what is a "high end" knife

S

sab13

Joined
Aug 22, 2010
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with all the pepole here writing about there high end knives i got to a point i understant that i don't understand what high end knives are.

so, what makes a high end knife?
price?
maker?
material?
what?
 
A high end knife is one that is well thought out and designed with its uses in mind. It uses high quality materials and a bladesteel that is exceptionally balanced for strength, edge retention, hardness, etc. The fit and finish on the knife should be something that is (mostly) flawless to both the trained and untrained eyeThe knife should pass a high level of quality control and provide the user with a satisfaction of knowing that the knife will serve him/her well for many years to come with safety and high reliability.
 
I am sure that 'high end' is relative - to many people any knife that costs more than $100 is surely 'high end'. To others it is the over $300 knives that are 'high end'. Unless they are over priced the over $300 knives are going to be well made and using premium steel so the other factors will be there along with the price.

So, are knives like the Spyderco Military 'high end'? IMO they are compared to the cheaper knives - they are certainly 'high end' compared to $20 Chinese knives made with 'stainless steel', a combination of the higher price & the S30V and the better design & construction put them a cut above. But compared to the $400 knives like the Sebenza or Umnumzaan you really couldn't call the Military a 'high end' knife - more like a good knife that is a bit more affordable.
 
sab13 said:
how many 1000$ knivrs are there?
many here consider zt, strider, esee etc' to be high end
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More than enough ;)
But it's true that "high end knives" like all upper class gadgets are certainly not common :)

It's just another marked, you need to check some other fora.
I don't have high end knives, my most expensive is about 600$
 
"High end knife" is as subjective as saying a girl is hot. Sure, some are far enough up there that everyone agrees, but where the line that makes them "high end" (or hot!) sits is not agreed upon by anyone.

I consider Busse, Bark River, Chris Reeve, Strider, ESEE, etc (not deliberately excluding here, just don't want a paragraph-long list of makers ;) )... to be high end *PRODUCTION* knives. Being amongst the best available in their class of knives makes them high end. Not their price, because there is a variety of prices among the brands I mentioned. And when you compare their prices to customs, you definitely can't define high end based on price alone.

So to me, "high end" is top quality... which is usually reflected in price, but not defined by it.
 
High End? when you find one of the nicest knives but costing way too much either you can't/don't want to, spend that much on a knife but you bought it anyway, that's high end to you
 
What constitutes a "high-end" knife is mostly opinion, as is obvious in the below quoted discussion.

"well thought out and designed" in the opinion of whom? By what criteria? The same with materials, blade steel (and hardness) choice, etc. ad nauseum.

A lot of cheap (in cost, materials, and crafsmanship) knives meet the below discussion of what constitutes a "high-end" knife.

In the end it is often price that will determine what is considered "high-end", since price is supposed to reflect craftsmanship and materials, though maker reputation is a big consideration.

And please note that "high-end" does not equate to "great", "best", or any other such subjective term. Some "high-end" knives will be pretty mediocre user knives at best.


RevDevil said:
A high end knife is one that is well thought out and designed with its uses in mind. It uses high quality materials and a bladesteel that is exceptionally balanced for strength, edge retention, hardness, etc. The fit and finish on the knife should be something that is (mostly) flawless to both the trained and untrained eyeThe knife should pass a high level of quality control and provide the user with a satisfaction of knowing that the knife will serve him/her well for many years to come with safety and high reliability.
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When we talk about production knives, there are always choices to made regarding level of precision and materials. When choices are consistently made towards high quality (which is usually more expensive) rather than towards low price. I would call the end result high end.
 
Hi Sab,

Someone else on BF made a great comparison between knives and firearms that stuck me as very apt.

$40-$60 knives = $400-$600 guns (Standard Production:Glocks, S&W, etc.)

$100-$200 knives = $1,000-$2,000 guns ("Pro-Sumer:" S&W Performance Center, Freedom Arms, Kimber Custom Shop, etc.)

