Whats the real reason we all buy high end knives

Whatever your interest or passion, it gets expensive eventually.

  • My friend coaches baseball and spends $250 or more on each bat. Surely a $20 bat would suffice.
  • I play a little golf and know a lot of people who pay $500 or more for the latest oversized driver with the latest technology. The same model from last year costs $250 or less and you can find the one from the year before for $100. Typically, the manufacturer will tell you that you might get another 10 yards on your drive, which is a 5% or less improvement for most people.
  • I'm into photography, too. Most pro level lenses cost $1,500 or more when the Wal-Mart versions sell for $150-$200 and are maybe 80% as good.
  • My wife's haircut costs $100. Mine costs $10. And yes, she looks 10 times as good.
 
kamagong said:
Because I like to. I don't gamble, smoke, do drugs, or go around chasing fast women. I barely drink. I don't have a motorcycle, boat, or tricked out car. Compared to those things my knives are cheap, and my wife agrees with me.

Is my Sebenza better than my Endura? That's debatable, although I like the Seb more. I'm no longer a starving student though, and I buy nice things for myself occassionally. They give me pleasure and that's all the reason I need.
Click to expand...

Hello Mirror! If your wife's name is Leah, I'm going to get freaked out.
 
kamagong said:
I'm willing to bet that most non-knifenuts would consider a $60 Griptilian to be a high-end knife. Why spend that much when you can buy a knife at the gas station for $3.99? It's a matter of degree...
Click to expand...

Back when I was buying my $40 Native at Walmart the guy next to me was like that thing costs $40? He couldn't believe it and said he would stick with his $5 knives. I told him it was actually pretty cheap for what it was and that many knives costs hundreds of dollars and he just couldn't believe it.

I think we are a small minority. I have bough a few knives that cost $180 at the most and I don't feel the need to spend more for the Sebenzas and Striders. I know my high end Benchmades and Spydercos will do anything those knives can except maybe the over built striders. But I like a knife to cut not to stab into a tree and use as a step.

The higher end Spydercos and Benchmades also typically use the latest and greatest steel which I like to try out.

I guess I wouldn't mind a custom if it was a one of a kind or I had some part in the designing process. However, I would rather spend the money on some materials and chuck it up into one of my mills and try to make my own before I spend a grand on a true custom. If I had a small sheet of Ti I would have tried it by now.
 
I like using the best I can afford. A friend of mine told me around 15-20 years ago that Randall knives were the best. I had never heard of them at that time but for around $180-200 I bought three of them over the next year.

At that time 180-200 dollars on a knive was just insane but I still bought three. Beyond the fact their worth 3X times that now, and have a huge cool factor, the truth is these knives have served me a lot better than any $10.00 hardware knife could have. They have added to my shear fun of camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking. So obviously if you ask me if I'm sorry I bought them my answer would be, " I wish I would have bought 10 of them."

So if I could afford a $1000.00 knife right now, and I thought I could get the same value as above for my money, I wouldn't hesitate.

But I love knives!

Bill
 
When you are passionate about your hobby, whether it is knives, guns, cars, or watches... You buy the best you can afford. For many of us, that means going custom.
 
I just never seem to be happy with cheap stuff. :(

I'll admit, nice stuff is a bit of an ego boost. Don't need a $475 Strider, but I got one.

For me it was a nice knife that I really liked. About as simple as that fit the hand well.
 
lava_lamp said:
Whatever your interest or passion, it gets expensive eventually.

  • My friend coaches baseball and spends $250 or more on each bat. Surely a $20 bat would suffice.
  • I play a little golf and know a lot of people who pay $500 or more for the latest oversized driver with the latest technology. The same model from last year costs $250 or less and you can find the one from the year before for $100. Typically, the manufacturer will tell you that you might get another 10 yards on your drive, which is a 5% or less improvement for most people.
  • I'm into photography, too. Most pro level lenses cost $1,500 or more when the Wal-Mart versions sell for $150-$200 and are maybe 80% as good.
  • My wife's haircut costs $100. Mine costs $10. And yes, she looks 10 times as good.
Click to expand...

