'Sterile' blades...why the premium?

elkins45

elkins45

Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
4,091
I have seen on several occasions a seller attempt to make a lack of markings on a blade a selling point by referring to it as 'sterile!' There's often an exclamation point as if to say this is a really big deal and makes the knife much more valuable. I understand there are people who don't like writing on blades like 'first production run' and the like, but I'm talking about making an intentional big deal about a lack of identifying marks.

Add this to the list of many other things I just don't get. How does leaving off the logo of a knife that is obviously a brand X, model Y somehow make it more tactical or covert? This is especially true for more unique and recognizable designs. Does leaving the logo off a Busse make Bernard Levine suddenly shake his head and say "Hmmm, wonder who made this knife?" Somehow I don't think so.

Sterile blades: just another marketing technique? Your thoughts? I seriously would like to know if I'm missing something.
 
I have heard about military missions where weapons were either enemy issue or unmarked -"sterile" so that if captured the weapons wouldn't be traceable, thereby confusing things on purpose. There may be a 'memorabilia' aspect but that's about it as far as extra value, I would take it with a grain of salt.

Why would someone pay more for that, I don't get it either.... Walter Mitty syndrome?
 
I cant see the point of using it as a selling point, having a Sterile blade isn’t going to make me want it more or less.
 
I would think that this is something that collectors might be interested in. Something different kinda like the Gayle Bradley folders that slipped out without the GB logo.
 
Marketing? Yes.

Worth more? Yes...to some.

Everything is worth the dollars someone will pay. Someone will view sterile or naked as worthy of a few extra dollars. How you define "few" is up to you.
 
I would not pay a premium, but it would sure get my attention. It's beyond me why anyone would make a good knife and then crap it up with huge markings. I'd have long since bought a Queen Country Cousin had they just left that marking off.
 
Maybe they are not marketed toward the general public.

I really don't know but my guess would be that writing may be quite an eye catcher and may not resemble the environment around since it looks nothing like leaves, trees etc....

I don't think unmarked blades are a marketing gimmick as much as I think conspicuously marked blades are.

One thing that disappoints me is to see an otherwise great camouflaged tactical knife wonderfully painted to blend in with the chosen environment only to have the maker's tacky logo splashed over it. That renders the knife almost useless for it's intended marketed purpose.

I say if the knife is marketed as a tactical knife then sell a tactical knife not a tactikool knife.

I am not knocking logos I happen to love the looks of for example the SOG Meridian which a lot of people hate due to the logo. A knife like that I don't really mind it since it is in character with the knife but big bright writing on a tactical blade in combat, like a lit cigarette, the smell of cigarettes, shiny objects, and other things taken for granted, can make someone a quick POW or even dead in the wrong situation.
 
Last edited:
In the "military", if you are doing a covert or black op. You don't simply use a knife of weapon with no markings. You use weapons from the country your are in, you use ammo and weaponry from a country that may be at war with that country or is in the process of making arms deals, any number of things. But knives without markings are just that usually.

Semper Fi
 
Interesting thread. My Buck AG Vanguard arrived without a single marking on the blade. It pretty obviously "slipped through the cracks" at the factory, and may or may not be worth more because of that. However, I have yet to have anyone offer me money for it, and I have had quite a few people tell me "I'd never buy a knife with no markings."

So I guess the answer to your question is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
 
as long as the blade truly is buck/kershaw/benchmade, etc., i don't care and actually would prefer a sterile blade...no branding/logos would be great...

and i take the bands off my cigars before i smoke them too...i left poser status in my teens...
 
greater said:
Maybe they are not marketed toward the general public.

I really don't know but my guess would be that writing may be quite an eye catcher and may not resemble the environment around since it looks nothing like leaves, trees etc....

I don't think unmarked blades are a marketing gimmick as much as I think conspicuously marked blades are.

One thing that disappoints me is to see an otherwise great camouflaged tactical knife wonderfully painted to blend in with the chosen environment only to have the maker's tacky logo splashed over it. That renders the knife almost useless for it's intended marketed purpose.

I say if the knife is marketed as a tactical knife then sell a tactical knife not a tactikool knife.

