What knives do you think are not worth the cost?

I'll throw out one more, too: The Beretta Loveless drop-point hunter. I own one. I love it. And yes, I do realize that you pay extra for the "football." But $170 for an AUS-8 knife? Yeesh.
 
All of this is really simple, Strider, Microtech, Ect. will continue to sell their products for $300 to $500 and even more for customs as long as loyal, devoted knife nuts are willing to pay for them. Its nothing personal, its just business... Do I agree with it? not really but who am I to stomp on another man's work.. I have owned 2 striders and a Microtech, the most I ever paid for a Strider SNG is $300. Was it worth it? yes and no, I love the Strider designs and the toughness of their product.. Can I justify paying $400 for a knife? NO, but I did pay $300 without any regrets. If you have the cash and the means and you are really impressed with the product, I say screw it, buy two.. But everyone has their own opinion of these matters, so discussing this is fun, but rather pointless, unless you can change someone's opinion that they fought so hard to defend at first.. $120 for any Cold Steel Tilite, NO WAY, $30 for a Zytel Tilite, Hell yes... Its all PERSONAL OPINION...
 
hissatsu1 said:
Hell yes... Its all PERSONAL OPINION...
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what the OP truly intended, but this was my view from the start. Not to provide a platform for people to bitch about price gouging knife makers, but just to provide personal opinions on knives they we found overpriced... to us personally.

Obviously, many people's are more than willing to pay the prices that some of us consider too much, but that is their privelige and neither of us is wrong if they place more value on a knife than I do.

For example, I recently paid a high premium for a hard to find, out of production knife I have wanted for several years. Now, objectivly the quality and materials of the knife were in no way worth what I paid for it, but the personal intagibles that I attached to the knife made it worth the extra money for me. I'm sure if I shared the details of knife and price, many here would thing I was nuts, but I am happy with my purchase. ;)
 
busse. they are not junk, pretty good actaully. but they are not worth the price either, and the aftermarket is a joke. it's a simple marketing ploy that has elevated them to cult status.
 
3Guardsmen said:
I think Striders are overpriced, mall-ninja, chump knives, and I say that having owned (and sold) one. If I hadn't read the threads about the whole Strider/Dwyer (Burger/Poland) fiasco, I'd just say that I think Striders are overpriced, but since I did read up on the fiasco, I think Striders are overpriced, mall ninja, chump knives.

I think most Cold Steel knives, especially the 'higher end' ones, are overpriced, mall ninja, chump knives as well, as is, in my opinion, anything Dark Ops or Manits makes, markets, and sells.

Regards,
3G
Click to expand...

Does that make you feel good? What is wrong with people that have to put others down? In general, that's some of the most childish, classless stuff I've seen on these forums.

I don't think they're necessarily worth $475 for the SNG cc in my pocket, but who cares? I don't think I should charge $3,400 to $8,500 for one day of work, but I do it all the time and people line up to pay it! If you have the money to blow it doesn't make you anything more than a person that has the money to spend. $500 for a knife doesn't bother me, so i don't put much value on it, overall. It's just a knife, whether it's a Strider or a Chris Reeves'. They just appeal to different people.

There is nothing I do, say or wear on a daily basis that truly justifies me carrying a Strider, Emerson, Sebenza or William Henry, etc., over an inexpensive Spyderco. I just get more joy out of using it.

There's also nothing, not one single thing, that I do that requires me to carry a $1,400 handgun over a $500 handgun. I just like it and appreciate it more than a cheaper one. That's all. None of this stuff really matters all that much.

People pass some serious judgement on the most simple of things. This isn't political or religious, so why do we think so much in to it? Buy what you like and congratulate the next guy for his purchase.. This is like a 6th grade show and tell!
 
Last edited:
jonconsiglio said:
Does that make you feel good? What is wrong with people that have to put others down? Sad existence?
Click to expand...

If that was intended to be a defense of Mick Strider, well, I'm afraid you're not going to find too many people around here who agree with you. And if it wasn't, well then I'm not sure exactly what your problem is.
 
