Knives that hold or increase in value

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fishblade2

Joined
Dec 23, 2012
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Hey guys, I'm new to the collecting of knives but I'm more interested in collecting knives that will maintain or increase in value over the years. What are some brands to look at that generally do this? Also what do I need to look for in knives to know if they will either maintain or increase in value?
 
Two of them right of the top is Randall Knives and Busse Combat. But you know I've seen Buck, Case, nearly all of the traditional folders go up in value over the years. Yea some are going to go up quicker than others but half of the enjoyment of knife collections is getting fondle, know that I have one or two, and enjoyment in the craftsmenship. Lets NOT forget the custom arena either. I have seen some of those go up big time over the years. Longer a craftsman is around and more people get to know his work, well it's like a painting. Price for a good art piece (knives just happen to be functional art) WILL go up.
 
Almost any brand can retain value over time, although some are easier to spot than others. A good example of this would be the Spyderco Phoenix; a knife which is not only discontinued, but designed in such a way that would be considered unusual for the brand. Another such example would be the Spyderco Dodo in either CF or Blue G-10, as well as the Spyderco Kris. Strange knives tend to hold their value well over time, especially if made by a well known and well respected company. I know my examples are all Spyderco's, but they're the company I'm most familiar with. Another variable to consider would be the type of materials/steels used in the construction.

RussMo brings up the point that custom makers often gain popularity as time goes on; a good idea may be to invest some money in a budding custom knife maker. If he makes it big, and you have one of his earlier works, then you can expect a larger return on it, should you choose to sell it.
 
Rick Hinderer knives for one. These things seem to resell for what they were bought for.

Plain sebenzas hold some value but definitely never higher. Some of their damascus blades can go higher, like the river of fire and other limited editions.

Custom knives made by new knife makers to high standards often keep some value.
I have an Alan davis 1095 EDC knife I could probably resell for what I paid.
 
WillardCorspe said:
Almost any brand can retain value over time, although some are easier to spot than others. A good example of this would be the Spyderco Phoenix; a knife which is not only discontinued, but designed in such a way that would be considered unusual for the brand.
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How much do Phoenix's go for now? I picked one up when they were on clearance because I liked the design and figured it would be very hard to find one after that.

One pretty safe bet in the short term is the limited editions from prominent brands like Benchmade and Kershaw, and especially Spyderco's sprint runs.
 
Hinderer. Chris Reeve. Rare Spyderco. High end Kershaws. Older Benchmades. Benchmade Gold Class. Benchmade limited editions. Rare Kershaw Leeks and Blurs and limited editions. Customs. Randalls. Custom Microtech and Striders. Custom Emersons.
 
Tsujigiri said:
How much do Phoenix's go for now? I picked one up when they were on clearance because I liked the design and figured it would be very hard to find one after that.

One pretty safe bet in the short term is the limited editions from prominent brands like Benchmade and Kershaw, and especially Spyderco's sprint runs.
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Tsujigiri, I've seen Phoenix's been sold for as much as $500 locally. I have no idea how much numbered variants are sold for though. I wish I had known about them before they were discontinued.
 
Luis G. said:
Plain sebenzas hold some value but definitely never higher.
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Definately never higher??? I would buy all of the plain ATS-34, and BG 42 models I could find if I could get them for what they sold for back then. Same goes for the plain Regular framed Sebenza no matter the steel.
The Classic MM's may also go up evenually, and I suspect the 21's may if they phase them out in favor of the new 25's.


OP, It is sometimes tough to tell what will go up before it actually happens. Best if you don't jump in to fast, and do alot of reading in the forums, and watch the exchange prices.
 
ALL CRK hold and increase because they eventually discontinue the models, or change something, then the old ones become desirable. IE: Regular sebenzas sell for more used as shit now than when they were brand spankin.
 
fishblade2 said:
Hey guys, I'm new to the collecting of knives but I'm more interested in collecting knives that will maintain or increase in value over the years. What are some brands to look at that generally do this? Also what do I need to look for in knives to know if they will either maintain or increase in value?
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If you are considering knives as a financial investment, then I'd suggest you should look elsewhere at other investments for a future house purchase or your retirement fund. I don't imagine that any knife that you could buy today is going to go up in value enough to make it a highly profitable financial investment. And when you consider the volitility of the US and world economy right know, this may not be the best time to be making expensive knife purchases.

