Why are Koenig,Grimsmo,Holt.etc considered a higher tier of knife than Chris reeve,Hinderer,Les George.etc

[mitchnola]

Pretty sure you just sold me on a Les George in the future.

Edit: typo

Haha, well when ya ready hit me up and I’ll help ya find one. Always down to help convert future Les Heads!

 

[K.O.D.]

If I could get one in micarta or CF, I'd be down to trya Les George. I don't do thumbstuds.

 

[mitchnola]

If I could get one in micarta or CF, I'd be down to trya Les George. I don't do thumbstuds.

I’ve got a guy that can make them.

 

[sgt1372]

I've never held a Holt, Koenig (et al) & would never buy one unless I could get one for my current "red line" of $500/knife.

So, I don't know if they're "better" than the knives that sell for less (many of which I own) but I would guess that the "quality" differences bet the 2 "classes" of knives would be negligible to most buyers/users and that the cost difference is due mainly to the "law of diminishing returns" which causes costs to rise significantly for lesser improvements in quality.

 

[P.C.E.]

My L.G. and CRK knives I'm keeping until I'm dead, unless I loose them or they get stolen (which isn't happening).

I only have 1 (of 5) Hinderers left. Great knives and I appreciate the variety offered along with the extras.

The one Koenig I had was a very well made knife but I eventually sold it. I felt it was somewhat overpriced. If I came across a good user I'd consider it as I did like it.

Grimsmo and Holt don't really appeal to me all that much.

 

[norcalAF]

My L.G. and CRK knives I'm keeping until I'm dead, unless I loose them or they get stolen (which isn't happening).

I only have 1 (of 5) Hinderers left. Great knives and I appreciate the variety offered along with the extras.

The one Koenig I had was a very well made knife but I eventually sold it. I felt it was somewhat overpriced. If I came across a good user I'd consider it as I did like it.

Grimsmo and Holt don't really appeal to me all that much.

I feel the same about most of my LGs and my SHFs, Hinderer I've narrowed to two from 7. I also sold my Norseman as it was too darn pretty to carry lol. The only CRK I have left is one I intend on giving to my daughter as it was born on her first birthday and is a strikingly beautiful unique 21.

 

[scorpnsnake]

I've never held a Holt, Koenig (et al) & would never buy one unless I could get one for my current "red line" of $500/knife.

So, I don't know if they're "better" than the knives that sell for less (many of which I own) but I would guess that the "quality" differences bet the 2 "classes" of knives would be negligible to most buyers/users and that the cost difference is due mainly to the "law of diminishing returns" which causes costs to rise significantly for lesser improvements in quality.

Full respect for your opinion. Used to think similarly.

I'd be surprised if you didn't feel differently after spending some time with them in hand.

The three hang just below the line of reasonable diminishing returns for function in my view.

North of that range, when exotic materials take over. It starts getting a little wanky.

 

[Hvactech]

Haha, well when ya ready hit me up and I’ll help ya find one. Always down to help convert future Les Heads!

Thanks to ol Mitch spreading the word, it's getting impossible to snatch up a sweet LG knife! I guess I can't complain too bad, he showed me the way over a year ago now I own quite a few. Here's me with King George at Blade this year, after giving me a little lecture on switching blades around in my MK3's

 

[mitchnola]

Thanks to ol Mitch spreading the word, it's getting impossible to snatch up a sweet LG knife! I guess I can't complain too bad, he showed me the way over a year ago now I own quite a few. Here's me with King George at Blade this year, after giving me a little lecture on switching blades around in my MK3's View attachment 2619379

No no no, it wasn’t me it was the button lock! Great pic bro, highlight of the show for me was when Les called me a knife nerd!

 

[ferider]

Why are Koenig,Grimsmo,Holt.etc considered a higher tier of knife than Chris reeve,Hinderer,Les George.etc

If you don't know, why do you have to ask ? This is a logical fallacy (of "Hasty Generalization").

