Price of a Nick Wheeler Damascus Hunter

B

bullet101

Joined
Dec 1, 2003
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267
Hi guys,

I need your professional advice on the following damascus hunter from Nick.

hunterpair.jpg


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My problem is, that I would really love to have this knife but I'm not sure is in the "bargain to still quite o.k." range. The seller wants 650 Euro (ca. 960 USD) for it.

I'm not exactly swiming in cash so I would appreciate your advice on this purchase, since I have no idea what Nick's knives go for these days.

Thanks a lot for your answers in advance.

Regards

Marcus
 
As a starting point, e-mail Nick and ask him what his price would be for that knife now.

Then factor in that Nick is not presently taking orders and that his knives rarely appear on the secondary market - particularly damascus pieces.

Roger
 
Marcus,

You have posed a very interesting question.

I am the original owner of the knife. The knife is an excellent example of Nick's work. I sold it about two years ago for about $675US, which at the time was about 525euros. I would currently value the knife (in the USA) at $750US, which because of the exchange rate is now only about 500euros.

The knife has increased in dollar value, but because of the weakness of the dollar, it may have actually decreased in terms of euro value. Of couse the knife itself is still the same knife. We may have to send this to the Harvard Business School as a case study. As Roger points out Damacus Wheelers are few and far between, so you will have to reach your own conclusions about its value to you.

FWIW, here is my analysis. If you plan to keep it or sell it in Europe, 650euros may be a little high but not crazy. However, at this point in time, you would be VERY hard pressed to sell it for $1,000US for it in the USA, in order to break even.

If I were a European knife collector, I would be making plans right now to attend the Blade Show in Atlanta, at the start of June. The buying power of your euros and some homework should guarantee some super acquisitions, imho. Short of that I would be looking for great knifes from the top makers on secondary market in the USA. I hope this helps.

Best,

Peter
 
If it's an investment--that is long term--definitely try to get one from Nick. You may have to wait a very long time, but, hey, it's a long term investment! And, by the way, Nick's knives are getting better each time he makes one.

If you "need" to have that exact knife right now, only you know what it is worth.

John
 
What's below is not a criticism of Nick or his work. Nick is a friend, he's generous and just plain nice, and his work is awesome, period.

Nick's work has generated much excitement initially because he provided tremendous quality and value. This quickly contributed to generate a flurry of orders. This was followed by the last few years, during which Nick's production, still of super high quality, as been confidential. I don't know his current pricing. The excitement, initially created by a combination of high quality and low price, has had a weird consequence: his pieces have fetched on the 2nd hand market prices that have reached the MS level. In short, the low price component has been much lessened.

Nick's knives have generated a lot of excitement. However, Nick is still a part time maker making just a few knives a year. It seems to me that the last 3 years were an amazing opportunity to go full speed ahead. Is he in this for the long term? Does he have the drive to create and maintain excitement around an offer of high quality and value? I don't know. He sure has the skills (and the gear :)).

Given this, I would strongly advise against paying this price for this piece. Don't get me wrong, the quality is certainly absolutely top of the line. Yet, there is not enough volume of work to generate & support enough excitement on quality and rarity alone. Suppose you were to buy this piece and keep it a couple of years. Are you confident that excitement would still be there then?
 
The fact you ask the question plus your statement "I'm not exactly swiming in cash" means this piece is not for you. You are neither hot for the piece as a collector nor can you afford it as an investement (even if it is/was a bargain.) Rest easy, more time will bring more knives and more money. :)
 
Hmmmm....

*shaking head and shrugging shoulders*

LOL... I am of no help here! I just was highly interested to have a knife in this discussion :)

BTW- FWIW, this knife did win Best Hunter/Utility at the BAKCA show a few years back.
 
brownshoe said:
The fact you ask the question plus your statement "I'm not exactly swiming in cash" means this piece is not for you. You are neither hot for the piece as a collector nor can you afford it as an investement (even if it is/was a bargain.) Rest easy, more time will bring more knives and more money. :)
Click to expand...

WoW! I agree with you. Well said.
 
Thanks a lot for all your answers, I came to the conclusion that this beauty is not meant for me :(.

Since I'm a (humble) knifemaker myself, I normally can't justify spending any money on purchasing knives. But since I always admired Nicks creations, I would love to own one of his knives someday.

Shipping and custom duties always jack up the price quite heavily here in Europe, so hopefully I might score one of Nicks beauties directly in the US one day.

Best regards

Marcus

P.S. Nick I adore your knifemaking skills and I didn't mean for this thread to become a judgement of you as a knifemaker. I hope you can forgive me :).
 
No offense taken, lol :)

I won't try to offer any words here to explain if I am headed toward being one of the "greats" in bladesmithing, or the kid working in the back of the hardware store....

I have a good feeling which it will be... but it will only be the action of producing great knives that people actually want... that will determine that. So... we'll see :)

Marcus... I truly appreciate your interest and am not in the slightest bit upset by anything that came up in this thread. My skin is not THAT thin! ;) Did you get my email???

Thanks everyone!!! :D
 
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