- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 3,148
Hi Joss, that is great question. Maybe we should start another thread as I think you would get a lot of input..
I have been a collector for 15 years, serious into some higher end semi custom/production and custom for 10-12 years and have focused more on ABS style knives for 5-7 years. In 1998 or so I realized that I really enjoyed collecting the "one off", sole authorship, bigger knives. I also realized that there was a limit to how many knives a Dean, Fisk, Fogg, Fitch, Newton etc. could make in the course of their lifetime and that also appealed to me. There is a downside to that though--a makers who makes 50 knives a year can become an unknown maker in a relatively short period of time if the same 10 customers consistently buy all those 50 knives!
I look for knives by exceptional JS smiths and better MS's that I have a certain look. Of course I obsess more over fit and finish than performance as very few knives in my collection will ever be used. I have branched out a bit to apprentice smiths that are serious and already have establishe a unique style. There are many good knives. The best makers all have delivery times.
I have also seen these trends in the ABS style knives-
-big jump in price by the best MS's. Demand is driving this in many cases. When you are 3-5-7 years behind on knives, the value always goes up. More of these makers are retiring from real jobs and need more income or getting older and cannot produce as many pieces as they did a few years ago, also driving prices up.
-Embellishment is also driving up the price. I believe the internet has brought additional higher-end collectors to the game and as a result makers have started carving and engraving more often,building more premium knives and using more damascus.
-Better quality from Apprentice/JS makers in order to differentiate their knives and establish themselves. Think Jason Knight, Dan Farr, Russ Andrews, Nick Wheeler, Shawn McIntyre-are all making better knives now than some MS makers are capable of as the market has demanded it!
Competition from the boys from Brazil has also increased quality and pushed the MS's to make better knives, or in some cases, none at all.
-Lack of hunters/boot knives. Many maker make fewer hunters than they did 5 years ago. A hunter may need to sell for half the price of a big knife, but is usually NOT half the work. Five years ago, A Newton Damascus & Stag hunter could be had for $500 on AZCK. I only buy hunters for my collection if a makers work is absolutely unobtanium grade like Fisk or Crowell or Russ Andrews for example. I recently bought two custom hunters from Adam Desrosiers with 01/L6 damascus, bronze guards and blackwood and moose handles. Great sheaths.These are for using, I am not going to use a $1,000 hunter to skin a deer with!
-I think there exists a subset of the ABS that will wither somewhat-the part of the new maker market that I call-IWTBF. (I Want To Be Fisk).
How many new makers are making knives that are emulating Mr. Jerry's? I am not suggesting they are riding his coattails, but trying too hard to emulate his style to forge their path to success. I think better collectors will be buying less "Fisk copies" in the future and more works by new smiths that better showcase their own self-developed talents and styles.
-Mosaic damascus? Whats that? Seriously, I think its days in bigger knives are numbered.
I have been a collector for 15 years, serious into some higher end semi custom/production and custom for 10-12 years and have focused more on ABS style knives for 5-7 years. In 1998 or so I realized that I really enjoyed collecting the "one off", sole authorship, bigger knives. I also realized that there was a limit to how many knives a Dean, Fisk, Fogg, Fitch, Newton etc. could make in the course of their lifetime and that also appealed to me. There is a downside to that though--a makers who makes 50 knives a year can become an unknown maker in a relatively short period of time if the same 10 customers consistently buy all those 50 knives!
I look for knives by exceptional JS smiths and better MS's that I have a certain look. Of course I obsess more over fit and finish than performance as very few knives in my collection will ever be used. I have branched out a bit to apprentice smiths that are serious and already have establishe a unique style. There are many good knives. The best makers all have delivery times.
I have also seen these trends in the ABS style knives-
-big jump in price by the best MS's. Demand is driving this in many cases. When you are 3-5-7 years behind on knives, the value always goes up. More of these makers are retiring from real jobs and need more income or getting older and cannot produce as many pieces as they did a few years ago, also driving prices up.
-Embellishment is also driving up the price. I believe the internet has brought additional higher-end collectors to the game and as a result makers have started carving and engraving more often,building more premium knives and using more damascus.
-Better quality from Apprentice/JS makers in order to differentiate their knives and establish themselves. Think Jason Knight, Dan Farr, Russ Andrews, Nick Wheeler, Shawn McIntyre-are all making better knives now than some MS makers are capable of as the market has demanded it!
Competition from the boys from Brazil has also increased quality and pushed the MS's to make better knives, or in some cases, none at all.
-Lack of hunters/boot knives. Many maker make fewer hunters than they did 5 years ago. A hunter may need to sell for half the price of a big knife, but is usually NOT half the work. Five years ago, A Newton Damascus & Stag hunter could be had for $500 on AZCK. I only buy hunters for my collection if a makers work is absolutely unobtanium grade like Fisk or Crowell or Russ Andrews for example. I recently bought two custom hunters from Adam Desrosiers with 01/L6 damascus, bronze guards and blackwood and moose handles. Great sheaths.These are for using, I am not going to use a $1,000 hunter to skin a deer with!
-I think there exists a subset of the ABS that will wither somewhat-the part of the new maker market that I call-IWTBF. (I Want To Be Fisk).
How many new makers are making knives that are emulating Mr. Jerry's? I am not suggesting they are riding his coattails, but trying too hard to emulate his style to forge their path to success. I think better collectors will be buying less "Fisk copies" in the future and more works by new smiths that better showcase their own self-developed talents and styles.
-Mosaic damascus? Whats that? Seriously, I think its days in bigger knives are numbered.