Samael said:
If that was intended to be a defense of Mick Strider, well, I'm afraid you're not going to find too many people around here who agree with you. And if it wasn't, well then I'm not sure exactly what your problem is.
Click to expand...

NO! I was just defending myself for buying them!! I think the whole Mick thing is ridiculous that he did/said all that, but I don't want to get in to that discussion.

I just don't want to be called names because I buy their knives sometimes.. It's no reflection on me just because I like a certain product.

I do know the feelings on Mick Strider here and I agree... I'm just defending myself! That's all.. My problem is that I'm the furthest thing from a mall ninja chump

Jonathan
 
I have been watching this thread. I thought to share some thoughts. Just my opinion.

I hate to say it this way, but it is really not possible to determine if something is "overpriced" without a lot of basic facts to consider. "Overpriced" implies that everything costs the same to manufacture and in some cases there is too much profit. This is an over simplification of a complex question.

The first consideration is country of origin. If you want to compare pricing, the value of the currency of the country of origin is first.

A knife made in China will cost about 20-25% of the cost of a knife made in the USA, all other things being equal.

A knife made in Europe will cost about 50% more due to the value of the Euro against the dollar at this time, all other things being equal.

A knife made in the USA with an "unconditional lifetime warantee" will have to have additional costs built into the purchase price to cover the costs of the repairs in the future.

Making parts in China and making the product elswhere also affects the cost/price.

The volume of a model has a factor in the ammortization of tooling costs, set up fees, low volume minimums, etc.

USA made tooling will cost 3 times more than tooling made in China. I think you can see what I'm saying?

Steel is the major cost in materials. Puchasing and processing steel into a blade varies with the steel used. Steel can cost $.50 per pound or $16.00 per pound. That's 30 times the difference. The costs in processing a blade in S30V will also cost 30 times more to process than the cheaper steel. (laser vs stamping, etc.)

If you are going to say somethng is "not worth the price", what is it that you are really asking? Perhaps it is worth the asking price due to mfg costs, but you simply cannot afford it?

sal
 
Excellent comment by the moderator there, I have my 2 cents here though and not to refute the previous comment at all but I have a 2005 magazine with an ad for a Combat Elite Ready Response folder asking $199 for it, so how come these blades are now going for $400 or more? Can anyone readily explain that? Were they introducing the knife that year, and if so were they selling it at cost as a public service, ie if not then their mfg cost MUST have been 'around' $100, so here we see it at $400, quite a markup there eh?
 
Sal Glesser said:
If you are going to say somethng is "not worth the price", what is it that you are really asking? Perhaps it is worth the asking price due to mfg costs, but you simply cannot afford it?
Click to expand...
You raise some very good points, Sal, that a lot of people probably don't think of. I think a lot of people are using different criteria for this thread. Some are claiming that they don't belive the material costs and production values of the knife in question justify the retail cost. Others that the price is more than they are willing or able to spend. Finally, others (and I think this is where I fit in) simply have a subjective value that does not match the retail value of the knife.

For example, one of the knives I listed as "not work the cost" was (Sorry!) your Urban folder. Now, I don't think you pulled the MSRP for this knife out of thin air, so I am sure that it is based on the actual material, production, and distribution costs you incurred. However, I look at the knife and think that to me, its not worth the retail prices I see it offered for. This is a purely subjective decision, that has nothing to do with the quality or design of the knife (both of which I like) and it has nothing to do with the affordability of the knife (I have spend two and three times as much for other knives).

I'm sure others willingly pay the retail price for this particular knife, and I don't think they are fools for doing so. I would just rather spend my money on knives (quite likely other Spydercos!) that provide me with more subjective "bang for the buck". ;)
 
mdauben said:
For example, one of the knives I listed as "not work the cost" was (Sorry!) your Urban folder. Now, I don't think you pulled the MSRP for this knife out of thin air, so I am sure that it is based on the actual material, production, and distribution costs you incurred. However, I look at the knife and think that to me, its not worth the retail prices I see it offered for.
Click to expand...

