You Have $2,000 to Spend...

$2,000 to Spend on Customs

  • 1 $2000 knife

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 2 $1000 knives

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 3 $600+ knives

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 4 $500 knives

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 5 $300 + knives

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No customs please, just a big pile of factory stuff

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
A

Architect

Gold Member
Joined
May 31, 2001
Messages
2,215
Ok, lets say you have $2000 to spend on some new knives. No more, no less. You can only spend it on knives and lets say only from dealers or makers, since Forum pricing is so disparate.

What would you do buy with this money?

One knife?

Two?

Six, all from the same maker using different materials?
 
Easy.., I think there are some awfully nice knives in the $500 range.., so I'd take (4) of those.. :)
 
I'd surf the dealer sites and see what they have available. Then I'd fire off a buncha e-mails to the dealers and see what they have inbound (and when).

Then. . .I'd obtain 3 - 5 new additions ! :D

Let us know what you decided on ! :)
 
I would put a little more with it and spend it on one knife - a dagger David Broadwell and I have been talking about.
 
Three $600 knives sounds great to me. $600 is enough to get some really nice features like damascus, MOP, Mastodon on a fancy gents knife that is not so ornate that is it can still be considered for actual carry. $600 is also enough to get a real nice knife from some of the more expensive makers like Bob Lum, Bob Terzoula, or maybe a Stellite Model 4 from Kit Carson. That being said, with $2,000, I could probably get a Jess Horn Lockback and a Centofante lockback. I don't think you guys would feel sorry for me either way!:) :D ;)
 
It really depends on what I'm looking for at the moment. Forged damascus bowie = 1. Good working knives = 3 or 4 (or 5 with some really good guys like Mike 0benauf and Kit Carson).
 
Originally posted by RGRAY
I woulld buy just one; a Left Handed Charlie Dake DA Dagger. :eek: :cool: :eek:
Click to expand...

Im kind of partial to Dakes too, like this one... :)

Dake%201%20Side.jpg
 
Give me the 4 $500 knives. There are just too many new smith's doing exceptional work on a nice bowie or fighter these days for $500. You are also in the range for some stellar M.S. hunters and the like. The hardest part would be deciding which maker's to choose.
 
I'd get two knives. The Jim Rodebaugh Bowie that I want would set me back $1400, and I'd have $600 left over. I think I'd get myself a folder with that, a Prinsloo if I could afford it.
 
Yes, I agree, verynice stuf in the $500 range, I could make a heck of a list. Paul
 
Ok, this is an area that I can comment on with some degree of accuracy. I would go for the 3 $600+ knives. When it comes to bowies, $500 will not quite get a bowie from a Mastersmith or even a good Journeyman smith in the ABS(unless you have a buddy relationship or have had the knife on order for a while). However, simply jumping up a little into the $600-700 range will give you a a LOT more options. Most of my bowies have been purchased in that price range, as I cannot seem to get myself to pay too much more. I have paid a little more, but only a few times.
 
Probably 2 or 3 knives. There's plenty of knives in the $500 to $1,200 range that I'd really like to own but, at the moment, there isn't anything in the $2,000 range that's got my interest.
 
Your poll fail to say whether everything we might wish for is currently available, at its normal price of course. Assuming it's the case, I would add a bit more money and get a 1 of a kind from someone like Don Fogg. Or I would get a gorgeous gentleman folder from Barry Davis ($1,650 - $1,850) and a little something else.

JD
 
Lemme clarify my earlier statement, thanks to Joss. If the right bowie was staring me in the face(like something from Tim Hancock or Don Fogg or Harvey Dean), I might spend the whole $2000 on one knife. It would have to be something REALLY special though.
 
Joss - I posted this poll because I have been buying, selling and trading knives at a pretty good clip over the past year or so in the custom arena, whereas before, I was focused solely on production knives.

I came to realize after selling a couple of custom knives that I found I no longer desired at a loss, pretty big losses, that I needed to come to a more long-term strategy than I had with production knives - where losses tend to be much much lower in total dollars if you decide to change your mind, for whatever reason.

So essentially, with right around $2000 as my budget, I tried to settle on some custom knives that satisfied both my collecting interests, could serve as carryable knives, and even if carried and used, would retain significant value.

So, the three I picked were

Mayo TNT Modified Wharncliffe
Bob Lum Mini Stalker
Emerson CQC-5

I have other customs which I still keep, but these three were the ones I focused on this year with the approximate $2k budget.

If I had it to do over again, I still think that the $600 knife category lends itself quite well to a great value retained/user category. (No, I didn't get the CQC-5 for $600!)

I have a bunch of slipjoints, lockbacks, and liner locks in a wide array of beautiful materials and such, but I found that I preferred my more expensive custom knives to be more at the high end of the tactical market both out of personal appeal and fairly reliable liquidity. Much as I would like to think I will "keep them forever", I have had to sell all of my custom knives before (1985).
 
I would've spent part of the $2000 on a custom-made grinder by Rob Frink with a rotary platen and blew the rest on supplies to make knives that would then sell for $4000 total...:rolleyes:

But that wasn't your question...darn...:(

I think you did the right thing. Investing in one high-end piece is more risky. That said, I actually faced the same dilemma last year. What I did was invest in a few knives that I was completely confident they would retain value or even appreciate with time. Then, when my brother lost his job last fall, I was able to easily liquidate what I had (without taking a loss) to help him out.

I learned a valuable lesson in collecting. Some people say only collect what you love because if you don't like it, you'll be willing to let it go for less. I think that this is only partially true. I think you need to keep knives that "other people love" as well so that if you ever need to liquidate, or even decide to trim/enlarge your collection, you can do so without a loss.

You hang a Picasso on your wall, not just because you are in love with his work, but because the rest of the world is in love with it so much they'll pay anything to take it off your hands.

My 0.02

Dan
 
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