ColtPythonElite
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How does one ever use 500 knives? If you rotated 'em every day it would take you nearly a year and a half to get back to using one the second time...LOL.
Why would I spend $300 on just a knife?
- Thread starter alaskanativeson
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Oh no....don't tell me I'm not the only knife/gun geek who is also a pen geek. As I sit here, I have two Parker 51's in the drawer next to me, a gold Sailor on the desk, and a retractable fountain Pilot in my shirt pocket...
And just to keep from derailing the thread, I would never disparage someone for spending $300+ on a knife but it wouldn't be me. I can't see buying cheapo Wally-World knives that break, but there's a decent middleground.
Just looking at camping knives, something along the lines of a Becker BK2 or an Ontario RAT-5 can be had in the $60-80 range, I'm perfectly happy with sticking to that price range.
I did spend the money to get my Benchmade Griptillian. The cost hurt at first, but 4 years later I have forgotten the price, but the knife is still in my pocket getting used every day. I love that knife.
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JVoutilainen
Member
For some, absolutely nothing.
Am I seeing things or is the whole world "going soviet" these days? Just ten years ago I could not even imagine a situation that it would be necessary to explain the concept of "luxury" to an american.
JERRY
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porche vs. chevrolet is more than looking at or "feeling" there is a tangible difference in amenities.
what about knives? they cut or they dont cut. no extra features gained for another $200.00.
i dont care if somebody buys a knife for $300.00, i just want to know how it outperforms other less expensive knives is all.
what about knives? they cut or they dont cut. no extra features gained for another $200.00.
i dont care if somebody buys a knife for $300.00, i just want to know how it outperforms other less expensive knives is all.
From a purely functional perspective, not that much. But let's compare the well-known Kabar to the Busse in the original post. The Busse has a better sheath than the Kabar. Its blade is made from better steel than the Kabar's. The blade also has a superior grind, so it cuts better than the Kabar. The handles are made from a durable and superior material. And the warranty is much better on the Busse. All these things cost money.
You are also paying a premium for Busse name of course. I don't know how much it is exactly, but it is there nonetheless.
If all you want is a tool to cut with, stick with the $60 knife. It'll likely do the job. But some people want something nicer and are willing to pay for it. They're not alone. You see it with knives, you see it with guns, you see it with cars.
Sniper X
Member
Jerry, a 60K Chevrolet (Corvette) will out perform ANY but the most expensive Porsche....
Sniper X
Member
Just like fine cars, watches, guns, and knives, there isn't a lot of difference in functionality. It is a more in depth and personal thing.
Sniper X
Member
19-3ben, I can't write with anything but a quality pen. I have recently re-found Retro 1951's as my daily go to pen for office work. Magical for the cheap price. But most think $50.00 for a pen is like $3000.00 for a 1911.
JohnBT
Member
"i need to know what a $300.00 knife does that a $60.00 knife doesnt."
My Sebenza holds an edge for ages longer than any other knife I've owned since I got my first Boy Scout knife 50 years ago. And the lock really works, the tighter you grip the knife the better it holds.
I've had it for more than 10 years and got it for closer to wholesale than the $300 retail. Twenty-two bucks a year for ten years (and counting) is not bad for a knife that I use for everything from snacks to cutting into paint cans and gutters, poking holes in fire barrels and whatnot. And it barely looks worn from daily use. Sebenza means work. See the Chris Reeve site for more. It a bear to sharpen.
If all you use a knife for is cutting the crossword out of the paper, peeling apples, cutting bait and cutting string, a $3 gun show knife from Pakistan will do.
I also agree with cheap sunglasses story.
My Sebenza holds an edge for ages longer than any other knife I've owned since I got my first Boy Scout knife 50 years ago. And the lock really works, the tighter you grip the knife the better it holds.
I've had it for more than 10 years and got it for closer to wholesale than the $300 retail. Twenty-two bucks a year for ten years (and counting) is not bad for a knife that I use for everything from snacks to cutting into paint cans and gutters, poking holes in fire barrels and whatnot. And it barely looks worn from daily use. Sebenza means work. See the Chris Reeve site for more. It a bear to sharpen.
If all you use a knife for is cutting the crossword out of the paper, peeling apples, cutting bait and cutting string, a $3 gun show knife from Pakistan will do.
I also agree with cheap sunglasses story.
Sniper X
Member
John, I think the real answer is Nothing. In VERY extreme uses that none of us here will ever see, a 300 dollar knife might not break like a 60 dollar one but as said, that would be VERY extreme.
