Why does it seem like most sub-hilt knives are either extremely expensive or el cheapos?

S

Stahlmann

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Why does it seem like most sub-hilt knives are either extremely expensive or el cheapos?

Those beautiful instruments made by R.W. Loveless, Joe Kious, Burt Foster and the rest, are gorgeous but very expensive. Most of the rest seem to be el cheapos.

It seems like there's comparatively few in the middle like the Cold Steel Black Bear Classic or the Boker Plus Subhilt Fighter Knife? (I don't consider polymer "hilts" to be actual hilts.) Is there are large, high quality knife maker like Buck making a sub-hilt? Or is the demand just not there?

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The Big Bear Sub Hilt Fighter with amber stag handle and leather sheath
by R.W. "Bob" Loveless. Value is in excess of $25K.​

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Cold Steel Black Bear Classic. About $330 in VG-10 steel blade.


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Mtech Sub Hilt Bowie Knife.
8.875" full tang satin titanium coated 440 stainless steel blade.
About $15.00
​
 
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Boker made some ,A.g. Russell sold them, others also. they were 100.00+or-. Its not a easy knife to make Well.
 
Maybe the lack of makers crafting them has to do with the solely purpose of such knives. As far as I know, sub-hilt knives are figthing knives, as they only allow to grab the handle one way.

I know there are other knives out there marketed as figthting (daggers mostly) but more or less... you can do random stuff with them. Not so much with sub-hilt knives.

Mikel
 
Mikel_24 said:
Maybe the lack of makers crafting them has to do with the solely purpose of such knives. As far as I know, sub-hilt knives are figthing knives, as they only allow to grab the handle one way.

I know there are other knives out there marketed as figthting (daggers mostly) but more or less... you can do random stuff with them. Not so much with sub-hilt knives.

Mikel
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Agreed . :)

It's best POU is as a fighter , but not versatile for various grip styles and not great for grip changes while fighting .

They can be very attractive , but the market is limited to either display art pieces or fighters that want that specific grip .

I've been tempted many times , but just couldn't justify as something useful to me . :(
 
I think the reason is that there are no half-measures when comes to working that much steel- just the steel aline is over 100 and 3x that for the best. Alpha knife supply lusts something like 20cv for about $30 an inch at 2-3" wide.
Then figure in how much labor goes into all aspects, belts to grind probably another $30.
Even if a craftsman pays himself minimum wage we're over $250.

Then there's the cheap stamped and mass made stuff at the low end that's just display or kids' stuff.

You noticed a few exceptions like Cold Steel and I have 2 BB Classics for that reason.

Finally as mentioned it's a niche market. They aren't much good for EDC. I only have my good Black Bear Classic as a last resort in places around the house I don't want to store guns. A well fitted lanyard so it won't get immediately dropped in a middle of the night already in my house situation.

I honestly don't think it would be that effective for someone untrained like I am, but it's better than nothing. I got a ridiculous deal on my 2nd one so if you scope out the auction site for a year or so you can find a good deal on one well under 200.
 
There are only two things I can think of. First, as originally noted, the market for sub hilt knives is simply too small to interest quality, inexpensive-priced makers like Buck, Case, Ka-Bar and others.

Second, there's also a potential image issue. Some companies may simply not want to produce a knife that's specifically designed for fighting.

On the other hand, extremely expensive custom knife makers who produce collector/investment grade knives (which will likely never be used for anything anyway), continue on the path blazed by Bob Loveless.
 
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