Wow, haven't looked at knives for a couple years. Prices seem insanely high now.

DAVE_M said:
I don't recall saying you couldn't afford any knife.

Keep your cash. If you don't want to pay for the knife at their asking price, then you don't want the knife. If you want something, you will pay for it.
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So, what is wrong with discussing the cost of knives? Is it somehow bothering you that much that you have to dismiss the entire topic? It's a simple enough topic and somehow people have managed to steer clear of the political aspects of it, and here we go with your outrage? Come on Dave.... Enough with the butthurt. If the topic isn't to your liking, then just move along.
 
Here's a good example:
In 2000 I bought a Microtech Mini Socom for $90. An Al Mar SERE 2000 for $112. Also, a Benchmade 42 Balisong (440C blade /Ti handles) for $112.
Shocking, I know!:eek:
 
Wunderbar said:
Here's a good example:
In 2000 I bought a Microtech Mini Socom for $90. An Al Mar SERE 2000 for $112. Also, a Benchmade 42 Balisong (440C blade /Ti handles) for $112.
Shocking, I know!:eek:
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I hope you bought a handful of those Bali's!
 
I've had QC issues with Buck and Boker Plus and think they are over priced - primarily higher up in their lines. In general, I think benchmade and Spyderco are overpriced. The BM940 for roughly $175 is just too darn much. The Spyderco stretch is just that, a stretch for what they are asking. There are many more, and I'll steer clear of the custom makers that I think are overpriced since that is a more subjective judgement and I realize people place value on very different things.
 
Don't forget though-- knife makers are not using 440c and polymer handles anymore. Advancement in both blade steel and scales, and design have advanced much since the 70's and 80's. Heck- they've advanced much in the past 3-years. I'm sure you can find examples still made with 70's materials, at similar prices (adjusted for inflation, of course.)

But you are right, prices are thru the roof and not pedestrian anymore. Makers are giving us options, that's all. And that, we can all agree, is a damned good thing.
 
Yes, been thinking about the actual price difference between what you used to get, 440C, vg10, cm154, and what you get now, s30v. What is the cost/blade when you're Benchmade who is making 100k blades or so? I can't imagine it's all that much. Maybe a few dollars? Then add in a nicer handle material like g10. So there's another buck or two. Say it's $8/knife, add in 100% markup and you're talking $16. That BM940 is up a heck of a lot more than that.
 
How come back in the 1960's and 70's you only could buy a few basic models, from a very few companies? Nothing changed hardly at all. The same models were available for about the same prices year after year. Did the demand for more diverse lineups cause this to change? Did the knife companies figure out there's a huge market for sharper, better made knives? They made them and people bought them. It couldn't have happened if there wasn't a huge demand. These knives that many think are overpriced are selling and keeping the wheels turning. It won't stop unless the demand dries up and the prices charged are what people are willing to pay. When people stop buying them, maybe we'll go back to a 60's and 70's way of thinking, when basic models at lower prices will be all that's offered. Until then the wheels will keep on rolling.
 
Haven't seen this one, but it sure doesn't seem over priced to me.
Colt 591 D2 blade, G-10 handle, $16 - maybe the liner lock sux and it' prob not good for self-defense, but as a light every day package cutter with a decent blade length, $16 for D2 and G-10? Shot score!
 
zippin44 said:
Yes, been thinking about the actual price difference between what you used to get, 440C, vg10, cm154, and what you get now, s30v. What is the cost/blade when you're Benchmade who is making 100k blades or so? I can't imagine it's all that much. Maybe a few dollars? Then add in a nicer handle material like g10. So there's another buck or two. Say it's $8/knife, add in 100% markup and you're talking $16. That BM940 is up a heck of a lot more than that.
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I'm going to play nice and ask you some legitimate questions:

Do you honestly believe the manufacturing cost for a Benchmade 940 is $16?

Without factoring material cost...
How much do you think it costs to pay operator to run the CNC equipment?
How much do you think it costs to pay the quality control personnel?
How much do you think it costs to pay the assembler?
How much do you think it costs to advertise?

These are some of the factors as to why the BM 940 is not a $16 knife.

zippin44 said:
Haven't seen this one, but it sure doesn't seem over priced to me.
Colt 591 D2 blade, G-10 handle, $16 - maybe the liner lock sux and it' prob not good for self-defense, but as a light every day package cutter with a decent blade length, $16 for D2 and G-10? Shot score!
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We agree on one thing, a $16 knife is not ideal for self defense.
 
DAVE_M said:
I'm going to play nice and ask you some legitimate questions:

Do you honestly believe the manufacturing cost for a Benchmade 940 is $16?

Without factoring material cost...
How much do you think it costs to pay operator to run the CNC equipment?
How much do you think it costs to pay the quality control personnel?
How much do you think it costs to pay the assembler?
How much do you think it costs to advertise?

These are some of the factors as to why the BM 940 is not a $16 knife.



We agree on one thing, a $16 knife is not ideal for self defense.
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Thanks for playing nice. I appreciate it.

I probably didn't write it well, but what I meant to question was Benchmade's incremental cost difference between the older model with some older steel like cm154 versus the current standard 940 model with S30v. BM must buy a TON of steel, so the average cost difference per blade between that old cm154 and today's S30v can't be that much. Not much else has changed on that model, but the price is up nearly 75% I'm guessing from 4 years ago. I'm just trying to get my head around why their knives have gone up so much.
 
jill jackson said:
How come back in the 1960's and 70's you only could buy a few basic models, from a very few companies? Nothing changed hardly at all. The same models were available for about the same prices year after year. Did the demand for more diverse lineups cause this to change? Did the knife companies figure out there's a huge market for sharper, better made knives? They made them and people bought them. It couldn't have happened if there wasn't a huge demand. These knives that many think are overpriced are selling and keeping the wheels turning. It won't stop unless the demand dries up and the prices charged are what people are willing to pay. When people stop buying them, maybe we'll go back to a 60's and 70's way of thinking, when basic models at lower prices will be all that's offered. Until then the wheels will keep on rolling.
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There was a lot of garbage around back then.

And then there was some pretty darned expensive knives around too, production blades like PUMA, those were not cheap.

But yes the industry has come a long way overall, some good stuff others not so good IMO.
 
This knife just sold for $400. Goes to show that if people like it, they will buy it.



 
zippin44 said:
Thanks for playing nice. I appreciate it.

I probably didn't write it well, but what I meant to question was Benchmade's incremental cost difference between the older model with some older steel like cm154 versus the current standard 940 model with S30v. BM must buy a TON of steel, so the average cost difference per blade between that old cm154 and today's S30v can't be that much. Not much else has changed on that model, but the price is up nearly 75% I'm guessing from 4 years ago. I'm just trying to get my head around why their knives have gone up so much.
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Many factors go into price increases. There is a lot more to it, than saying "they just want more money."
 
Lets not forget the cost of running a business. Utilities rise dramatically every year, never mind insurance, which is so expensive now that it can break a company. Just looking at the price increases of those two factors over say the past 5 years you can see why prices go up. Comparing apples to apples, the exact same knife produced today compared to the same knife produced just a few years ago must be at least 25% higher.
 
"Wow, haven't looked at knives for a couple years. Prices seem insanely high now."

And that's just the Reates! :p
 
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