hobby. Back in the day, my Grandad (who was a hard-working guy) used to buy a new pocketknife at Sears any time his old one was worn out ... which meant he bought a new knife, ohh, about every 15 or 20 years.
 
I agree with the Mad Hungarian. I find it amusing when people go out and spend upwards of $10k on a liter sportbike and pick up a helmet for $50. They scoff at those of us who wear quality brands like Arai, Shoei, Suomy, etc. which cost much more. To me it is worth the extra $350 even if I never need to use it. I can be comfortable in the fact that I am sure it will serve me in instances where a lesser model would fail.
 
I have to admit that I'm one of those people who just wears a Timex watch instead of something much more high-end. I guess for me, as long as my watch tells me what time it is accurately, I don't really care otherwise.

In my life I've bought POS knives and quality. The POS's were bought mostly in the '70s as a teen, but I bought one POS just 5 years ago, as my very first one-hander because I thought $40 for a Delica at the sporting goods store was too much. The "knife" I got instead was an "eagle" Delica knockoff. Even at that time, as I was getting back into knives after a near 15-year buying hiatus, I could never bring myself to carry the thing. Now, although I have no plans to buy custom, I own mostly Benchmade, Spyderco, Emerson, SOG, Kershaw, etc., for "tacticals;" and went back to lots of V-nox, Buck, Camillus, etc., for "traditionals." SOmeday I may get myself a Chris Reeve standard Sebenza.

I guess it comes down to what you value. Some people get along fine with POS knives, just as some people are fine buying POS shoes. I realized in recent years I have to buy quality in shoes and boots as well, as POS shoes, even in the right size, can cause foot problems. I generally try to purchase the quality or name brand of things, but due to my interests/values, the range of quality will vary depending on what things they are (i.e., shoes, knives, jeans, watches, flashlights, etc., etc.).
Jim
 
but I still believe in buying the best you can afford.

Words to live by - life is just too short to put up with junk. I buy knives - and other life support equipment - with the assumption that I may need it under the worst of circumstances, and when I do, it better work.

A $6 knife might be fine for a lot of tasks, but ultimately it will probably fail when you need it most.

:cool: xsrdx
 
Originally posted by 92degrees
There probably nothing you can say or do that will change his mind. If you destroy his knife in a comparison test with yours he'll just think, "Yeah, but mine was a few bucks and now I'll just replace it."

There are folks that drive POS cars that can't understand fine autos. People who wear plastic watches that can't understand fine watches. People who write with BICs that can't understand fountain pens. There's nothing you can do. Who cares?

Interestingly, I've never met anyone that didn't have an expensive vice somewhere -- they only drink expensive wine, or will buy good suits, whatever, to each his own.
Click to expand...

Best answer here, 92degrees.

You can only try to educate once - "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still."

And to be honest, those flea market POS knives will always have a soft spot in MY heart - they got me started as a knife collector. (And that's a whole different animal than a "knife snob".)
 
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