451 Detonics
Member
Why would I spend almost $500 on a custom slipjoint? Because I damn well deserve it...
That is about what I have as well...they just get worked in and out of the EDC rotation...
That is about what I have as well...they just get worked in and out of the EDC rotation...
76shuvlinoff
Member
ding ding ding ding, we have a winner!
Sheepdog1968
Member
The beauty of a capalist society is that there are many price points to choose from for many items. Some things I'm frugal on and others I'm not. Just make sure you are funding your 401K/IRA first.
To each their own, but for me, $40 is the tops for what I'll pay for a knife. I have a gerber gator I've had for 13 years now that is as sharp as the day I bought it. It's brother hasn't fared so well but the fact that it has helped cut shingles, fiberboard and tar paper for 2 years has more than paid for itself.
12gaugeTim
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I nearly talked about how I would never pay more than $60 for a knife.. But then I realized how expensive the pens I buy are compared to a simple Bic ballpoint. But then again, the pen I am currently using is solid brass with a super durable gold titanium nitride coating and uses a pressurized ink cartridge that usually lasts an entire year and can write in a huge spectrum of environments, including underwater, in a vacuum, zero-gravity, etc. So it'll go a little further than your run-of-the-mill ballpoint, but I paid for it.
I can't say what the motivation behind these ivory and gold and silver pens is, but I'll never stop using Fisher Space Pens. I'm thinking about buying the new .338lm cased bullet pen; you should check it out it would do nicely beside my .375H&H cased one.
TLDR- you can pay for extra quality.
I can't say what the motivation behind these ivory and gold and silver pens is, but I'll never stop using Fisher Space Pens. I'm thinking about buying the new .338lm cased bullet pen; you should check it out
it would do nicely beside my .375H&H cased one.TLDR- you can pay for extra quality.
Zundfolge
Member
Main reason I don't buy expensive knives (I carry this CRKT M16) is because I abuse the heck out of my knives (don't sharpen regularly ... don't clean regularly ... don't oil regularly ... occasionally use as a pry-bar or screwdriver) and I just can't see spending top dollar on something I'm not going to take proper care of.
If I abused my guns the way I abuse my knives I doubt they'd function.
I still seriously doubt there is as much difference in performance between a cheap knife and an expensive one as there is between cheap pens, watches or cars and expensive ones.
But knives are about artistry ... if I could afford some beautiful custom Damascus steel folder I'd probably own one ... but carry my CRKT.
If I abused my guns the way I abuse my knives I doubt they'd function.
I still seriously doubt there is as much difference in performance between a cheap knife and an expensive one as there is between cheap pens, watches or cars and expensive ones.
But knives are about artistry ... if I could afford some beautiful custom Damascus steel folder I'd probably own one ... but carry my CRKT.
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alaskanativeson
Member
Sniper X said:
I used to live on the coast of the Bering Sea, a little Yup'ik Eskimo village about 200 miles past the middle of nowhere. Not the most friendly of environments. I carried my Busses with the knowledge that when I NEEDED them to perform, they would. It's the same reason I chose the Mossberg 590 shotgun to carry as my bear medicine gun, when I read that the U.S. Marines chose the 590 because it was the only shotgun that never failed a single torture test I knew I had my gun.
By that same token, if there was a situation where I needed to know I could count on my knife to function and not fail, I felt much more comfortable knowing that the INFI steel in my Busses was more likely to hold up than just about anything short of a knife made by Odin of the same stuff he made Thor's hammer of. I've carried a Gerber Mark 1, and a Schrade Walden something-or-other that was my first knife (and I love it still) and a Ka-bar USMC design with a micarta handle ( a knife that was stolen from my truck and I've never seen another like it) and a Buck 119 General, and the list could go on and on. For that matter, I trust my RAT (now ESEE) models 4 and 5 pretty much as much as I do my Busses, but the nitrogen content of the INFI seems to retard rust formation better than the 1095 of the Rats. Something to consider in a saltwater and swamp environment.
Some people pay more for Volvos because of their safety record. Some buy only Michelin tires for the same reason. dependability is one reason I pay what I do for my Busses, Randalls, and Chris Reeves. Another reason is that Busse knives seem to have some of the best ergonomics of any knife I've used. Everyone has their own personal preference, but to my hand the Busse handles have all felt great to me. My 3 inch bladed Active Duty feels as good to me as my 9 inch Battle Mistress (I'm referring to my knife, not my wife.)
