What do you do with $400 knives? Seriously?

the first thing that came to my mind when i read this thread was my sebenza and my last car, in that order.

i used to be pretty protective of my knives and other toys. i remember buying a large sebenza from a forum member and then just staring at it for a while. i couldn't bring myself to use it for the longest time. now it follows me around on a daily basis.

the same thing can be said of the last car i owned, a '97 Ferrari F355 spyder in fly yellow. i bought it used after a short stint at a local dotcom and an internship at a stock firm. drove it once, then admired it in the driveway. i'd wash it and wax it every weekend, much like i'd take apart my sebenza and lube it and stuff.

i tell ya, the first scratch always does it. when i got that first "character mark" on my sebbie, it seemed less immaculate all of a sudden and i didn't have a problem with carrying it around and giving it a beating every day. the same happened to my car. while a friend drove it one day, he pulled into a parking lot and didn't notice the concrete divider between parking spaces, and thus took the entire front end off.

fast forward past a lot of militec, a Koenig twinturbo on the car, and about a year and here i am. before coming to college i raced regularly at the racetrack and my car has broken down in more ways than i can remember. i've put more scratches on my sebenza than i care to mention. my point? you spent your hard earned money on your knfe. my guess is that it wasn't made only to be looked at. use it! =]
 
.......my $400.00 edc that is! I carry a large leather inlay Classic Sebenza seven days a week. I have no problem with using the knife for any CUTTING chore that comes up. I have a Leatherman tool for screws;) I also a second knife to loan out to others when asked for a knife. I will cut with with my $400.00 edc, but nobody else is:D :D

BTW, I sometimes opt to carry my large wood inlaid Sebenza which cost me $550.00. Still have no problem using it for any CUTTING chore that may arise!

I finally decided they did me no good locked up in a box in the back of my closet. If I couldn't enjoy them what was the use of having them!
 
AirMojo,

Fine words to live by.

Where I live the average monthly wage for a working man is less than US$400. I don't think I can afford a Ferrari in this lifetime, but by scrimping and saving, I can at least own a fine knife. Hardly an elitist thing as I could not care less that hardly anybody knows I own them. And they don't pull women as effectively as speeding round in a Ferrari either. I use them for the sheer selfish purpose that I enjoy doing so. Life is way too short not to enjoy the little luxuries we can afford.

While I feel no pressing urge to buy a Loveless, Morans, or Walker knife (not that I can afford them anyway), I feel no particular need to insult those who do.

Andrew Limsk

Originally posted by airmojo
...Use your tools and toys while you can, otherwise someone else will when you die, and they might not appreciate the real value of these tools and toys!
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What you cut isn't as dangerous to a knife as where you cut. If I forget a knife out in the middle of the breezeway at work, it won't matter if it's a $100 or $1000 when it gets run over by a 21 ton forklift. I don't see all that much room for improvement in the materials and finish of my production knives, so spending more on a non-custom handmade doesn't work for me. My first 'custom' should be done soon, and the materials aren't the best for a user. But it shore will be purdy. It cost nearly double the price point of this thread, and it ain't gettin' run over.
 
Thanks guys, (and Amy too) ;)

From reading the posts here, I'm thinking that many of us are starting to creep up on the 'gray' years, recognizing our own mortality, and are now starting to say...

"Well phug it, I ain't getting any younger..."

To that end, well put AirMojo, well put...

"Hell yes I'm gonna play with my 'stuff', I might as well at this point" lol

Woohoo, a happy second childhood...kekeke :D
 
Don't have a $400.00 knife yet, but my Small Sebenza (plain) and AlMar cash clip add up to almost that much, and I don't leave home without them. I can even pull parge staples with a good blade and not hurt the edge (might scratch the sides though). I have a hard time thinking about carrying my old Cold Steel voyager while I know I have the Sebbie. Why wouldn't you carry your best tool?

I can easily envision carrying a random pattern large sebbie, or a custom DDR Apogee without regret, if only I had the cash to buy them.

One day.
 