$300-$500 knives = $3,000-$5,000 guns ("High-End:" Ed Brown, Baer, Wilson Combat, Bowen Customs, etc.)

As the price goes up from $500/$5,000 so does exclusivity/exotic materials, etc. Basically the sky/your pocketbook is the limit.

I recently handled a one-off custom 1911 using all Caspain Damascus, Briley bull barrel, fossilized Mammoth grips, etc. that was well over $5k.

I'd say when it comes to knives, in a general sense:

$40-$60 gets you into standard production levels--The "meat and potatoes" models from most manufacturers.

$150-$200 gets you into "Pro-sumer" levels--The expensive Spyderco/Kershaw/Benchmade offerings.

$300-$500 gets you into "High-End" levels--CRK/Strider/DDR

$500 and up gets you into "High-End/Exotica."

After all this blathering, I pretty much stay in the "Pro-Sumer" range with both guns and knives. I find they offer a little more than the standard offerings, while giving a fair taste of the "High-End" for substantially less cost. My uses and pocketbook can't justify spending more--but that's not to say I find any fault with those who choose to spend more. I'm also no snob and I'm not rich by any stretch, and I find the $40-$60 knives from Kershaw/Spyderco/etc. honestly offer as much value, utility and quality as any reasonable person would need or expect and do everything a "Pro-sumer" or "High-End" knife does, just with a little less panache and flash.

Just my $.02,

Heekma
 
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i don't think it's subjective; i think it's pretty clear: a high end knife is an expensive knife.

and though "expensive" is relative to one's disposable income and willingness to pay; i put ANY knife with a selling price of over $100 to be a "high end knife", and most knives in that $60-100 range could be one too.

believe it or not, $30-40 for a knife is LOT of cash to spend for a knife for most people. most people i know, most people i talk to say this is so...
 
pilote said:
i don't think it's subjective; i think it's pretty clear: a high end knife is an expensive knife.

and though "expensive" is relative to one's disposable income and willingness to pay; i put ANY knife with a selling price of over $100 to be a "high end knife", and most knives in that $60-100 range could be one too.

believe it or not, $30-40 for a knife is LOT of cash to spend for a knife for most people. most people i know, most people i talk to say this is so...
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From the beginning, your remarks are contradictory, since what is considered "expensive" is subjective.:D
 
pilote said:
i don't think it's subjective; i think it's pretty clear: a high end knife is an expensive knife.

and though "expensive" is relative to one's disposable income and willingness to pay; i put ANY knife with a selling price of over $100 to be a "high end knife", and most knives in that $60-100 range could be one too.

believe it or not, $30-40 for a knife is LOT of cash to spend for a knife for most people. most people i know, most people i talk to say this is so...
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Of course it's subjective. Whether it is quality or price that defines "high end" is obviously subjective based on the opinions in this thread. And exactly what point a knife is considered "high end" is ALSO subjective, regardless of whether quality or price is considered... based on exactly what you described while contradicting yourself.

You can spend over $100 and get a crappy knife that will fail on you. That is NOT a "high end" knife.
 
I am not really a knife guy.... My sharps collection mainly consists of multi-tools but I am no slouch in the knife department. For me, I would say anything from Chris Reeve/Strider/Hinderer would all be classified as high end in my mind. Hence why I don't own any! All joking aside, in the multitool world, the $120 Leatherman Charge TTi with Ti handles and S30v blade steel is "high end".. Go figure!
 
A lot of it depends on what you want to spend $$ on. I know a guy who just spent ~$3MM on a house, but is astonished that I spent $180 on a S90V Military. He has a SOG trident that he says he almost didn't but because it was $80
 
Skrapmetal said:
Of course it's subjective. Whether it is quality or price that defines "high end" is obviously subjective based on the opinions in this thread. And exactly what point a knife is considered "high end" is ALSO subjective, regardless of whether quality or price is considered... based on exactly what you described while contradicting yourself.

You can spend over $100 and get a crappy knife that will fail on you. That is NOT a "high end" knife.
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I think that covers it pretty well.
 
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