What makes me think twice about the Urban and UKPK is the fact that the Spyderco Pride, an older discontinued slipjoint with an approx. 2.5" AUS-6 blade (yesh) with a pocket clip (essentially similar in respect to the two aforementioned knives except for the blade steel), has gone for around $50 on the secondary market (I don't know original MSRP).

HOWEVER, I think the demand & market for Urban/UKPK-type knives has gone up, so hence the prices to some respect. True dat.

p.s. BTW Sal, now you gotta come up with a line that will be able to pass the new customs limitations, should they go into effect and influence state & local legislation. I'm thinking a Urban with a thumbnail groove (no hole or stud).
 
mdauben said:
You raise some very good points, Sal, that a lot of people probably don't think of. I think a lot of people are using different criteria for this thread. Some are claiming that they don't belive the material costs and production values of the knife in question justify the retail cost. Others that the price is more than they are willing or able to spend. Finally, others (and I think this is where I fit in) simply have a subjective value that does not match the retail value of the knife.

For example, one of the knives I listed as "not work the cost" was (Sorry!) your Urban folder. Now, I don't think you pulled the MSRP for this knife out of thin air, so I am sure that it is based on the actual material, production, and distribution costs you incurred. However, I look at the knife and think that to me, its not worth the retail prices I see it offered for. This is a purely subjective decision, that has nothing to do with the quality or design of the knife (both of which I like) and it has nothing to do with the affordability of the knife (I have spend two and three times as much for other knives).

I'm sure others willingly pay the retail price for this particular knife, and I don't think they are fools for doing so. I would just rather spend my money on knives (quite likely other Spydercos!) that provide me with more subjective "bang for the buck". ;)
Click to expand...

This post sums up my thoughts on the subject. :thumbup:
 
Price is (monetary) value of an object. Since literally every single person has his own value system, each has his own "price" for an object.

A pair of red stiletto shoes by Manolo Blahnik might cost $200 to make and sold for $700, but to a man like me they're overpriced by close to $700. I couldn't care less that they cost $200 to produce, I wouldn't buy them for $20 (unless I want to sell them to others). If everybody in the world is like me, Manolo would be a poor man.

On the other hand a knife by Les Voorhies at the same price is reasonable to me, but my wife would value it far, far less.

We like to think that our fellow knifenuts share the same values, but that's not reality. Some of us think a $30 chinese made knife is priced too high for the quality, while others think the same of $300 S30V-titanium folder.

So, just buy what you like and enjoy it.
 
Good Point Sal.

i can only type wit 1 hand cuz i'm playin with my overpriced Microtech Makora II in the other. Oh Rad, I can hit keys with the carbide glass breaker. Good thing. I can't put it down. Worth every penny. and more;-)
 
Indeed. Speaking only for myself, it has nothing to do with me being "unable to afford" a certain knife - at present there are 32 Randalls in the house, all of which are worth considerably more than the numbers we're throwing around here - but about value. "Bang for the buck." I don't mind paying a lot of money when there's something to show for it; I do mind paying two or three times as much as I can pay for a comparable knife from another manufacturer.

Sal, I appreciate what you're saying, and I have no doubt that your pricing decisions are based on the types of factors you enumerated, and not on someone sitting in a room saying "tee hee, how much can we stick it to those suckers on this one?" Nevertheless, from a consumer standpoint, I really couldn't care less about all the factors that go into arriving at a price for a knife. All I'm going to look at is features, and if I find companies that are offering comparable knives for less money, they're going to get my business.
 
Samael said:
I'll throw out one more, too: The Beretta Loveless drop-point hunter. I own one. I love it. And yes, I do realize that you pay extra for the "football." But $170 for an AUS-8 knife? Yeesh.
Click to expand...

Where are you shopping? I paid maybe $45 for the zytel version, and the quince handled one (which is hand assembled and limited to a small number of pieces each month) can be had for just a bit over $100 if you shop around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top