OwenM, actually the thread never said it was for "those who own $400.00 knives", it said "do people really use $400.00+ knives".

If the thread said "do people really drive trucks" I guess you would expect only those who currently drive a truck to answer.

Besides, I think more input and different views on a subject equals a better understanding of the subject matter. If we all have the same opinions then what's the point of asking the question.
How boring it would be if we all jumped on the same band-wagon.

It would be like posting a thread here like "Who likes knives?":
The responses would be predictable and pointless. We KNOW the people here like knives!

Judging from the defensive and even angry responses my comment recieved, I would say I'm closer to the mark than most are willing to admit.

I don't take it personal, after all, it's only natural for people to defend their position.

Cheers,
Allen.
 
Andrew

Don't feel bad that you can't blow the high dollars on a knife. I couldn't either for a long time.

I did learn for my dad that you buy the best you can afford, or a little more.

Back in 1975 or so I spent almost 3 weeks pay for a "skill" type saw and 3/8 inch electric drill. I was a carpenter learning his trade. After almost 30 years I still have both those tools. The drill needs some work, the chuck need fixing. I used both these tools everyday for 5 years then on a part time basis for ten years then full time for another five. Did people look at me funny for spending that much money on a tool when a $20 saw worked almost as good? Yes, but when a hand saw was needed for trim work guess which saw was used.

The guys I worked with replaced saws regularly. So over the years who spent more? $150 once or $20 ten times.
 
This thread has taken a slight turn from its original intent of, "What do you do with $400 knives? Seriously ?"

But that's OK. . .

I think that we can all safely say that we have different tastes when it comes to what we own or possess. . . modes of transportation, abodes, furnishings in the abode, clothing, colors, guns, watches, etc. . .

I think you get my drift.

The same can be said of our knives. . .we have different tastes. May they be; folder, fixed, auto's, manual, material used to make it, user, artsy, clip point, tanto, dagger, the various types of thumb opening methods (stud, hole, disc, hidden, round, square. . .), carried in the right corner of the left front pocket ~ vertically, neck carry, between the butt cheeks carry, etc. . .

I think you get my drift.

Personally. . .

I really don't care if you're knife cost you $4 or $4,000.

I really don't care if you own 1 knife or 1,000 knives.

I really don't care if you elect to carry/display (behind glass) your $4 - $4,000 knife.

Simply, if you've elected to pay what you did for it. . .or if you've elected to amass a gathering of 1 or attempt to corner the market. . .it's your knife (or knives)!

There may be times that we don't see eye-to-eye on certain subjects associated with our world (the knife world) ! BFD !

Cuz no matter what you have, how many you have or how much you paid for what you have. . .you're still a knife knut !

You being a knife knut is the most important thing to me ! :D

edit - spellin' (DAMN, I need to start proof-reading before I hit the OK button !
 
The folder I carry cost me about $6000. I beat the hell out of it every day. Of course I built it myself and that money is the cost of all the tools, equipment and materials that I have bought in the last year. Knifemaking is a damned expensive business! :)

flipper2.jpg
 
This reminds me of watch collectors.

Some of them wear their $300k Grand Complications every day, and some of them obsess that the protective green sticker on the back of their crappy Rolex would get a bit worn if they ever wore the thing outside the house.

It's all just material stuff. Either use it, or don't have it around the house wasting your time, money, and mental energy.

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." William Morris
 
What about materials? You wouldn't use a knife with gold accents, jeweled thumbstud, hot blued damascus blade, mokume bolsters, abalone scales, and tons of filework, would you? A sebenza is comparitively expensive to other 'plain' knives, but it's still 'plain' (even with the engraving, it's still just Ti slabs) I couldn't imagine using a knife that took a hundred hours to build in my line of work, or during my recreational activities. Too much grease, oil, saltwater, sawdust, mud, sand, concrete floors, 4000 ft. water depth on the back of a boat in 10 ft. seas, bad memory, sticky fingers, wire to strip, staples to pull, rope to cut, etc., etc.
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I agree 100%. I would NOT carry a Ruger .308 to kill a kitten struck by a vehicle either. BUT the issue in your quote is more: THE CORRECT "Tool" for the job.

