Slip joint prices

Shotgun

Shotgun

Joined
Feb 3, 2006
Messages
8,250
So I gotta ask, why are custom slip joints so expensive? Looking at the makers for sale section, you can get a stellar fixed blade for about $150 but even the basic slip joints are all $300+. Now I'm not trying to flame the makers here I just don't understand what goes into making a slip joint that would make them cost so high.
 
time and fit and finish
when you get to the folder i could and many time does take near 2x as long to get right
 
Shotgun said:
So I gotta ask, why are custom slip joints so expensive? Looking at the makers for sale section, you can get a stellar fixed blade for about $150 but even the basic slip joints are all $300+. Now I'm not trying to flame the makers here I just don't understand what goes into making a slip joint that would make them cost so high.
Click to expand...

You answered your own question. :p
 
As a general rule of thumb, I believe that slipjoints and daggers are the most difficult and time consuming knives to make correctly and in my experience many if not all of those makers really offer a great knife at very fair prices. (I say if not all since I do not own slipjoints by all of them yet, but hope to eventually.) (P.S. they are not all over 300.00)
 
the story of how i started making knives is i wanted a custom folder. found what i wanted and it was 600$
i said i got ot be able to make one cheaper then that
and 5 years later and 6k in tools i got my custom folder :)
but the nice side of that i learned a lot about knife making and now am full time at it
 
Though I certainly agree that time/skill required to make a slipjoint certainly plays a part, probably "supply & demand" does as well to some extent.
Slipjoints are definitely "in DEMAND" or "HOT", thus affecting prices.
 
I think t he prices for custom slip joints are extremely reasonable. In fact with some makers, I really think that they don't charge enough.
 
T.K.C. is right. Some of the knife makers offering Slip Joints are pretty reasonable. Some who are at the very top are expensive but that is true with any one who is the very best of there profession. I have three slip joints by Rick Menefee and they are great and how he is able to make such a fine well crafted knife for his modest price is beyond me. But I am now hooked on Custom Slip Joints!

RKH
 
I'd like to know where all those "stellar" $150 fixed blades are at.

I'm actually surprised that some of the nice $300 - $400 slip joints I have seen don't cost more. Oh crap, did I just say that out loud?? :p

Roger
 
As a maker of slipjoints I can attest to the amount of time that goes into a quality single or multi-blade slipjoint. I made fixed blade knives for 4 years before making the commitment to make slips. I try and make my knives true to the older patterns and as such, a fair amount of time, materials, research goes into these little knives. I truly believe that the prices offered by the lesser known makers (myself included) represent a very FAIR value in handmade knives.

I do not know if you have had a chance to handle many quality handmade slipjoints(OP) but if you have or will in the future, I am sure you can appreciate the complexity, design, material, craftsmanship that makes up a slipjoint. Thanks for your valid question!

Ken
 
I have made all types of folders, lockbacks, linerlocks, friction folders, and two slip joints in the past. Out of all of them the slipjoint is the toughest to get right.For the maker's that excell at them, they deserve every penny their work brings. There are many maker's who's work I think is incredibly under priced, one name that comes to mind is Tim Britton.There are others.
 
I have to agree with majority who have posted how reasonably priced most custom slipjoints are:thumbup:

In fact, as has been stated, there are some incredibly well made slipjoints available under the $300 mark and they can be found on this forum;)
 
I full well understand the work and the time that goes into makin' a folder and I know that most Slipjoint makers deserve way more than they charge.

I have a few Customs Fixed and Folders but when I hear a statement about Custom Slipjoinnts for under $300 it reminds me of the $800 Harley some guy found in a garage somewhere in upstate NY, I always hear about it but I've never found one.

So far any Slipjoint I find begin around $300 for a decent knife, $225, $250 would be great, alas, I just have to save my nickles and dimes just like I did for my first Custom.

Sorry I wasn't tryin' to nit pic, that's why I like to buy vintage knives from the early 1900s you tend to get handmade quality for under $100.

My day will come guys, I'll get my Custom Slipjoint someday.:)
 
Slip joints are very difficult to make. Everything must fit just right. I took in a slipjoint making seminar and after seeing what went into making one, I ended up understanding why they cost what they do.
 
I suppose another question is, what makes a slipjoint so hard to make "right?" By right I don't mean like a Swiss Army Knife. I mean let's face it. You can't compare a SAK to something like an Alsdorf (arbitrary slipjoint maker I picked OTOH).

I also ponder this question, but I also hold the opinion that most custom slipjoint makers could charge a lot more for their workmanship.
 
Slipjoints are a bigger challenge to me than a fixed blade. There are moving parts that have to match up to with in a thousandth of an inch or you get a flaw, a gap or the dang thing just wont work right or look right. And there are some great makers of slipjoints that sell right here on this forum. Ken Coats, T.A. Davison, Rick Menefee, and Mike Alsdorf are all great makers with I would guess thousands of slipjoints made between them. Every now and then one of them sells one for under $250 which in my humble opinion is a steal.
 
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