The brands can not be blindly compared like that. For instance:

- If CRK had flippers or holes instead of thumbstuds, and >= 4" blades, I might be happy just with CRKs (and mostly Insingos for that matter). But they don't.
- Hinderers are not all too thick, not every Hinderer is a Fatty Spanto. There is a large variety, including skinny XMs, well cutting Fulltracks, 4" Wharncliffes (who else has these ?), etc.
- Generally, most Les George knives on the Exchange are too small for me.
- Not everybody like M390 > 62 HRC, or Magnacut > 63 HRC, since not everybody does rope cutting tests all day long. 60/61 HRC respectively is just fine.
- Etc.

Vive la Variété !

 

[Danke42]

Do GEC next

 

[Quiet]

Out of all of those listed, Les George and Hinderer have gotten the most of my money, though I would say that these days, my preference would be Les George and CRK. Both display a superior understanding of designing and executing a working knife on washers that's as smooth as most bearing knives I've owned.

 

[Quiet]

Thanks to ol Mitch spreading the word, it's getting impossible to snatch up a sweet LG knife! I guess I can't complain too bad, he showed me the way over a year ago now I own quite a few. Here's me with King George at Blade this year, after giving me a little lecture on switching blades around in my MK3's View attachment 2619379

LOL Dude, I was right next to you that morning, had no idea it was you. Small world.

 

[ferider]

Why are Ferrari and Lamborgini considered a higher tier of car than Mercedes, BMW, etc. ?

 

[P.C.E.]

Some of the qualifications to buy a car directly from Ferrari are almost absurd.

Not so with the Germans.

 

[Hvactech]

LOL Dude, I was right next to you that morning, had no idea it was you. Small world.

Sure you didn't mr stuckup lol I'm just joking. Man there's so much going on there it's hard to focus on anything! I was there with my son. Didn't get there till Sunday but still had lots of fun for my first Blade show. You better believe that I will get there for the first day next year.

 

[Terry M.]

Ok ok. I read this all and have to add:
I love all knives from all makers.

 

[Monofletch]

Holt knives are just a higher level. CRK isn’t even close in my opinion

 

[Burke]

I've never held a Holt, Koenig (et al) & would never buy one unless I could get one for my current "red line" of $500/knife.

So, I don't know if they're "better" than the knives that sell for less (many of which I own) but I would guess that the "quality" differences bet the 2 "classes" of knives would be negligible to most buyers/users and that the cost difference is due mainly to the "law of diminishing returns" which causes costs to rise significantly for lesser improvements in quality.

FWIW I’ve owned most of them and I generally think you are paying for:

Additional milling
Functional: internal milling lightening up scales
Decorative: exterior milling in more creative and complicated patterns

More complicated construction, some of which is aesthetic (concealed fasteners, milled clips, etc) and some of which is functional (adjustable detents like on Holts, nifty integrated overtravel stops, etc).

Increased consistency, tolerances, and attention to detail, at least in theory. I’ve had a couple Hinderers that had a tiny bit of detent lash for example, I’ve had CRKs that didn’t have particularly good action even after wearing in, had hardware come loose, etc. My Holts, OZ, Koenigs, Shiros, etc, have not had that issue. I actually am not super impressed with my Grimsmos but maybe some of that is design and preference more than execution.

If you look at fancier versions of the 400-500 tier they tend to get up to the 800 space (go price out a CRK with upgraded finishes etc or a Hinderer with full ti scales, etc) and those don’t have the external milling done either. I tend to think when you see a lot of things in a competitive space at a similar price that’s an indicator that the price reflects the cost that goes into the product plus a reasonable margin.

 

[bladerunner01]

Why are Koenig,Grimsmo,Holt.etc considered a higher tier of knife than Chris reeve,Hinderer,Les George.etc

I would guess it mostly comes down to the machining. Micro-milling requires very expensive equipment, thus an added cost must be attached to the products produced by them. As for the quality of the products from each, I find the difference negligible. The blades are equal, tolerances too. You're essentially just paying for cooler looking scales at that point.