A beautiful handmade knife of Talonite might fit BETTER in your line of work hardheart. But IF your life depends on the tools in your pocket, why NOT have the very best money can buy?
 
I have been downright laughed at when telling people my knife cost $100. Even the $40 spydees are seen as too expensive. At the gas-station, which was a cop-hang out I would discuss knives with them. Two out of the maybe 20 actually had benchmades, and they loved them. The others all carried $20 street bought pieces. This is Garden City, Long Island. A private police force of over 50 officers who are paid over $65k a year on average
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Being a formerHEMPSTEAD, NY Boy, I have a lot of friends who are LEO's on the Island and in the City. Needless to sday, up here in NH, I probably know EVERY LEO. While there are many that carry Benchmades and productions in this category, there are fewer and fewer carrying those "clones" that sell for $20.00 in Galls. The CURRENT trend is to carry the best tool for the job, and one that will provide many years of service and one that you can put ENORMOUS faith in. I have noticed many LEO's are starting to carry L-UDT's, Sebenza's, EDC's in Talonite, TNT's, and like me, have carry knives CUSTOM-MADE. My first EDC was a HALO. I then carried just about every production knife made. Then the day came when I picked up a knife and it just MOLDED to my hand. The knife was made to last a lifetime, handle whatever abuse I could throw at it, and maintain an edge day after day. I paid $600.00 and have cut seat-belts, bloody clothes, gutted deer, and punctured a tire (insert denial statement:HERE). It still looks like new.

The point is; that when you find THAT knife that you know must become your EDC, the last thing you care about is: "How much". I let my wife worry about that part:p :p ;) Ira
 
Some posts keep asking would one use a knife with gold inlays, file work, and jewels in the thumbstud etc. My response is that some knives are clearly art knives, and if a knife is literal artwork, it should appreciated as such. Buying an art knife is no more wasteful than buying a painting, sculpture, or any other object to be admired for its beauty. In that sense, if someone buys a knife just to look at or display, they are simply investing in a particular type of art.
 
I just got my first Sebenza in January, and the first thing I did was use it to cut up the box it came in, and then put it in my pocket. I also have a large TNT on order and plan ro carry and use it on a regular basis. The way I look at it as long as I have already spent the money I might as well get something out of it.

I also think that the choice of carrying and using an expensive custom depends on what the knife was designed for. Is it a folder desinged to see use, or an investment knife that is ment to sit in a safe? If you buy knives made to be used, use them, thats what they are for. If you buy knives as an investment by all means don't use them, but I wouldn't buy a knife I wouldn't use.

What good is money if you can't use it to make you happy? I would rather have $400+ knife in my pocket anyday than the cash I spent on it.


Erik
 
I've been using tools most of my life. I was operating a backhoe when I was 12. I can cut & weld, do a little carpentry/woodwork, rebuild an engine, paint an auto body, handle a little electrical repair. My father owns 2 Skilsaws that he's had for over 15 years. Yes, they're great saws-metal housings around the motor, worm gear driven, well built factory produced tools. The knife is the only tool I know of that can be made to order with the materials of your own choosing (well, axes/hawks too) I've never driven a nail with a serial numbered hammer, turned a bolt with a handmade wrench, or pried anything with a damascus crowbar. I can spend some cash on other tools, no doubt. Porter Cable, Snap-on, there's plenty of 'pricier' stuff out there. But none of it's fully handmade. I don't believe there's someone at any of these manufacturers at the end of the assembly line going over each piece with a jeweler's glass. Yet these tools work. They work hard, and they work well. I've only broken a quality piece when doing something obviously beyond its limitations or intended purpose. I don't see why I can't trust my Cold Steels, Benchmades, Microtechs, REKAT's, or Spyderco's any less than any of these other tools. They cost more than something you can pick up in a blister pack or in a big plastic tub at the checkout counter. And they get the job done to my satisfaction. I believe a knife can be a tool or a piece of art. I just don't ask any particular one to be both at the same time.
 
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