What's your comfort zone ?

Wolverine666

Wolverine666

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What's your price point comfort zone ? In other words , what is the amount that you feel comfortable spending on a knife before you start to feel like maybe it's too much money and the guilt factor sets in ?

I've recently got two subpar examples from a mid-tech knife maker. Quite disappointing to say the least. They were each $500. For that much money , the flaws these knives came with are totally inexcusable IMO. Anyway , I'd say that $500 is just about my comfort "ceiling" (per knife) right now
 
Over $200 and I start thinking about it more. Funny though, because I'll buy three $100 knives in a week and not think anything of it. That's pretty bad on the ones you got though. At $509 fit and finish should be on point. Depends on the maker though; some of them you are buying name and not proportional quality. That's unfortunate.
 
If we're talking fixed blade, I'll go in the mid to high $200s... as long as it comes from Cumming, GA. $200 tops for a folder. Folders are worth less to me because I don't really like them except as a temporary measure when I think that even a small FB will make the company I'm in uncomfortable.

I've done mid $500s before for folders back when I was new to quality knives and didn't know me or my tastes in higher end knives very well. But not these days.
 
180-325 is usually the price range I tend to stick with though if I want to I will go up to 500 for certain brands that I know are good quality
 
$300-400 range is where I max out, and that's a rare occasion. I'm usually in the $200 and under bracket.
 
Yeah , live and learn. Now I know enough to steer clear of that maker/brand.

For me , the price has a pretty powerful psychological component. Similar to what you said (ERRN) , I could buy a new knife for $600 and I'd think about what knife I could have gotten for less. But then I'd buy a few knives over the next couple weeks at $250 each and I'd be guilt-free. I guess everything's relative.
 
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400 and it better make my coffee. Ive spent more and probably will spend more. But Its not an easy pill to swallow.
 
1500 or less for folders, 800 or less for fixed.
 
My sweet spot for folders is $60 to $125. I've never paid more then $125 for knife (LNIB BM Adamas). I'm a bargain hunter who scours For Sale threads here and at other sites and I'll snap up users or LNIB knives at 20%+ off the current websites prices. I can get VG10, 154CM, and S30V in this range. I don't need the latest and greatest super steel to be happy. I don't need or want a Sebenza. Plus at my price range, if I lost something, I wouldn't cry too long. When people drop $500 on a knife, I'd rather have a new handgun with that money. If people drop $1500 on a custom, that's a new AR15 to me. After 20+ years of playing with toys, I've found what works for ME. YMMV.

EDIT. Not much of a fixed blade guy. Only a few for camping/hiking. Most I've paid for a fixed blade is about $100 (LNIB ESEE 6). I have 2 Mora, a Becker BK2, Ontario RD6, ESEE 6, and 3 fixed blades from makers here in the forum.
 
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For me it's $200. If I see a knife I like and it's under $200 I don't think much about it and have been ordering them one at a time. Above $200 and I start to put it into that "maybe eventually wishlisht cart" For example, ZT 0450, $160, no problem ordered. BM Mini ti $300, eh we better wait on that on a bit.
 
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mine has steadily crept up, some of my Rocksteads are north of $1000, but IMO they are worth the cost...

I realize that I would much rather have 10 high quality knives vs 100 run of the mill ones, but that's just me
 
I have never broken the $200 barrier. Come to think of it, I've never gone past one-sixty. I really start to cringe when I think of spending two C notes. This keeps me away from a few knives I like. An Insingo is the first knife that comes to mind.
 
For a custom made knife, I would go as high as $800 it it is something really nice and the maker has a good reputation. But please don't tell my wife!!
 
With folders - my experience with $ 400 + mid-techs has been hugely disappointing. On the other hand I could buy $ 160.00 or less Spydercos without any hesitation. The customs I have purchased in the $ 600 + range have been well worth the extra spent above mid-techs. Past $ 800.00 I really start wondering what the hell I'm doing when I can get a great knife for less. Still I have been tempted - yet to jump past $ 850.00.

Fixed blades - I prefer to stick with customs but all my knives HAVE TO BE USERS - no safe queens. I'm not one to simply fondle and admire (knives :)) . My comfort zone gets shaky if I find that I have a knife sitting in a drawer unused and no real reason forthcoming. My most expensive fixed pushed $700.00. My most used cost me $ 130.00. Still haven't come to terms with that :rolleyes:


Ray
 
My most expensive knife is $300. I doubt I'll go higher than that in the future.
Heck, one knife in my EDC rotation is a $20 Kershaw.
 
To be completely honest, Somewhere in the $40-60 range. I think I'd start feeling uncomfortable > $70 or so. I have no plans on >$100 knife at this point in time.

I self identify as a "only needs a good enough tool to meet my use cases" kind of person. And like many of you, this isn't my only hobby. Because of that, I spend less, because I know my needs are far lower than many people (I work in an office, in an urban area (for now)), but at that price point I'm getting quality tools, just sacrificing some FF/materials. But its totally still enough for my needs, so I'm satisfied.
 
I try to stick around $100 give or take, but anything up to $200 I consider my "comfort zone"...

Up to $4-500 I would consider buying if I had the extra funds laying around and something really really caught my eye. Problem is, so many knives in that $1-200 range have my attention, and the quality at that price range is pretty sweet already, that I have yet to justify a purchase in that higher range.

Over $500, much as I can appreciate them, beautitul as some of them are, I don't think I would ever justify purchasing one for myself outside of falling into a large sum of cash like an inheritance or lottery winning.
 
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