Why buy expensive knives?

Spyderman99 said:
Hey guys first of all I am a 13 year old boy. My dad and I have been in an argument because he thinks I do not need an expensive pocket knife. I use my current knife, my spyderco tenacious every day and love it. I want to buy a new paramilitary 2 for my edc. He says that it's not worth 100$ because I could not tell a difference. Is he right? Will I not be able to tell a difference besides the comp lock to my tenacious? How different is a $30 knife to a $100 dollar knife?
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Your dad is right and wrong. He's right that you do not need an expensive pocket knife. Nobody does, actually. He is wrong that you will not be able to tell the difference. There is a difference, and you will be able to tell. A PM2 is a lot nicer. Does that matter? Probably not. I'd tell you that you shouldn't spend $100 on a knife, too, because there's a lot of other things you could/should be doing with that money. Your tenacious will cut anything a PM2 will cut. I give the same advice to adults here who want to buy $800 knives but don't have the corresponding salary to justify that. In the end, they do it anyway. People will do whatever they want to do.

My advice? Be frugal, save your money. There's going to be so many things to buy that you need to spend money on so much more than a $100 knife. Your dad is right to balk at your proposal to spend so much money on a knife. Just because you happen to have $100 to blow now is a horrible, horrible reason to blow it now. So you spend $100 now and have to worry about finding the cash to pay for other things? That's dumb. Spend $100 on a knife when you have $2,000 saved up. Live below your means.

EDIT: My advice for the future: be very good at math and science. Get straight A's. Try to get as many scholarships as you can and go to the best four-year university in your state. That should be your focus for the next 4 years.
 
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Spyderman99 said:
... As for girls me and my dad made an agreement lol I do all of my
chores he gives me money for dates and stuff
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The Tenacious is a pretty good knife too. Go with the flow. Save the money for when your dad changes his mind.

In the mean time get a reputation among the local girls as a fun date. :D
 
Magnaminous_G said:
Your dad is right and wrong. He's right that you do not need an expensive pocket knife. Nobody does, actually. He is wrong that you will not be able to tell the difference. There is a difference, and you will be able to tell. A PM2 is a lot nicer. Does that matter? Probably not. I'd tell you that you shouldn't spend $100 on a knife, too, because there's a lot of other things you could/should be doing with that money. Your tenacious will cut anything a PM2 will cut. I give the same advice to adults here who want to buy $800 knives but don't have the corresponding salary to justify that. In the end, they do it anyway. People will do whatever they want to do.

My advice? Be frugal, save your money. There's going to be so many things to buy that you need to spend money on so much more than a $100 knife. Your dad is right to balk at your proposal to spend so much money on a knife. Just because you happen to have $100 to blow now is a horrible, horrible reason to blow it now. So you spend $100 now and have to worry about finding the cash to pay for other things? That's dumb. Spend $100 on a knife when you have $2,000 saved up. Live below your means.

EDIT: My advice for the future: be very good at math and science. Get straight A's. Try to get as many scholarships as you can and go to the best four-year university in your state. That should be your focus for the next 4 years.
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Like I said in a past reply I have a lot of money in the bank. Right now I could buy 2 $800 dollar knives and still have some left.
 
Hi, welcome to BF. You pose a very good question. It's important to know that most of us BF regulars range from knife knuts to knife addicts. We are happy to rationalize any excuse to get a new knife. I am a prime example with about 6500 knives.
Also when comparing one knife to another, the blade profile, and thickness of the blade stock and blade grind will affect how they cut. Your question is about price; does an expensive knife cut noticeably better than an inexpensive one ? A price comparison therefore needs to be comparing knives with similar blade thickness and to some degree blade profile.
The short answer is: the cutting ability of many knives is independant of it's price.
I have many cutsom made knives which cost 5-10 times the price of well made production knives. The customs rarely cut any better.
Some years ago i began buying SanRenMu knives from sellers in China. The prices are always less than $20 including shipping. These are very well made knives, always arrive shaving sharp and hold their edge very well and resharpen easily to a refreshed, also long lasting edge. Because of these knives i sold my ~ $500 Sebenzas as i realized than these dirt cheap SRM knives can easily handle more cutting than i will ever need or do.
My suggestion is that you 'hang around' BF and read lots of threads in a variety of the forums here. As your knowledge and understanding of knives grows, you will be able to select a knife that has different blade characteristics from your Tenacious.
Then you will have 2 different knives which are best suited to different cutting tasks rather than 2 similar blades which you are trying to compare.
In the "Maintenance and Tinkering" forum there is lots of info re: sharpening. No matter how many knives you eventually will own blades will need sharpening, so it's good to begin to learn this skill as early as possible.
As a parent of 4 children i humbly suggest to your dad that he could be proud of a son who has an interest in knives. Knife using and collecting is a great hobby and you meet lots of people with integrity of all ages and all fields of endeavor.
roland
 
