Knives that retain value .

K

killzatnite

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Nov 2, 2012
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Hey , just curious as I am restarting my collection for the 3rd time. I've bought some knives then sold them all during my previous phases for example it was all kershaws, then all benchmades, and now military knives. I just wanted some ideas on knives folding and fixed that retain their value overtime .
P.s. suggestions on customs are welcomed, and my start off budget is anywhere from free(lol) to 300$.
 
Tough question to answer. Junk brands/knives never are a good investment but knives don't have to be high end to retain or increase in value. Many of variables are out of your control such as maker has discontinued, country of origin changes, has developed a following, etc.

I had a box of knives in storage. All NIB. Worth maybe $4-500 when bought years ago. I went online to some major knife seller sites to see if still around and how much. Also went on Ebay to see how much selling at auctions. Some were worth about what I paid for 15-20 years ago, no more. However some worth a lot more. No longer made and sold like hot cakes on Ebay. also, some models were made in USA or Japan but now China. People sought out these older ones and paid a lot more than the current model. I ended up selling most of the knives in box for couple thousand dollars.
 
If you're lookin' to get into knives for investments, good luck, please let us all know when you find the perfect knife that only increases in value. I'm sure investment quality knives like HH Frank and Scott Sawby will not lose value but you're talkin' about substantial investments. Certainly more than a large UG Sebenza will cost.

If you want the best return overall with a near guarantee of profit buy old vintage knives from the 1960s and before. You can find many knives under $10 worth 3X -10X that much regularly, it'll just take more work to get there. Than again the margins are greater, the supply more available if you're willing to do some work and are knowledgeable. Unfortunately it's also the easiest way to get burned if you're not an educated consumer already.

Good luck and like I said, please let us know when you find out the right formula for a guaranteed high return on investment knife. I would do the same for you... ;)
 
I dont think most knives retain value well. Unless its a discontinued model that becomes popular. Like the Benchmade 42 and similar variants, Regular Sebenza's cant think of much off the top of my head. You can expect to loose 20%+ on a like new knife for the most part of what you paid. Knife collecting is not a hobby one gets into to make a profit. If your looking to make a profit off collecting. Start with vintage roles sub's or vintage muscle cars.
 
Takes money to make money. Michael Walker, Bob Loveless, etc. You'll probably need to spend $5k to acquire anything of future value. Anything less than that is 'pin the tail on the donkey.' Some of the current makers will reach 'legend' status in the future, but it's only speculation at this point, and you still can't acquire any of their work for $300.
 
Show of hands... How many people here believe their current collection if sold would bring more money than spent to a quire it over the years?

I have had a few I gambled on, bought low enough and was able to turn a profit of up to 2X what I invested. I bought a Buck Statue of Liberty Executive with a coper coin made from the actual copper sheet on the statue, authenticated by Lee Iacocca. Paid $18 for it and sold it 16 years later for $46, that was a profit. Paid a$125 for my only William Henry T10-P Pearl Lancet. The first year they were made by Matt Conable for his new company. Anything they sold for now would be a profit. I also picked up a few other pieces for really low prices just by dumb luck, bein' in the right place at the right tome kinda thing. ;)
 
marcinek said:
Of course you can. Some guy here right now, selling knives for $150 could be the next Scagel or Loveless. You might pick the right guy, but you probably wont.
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Used to pick up Livesays, Ansos and Greckos for $50 most of those have doubled and tripled in the last 15-20 years. Will I get rich off them? Hardly. Will I have enjoyed that much or more in entertainment vale? Most definitely. :)
 
T. Erdelyi said:
Used to pick up Livesays, Ansos and Greckos for $50 most of those have doubled and tripled in the last 15-20 years. Will I get rich off them? Hardly. Will I have enjoyed that much or more in entertainment vale? Most definitely. :)
Click to expand...

Heck, you used to be able to buy Scagels at department stores. So, you never know. Its a roll of, like, a couple million sided die.

And one will probably be dead before the maker becomes famous. And the no-good grand kid you left it to after you safe queened it will be out sharpening it on the curb and throwing it into trees.

But it is fun to think "Maybe this new guy will be the guy." Or even "Well maybe this new guy will go up some."

Probably wont. Never stopped me though.
 
For about 25yrs I collected limited edition Case knives and even a few sprint type Spydies.
Bought them all on clearance online or from stores that were going out of business. There were a lot of those in the 80's around Dallas.
Made good money actually. I never did worse than break even on a knife. Many tripled and even a few couple quadrupled in value. Keep in mind, I kept most of these knives 20-25 years before selling.

It's still a crap shoot.
 
No knives are guranteed to maintain or increase value. There are some that have better odds than others but nothing is for sure. One thing is for sure very few if any sub $500 knives will fit in this category. $300? I dont think there is any.
 
Don't put your money in knives. Very few people make money in it, and the ones that do wind up treating the hobby like a second job. Depending on your personality, it can suck the fun right out of it. Whenever someone asks about this, I tell them to buy a stack of Blade magazines or old dealer catalogs, and see what was hot then, and then price the same stuff now.

Buy what you like.
 
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