The Term "Grail Knife"

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pathwinder14

Joined
Jun 4, 2012
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I don't have a "Grail Knife" so to speak. I think the term is too ambiguous. My knives are purpose specific. I am very pragmatic. I believe in quality but anything much over the $150 mark is just gilding the lily. Even then, it is a struggle to rationalize it. Once a knife get's to that price range quality, fit, finish, and materials should be top notch. Once it goes beyond that price point, it becomes a game of diminishing returns.

For me the term "Grail Knife" refers to the capability of the knife, not it's cost. I'm still looking for the Grail of capability. I'll let you know when I find it.

How do you define "Grail Knife"?
 
"...I want that."

But seriously, I remember when your Grail was that one knife you absolutely love but attaining it would be near impossible. Now a days you hear "yeah it's one of my grails". What? How do you have five grails? How did you so easily attain them all? Sounds more like you just like the knife. Weird.
 
I think to many people are using the term grail for any knife they like but don't currently have LOL
 
I define "Grail knife" as something not just expensive, but difficult to find. My grail would be the Zero Tolerance 0777 Herringbone - not only do they go for over a grand, but they hardly ever come up for sale in the first place.

There are some old Sebenzas, Al Mar originals, and even some Cold Steel folders that all fall into that category.
 
Any person should not have more than one "Grail". I think it's a complete abuse of the term when people list multiple Grails, or say " one of my Grails". I have not found my grail, though there are many knives I desire.

This is all my opinion, but I stand by it.
 
eon blue apocalypse said:
Any person should not have more than one "Grail". I think it's a complete abuse of the term when people list multiple Grails, or say " one of my Grails". I have not found my grail, though there are many knives I desire.

This is all my opinion, but I stand by it.
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The fact that people have to say this....

Anyways, agreed with the definition, some people take grail knife too loosely. I always internally facepalm when someone gets a Sebenza or similar and declares it as their grail. Just seems lazy, just going along with everyone else. Grails should require effort to find, and even more effort to obtain.
 
It's all a combination of want & budget, the definition of 'grail' will vary from person to person. For some it may be that unobtainable custom or discontinued knife, while others struggle to spend the retail price on a simple FRN Dragonfly.

And more often then not the so called grail changes to a different knife once obtained. It's a never ending circle really, & a kinda sad phenomenon imo.
 
I think this thread is an example of how it's easy to lose touch with where most of us started. We all view knives differently. I've been a knife knut since I was about 8 years old, but I literally never saw a high end knife until a buddy of mine got an Emerson when I was about 20. The quality of the knife, what it could do and what it cost BLEW MY MIND! Later that year my father gifted me a Buck/Strider 880 and it might as well have been the best knife ever made. If someone showed me a Sebenza at that point and explained the quality, the steel, the precision and told me the price? Yeah, it would have become a Grail for me instantly because, at that age, I didn't know anything like that existed and I couldn't imagine having a free $400 to drop on it (yes, I spent more than that chasing tail in short periods of time, but young men, math, saving and consequences are often not on speaking terms.)

In short, if someone says it's their grail I'm inclined to trust that it's a blade they absolutely covet and will have to make some sacrifice to get. I don't know their age, income, tastes, desires and preferences, so other than a cynical chuckle that speaks worse of me than them, I tend to let it go.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
I think this thread is an example of how it's easy to lose touch with where most of us started. We all view knives differently. I've been a knife knut since I was about 8 years old, but I literally never saw a high end knife until a buddy of mine got an Emerson when I was about 20. The quality of the knife, what it could do and what it cost BLEW MY MIND! Later that year my father gifted me a Buck/Strider 880 and it might as well have been the best knife ever made. If someone showed me a Sebenza at that point and explained the quality, the steel, the precision and told me the price? Yeah, it would have become a Grail for me instantly because, at that age, I didn't know anything like that existed and I couldn't imagine having a free $400 to drop on it (yes, I spent more than that chasing tail in short periods of time, but young men, math, saving and consequences are often not on speaking terms.)

In short, if someone says it's their grail I'm inclined to trust that it's a blade they absolutely covet and will have to make some sacrifice to get. I don't know their age, income, tastes, desires and preferences, so other than a cynical chuckle that speaks worse of me than them, I tend to let it go.
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I agree. Some people complain about a $100 knife. Cost me more than that to fill up my truck for a week.
 
A grail is a quest or a hunt. There's no mention of a rule that it comes with a high price tag. My grail knife costs under $100.

It's a hunt that means you have to use your wits to gain one. It's not about who's got the fattest wallet. If this was really all about money we'd quit with the knife pictures and just post bank statements to show who's got the biggest.
 
I sure wouldn't win:D
Danke42 said:
A grail is a quest or a hunt. There's no mention of a rule that it comes with a high price tag. My grail knife costs under $100.

It's a hunt that means you have to use your wits to gain one. It's not about who's got the fattest wallet. If this was really all about money we'd quit with the knife pictures and just post bank statements to show who's got the biggest.
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Larcivs Lepidvs said:
I think it's a very retarded term for saying "most wanted"
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I sort of fall into this category as well. This is the first hobby I've found that uses the term. I treated it as a worthy term at first until I saw how badly the term was abused by folks. For some it seems as though their lust of the week is termed a grail, until payday and they're posting their new "grail" all over the internet until the next flavor comes along mere days later.

Bah.
 
Me, I don't have a grail. There's some knives I'd like to have that may be expensive or hard to get, but none that make me willing to make some big sacrifice to get them, either. I'd love to get a Cold Steel Caledonian Edge for example, but I'm not paying $500 for it on Ebay, either.
 
For me if it's a production knife easily found ,just out of my price range that's not a grail, it's something I want to buy. For whatever reason I may not want to just go out and buy it .

Grails are your hard to find customs or productions that you can't just go to a website and find them. Type of knives that money won't buy. Your going to either haft to know someone that has one and part with another rare knife. IMO if it's in stock on more than a couple websites that's not a grail per say it may just be out of my price range at the moment .
 
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