Todd Begg Glimpse 5.5

L

Luckyleo

Joined
Nov 9, 2012
Messages
90
Hi All,

I received an email today from Todd Begg knives that the Glimpse 5.5 orders are now being taken. I'm confused between this, the Glimpse 5.0, the Bodega, the field grade Bodega, and the Beggatti.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks guys!

Leo
 
I think the Glimpse 5.5 is the newer generation in the Glimpse line. As far as the others , the Bodega is a Ti frame lock style knife. The field grade is made a little more plain and of rugged materials for "field use". The Bodega is the dressed up version with fancy finishes and materials and blade grinds. The Begatti is a bigger knife overall and is also very dressed up in fancy materials. It's also a frame lock style knife.
 
Here is a simple breakdown. Basically they are some of the most expensive production knives on the planet. Some feel they are worth the price of admission I feel they are grossly overpriced. Especially the field grade model. I also feel that they have horrible customer service and most times when you have an issue you cant get a hold of anyone that knows anything about the knives as the person doing the emails has no training in people skills or the products themselves. If you have a problem after the sale you better hope you live close. I ended up selling my bodega because of this. All the knives below come standard with IKBS. You can get upgrades like a ceramic IKBS system and blade options.

1. Bodega - Full titanium framelock with fluted N690 blade and either a G10 or carbon fiber inlay in the handle slabs.

2. Field Grade bodega. Titanium framelock but only the lock assembly and backspacer is titanium. Both handle slabs are linerless and made either of thick pieces of g10 or carbon fiber. The ikbs system rides on small steel washers inlaid into the g10/carbon handle slabs. Originally it came with a machine ground fluted blade on the first 20 (they claim 20 but it was a lot more) then they switched handground (supposedly) Non-fluted blades in either a compound, dagger or high hollow grind. Later down the road due to many complaints they brought back the fluted blade at an up charge. This knife was first introduced at a price of $550 later they dumbed it down with the non fluted blade and jacked the price up to $700 claiming they were making knives at a loss.

3. Beggatti- This is a standard bodega on steroids. Blade profile was changed and given two flutes instead of 1. The thickness of the blade was doubled. Instead of N690CO bohler steel CTS-xhp was used. The handle slabs also increased in thickness dramatically. Those slabs did not get inlaid with any synthetic material like G10 or Carbon fiber but rather had a fancy cnc pattern cut into them and a contrasting anodizing was done.

4. Glimpse 5.5. This is the latest version of Todds original glimpse folder. It has had several variations over the years this being the newest.. This one stands on its own and has quite a few options. You can get a fluted ($75 upcharge) , high hollow or dagger grind. Standard tumbled finish on the full titanium (no inlay) handles or for an upcharge you can get the contrasted anodizing like on the beggatti. The glimpse previous to this one was a field grade version but was a friction folder. The flipper was decorative only.

Having owned a ton of knives in my time and seeing examples from the most gifted makers in the world I have to say the lates begg knives would be great if the price was a third of what they charge. Sure they claim they werent turning a profit but imho it wasnt a problem with the price of the product but rather had to be doing things horribly inefficient to be turning zero profit at the initial pricing. Mind you these are not handmade knives. The blades are not made out of a super premium steel either. Bohler N690Co was the main steel they used for the longest time. This is popular with italian makers and honestly you see it in knives in the $100-200 range. When the bodega came out it was $850, the field grade $550. The original bodega jumped to something like $1200-1400 then got axed and they only made the field grade but that jumped to $700. And with that you dont even get a knife with liners. Its just g10 or C/F supporting that pivot, blade and stop pin. To me for $700 you shoudl get a ton more.
 
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PURPLEDC said:
Here is a simple breakdown. Basically they are some of the most expensive production knives on the planet. Some feel they are worth the price of admission I feel they are grossly overpriced. Especially the field grade model. I also feel that they have horrible customer service and most times when you have an issue you cant get a hold of anyone that knows anything about the knives as the person doing the emails has no training in people skills or the products themselves. If you have a problem after the sale you better hope you live close. I ended up selling my bodega because of this. All the knives below come standard with IKBS. You can get upgrades like a ceramic IKBS system and blade options.

1. Bodega - Full titanium framelock with fluted N690 blade and either a G10 or carbon fiber inlay in the handle slabs.

2. Field Grade bodega. Titanium framelock but only the lock assembly and backspacer is titanium. Both handle slabs are linerless and made either of thick pieces of g10 or carbon fiber. The ikbs system rides on small steel washers inlaid into the g10/carbon handle slabs. Originally it came with a machine ground fluted blade on the first 20 (they claim 20 but it was a lot more) then they switched handground (supposedly) Non-fluted blades in either a compound, dagger or high hollow grind. Later down the road due to many complaints they brought back the fluted blade at an up charge. This knife was first introduced at a price of $550 later they dumbed it down with the non fluted blade and jacked the price up to $700 claiming they were making knives at a loss.

3. Beggatti- This is a standard bodega on steroids. Blade profile was changed and given two flutes instead of 1. The thickness of the blade was doubled. Instead of N690CO bohler steel CTS-xhp was used. The handle slabs also increased in thickness dramatically. Those slabs did not get inlaid with any synthetic material like G10 or Carbon fiber but rather had a fancy cnc pattern cut into them and a contrasting anodizing was done.

