prototypes worth more??

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

meggybaby81

Joined
Jun 25, 2012
Messages
3
just a noob in knife world. i live in portland, and only recently discovered many great knife companies are also in portland. my roomates boyfriend works at one of the more popular knife co. hs has several knives that he "got" from work. a few do not have producyion numbers on them, but rather say "prototype january 2008" but say designers name like ozborne and model number like 950 or whatever. they look like the knife in everyway except saying prototype. he says they are more valuable because this and i wnna get a few but am not sure if this is true?
 
Prototypes are generally not supposed to make it out the door. What do you mean by he "got" them? Too be more blunt, did he steal them?
 
TriviaMonster said:
Prototypes are generally not supposed to make it out the door.What do you mean by he "got" them? Too be more blunt, did he steal them?
Click to expand...
It really depends on the company/maker and how they use the prototype designation. The company the OP's friend works for is obviously Benchmade from the details he mentioned, and they're one company that does sell knives labeled as prototypes. I've occasionally seen some BM prototypes for sale at some of the bigger online Benchmade dealers (e.g., GPK, KW), and I'm sure the company store would be an even bigger repository of such relatively rare goodies (still more so if one is an employee and gets a discount and/or first shot at buying them).

My guess is that the prototypes the OP's friend has are prototypes in the sense of being from a small batch of knives produced to make sure that the tooling, CNC, and so forth for a new model is good to go before the factory starts producing the model en masse. So they're not prototypes in the sense of being a one-off piece that's used as a template for future revision/mass production or to debut a new model at a major show like BLADE or SHOT -- for instance, the prototypes of the Kershaw Tilt and Speedform or ZT 0777 that KAI has debuted and submitted for award consideration at BLADE over the past few years. Prototypes in this latter sense are the ones that, as you said, usually don't make it out the door.
 
Also, to answer the OP's question, prototypes are often regarded as more desirable/valuable for the same reason that limited editions, low serial numbers, rookie cards, classic cars, and so forth are regarded as such: a combination of scarcity, uniqueness, and being the first/earliest of a given kind.
 
Good point Neuron, I tend to think of Proto's as one-off knives, but yes, small batch knives are different. Less prototype, more pre-production I guess. But really, the whole "got" has got me wondering. I got that it was BM, but the whole "got" thing threw me off. I have actually seen some BM prototypes on here before. I have even noted before that they mark the box "prototype".
 
Bark River sells prototypes, or at least I see them around, pics on the forum or up for exchange. Also, even RMJ Tactical had a prototype Jenny Wren for sale on their website for more than the current version. Rare=valuable I suppose?
 
TriviaMonster said:
Prototypes are generally not supposed to make it out the door. What do you mean by he "got" them? Too be more blunt, did he steal them?
Click to expand...

im sorry... no, i dont think they are stolen. i believe some were given from salesteam, some were bonus... got just meant he did not have to buy them. but he does buy knives fom work too.
 
Benchmade loves to put special serial numbers or other markings on their knives. Most aren't worth anything more than the regular production models. Sometimes there might even be more specially marked ones than unmarked ones. For example, you could have a XX/500 "Pre Production" run (seriously, how is a run of 500 "pre" production?), 1000 "First Production Run" models, and then the knife gets discontinued.

A prototype is probably worth more, especially if it's an iconic model. They'll be hard to price though, without putting it up on eBay and seeing what it sells for. The problem with one-of-a-kinds (or few-of-a-kinds) is that there's nothing to compare it to. Given their predilection to marking their knives with special things, I wouldn't be surprised if they make more "prototypes" of a specific knife than any other company.
 
Planterz said:
Benchmade loves to put special serial numbers or other markings on their knives. Most aren't worth anything more than the regular production models. Sometimes there might even be more specially marked ones than unmarked ones. For example, you could have a XX/500 "Pre Production" run (seriously, how is a run of 500 "pre" production?), 1000 "First Production Run" models, and then the knife gets discontinued.

A prototype is probably worth more, especially if it's an iconic model. They'll be hard to price though, without putting it up on eBay and seeing what it sells for. The problem with one-of-a-kinds (or few-of-a-kinds) is that there's nothing to compare it to. Given their predilection to marking their knives with special things, I wouldn't be surprised if they make more "prototypes" of a specific knife than any other company.
Click to expand...

^This. But prototype Benchmades are easy to find compared to prototypes from other companies. As previously mentioned it seems that just means it was part of the "test batch" to make sure that everything was squared away before kicking off the first production run. I've seen plenty of 'em, and when I worked at a local shop years ago that sold Benchmades we'd get one or three every now and then when ordering a a brand new model.
 
I see posts, never bought one personally, a lot of Prototype knives sold at various Blade Shows. I see posts for them quite frequently here and on other sites. As to value, as some have mentioned above. I think it's very knife specific. A prototype of a large run production knife probably isn't worth much more than the standard run knife. I prototype of a rare limited run highly sought after knife might command a premium.
 
Prototype = 1 of 1000

You won't be getting antiques roadshow stuff that'll make you rich.

Most of the time protos and mules will be run hard and put away wet and not as well finished as a production model. If you want to collect something valuable keep your money in a bank. If you want to get a deal on a user knife visit your roomie's friend at work and see what they have for sale. If he can't hand you a knife in his place of work I would pass on that deal.
 
I have a small number of knives that are either marked "prototype" or "1st production run" from a few different companies … one that is a prototype that I don't believe ever made it into production … or if it was it was a very short run and not many out there … so they do get sold … and I guess I have never tried to sell any but I'm sure some may consider them worth more I don't know to be honest.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top