if its ok with your old man, spend your money on what you choose. the best lessons in life come from experience. maybe you'll be able to tell the difference, maybe not, but either way youll end up with a nicer knife than what i was carrying at your age. ;)
 
have you taken your reasoning to your pops on why you want the Para2? Maybe your Pops is looking out for you and doesnt want you to jumo into the sickness of knife collecting too early. i agree with the above post on maybe you should wait.....But if you do get the Para2 you are going to enjoy it.
 
How long did it take to save up all that money? Do you want a car in three years? Do you want a nice car or a junker? How important is that knife going to be in three years when you have a license and no wheels to go with it? That money is going to be far more useful later than that knife is going to be now. You have a decent blade already. What are you going to be cutting that requires that much more knife? Do you hunt? Are you in extreme conditions where you are going to have to worry about something happening to the steel that the upgraded steel is required? If the answer to any of these questions is no, keep what you have and be happy with it. Trust me when I say a car is way more fun at 16 than a knife is at 13.
 
You have a good knife already. When you are making your own money later on down the road, you can pi$$ it up against the wall any way you see fit. Learn as much as you can about knives, check your local library for knife magazines and books. Check for free knife and outdoors magazines. Ask for knife books for your birthday, holidays. Put your money towards a couple knife books from a thrift store/used book store.

Have you thought about how you're going to take care of this knife? Do you have a strop, sharpening equipment (S30V remember, you get it dull, you're probably going to be sending it back). Do you know how to sharpen a knife? Do you have any other knives?

At 13, you're doing a lot better than I was at about 22 or so. I had just discovered Cold Steel, and gotten rid of all of my Chinese made junk.

Don't spend all of your money on knives, they'll be here when you have a good job, and you'll be able to spend $ on better toys. Also, you don't want to come out of the gate with a Sebenza in your hands. Lots of used knives out there that you could have fun cleaning up and sharpening, than just buying any brand new knife.

My father hasn't always been right about everything, but he has always had my best interests at heart. Don't hound your dad about buying one. You might be surprised and get a PM2 as a gift. Who knows. Save your money though.

Being knife poor is not fun ;).
 
The price seems to be the issue here. (obviously)
Have you looked at the Griptilian? Or mini Griptilian?
Both really nice knives. Cheaper too.
 
Thanks for all the great replies. I think I will talk to my dad and tell him that the reason I want an expensive knife is that I appreciate the craftmanship. Plus I can't lose any blade strength or quality. I will use it for everything.
 
Can you buy the knife without your dad's permission? If you can't then you should give it up for now and focus on other things. Spyderco isn't going to discontinue the PM2. They might come out with a PM3 at some point, but even if you have to wait a little while you'll be able to buy one someday. The PM2 is a better knife than the tenacious. It has better steel, is made in the US, and it has a better lock. It has better fit and finish. I think it's worth $100. However, if you can't afford a $100 knife then you shouldn't buy it.

You're going to want to save up for a car and the ridiculously expensive car insurance to go with it. You're going to want to buy clothes and all sorts of things as you get further into your teenage years. You'll need to save for college. Of course without help from your parents or getting a perfect SAT or ACT score you're going to be taking out student loans. People talk about scholarships and grants but in reality they might cover half of the cost of schooling if you're lucky. Getting straight A's isn't enough anymore. You have to do really well on the SAT or ACT, plus be involved in clubs and activities at school and do volunteer work. All of that in addition to getting straight A's will help you get some scholarship money. If you only have straight A's you won't get much. Learn how to write well and you might end up getting more scholarship money with your persuasive and well-written essays.

