Reconditioning: Impact on Custom value ?

Pointshoot777

Pointshoot777

Joined
Feb 16, 2001
Messages
748
Hello everyone - - I'm a total newbie when it comes to custom knives. I did a search & didn't find anything so thought I'd ask it here. - - - Does having a custom knife reconditioned (from scratches & dings from normal use) affect its value ? Is it like many collector guns, where such work is detrimental ? Or do knife guys do like the Brits with shotguns and periodically have them spruced up every few years - stock dents raised and barrels reblackened, etc ? Thanks for your replies. All the best, - -
 
If you ask me it would depend. Is the work being done by the maker or by someone else? Is the knife being sharpened away to nothing?

If the work is being done by the maker and the blade hasn't been sharpened to the point where the edge is a drastically different angle than original, I'd say the refurb would help the value.
 
Refurbing by the maker typically doesn't hurt the value of a knife,, it may not necessarily help either,,all depends on how "hot" the maker is.

:)
 
What if the maker is no longer with us? I have a '60's Moran fighter that is in need of rehab. I was thinking about asking Jay Hendrickson or Mark Sentz to spruce it up.
 
It's certainly not as good as if the knife was still in pristine condition, but in the case of most active makers it'd probably help the value when compared to an unrefurbished knife with scratches and marks.

However, on knives from dead makers who are now considered a huge part of knife history, I don't think refurbishing them by someone else is a good idea. I would think it'd be the same as trying to have a Scagel refurbished, or an old Randall, or any old historic knife. Very looked down upon. The usage marks on the knife become part of its history. For a Moran I think you should leave it alone.
 
O.K. - please pardon me if this is a dumb question, - - but is it easy to tell if a knife has been refurbished ? Would you have to have the original paperwork from the maker to prove that they did the work (say after he passed away) ? Thanx -
 
In my opinion, a light re-sanding of an original hand rubbed satin finish by the original maker should not affect value as long as the original grinds are not disturbed or distorted. I would frown upon any alteration of the handle.
 
Pointshoot777 said:
O.K. - please pardon me if this is a dumb question, - - but is it easy to tell if a knife has been refurbished ? Would you have to have the original paperwork from the maker to prove that they did the work (say after he passed away) ? Thanx -
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Any substantial finish work should be noticeable. Look for differences between the body of the blade and hard to reach places like against the guard/handle.
 
Pointshoot777 said:
O.K. - please pardon me if this is a dumb question, - - but is it easy to tell if a knife has been refurbished ? Would you have to have the original paperwork from the maker to prove that they did the work (say after he passed away) ? Thanx -
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I assume you are asking if it's easy to tell if the knife has been refurbished by someone other than the original maker.

• If the grind lines are not as crisp as normally seen form the particular maker.

• If the point looks as it's been reshaped or seems to be distorted.

• If the maker’s mark looks faint or like it’s been sanded down.

• Filler in handle or guard seams / joints.
 
Thank you for providing this information - I know how to determine recconditioning/refinishing on certain classes of firearms, but not at all on knives. Best regards, - -
 
Kevin Jones said:
I assume you are asking if it's easy to tell if the knife has been refurbished by someone other than the original maker.

• If the grind lines are not as crisp as normally seen form the particular maker.

• If the point looks as it's been reshaped or seems to be distorted.

• If the maker’s mark looks faint or like it’s been sanded down.

• Filler in handle or guard seams / joints.
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Kevin,

Not to dispute your points for the sake of being contrary, but...

1. Some refinish jobs leave the blade grinds CRISPER and CLEANER than the original maker.

2. You know as well as I do that sometimes, especially in the case of a stamp, that faint could come with the territory.

There are refinish jobs, and refinish jobs. I have an ATS-34 Tommy Lee that got pits in it(my fault). Tommy does not work on knives anymore, due to the fact that he is OLD, and it needed work, so Bob Crowder did me a favor, MAYBE Les Robertson could tell, but I don't think anyone else could.

In answer to the original posters' question on refurbishing, sometimes yes, sometimes no. Recently Kit Carson did a rework for me that significantly improved the looks and value of a Model 4, this would be a YES. The no, to the original maker refurbishing, is when they would do a poor job. It takes a long, long time to gauge this, so it might just be better to not.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I myself have very few custom knives, but do have one by Sean McIntyre that has a maker's mark so faint as to be only visible when seen in bright light at the correct angle. Nevertheless, I got it from a very reputable collector and know that it is NOT refinished. Sometimes there are other causes for conditions that might appear to signify a refurbish job.
 
Kohai999 said:
Kevin,

Not to dispute your points for the sake of being contrary, but...

1. Some refinish jobs leave the blade grinds CRISPER and CLEANER than the original maker.

2. You know as well as I do that sometimes, especially in the case of a stamp, that faint could come with the territory.

There are refinish jobs, and refinish jobs. I have an ATS-34 Tommy Lee that got pits in it(my fault). Tommy does not work on knives anymore, due to the fact that he is OLD, and it needed work, so Bob Crowder did me a favor, MAYBE Les Robertson could tell, but I don't think anyone else could.

