Classified Section - where knives get posted and then rot?

[Andy54Hawken]

I once made a flint knife...and hafted it to a leg bone , using real sinew and hide glue.
It cut like the dickens and felt good in my hand.

A fella offered me quite a lot of cash for it...so away it went.

My point...?
Well if I went to sell it here at NWFA....it would probably sit for a spell , before selling..even at a good price.
Your item needs to find the right buyer.
Andy

 

[The Heretic]

Better metal might not snap in half as easy.

Generally, if I break a knife blade, "I am doing it wrong".

Knives (and screwdrivers and chisels) are not pry bars or axes or hatchets or splitting wedges.

Only in a severe survival situation should someone misuse/abuse a knife in that manner because they don't have the proper tools with them and they need to do something to survive - and even in that case, they should have brought the correct tools with them.

So when I see a YT vid of someone abusing a knife that way, or complaining that their knife chipped, I know they do not understand how knives are made and what they are made for.

 

[Mikej]

I never understood expensive knives. At all. They serve zero purpose. Even a gun made out of a meteor fallen to earth, still shoots. Likely shoots very well too. An expensive knife has no advantage over a sharp piece of wood in my opinion. Most won't even use it as a knife, it will never cut anything, it might not ever see the outside of its box. Some argue that the metal matters, well does it cut, yes, so…

Unless it is made of rare metal, say solid gold, I see no point in buying expensive knives other than the, "mine cost more" affect of classism.

I don't get the expensive knife thing either. And I kinda feel the same way about designer ARs. Or others such as , "bull-pups". WTH is with those? Hell, I feel that way about a LOT of things! LOL But I'm still new to firearms compared to people like you, Reno. And many others here I'm sure of. So I decided my personal feeling are just that. I won't project my feelings on others. So it's... "Hey, that's their thing! If they love it, that is all that matters". I've got my trusty old 4" Old Timer in sheath on my side where ever I go. with a back-up in the drawer should I somehow, God forbid, lose this one.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Any of you rabble ever actually use knives professionally? Might shine some light on the subject.

 

[Longwalkhome]

It's just the times we live in, inflation is driving prices up so bargains will be hard to find.

You can wait on the crash for prices to go down...if you still have money to spend.

 

[The Heretic]

Or others such as , "bull-pups". WTH is with those?

The benefits of an SBR, while still having a longer barrel (vs. velocity loss), better handling/pointability/etc.

 

[The Heretic]

Any of you rabble ever actually use knives professionally? Might shine some light on the subject.

Professionally? As in a cannery? Or as a chef?

No - last time I used a knife on the job was in the USCG and I wish I had what I have now (my Gerber folder).

But like I said before, I do use my knives around the house and on my property. I find them quite adequate.

 

[Knobgoblin]

I am stuck with using Victorinox at work. They are cheap, utilitarian , and they SUCK!!

 

[thorborg]

Knives are pretty much utilitarian and not collectibles for me and as such personal, to the extent that fit, feel, edge retention, usefulness are prerequisite. Esthetics grading little. The considerable lifetime collection I ended up with are mostly ones that either didn't make the grade after asking them to perform or worked well but eventually broken or sharpened to a nub but unable to throw out as an old friend. Beyond a slew I hand made, I do have some pretty or cool looking knives, mostly were acquired from gifts or stumbled on to them in boxes of other stuff I acquired.
Only once have I bought an upscale mail order, a $380.00 hand made artful sort from a supposedly "known" knifemaker, for a friends retirement, which I was sorely disappointed in because while it was fit and finished finely, I could not believe the reverse side of the scale, unseen in the photographs was rather plain, and not like the side shown. I actually felt cheated. Too late to return, he was thrilled with it but then his opine of much in life was rather simple, unencumbered, and uncreative in my mind. Able to find pleasure in things I thought were junk or gimmicky. A stand up loyal man now passed and very much missed. While he was alive, it never left the display case he proudly displayed so most never knew the other side was plain I guess.
So for me, many of the knives listed in the classifieds, beyond being overpriced, fit in the toy or gimmicky category and useless as a tool, pretty or not. Then there is the fact I really don't have any more space to put another knife

