Why?

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gkrausmann

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Let me preface this post by saying that I mean it to be very good-natured, but I will probably draw the ire of 90% of you. OK, here goes:

I carried a $10 Kershaw 1710 Ace for years, and never felt the need for more knife. Why do you guys carry $400 letter openers and box cutters?
 
Framing the question in a way that makes people look like they spend $400+ on something solely for "letter opening and box cutting" is a good way to make the question appear like it was meant to rub people the wrong way.

Here's something for you to ponder: Do you spend the least amount possible on absolutely everything in your life? For instance, do you wear $10 shoes or $3 pants? Does nothing go toward comfort or luxury? The obvious answer is "no", whether it's some piece of clothing or anything else. The fact is, everyone that has the luxury to be online for fun, like starting a thread on a knife forum, is allocating some amount of money toward some unnecessary thing. Some people have more resources, while others have less. At the same time, people place varying values on different items. To judge others for doing what you're certainly doing in some other place in your life is hypocritical. Welcome to the forums:).
 
Why are you satisfied with a $10 Kershaw? Presumably because it does what you want it to do and it satisfies your specific needs and wants in a knife.
Same with the $400 or $1500 carriers. What they carry satisfies their needs and wants.

My carries tend to run in the $100-$150 range, although I have a few in the $400 range and they do get some occasional carry just for the pleasure of carrying them. Over the 50+ years that I've been collecting and carrying knives I've gone through many phases. Right now, I'm in a purely utilitarian phase. I carry what works good and feels good, but I've also been in phases where I wanted to spend the $ for what are considered "high end" knives to see what the difference was between them and what I was used to, and I've been on the other end of the spectrum where I wanted to carry the least expensive blade I could get by with to see how I liked that range. Along the way I've discovered that I seem to keep gravitating to the price range that I'm in now for whatever reason.

For many (maybe most) of us here, knives are a hobby and a passion as well as a useful tool and we like to explore different areas and price ranges of our hobby from time to time.
 
I don't have knives that cost as much as you just said but I have a couple that cost me a lot of money nevertheless.


The answer in short is:




Because I can.
 
I carry a $400 box cutter because I can.
I carry a $400 flashlight because I can.
I type on a $300 keyboard because I can.
. . . .

I think you get the point ;)

EDIT: LX beat me to the "because I can" statements heh.
 
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Why are you on bladeforums if you don't like knives?

gkrausmann said:
Let me preface this post by saying that I mean it to be very good-natured, but I will probably draw the ire of 90% of you. OK, here goes:

I carried a $10 Kershaw 1710 Ace for years, and never felt the need for more knife. Why do you guys carry $400 letter openers and box cutters?
Click to expand...
 
For me it's a matter of carrying the best I can afford - I have a deep appreciation for quality.

Engineering, machining to tight tolerances, materials - it all comes into play.

If I spend $400 on a knife, and carry it for 10 years, it ends up costing me $40 a year for the privilege. Thats a bargain.

And aesthetically the knife has to appeal to me. I am unfortunately drawn to the high $$$$$$$ knives.
 
Why? I say if you can afford it (or often "barely" afford it) why not? ;) as the saying goes, You get what you pay for, and it's true.

You want a crappy meal? Go get some fast food, but pick up some pepto an the way home. You want crappy wine? Go buy yourself a box and stick it in the fridge, and prepare for the headache. You will find me at a decent restaurant enjoying a $10-20 glass of wine and chowing down on a decent steak, and to me it's worth every penny.

When I own a really nice knife, I take pride and truly appreciate the unique design, materials, craftsmanship, beauty, and often rarity of the piece of "art," knowing how much time and attention to detail went in to creating operational excellence.

Sure, I could buy a $10 knife an it will open letters just fine, but over time, you get what you pay for. $10 knives feel cheap, and they are cheap. They will not hold an edge, break easily, and over time, be useless and worth nothing. Yea, you might say you could go buy another one... But why? Why invest in a tool that is crap and will fail? Once you own and hold a quality knife, you will NEVER go back to a crappy one.

There are many decent knives under $100, but I prefer really nice knives, and many are well over $200. Overpriced? Sometimes they are, but these are not just expensive knives to me.. They are collector pieces, art, and investments that will pay off in pride of ownership, efficiency, dependability, bragging rights and resale value.

And the fact that my wife could care less is priceless. :)

I hope that shed some light on knife collecting, and why we like quality knives that happen to cost a fortune at times.

img0131version2.jpg
 
My Victorinox farmer is all the knife I need, but I like cool knives and gear. So, I spend extra money on those things. I can't explain it any more than that. If you are happy with your $10 kershaw then good for you, In fact I'd advise you to stay away from this site. Bladeforums is almost like a balckhole. It'll suck all your cash from your wallet pretty soon.:D
 
why do i like pretty women?why do i like beautiful guns? why do i like b.b.q.? why do i like mountains? & why does one ask why?
 
gkrausmann said:
Let me preface this post by saying that I mean it to be very good-natured, but I will probably draw the ire of 90% of you. OK, here goes:

I carried a $10 Kershaw 1710 Ace for years, and never felt the need for more knife. Why do you guys carry $400 letter openers and box cutters?
Click to expand...
Same reason we wear watches that cost thousands, buy clothes and cars that are way more expensive than the minimum we really need, same reason we eat more expensive food than we need to purely survive... Why even get a pretty girl instead of the first hag we met on the street?

It's a stupid question. You know why, you do it too, just maybe not with knives.
 
gkrausmann said:
Let me preface this post by saying that I mean it to be very good-natured, but I will probably draw the ire of 90% of you. OK, here goes:

I carried a $10 Kershaw 1710 Ace for years, and never felt the need for more knife. Why do you guys carry $400 letter openers and box cutters?
Click to expand...


Why do people always think that what works for them, needs to work for everybody else too?

I started with $10 knives. I broke one about every other month doing electrical contracting work.

So, I spend money on knives that will last.

You probably don't think that I need a $48,000 trenching machine either, because a shovel has always work for you and haven't felt the need for anything more, right?:rolleyes:
 
Why did you spend $10 on a knife? You could have gotten one for $3 at the flea market. You're not spending your money wisely.
 
Simple to me - priorities. I carry a Para D2, Millie, Sage etc.., but use a cheapo cell phone that makes calls. Others might have a $400 IPhone yet carry a $14 serviceable Gerber. Whatever floats your boat!
 
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