Whats more valuable? A popular knife or a less popular knife of same quality?

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bubblewhip

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Dec 18, 2009
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I was thinking about people who collect knives as an investment. And what I'm thinking is that unpopular unique knives are more valuable then knives that are really popular. Like a Sebenza or a Strider will probably always cost about $400 even if CRK or Mick decides to not make knives anymore, too many people have them. But knives like the Spyderco Ocelot, Barong, dodo, or captain are more valuable after discontinuation than an endura or delica would ever be. Because A: blade shape or something about it is unique, and B: not many people have them.

Whats your thoughts? If your buying knives specifically for resale value, would you go with the more unusual rarer knives from companies?
 
bubblewhip said:
I was thinking about people who collect knives as an investment. And what I'm thinking is that unpopular unique knives are more valuable then knives that are really popular. Like a Sebenza or a Strider will probably always cost about $400 even if CRK or Mick decides to not make knives anymore, too many people have them. But knives like the Spyderco Ocelot, Barong, dodo, or captain are more valuable after discontinuation than an endura or delica would ever be. Because A: blade shape or something about it is unique, and B: not many people have them.

Whats your thoughts? If your buying knives specifically for resale value, would you go with the more unusual rarer knives from companies?
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I think your understanding of economics is skewed.

Popular = Demand

If there's no supply but lots of demand, the price goes up.

If there's little demand, the supply doesn't matter.

In collecting, if supply is cut off entirely, this spikes demand in some cases.

Either way, unpopular is very much the wrong word to use.
 
I think some knives get some mystique if they are cut off early or prematurely.

The Spyderco Persian is an example of this, in my opinion.

It was not dropped if it was selling well in production.
 
Some people want a knife simply because its out of production, therefore if there are fewer of them in circulation, those who have them can ask whatever they want
 
supplydemand.png
 
The main problem with this logic is the premise that knife collecting is likened to investing. There is no guarantee, and slim chance that one could actuall profit from it. I collect knives because they interest me. I profit from that only in the joy of my leisure past time or hobby of collecting. I do not expect them to go up nor down in value. I expect them to depreciate slightly, but also to remain to be passed on to my children and then thier children. Legacy is the value for me, not monetary gain.
To purchase the fringe patterns in speculation they will go up in value is highly speculative. If I was to employ any strategy, it would be to purchase the stand bys and leave them mint in box. Benchmade 710, Spyderco Military,CR small and Large Sebenza, etc and save them for many years, and hope the new revisions would make the old ones distinctive and vintage appealing. It is still highly speculative as to the profitability.
 
I'm with CJ65

When it comes to investing in knives you may as well use a crystal ball. They don't seem to follow the same market trends that paintings do - I think cars would be a closer analogy
 
cj65 said:
The main problem with this logic is the premise that knife collecting is likened to investing. There is no guarantee, and slim chance that one could actuall profit from it. I collect knives because they interest me. I profit from that only in the joy of my leisure past time or hobby of collecting. I do not expect them to go up nor down in value. I expect them to depreciate slightly, but also to remain to be passed on to my children and then thier children. Legacy is the value for me, not monetary gain.
To purchase the fringe patterns in speculation they will go up in value is highly speculative. If I was to employ any strategy, it would be to purchase the stand bys and leave them mint in box. Benchmade 710, Spyderco Military,CR small and Large Sebenza, etc and save them for many years, and hope the new revisions would make the old ones distinctive and vintage appealing. It is still highly speculative as to the profitability.
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Couldn't agree more. Thanks for saving me the effort of typing it out :thumbup::D

Collect for the joy of collecting, rejoice if you luck out and have a few of your collectables appreciate in value.

Kevin
 
I try not to get hung up too much on value as I like to use my knives so having a gem sitting in the safe bothers me to an extent. A knife is only worth what someone is willing to pay at any given time. If times are super tough it may not be worth a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk! I do have a couple that I consider priceless but not because of value, rarity, etc.. but rather sentimental reasons. There are millions of quality folders out there and that seems to make up the bulk of selling and trading around here. When I acquire such I try to do it in a fashion where I am able to trade/sell for like value knives. One of a kinds and super rare knives can be tough to unload unless you find that person with either a lot of $$ for the hobby or that person whom gets caught up in the moment. You see a few guys covet a knife like a Sebenza, Strider, Hinderer, etc..for years and finally gets it. Once the honeymoon is over it's in the Trade/sell section unless there is "The Bond". For me the folder bond has hit twice with the Para D2 and Sage 1. All others are forever negotiable.
One guy, one opinion. :)
 
There was a great article in Blade a few months back about knife collecting, and it basically said the same things that John E Woven and CJ65 said. First, rarity means nothing without demand, and second, collect what you like first. Perhaps your collection will appreciate over time, but if you are counting on it as an investment - get a good mutual fund instead.

All that being said, generally limited editions and discontinued high quality/popular knives hold their value better than commons, with a few exceptions. However, even they will rarely will increase over their sale value in the near term. Some collectors use the strategy of only buying knives that have ALREADY appreciated, as this may be a more reliable indicator of future appreciation. For example, you buy a nice Ron Lake folder for $10,000 and hold it for a few years. In theory, it will appreciate a few % every year until you sell it because of the established collectibility. Less certain than a Bank CD (present economics aside), but a fair gamble, and probably a better one that trying to find the "next big thing" on your own.
 
Investing in knives is like investing in lotto tickets. Sometimes you win a little, but for the most part it is a loss. If your really lucky you may make a profit. :P

I think buying unpopular blades may sometimes win out but for the most part you will be stuck with ugly knives that no one wants.
 
here's my take...
today's fashionable is likely to be tomorrow laughing stock.
if old is to be gold.
it pays to own goods of premium value from day one.
for example, there is a huge difference between the value of an old car versus a motoring classic.
sure there are instances where mass produced things of little value suddenly becomes priceless only because of rarity.
virtually anything can be made into a collectable but why and how a collectable becomes an object much coverted by others is partly due to a state of the collector's themselves "reliving loss youth".
a once popular item would probably have had a mass following for X amount of years, until such time it's followers meet their demise.
and from that point on, any true collectable worth it's salt becomes re-born as an investment in the collectors market of a different generation.
 
just look at wjat the BM 42. balisong has done. it has more than doubled in its online pricing, since they stopped production. one of the reasons i resigned to this forum is because i was looking for a BM42. now that i see the prices, i dont look so hard anymore...lol.
 
I personally enjoy using knifes so much (EDC, hunting, camping, bushcraft, etc.) that I wouldn't buy a knife I couldn't use.

True collectors keep the items in box, esentially untouched, factory new.

Life is too short for me to leave anything I own untouched, new in the box, for some future generation to oooo and ahhh over while handling it wearing white gloves.

I do sometimes buy collectible items, new in box. However, I promptly take them out and use them!
 
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