4. Glimpse 5.5. This is the latest version of Todds original glimpse folder. It has had several variations over the years this being the newest.. This one stands on its own and has quite a few options. You can get a fluted ($75 upcharge) , high hollow or dagger grind. Standard tumbled finish on the full titanium (no inlay) handles or for an upcharge you can get the contrasted anodizing like on the beggatti. The glimpse previous to this one was a field grade version but was a friction folder. The flipper was decorative only.

Having owned a ton of knives in my time and seeing examples from the most gifted makers in the world I have to say the lates begg knives would be great if the price was a third of what they charge. Sure they claim they werent turning a profit but imho it wasnt a problem with the price of the product but rather had to be doing things horribly inefficient to be turning zero profit at the initial pricing. Mind you these are not handmade knives. The blades are not made out of a super premium steel either. Bohler N690Co was the main steel they used for the longest time. This is popular with italian makers and honestly you see it in knives in the $100-200 range. When the bodega came out it was $850, the field grade $550. The original bodega jumped to something like $1200-1400 then got axed and they only made the field grade but that jumped to $700. And with that you dont even get a knife with liners. Its just g10 or C/F supporting that pivot, blade and stop pin. To me for $700 you shoudl get a ton more.
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Now that's the most knowledgeable reply to a comment or question that I've read on the forum in quite some time.
Even though I didn't ask the question I'd like to say thank you for your detailed response.

I've had the pleasure of getting to fondle a all Ti Begatti and a CF field grade in the last 2 weeks since my friend bought both. They seemed like nice knives but very expensive for what they were. As nice as the fit and finish was I wouldn't have spent that kind of money on them.
 
1AbominAble1 said:
Now that's the most knowledgeable reply to a comment or question that I've read on the forum in quite some time.
Even though I didn't ask the question I'd like to say thank you for your detailed response.

I've had the pleasure of getting to fondle a all Ti Begatti and a CF field grade in the last 2 weeks since my friend bought both. They seemed like nice knives but very expensive for what they were. As nice as the fit and finish was I wouldn't have spent that kind of money on them.
Click to expand...

Its ok man, you can say long winded. Its a problem of mine, lol.. Dont get me wrong, they are very nice knives. But there is a lot of nice knives out there. I have absolutely no problem with their quality in most regards. I just think they are asking bentley prices for knives that should be more like toyota or at best lexus prices. I guess I am wrong by default though because plenty of people buy them. I just think you can get a whole lot more for your dollar.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Its ok man, you can say long winded. Its a problem of mine, lol.. Dont get me wrong, they are very nice knives. But there is a lot of nice knives out there. I have absolutely no problem with their quality in most regards. I just think they are asking bentley prices for knives that should be more like toyota or at best lexus prices. I guess I am wrong by default though because plenty of people buy them. I just think you can get a whole lot more for your dollar.
Click to expand...

I just priced an optioned out Glimpse 5.5 and with tax it was $1450. Just anodizing/fluted blade/ceramic bearings. I checked one out at G6...nice, but it is not $1500 worth of knife. Just my opinion. I expect more than N690 steel at that price. Maybe my expectations are too high?
 
1SHOT1KILL said:
it is not $1500 worth of knife. Just my opinion. I expect more than N690 steel at that price. Maybe my expectations are too high?
Click to expand...

I don think your expectations are too high. I never liked the design so I wasn't aware they were so expensive. You can find more exotic steels in semi-customs in the $500-$700 range. $1500 is excessive, but then again, he was charging $250 for a small neck knife at one point.
 
1SHOT1KILL said:
I just priced an optioned out Glimpse 5.5 and with tax it was $1450. Just anodizing/fluted blade/ceramic bearings. I checked one out at G6...nice, but it is not $1500 worth of knife. Just my opinion. I expect more than N690 steel at that price. Maybe my expectations are too high?
Click to expand...

I dont think your expectations are high. I think Begg knives expectations are high. The thing is the prices of a Todd begg knife has always been high. His customs have always commanded a premium. The problem is he decided to start making production knives and still charge custom prices for them. Then to have non existent customer service to boot you have to ask yourself what is it that you are paying for?
 
Thanks all for the comments. Purple, once again you provided great insight and thoughtful comment. I appreciate the time spent on your reply. It certainly provides me with a clear explanation as well as a clear (not concise :) ) editorial comment.

Thanks!

Leo
 
Luckyleo said:
Thanks all for the comments. Purple, once again you provided great insight and thoughtful comment. I appreciate the time spent on your reply. It certainly provides me with a clear explanation as well as a clear (not concise :) ) editorial comment.

Thanks!

Leo
Click to expand...

Apologies for imprinting it so much with my (of very little value :D ) opinion. In hindsight I should have left my emotion out of the response and just provided the facts. No matter what I think about the pricing people can make up their own minds on what is and isnt worth it to them in relation to cost.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Apologies for imprinting it so much with my (of very little value :D ) opinion. In hindsight I should have left my emotion out of the response and just provided the facts. No matter what I think about the pricing people can make up their own minds on what is and isnt worth it to them in relation to cost.
Click to expand...

You are more than entitled to your opinion, especially when it's based on your experience, and is as well thought out and presented, as you have done here.

I am sure more people agree with you than you think.

Put me in your camp on this issue. I will leave it there though, because if I start, my posts might be longer than yours!
 
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