I understand buying the best you can afford for your hobby if you're going to use it. All those people you mentioned use their stuff. I really enjoy photography myself and have made some money doing it. I had a entree level DSLR (Canon XTi) and when I was able to upgrade I did, to a Canon 5D II. The thing is I use it. I don't understand the concept of buying an expensive custom and just keeping it in the safe. At least display it like an art collector would.
 
Brad Greulich said:
For the same reason some people can justify spending $200,000 on a Corvett. If you like high end cars you'll find it worth your money. The same thing goes for guns to country club memberships. You spend money on the things you like.
Click to expand...

You could buy 4 Corvettes for $200,000.
 
Flashpoint said:
I understand buying the best you can afford for your hobby if you're going to use it. All those people you mentioned use their stuff. I really enjoy photography myself and have made some money doing it. I had a entree level DSLR (Canon XTi) and when I was able to upgrade I did, to a Canon 5D II. The thing is I use it. I don't understand the concept of buying an expensive custom and just keeping it in the safe. At least display it like an art collector would.
Click to expand...

Why do you assume that people aren't using their expensive knives?
 
kamagong said:
Why do you assume that people aren't using their expensive knives?
Click to expand...

I see too many for sale that are new, never used, on the secondary market. Unless people are getting them and them, not liking them, and then turning right around and selling them. Go check out the "Customs for sale by individuals" section. Granted I've seen some nice customs for sale, and it may be hard to use them at first, but wasn't that the intended purpose of the maker? The only reasonable thing I can thing of is that people are using them as an investment, but I can think of other ways to invest.
 
DallasSTB said:
Because our appreciation of them increases over time, as do our means to acquire them (hopefully).
Click to expand...

That pretty much sums it up for me. Except the latter part has been
getting a little tight lately, lol.


99% of my cutting tasks could be done with a $1 Store disposable razor.

I just appreciate fine workmanship and high quality.
 
Personally, while I have climbed many "rungs on the ladder" I still carry and use my Mini-Grip- as you said, it does nearly everything I need it to. Of course, it's not a Sebenza, just like it's not a Douk-Douk or a William Henry or an Opinell or any of the 12 or so SAKs I have, or 5 or 6 Stockmans...

Some knives I buy because I like the design and want to see if it will replace my Grip, some to try out the steel, some just because they are classics or represent something and I feel like if I'm going to have a knife collection, I should have 1 (or 3 or 4). I love the thought that my "collection" consists of useable tools that are also really cool as art (actually no "art" knives) and appreciate how man's simplest and most basic tool can actually be so complex and variable.
 
I think that knife collecting is a process of exploration. Yes, there is a point of diminishing returns for practical purposes, but who said a hobby or avocation has to be practical? Many people go for Striders, Sebenzas, and XM-18 knives and are pleased with the purchase, but for me, such brands exceed my point of diminishing returns. That said, if I had the money, I would own every Emerson I could get. :o

Pride of ownership, design, function and looks all play an important part for me, which is why I can appreciate a $10 Rough Rider or a $600 Emerson. For me, the ultimate feeling of satisfaction is the same for both and I would never presume to qualify another person's satisfaction with their knives. I am content to know that there are others here that share my passion for knives. It is that common passion that makes us brothers or sisters, not the price of our knives.
 
Dr Ducati said:
Years ago i had a large griptillian, which was an awesome knife for the 60 odd bucks it costs, but then it was on to higher end benchmades then sebenzas, striders..into customs etc.......but in reallity a griptillian will do 99.999999% of any knife task . So why then do we all travel the knife ladder.
Click to expand...

My reasons are very simple... I can therefore I do.

Bills are paid, I do not carry balances on my Credit Cards, and so I buy knives with my money. It is better than spending it on a few nights drinking.
 
A.P.F. said:
Pride of ownership, design, function and looks all play an important part for me, which is why I can appreciate a $10 Rough Rider or a $600 Emerson. For me, the ultimate feeling of satisfaction is the same for both and I would never presume to qualify another person's satisfaction with their knives. I am content to know that there are others here that share my passion for knives. It is that common passion that makes us brothers or sisters, not the price of our knives.
Click to expand...

+1 That's my sentiment exactly.:thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top