Out of state tuition will be double what you pay in state. Or more. Stay in state if you can. In 5 years college tuition will have gone up another 30% at least. I saw tuition more than double in my state and this is in the past 8 years alone. You need to decide what you want to do and then pursue the degree that will let you do it. I suggest doing something with math, science or engineering if you want a job that will actually pay off your massive student loan debt. I knew a few people who didn't take out many loans but they tried to work 30 hours a week and go to school full time, so they ended up dropping out because it was too much. Paying for college is a serious issue.

A knife is the least of your worries. Maybe save up and buy yourself the PM2 in a few years. In the meantime I doubt you'll really need the better steel and materials.
 
I'm young as well (although not nearly that young) and I can relate to a lot of this, I got my first higher end knife (BM Grip) when I was 14 and had a job. My dad was completely for it. Why? Because I had a job, and saved my money, and could spend a little on myself. My advice for you- Try an Endura or something cheaper than the pm2 but more expensive than the tenacious, work your way up, and get a job. You say you have all his money in the bank, but where did you get that money? Probably relatives, parents, etc. Save it! When you have cash flow (A Job) you can spend a bit of it on yourself, but until then save your money, it will help you in the long run. Good luck bud.
 
well i think one of the things is your dad may be worried about you losing or breaking a 100$ of your money.
Second, you can tell the lock, the steel were its made and who designed it are all completely different. so the
over all question is, how responsible are you?
 
triggahappy28 said:
I'm young as well (although not nearly that young) and I can relate to a lot of this, I got my first higher end knife (BM Grip) when I was 14 and had a job. My dad was completely for it. Why? Because I had a job, and saved my money, and could spend a little on myself. My advice for you- Try an Endura or something cheaper than the pm2 but more expensive than the tenacious, work your way up, and get a job. You say you have all his money in the bank, but where did you get that money? Probably relatives, parents, etc. Save it! When you have cash flow (A Job) you can spend a bit of it on yourself, but until then save your money, it will help you in the long run. Good luck bud.
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Well I don't have a real real job bc I have to be 15 to have 1 in nc where I live. I do walk dogs wash cars mow lawns. I also get paid for little gigs because I play sax bass and piano. So money is not a huge proplem. The original question was could I tell the difference and how different are cheap and expensive knives.
 
nufdes said:
well i think one of the things is your dad may be worried about you losing or breaking a 100$ of your money.
Second, you can tell the lock, the steel were its made and who designed it are all completely different. so the
over all question is, how responsible are you?
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I consider myself fairly responsible I do all the things I mentioned before and have never misplaced or broken a knife.
 
Spyderman99 said:
Thanks for all the great replies. I think I will talk to my dad and tell him that the reason I want an expensive knife is that I appreciate the craftmanship. Plus I can't lose any blade strength or quality. I will use it for everything.
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Well...it sounds like you know you will appreciate the difference. If you cant convince your dad, you are outta luck. :D

You could just tell him you will use the money on piercings and tattoos and beer instead! He might change his tune.

Or you could go off into the "world" of great, inexpensive knives like Moras and Opinels and Tramontinas and such.

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to do!
 
marcinek said:
Well...it sounds like you know you will appreciate the difference. If you cant convince your dad, you are outta luck. :D

You could just tell him you will use the money on piercings and tattoos and beer instead! He might change his tune.

Or you could go off into the "world" of great, inexpensive knives like Moras and Opinels and Tramontinas and such.

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to do!
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Hahaha if I said that I would never get a knife again
 
Spyderman99 said:
Hahaha if I said that I would never get a knife again
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Well...he sounds like a great dad! :thumbup:

I get the feeling you will be able to convince him you can appreciate a "better" knife. In a couple posts over a couple hours you convinced me.
 
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