What makes a $400 folder worth it?

What makes a knife worth $400 dollars? IMHO, If it brings you $400 dollars' worth of satisfaction it was worth the $400.

Only you can say. I don't care how well made it is, or what materials were used to build it. If it doesn't "speak" to you, it won't be worth it.

Welcome to the nut house. Dont stray too far from your checkbook. I HAVE A FEELING YOU'LL BE NEEDING IT . . . :rolleyes::D
 
My opinion is that you start with less expensive knives and then, once you start to get a feel for what you get out of a $100-200 production knife, then if you're still interested get something in a higher price range. Like SO-LO said, its all the little things that add up to an above average knife. However being new to knives you probably won't be able to truly appreciate one now because you just don't know what to look for. I had the same question when I joined Bladeforums and then after accumulating a whole mess of production knives I finally decided I wanted to see what set a knife like a Chris Reeve apart from the rest of them. By that time I knew exactly what to expect and, as expected, I was extremely happy with my purchase and still am to this day.

Good luck in your quest for the perfect knife!
 
Look at the price from an economic standpoint of diminishing returns. When I first started with knives I was quite young and pretty poor. My knives were extremely cheap, in price and quality. Around high school I started buying twenty and thirty dollar knives from makers such as Buck and Gerber. These knives were easily ten times better than the junk knives I used to buy at flea-markets, and only about three times as expensive. They came sharper out of the box and held an edge longer. The scales were nicer and the locks were more secure.

As I progressed I started saving for knives that cost fifty or even close to a hundred dollars. Instead of the ten time jump in quality and edgeholding I had previously experienced, I found that these knives, while better than the cheaper buck and gerber knives, were not nearly such a great magnitude better. Yes the premium steel seemed to hold an edge better, and the locks were now different instead of only being a lockback. the thing was I never had any lockback knife fail, and as I knew how to sharpen if a knife lasted through the entire day cleaning a couple deer, I was more than happy. Still I enjoyed the close tolerances craftmanship that the hundred dollar knives had.

Eventually I convinced myself that I needed a Sebenza. Once again it was better than the Benchmade it replaced, but not immensely so- yet it cost four times as much. What I was seeing in action was the law of diminishing returns.

I happily carried my Sebenza for about seven years before I sold it and got a spyderco sage 2. I found that while I liked the high end materials and close tolerances that the Sebenza had, it is not necessary for a knife to have those tolerances to be a tool that will easily outlive me. My sage uses the exact same blade steel and scale material as the 400 dollar sebenza but only cost around $150 (I actually like Spyderco's blade shape better.) No the finish was not quite as good, but plenty good enough for me. There will always be people that demand and pay for the absolute best that they can afford, for those people there are rolex watches, Rolls Royce cars, and knives like the Chris Reeve Sebenza. Other people are happy with a timex, a Ford, and a Buck. both people can tell you what time it is, take you where you want to go, and skin a deer. its just about choices...and the choice is yours.
 
I looked over CRK Sebenza's, large and small. They just didn't speak to me. The Umnumzaan did - especially that new Wilson Combat variant. September saw a monumental event here - after 46 years of contributing, I was ready to get a SS retirement distribution. I celebrated that with a $430 purchase.

Now, is it my finest knife? Yes. Is it my favorite? No! Close - but how do you compare it with a long time affair with a Buck 110? How about my recent 'Holy Grail' - a Benchmade 630 Skirmish? My Kershaw JYDII in Ti/SG2?

I really like the 'zaan - and will likely never knowingly say goodbye to it. It also isn't very likely, with my level of income, that I will add more CRK's to my collection. Benchmades, Bokers, Bucks - you betcha! There is a difference, of course, but I like variety.

Stainz
 
I cant see paying $200 plus for a folder unless it functions like a fixed blade knife, but thats just me
 
personally I couldnt pay more than about $200, because I am to afraid it would get lost, stolen or confiscated. besides that I dont know if I would really use it to its full potential. it just makes me nervous carrying around $400+ on me every day
 
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What makes a knife worth 400 bucks? Cosmetic fine-tuning and a 'name'. Sometimes, it's simply the 'name' (Ummmm, Strider).
 
Might I add that the customs I buy....I buy them from people I consider my friends. Accordingly, I want to help out their trade and their career. If I have to pay a bit more, it's worth it because not only am I getting a great knife, but I'm getting a great knife made by a friend for me. Some people pay money for nice cars that will get you from A to B. Some people buy $2000 suits that look just as nice from 100 feet as a $200 suit. I sometimes buy expensive knives not because they will work better (at cutting, which is what knives are made for), but because I have a passion for them.
 
