World Trade Center knife auction

Originally posted by fracmeister
The steel was given to them and they agreed not to use it for any other purpose. I spoke with one of the knifemakers who said it was sitting in his shop and that if I won the auction he'd give it to me. the knifemakers could only deduct their actual costs of materials... so, that said, somebody deserves to get a deduction for the donation.
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Whomever donated the raw steel originally could take a deduction to the extent of their basis in it.( i.e., what they paid for it themselves).

If it turns out that no one paid for the steel, unless it was passed on via inheritance, then no one gets a deduction for it eventhough it may be worth thousands of dollars.
 
At it's root, the steel is salvage scrap at best, hazardous waste at worst. But, it has historic significance which gives is a special value. My guess is that the IRS would prefer to ignore the steel. A lot of the same steel was recycled as scrap or even landfilled. It's impossible to put a value on it. You could argue it either way.

But, the knives have intrinsic and artistic value. The makers can, therefore, deduct their donation within the guidelines Mr. RWS has outlined.

Unfortunately, since the knives have been declared by a reasonable authority to have no establishable market value except what they bring at this auction, there's no donation and no deduction. And, unfortunately, for $25,000, with a possible tax deduction of about $6000 maybe, it's not worth motivating a bunch of lawyers to try and figure out some loophole.
 
Originally posted by fracmeister
.. the knifemakers could only deduct their actual costs of materials...
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In a manufacturing environment, such as custom knifemaking, the knifemakers may deduct all manufacturing costs of production as a contribution deduction if the knife they donate is an item that was in their beginning of the year inventory. If not, it flows through as a regular business deduction on schedule C.
 
Originally posted by Gollnick
No bids.

To bad.
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or just too much? one of the contentions of the sellers was that the auction price represented the Fair Market Value. Looks like that amount was something less than 25000$ to me.
 
Why don't we try and guesstimate the worth of these knives ourselves on a knife by knife basis? Then add them up!

There are 7 knives here. Let's estimate what each knife is worth as is EXCEPT made with standard steel blades (not WTC steel). Then lets add a premium to each knife due to the WTC steel that it's actually made from. After each knife is estimated, we'll tally the sheet to see the total value.:D

knives_lst.jpg

1. Designed and made by Pat & Wes Crawford. Overall length 10”, Blade length 4 1/2”; skeletonized titanium handle and blued blade steel and bolsters made of World Trade Center steel.

2. Designed and made by Gil Hibben. Overall length 8 1/4”, blade length 3 1/2”; immitation ivory handle with color-scrimmed scene of firefighters raising American flag at the WTC on one side and a ladder company shield color-scrimmed on reverse. Blade by Gil Hibben and scrimshaw by Rick Hutchings.

3. Designed and made by Bob Terzuola. Overall length 10 3/4”, blade length 5 5/8”; green canvas Micarta® handle and bead-blasted blade.

4. Designed and made by Mel Pardue. Overall length 8 5/8”, blade length 3 1/2”. Locking-liner folder with carbon fiber handle, flared bolster and damascus blade.

5. Designed and made by Jerry Fisk. Overall length 8 5/8”, blade length 4 1/2”. Stag handle with mortis-tang construction and 343-layer blade - one layer for each firefighter that was lost at WTC. Fisk’s
National Living Treasure stamp.

6. Designed and made by Bob Dozier. Overall length 8 1/4”, blade length 3 1/2”. Ancient elephant ivory handle with diamond inlay of Madagascar Island Ebony. Damascus blade by Daryl Meier and scrimshaw by Linda Karst Stone. Click here to view the scrimshaw detail.

7. Designed and made by Allen Elishewitz. Overall length 7 3/4”, blade length 3 3/8”. Ironwood scales folder with blade and bolsters of WTC steel.

Please don't get angry at my guesses. I need Les Robertson here. Please chime in to help me here. These guesses are assuming all knives are built exactly like above except with no WTC steel in them.
1. $950?
2. $1200?
3. $750?
4. $850?
5 $1500?
6. $1100?
7. $600?
total $6950

Now, I'll two and a half times the value for the WTC steel. $6950x2.5= $17,375
What do you think?
 
I forgot the nice box it comes with. Add $500?
new total $17,375 + $500 = $17,875
 
total $6950
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These knives are a bit out of my area, but that sounds about right to me. I'd guesstimated $7000.

The multiplier for the special steel is a bit hard to peg. There's just no history to go on. I suspect that that's got to be established by auction. And, apparently, it's a bit less than 3.5.

My guesstimate is 2.

My strategy for this auction would have been to start at more like 10-12K$ and let it go from there hoping to finish up around fifteen grand.
 
Originally posted by Gollnick
My strategy for this auction would have been to start at more like 10-12K$ and let it go from there hoping to finish up around fifteen grand.
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I agree.
If no one started bidding at the $25000 point, I wonder if that strategy will backfire on them and have a negative impact on the auction overall, even at a $10,000 starting point?
 
I just noticed this:

Every avatar in this thread is wearing a tie. Apparently, you have to be well-dressed to discuss $25,000 knife sets.

:D
 
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