When people think quality=price

M

Matt B

Joined
Oct 16, 2000
Messages
118
I was slightly upset by what i read on a certain edged weapons forum today...

"I was just making personal opinions as to how it'd make his stuff more worthwhile for folks sorta like me. The people who aren't quite ready to dive into Chen, and would like something a lil further up the price line from KC or Himalayan Imports"

It seems that people in the world of edged weapons are beginning to equate price with quality on a 100% always definite basis. I could go on a microeconomics rampage as to why that is complete BS, but I won't. Let me just say this. There are people in certain circles of the sword industry that I genuinely feel are working together to generate propaganda in order to drive prices up. The result of these efforts is a prevalent new belief that only massive cash well get you true quality, and a distinct classification system (organized by price, not quality) that both takes away peoples ability to decide what a sword is, and undermines the product of several vendors.

It's a good thing this stuff wasn't happening in King Arthur's time, because if it was he probably would have ditched Excalibur once he was told it couldn't be all that wonderful if he didn't pay $7k for it.

In all seriousness, I think that distinct lines have to be drawn that seperate price and quality, as much as that may hurt smiths it would be better for the consumer. Case in point: The quote from earlier in my post is certainly accurate if the author is merely looking for something more expensive, but if he is looking for something more qualitive and with higher peformance (like he insinuates), he is dead wrong. I will gladly take my handmade, soulful, and nigh indestructable Kumar Katana (which is quite attractive as well) over a Chen Katana (or practically any other make or smith) without even considering price. This is because I am well aware of HI quality and the fact HI isn't interested in charging sky high prices. I am also well aware of the things that are going on under the skin of the sword industry.

Lets face it, the sword doesn't decide it's price, the smith does. Even the greatest of smiths can make their item inexspensive, even the worst of smiths can make their prices sky high. And material cost is a moot point.

In the current market, a well known smith, if he so chose, could spend $30 on materials and 1 day on making a sword. He could then tell buyers the sword took him innumerable hours and hard work to make and charge a few grand for it, and no one would *truly* know the better. After all, everyone says he's a great smith and besides cuz it's expensive means it's better right?
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This is a classic example of some folk knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing...

David

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"Kaphar Hunno Bhanda Marnu Ramro"
 
Matt something I've noticed here around the farm is the more something costs the less likely it is to be used hard. I think there is a lot of that going on with knives lately. Everybody is willing to beat the crap out of a $12 CS Bushman to see what it will do, but very few people are really stressing their new $300 and $400 custom knives. My, not as humble as it should be, opinion is that if more people really used their knives hard we might not think some of these knives are worth what they are selling for. I understand a man who makes knives having bad habits to support like eating and paying the electric bills, but just because you need $300 per knife to keep shoes on your kids feet don't make the knife worth it.

Now I don't know anything about swords at all, but I'll bet that with the larger prices the problem is even worse with them. If ya'll ever need anybody to do some unbiased chopping tests on bales of hay and roosters that crow too early let me know.
 
Exactly Uncle Bill. I think some of the more expensive knives get off easy just because they cost more. Kinda like a pretty girl in a short dress at the high school dance. When you ask her to dance do you really care if she steps on your toes a few times?
 
Maybe not a $20,000 Katana. But I did cleanly behead a hog in Japan with a Katana with a quesstimated value of $300-700,000! I didn't care about the money factor nor did the owner. We were interested in the performance factor of his family's weapon. No we weren't holding it in any reverance to tridition either. He was going to have a party Polinisian style! Yes, I know the head is normally left on the hog, but how many chances do ya get for a test?

Let the buyer beware. The market will adjust itself. If it's a status thing, that's the business of the buyer and anyone he or she wants to impress. If you truely have come to terms with yourself then this isn't a problem anyway. As for quality, Matt B. it wouldn't take me more than a few minutes to figure out if it was high or low. Nor should it be anyone looking for real quality.

There are some people who collect FRANKLIN MINT stuff and it makes them happy. They neither know or care about materials or methods of manufacture. There is nothing wrong with that, it's a personal matter. If on the other hand someone buys a blade, based on hearsay or price alone with the idea of depending upon that knife without further investigation.....they deserve what they get.
In Japan, about twenty years ago the government was considering lowering the duty on imported booze. There was a great outcry from the population!!!!!NO!!!!!! Why, because giving a bottle of Jack Daniels black label was a status thing.
And so it goes,
Dan
 
Matt,

Good point. When I decided to order a katana, I didn't go for a "Chen" and went instead for a "HI." The fact is I have direct experience with the HI smiths and know the quality of their work. All I know about "Chen" is the glossy advertisements.

sing
AKTI #A000356
 
Matt,
Which forum was this? I think it is weird that many would view excellent blades as crap because it is cheap. Many people go with the Chen swords because it looks more traditional, but in reality the H.I. Everest katana and the K.C. swords are alot more durable. You can use them and they will take a beating. I have seen some Chen swords fall apart after cutting only tatami rolls! Oh well!?!
 
I've read enough reviews of Chen products and conversed in e-mail with enough unhappy owners of Chen swords to satisfy myself that I wouldn't want anything those guys make, except maybe as raw material to reshape into something else.

Of the Kris Cutlery products I've bought over the years, all but one of them have proved to be very fine blades by any standards, and quite exceptional value for money; almost up to HI standards in quality and value.

There's an old saying that in a democracy, the people tend to get the government they deserve. By the same token, the guy whose remarks sparked off this topic looks likely to end up with the katana he deserves... I wish him joy of it.
 
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