expensive gun / cheap knife - I don't get it!!!

I'd really like to own some high end 1911's. Wilson Combat, Dan Wesson, Les Baer and there are some others. What I realized a while back was that while it'd be really nice to own one of those, I wouldn't get much use from it. I don't daily carry a gun. But I DO carry a knife every day. And even though I don't use it every day, its in my pocket. So I've ended up with several CRKs and a few others. For now I've spent my $$ on my daily carry knives. And BTW I generally drive a 2002 commuter car with 225k miles. Yep, to each their own. These three are worth more than my car....

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With guns and knives both come to a point of diminishing returns. I like to maximize the quality on investment. I got a Ruger LC9S Pro second hand with 4 magazines for a total of $320. It's been put through every possible test and has been hands down the most reliable gun I've ever owned. To me, this proves that I don't need to drop $1,000 for a reliable gun. I don't take issue in doing so if I had it, but realistically I don't need to. A knife though, definite uses every day. So spending nearly the same cash as the gun isn't unreasonable either. That being said I have yet to go over $100 on a knife mainly because I buy second hand and I got a PM2 which in my daily requirements hits that sweet spot of quality for the price. I'm sure it's just a matter of time and opportunity though ;)
 
I ve come to a point in my life where I look for well made functionality primarily in my knives and handguns usually at a lower price point from earlier purchases. I seem to have settled recently into using earlier model (less expensive) Spydercos like the PM2 and Mili and Manix2 and the traditional model Cold Steels like Lawman, Recon1 and Ultimate Hunter. Well made and very comfortably functional.
My handguns now most accessible for emergencies are Glocks.
Any money saved with these items goes into a rainy day fund.
 
crom said:
It's all relative. My coworker spends a couple hundred on a bottle of scotch, I wouldn't know the difference between that and a $50 bottle in a taste test.
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Neither would most people.
 
Swampdog said:
Most of the time, "you get what you pay for"... I'm willing to spend more money on a quality item that I will get a lot of use out of.
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Not always. There are such things as bargains. And items that are highly promoted and overpriced.
 
Beansandcarrots said:
Well, personal values n all that...

But it does admittedly crack me up when someone posts a pic of some badass limited edition Sig .45 with custom grips and holster, and a friggin Kershaw Emerson

(Not a BAD knife, just you'd kind of expect to see a Hinderer or a Sebenza there, y'know?)
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That type of person would probably try to pry something with their gun if they could; so be thankful they only own a cheapo ;)
 
I can pull out my CRK wherever I'm at and no one says a thing or bats an eye. Don't know if I pulled out a Kimber that I'd get the same reaction.
I do use a knife every so often in my vehicle and I wonder what the reaction would be if I pulled out a pistol for everyone to see.
 
I don't have an expensive tactical knife. I frequently carry an inexpensive carry piece, mixed with a cheap Cold steel Recon 1, and three or more traditional folders.

I've also carried a folder worth much more than the gun.



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What about the people that spend Thousands of dollars on knives that they never intend to carry. I have a collection of about 100 knives. About 30 of the are not for carrying, I will either sell or trade these knives.
They are just fun to fondle and you learn more about the action and weight of good knives. Their are people that collect stuff that I don't get like stamps and Mooseheads, I don't get it but I understand the desire or
Obsession to collect things, it's all good.
 
Yo Mama said:
I've noticed a few people in my life lately that will adamantly display a nice gun, something like 5-7
00 dollars, but then flip out with a knife above 100 dollars. I don't get it. What gets me is not that they don't want to get an expensive knife, but instead then they try to turn it around to "do you know what you can do with that money?!?!" No admission that the gun they will hopefully never need to use for defense is ten times more expensive than their pocket knife that will be used countless times over it's life. But to poo poo those that buy both a quality gun and knife I just don't understand.
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I like to contrast the responses you get here versus the responses you get on your identical thread on The High Road. :)

I love guns, but you can get new high-end, collectable knives for less than the price of most user guns new. The least expensive firearm you can get is still substantially more expensive than many an excellent production knife with high use value and even some collectability. And once you have a knife, you don't need to pay more money to feed it.

Also guns take more practice, so I've decided to invest the money I do allocate to guns to become more proficient with the one I carry, which I've already had customized to suit me. It's not a perfect gun, but it's got a 'good enough' or better rating in every dimension on which I evaluate a gun, so it'll do.
 
sharp_edge said:
lets see if I get OPs point.

I see people carry $100 knife while wear $20 jeans.

I see people carry $200 knife while eating at McDonalds.

I see people carry $400 knife while wearing a pair of sunglasses worth no more than $20.
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Yep, I'm one of those people who regularly carries a $410 knife in a $20 pair of cargo pants, and often a $12 T-shirt and $60 Skechers.

I'm wondering if some people expect those who spend a lot on certain high-end items to then have to spend big bucks on everything else, just to prove to anyone who might care that their likes are symmetrical and that they're all-around tasteful people to aficionados. In that case, most average people are gonna go broke really fast.

IMO, who cares if someone owns a high-end gun and a lower to medium-priced pocketknife? Maybe that knife serves their knife purposes well enough for them, or they simply like it. Similarly, Emerson makes good knives, but why does someone like Keanu Reeves prefer them, when he's a multimillionaire who can literally afford any car, house or knife he wants? Because he likes them.

If we're being totally honest with ourselves, just like everybody else, there are MANY things in this world that high-end knife owners/users either don't know or don't care as much about.

Jim
 
James Y said:
Yep, I'm one of those people who regularly carries a $410 knife in a $20 pair of cargo pants, and often a $12 T-shirt and $60 Skechers.

I'm wondering if some people expect those who spend a lot on certain high-end items to then have to spend big bucks on everything else, just to prove to anyone who might care that their likes are symmetrical and that they're all-around tasteful people to aficionados. In that case, most average people are gonna go broke really fast.

IMO, who cares if someone owns a high-end gun and a lower to medium-priced pocketknife? Maybe that knife serves their knife purposes well enough for them, or they simply like it. Similarly, Emerson makes good knives, but why does someone like Keanu Reeves prefer them, when he's a multimillionaire who can literally afford any car, house or knife he wants? Because he likes them.

If we're being totally honest with ourselves, just like everybody else, there are MANY things in this world that high-end knife owners/users either don't know or don't care as much about.

Jim
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Plus... who's got the money to be simultaneously into buying ultra-quality everything?
 
What really puzzles me are the guys who send BIG bucks on a firearm and then, as an afterthought. MIGHT pay $75-100 for a knife out of the plastic rotating case on the counter at the gun store. Of course, there is the sitution like with Purdey when I visited their shop in 2007 where they charge you $100-200K for a shotgun or rifle and then sell you a damascus Boker that has been marked up 4-5 times because it has the Purdey stamp on it. It is in the case right next to the $100+ tartan socks. ;)
 
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