Actual personal use (besides the kitchen) entails only three, my hunting knife for the last 40 years is an unattractive, crudely made by me knife prototype with simple fir wood scales. It was hurriedly made for a hunting trip to replace a 4" Case Bulldog folder stolen from me. My home made worked so well I never finished it esthetically. It has skinned a ton of animals. It'll field dress then skin a deer and still cook dinner without resharpening as it holds an edge for ever. While a several blade store bought pocket folder / whittler of one brand or another has always resided in my pocket ever since my grandpa gave me my first one when I was six, and now, last few decades, a spring assist HK with a razor sharp edge and pocket clip has been added as daily backup to the CC pistol. That one is cool and functional.

 

[solv3nt]

Any of you rabble ever actually use knives professionally? Might shine some light on the subject.

I'm on the amateur steak cutting level.

 

[Member 53328]

Custom and limitied edition knives from well known makers is one thing.

But all these off the shelves Benchmade, kershaw, etc. trying to get retail pricing is a joke. I don't care if it's still in the box or hasn't cut anything. If you can't return it to the retail store then it's used. Period. And should be sold at a discounted price. My opinion.

 

[TTSX]

Custom and limitied edition knives from well known makers is one thing.

But all these off the shelves Benchmade, kershaw, etc. trying to get retail pricing is a joke. I don't care if it's still in the box or hasn't cut anything. If you can't return it to the retail store then it's used. Period. And should be sold at a discounted price. My opinion.

And ESEE. I can get an ESEE 3 for less than $100 on some sites brand new shipped and some of these guys want $150+ for one they used at an amateur throwing knife demo.

Knives are like cars. They lose 30% of their value as soon as they go out the door.

 

[The Heretic]

Custom and limitied edition knives from well known makers is one thing.

But all these off the shelves Benchmade, kershaw, etc. trying to get retail pricing is a joke. I don't care if it's still in the box or hasn't cut anything. If you can't return it to the retail store then it's used. Period. And should be sold at a discounted price. My opinion.

I have a number of barter knives still in the blister pack. Some of those that came in a nice box are not as useful as those in the blister packaging.

 

[solv3nt]

Knives are like cars. They lose 30% of their value as soon as they go out the door.

Really anything. If you can buy it for the same price from the manufacturer, why would you buy private party?

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

With 114 the knife biz should pick up quite a bit just be patient guys !

 

[Knobgoblin]

To stay of the knife psycho list.

Really anything. If you can buy it for the same price from the manufacturer, why would you buy private party?

 

[BanjoGeek]

In interesting post. The rule of thumb here, members are free to ask any price and if you don't like it, move on. With rare exception that is what I do unless it is something I really need but just didn't know it till I looked at the posting. That being said, I have a variety of items posted both firearms and non-firearms. If I can't entertain offers I usually make that known. Otherwise anyone is welcome to make an offer on what I have posted, it doesn't cost much to offer and costs even less to say yay or nay.

 

[Member 34319]

Everything you just stated falls true to cutlery as well.

Better steel is more expensive, holds an edge for longer, less likely to chip, and can have other qualities specific to that knives needs. Further more, higher end knives have tighter tolerances making them last longer, function smoother, flip faster, and use more expensive and more durable materials that have been machined with care to remove hot spots and burs.

Again, better companies have better warranties and stand behind their knives.

Yes, a ganzo will cut, but a ZT will have better edge geometry, better finish, come sharper, cut for longer, is less likely to fail, use better material, have higher QC, have a better warranty, and simply be a "Wilson Combat" to "RIA" when held next to a ganzo.

