No offence but why are Tom Mayo knives so expensive?

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ukknifer

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Jan 30, 2010
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No disrespect to the maker but the material used is the same in many hi end knives.
Even new hot knife Makers offer less expensive knives. No bells or whistles or special systems in the pivot and such.
Is it the fit and finish? I never handled one personally. Is it one of those things you have to handle to appreciate?
Thanks
 
Thanks for the reply Rat Finkenstein. I saw most of his knife well over 1000 $. Most customs I see that do not have jewels or exotic handle materials are between 500 to 700 approximately. His that are only plain titanium and steel are well over one K.
 
ukknifer said:
Thanks for the reply Rat Finkenstein. I saw most of his knife well over 1000 $. Most customs I see that do not have jewels or exotic handle materials are between 500 to 700 approximately. His that are only plain titanium and steel are well over one K.
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Perhaps the explanation is there? You just don't see the higher prices "only plain Ti and steel ones" because they're in such high demand, there is literally a waiting list of people willing to pay thousands of dollars for such a plain knife.
 
I believe that most customs you are seeing in the 500-700 dollar range are assisted by waterjet and/or CNC. At last when you are taking about big name people.

I am pretty sure Tom makes them all by hand which greatly adds to the price because he can't make as many. That also contributes to their rarity and high secondary prices. Same with Todd Rexford.
 
Scurvy092 said:
I believe that most customs you are seeing in the 500-700 dollar range are assisted by waterjet and/or CNC. At last when you are taking about big name people.

I am pretty sure Tom makes them all by hand which greatly adds to the price because he can't make as many. That also contributes to their rarity and high secondary prices. Same with Todd Rexford.
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All the knives he signs as "Tom Mayo" are fully hand made. He's got (or at least he used to have) a line that combined CNC with work by hand that he called "TMX".

Ukknife, Tom Mayo is a well established knife maker with a very good reputation. When you buy a piece from a bloke like that, it's not just materials and functionality that you're paying for. There are other factors to take into account, a bit of artistic value, certainly the maker's prestige which would impact in the collectible value of the knife and so on.

If you're looking for a knife priced accordingly to its capabilities as a tool (and there's nothing wrong with that), famous artisanal makers might not be the best place to find them. It would be like going to Giorgio Armani to get a pair of jeans made, they might be excellent but they most definitely won't be in the "best bang for your buck" category.
 
Tom Mayo is an iconic of folding knife world. Even his plain chisel sold for over $500:eek:
 
I also can't think of any custom with a stellite 6k or talonite blade that costs under $1000
 
He is a icon. He's been at it forever it seems and has created a style all his own. He doesn't make many knives a year and he is highly collectible. Supply and demand.
 
Tom is a legend, and has been at it for over 30 years. Like many mentioned, his knives are all handmade. His designs are timeless, and his fit and finish is flawless. Tom's knives have always been collectible, but the last year has been crazy. Demand is super high right now, and the secondary market prices reflect that. His table price is between $800 and $1000, but the secondary market prices are between $2000-$3500 depending on the model and materials.

Tom has been the inspiration of many makers, and rightfully so. He is a perfectionist, and you experience that in every one of his knives.
 
Once you get to be a big enough name, you could sneeze on a bar of Ti and sell it for $1000.

Don't take that as an insult to Tom Mayo or his work - it's just a statement about the knife market in general. Names and scarcity attract prices. Someone brand new to the knife world could make a finer knife than Loveless, but won't be able to command nearly the same prices.
 
ukknifer said:
No disrespect to the maker but the material used is the same in many hi end knives.
Even new hot knife Makers offer less expensive knives. No bells or whistles or special systems in the pivot and such.
Is it the fit and finish? I never handled one personally. Is it one of those things you have to handle to appreciate?
Thanks
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You are paying for tried and true skill set. The sum total of a man or woman's skill set is displayed in the product. As is usually the case with experience learning and growing are achieved and as a result of this the skill set improves, and thus the product improves as does the price. Some may improve over others in particular areas of excellence but with this mastery of the craft in all aspects the reputation precedes the maker. Bigger name makers earn the title and the price because of this rep for consistency, art, aesthetics and more. It all comes to fruition in the final product and as any one can see, Tom does that and as I've certainly seen when these fine knives have been mailed to me for clips or anodizing or what not including some of the production knives. These designs, and the way the entire thing comes together are no accident and while it may appear plain jane and simple one must always remember it is not the extraordinary things that make a fine folder or any product great. Many times they make a product funky or hard to resell or even easy to gunk up! Besides this, it is most often the ordinary things that screw up and when you can consistently get those correct, which Tom's customers can attest to his doing well, well it is all down hill from there and worth every penny. In my opinion. ;):thumbup:
 
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It may be worth every penny of the table price but these secondary prices are crazy!
 
No offense but these why do they cost so much/are they worth it threads get old. There is one for about every brand or maker. They cost that much because that's what he charges and that's what people pay. Don't like it don't buy it.
 
The last I heard, Stellite 6-K costs $265/lb., and nobody has any. The Stellite 6-BH(Talonite) runs $100/lb. and is also hard to find. The last I heard, S-30-V was about $6.00/lb. Do the math.
 
My Covert with 6k straight from Tom was like 450.00 if my memory serves me right, nothing wrong with that. Secondary prices is where it starts getting crazy as with many makers.
 
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