Rockstead Knives?

Thomas Carey

Thomas Carey

Dealer / Materials Provider
Joined
Nov 26, 2010
Messages
722
Help me out folks I am looking at the prices on Rockstead Knives which are factory made and seems they can't meet demand from my understanding. But the prices are more than a lot of top notch custom makers charge?

What I am missing with this one?
 
For a short period of time when the super salesman Jim Skelton posted a video up on youtube about HOWWWW FREAKKKIN AWWEESSSOMEEEE the rockstead knives are.... everybody jumped on the bandwagon to buy one (After a few vids I suspected knife makers pay him to do reviews). I don't doubt that they are in fact great knives and will hold an edge like you wouldn't believe and blah blah blah, but unless you intend on making it a user IMO there is nothing physically appealing about those knives. I personally don't use my high end knives to do heavy duty work.... so it defeats the purpose of me personally buying one.
 
Straight from rockstead:

"This high quality, handcrafted piece features a ZDP-189 mirror polish blade. Blade hardness is rated at around 67HRC and only requires sharpening every 2-3 year with "average" usage"

Don't you see?

With "average" use (cutting envelopes) you hardly need to sharpen it!!!

How innovative!!!:rolleyes:
 
The Logical One said:
For a short period of time when the super salesman Jim Skelton posted a video up on youtube about HOWWWW FREAKKKIN AWWEESSSOMEEEE the rockstead knives are.... everybody jumped on the bandwagon to buy one (After a few vids I suspected knife makers pay him to do reviews). I don't doubt that they are in fact great knives and will hold an edge like you wouldn't believe and blah blah blah, but unless you intend on making it a user IMO there is nothing physically appealing about those knives. I personally don't use my high end knives to do heavy duty work.... so it defeats the purpose of me personally buying one.
Click to expand...

Yeah watching one of his video's of one now... You know he sold a lot of Invicta watches as well...
 
I've handled very few Rocksteads
The only one that was worth the $800 price tag was flawless. The other 4 I handled... I would of passed at $300...
I couldn't spot a single flaw in that particular piece and I can spot flaws in Sebenza's all day long (particularly the edge grinds).

I can also attest to the edge retention of their ZDP 189. It's pretty damn good for ZDP 189 but we live in a world with more than one steel.
A decent S90V would out last it.

Overall in my opinion it's not worth it. But you are right OP, they have strong demand for them.
 
They are worth what Rockstead tells you that they are worth. How dare you question them? :eek:


:D
 
i like the blades but hate the scales, most of em are just nasty

might get the kiridashi tho, when i free up the cash

put the ebony scales on it
 
Its the details that add up the price tag. Stingray inlays, some of the more expensive Japanese steel out there, mirror polising before DLC, hand ground etc etc etc.

People will happily pay that price for a Begg knife made in a similar process (It's not like he touches any of the knives except the several thousand dollar full custom) or a William Henry. They are made by hand, by a small number of craftsmen.

I'm willing to bet that if you had a custom maker try to make a Rockstead, it would be significantly more expensive.

Not saying I think they are worth it or a great value or that I would buy one, just trying to provide some insight to the 'it doesn't cut any better than my mini-grip,blur,delica so it's overpriced' group.
 
The Logical One said:
For a short period of time when the super salesman Jim Skelton posted a video up on youtube about HOWWWW FREAKKKIN AWWEESSSOMEEEE the rockstead knives are.... everybody jumped on the bandwagon to buy one (After a few vids I suspected knife makers pay him to do reviews). I don't doubt that they are in fact great knives and will hold an edge like you wouldn't believe and blah blah blah, but unless you intend on making it a user IMO there is nothing physically appealing about those knives. I personally don't use my high end knives to do heavy duty work.... so it defeats the purpose of me personally buying one.
Click to expand...

There is a reason you are called the 'Logical One'.....

It's the 'hype' effect, which ended really fast for Rockstead.

Anyone want one, FHCK has two available that have been sitting on the site for over a month.
 
I just got one from here and will wait to see what all the hype is about. The Chi model, not the most expensive and I got it for less than retail. Maybe I'll post a review soon.
 
Some of their fixed blades at over $3K! Wonder if anyone would ever really use something like that?
 
Luis G. said:
People wear $40,000. $150,000, $1,000,000 watches.

I am sure SOMEONE out there will use a $3,000 knife like it's a Gerber.
Click to expand...

Those people that wear those expensive watches aren't James Bond...:p They wear those watches on "special occasions" or during their "leisurely daily activities"...

The same goes for the people with their "safe queen" rocksteads...
 
i have a higo that i carry and use everyday, and i love it. i do lean more toward the side that they are a tad expensive though. I think they would be much more appealing if they were 2-300 cheaper though. i really want to try out a shin.
 
OBL said:
i have a higo that i carry and use everyday, and i love it. i do lean more toward the side that they are a tad expensive though. I think they would be much more appealing if they were 2-300 cheaper though. i really want to try out a shin.
Click to expand...

But would you use the Higo for "hard use" such as aggressive wood cutting, light prying, heavy cutting etc? Or do you carry a "lesser" knife for those chores?
 
Blues Bender said:
But would you use the Higo for "hard use" such as aggressive wood cutting, light prying, heavy cutting etc? Or do you carry a "lesser" knife for those chores?
Click to expand...

They are not built for hard use... ZDP-189 is not for prying and probably not for whatever you think 'aggressive' wood cutting it.

That's like saying you shouldn't get a carving knife because it can't do what a meat cleaver does...
 
Blues Bender said:
Those people that wear those expensive watches aren't James Bond...:p They wear those watches on "special occasions" or during their "leisurely daily activities"...

The same goes for the people with their "safe queen" rocksteads...
Click to expand...

That is really not true. I know a ton of people who wear stupid expensive watches ($10-50K) everyday......

And they get beat up.

It's all relative. What's expensive?

If you make $500K-$750K a year, is a $25K watch expensive?
 
The 2 sharpest knives from a maker I have ever owned are Rockstead and Kiku Matsuda.
 
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