The Sog you specify has a blade of AUS8. (I started to rewrite a treatise on blade steels.)
Look up wiki-pedia-"List of blade materials."
Read about The stainlesses, and then look for the best blade shape for your poupose in either the excellent ATS34 or better "steel" CPS 30V.
If you watch the exchange here on the boards, you can often do better than internet pricing. Good luck, and welcome
 
You have to ask yourself, why is anything worth more than another thing?
Why is a Porsche worth more than a Hyundai?
Part of it is status and prestige.
Part of it is superior materials, engineering and quality.
Part of it is superior performance.
Part of it is the fact that it costs much more and takes longer to make.

The hyundai will do almost everything a porsche turbo will do in the real world and most of what the porsche will do most people really can't use.

But you also have to appreciate that a custom knife is also an artistic creation that has an intangible value like any work of art that is difficult to explain and sometimes hard to justify. Especially when your wife finds out ;)


The people who say it boils down to what the market will pay are correct, of course, although if the market won't pay what it costs to make plus a reasonable profit, nobody will make them anymore. But it really boils down to the value it has to you for your own personal needs and tastes. It's all a very mature and sophisticated confluence of factors.
Besides, my custom can kick your Chinese knockoff's ass any day :)
 
I insisted on a Sebenza.

The brick and mortar knife store owner insisted on $350.


If you wants to play, you gots to pay.
 
HJK said:
You have to ask yourself, why is anything worth more than another thing?
Why is a Porsche worth more than a Hyundai?
Part of it is status and prestige.
Part of it is superior materials, engineering and quality.
Part of it is superior performance.
Part of it is the fact that it costs much more and takes longer to make.

The hyundai will do almost everything a porsche turbo will do in the real world and most of what the porsche will do most people really can't use.

But you also have to appreciate that a custom knife is also an artistic creation that has an intangible value like any work of art that is difficult to explain and sometimes hard to justify. Especially when your wife finds out ;)


The people who say it boils down to what the market will pay are correct, of course, although if the market won't pay what it costs to make plus a reasonable profit, nobody will make them anymore. But it really boils down to the value it has to you for your own personal needs and tastes. It's all a very mature and sophisticated confluence of factors.
Besides, my custom can kick your Chinese knockoff's ass any day :)
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You have to understand MOST of the people who are buying these exotic cars are VERY well off or rich so to them that Exotic is like us buying a Chevy.

That's why cars are never a good comparison to knives unless one is talking about Antique Katanas or something.
 
Jake Bauer said:
In my opinion Knives over $200 are BS.
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Most people feel that way that have never really owned a quality knife that is in that price range. For example, if you had ever handled and used XM18 or an XM21 you know what I am talking about. It's all in the details as most have said. Anyone can slap together a cheap POS Chinese folder for $12 and make it look like a higher end knife. But contrary to a current thread, there is a world of difference that the inexperienced cannot see or feel. Just because you can't see the difference doesn't mean it isn't there.

I will agree only in that not every knife that costs over $200 is worth $200. I have $400 knives that I look back on now and think that the F&F is extremely poor, and yes my $130 Gayle Bradley annihilates it in quality and overall feel/performance.
 
I have been around a while, there is nothing worth 400 dollars... sorry to the collectors and such but a useful knife will cost you nothing more than 200 bucks on the used market.

For 200 bucks you can get a Spyderco Ti Millie or a Bradley Alias...so there is the almighty Ti Framelocks covered...

For the money or less get a good Axis lock...the Onslaught comes to mind.
 
Zombie Zeke said:
I have been around a while, there is nothing worth 400 dollars... sorry to the collectors and such but a useful knife will cost you nothing more than 200 bucks on the used market.

For 200 bucks you can get a Spyderco Ti Millie or a Bradley Alias...so there is the almighty Ti Framelocks covered...

For the money or less get a good Axis lock...the Onslaught comes to mind.
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That's a pretty bold statement.
 
Zombie Zeke said:
I have been around a while, there is nothing worth 400 dollars... sorry to the collectors and such but a useful knife will cost you nothing more than 200 bucks on the used market.

For 200 bucks you can get a Spyderco Ti Millie or a Bradley Alias...so there is the almighty Ti Framelocks covered...

For the money or less get a good Axis lock...the Onslaught comes to mind.
Click to expand...
Do you have something that isn't magnetic, won't rust and will hold an edge for less than $200? I've never seen one.
I'd also like to see a Walker or a similar piece of artistry available for less than $200 on the used market.

Now if you say you can find practical all purpose alternatives that do a "good enough" job for less, then you are right and I can certainly respect such an approach.
 
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