In answer to the original posters' question on refurbishing, sometimes yes, sometimes no. Recently Kit Carson did a rework for me that significantly improved the looks and value of a Model 4, this would be a YES. The no, to the original maker refurbishing, is when they would do a poor job. It takes a long, long time to gauge this, so it might just be better to not.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Call me old fashion, but IMO anytime anyone alters the knife other than the original maker (even if it's improved) the knife is devalued.

I look at it like taking an all original 67 Corvette pulling the motor down to put a modern camshaft and components, yes it would be faster; however you have just decreased the value by possibly $10,000.

Sometimes, an improved grind may in fact tell you the knife has been refurbished. I would not let one point make my decision, but look for several determining factors to support whether the knife had been altered or refurbished.
 
I think I agree with all of the answers given in this thread. In short, if the knife needs a refurbishment, and the refurb is performed by the maker of the knife, it is almost always better for the value of the knife to have the refurb done than not.

But if the refurbishment is performed by someone other than the maker, such as in the case of deceased makers, it is almost always better to leave the knife alone than to refurbish it.

One exception that I can think of is if you have a knife by a maker whose work is not in demand at all, and then you have the refurb done by a more skilled maker whose work is in great demand, the value of the knife could increase after the refurb. Of course, you rarely ever see these cases, because makers whose work is in great demand usually don't have time to be refurbing other makers' knives, but I have seen them before a few times.
 
Let's say for the sake of discussion...

A collector has an ivory handled Moran, with a big ass crack in it.

What is the value of the knife?

Now, Jay Hendrickson agrees to rehandle the knife, and does a smokin' job, in that no one can tell the difference of a "before" photograph, to the present state.

What is the value of the knife then, with full disclosure given?

Here is an even trickier one....

Ivory handled Loveless. Bob passes away at some point in the future, hopefully a long time, and a serious crack develops. His partner or S.R. Johnson rehandle the knife, flawlessly.

What does it do to the value then?

What if the Loveless originally was handled in dungue' (a made up name for elephant poop) that some collector 30 years ago somehow convinced Bob to use as a handle material, and S.R. Johnson agrees to handle it in green micarta?

What about that value?

For ME, and I would be speaking with my wallet here, if it affects value at all, it does so trivially.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I found myself in this position last October when I picked up a Jason Knight Bowie from ptgdvc.
The blade had been repolished by Jason.
Who did an excellent job. :thumbup:
If it was a knife I wanted,I wouldn't hesitate on a blade that had been refinished and/or resharpened by the maker.

Doug
 
on_the_edge said:
I myself have very few custom knives, but do have one by Sean McIntyre that has a maker's mark so faint as to be only visible when seen in bright light at the correct angle. Nevertheless, I got it from a very reputable collector and know that it is NOT refinished. Sometimes there are other causes for conditions that might appear to signify a refurbish job.
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I sure didn't mean to imply that a faint maker's mark alone would determine that the knife has been refurbished. Only that it along with other conditions may determine a refurbish or re-work as re-sanding could reduce the dept of the mark. Guess I need to be clearer in my post.

I define a refurbish as re-sanding a hand rubbed finish or re-polishing handle material.

I define re-work as more drastic work such as regrinding a blade, reshaping a point or altering a handle.
 
Steven Roos said:
I would leave the Moran alone. What kind of shape is it in?
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semi-bad. Staining on the blade, but no pitting, but the edge was BADLY sharpened and has a chip. A tiny piece of the point was also chipped off. No sheath, but the handle and guard look about what you would expect them to look like....not so bad. Anyone who has ever held a Moran knows that they tend to lack the precision of fit and finish of say a Henry or Loveless from the same era, but they were SCARY sharp when they left his shop and stay that way darn near forever if they are properly maintained. Mr. Warner once said that a Moran just like mine redefined his opinion on what sharp was:D My newer Moran is like a six inch straight razor. I would be willing to live with the "patina" on the blade if it was sharp again.
 
Kohai999 said:
Let's say for the sake of discussion...

A collector has an ivory handled Moran, with a big ass crack in it.

What is the value of the knife?

Now, Jay Hendrickson agrees to rehandle the knife, and does a smokin' job, in that no one can tell the difference of a "before" photograph, to the present state.

What is the value of the knife then, with full disclosure given?

Here is an even trickier one....

Ivory handled Loveless. Bob passes away at some point in the future, hopefully a long time, and a serious crack develops. His partner or S.R. Johnson rehandle the knife, flawlessly.

What does it do to the value then?

What if the Loveless originally was handled in dungue' (a made up name for elephant poop) that some collector 30 years ago somehow convinced Bob to use as a handle material, and S.R. Johnson agrees to handle it in green micarta?

What about that value?

For ME, and I would be speaking with my wallet here, if it affects value at all, it does so trivially.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

This is a great question Steven and a situation where I would hate to make a decision as to leaving as is or getting Jay to re-handle it.

As I’m very particular about my knives I would be very dismayed with a Moran with a big ugly crack.

And the value would no doubt suffer. However, considering the relationship both personal and professional between Jay and Bill Moran IMO this would be a special circumstance where the value of the Moran may not suffer to a great extent.

Interested in hearing other opinions on this.
 
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