If you are talking about buying knives that you can re-sell and not lose money if you decide you don't like them, currently there are many. If you study what knives are currently popular on internet knife forums like this one you can get a good idea what those knives are, how eager people are to buy them, and how much they are willing to pay for them. Of course, peoples tastes can change, and what is popular today may not be popular next year. And just like with anything else that people put a dollar value on, value can go up or down. Once agin, consider the current and possible future of the economy when thinking about knife purchases.

Personally, I never look at my knives in terms of their "market value". I look at them in terms of how well they serve my needs, the fond memories they bring back, and simply how much I like them. If I'm happy with a knife, then that's all the value I need.
 
RussMo said:
Two of them right of the top is Randall Knives and Busse Combat. But you know I've seen Buck, Case, nearly all of the traditional folders go up in value over the years. Yea some are going to go up quicker than others but half of the enjoyment of knife collections is getting fondle, know that I have one or two, and enjoyment in the craftsmenship. Lets NOT forget the custom arena either. I have seen some of those go up big time over the years. Longer a craftsman is around and more people get to know his work, well it's like a painting. Price for a good art piece (knives just happen to be functional art) WILL go up.
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Yup. You can buy production, and customs that will increase in value.
 
WillardCorspe said:
Tsujigiri, I've seen Phoenix's been sold for as much as $500 locally. I have no idea how much numbered variants are sold for though. I wish I had known about them before they were discontinued.
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Wow, that is ridiculous! I quite like mine, but there's no way it should be worth that much. As for the numbered collector's club variants, that's kind of an odd issue. It seems like most people much prefer the sterile Spydercos (in fact I remember some people passed up on buying the Phoenix because the last dealer to clearance them only had CC's left), but I've seen people pay more for CC Spydercos than regular ones on Ebay. You can never tell with those auctions, though, Ebay bidders do a lot of ridiculous things.
 
fishblade2 said:
Hey guys, I'm new to the collecting of knives but I'm more interested in collecting knives that will maintain or increase in value over the years. What are some brands to look at that generally do this? Also what do I need to look for in knives to know if they will either maintain or increase in value?
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Something else you may want to look at if you like knives and collecting them is...
Some makers still here and some gone, is EDUCATE your self with those knives?
They are very rare and HARD to find, but with knowledge -- you may stumble onto one of them?
A few years back a guy went to a barn sale and bought a Scagle for less than $20.00
He sold it for several THOUSAND dollars (it was probably worth $20,000.00):eek::D
So knowledge is power.....:thumbup::cool:

Welcome to the forums.
 
fishblade2 said:
Hey guys, I'm new to the collecting of knives but I'm more interested in collecting knives that will maintain or increase in value over the years. What are some brands to look at that generally do this? Also what do I need to look for in knives to know if they will either maintain or increase in value?
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Here's my opinion. Collect knives as a hobby, look elsewhere for your investments. Buy what you like, not what you think others will like down the road.

Don't expect your knives to ever go up in value and be prepared for them to go down in value. If you still like them after they drop in value (like most knives will), then you are doing "OK" in this hobby.
 
cwl said:
here's my opinion. Collect knives as a hobby, look elsewhere for your investments. Buy what you like, not what you think others will like down the road.
Don't expect your knives to ever go up in value and be prepared for them to go down in value. If you still like them after they drop in value (like most knives will), then you are doing "ok" in this hobby.
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^^^this^^^
 
Over the long term it's impossible to predict what will be popular among future buyers and worth a premium price. Current popularity may or may not be an indicator of future value. Which popular knife brand will go out of business, making Collectibles out of their products? Which brands and styles popular today will take a downturn due to dated styling, outdated materials, changing tastes among buyers, potential new laws, etc.? Which brands are produced in low enough volume to tip the balance between supply and demand? Which little-known starting knifemaker selling blades on the forums will go on to be the next Tony Bose or Ethan Becker? Which ones will be the next Allan Blade?

I don't think anyone can predict that stuff.

One thing I do know, you are much more likely to own knives that increase in value if you don't pay too much in the first place. ;)
 
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