Valkman
Member
I will say this about expensive knives, they are a real pain to lose. I lost my $400 Strider SnG a few years ago in a Costco parking lot and I thought I was gonna die. Luckily I dealt with a sheathmaker who was also doing work for Strider, and when Josh at Strider found out what I had lost he sent me a new one. That's customer service above and beyond! So far that one stays in a drawer and I've been carrying less expensive stuff like SAKs until I get my courage back up to carry the good stuff.
Gordon
Member
Har har, I'll stick to my cheap plastic handled chrome plated knives with the plastic sheaths ! Ha ha you guys are a trip !
leadcounsel
member
I'm in the camp that knife metal and design stops improving around $50-80. Beyond that you're paying for .... ? Craftsmanship. Design. Art.
But my $60 XYZ knife (Gerber, Spyderco, etc.) is going to perform just as well and last just as long as your $300 knife. Sorry to offend.
12C27 steel is 12C27 steel, for example.
Spending more than say $80 is for extras like sheath, hand crafting, etc.
But my $60 XYZ knife (Gerber, Spyderco, etc.) is going to perform just as well and last just as long as your $300 knife. Sorry to offend.
12C27 steel is 12C27 steel, for example.
Spending more than say $80 is for extras like sheath, hand crafting, etc.
alaskanativeson
Member
leadcounsel said:
Yes and no.
Both Randall Made Knives and Böker use 440 stainless in their knives. Same steel, but Randall forges theirs. That forging adds a LOT to the quality of the blade. Plus, forging stainless, from what I'm told, is very difficult to do. Back in the 80s when I started looking at spending some real money on a quality knife I could only find 2 knife makers who forged stainless: Randall and Sean McWilliams. A Randall bought for $200 in 1985 would sell today for $500 or more. I haven't seen any McWilliams for sale in a coon's age, but the last one I saw sold for over $800.
Trial and error has taught me that stainless is not what I want in a knife, though some of the premium steels are making that a lot better. I have some S30V knives I like, but in general I want a carbon steel with a lower chromium content to give the knife better edge holding with less brittleness. Going into an environment like Alaska's Bering Coast I still wanted something that would resist rust to a certain degree. I found INFI steel by Busse, a proprietary blend that give other-worldly edge-holding, titanium-like strength, but still a degree of rust resistance above something like 1095 or D2.
Those last few shades of higher quality may seem small, but I think that they may, at times, be worth it.
JVoutilainen
Member
Ok. I'm feeling grumpy enough to take the bait. Maybe it is because I know I will be spending the evening in my basement scraping goo off of a bull hide (want quality - make it yourself).
leadcounsel sez:
That is, or course, absolutely - and demonstrably - rubbish. You might be "in the camp", but that does not change Reality. Have you ever considered the possibility that you have yet to experience the difference between masterful and mediocre? Have you considered the possibility that you lack necessary Knowledge and sophistication to make a judgement? Believe what you want, but your belief does not create reality. Similarly you can disbelieve the Law of gravity, but you are going to be bound by the effect, none the less.
Solipsism is a word that pops into my head, for some reason.
mr.scott sez:
A reminder: keeping a knife in your pocket does not mean you are actually "using" it. If your knife has retained its factory edge I can say with absolute confidence that you have, in fact, NOT being using it for the last 13 years. Claiming anything else is absolutely ridiculous.
Furthermore, how long a knife holds factory sharpening is a side issue, because if you really really use a knife you will end up sharpening the blade each and every day, sometimes many times in an hour. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
And about factory edges in general. I have never in my life seen a straight edged cutting tool that was satisfactory "out of the box", when it comes to sharpness. Not even on high end chisels made for woodworking professionals, such as myself. And as I already said, it does not matter, because I will end up sharpening, and re-sharpening, and honing, and sharpening the things over and over and over and over and over again during the day.
Zundfolge sez:
Needless to say it is simply dumb to use a knife as a pry-bar or a screwdriver. Do you use a power drill as a hammer also (seen it done, actually. And yes - it was government workforce), or you cellphone?
And yes, it would be unreasonable to expect that a high end knife would "perform" much better compared to mass produced crud when subjected to abuse it was most definitely NOT designed for. If you need a hammer, use a hammer. If you need a pry-bar, use a pry-bar. IIf you need a screw driver... you get the point.
Right, I feel much better now.
leadcounsel sez:
That is, or course, absolutely - and demonstrably - rubbish. You might be "in the camp", but that does not change Reality. Have you ever considered the possibility that you have yet to experience the difference between masterful and mediocre? Have you considered the possibility that you lack necessary Knowledge and sophistication to make a judgement? Believe what you want, but your belief does not create reality. Similarly you can disbelieve the Law of gravity, but you are going to be bound by the effect, none the less.
