What's the most you would spend on a knife?

Cisco Kid said:
My greatest regret is all the money I wasted buying cheap knives when I could have been saving to get better ones.
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I would agree with you if I was talking about getting some cheap $5.00 Chinese made knives, but, although I've never handled the Scagel, I'm not convinced that it will do anything longer or better than a Case or Queen knife. That's assuming we're talking about a user.
 
mdsmith said:
I would agree with you if I was talking about getting some cheap $5.00 Chinese made knives, but, although I've never handled the Scagel, I'm not convinced that it will do anything longer or better than a Case or Queen knife. That's assuming we're talking about a user.
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I'm sure someone far wiser than me might correct this, but I don't think that ANY custom slipjoint is going to do anything better or longer than a good Case, Queen or GEC with comparable steel.

The custom should be a whole lot sharper from the start and it will have a much better fit and finish, but a year down the line I don't think a $500 custom trapper is going to be cutting any better than a $50 Case.
 
mdsmith said:
I would agree with you if I was talking about getting some cheap $5.00 Chinese made knives, but, although I've never handled the Scagel, I'm not convinced that it will do anything longer or better than a Case or Queen knife.
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Sorry, when I said cheap I really meant inexpensive.

But, MD, by the same token a $5 Chinese knife also does everything a Case or Queen does. What you get from the Case and Queen is better materials and workmanship. That's why it costs more. The Scagel goes a step above, but only you can say if you are willing to pay for the added value.

Disclaimer: I don't have a Scagel and don't have an opinion whether it is really worth the difference in price. My previous comments simply reflect my general preference for quality and my willingness to pay for it, which was in the original spirit of this thread.
 
wagglebee said:
I'm sure someone far wiser than me might correct this, but I don't think that ANY custom slipjoint is going to do anything better or longer than a good Case, Queen or GEC with comparable steel.

The custom should be a whole lot sharper from the start and it will have a much better fit and finish, but a year down the line I don't think a $500 custom trapper is going to be cutting any better than a $50 Case.
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I am not wiser by any means, but I do have a few customs that cut with better ease than production knives with comparable steel. The grind is the difference. Is it that big of a difference, no, but it is quite evident.

I let my tomato plants go a little longer this year in hopes to get a late harvest. A few were ready last night and I had one of Reese's shadows in my pocket last evening. It cut vines with noticeable ease compared to what I have been using all summer. Just a little flick and the vine was cut with more smoothness and less effort than what I had been using.
 
Cisco Kid said:
Sorry, when I said cheap I really meant inexpensive.

But, MD, by the same token a $5 Chinese knife also does everything a Case or Queen does. What you get from the Case and Queen is better materials and workmanship. That's why it costs more. The Scagel goes a step above, but only you can say if you are willing to pay for the added value.

Disclaimer: I don't have a Scagel and don't have an opinion whether it is really worth the difference in price. My previous comments simply reflect my general preference for quality and my willingness to pay for it, which was in the original spirit of this thread.
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I understand your point. I guess for me the issue of justifying a certain ammount of money for a given knife comes about when I'm no longer sure of the quality difference between it and a cheaper knife. I used to buy the chinese flea market knives when I was young, and while they cut, there was usually play in the blade, and a cheap handle, both of which would eventually fail. So in that instance, for me, I can justify buying the 50.00 Case instead. Now, I'll admit that I haven't owned and used any Case knives for more than 5 years, but given the ammount of old used ones I see on the forums, the seem to hold up pretty well. That's where I have trouble with buying a 150.00 knife. If the 50.00 one is built well, cuts well, and last a long time, what exactly am I getting for the extra 100.00. As you said though, that isn't the point of the original post. I guess for me, somewhere in the 50-75 range is where I'm comfortable.

On a side note, I decided against the Scagel. I just ordered myself a Case medium stockman and a peanut, both in chestnut bone and CV. I thought they would make a nice pair to carry.
 