So, a cheap knife will also cut…

Thanks for this write up. I appreciate the comparison. Though that one wasn't the greatest leap in price differences.

Can you explain $500+ knives? How are they better at cutting? Or is it more about materials again. If materials only, then I don't think they should be put in the same category as other consumer goods.

I guess my main core concept of knives isn't of their quality, but of their purpose. To cut stuff. It's an ancient necessity, being that humans have made some form of cutting tool going back as far as humans existed.

Compared to other things, I guess I'm stuck on the point, pun intended, of the luxuries of an item as simple as a knife. A knife can be pretty much any sharp object in my opinion. As long as it cuts, I fail to see why it needs to be horribly expensive or have extreme materials used to build it outside of use as art.

The gun comparison is hard to grasp too. As the nicer it is made the better it should shoot. Though modern machining and materials have made the expensive guns not tremendously better than the lesser expensive ones. That same concept applies to knives where steels have been developed to the point of nausea, so what metals are used in more expensive knives that is so drastically better than those of mass produced ones? I imagine a $1 knife still have far superior steel used in it than 100 years ago.

I understand a tight fit might be nice in a folder. That's about it really. Most metals hold an edge and most companies making knives use adequate metals.

 

[Bobbygun]

it doesn't cost much to offer and costs even less to say yay or nay.

That's my thinking exactly.

There was a guy that posted a firearm "for sale" ad sometime last year who had a list of what NOT to do if you wanted his wares that was about five paragraphs long. It was intimidating. Even if I had wanted what he was selling I would have been afraid to deal with the guy. Perhaps my point of view is clouded by the fact that I don't do a whole lot of buying and selling and thus have time to entertain the random oddball offer. That seller probably looked at it completely differently than I do because he was more involved. What's more, he had a lot of positive feedback and zero negative. He must be doing something right. Maybe the ad I saw from him was after one of those "straw that broke the camel's back" encounters with someone.

 

[lwarner]

As others have said they are like other consumer goods, although obviously nobody is required to agree with that.
Like other consumer goods there are issues of supply and demand and the law of diminished returns. If that makes no sense to you, you aren't a "knife guy".
I'm not a car guy, I just don't care, but I understand that people who pay a lot for fancy cars are getting SOMETHING for their money, it just isn't something I care about.
The "Wilson Combat" of knives would have better steel in that it would be tougher and still hold an edge longer than cheap steel. You may not appreciate what goes into the metallurgy, materials, heat/quench, temper but working with "better" steel costs more in materials and equipment. Some steels can be treated in an open fire or hot coals, quenched in water and tempered in your toaster oven, some absolutely cannot.
Perhaps a cheap knife is all you require and the superior properties of the steel will be lost on you but it's still better.
Better folding knives have better bearing or washer systems such as multi-row and/or ceramic or phosphor bronze washers, again some will appreciate these and some won't care but there is a technical difference.
You would pay more for a more complex grind which would make a bigger blade lighter for its size and/or a better slicer. Perhaps you don't need that and so you don't care (and shouldn't pay for it) but it will take more time and better equipment to create and so again there is a cost.
Titanium will be lighter but is more expensive to supply and machine so for example a textured titanium handle (or scales) with milled pockets for better strength with minimal weight will be lighter. Do you need or want a lighter knife? For some the answer is yes while others don't care.
If you WANT a knife with a hollow ground m390 blade, multi-row ceramic bearings, textured titanium handle with lightening pockets and titanium hardware it's going to cost you and because of diminishing returns I'd argue that you'll pay a lot and get a little. You might be getting the Wilson Combat of pocketknives though.
I understand if you don't agree or if it was too long to read…
Basically I understand why some cars are expensive even if I would never buy one, I understand why someone would prefer a Glock to a Wilson even if I'd rather have a Wilson and I understand why my wife wanted flowers at our wedding even though I didn't value them.
If something is better but also better than you NEED it's hard to see it's value sometimes?