Solipsism is a word that pops into my head, for some reason.
mr.scott sez:
A reminder: keeping a knife in your pocket does not mean you are actually "using" it. If your knife has retained its factory edge I can say with absolute confidence that you have, in fact, NOT being using it for the last 13 years. Claiming anything else is absolutely ridiculous.
Furthermore, how long a knife holds factory sharpening is a side issue, because if you really really use a knife you will end up sharpening the blade each and every day, sometimes many times in an hour. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
And about factory edges in general. I have never in my life seen a straight edged cutting tool that was satisfactory "out of the box", when it comes to sharpness. Not even on high end chisels made for woodworking professionals, such as myself. And as I already said, it does not matter, because I will end up sharpening, and re-sharpening, and honing, and sharpening the things over and over and over and over and over again during the day.
Zundfolge sez:
Needless to say it is simply dumb to use a knife as a pry-bar or a screwdriver. Do you use a power drill as a hammer also (seen it done, actually. And yes - it was government workforce), or you cellphone?
And yes, it would be unreasonable to expect that a high end knife would "perform" much better compared to mass produced crud when subjected to abuse it was most definitely NOT designed for. If you need a hammer, use a hammer. If you need a pry-bar, use a pry-bar. IIf you need a screw driver... you get the point.
Right, I feel much better now.
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G.WHEELERKNIVES
Member
Knives, Guns, Cars or Whiskey no matter the price you are mostly going to get what you pay for. If you care what is stamped on the blade more than it's edge retention, well you got it and I hope you have fun sharpening it. In the case of a $300 or higher knife, you should be getting a knife that will hold an edge past normal expectations and be pleasing to the eye and hand. Think back when we all started using knives to some of the things we used them for, the cheap knives were great teachers as to what a knife would and would not do or was ever designed to do.
Now I have reached a place and time in life (50) where my wants and needs are not survival driven, so when I want an expensive knife to please the little boy in me. I justify it with a shrug and plonk my money down and walk away with my new knife, looking forward to using it. To doing what it was intended to do. Cut this and that with ease and grace, sometimes maybe only a very few times a year.
All knives where not created equal. A properly designed and HEAT TREATED knife blade will outperform and outlast a wallyworld knife blade........ those of you who say you would never give $300 for a knife all well and good, you have your point. But have not the experience base to make comments on an over $300 knife you have never owned or used. A knife was made to cut various materials and if a knife is to be used to cut shingles it should have been designed to do this job. As in a replaceable bladed utility knife not your average pocket/sheath knife designed to do basic cutting chores and game field dressing operations. Use the tool for what it was designed to do and enjoy the experience for what it offers you.
Now I have reached a place and time in life (50) where my wants and needs are not survival driven, so when I want an expensive knife to please the little boy in me. I justify it with a shrug and plonk my money down and walk away with my new knife, looking forward to using it. To doing what it was intended to do. Cut this and that with ease and grace, sometimes maybe only a very few times a year.
All knives where not created equal. A properly designed and HEAT TREATED knife blade will outperform and outlast a wallyworld knife blade........ those of you who say you would never give $300 for a knife all well and good, you have your point. But have not the experience base to make comments on an over $300 knife you have never owned or used. A knife was made to cut various materials and if a knife is to be used to cut shingles it should have been designed to do this job. As in a replaceable bladed utility knife not your average pocket/sheath knife designed to do basic cutting chores and game field dressing operations. Use the tool for what it was designed to do and enjoy the experience for what it offers you.
Sniper X
Nonsense. My "extreme" use knife didn't cost $300. It cost $118 shipped ,add about $75 or so for the custom sheath and I carry a little over $200 in today's prices in steel and leather.
I cut, baton (cross grain, and with grain), pry, dig, chop, and anything else I need to do with it.
Stating that none of us here use our tools hard is an outlandish assumption on your part.
If you really think a $60 Gerber Ultimate knife (for example)is going to take the same "extreme" use my $120 Fallkniven F1 does, your a sadly mistaken.
Nonsense. My "extreme" use knife didn't cost $300. It cost $118 shipped ,add about $75 or so for the custom sheath and I carry a little over $200 in today's prices in steel and leather.
I cut, baton (cross grain, and with grain), pry, dig, chop, and anything else I need to do with it.
Stating that none of us here use our tools hard is an outlandish assumption on your part.
If you really think a $60 Gerber Ultimate knife (for example)is going to take the same "extreme" use my $120 Fallkniven F1 does, your a sadly mistaken.
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