I am not knocking logos I happen to love the looks of for example the SOG Meridian which a lot of people hate due to the logo. A knife like that I don't really mind it since it is in character with the knife but big bright writing on a tactical blade in combat, like a lit cigarette, the smell of cigarettes, shiny objects, and other things taken for granted, can make someone a quick POW or even dead in the wrong situation.
Click to expand...
Oh please!!! Not too many sentries are taken out by folders...nor many by fixed blades...logos on blades giving away your position lol
Knives are primarily tools!!
They are more likely used on fellow service members than foreign combatants. Normally used for mundane tasks. Like cutting open packaging and mres or repairing gear...
 
IMO, this subject became popular as the average person read or heard of stories regarding the MACV missions in SE Asia. True, sterile equipment has been used for a long time before that, but the covert nature of SOG missions added an air of "romance" (hate to have to use that word) to an otherwise ugly aspect of human existance.

In the earlier days of the conflict, MACV/SOG was looking for untraceable weapons and equipment to disguise or deflect their involvement in counterinsurgency missions into Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, etc. I believe the politically acceptable term is plausible denial. Here are two of the designs used in Vietnam for plausible denial:

e102.jpg


e331.jpg


As for modern knives that are sold as "sterile", marketing as its finest :)
 
CaptInsano said:
The most obvious answer is that its just a function of collectibility.
Click to expand...

+1
Same thoughts here. Just like "First production run", "Prototype" and some others. How much it is worth is a different matter. For some it might not mean anything and won't worth a dime. To some collector who's looking for such blades it might mean a lot. That same collector might have a neighbor, to whom those markings (or lack of them) do not mean a thing, but this neighbor will pay couple of bucks extra just because he knows that those marking worth a lot in the eyes of another person.
When it comes to collectible items (and knives are collectible items), what it is worth is what someone pays for it. Sometimes the only explanation of value is that the next person cannot get the same thing and people pay for this more often then you might think. People pay for errors on coins, misprinted stamps etc.
 
Last edited:
I'd understand people paying more for knives without markings if it was some mix up at the factory or whatever and they accidently put some knives out without them, but I don't really understand it if they did that on purpose to a bunch of knives.
If it was some screw up and only a few went out without markings then those would be more rare and possibly worth more to some collectors, but if it's on purpose and they did that to a lot of knives then they're not rare at all and the only reason I would understand people paying more for them would be because they think markings ruin the look of the knife.

Like Leftoverdj said about the Queen Country Cousin, I also don't like the markings all over that blade and if I was to buy that knife, I'd prefer not to have them on there if possible.
Would I pay a lot more for that knife if they made a version without those markings on it on purpose? No, because if anything that knife should cost less because they didn't have to spend money putting that mark on there in the first place. I might consider paying a few bucks more but that's just because that small amount of money would mean I'd get a knife that I like a little better, but put that price too high and it's just not worth the extra cash to me.

If they messed up and forgot to put it on a few, would I pay a lot more for it? No, but I'm not a collector. I'd imagine some collectors would because they'd have a rare version of it that a lot of people actually prefer the looks of and to them, maybe that's worth more money.
 
People pay more for blade finish, at least I did when tracking down a stonewash G10 Tyrade recently. Why not pay more for a clean aesthetic? It is all personal preference and so many things go into the equation separating the knives in your collection from the ones still sitting on the shelf.
 
Superdave1 said:
Oh please!!! Not too many sentries are taken out by folders...nor many by fixed blades...logos on blades giving away your position lol
Knives are primarily tools!!
They are more likely used on fellow service members than foreign combatants. Normally used for mundane tasks. Like cutting open packaging and mres or repairing gear...
Click to expand...


Be that as it may I still don't like logos splashed across subdued color or camouflaged blades I find it out of character. Not to mention the rust spots that can form in the areas where the logo is.
 
Last edited:
I just bought a sterile blade G10 Tyrade. I assume the seller did the sterilizing himself...I didn't ask. To be honest the blades from Kershaw are a little busy with all the markings on them but I'm not sure I prefer the steriled blade either. I know one thing, I really wanted an Orange G10 Tyrade with that CPM-D2 composite blade!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top