I have no problem spending up to "four figures" for a knife ..... of course, I'm counting both sides of the decimal point, not just to the left of it! ;)
 
Bastid said:
I am not wiser by any means, but I do have a few customs that cut with better ease than production knives with comparable steel. The grind is the difference. Is it that big of a difference, no, but it is quite evident.

I let my tomato plants go a little longer this year in hopes to get a late harvest. A few were ready last night and I had one of Reese's shadows in my pocket last evening. It cut vines with noticeable ease compared to what I have been using all summer. Just a little flick and the vine was cut with more smoothness and less effort than what I had been using.
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You're right Gus, I have noticed that customs seem to hold an edge better due to the grind. But, you could probably rebevel a production knife and get the same result.

My point was that a $500 knife isn't going to cut ten times better than a $50 one.
 
I think i have more money than sense. Well, sometimes atleast. I seem to have ordered myself a peanut with pinched bolsters, european stag and VG10 steel. At around $180, it's probably more than most will ever spend on all the knives they buy their entire lives. But then, what do you do, when you're in love with a pattern, and you're a bit of a steel nut? I could've spent it on dope, porn, or whatever the newest "fad" people spend their money on. (In my own, possibly flawed view, there are a lot of worse things i could've spent the money on. Probably a few better things aswell, but let's not get too wrapped up in common sense all the time.)
Generally though, i try to keep myself underneath the $300 mark. I think i have one or two knives that break that barrier, but what's a rule if there's no exceptions?

That's my thoughts on this dark autumn night.
 
Earlier, in this thread, "black mamba" (Jeff) said he thought the price of stag had gone up about 50% to 60% in the last year. I said I didn't think so and that we could still get decent GEC stag for around $100.00 or so. Well, something got me to looking at a couple of dealer's sites and danged if Jeff wasn't right. Stag HAS gone up.:eek: Jeff -- I owe you an apology.

I gotta say though that while looking at the dealer's sites I bought a GEC Scout Linerlock in Brimstone Bone.:rolleyes: I guess that'll teach me to keep my fingers still on the keyboard sometimes.:) I'll post pictures of the new knife when it comes in.
 
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Well, I have to ammend my post from just a couple days back. A Bowie/Fighter I ordered at BLADE from west coast maker Dave Lisch is ready to ship. $900 plus shipping, double my previous most expensive knife. I haven't held it yet, but from Dave's pictures, it's money well spent.

LischFighter2.jpg

LischFighter1.jpg


I'll post a full write up when it comes in. I'm pumped!
 
Holy Moly Jeff!!!! That's one fine looking Bowie. Looking forward to more pictures of it when it comes in.
 
I would like to own a couple more custom knives, but I have to quit the habit of production knives to get there. That said, I have been really wanting one of those KSF Fruitport wharnies, but I have a tough time justifying the money. And it's not a custom. I really love the customs the makers here are producing and I would like to own a couple, so maybe if I can turn off my production knife buying long enough that will happen. If it does, I could actually be in more trouble.

I am going to get a KJ sodbuster this winter. Then we'll see what happens after that. My custom canoe is the most expensive knife I've ever bought (to date) and the Benchmade Bone Collector is the next most expensive. I try to keep my production knife purchases below $70 shipped as a guideline. I do however need to put a number per month/year limit even on that. My last 5 purchases have averaged $41.20. Less if you add in the two Bladeforum give away knives I've won in August and September.

Ed
 
Jeff, congratulations.

I've spent more than I probably should on a single knife, but it wasn't enough to put me in debt. I follow the mindset that others have posted in this thread in that I would rather have fewer, expensive customs than many, less expensive production knives. I guess it's just a matter of taste. I got what I wanted out of the production world (although I still buy certain ones) and once I got a taste of custom knives years ago, I was hooked. Whether or not I continue to do this in the future remains to be seen, but as long as I have the means, I'm going to buy the knives that interest me and that I love.
 
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