zhyla said:
As compelling as the OP's salesman story is (shocker punchline: salesman wants you to buy the priciest item), there's obviously diminishing returns to how much money you fork over for a knife. In my opinion, if you like the design, the steel is something decent (and properly tempered), and it's put together right, it doesn't really matter what it cost. It will still get the job done.
There's also something to be said for a knife being cheap enough you don't mind truly abusing it. I'd never pull out a $300 knife to pry at something sketchy, I'd go get a screwdriver like I'm supposed to.
I get why people buy expensive knives. Knives are basically man jewelery.
I can agree with that. Man jewelery or bragging rights along with a 10,000 dollar shotgun that won't kill the game any better than a tried and true 870 Remy. It's not a choice of either a Mercedes or Yugo, but the Honda's and Fords in between. With the poor frequency of repair records in Consumer's Mercedes is not a great example of value for the money.
I used to collect custom knives in my younger days. I had a nice little Randall collection. I ended up shipping them all down to Russell's to be sold off. JUst were not worth it. When a 10 dollar Frosts mora with a carbon blade outcut my Randall trout and ird knife, it was handwriting on the wall I couldn't ignore. Being young and dumb, the Randall on my hip was sheer knife snobbery, nothing more. In the twenty years I used custom knives, they never did anything that a lower cost knife couldn't do. In fact, looking back, I think I was overly careful with those knives because they were so expensive. When a car got broken into and the sterio stolen, I grieved more for the Randall 15 that was under the car seat than the car window and high end sound machine that got nicked.
After I sold off my collection, I never looked back. In fact, I had more fun with my knives after, if only for the reason that I could use them to the full extent, and push the envelope a little. If it got broken or lost, I could replace it at the next sports store or big box store I passed. For the last several years I've been having a gas using Opinels, Case sodbusters, mora's, and 12 inch Ontario machete's to hack, dig, pry, and even cut with. Stuff I never would do with a 300 hundred dollar knife. Haven't broke one yet, although for some reason the number 1 mora with the laminated blade seems to bend more easiely than the regular carbon steel one.
I'm glad I finally got old enough and comfortable with who I am, that I don't feel the need for bling. I'm happy with what works.
Carl.