so what makes it collectable ?

S

sharp dude

Joined
Jan 21, 2005
Messages
63
jest as it says what makes a hand made knife collectable?
its shape
who makes it
the steel
being fancy
or
what?
 
sharp dude said:
jest as it says what makes a hand made knife collectable?
its shape
who makes it
the steel
being fancy
or
what?
Click to expand...

Most of us like shiny, fancy steel knives with nice shapes and hard to pronounce maker's names.

The harder to pronounce the maker's name is(foreign sounding names get a big $$$ bonus), the more collectable the knife is!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
STeven, I never can tell when you are serious.;) ..........but that was such a straight and well thought answer, I guess you are.:rolleyes:

Paul
 
Kohai999 said:
Most of us like shiny, fancy steel knives with nice shapes and hard to pronounce maker's names.

The harder to pronounce the maker's name is(foreign sounding names get a big $$$ bonus), the more collectable the knife is!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

What STeven said. Umlauts are important, too.
 
sharp dude said:
jest as it says what makes a hand made knife collectable?
its shape
who makes it
the steel
being fancy
or
what?
Click to expand...

People are attractied to something and want to acquire it or more similar to it. It doesn't have to be rare to be collectible, just attractive to the one who wants it. It seems like their are collectors for just about anything I can think of.
 
sharp dude said:
jest as it says what makes a hand made knife collectable?
its shape
who makes it
the steel
being fancy
or
what?
Click to expand...

It doesn't have to be any of the attributes above, only the fact that a collector is drawn to it enough to add it to their collection.
 
It is like art: a couple of influential reviewers give a particular knife rave reviews, and suddenly everyone wants one.
 
Supply and Demand .. and the magic of illusion. When any item becomes worth more than the sum of it's parts and the labor it took to build .. that's the magic of illusion created by desire.
 
Anything is collectable. Bottle caps, wine corks, license plates.......
If you like it and you enjoy looking at it, buy and collect it.
I like collecting wood, rocks and knives.
 
Burl Source said:
Anything is collectable. Bottle caps, wine corks, license plates.......
If you like it and you enjoy looking at it, buy and collect it.
I like collecting wood, rocks and knives.
Click to expand...

Mark is right on on motivations. You collect it if you like it. With a knife there is usually a combination of factors Here's just a few:

The maker: is he well known. If not, is the work clearly well done for a price well below a big name maker.

The materials used in the knife. (Stag, ivory, really good wood, for example)

How appealing the design and flow of the lines.

The quality of execution, fit, and finish.

The price.

I have noticed that the best prices seem to go for the most complex knives and for the
"simplest" knives. Real complexity is hard to carry off well, and keep the proper flow and finish. The same is true for the cleanest, simplest knives, in the sense that a clean simple design shows the slightest mistake or imperfection.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
It is like art: a couple of influential reviewers give a particular knife rave reviews, and suddenly everyone wants one.
Click to expand...

How can I become one of these influential reviewers?

Kevin Jones said:
It doesn't have to be any of the attributes above, only the fact that a collector is drawn to it enough to add it to their collection.
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Exactly. There used to be a lady who attended the Blade Show exhibiting her collection of Girl Scout knives. Nothing fancy, made by middling factories with mediocre steel in common shapes. But she collected them. And I thought it was pretty cool.
 
If you are collecting as an investment, speculating on an increase in value, then everything is different.
That kind of collecting is gambling. Me....I would probably do better playing blackjack.
 
Supply and demand.

Low supply + high demand = collectible

Everything else= not

Plenty of things go into influencing demand though.
 
Love your answer STeven but I agree fully w/ Kevin Jones....You hit the nail on the head
 
shootz said:
if someone else also wants it.
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NOT....EVEN....CLOSE.....

The individual collector(there are collectors, accumulators, speculators......) determines for themselves what they want to collect and that may or may not lead to others wanting to collect that knife or style of knife depending upon marketing, presentation, prestige and what way the wind blows.

When that collector collects....it is collectible...if, for no one else, that collector.

Maybe it becomes something, possibly something big, but more likely, it becomes a PITA for the survivors to figure out and they come to BFC for a valuation and guidance, often without becoming members or following the rules....not because they are stupid or ignorant, but often because they themselves are NOT knife collectors.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
NOT....EVEN....CLOSE.....

The individual collector(there are collectors, accumulators, speculators......) determines for themselves what they want to collect and that may or may not lead to others wanting to collect that knife or style of knife depending upon marketing, presentation, prestige and what way the wind blows.

When that collector collects....it is collectible...if, for no one else, that collector.

Maybe it becomes something, possibly something big, but more likely, it becomes a PITA for the survivors to figure out and they come to BFC for a valuation and guidance, often without becoming members or following the rules....not because they are stupid or ignorant, but often because they themselves are NOT knife collectors.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

Very true, and well said as usual.
 
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