- Joined
- Mar 24, 2011
- Messages
- 276
I've been following Busse knives for sometime now. I've owned a few, sold a few, owned a few more, sold a few more throughout the years and I'm always shocked when I see some of the prices on the secondary market.
Perhaps I'm just overly frugal, maybe downright miserly, but I'd never pay for a Busse with a $100 markup, let alone a $300 markup, particularly for blades that are somewhat popular (meaning readily available) or were recently in production.
It's crazy to me that (a) people actually buy em at that price and (b) someone has the chutzpah to list em at that price.
I know, I know, I'm not the first person to gripe about such things, and I'm sure all you free-marketeers will reflexively quip, "A knife is worth what someone is willing to pay for it," but that doesn't in any way lessen my state of bewilderment.
Though, the more I think about it, I suppose my sticker shock is not so much a product of my frugality, but of the fact that I'm a savvy consumer of Busse knives.
In this respect, I'd like to offer some advice for those who have less experience at the trough:
1. Always buy directly from Busse, Swamp Rat or Scrapyard.
2. Remember, all Busse models come back around. It may take "2 weeks" aka a decade, but all models come back around. I remember years ago folks spending $1,000 on an A2 badger. Now one can purchase a SOB -- virtually the same knife -- for considerably less. Same holds true for SHBM and a bunch of other models (Sabre-ground SNFOs used to go for $900 bucks or more on the secondary market before they were re-released). Even when Jerry holds limited runs of certain knives and posts them as one-offs or LEs or one of a certain number, in most cases (meaning there are some exceptions) those knives or cooler custom versions of those knives come around again.
3. Consider the custom shop. While I've never personally dealt with the custom shop personnel, partly because I'm often too boozed up to dial the right digits and partly because they may be too boozed up to answer the phone if I were to correctly dial the number, I've heard great things.
4. Proxy. Hogs can't be trusted when competing at the trough. But you can trust them to do right by you as a proxy at Blade, during ganzas, or at other knife-related shows.
5. Functionally speaking, an SFNO is only marginally different than a TGLB, a TGLB is only marginally different than a SH; by that logic an AD is only marginally different than a MS, a MS is only marginally different than a GW. ETC. Point being, if you need a small Busse knife, buy what small knife they have at the store and wait until the one you really want comes along. The small knife you purchase that's currently available at the store will likely hold you over until your desired knife comes around. But by that time you may have learned to love that small, initially undesired knife a whole lot and may not actually want the initially desired knife but nonetheless you can still purchase it and compare the two yourself and make an informed decision about which is superior for yourself. Make sense? In cases where there is no small knife available at the store, buy/order whatever knife they have currently in production. This knife will hold you over until the next ganza/offering. (Also, don't forget about SW and SY knives too. A RMD is a perfect small knife, assuming you wanted a small knife to being with. Likewise, a Ratweiler is a perfect medium/large knife).
6. Research, do the 10 mins or less of research it takes to determine what the knife originally sold for. This will certainly help you to determine if the seller or dealer is a grifter.
So, there ya go. There's some free advice on how not to get taken to the cleaners when it comes to buying Busse knives.
Happy hunting.
Terry Blinski
Perhaps I'm just overly frugal, maybe downright miserly, but I'd never pay for a Busse with a $100 markup, let alone a $300 markup, particularly for blades that are somewhat popular (meaning readily available) or were recently in production.
It's crazy to me that (a) people actually buy em at that price and (b) someone has the chutzpah to list em at that price.
I know, I know, I'm not the first person to gripe about such things, and I'm sure all you free-marketeers will reflexively quip, "A knife is worth what someone is willing to pay for it," but that doesn't in any way lessen my state of bewilderment.
Though, the more I think about it, I suppose my sticker shock is not so much a product of my frugality, but of the fact that I'm a savvy consumer of Busse knives.
In this respect, I'd like to offer some advice for those who have less experience at the trough:
1. Always buy directly from Busse, Swamp Rat or Scrapyard.
2. Remember, all Busse models come back around. It may take "2 weeks" aka a decade, but all models come back around. I remember years ago folks spending $1,000 on an A2 badger. Now one can purchase a SOB -- virtually the same knife -- for considerably less. Same holds true for SHBM and a bunch of other models (Sabre-ground SNFOs used to go for $900 bucks or more on the secondary market before they were re-released). Even when Jerry holds limited runs of certain knives and posts them as one-offs or LEs or one of a certain number, in most cases (meaning there are some exceptions) those knives or cooler custom versions of those knives come around again.
3. Consider the custom shop. While I've never personally dealt with the custom shop personnel, partly because I'm often too boozed up to dial the right digits and partly because they may be too boozed up to answer the phone if I were to correctly dial the number, I've heard great things.
4. Proxy. Hogs can't be trusted when competing at the trough. But you can trust them to do right by you as a proxy at Blade, during ganzas, or at other knife-related shows.
5. Functionally speaking, an SFNO is only marginally different than a TGLB, a TGLB is only marginally different than a SH; by that logic an AD is only marginally different than a MS, a MS is only marginally different than a GW. ETC. Point being, if you need a small Busse knife, buy what small knife they have at the store and wait until the one you really want comes along. The small knife you purchase that's currently available at the store will likely hold you over until your desired knife comes around. But by that time you may have learned to love that small, initially undesired knife a whole lot and may not actually want the initially desired knife but nonetheless you can still purchase it and compare the two yourself and make an informed decision about which is superior for yourself. Make sense? In cases where there is no small knife available at the store, buy/order whatever knife they have currently in production. This knife will hold you over until the next ganza/offering. (Also, don't forget about SW and SY knives too. A RMD is a perfect small knife, assuming you wanted a small knife to being with. Likewise, a Ratweiler is a perfect medium/large knife).
6. Research, do the 10 mins or less of research it takes to determine what the knife originally sold for. This will certainly help you to determine if the seller or dealer is a grifter.
So, there ya go. There's some free advice on how not to get taken to the cleaners when it comes to buying Busse knives.
Happy hunting.
Terry Blinski
